First Issue Special

Here's a re-post from a while back...with some updates.


First Issue Special was a short-lived, but extremely influential DC Comics series that ran for 13 issues on the mid-1970s. The concept behind it was that since first issues always sell well, then why not publish a series where every issue is a first issue? It sounded great to a 10 year old Doug who savored each and every issue and hoped it would continue forever. I remember running to the local 7-11 in hopes that a new issue would be out. We didn't have an iPhone app that told us what comics came out each week back then.

A few of the showcased properties (Mike Grell's Warlord, specifically) moved on to their own titles, while a few others (Green Team anyone?) faded into oblivion. Some issues featured long-time characters or concepts (Dr. Fate, Metamorpho, The Creeper) who would eventually appear in their own series again or part of a team book.

Issue by issue, lets look at First Issue Special and see what made it so damn special.

Starting with the first issue, Atlas The Great written & drawn by Jack 'King' Kirby.

Kirby had spent many years at Marvel creating most of their universe with Stan Lee. In the early 70s, he came to DC where he created many concepts (The New Gods, Kamandi) that are still relevant today. Atlas sat dormant as a one-shot until James Robinson re-introduced the character into the supporting cast of Superman (issue #677).

The second issue gave us the previously mentioned and often maligned Green Team: Boy Millionaires by Kirby's ex-collaborator Joe Simon. This was basically Richie Rich meets The Dirty Dozen and I believe they never appeared again. Thankfully.

The star of the third issue was Metamorpho, The Element Man by the wonderful Bob Haney & Ramona Fradon. This character was introduced in the late 60s and continues to be popular today, appearing in several incarnations of Batman and the Outsiders and most recently in DC's well-done, but overpriced weekly Wednesday Comics series. Haney's groovy Teen Titans and World's Finest stories made him quite popular. Ramona is known for her excellent work on Plastic Man, Super Friends, The Freedom Fighters and the Brenda Starr, Reporter comic strip.

Issue four brought us Lady Cop by Robert Kanigher, John Rosenberger & Vince Colletta. This is my favorite issue of the series. I hoped and prayed for a Lady Cop ongoing series, but alas it never happened. I read that writer Gail Simone used the character in her recent All-New Atom series.

Jack Kirby was back for issue five's Manhunter. The character has appeared in countless versions over the years, many times crossing over into Justice League of America and Green Lantern storylines. The most recent Manhunter, by Mark Andreyko haedlined her own series and later was a back-up feature in Batman: Streets of Gotham.

Another Kirby creation, The Dingbats of Danger Street filled issue six. Don't recall much about these guys. I don't think they appeared ever again, but I could be wrong.

The Creeper crawled into issue seven. This Steve Ditko creation combined the qualities of earlier Ditko characters like Spider-Man and Blue Beetle with a touch of The Joker's insanity. Steve was joined by writer Michael Fleisher on this story. The character went on to make many guest appearances. He was killed at one pointed, revived as a French woman (as a Vertigo adult title), then relaunched again as a man. He currently appears alongside Metamorpho in The Outsiders sans Batman.

The eighth issue was the premiere of Mike Grell's timeless sward & sorcery creation Warlord - which became a long-running series, followed by a few miniseries, and a failed re-imagining by acclaimed Incredible Hulk writer Bruce Jones in 2006. Warlord was most relaunched with Grell at the writers' helm. Sales were poor, even after Grell returned to the art, and the book was cancelled.

Doctor Fate conjured up the ninth issue. This issue, by Martin Pasko & Walt Simonson brought the character out of DC's Golden Age and into the 1970s. The character went through a few changes in the 1980s and 90s, appearing in several miniseries and ongoing titles. Fate was a JLA member for a while, became a woman (two to be exact), and was reborn in JSA as Hector Hall, the son of Hawkman. After finally being reunited with his wife Lyta Trevor (The Fury), the two perished in Infinite Crisis. Or did they? A new Dr. Fate was introduced in The Helmet of Fate miniseries and will has shown up in the current Justice Society of America monthly.

The Outsiders by Joe Simon and Jerry Grandenetti were the focus of issue ten. Great title. Great logo. Bad concept. As we know, DC kept the name, but not the characters. I don't believe they ever appeared again.

Issue eleven brought us Codename: Assassin by Gerry Conway, Steve Skeates, Nestor Redondo & Al Milgrom. James Robinson (him again!) recently revived the character in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen Special #1 - making him part of Superman's ever-growing supporting cast.

