Joanna

Cool! Then I might just have to mosey back over. They are that, it's true. Wonder Woman became a Dear Abby type, with a column for the lovelorn. Can you imagine if they had done that to Superman or Batman? They wouldn't, period. Wonder Woman is the premiere female superhero, and yet she's suffered many indignities in her long career. Not that they aren't without their charm. I love the wildly silly Wonder Family stories because they were goofy, charming, and so obviously written for children. It's just that Sensation had a great line-up of characters like Mr. Terrific and Wildcat, along with solid, interesting WW stories. When they changed the format, it was a second-to-last ditch effort to save the title (understandable, but a mistake). After the romances came the non-WW issues and cancellation. Extremely difficult. But then, I battled both finding books and being able to afford them, so many were difficult for me. I remember being ecstatic when I found a Sensation 11 for $20 (it was in terrible condition -- brittle pages and everything). For me, that was a huge find because it meant I could afford a really early Sensation. Since you're new, you probably never saw my Golden Age Reviews. Although the picture links are all dead on them by now. If I get sufficiently motivated, I could repost one with new links. Basically, I give a complete recap of the story, with many scanned panels. It's the next best thing to owning the books! -- Joanna

I saw the 10c silver thread mentioned in Comics General and wandered over. When you guys started discussing this thread there, I decided to join in. I would've posted in the silver thread, but it seemed to be more about high grade books, and I was strictly a low to mid-grade kinda gal. Because this thread was new, I figured you wouldn't mind some of my not-so-high grades. If you don't mind beaters in the silver thread, I've got plenty more DCs I could post. As for the Sensation romances, I deemed them 'horrifying' only because they made a character whose original purpose was the empowerment of women (with a big emphasis on independance, strength of character, etc.) into yet another "women are defined only by whether or not a man wants them" kind of book. To me, that was a sad development. It's not that I have anything against romances. I love a good romance, and got a big kick out of the romance comics I owned. I just don't want Wonder Woman to be solely focused on that. She's more important historically and symbollicly than what can be found in so narrow a definition. -- Joanna

Panic #12

Speaking of romance, Falling In Love #6

A beat-up, Sensation Comics #94 from the horrifying romance period.

