This final episode of the first season of CW’s RIVERDALE has left us with one heck of a cliffhanger and hopefully there is enough buzz to increase the ratings, which slipped between Episode 1 and Episode 13. I was a fan of this right from when the first episode aired in January and you can go back and see my review of that on this site. It is a weird blend of TWIN PEAKS meets PRETTY LITTLE LIARS with a good looking cast and some cool plot twists..
At the suggestion of my good friend Chris Nelmes, here is a summary of Season One. Be aware: spoilers abound. So, if you want to get a feel and not be surprised when you actually watch the show, read on. By the way: every episode has a nod to classic films in its’ title, along with being labeled as Chapters. Thanks to IMDB for that bit of information!
In CHAPTER ONE: THE RIVER’S EDGE, we meet our cast of characters. As comic fans know, our core four is Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), and Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse). We also meet Archie’s dad Fred (Luke Perry), Alice (Mädchen Amick) and Hal Cooper (Lochlyn Munro), and Hermione Lodge (Marisol Nichols). Other key cast members include the Cheryl, Jason, Penelope and Cliff Blossom (Madelaine Petsch, Trevor Stines, Nathalie Boltt, Barclay Hope), Kevin Keller (Casey Cott), Reggie Mantle (Ross Butler), Miss Grundy (Sarah Habel), and Josie and the Pussycats (Ashleigh Murray, Asha Bromfield, Hayley Law).
With Jughead, who is writing a book about everything, acting as our narrator, we learn that Cheryl and twin brother Jason Blossom went out in a boat to Sweet Water River on the Fourth of July and only Cheryl came back. Archie, whose parents are separated, is a high school sophomore who is working for his dad’s construction company and playing football, while also trying to pursue his love of music. He tries to convince his music teacher, Miss Grundy, to be his private tutor, but they had a heated love affair over the summer and she feels it is best they don’t get together. During this affair, it is revealed they were at Sweet Water River when Jason drowned and apparently heard gunshots that morning.
Veronica and her mother Hermione have moved from New York to Riverdale while her millionaire father Hiram is in jail facing embezzlement charges. Secrets abound as we learn that Betty’s sister Polly had a mental breakdown and was sent away. It apparently has something to do with her relationship with Jason. And it’s possible that Cheryl may be hiding a secret regarding Jason’s death.
At the school dance, Cheryl convinces Archie, Betty, and Veronica to go to her after-party, where Archie and Veronica play a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven, much to Betty’s dismay. Later, openly gay Kevin Keller and Moose Mason are alone at the lake when they discover Jason's body with a bullet hole between the eyes, meaning this mystery just got more mysterious.
In CHAPTER TWO: A TOUCH OF EVIL, Miss Grundy insists that neither she nor Archie can tell anyone about being at the lake on July 4th or hearing the gunshot. But Jughead later sees the couple holding hands, realizes their connection and fights with Archie, who he thinks should go to the sheriff. The next day, Cheryl who blames Polly for Jason's death, gets arrested. It seems Jason's autopsy shows he was murdered a week he supposedly drowned.
When CHAPTER THREE: BODY DOUBLE begins, we have the sheriff questioning Cheryl, where she reveals that Jason wanted to leave Riverdale and she was helping him stage an accident to cover up his disappearance. Archie later meets with Sheriff Keller and says he was at the lake and heard the gunshot, but it was just him and his dog. Cheryl tries to thank Archie for his confession by hooking him up with Josie and the Pussycats, who might be able to help him with his musical aspirations. Meanwhile, Betty decides to restart the school newspaper and she sends Jughead to interview Dilton Doiley-the Scoutmaster who found Cheryl on the 4th. Dilton was out with the Adventure Scouts training them how to shoot and the shot that Archie heard was them. He reveals that he saw Ms. Grundy's car by the river that day.
Veronica is now dating football star Chuck Clayton and learns that he and other members of the football team, including Jason, have been engaged in slut shaming, leading her to find his playbook, which, among others, has Ethel, Veronica and Polly’s names in it. Looking for revenge, Veronica and Betty drug Chuck and brutally torture him, with Betty dressed in lingerie and a black wig. Betty covers him in maple syrup and, calling him Jason and referring to herself as Polly, she demands he apologize for hurting her. Chuck gets thrown off the football team by his father, who is the coach, while Betty and Cheryl burn the evidence.
Remember: at this point, we’re only three episodes into the season.
As Episode Four, entitled THE LAST PICTURE SHOW begins (one of my favorite films which I recently secured the soundtrack to), Jughead has learned that the Twilight Drive-In Theater where he works is closing. On it’s last night, Veronica sees her mother meeting with the leader of the criminal gang known as the Southside Serpents, who turns out to be Jughead’s father, F.P. Jones (Skeet Ulrich), and handing him some sort of payoff. When Veronica confronts her mother, she learns that Hiram is the anonymous buyer of the property and this payoff is related to the Serpents involvement in that scheme.
Archie and Fred have dinner with Miss Grundy at Pop’s Diner, leading Betty to confront Archie about a possible romantic affair with his teacher. He fesses up to it and Veronica overhears, meaning all three members of the romantic triangle are in on the secret. Betty decides to interview Miss Grundy and does some investigative journalism, finding out that Geraldine Grundy was an elderly woman who died seven years ago. Betty and Veronica break into Grundy’s car, where they find a driver’s license saying she is Jennifer Gibson. They also find a revolver. Grundy explains to Archie that she changed her name after a divorce from her abusive husband. Faced with exposure by Betty’s newspaper reporter mother, Grundy agrees to leave Riverdale forever. In the end, someone steals all of the evidence on Jason’s murder from Sheriff Keller’s office.
Chapter Five is called HEART OF DARKNESS. Cheryl’s mom tears up the eulogy Cheryl had written for Jason and her parents refuse to let her speak at his memorial. But she manages to do it, wearing the same dress she wore on the day he “drowned”. Betty and Jughead sneak away to go search Jason’s room, but run into Cheryl’s grandmother. She mistakes Betty for Polly and spills it that Polly and Jason got engaged with an antique ring that he gave her. Looking to replace Jason, Coach Clayton pits Archie and Reggie against each other for the role of team captain. While trying to work on his other passion, his music, he meets with a songwriter from New York named Oscar Castillo, who turns him away after he feels Archie’s songs are childish. Hermione has a cardboard box with a snake inside left for her at the diner-an obvious message from the Southside Serpents. Later, Betty finds out that her dad was aware of the engagement before he reveals that Betty’s great-grandfather was in the maple-syrup business with Cheryl’s great-grandfather until he was murdered by Mr. Blossom. In the end, we see that it was Mr. Cooper that stole the files on Jason’s murder.
In CHAPTER SIX: FASTER PUSSYCATS! KILL! KILL!, Betty digs through her mother’s purse and finds a check made out to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Betty and Jughead head out to the place and find Polly, who is not sick, but pregnant. She had a plan for her and Jason to run away together. On the 4th of July, they were going to meet on the other side of the river, but the Cooper found out and had her taken away. When Polly asks if Betty had talked to Jason, she tells her sister that he is dead. Later, Betty and Jughead kiss, followed by Betty saying that Polly mentioned that Jason had a getaway car stashed on Route 40. They find the car, along with Jason’s jacket and drugs. They contact Sheriff Keller but, by the time he arrives, the car has been torched Meanwhile, Archie tries to get ready for Riverdale annual variety show with the help of Valerie, who quits the Pussycats. In the aftermath, Veronica ends up in the band and Archie and Val kiss. Hermione is now working at Andrews Construction and wants to award the Drive-In developments contract to his company, but she needs Veronica to sign off on it. When she won’t, Hermione forges the signature.
Chapter Seven is called IN A LONELY PLACE. Polly has escaped from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, leading to the town organizing a search party. Betty eventually finds Polly hiding in their attic. While the Blossoms want to take Polly in, Cheryl feels that her parents have bad plans for her and Polly moves in with Veronica and Hermione. Jughead convinces his father to ask Fred for a job at the construction company. We learn that F.P. and Fred founded Andrews Construction together, but Fred cut him loose after he had to bail him out of jail. It also turns out that F.P. has Jason's jacket in his trailer, making him the prime suspect in the torching of the car. Sheriff Keller takes Jughead into custody, as he is now a person of interest in the murder, but Fred provides the alibi.
