Right out of the gate I wanted to tackle one of DC’s biggest, baddest villains of all – DARKSEID!  Believe it or not, Firestorm has gone toe-to-toe with Darkseid on a few occasions and somehow managed to survive!

First up is a scene from Justice League of America #185 (Dec 1980) written by Gerry Conway and drawn by George Perez & Frank McLaughlin.  In this scene Firestorm gives Darkseid a taste of his own medicine!

Now admittedly, the comic above was published back before Darkseid was THE big bad of the DC Universe.  Nowadays, Firestorm probably wouldn’t be able to pull off such a simple stunt against Darkseid.  In fact, the next time Firestorm was face-to-face with Darkseid, things went very differently.  Below is a scene from Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol III #35 (June 2007) written by Dwayne McDuffie and drawn by Pop Mhan & Steve Bird.

Yeah, that’s right.  Darkseid just showed up and literally ripped Firestorm apart.  Wow.  That’s serious power!

Let’s tally up the two battles… looks like the final scores between Firestorm and Darkseid were: One victory each!  I don’t know about you, but I’d gladly accept a tie with Darkseid.  Heck, I’d gladly accept just surviving against Darkseid!

Watch for more UNUSUAL SUSPECTS in the weeks to come!

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When Firestorm premiered his cowl featured pointed temples. While this feature wasn’t critical to his overall costume, it was an interesting accent. See the red angled points near his eyes in the image below from FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #1 (Mar. 1978) drawn by Al Milgrom, Klaus Janson, and Joe Rubinstein.

Interestingly enough, while the pointed temples appeared inside the comic, they were slightly different on the cover. Below is an image from the cover of FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #1 (Mar. 1978) drawn by Al Milgrom. Notice the pointed temples have been replaced by a angled corner. I’m guessing the cover was done while they were still finalizing the interiors, which would explain the inconsistency. I believe this is the only time Al Milgrom drew the angled corner instead of the pointed temples.

Below you can see Al Milgrom’s Firestorm from the cover of FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #4 (Sept. 1978). Pointed temples present and accounted for!

After the DC Implosion and the cancellation of his series, Firestorm disappeared for a year or so. Our favorite Nuclear Man didn’t resurface until DC COMICS PRESENTS #17 (Jan. 1980). Below you can see Firestorm on the cover of that comic drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Steve Mitchell. Pointed temples? Check!

After that, Firestorm was a regular in the JLA. Below is an interior page from JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #179 (June 1980) drawn by Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin. Notice Firestorm’s cowl features the angled corner instead of the pointed temples. I’m guessing Dick Dillin used the cover of FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #1 as a reference.

Next Firestorm had his own back-up feature in several issues of THE FLASH.  Below is a close-up from an interior page of THE FLASH #292 (Dec. 1980) drawn by George Perez and Bob Smith. Nice job George including the pointed temples! By the way, it’s worth noting that George still draws Firestorm with the pointed temples! Click here to see a George Perez Firestorm sketch from 2009! Amazing attention to detail, George!

The pointed temples continued to appear in THE FLASH back-up stories for a while longer. Below is a image from THE FLASH #302 (Oct. 1981) drawn by Denys Cowan and Rodin Rodriguez.

Notice below the pointed temples in THE FLASH #302 (Oct. 1981) drawn by Denys Cowan and Rodin Rodriguez. Here you can see Firestorm floating unconscious with a garbage scow closing in on him.

In the very next issue the pointed temples are nowhere to be seen. Below you’ll see an image from THE FLASH #303 (Nov. 1981) picking up where the image above left off. The scene is set the same, just without the attractive temple accents. It’s worth noting this issue was the first time Firestorm was drawn by Pat Broderick. The inker for this issue was Adrian Gonzales. This was the only issue of THE FLASH Adrian Gonzales inked. It’s possible the change in artists resulted in the loss of the pointed temples (whether accidentally or purposefully). Perhaps the loss of the pointed temples was so overwhelming to Firestorm, he passed out in the river. I know I would have been depressed to lose such rockin’ cowl accents.

The pointed temples returned one last time in THE FLASH #304 (Dec. 1981) drawn by Pat Broderick and Rodin Rodriguez as you can see below. The primary difference between issues #303 (above) and #304 (below) was the inker. Rodin Rodriguez, the inker for #304, had been inking the Firestorm back-up features for some time. It’s possible Rodriguez added the pointed temples to issue #304 since he would have been aware of them from inking previous issues. This would be the final regular appearance of the pointed temples. After this they would only show up once in a blue moon, but they were always a fluke rather than a regular cosmetic feature.