Sensation Comics #90

Issue 12, Part 4D: I'm OK Corral, You're OK Corral The Brick (Crisco) invulnerable Flame War (Fantastic Four) Flame power Where'd He Go (WHG) (Clobberintime) invisibility Kid Twister (Drummy) Stretching Power Issue 12, I'm OK Corral, You're OK Corral The Earp brothers and the very drunk Doc Holliday and the Marvelous Four head toward the OK Corral. WHG keeps phasing in and out, unable to stay visible or invisible for long in his inebriated state. The Brick walks slowly, fearing falling down. When he falls, he's like a turtle on its back, unable to get up, and he doesn't want to miss the shootout. Flame War hums softly to himself, nodding occasionally at hitching posts that he mistakes for school marms. Kid Twister and Doc Holliday, though both soused, fare much better than the time traveling heroes. Their usual cowboy swaggers are close enough to drunken lurching that no one can tell the difference. Just before a bend in the road, the Earps stop. "Morgan, you go to the left. Wyatt, you take the right," says Virgil Earp. "Doc, you're with me," says Wyatt. "No, I get Doc!" says Morgan. "You get Kid Twister and the out-of-towners," says Wyatt. "We're the Marvelous Four," says Flame War. "I'll take Kid, but I ain't goin' nowhere near them other guys." "Now, Morgan," says Virgil placatingly, "they ain't so bad. I hear the big yella one can't be killed. You could use him as cover." "That true, Yella Fella?" asks Morgan. "S'long as I don' fall down, I'm good to go," says Brick. He falls down. "I'm shot!" he says, flailing his legs and arms. "Yer drunk," says Kid Twister, helping him to his feet. "Don't worry, Morgan, we'll keep him upright. Right, gang?" Brick falls back down. This time, the Kid struggles to right him but doesn't succeed. "Sompin' ain't right. You put on weight since last I hefted ya up?" "Maybe it's my pistol," says Brick, putting down the small twig he had been using as a gun. "Do I get a pistol?" asks Flame War. "I seem to have lost mine." "You never had any," says WHG, turning visible. He's sitting on Brick's chest. "You can have mine," says Brick, handing him the twig. Flame War smiles. "Maybe we oughta rethink this whole thing," says Virgil. "Wyatt, Morgan, Doc – we can handle them Clantons alone, doncha think?" "Yup," says Morgan. "No doubt," says Wyatt. "Absolutely," says Doc. "You betcha," says WHG, falling off Brick. He turns invisible again and belches. With a nod, Virgil motions the sober members of the crew toward the OK Corral. "Aw, horse butts, look what ya done did now! They's left us. We ain't gonna git to do no shootin' or nothin'!" says Kid Twister. "You can shoot me," volunteers Brick, still prone on the ground. "I'm not gonna be left behind. Especially now that I have a gun!" says Flame War, waving his twig menacingly. He lurches off after the Earp brothers. Something belches right behind Flame War. "Wait for me," says Kid Twister, following. "C'mon, guys, help me up." There's no answer. Brick cranes to see where everyone went. He's alone. A tumbleweed rolls past him. "Huh, I always thought that was a Hollywood cliché, but apparently, they really do roll by when there's a shootout." He flails again, but it's no good. "Hello? Anyone? School marm? Crooked Gambler? Town floozy? Oh c'mon, you've got tumbleweeds and Wyatt Earp but no town floozy? No way!" Just then a hardened cowboy walks up. "Who are you calling a floozy? I'm loose, but I ain't no floozy." "Who are you?" "Ike Clanton." "Clanton? From the OK Corral? Aren't you supposed to be in a gunfight, oh, about..." Suddenly, gunfire crackles from around the bend. "...Now?" "Damn! Look, you wanna earn a gold piece, stranger?" "Sure!" "Come with me. I could use some extra guns against those damn Earps." "But I—" Before he can finish, Ike Clanton pulls Brick to his feet and leads him toward the OK Corral. Meanwhile... "Virgil and Morgan have been wounded," says Kid Twister. "It's up to us to save the day!" "What are my powers again?" asks Flame War. He throws a small pebble at one of the Clantons. "Ha! Got him. He's dead." Having just been made aware of his presence, the Clanton shoots toward Flame War, "Duck!" says Twister. "I have the powers of a duck? That seems pretty useless." "No, you danged fool, git down! They're shooting at you!" Flame War screams and dives behind a tumbleweed. "Quack! Quack! ...How do I activate my duck powers?" Suddenly, Kid Twister cries out. He's been shot in his gun arm. He winces in pain, dropping his revolver. "I'm a goner," he says. "I'm a duck." Meanwhile... "Virgil and Morgan have been wounded," says Wyatt. "It's up to us, Doc." "I just killed another Clanton. That makes three. Have you seen Ike?" "No, and that's really bugging me. I thought Ike would've been in the heart of the fight." "...erp..." "Call me Wyatt, Doc." "I didn't say anything." "...erp..." "What? What do you want?" "Nothing, Wyatt." "...erp..." "I'm right here! Just say it, Doc!" "...erp... Sheesh, I always belch in fours. Never fails," says an invisible WHG. "It's one of the freaks," says Doc, ducking a bullet. "Hey look! It's Brick!" says WHG. "And he's got a new friend!" Wyatt turns to see Brick being pushed ahead of Ike Clanton. "It's Ike!" Doc and Wyatt empty both of their pistols, but Brick proves to be incredibly effective cover. "Dang, he really is good at that," says Wyatt. WHG materializes. "Yoo hoo! Brick! We're over here!" "Hey, WHG! Meet Ike Clanton. Ike, this is WHG, Doc Holliday, and that's Wyatt Earp." Ike shoots at Wyatt, but misses. "Wyatt, Doc, WHG, this is Ike Clanton." Ike shoots at Doc, but his bullet is deflected by Brick's waving arm. "You clumsy fool! You made me miss." "That's not nice," says Brick. "WHG, let's go get the others and get out of here. No one is nice to us. I need a drink." Suddenly, a large, swirly, whooshy, milky, round portal with a nipple shows up. "It's a giant school marm!" says Brick. "Cool!" Just then, Flame War and Kid Twister join the group. "We got bored and heard someone yelling about a marm." They see the portal. "Holy monster marm!" says Flame War. WHG spins the nipple the dial. "Let's go!" "Nice to meet you," says Flame War, shaking hands with Wyatt Earp. "I'm duck." Twister shoves Flame War into the portal, wincing at the pain in his arm. "Where's my gold piece?" Brick asks Ike Clanton. Twister grabs him and shoves him in the portal. "Another time, Brick. Seeya Wyatt, Doc. Have a nice shootout!" As soon as Twister jumps in, the portal disappears. To be continued...

While you're waiting, here's the storyline I'll be working on. Scroll down until you find it.