Chapter Eight is THE OUTSIDERS, where Polly tells the sheriff that Jason was supposed to make a drug delivery for what is assumed was the Southside Serpents. With Clifford Blossom hiring all the qualified construction workers in town, in an attempt to bankrupt the construction project, Fred is forced to hire the Serpents. F.P. tells Hermione that Hiram found out that Fred and her were a couple and that Hiram was responsible for hiring the Serpents to cause havoc at the construction site. F.P. also tells fellow Serpent Joaquin to keep seeing Kevin, so he can spy on things involving the sheriff. Veronica decides to host a baby shower for Polly. But during the event, Penelope and Alice fight over whom she should live with and Polly decides to head back to Thornhill and live with the Blossoms. At the same time, Polly tells her mother that even though she is mad at mom sending her off to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, at least it wasn’t as bad as what her father had done by making an appointment for her to have an abortion. Alice heads home and throws Hal out of the house because of this.
In Chapter Nine: LA GRANDE ILLUSION, it’s time for the Blossom family's annual maple tree-tapping ceremony and Cheryl invites Archie to be her date. Archie is inclined to decline until Penelope tells him that Cheryl’s great-uncle is on the board of directors for a music school and she offers some quid pro quo. Under pressure, Archie accepts. He finds out that Polly moved in with the Blossoms to get evidence regarding Jason’s death and he tells this to Betty. She and Jughead decide to write a piece for the school paper and Alice Cooper, recently fired from the town paper by her husband, decides to join them. Ethel Muggs’ family is going to lose their home soon as it seems Mr. Muggs invested with Hiram Lodge and Mr. Muggs has recently attempted suicide because of it. After the tapping ceremony and banquet, Archie finds out that Mr. Blossom wants him to be a part of his company but also finds out that Clifford was responsible for sending Hiram Lodge to jail. Later, Val breaks up with Archie and he decides that he wants no part of the Blossoms, even if it means losing his chance at the music school.
Four episodes until the season finale…
Chapter Ten is called THE LOST WEEKEND. While being threaten by the family attorney to testify as a character witness for her dad, Veronica discovers that the Blossoms have been making payments to Lodge Industries for generations and only stopped when Hiram got arrested. Further pressure is put on her when she gets a letter from her dad saying she must testify or else he will implicate her mother. While Fred goes to Chicago to finalize his divorce, Betty finds out Jughead's birthday is coming up and she convinces Archie to throw him a party at the house. Chuck Clayton’s suspension is over and he has a run in with Betty at school, where she gets so angry she cuts him palms open with her fingernails. At the party, Cheryl and her crew, including Chuck, show up uninvited, leading to a game of “Secrets and Sins” where Veronica accuses Cheryl of murdering Jason.Dilton reveals how Archie was fooling around with Ms. Grundy while Chuck tells about Dark Betty. F.P. is here and pulls Joaquin aside to quiz him about what he has learned from Kevin. He says he overheard Veronica say that her father may have had something to do with Jason’s murder. Jughead and Chuck get into a fight leading to F.P. ending the party, but not before he confronts Betty’s mom, who he reveals was once a Serpent. When Fred returns home, following an Archie phone call begging him to not sign the divorce papers, he has his wife Mary (Molly Ringwald) with him.
TO RIVERDALE AND BACK AGAIN in the title of Chapter Eleven. Archie’s mother is back from Chicago and Veronica finds out that her father may be released from prison soon. Jughead has given his dad a copy of his novel and F.P. suggests that Jughead needs to move on from it. Cheryl tells her parents that she is bringing Polly as her date to the dance so they can be co-queens in honor of Jason. Meanwhile, Polly and Cheryl find the ring that Jason had used to propose to Polly with. Mrs. Blossom explains that Jason walked away from the family and threw the ring at his father. Mrs. Blossom gives Polly a drug laced milkshake, which causes her to pass out and miss the Homecoming Dance. Alice invites the Jones to dinner before the dance, which allows Veronica and Archie to search F.P.’s trailer for evidence. During dinner, Mr. Cooper shows up, the conversation shifts to the night of THEIR Homecoming Dance, when he talks about a huge fight Hal, and Alice had that night. At this year’s Homecoming Dance, Archie and Veronica perform together while his parents arrive hand in hand with Hermione. The police search F.P.’s trailer, where they find a lockbox with a gun in it, and promptly arrest him for the murder of Jason Blossom. When Archie and Veronica tell Betty the news, they swear that they found no gun when they searched, which means someone planted that evidence.
In Chapter Twelve, ANATOMY OF A MURDER, Jughead heads to the bus station, so he can go to Toledo to be with his mom and his brother jellybean, even though she forbids him from coming. In jail, F.P. confesses to Jason's murder, burning Jason’s car, and tampering with evidence. He tells how Jason needed cash to make his getaway, so F.P. arranged to have him make a drug delivery. He kidnapped Jason, held him at the Whyte Wyrm, and put in a ransom call to Mr. Blossom. When tried to escape, F.P. killed him. He also admits to stealing Sheriff Keller’s file, even though we see Hal Cooper trying to destroy that evidence. Then he reveals the family secret: the Coopers are actually Blossoms. Hal’s grandfather was murdered by his brother and that side of the family changed their name to Cooper. This means Jason and Polly were related to each other by blood. The Coopers go to Thornhill, accuse the Blossom’s of murder to cover up the incest, and take Polly back home with them.
In jail, F.P. used his one phone call to call Joaquin, leading Archie and company to quiz him about events surrounding the murder. He tells them that he got a call from F.P. to do a clean-up at the Wyrm’s and, in addition to cleaning up all the blood, helped put Jason in the freezer. That confession leads them to one of the Serpents, who the kids find dead of an apparent self-inflicted overdose. The police arrive and find a bag of cash under the guys’ bed, in a bag with the initials H.P. on it. For his own safety, Kevin sends Joaquin out of town. Betty, Veronica, and Kevin find Jason’s varsity jacket and discover a USB drive in the lining. The kids plug it into a laptop and are shocked by what they see. At Thornhill, Cheryl gets into a fight with her mother about what really happened and she drags her out to the barn to show her all the barrels of maple syrup. Betty calls Cheryl and tells her to get out of the house, she does, but not before she accuses her father of doing a bad thing.
Mrs. Cooper turns the USB drive over to the sheriff and the mayor. It shows Jason tied to a chair in the basement of the Whyte Wyrm when Clifford Blossom shows up, takes back the engagement ring and then shoots him between the eyes. F.P. confessed because Clifford came to see him the night he was arrested and threatened to kill Jughead if F.P. didn’t own up to the murder. When the police arrive at Thornhill, they find that Clifford is dead and hanging from the rafters, next to several barrels filled with heroin.
In the season ending episode, THE SWEET HEREAFTER, we learn that Clifford was using the Maple Syrup business to smuggle heroin from Canada. Jason found out about it and Clifford killed him because of it. While F.P. has been cleared, he still is facing a number of charges and lengthy prison time. Alice tells Betty that the fight the night of their Homecoming Dance had to deal with her being pregnant. She went away to the Sisters of Silent Mercy and she was forced to give their son up for adoption.
Jughead is told that he needs to go to a foster family on the Southside, which means he goes to a Southside High-a tough school filled with metal detectors. Betty, Veronica, and Archie “rescue” him, even though it looks like he has made some new friends. Veronica gets a text from Cheryl that seems to imply she is going to drown herself in Sweetwater River. The trio gets there just in time to see Cheryl crash through the ice and Archie frees her by smashing the ice until his fists are bloody.
Hermione fires the Serpents and hires a new construction crew because she doesn’t want Hiram, who has been officially released from prison, to get in any trouble by associating with them. And she also wants to buy Fred out with a generous offer, which he turns down. Penelope Blossom is dealing with Clifford’s death pretty badly, saying that maybe they should all just end it. Later, she comes home to find Cheryl standing in front of their fireplace, throws a lit candelabrum on the gasoline soaked carpet and Thornhill burns to the ground.