Starman by Gerry Conway, Mike Vosburg & Mike Royer debuted in the twelfth issue. This one-shot character, alien Mikaal Tomas, showed up in the excellent 1990s Starman series by (you guessed it) James Robinson. This blue-skinned visitor from another planet discovered he was attracted to both genders equally, and entered into a relationship with another man. In the miniseries Justice League: Cry for Justice (by Robinson), his lover Tony is killed, prompting Mikaal to seek justice. Mikaal is current a member of the JLA, and has entered a flirtatious relationship with the recently revived Tasmanian Devil (not to be confused with the WB cartoon character).

The thirteenth and final First Issue Special featured The Return of New Gods by Gerry Conway, Denny O'Neil & Mike Vosburg. This did lead to an ongoing revival series, but without its creator Jack Kirby (who by now was back at Marvel), it was just not the same. The New Gods were brought back many times over the years and became an important part of the DCU in the 1990s, with Darkseid becoming DC's biggest bad guy.

The original New Gods were all pretty much sadly killed in 2008, but reborn in new bodies during the mind-boggling and mind-numbing events of Final Crisis.

So there you have it, thirteen mostly wonderful first issues. It's a shame DC hasn't collected them all into one trade paperback. Maybe someday they will. Fingers crossed as I run to the local 7-11.

The Dysfunctional Doll Family

I decided to have a little fun with a beloved book from my childhood. Looking forward to all the hate mail. :)

The End.

Parents: Demand the Best for Your Child!

Two curious ads found in local TV GUIDEs.

A jolly holiday with NANNY & THE PROFESSOR

Here's a special Easter re-post of one of my favorites. I hope you do enjoy this the second time around.

Bcak when ABC needed a replacement for THE FLYING NUN, they turned to AJ Carothers, a writer for MY THREE SONS and Disney (THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE, EMIL AND THE DETECTIVES). Carothers took one part MARY POPPINS, one part BEWITCHED plus a little pinch of FAMILY AFFAIR and gave us NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR. This short-lived (54 episodes) sitcom starred British actress Juliet Mills as Phoebe Figalilly, better known as Nanny. This Disney-influenced mini-classic is best remembered for it's groovy theme song composed by Steve Zuckerman & Fred Calvert, and performed by The Addrisi Brothers.

"Soft and sweet, wise and wonderful


Oooh, our mystical, magical Nanny


Since the day that Nanny came to stay with us


Fantastic things keep happening


Is there really magic in the things she does?


Or is love the only magic thing that Nanny brings?


You know our Nanny showed us


You can make the impossible happen


Nanny told us
Have a little bit of faith and lots of love


Phoebe Figalilly is a silly name


And so many silly things keep happening


What is this magic thing about Nanny


Is it love....or is it magic?"



In the pilot, Miss Figalilly arrived from the UK and is hired as housekeeper and governess for the Everett family.

Professor Harold Everett (Richard Long) is a widower with three children in need of guidance: Hal (David Doremus), Butch (Trent Lehman), and Prudence (Kim Richards).

Nanny almost instantly won over the family's hearts with her magical powers. She could talk to the animals, had ESP, had climate control capabilities as a harp is gently plucked over the soundtrack.The show was adapted into a series of three paperback novels by William Johnston, published in 1970: Nanny and the Professor, What Hath Nanny Wrought? and The Bloop Box .
A NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR comic bookwas published by Dell Comics in the early 70s.

After leaving primetime, the concept returned to ABC on Saturday mornings via the ABC SATURDAY SUPERSTAR MOVIE.

Cougarish Juliet Mills later married TV hunk Maxwell Cauldfield (Miles Colby on THE COLBYS) and then appeared on the campy NBC soap PASSIONS as 300-year-old witch.

Richard Long died in 1974 at the age of 47. David Doremus no longer acts, but lives Los Angeles. Sadly, Trent Lehman committed suicide in 1982 at the age of 20. Kim Richards appeared in a string of NBC series and in several Disney movies including a cameo the recent WITCH MOUNTAIN remake. Rumor has it she later appeared on some reality show, but that has yet to be confirmed. I'm hoping for a NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR dvd release some day soon.

Kidsploitation: To Market, To Market

Shipped home a bunch of my favorite books from my childhood. This one was about two chickens who went grocery shopping. I used to read this over and over. Is it any wonder why I'm vegan today?

Foodsploitation: Humpty Dumpties

When Humpty Dumpty slipped and fell,
He suffered from a fractured shell,
And when he saw his cracks and creases,
Poor Humpty simply went to pieces,
He'll make a happier landing, though,
In candy-sprinkled yeasty dough.