Funny thing. A few days ago, I started reading the thread from the beginning. I wanted to get a sense of the whole story. In the middle of this, my power went out yet again (we've had huge, monster storms in L.A.) and I decided it was no longer safe to have my computer on during the storms. So for several days, I kept it off, logging in only once a day for a quick check on the online classes I teach. All told, my electricity went out over half a dozen times, so it was a good decision. Today is the first storm-free day we've had in quite awhile. And I just turned in the project I was working on, so I have nothing pressing to do. Perhaps another chapter would be just the thing tonight. -- Joanna

I finished my manuscript three weeks early, so here's a little treat for all of your patience: Where we left off: The best thing to do would be to find Part 3C, because it's been a very long time since it was posted and who the heck can remember what's going on? But if you're too lazy, here's what's happening: Sgt. Rocky and The Hero Squadron confronted a bunch of German soldiers. They took the Germans prisoner, then the Germans took them prisoner, then they escaped, and then the Germans followed them, due to the talents of their telepathic leader, Schomburg. Things got even more confusing when the shape shifter, Ape, took on the guise of Hitler, to try to commandeer the prisoners. It looked liked it was going to work, too. Until this: Schomburg is about to leave when Hoffman taps him on his shoulder. "If you read Herr Hitler's mind, you would find out if this is a trick or not." "I vould never read ze mind of ze Führer!" "You aren't at all curious? I mean, this is the main man, ve're talking about here. You could learn all sorts of juicy things." "Vell, maybe just a peek." Oberleutnant Schomburg focuses on Ape, his powerful telepathic mind zeroing in on his target. And now, let's continue with the story... Issue 12, Part 4C: Our Fighting Forces Appearing in this issue: Sgt. Rocky (Awe4one) Super strength Damp Dude (Elvis) Aqua powers Magic Tape (Scottish) stickiness Go Go (Speedjunkies) Superspeed Zilla (Zillatoy) Ninja dinosaur Ape (CD4ever) Shape shifter Chrome Dome (Chromium) power over metal Unterfeldwebel Hoffman (Alex H) Oberleutnant Schomburg (Ultimate Venom) telepath Issue 12, Part 4C: Our Fighting Forces Oberleutnant Schomburg's eyes focus intently on Ape. The Hero Squadron shuffles nervously in place, readying themselves for a battle. "I am getting zomezing..." says Oberleutnant Schomburg. "It is a bit muddled und freaky, but I am zenzing..." "What? What are you sensing?" asks Chrome Dome, into the drama of the moment. "I zee... trees of green." The German officer concentrates harder. "Red roses, too. I zee zem bloom for me..." He turns to Unterfeldwebel Hoffman. "...Und for you!" "You und your damn gardening!" says Unterfeldwebel Hoffman. "Focus, man!" "Zere is no need to get schnippy," says Schomburg. "I vas just thinking to myself vhat a vonderful vorld zis vas for capturing spies!" He grabs Ape by the collar. "Zis is not Hitler! Zis is a damn, dirty ape!" "You are just full of pop culture references today, aren't ya, big guy?" notes Damp Dude. "He does that a lot," says Hoffman, rolling his eyes. "Drives us nuts." Zilla rises from where he had been resting. "Okay, Krauts. If you want to hurt Ape, you're going to have to go through me, first." "Krauts? Is it really necessary to throw in bigoted slurs? We didn't call any of you names." "You called me dirty," says Ape. "Yeah, but you are dirty," says Go Go. "Really. Bath time, dude." The others nod agreement. "I'm in a war!" says Ape, trying to defend his poor hygiene. "I tire of this," says Schomburg. "Let's just kill zem and get it over with." "Hold on just a cotton-picking minute there, jerry," says Sgt. Rocky. "You are supposed to be taking us to Hitler, remember? There'll be no killing. This is not about killing." "In der Fatherland, war tends to have killing," says Hoffman. "We have that in the States, too!" says Tape. Sgt. Rocky glares at Tape, and then concentrates on Schomburg. He inches closer, trying to insinuate himself between the German and Ape. "Okay, okay, I'll admit that some wars have a little killing in them. But it's not a requirement!" Hoffman looks skeptical. "I don't know about zat. Schmidt! Get ze dictionary! I'm going to use the dictionary definition defense! It never fails." One of the soldiers turns and runs back to the former German position by the trees. "Damn it," whispers Damp Dude. "We're sunk. "Not quite," says Sgt. Rocky, a glint in his eye. "Everyone knows that when a dictionary definition is thrown into an argument, talk of Hitler is never far behind. This may be our best chance to get them to take us to the furrier." "Zat's Führer," says Schomburg. "A furrier is someone who buys und sells furs." "You're wrong," says Sgt. Rocky. "Quick, Dome, get our dictionary!" "Wake me when you need a thesaurus," says Zilla, the ninja dinosaur, trying to make a pun on the suffix 'saurus'. Several crickets chirp. Suddenly, a large portal shaped like a gigantic, voluptuous breast shimmers into sight. The Hero Squadron and the Germans stare at it mesmerized. "Ach du lieber! Eine riesige Brust! whispers Schomburg. "Holy titillation," moans Tape "Well, bust my chops," says Ape "I feel like a boob for asking, but what is that?" asks Dome. Before anyone else could come up with another terrible pun, Sgt. Rocky says, "It's the portal! C'mon, men, jump!" Zilla leaps into the portal. "Wait, Sarge, there's a dial on here," says Go Go, spinning it until it reads 'The Beginning of Time.' "Oops," says Rocky. "Zilla is going to be really ticked. Where did he end up, anyway?" "Right here, Sarge," says Zilla, stepping out of another portal that just appeared. Before the Germans could react to the giant ninja dinosaur that had just snuck up from the rear, Zilla knocks all the soldiers cold, then picks up Hoffman and Schomburg. "Gonna save you two for lunch," he says, licking his lipless lizard mouth. "Eep." "Men, into the portal," says Rocky. "Zilla, hold them until we're all in, then toss them aside and follow us. There'll be no snacking on sour krauts on my watch!" With that, The Hero Squadron leaps into the portal. Zilla watches them all go, tosses aside the Germans and follows them in. Hoffman and Schomburg pick themselves up, glance at their unconscious troops, notice an enormous column of American tanks on the horizon, and leap into the portal just as it begins to fade away. To be continued...