The town’s 75th anniversary celebration is coming up and Mayor McCoy asks Archie to perform with the Pussycats and asks Betty to make a speech. Because of his rescue of Cheryl, Josie allows Archie to sing a song he wrote about his friends while Betty gives a speech, which points a lot of fingers at a lot of people in town-both in a good way and a bad. Despite her criticisms, it get her a standing ovation. After the Jubilee, Archie and Veronica go to her apartment for some alone time while Jughead and Betty head off to F.P.’s trailer and do the same, getting interrupted by the Serpents. Jughead is told they will watch his back while F.P. is away and they give him a Serpents jacket. The next morning, Archie meets his dad at Pop’s. Archie goes to the bathroom and comes out to find an armed robbery in progress. A gunshot rings out and we end the season with Archie cradling his father, who has been shot in the stomach by the robber.
Holy cliffhanger Archiekins! What happens from here? Will Fred live to see Season Two? Will Archie’s mom ever come back to Riverdale? What will happen when Hiram Lodge (Mark Conseulo) comes back to town? With Thornhill gone, where do Cheryl and her mom end up? Will Jughead become a full-time serpent? Will he and Betty ever go all the way?
That’s it for the first season of a show that introduced such phrases as “sticky maple”, “booty tutor”, and “twincest” into our lexicon. Over thirteen episodes, we have seen cool characters, creepy characters, wild situations, and a look at hometown America turned sideways. While many fans and critics alike absolutely hated this show because of what it did to the Archie legacy, I personally gravitated to it right from the early moments of Chapter One. I highly recommend it to comic fans and followers of the CW!
Seriously…great, quirky show that deserves a bigger audience. And, as of June 18th, you can binge watch the entire quirky first season from the beginning.
NEW SUPER-MAN #10 by Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic. Superman is here and the China White Triad attacks him. Bad move! In order to help Superman though, Kenan opens the gates of Chinese hell and that proves to be a worse move as the demons get the better of Superman and prepare to throw Lex into the pits of Hell. I-Ching removes his glasses and reveals his true nature. Kenan sees the dilemma and focuses his Qi so he can get his powers back. The Guardians of Hell, Ox-Head and Horse-Face arrive to close the gates and Kenan asks if there is news about his parents. He is told that they aren’t there, which means they haven’t died. In the end, Bat-Man and Wonder-Woman of China find out Kenan’s dad is alive and in some giant glass tube. And the leader of the China White Triad delivers all but the Ox-Horse door rings to the mysterious man who looks like Fu Manchu. In actuality, it is I-Ching.
NIGHTWING #18 by Tim Seeley and Javier Fernandez. Nightwing and Robin battle against Professor Pyg’s dollotrons. Meanwhile, Deathwing and Dnesh, the fake Robin, talk and Deathwing breaks Dnesh’ neck. Nightwing and Shawn defeat Pyg while Robin goes outside when he sees the Batmobile being stolen. Deathwing finds him and knocks him out, taking him away with Pyg’s benefactor: Dr. Simon Hurt.
NIGHTWING #19 by Tim Seeley and Javier Fernandez. Nightwing and Shawn are making their way through an Egyptian desert, trying to find Robin. They discover that Dr. Hurt plans on sacrificing Robin at dawn. Once inside a hidden ancient temple, Deathwing drops a statue on Shawn and begins to battle with Nightwing. With Shawn’s help, Nightwing defeats Deathwing who finally cracks from what Pyg did to him. Shawn stays with him while Nightwing goes after Hurt, who apparently has already sacrificed Robin. A trap door opens and Nightwing falls into Hell.
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #9 by Scott Lobdell and Dexter Soy. Jason and Artemis commandeer a plane, which Bizarro is actually flying, and head off to Qurac in search of the bow. Their Supreme Leader has the plane shot out of the sky and Bizarro attacks the fighter jets. The plane crashes, leading to Jason being captured and Bizarro among the refugees. Jason discovers that his prison is directly across from the place where The Joker killed him, leading to an interesting conversation with himself as Robin. In the end, Artemis is all tied up and in the presence of her dead friend Akila.
SUICIDE SQUAD #15 by Rob Williams, John Romita Jr. and Eddy Barrows Waller is alive, Katana is free and she cuts off Deadshot’s left hand. Harley springs up and it seems she was wearing Kevlar, so the entire team jumps forth attacking Rustam’s team. Some of his team dies, especially Ravan who is beheaded by Boomerang, but Rustam gets to learn that Waller used him to serve Waller’s bidding. Back at Task Force X’ home base, Waller learns from Harcourt that the security cameras were scrambled so who the traitor is and who killed hack is still a mystery. We learn that Waller had made arrangements for Deadshot to shoot her with a Magic Bullet created by The Enchantress, which allowed her to be dead for twelve hours. As a reward, the president gave her control of Task Force X again. In the end, Waller heads to Metropolis to meet with Lex Luthor.
SUICIDE SQUAD #16 by Rob Williams and Tony S. Daniel. Amanda has a dinner meeting with Lex Luthor at LexCorp in order to distract him while the Suicide Squad breaks into the vault beneath his skyscraper. They battle a host of Bizarros before Luthor learns of the ruse and arrives in full costume. He orders everyone to stand down and gives Amanda a gift he tried to give her earlier, which she thought was in the vault, It’s a box of Kryptonite which means Lex knows Amanda’s plan. In the end, a Kryptonite bomb is inserted into the brain of General Zod. Welcome to the Suicide Squad, General Zod.
SUPERGIRL #8 by Steve Orlando and Matias Bergara. Supergirl meets with Superman on the Kryptonian Day of Truth. Soon they are attacked by the Emerald Empress, who claims Kara ruined her life and then disappears. After a tour of National City, they go to the Fortress of Solitude where Kara gets to meet Jon. After dinner, Superman explains the events of SUPERMAN REBORN and asks for her help in the crisis that is coming involving Mr. Oz. In the end, Supergirl gets her next mission from Cameron Chase while Cat Grant sends Ben Rubel onto his next assignment. And Batgirl. Is in the mix too.
SUPERMAN #20 by Patrick Gleason and Peter J. Tomasi. All seems like a fun day at the Kent Farm for the family until Cobb Branden tells Lois of an impending storm and that they should take cover. Batman and Robin show up and, after an interesting dinner, Batman explains he has come here to reveal some of the tests he took involving Superboy. He explains that he should be more powerful than he is and something must be stunting his powers. Noting how much milk Jon drinks, Batman goes to Cobb Branden's and takes a sample of milk from Bessie. The milk turns black and a long tendril captures Batman. Branden tells Bessie he is going to put this trespasser with the other ones.
SUPERMAN #21 by Patrick Gleason and Peter J. Tomasi. Damian and the Kents prepare to go searching for Batman when Cobb Branden shows up delivering Bessie’s milk. As he leaves, Branden talks to Krypto, saying that they always need to keep an eye on Jon. As the search begins, the mysterious voyeur dropped the giant octopus from the beginning of this series into the middle of the Hamilton County Fair. Superboy saves the day, which leads to the towns people berating Superman. Later, Damian mentions their trip to Dead Man's Swamp, leading Superman to go there to search for Batman. Superboy is grounded, he and Damian begin to rumble and Kathy Branden shows up to use her psychic powers against the boys, taking Jon’s heat vision from him. As Superman enters the house in Dead Man's Swamp, Kathy tells Jon that the mysterious person will keep him safe until he’s ready.
SUPER SONS #3 by Peter J. Tomasi and Jorge Jimenez. We begin with a moment from several months ago, where Providence’ newest superheroes, the Super Duffys, have defeated Titano. Then we head back to Jon and Damian battling robot versions of their fathers. Sara arrives and gets the robots to stop, telling the boys that the Amazo Virus has given her the gift of controlling machines. And it’s a good thing because her brother Reggie has been corrupted by his Amazo power and he is actually capable of splitting himself into these creatures. Then it turns how that he has control of Sara now too and Jon and Damian have to battle robot copies of themselves. They may be in over their head, even if Damian says he has a plan.
