Crisis Tapes 18 Talkback: Interlude the First
Adam_Murdough
Posts: 506
We pause now in our ongoing analysis of the Crisis on Infinite Earths maxiseries for a brief intermission following 'Act I' (issues #1-4), during which a variety of Crisis-related short subjects will be presented. From forgotten tie-ins to recent references to vintage fan-press articles to collections and merchandising, Peter and Adam mete out a melange of multiversal morsels to tide you over until the antimatter curtain rises on Crisis #5. Que l'entr'acte commence! (2:59:41)
Listen here.
Listen here.
Comments
Yes!!
Since my name was mentioned three times in the episode I now appear with some comments...as well as some original art. 8-)
I too love Zero Hour. With it's mostly blank cover, issue #0 could be considered the first sketch cover comic:
Did I miss mention of the upcoming Zero Hour Omnibus? That looks quite complete and very interesting.
I'm not sure what hypertime image Murd was trying to identify from Flash #50. He mentions it shows Wally sitting in a wheelchair grieving for his lost abilities and the cover saying "You are about to witness the most tragic day in the life of Wally West." He then says "If Pants were here he could probably tell us exactly which issue this is from." If I saw the image in question I might, but here are some clarifications:
The Wally in a wheelchair comes from Flash #131:
The "tragic day" cover is from Flash #76:
Excellent detective work Peter on finding that "lost" pre-crisis Monitor appearance in World's Finest Comics #314!
The Retroactive issue that was "very intimately tied to Crisis" is DC Retroactive: Superman - The 80's.
The new story in the issue was written by Marv Wolfman and should certainly be talked about in the future.
I skimmed the Superman Special #3 and the only mention of Crisis I saw was the solicitation in the DC Check List for Crisis #1.
It was fascinating to hear about the Wolfman interviews from the time of Crisis where he spoiled some of the major points of the story before they were even published!
A wonderful episode gentlemen and I'm very much looking forward to Interlude the Second in early 2029.
The mention of the forgotten Monitor reference in World's Finest 314 sent me to my old copy of The Official Crisis on Infinite Earths Cross-Over Index from ICG (Independent Comics Group) published in 1986.
This World's Finest issue is not listed on the page for the Monitor's pre-Crisis appearances so within a few months of the Crisis ending these Monitor panels had been forgotten about, quite a find by Peter.
Vigilante 14 is mentioned but it explicitly states that 'The Monitor is not seen in this issue'. It names him as the supplier of Mr. Hammer's shadow suit.
But it is on the list of pre-Crisis appearances for the Monitor in the first detailed analysis of the event which was released in collaboration with DC having a July 1986 date.
This was edited by Murray R. Ward and one of the writers was Mark Waid.
I can provide scans if anyone is interested.
I expect this 2 issue series by ICG has been mentioned before and the Cross-Over Index is very detailed with a cast list and flow chart of Crisis continuity within DC's publishing range for the duration of the 12-issue maxiseries.
I live in the UK and read Crisis 12 as my first exposure to the event outside of the DC titles I was reading at the time (Swamp Thing, Titans and Legion). I loved that issue and it is a rare comics event that finishes with such a great ending.
We didn't mention the upcoming 25th Anniversary Zero Hour Omnibus because I don't think I saw the solicit prior to recording. Hope the text pieces in it make their way online - I can't bring myself to buy Omnibi. Too bulky.
Looking it up right now, I realize that the hypertime image of Wally in a wheelchair was from an Elseworlds, but not the 3 issue Flashpoint mini-series. It was from when DC did the Elseworlds Annuals:
I'll have to check to see if I have that Retro issue. That obviously is mandatory reading!!
I have those Indexes and can't believe I didn't check for the WFComics issue in them in all of my research. Thanks for the reminder. It's part of the reason why I like these interlude episodes - gives a chance to dig back into '80s DC and look for all sorts of references/clues/etc.
Where I can't go along with the Index (or any annotation online) is the Vigilante issue. Since there isn't a Monitor appearance or reference actually in the issue, I definitely feel it's outdated info. I have that Vigilante run - and checking the letter columns after #14, I still can't find a reference to the Monitor. It's definitely not on the page anywhere that I've seen.
I have a cheap hardback of Crisis which was released in the UK by EagleMoss publications as part of a series of DC hard covers and its back cover blurb says Crisis "dramatically altered comic books' original universe" and states that Crisis was published between April 1985 and May 1986 so they used cover dates rather than actual release dates as it was appearing in UK newsagents at the start of 1985 when a lot of regular DC titles were easily available.
Good to know! Thanks for that info!
In reference to Vigilante #14 being on lists of Monitor Pre-Crisis appearances, I saw the following in the Compendium in the Absolute Crisis set:
I haven’t read the issue as many times as @Peter and @Adam_Murdough have - is this description accurate?
Regarding Vigilante #14, as I haven't read that in a gazillion years - did Hammer's shadow-suit first show up in that issue? Does he make any subsequent appearances in the title? (Say, #15?)
I would love to know how this, and the "lose" of the World's Finest #314 info happens.