An excellent suggestion. Now, who was Mylite again? Is he in the story? It's been so long...

As I explained, I'm writing a book with a short deadline. I don't write when I'm taking a break from writing. That wouldn't help me at all. So basically, there won't be any Crisis while I'm working on this project. I need to spend all of my possible writing time doing my job. I need to get it done as soon as I can because there's another possible job coming my way that will also need my full attention. I'll write another section as soon as I'm unemployed again. -- Joanna

Thanks Beyonder and FFB! This book is a little difficult to explain. I can't just rattle off a vague subject because of that, and I'm not allowed to discuss details yet. It's going to be fun to write, though. It's in the same genre as the last two -- body/mind/spirit/self-help. Maybe I'll be able to describe it better once I've written it. I do have a new publisher, and I like them a lot. By the way, my other 2 books are now out. I've got some copies in my hot little hands. But unfortunately, they're not available in the American market yet (my publisher is British). The US distributor is lagging, it appears. Hopefully they'll be out soon in the US. -- Joanna

Woo Hoo! I just got the contract for my next book. I've been working on this deal for awhile now, and really wanted it to go through, so I'm stoked! I don't have a lot of time to write it, but when I finish, I should be able write a little crisis. My deepest apologies for making everyone wait so long. I've been pretty busy with a lot of projects lately, including trying to get this book deal to go through. I'm very happy about it. -- Joanna

I just can't right now. Last night, I finished a multi-week marathon editing session. I thought I was going to get a day or two to catch my breath. But within a couple of hours of handing it in, I got the first file for the second pass. So no time for me to rest. Have to get back to work immediately. I guess I should have used those couple of free hours last night to write Crisis, instead of writing a new song. I just thought I had more time, that's all. -- Joanna

Sorry, guys. I'm in a major deadline crunch right now. I'm editing two books, both due in early Sept. It's a publisher I haven't worked with before, so I need to do a good job. The one I'm doing right now is difficult because it's very poorly written. Taking all of my time. Haven't even had time to spend more than 3 minutes on the forum lately. -- Joanna

is it in tpb?

Oh, geez. So she's a slut and works for Darkseid?

Sounds like a series I'd enjoy. Are the back issues cheap or expensive?

Umm...I know you may not know now this, but Kara is in the current Superman/Batman storyline. Superman/Batman? Is that a new series?

One of my all-time favorite covers. I cried so hard when I first read that issue. My beloved Kara Zor-El... sniff. -- Joanna

WW back issues tend to be really cheap until you get pretty early in the first series. So you should be okay with the finances. (Unless you're going for super high grade. Then I have no idea, as I never went for high grade anything).

There are tpbs for some of the modern storylines. No SA/BA reprint collections, though. GA in the archives.

You'll have to let me know what you think.