SUPERWOMAN #9 by K. Perkins and Stephen Segovia. Lana has awakened and she is now powerless. Elsewhere, the Atomic Skull is now working as a member of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit and he has plans to go after Remnant. Later, Lana tells Superman she can’t be Superwoman if she is powerless and he takes her to Metropolis to show how much of an impact she has had. That’s when the fight between Remnant and Atomic Skull comes into play and Superman and Lana end up as the heroes.
TEEN TITANS #7 by Benjamin Percy and Khoi Pham. The team battle King Shark, who gets away and heads underneath Alcatraz to meet up with his army of shark inmates. Jackson pleads to join the team, even as Robin blows him off. The news reports that Bonnie Chung is being held at Alcatraz by King Shark and company, so they head into action. The team takes out the inmates, but Robin is almost about to be killed by King Shark when Jackson saves him. Robin makes Jackson a probationary member of the team as we learn that King Shark is working for Black Jack. And Black Manta shows up wanting to know more about Jackson.
TITANS #10 by Dan Abnett and Brett Booth. Wally and Dick are being held captive by the Fearsome Five, where they are planning to strip them of their powers. Just in time, the rest of the team shows up and gets seriously beaten down. Bumblebee arrives and she single-handedly takes on Psimon, leading to him stripping away part of her mind, making her not recognize Mal or even that she has a baby. Lilith takes down Psimon and the Fearsome Five get arrested. Back at Titans Tower, Dick reveals that the Fearsome Five were working for H.I.V.E.
TRINITY #8 by Cullen Bunn and Emanuela Lupacchino. Superman battles Superman in a dream he explains to Batman and Wonder Woman. He also mentions seeing the Multiverse in the dream. In the end, Mr. Oz is apparently watching it all.
WONDER WOMAN #20 by Greg Rucka and Bilquis Evely. GODWATCH Part 3 begins with showing what Veronica Cale has gone to cure her daughter. That includes summoning Circe who is excited that Veronica wants to free Izzy and punish Phobos and Deimos. She summons the Twins while Circe confronts Wonder Woman in Qurac. Veronica casts her spell and turns the twins into hounds. Circe returns to Veronica and claims the soulstone for herself. The dogs reveal that they no longer have Izzy. She is with their father, Ares.
WONDER WOMAN #21 by Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp. In THE TRUTH Part Four, we see that Diana has survived being shot by Colonel Poison and takes down Colonel Poison and her troops. Meanwhile, Veronica, Izzy, the dogs who are Phobos and Deimos, and Cheetah head to where Veronica believes the portal to Themyscira is. Steve and Diana arrive and that means a brawl between Diana and Cheetah. Suddenly, the gigantic dead tree appears. Diana’s blood causes a burst of energy to emerge from the tree with Deimos, Phobos, Izzy, Veronica, and Diana being sucked into the tree. Inside, Veronica and Diana find Izzy, with her face restored. They also find Ares, who claims that this is his prison.
ACTION COMICS #977 by Dan Jurgens and Ian Churchill. Because of recent events, Lois and Clark are working at the Planet together, Perry White knows they are married and apparently, he is Jon's godfather. Confused about how he and Lois were split into two beings, he goes to the Fortress of Solitude to investigate, which also gives us and him a chance to review his rebooted origin story, from his launch from Krypton through his early days as boy on Earth. Meanwhile, a mysterious holographic figure visits Metallo and Blanque, encouraging them to join him in his mission to take out Superman.
ACTION COMICS #978 by Dan Jurgens and Carlo Barberi. Superman, with Kelex’ help, reviews his history from the point that he saves Lois Lane for the first time. They begin dating, get married and she reveals she is with child. With Batman standing guard and Wonder Woman acting as midwife, Jon is born. We then move forward through how they changed their name , Superman left the League, grew a beard and dressed in black.. The mysterious Mr. Oz appears before Superman and begins to destroy the place. Meanwhile, the mysterious figure tries to recruit The Eradicator and he joins Metallo and Blaque on the moon. The mysterious figure is revealed as Hank Henshaw and he has gathered together the Superman Revenge Squad.
ALL STAR BATMAN #9 by Scott Snyder and Jock. Batman is racing towards the Washington Monument and is being chased by “alleged” agents of the Blackhawks. It seems the mastermind for all of this story arc is Ra's Al Ghul. Batman is shot and taken down before he can get to Ra’s, but it’s really Catwoman in disguise, allowing Bruce Wayne to slip inside and confront him. But Ra’s has a master plan that he seems to enact, including killing Duke and Bruce. Actually, he poisoned Ra’s with Hatter toxin and made him BELIEVE he had done all those things. Ra’s still manages to get away and the story of the bacteria is still unresolved. In the back-up, Duke battles Darryl, Duke’s mom assist, Batman solves Riddler's puzzle and all of this leads to DARK DAYS: THE FORGE that is coming this summer.
AQUAMAN #20 by Dan Abnett and Philippe Briones. At the Navy Research Station, Aquaman fights with Dead Water, temporarily causing it to flee. He orders the Aquamarines to go back on patrol while he goes to work on a signal jammer the scientists had designed to deter Dead Water. Wilks gets attacked and killed by Dead Water, but that gives enough time to activate the jammer, which turns the creature back to human form. Sergeant Toye kills him and they later deduce that he was one of the research scientists working here. Since it appears Strange Water causes the transformation, Authur and Mera go out searching the area with scuba tanks filled with ocean water. As it turns out, the guy who was Dead Water had no exposure to Strange Water, which means something else is changing them.
AQUAMAN #21 by Dan Abnett and Scot Eaton. Aquaman and Mera head towards The Gate while Elder Leot argues about who should be running Atlantis with Arthur missing.
Meanwhile, Mortimer gets the brilliant idea to make use of the Nuke to solve the problem. Aquaman deduces that people change into Dead Water when they let their fear overtake them. Unfortunately, Ajar is scared to death and turns into a creature…right next to Mortimer.
BATGIRL #10 by Hope Larson and Chris Wildgoose. Batgirl and Penguin are playing ping pong before she heads over to the Iceberg Lounge to survey the crime scene with Commissioner Gordon. Then, realizing she is late for a date with Ethan, she heads over only to have his intern dump her for him. Later she texts Dick, only to find out that Ethan has posted pictures of her playing ping pong with his father on the Internet. The next morning, Barbara, Alysia and Frankie go to brunch, only to have a car smash into the restaurant they are in. It’s due to an automatic driver malfunction caused by Ethan Cobblepot. In the end, Ethan shows up to meet with the Penguin and declares a takeover…as Blacksun.
BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #9 by Julie Benson, Shawna Benson and Roge Antonio. Blackbird is using Roulette to help her find meta humans to exploit, specifically at the Fight Club that Black canary is operating undercover at. Blackbird steals Gemini’s powers and then the same happens to Owen and, it appears, Black canary. Meanwhile, Batgirl and Huntress meet up with Green Arrow, who is getting the scoop from a scared Gemini. One call to Nightwing and it looks like it’s Team Batgirl to the rescue.
BATMAN #20 by Tom King and David Finch. While continuing to get beat down by Bane, Batman recalls almost every major event since the start of REBIRTH. Just when it appears all it lost, Batman delivers a head butt to Bane’s nose and that’s that.
BATMAN #21 by Tom King and Jason Fabok. Part One of THE BUTTON. Starting out in Arkham Asylum, we find the inmates, specifically Saturn Girl, watching the Gotham Blades hockey game. She recognizes what is going on and starts yelling that a player is going to get killed. Meanwhile, Batman is looking at The bloodied Comedian’s button when the Psycho Pirate's Mask causes FLASHPOINT’s Thomas Wayne Batman to momentarily appear. Batman calls to The Flash and asks for help and Flash says he will be there in a minute. Just then, Eobard Thawne arrives and beats Batman bloody, destroying the infamous Thomas Wayne letter from FLASHPOINT in the process. Thawne picks up the button and is sucked into a broken monitor, only to come out, partially decomposed, claiming to have seen God. That’s when Barry arrives to see the carnage, which leads into THE FLASH #21.