Below is an interior panel from THE FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #1 (June 1982) drawn by Pat Broderick and Rodin Rodriguez. This representation of Firestorm’s cowl became the standard look for our favorite Nuclear Man going forward.

It’s worth noting down the line Firestorm featured other cowl accents. Below you’ll see the cowl-sideburns which premiered in FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #65 (November 1987) drawn by Ross Andru. The cowl-sideburns were a distinct feature of the “Blank Slate” Firestorm and hung around until FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #85 (May 1989).

Finally, Ronnie Raymond is currently sporting a unique cowl accent. See an example below drawn by Ethan Van Sciver. I’m not sure exactly what to call them; maybe cheek-bone tips? It would be interesting to find out if Ronnie’s current cowl accents were inspired by the pointed temples, the cowl-sideburns, or some new idea all together.

Rounding back to or original question… who is responsible for the disappearance of the pointed temples? We may never know. However, my instinct tells me it was Pat Broderick who did away with the pointed temples (whether accidentally or purposefully). Broderick became the regular artist of Firestorm beginning with THE FLASH #303 and the pointed temples only appeared once more. Now keep in mind that’s my own speculation. We may never know the truth…

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Normal posting should resume next week. To keep you satisfied until then, I’ve uploaded nearly 700 pictures from my DragonCon 2011 experience! While there were no Firestorm cosplayers this year, I attended a couple massive photo shoots organized by the folks at the Superhero Costuming Forum. Here is just a tease of some of those photos.  To see all my photos from DragonCon 2011, check them out at Flickr or The Unique Geek.

Below is the massive DC Comics photoshoot.  Click the image to enlarge.

Below is the Superman sub-group photoshoot.  Yes, that’s really George Perez (former Firestorm artist) forcing Zod to kneel before him. Click the image to enlarge.

Below is the massive Marvel Comics photoshoot.  Click the image to enlarge.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!  Again, to see all my photos from DragonCon 2011, check them out at Flickr or The Unique Geek.  Chat with you soon!

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FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN

Written by GERRY CONWAY; Art by AL MILGROM, GEORGE PEREZ, KLAUS JANSON and others; Cover by AL MILGROM

For the first time, the stories that introduced Firestorm are collected from issues #1-5 of his 1970s series, plus stories from THE FLASH #289-293. After Ronnie Raymond is tricked into nearly blowing up a nuclear reactor, he and Professor Martin Stein are caught in a nuclear incident. Their personalities merge, forming the being called Firestorm!

DC Universe | 176pg. | Color | Softcover | $17.99 US

As we heard from Al Milgrom, this collection will include the unpublished Firestorm the Nuclear Man #6 and some other bonus artwork!

For those of us that already own these issues, I strongly encourage you to buy the trade paperback anyway. First, it’s a great read and will be a nice collection. Second, let’s send a clear message to DC that we’ll buy classic Firestorm comics in trade paperback form. After this trade, I want THE FURY OF FIRESTORM collected!

Support Firestorm!  It’s not just a slogan!  Seriously, SUPPORT FIRESTORM by buying this trade paperback! Fan the Flame!

If you look closely, each hero has been placed so they have a counterpart on the other side.  For example, Superman (JLA) has Superman (JSA) as his counterpart;  Snapper Carr (JLA) has Johnny Thunder (JSA) as his counterpart.  Firestorm’s counterpart is the Atom, which makes sense as the Atom was nuclear-powered during that time period.

Such a beautiful piece by George Perez!  I wish it was a poster!

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There is a neat story behind this drawing too.  A.j. Chwaster, a fellow Firestorm fan and long-time supporter of this site, sent me this scan.  As I understand it, one of A.j.’s pieces of art was stolen from an art contest at the 1999 Motor City Comic Con.  Then as a favor to the con organizer, George Perez sent this drawing to A.j. as a replacement for the stolen piece.  George had no obligation to do this, but was kind enough to oblige.

Wow… Perez is such a great guy, and an amazing artist!

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Check out the kid below watching superheroes on TV!

George Perez draws such a gorgeous Firestorm!

My thanks to Eric Sellers for the heads-up about this cameo!

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Even if you already have the issues, order a copy of this trade!  Let’s send a clear message to DC that we’ll support Firestorm comics in trade paperback format!   If you want to see further Firestorm reprints, such as collected editions of The Fury of Firestorm series, then order this trade! By purchasing a copy you’re also supporting creators like Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom!  Order today!