This frightens me.

Small Fry Easter Paraders

Easter used to be fun. I think.

EASTER IS...

One of my many childhood obsessions was oddly enough Lutheran Television. Growing up Catholic, it seemed like our Protestant friends had better choices when it came to TV productions. They had the terrifically soapy THIS IS THE LIFE, we had SUNDAY MASS. They had the claymation duo of DAVEY & GOLIATH, we had SUNDAY MASS FOR SHUT-INS. They had EASTER IS... and we had EASTER SUNDAY MASS.

 EASTER IS...was an animated special about a boy and his dog from the early 1970s that was a sequel to CHRISTMAS IS... (which I also loved and will be covering in December). I recently found both these Lutheran TV classics unwrapped on VHS at a gay thrift shop in Palm Springs! It's an Easter miracle!

 Actress/singer/game show icon Leslie Uggams lent her talents to the production, a few years before her appearance in the disturbing exploitation film POOR PRETTY EDDIE, which also involved a dog.

 Our story focuses on Benjy, a young boy and his poor sense of what it means to be a good pet owner. His sheepdog Waldo wanders around the neighborhood without a leash, gets attacked by bees and is left sitting on the bus stop waiting for Benjy to come home from school. Probably doesn't get his shots either.

 At school, Easter season is in full swing - and everyone knows what that means : girls dressed as pink bunnies while boys point at them, colored eggs and baskets full of candy.

 Benjy's teacher (Leslie) tells the class that they are going to be competing against the other classes in an Easter decorating contest. Think of it as PROJECT: RUNWAY with lots of pastels.

 The teacher assigns Benjy the most important task of designing the poster for the classroom door. She doesn't want it to look like crap, so he's gotta really work hard on this. I mean real hard.

 As his hippie Jesus poster looks over him, Benjy begins to toil away night after night on his Easter poster, ignoring Waldo and becoming more and more obsessed with conveying the true meaning of Easter.

 The following day, Benjy scolds Waldo for being too co-dependant and the poor dog wanders off in a state of distress, only to be attacked by a magical (yes, I said magical) Siamese cat on loan from LADY & THE TRAMP.

 Waldo ends up spending the night on the streets, in a dump, and drinking polluted water.

 Meanwhile Benjy's ignorant parents think that all the boy needs to do is put food outside and Waldo will turn up.
They don't even offer to drive around and look for the dog. Out of sight, out of mind. I really want to smack these two smug assholes.

 Benjy prays to God to bring Waldo home. Maybe he should have thought about getting Waldo a leash and harness at some point and treated him better?

 But God doesn't listen - and Waldo ends up getting captured by a red-headed brat. It's always a red-head. Even Lex Luthor was ginger before he lost his hair.

 Red decides to hold Waldo hostage, thinking that his owner actually cared about him.

 Benjy is told that he needs to come up with FIVE DOLLARS in ransom otherwise he'll never see Waldo again. Great orange phone by the way.

 Rather than going to his stupid parents for help, Benjy decides to steal $3.05 out of the family piggy bank. Luckily his African-American friend is around to help him.

 Benjy and his friend confront the read-headed kidnapper, but its too late-Waldo was attacked by rats during the night and escaped Red's garage...leaving behind a trail of blood!!!

 Oh Hippie Jesus - what is Benjy going to do? What will become of poor neglected Waldo? Where did you get that awesome vest? PROJECT: RUNWAY, perhaps?

 Well, the next day Benjy's dumb-ass parents convince him to go to church for Easter - and Waldo just shows up. All dirty, but not bleeding. The two are happily reunited and all is forgiven. Did Benjy learn his lesson? Did he learn anything at all? I really don't think so.

 Benjy's stoned Sunday school teacher lets him bring Waldo into the classroom. "Like, that dog is so intense!"

 The creepy Sunday School students listen as Benjy and the teacher tell the miracle of Waldo's Christ-like return.

 The next day at Albrecht PUBLIC SCHOOL. (I typed it in all caps for a reason).

 Tim Gunn shows up to judge the Easter-decorating contest - and guess who's class wins?

Turns out that Benjy's Hippie Jesus collage is just what a PUBLIC SCHOOL wants hanging on a classroom door! I guess maybe Tim Gunn thought it was the Brawny Man or some other hunky dude and not Jesus. Well that's where Benhy's story ends...but actually I have a confession...

When this show aired in the 1970s, I loved it so much I mailed away for an EASTER IS...Hippie Jesus poster, which I proudly displayed on my closet door for years, until it was replaced by Lynda Carter. Amen!