BATMAN BEYOND #7 by Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang. While Bruce recalls the olden days, Matt informs him that the Bat Signal is on and Terry is too busy with Dana to pay attention to it. Finally, Matt gets a message to Dana and that’s when Terry realizes he’s messed up. As Batman, he shows up and takes on the League of Assassin ninjas, even as Bruce begs him to return with the prototype Bat suit. In the end, it appears that Ra's Al Ghul is still alive and running the League.
BATWOMAN #2 by Marguerite Bennett, James Tynion Iv and Steve Epting. We begin with a moment from the Lost Year where Kate and Safiyah share a quiet moment and Safiyah tells her about the bar called the Desert Rose. Rafael arrives and says it’s time to meet with the crime lords of Coryana. Moving to present day, Kate brings Rafael’s body to The Desert Rose and informs Julia that she is going dark. She gets attacked by Tahani: the assassin who killed Rafael, now calling herself Knife. A signal fire gets lit and many of the local crime lords come to Kate’s rescue. It seems that the Kali Corporation started buying up land and Safiyah left Coryana. In the end, it seems that Kali Corporation is run by the two siblings and Knife is working for them.
BLUE BEETLE #8 by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Scott Kolins. Teri and Ted check out Jaime and it looks like he is cured, now that the scarab has been removed from him. As he and his mom head home, he runs into his friend Kevin Kho, who is terrified because Arion’s insect followers are chasing him. Jaime’s mother becomes a monster like them and that forces Kevin into being turned into OMAC by Brother Eye. Mom flees, OMAC leaves and, with Doctor Fate duking it out with Arion and losing badly, Jaime heads back to Ted and convinces him to let him wear the classic Ted Kord costume.
CYBORG #11 by John Semper Jr., Will Conrad, and Tom Derenick. Cyborg, infected by Anomaly’s virus, finds himself in a battle in an 8-bit digital world called Perilandria, that was created by him and his friend Keiji Otari when they were just kids. It seems that Vic once gave the access codes for S.T.A.R. Labs to Keiji so they could upload the game as a virus. It also turns out that Keiji was a hacker who stole data from the Red Room, sold it on the Dark Web and went to juvenile halll for it. Keiji broke out, by creating Perilandria and becoming H8-Bit. In the end, we learn that Keiji actually died in juvenile hall and that H8-Bit is only a program that he created. After Cyborg defeats H8-Bit’s big bad monster, H8-Bit disappears and Cyborg uses a Boom Tube to head back home.
DEATHSTROKE #16 by Christopher Priest, Larry Hama, Carlo Pagulayan, and Roberto J. Viacava. After her long fall, we discover that Tanya is alive. But that may not last for long as Deadline blasts her in front of Deathstroke/Twilight and threatens to do the same to Wintergreen, who he takes hostage. Meanwhile, Dr. Villain is looking to revive Dr. Ikon and Rose contacts Etienne, who is only going through with the wedding as a ruse, and threatens to kill her. Twilight tracks down Deadline, who loses his right hand in combat, and with the help of Power Girl and her dog Roscoe, takes him into custody.
DEATHSTROKE #17 by Christopher Priest and Joe Bennett. Tanya gets a visit from Beast Boy who freaks out when he sees Deathstroke in the adjacent room. She gets Gar out of the apartment and asks “Evan” if he is there to kill her. He responds by killing Roscoe, which sends her into a fury. Despite their battle, he still manages to escape. Meanwhile, Rose confronts her Minneapolis “family” to find out if they were truly hired by her father. They are not blood relations but are related to Rose's mother as they both worked in a Vietnamese brothel. She calls Wintergreen and finds out that Richard was working for Adeline and not Slade. We also find that Dr. Ikon is alive and Etienne learns that Jericho and Ikon had an affair. In the end, it looks like the wedding may be off because it looks like the bride has been murdered.
DETECTIVE COMICS #954 by James Tynion IV and Marcio Takara. Batman faces Ra's and captures him, but Ra’s explains the secret of the League of Shadows. While Batman believes they are just a myth, Ra’s convinces him they are real and that he made batman forget them. Batman frees Ra’s, who then paralyzes the Dark Knight and lets Shiva and the League into the Batcave. Ra’s turns Batman over the Shiva while Ulysses and Colony break Jacob Kane out of his prison in the Belfry. They prepare to invade the League of Shadows base and Cassandra prepares to take on her mother.
DETECTIVE COMICS #955 byJames Tynion IV and Marcio Takara. Cassandra leaves Christine Montclair, the girl who had nursed her back to health, to battle her way through the League of Shadows. With Kate, Luke, Azrael and Clayface their captives, the League has an atomic bomb ready to destroy Gotham and Shiva is working about setting that plan in motion. Meanwhile, Ulysses shows Jacob his new super-weapon that is designed to kill the League of Shadows. Shiva and Casandra meet for a one-on-one…or so Shiva thinks. That’s when Kate, Luke, Azrael and Clayface arrive…with Batman and Ulysses.
THE FALL AND RISE OF CAPTAIN ATOM #4 by Cary Bates, Greg Weisman and Will Conrad. The “New” Captain Atom does a live television interview and demonstration to prove he’s large and in charge to the world. Then it’s time to investigate the mysterious package and who was in the picture at Nathaniel’s wife’ grave. Then he goes to a maximum-security prison, where Max Thrane was in the process of being executed in the electric chair when the flare created a quantum bubble that stopped time around him. When Captain Atom tries to absorb the quantum bubble to free Thrane, but he actually absorbs Captain Atom's power, turning Thrane into Captain Atom. In the end, it seems Dr. Megala is secretly running tests on Captain Atom's son Genji.
THE FLASH #20 by Joshua Williamson and Neil Googe. Iris is busy investigating a grave-robbing incident that has ties to both the Speed Force Storm and Godspeed. It seems all of Godspeed's victims are missing except for Meena Dhawan. Iris ends up investigating Black Hole and, because she has to, becomes an Agent of Black Hole. The Flash shows up and is taken down by Black Hole. But Iris saves the day. Later, Barry burns dinner for he and Iris and they order pizza. In the end, it seems that Meena, in a snazzy new costume, is working for Black Hole.
THE FLASH #21 by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. Part Two of THE BUTTON. An aged Johnny Thunder is on the top of the Good Life building and calling for Thunderbolt by screaming his legendary magic word to no avail. Orderlies take hold of him and take him back inside, where they promise to raise the dose on his medications. In the Batcave, Barry Allen tries to figure out what happened to Reverse Flash and, because of the Speed Forced Signature he found on Thawne, it looks like Barry could be responsible for Thawne’s death. Barry visits Bruce and tells him the Button is missing and Bruce informs him that Thomas Wayne from Flashpoint had been there. Barry goes to the "Hall of Lost and Found" where he unveils the The Cosmic Treadmill. He and Batman travel through the Speed Force, where they see images from the “missing years”, before the Treadmill crashes. They have landed in the Flashpoint Batcave and come face to face with Thomas Wayne-The Batman.
GOTHAM ACADEMY SECOND SEMESTER #8 by Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Adam Archer and Msassyk. Olive Silverlock is possessed by Amity and in a rage. We learn that Pomeline’s ancestor Aleinor wrote about Olive’s ancestor Amity Arkham in the Book of Gotham. Amity was a witch who was burned and cursed the Copplepots, the Waynes, and others while she died. We also learn that Amity had a baby named Beatrix who, when her mother died, was brought to the Silverlocks by Aleinor. Speaking of the Book of Gotham, Bookworm wants the book from Pomeline and Colton, but Kate arrives and sets them free, allowing Pomeline to knock him out. Pomeline and Colton race back to where Olive has burst into flame in front of Professor MacPherson and Batman. Pom hands her the Book of Gotham, Batman ties her up with a batarang and she, with the promise of taking her revenge on Gotham, she disappears.
GREEN ARROW #20 by Ben Percy, Eleonora Carlini, and Mirka Andolfo. In between flashbacks of Roy’s troubles in the past with his adiction issues, he has teamed up with Ollie and Dinah to take on the Wild Dogs. Roy finally remember that it was the sherrif who killed Big Bow and not himself. In the end, Roy and Ollie patch up their differences and agree to work together.