Support Firestorm!  It’s not just slogan!  Seriously, SUPPORT FIRESTORM by ordering this trade paperback! Fan the Flame!

Such an awesome sketch!  Notice the piping on the mask and the points at the temples.  Only a true Firestorm artist would catch those old-school details in a convention sketch!

When FirestormFan89 sent a scan of the sketch, he also included an account of his MegaCon experience.  Below is what he wrote me:

You really pulled a fast one on me this time, my friend. I came home from MegaCon in Orlando stoked about the sweet sketch I commissioned from legendary artist George Perez. I was going to send it to you last week for inclusion in the FIRESTORM FAN blog but was severely confused by the B’wana Beast takeover. “Why has Shag seemingly defected to do a different blog about a character I have very little interest in when clearly Firestorm is back in the DCU in such a big way of late?”, I would ask myself. Then last night I read the whole April Fools Day gag explanation and the fog of confusion lifted. Good prank, Shag. I was punk’d big time.

I had a great time at MegaCon last month. I went two out of three days, Friday was the best though. I won a raffle to get a sketch from George Perez which I am sending to you for use in your blog if you wish. I also met Mr. Perez’s nieces Charity (dressed as Terra of the Teen Titans) and Milla (Wonder Girl on Friday and Catwoman on Saturday). I sat in on the George Perez Q&A too.

I also met Geoff Johns and attended two panels that he sat in on. The Green Lantern panel was good, Geoff was joined by Tony Bedard and Ethan Van Sciver. Geoff was also in on the DC Nation panel with Dan Didio in which he revealed the Aquaman series that will be coming out later this year.

There was a great panel on Friday about writing for comics with Mark Waid, Darwyn Cooke, Denny O’Neil, and Roy Thomas. During the panel Roy Thomas mentioned something about his partnership with Gerry Conway, that for a while during the late 80s the two friends were not getting along. After the panel ended I got to talk to him about that while he signed a stack of All Star Squadron comics for me. He related to me that shortly after their collaboration on the screenplay for the Conan the Destroyer they got in a huge argument about something and stopped working together because of it. But several years later they buried the hatchet, Gerry apologized and blamed the fight on the stress he was under because his marriage was falling apart.

On Saturday I went to celebrity Q&As with Doug Jones (Abe Sapien from Hellboy), William Shatner, and the cast of ST:TNG Jon Frakes, Marina Sirtis, and Mike Dorn. Capt. Kirk was pretty boring actually but the NextGen cast was great, very funny recounting all the pranks they used to pull on each other.

I was also overjoyed when I purchased the last 4 issues of Fury of Firestorm I needed to complete my collection of Firestorm comics.  I also found Blue Devil #23 the crossover with FoF, and a nice run of Atari Force by Gerry Conway in a bargain bin.

Overall it was a great convention!

My thanks to FirestormFan89 for sending his MegaCon recap and a scan of this amazing sketch!

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FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN

Written by GERRY CONWAY; Art by AL MILGROM, GEORGE PEREZ, KLAUS JANSON and others; Cover by AL MILGROM

For the first time, the stories that introduced Firestorm are collected from issues #1-5 of his 1970s series, plus stories from THE FLASH #289-293. After Ronnie Raymond is tricked into nearly blowing up a nuclear reactor, he and Professor Martin Stein are caught in a nuclear incident. Their personalities merge, forming the being called Firestorm!

176pg.  |  Color  |  Softcover  |  $17.99 US

Okay, here’s the information on the possible “easter eggs”…  Rumor has it that DC may consider including previously unpublished material in this collection.  Some items that immediately spring to my mind include the sixth unpublished issue of Firestorm the Nuclear Man, as well as pencils from issue #7 and character design sketches.  Issue #6 only ever appeared in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade with a minuscule print run of just 35 copies.  If this is true, it would be the first time we’ve ever seen issue #6 in color!  How cool is that!?!?!  I’ve done some calculations myself, and if they include all the issues from the solicit (including covers), they still come up about 30 pages short of the advertised 176 pages.  That leads me to believe we just might see this bonus material!

Contact your comic book shop and pre-order your copy right now!  Even if you already have the issues, order a copy of this trade!  Let’s send a clear message to DC that we’ll support Firestorm comics in trade paperback format!   If you want to see further Firestorm reprints, such as collected editions of The Fury of Firestorm series, then order this trade! By purchasing a copy you’re also supporting creators like Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom!  Order today!

Support Firestorm!  It’s not just slogan!  Seriously, SUPPORT FIRESTORM by ordering this trade paperback! Fan the Flame!