GREEN ARROW #21 by Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreyra. Amongst Arrow’s memories of his past, Cheshire takes manages to arrange that a jet crashes into the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport terminal. Eddie Fyers is also back in the book, this time infesting the Grand Pacific Hotel with bed bugs. We also continue seeing Green Arrow as he tells us he never got to really know his father. Danny Brickwell destroys the Seattle Capitol Hill building. Mayor Domini is using threats against Councilman Martinez. In the end, Broderick meets with his Four Horseman and declares how he has destroyed Oliver and Green Arrow. And now he will murder Seattle, replacing it with…Star City.
GREEN LANTERNS #20 by Sam Humphries and Eduardo Pansica. Jessica and Simon are fighting to free themselves from the watery tomb they are currently in, but she overcomes her fear and uses her willpower to break them out. They track down Dr. Polaris and discover he has taken his brother from the hospital. Cyborg lends a hand and tracks him down by magnetic disturbances in the area. Simon and Jess find where Seth is and Dr. Polaris arrives, just in time to see Seth flatline.
GREEN LANTERNS #21 by Sam Humphries and Robson Rocha. Seth Emerson is dying and Simon tries to use his ring to save him, but it is too little too late. Doctor Polaris freaks out and flies off, using his powers to pull the Watchtower out of orbit and towards Earth where it will kill everyone in Gateway City. The Lanterns work together and crank their willpower up to maximum, making constructs that put the Watchtower back into space. In the end, Doctor Polaris and his human self have a conversation where they blame the Lanterns for Seth’ death. And Simon and Jessica get called away from Earth by Jon Stewart, where they are being relocated to Mogo.
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #18 by Robert Vendetti and V. Ken Marion. Gorin-Sunn of the Green Lantern Corps and Space Ape of the Sinestro Corps are on patrol when they encounter a temporal anomaly that apparently kills them. On Mogo, the Green Lanterns are restoring their power battery and the Sinestro Corps are building one. Of course, that leads to the two Corps fighting with each other until Guy and Arkillo break it up. Saint Walker is told he is now the sole possessor of the Blue Light, and Ganthet and Sayd send him away. Salaak tries to find the missing Lanterns only to have a temporal anomaly shows up there. But this one contains Rip Hunter, Time Master…who is wearing a Green Lantern ring!
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS CORPS #19 by Robert Vendetti and V. Ken Marion. Rip Hunter, as he recovers from his long trip through time, explains to John Stewart that HE gave Rip the Lantern ring. He also explains that he is hunting someone named Sarko. As it turns out, Gorin-Sunn and Space Ape are still alive and being interrogated by Sarko. He also calls Space Ape by his real name: Prince Lorix. He has come from the future where the Sinestro Corps had become a part of the Green Lantern Corps. Because he hates them so much, Sarko sends his Prism Beasts to attack Mogo and, according to Rip, this is the day that changes the future.
HARLEY QUINN #17 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Paul Dini, John Timms, and Bret Blevins. The vampires are feasting in New York since the Mayor hired them to take care of the homeless problem. Chief Spoonsdale meets with Harley to tell her about the disappearing homeless, which leads to Harley and her team doing night patrol in Prospect Park. The team catches some crooks and Red Tool goes to deliver then to the police, leading to Harley being captured by one of the vamps. Meanwhile, in Toole, Utah, Harley Sinn is ready to fulfill her contract when she realizes her target is Madame Macabre’ husband Mason. So she changes her plan and decides to take him as a hostage instead. In the back-up, it’s the first part of HARLEY LOVES JOKER, it’s a New Year’s Eve caper as Mr. J. tries to take his crown back from the mysterious thief that is hitting all of his favorite spots.
HARLEY QUINN #18 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Paul Dini, John Timms, Joseph Michael Linsner, and Bret Blevins. It’s Gotham 2167 and Dev is prepared to travel back to the present to kill the person who murdered Batman— one and only Harley Quinn. Meanwhile, Harley is bring dragged off to become the main course at the vampire buffet. Only we learn they aren’t vampires-they are cannibals hired by Madison Berkowitz in the Mayor’s office. Red Tool tries to rescue Harley, but that doesn’t go so well, so he calls on Eggy to lend a hand. Harley gets brought to the Butchery and tossed into a room filled with rats and human bones. Madison tells the cannibals they are no longer needed and they tell her they have decided to stay. That’s when Red Tool shows up carrying a really BIG GUN. In the back –up, Joker gives Harley a stolen fur coat, but she leaves her old coat at the crime scene. That means that Batman has arrived at their apartment and is ruining date night.
THE HELLBLAZER #9 by Simon Oliver and Davide Fabbri. Constantine, Mercury, and Misabel are following the magic sneaker so they can get Henry’s journal. Misabel runs off on her own, leaving John and Mercury to head to an antiques shop looking for the book. The book section is filed with old comics including an issue of SWAMP THING that features the first appearance of Constantine. They end up in a museum masquerading as another couple, who shows up while they are there. Seems the proprietor is employed by…Misabel. Meanwhile, a guy named Carver chews out the Houses of Parliament before going off to the Tate Club. The Djinn subdues Mr. Carver and forces him to de-wing an angel and then behead an angel. In the end, Carver gives Djinn access to the abandoned Greenham Common Air Force Base.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #18 by Bryan Hitch and Fernando Pasarin. While Superman and Tempus argue, the rest of the heroes fight their battles throughout time. Batman saves Superman just as we find out that Tempus is really a hologram. Superman destroys the machinery and all of the Timeless throughout history stop fighting and collapse. But wait: Tempus wasn’t the villain after all…Molly is.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #19 by Bryan Hitch and Fernando Pasarin. Batman, Superman and Jane face off against Molly, who plans on wiping out all the superheroes and villains in the world. Over in the Infinity Building, Vincents cuts himself, which allows him to bleed into the Timeless’ systems. The League gets a message from Tempus, warning them about Molly but that gets interrupted by Vincent telling them to destroy Tempus’ machine, which will leave them all stranded in time. They destroy the machine and Molly tries to kill Superman and family, but the League, NOT stranded in time, saves the day. Molly warns them that they may have won the battle but this is only the beginning.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4 by Steve Orlando and Ivan Reis. The team continues to fight against and ultimately defeat The Extremists. Bogna regains the country, although Dreamslayer escapes to try and help people. Back at The Sanctuary, we see the Crusader Shield and the axe that Havok used. In a final flashback, we see Havok killing American Crusader while Blue Jay shrank down into the Microverse.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5 by Steve Orlando and Andy MacDonald. The JLA has decided to open their doors in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island to anyone who wants to see what heroes do. Following a reporter’s question, the League heads to Penn City, where the villain Aegeus is controlling the place. After Lobo gets taken down and shot out of Aegeus headquarter, the Ray arms the team with light constructs.
And so, 23 years ago this month, six friends ventured into the world of self publishing by producing the first issue of THE PODIUM: a monthly publication FOR comic readers BY comic readers. Feeling the need to voice our opinions in a world that was run by WIZARD MAGAZINE, co-workers and comic fans Mike Keane and Mark Lopes discussed doing our own spin on a ‘zine. I believe I suggest the title, but I could be wrong, as the publication was all about getting up on a podium and speaking your mind. Eventually, as the first issue started to take metaphysical shape, fellow co-workers Jay Carreiro and Chris Serpa jumped on board, along with John Turn-a regular at PARK NOSTALGIA where I hung and also worked.
The first issue was a crude four page, 8 ½ x 11, photocopied publication. Only 200 copies were produced and all of them had some combination of signatures on them. I seem to recall that only the creator copies, the original 6, along with the copies that Jesse Metcalf of PARK NOSTALGIA and Ellen Lynch of THE ANNEX, were the only ones to have all six signatures on them. But remember: this was in the heyday of autographed, variants and gimmicks. The first issue featured a lengthy editorial by me, explaining my back-story and the reasons for the ‘zine in the first place on page 1. Page 2 was a full page of news, gathered from various sources. The big stories that month? Valiant was gearing up for Chaos Effect, DC was lining up a full-on DCU/Milestone crossover, preparing for ZERO HOUR, introducing Paradox Press, launching the KNIGHTSEND storyline in the Bat titles and we were all still mourning the passing of Jack “King” Kirby.
Page 3 was a feature on the Malibu Universe with title by title breakdowns. The last page featured twin commentaries from Chris Serpa and myself where we bemoaned the over-indulgence of the continuing cross company crossovers. We finished off with a review of MARVELS and thank you for reading and a begging for submissions. Cover price was a whole quarter and Jesse gave them away, after paying cover price for the stack of books.
In addition, at a quarter an issue, I still lost money. Nevertheless, my wife supported my desire to publish and we managed to make it work into our household budget.
Actual production was done the only way I knew: the hard way. I would type an article to a certain column width and then calculate how many spaces needed to be added to each column to make it format properly. We weren’t using software-it was old fashioned calculate, cut and paste. And it was time consuming. But I had been doing it for the Bay Colony Historical Modelers publication BAY VIEWS and for my local Sears’ BEAR FACTS publication.
The first issue wasn’t totally without controversy as one comic fan actually complained that us charging $.25 for 4 pages when WIZARD was only $3.95 was ludicrous. That person also complained about us thinking we were bigger than we were by signing and numbering the issue. Again-it was a gimmick, folks!
Issue #2 was a bigger success as it featured the cover art of the very talented Todd Jordan, who quickly found himself working his way into the group. It was a six pager now and still only a quarter, which meant it became a bigger loss. By issue #3, we were complaining that Marvel was issuing their X-books in two formats: $1.50 for “standard and $1.95 for “premium”, glossy stock versions. Unfortunately, the standard editions were shipping two weeks after the Premium versions. Therefore, if you wanted to stay up to date, you were shelling out that extra coin. Of course, we all with we could go back to the days of $1.50 comics.
With the launch of issue #6, our Halloween issue, we had upped the count to 8 pages, switched to a three column format and shrunk the text size, meaning readers were getting the equivalent of 12 pages now. It also featured colored variant copies with front and back covers by Todd Jordan, who now found his name on the masthead. K. G. Palmer came on as a semi-regular contributor and he approached comics like Hunter S. Thompson, his admitted literary hero, approached politics. It also featured a price increase to $.35 an issue.
We continued to create controversy and draw in readers, leading to many discussions in the comic shops who distributed us, including Comics Route in Manchester, Vermont, Comikazi in Dartmouth, Fantasy Comics and Collector’s Heaven in Swansea. Month after month and the money kept rolling out as the added price and page count didn’t do much to stop the black ink bleeding.
Issue #8 was our first ever Christmas issue and featured a double page cover with caricatures
of the seven of us. We also got press coverage in the form of an article in THE SPECTATOR by my old friend Debra Ryan, with Mike, Todd and I getting interviewed and photographed. Issue #9 was our first A/B issue where you could choose one of two different TICK inspired covers. Issue #10 featured the first cover from the super talented Joe Branco, which further cemented the book being attractive to readers before they even opened it. We also added to our contributors’ list with people like Nathan Machado, Dean Peterson, Steve Rego and others throwing their hat into the ring.
Issue #12 was a gamble and an expensive one., as it jumped to $1.25 and included Todd’s 12-page mini-comic, UNKLE S.A.M.M. It was also out first issue to be branded 18+. To say this caused controversy would be a gross understatement. Some of our loyal retailers refused to carry it and we were forced to bag all copies. At the same time, I had gotten to meet Steve Souza: the editor and publisher of the great local book TAPESTRY. We discussed going to the gathering of the Independents in Manchester Vermont in July. With issue #13, featuring a wonderful Death cover by Mark Allen, the price jumped again to $.40.
Issue #15 featured a scathing editorial by and a resulted in a parting with Todd Jordan. Todd went off on just about the entire staff and blasted me specifically, constantly referring to me as GOD. Seems GOD, being the editor, publisher, and the guy putting his money into it (with the exception of the UNKLE S.A.M.M. book, which we SPLIT THE COST OF), Todd had a problem with me making those decisions of what went into an issue. His biggest beef, except for having my first computer and being able to bring this thing to a more professional level, was about not hyping a potential interview with LADY DEATH’ Brian Pulido and Steven Hughes. But, since that interview hadn’t even been conducted, I wasn’t about to discuss it in print. So, I put in some filler piece regarding NEW MAGIC cards, because that was a hot thing. Just not important to Todd who bashed me for one very long page. I had thought about not running it but realized that would be a disservice to the readers. His other big gripe was the coverage of the S.O.I. tour that “no one cared about”. So I took my beating, as did the rest of the staff. In the end, a cordial “thanks for the contributions” and “good luck on future endeavors” was my final response, which I’m sure pissed him off that much more. I returned his artwork to the comic shop, especially those pieces that I believe were direct swipes from other art, but I can never prove it.
And thus ended the era of Jordan.
Issue #16 jumped to 16 pages with no price increase as it covered the Alternative Comics Expo in Vermont-you know: that thing no one cared about. My wonderful wife Joan, Mike Keane, his brother Matt, and I, made the trek and rubbed elbows with some of the best in Independent comics, highlighted by getting to hang with Dave Sim and Gerhard. But we also got to meet other creators, including some I still keep in touch with, including Mark Bode, Mark Oakley, Dave Zapanta, Jimmy Gownley, Steve Bissette, Dave Lapham and more. To say it changed my life would be an understatement. Hanging out in a circle with some of the coolest creators, smoking Mother Nature together, and watching a jam sketch get produced was mind blowing.
With issue #17, the interviews began. Yeah: I knew we needed to up our game and knew that it would take that thing called the INTERNET to get there. I contacted D.G. Chichester, who was best known for his work on DAREDEVIL and the ELEKTRA mini-series. It was a long phone interview that Mike Keane and I conducted, which meant one expensive long distance phone call to New York. This would become one of the first of the cost increases to us as the Internet back then was so much a month for so many minutes-kind of like data streaming on cell phones today. My Internet bills, as I tried to contact creators, set up interviews and search the news group for news, just kept piling up, sometimes as much as $100 a month.
For me, the highlights of this time period are multi-faceted. While we were still covering the industry, giving out news and reviews, we were knee deep in creator interviews. Next up was STRANGERS IN PARADISE’ Terry Moore, complete with a Moor cover With issue #19, we added STAPLES to the book and continued to load up with interviews including Scott Berwanger of Anubis, BC Boyer of Hilly Rose, legendary writer John Ostrander, Michael Cohen of Stranger Attractors and, my favorite(and most expensive), the late Barry Blair. Baoh gave us an original piece of art for our cover (yes-I still have a greatly treasure it) and was a friend until his untimely death in January of 2010. In addition, yes: I still miss his wit and wisdom and his overall aura. There have been days in the bast few years that I hit an emotional wall and wish he were within reach just to cheer me up.
Pretty heavy emotions for someone I only had the pleasure to physically meet once.
And that leads to a story about how Steve Souza convinced me to put on a show.
After Sim’s Spirit of Independence tour and Steve and Andre Salles from TAPESTRY has survive the Vermont show, Steve reached out to me and convinced me that we could do the same thing here. It would be a fund raiser for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and we could get all these Indy creators to send us table money, set up at the show, meet the fans and we’d all have a real good time. Heck: we could even get the various companies and creators to send us stuff to auction off. Crazy idea, but it might work. And that’s when we went into high gear-sending emails, writing letters, inviting creators to come to beautiful Westport, Massachusetts and sell their stuff. Months and months of time and energy, phone calls, Internet hype and more went into this project, which was to be held on May 18th, 1996 at a banquet facility called White’s of Westport. Admission was set for $3.00 for adults, free for children under 12. Initially, it was going to be called M.A.L.E. for the Massachusetts Alternative Literary Exposition, but one of the creators, it may have been Barry Windsor Smith, suggested it would be sexist that way. So it quickly became the (First Ever) Massachusetts Alternative Literary Exposition or (F.E.)M.A.L.E.
The first hint of something involving the CBLDF was in the November 1995 issue of THE PODIUM with the actual event being first hyped in December. The first guest list appeared in February, listing Dave Sim, Michael Cohen, Mitch Waxman, David Mack and Brain Michael Bendis as confirmed guests. As the months went by, the list grew: Barry Blair, Richard Pini, Joe Zabel Gary McClusky, Jimmy Gownley, Greg Hyland, Mike Wolfer, and many more. There were relative newcomers like Joe Chiappetta, Jessica Abel, Glenn Chadbourne, and Carla ‘Speed’ McNeil, in her first ever show. We were receiving all kinds of items for the auction including original scripts, original artwork, signed posters, rare comics and more. We even had Barry Windsor Smith say he was going to attend, just so he could be with Dave Sim. This was bound to be the best show ever!
And then the bombs started dropping.
Barry Windsor Smith contacted me a week before the show to inform me that the time table for being driven from New York to Westport didn’t work and he would arrive an hour after the show ended (the show was scheduled for 8-2:30 with an auction following). Then the crew from Visual Assault Comics bailed, but sent us some auction material. Dan Chichester realized his schedule didn’t work so he was out and so was Karl Waller. Less than a week before the show, Brian Michael Bendis called to say that he had to go to Los Angeles for a possible movie deal and he wouldn’t make it. And that meant David Mack was out too. And then we lost Chapter 3 Studios, Joe Zabel, Louis Small Jr., Steve Blevins, Ron Garney, Doug Baron, and Dave McGill. The last to fall was Mike Wolfer.
But we had a fair attendance the day of the show, after a pre-show dinner the night before that many of the creators attended on their own dime (except for the crew from ANGRY YOUTH COMICS who chewed and screwed. And they eventually got a publishing gig through Fantagraphics).Me-I got to have a beer with Dave Sim on his 40th birthday and talk about his divorce. If you’re a comic guy, that’s the kind of inside information you always wanted to hear about. But the show was fairly well attended, with Dave Sim being the biggest draw and his sketching raised a bountiful amount of money for the cause.
After the show, the auction was held and that was a lot of fun is not funny. The highlight of the auction was an original SHAZAM illustration done specifically for the show by Jerry Ordway that sold for over $100, with original ELFQUEST pages going next at $75 each. The moment that made the entire room, and me roll with laughter was when I held up a PLATINUM EDITION copy of SUPERMAN #75 which, at the time, had been valued at $400.
It was bought by one of the bus boys at White’s for an opening bid of $10.00.
In all, over 50 items were auctioned off and, when the final tally for the weekend was over, $1200 was raised at the auction with another $400 raised by Dave Sim’s sketches. Despite the fact that Steve, Joe Branco, and Dave Smith, along with Bobby Oliveira, who was helping with the P.R. end prior to the gig, wanted another show to come off, it never did (although DC sent some nice “swag” which ended up in my collection in case we ever do decide to do this again). I was done: this one had just taken too much out of me emotionally and financially.
So, it was back to THE PODIUM and continuing to find my place with it. What WAS cool, even though it WAS costly, was having so many professionals on my mailing list, including Barry Blair, Terry Moore and Dave Sim. With Joe Branco banging out most of the covers, with some exceptions featuring Glenn Chadbourne, Jerry Ordway, Rob Walton, Jimmy Gownley, Mario Miranda, Craig Shepard and Mitch Waxman, we plodded along, moving to $.55 in July of 1996 and then to $.60 two months later. But it was the last price increase, as it held the line at $.60 until the final printed issue in December of 1999. We also began publishing fiction, mostly by Nate Machado, and serialized comic strips from the likes of Dave Smith and Eric Lebow. We also started taking in advertising, just to try to staunch the flow of monetary blood I was pouring out.
Featured interviews included Rob Walton, Jerry Ordway, Mario Miranda, Paul Pope, James D. Hudnall, Len Mihalovich, Donna Barr, Jimmy Gownley, Dave Gibbons, Carla McNeil, Gary McCluskey, Terry West, Oscar Stern, Joe Chiappetta, Bryan Talbot, and Aaron Lopresti.
With the Internet and computer graphics and all, the publication took on a classier look and got away from the "rag" I had always thought it to be. I could design covers using PhotoShop and scan in panels from comics that were being reviewed. By this time, it was a lot of news, both regarding comics and films and a lot of reviews and I was pretty much handling all of it. The core members had gotten real jobs and that meant most of our communication was with occasional phone calls or emails. The last monthly issue was issue #60, in April of 1999. I had published for five years straight and NEVER missed a deadline, which, for me, was always the first new comics day of the month (it used to be Fridays and then, I believe sometime after the Diamond takeover of Capitol City), Wednesdays.
NEVER MISSED ONE OF MY SELF-IMPOSED DEADLINES.
In December, I put out an all-review issue called the Y4C SPECIAL (for Year For Comics). It was a take on the Y2K crisis and I even left it open that, if Y2K happened, it’s been a nice ride. My editorial tagline was always “Keep reading, keep dreaming” and this one was no exception, with one addition: “Keep reading, keep dreaming and support your local comic shop”.
Well things have changed a lot in 17 and a half years since that last issue ended. Digital was touted as the wave of the future, the Internet is a much more crowded place, and creators are easier to find. Comic shows happen somewhere in the world every single weekend in a year. Geeks and nerds are proud of their culture now and not shunned as weirdos (mostly). Superhero movies are big bucks and so are television shows. I could never have DREAMED that this many muscle-bound heroes would be all over the big and small screen and that Cosplaying would be a huge thing. Finding out comic news back then involved news groups and rumors, some leaked news from publishers and GOD BLESS HARRY KNOWLES!!! Now, news sites like NEWSARAMA and BLEEDING COOL update daily…sometimes hourly!
THE PODIUM came back to life a few years ago and is a BLOG. I mostly stick to reviewing the DCU line and what I find as interesting first issues when I gather enough of them. I don’t have a real deadline, but I still shoot for getting the blogs up by the middle of a given month. Every now and then I review a movie or some cult movies or just write free form…because I can. I don’t have a lot of readers and kind of miss the days of sending out the printed copies, as much as a pain and expense as it was, and especially getting feedback and kudos from the creative community.
And what happened to the plank owners and some of those folks from the earliest of days? Mike Keane is happily married with three children and a principal for an architectural firm. We usually bump into each other, literally, at the Rhode Island Comic Con every year. Mark Lopes is still a close friend, and we see each other and speak often. Joe Branco is happily married and we occasionally speak online. Same is true with John Turn. Wayne Quackenbush continues to run THE ANNEX, which he purchased in 1998 from Ellen Lynch, whom I believe works in the medical field. Jesse Metcalf, who owned PARK NOSTALGIA, so the business to STILLPOINT COMICS and moved to Arizona in 1997. Brian Troia who worked with me at the shop is dead. Russ Dougherty, who often helped me clean up graphics, is an award winning videographer. Rob Walton has just relaunched RAGMOP again and I’m thrilled! Eric Anctil and I see each other once a month or so, usually on the nights of Indy Wrestling shows or WWE PPV’s. Barry Blair has passed away. Carla McNeil still makes great comics as do many of the afore mentioned creators.
I have not spoken to Chris Serpa or Jay Carreiro in many, many years and hope they are living fruitful lives. I haven’t spoken to Todd Jordan since before the “rant letter” over 20 years ago. I hope he has truly found peace.
Me-I do what I do while I can now that I am happily retired. With my wonderful wife still by my side, two kids, two guinea pigs, two soon to be THREE dogs, home construction and all, I live each day the best I can with my illness. I am also blessed to be a member of Altered Reality Entertainment, where I act as the Lead Photographer. They are the folks responsible for the Rhode Island Comic Con, TerrorCon, South Coast Toy Show, ComiConn, Colorado Springs Comic Con and, I’m sure, more to come. It has given me the chance to hit the road with my Art Director Joe Goulart (WE ARE JOE SQUARED!!!) and the crew and have a blast while working my butt off. I have been so lucky to meet comic greats, celebs, and musicians and develop another family in my life.
Gotta go now: time to work on this month’s DC Blog. Don’t want to totally hose my deadline!
