If you are interested in reading the text, click the image for a larger version.

George Perez had fun with the cover of this Who’s Who issue!  Check out all the “duploids” of Multiplex running around on that cover!  Clever!  How many can you count?  Click the image below for a larger version.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

At one point, John Ostrander was interested in producing a Soyuz mini-series with artist Joe Brozowski.  Makes you wonder what that would have been like!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

The supervillain team-up took place during a crossover between THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #45-47 and BLUE DEVIL #23.  In addition to my unhealthy devotion to the Nuclear Man, I’m also a huge fan of Blue Devil!  Click here for all the Blue Devil content on my other blog, ONCE UPON A GEEK (including exclusive content and an interview with the Blue Devil creators)! You can imagine I was absolutely thrilled when my two favorite fun-loving heroes teamed-up.  While The Nuclear Nemeses was an interesting collection of villains, personally I would have made some adjustments to showcase Firestorm’s most threatening foes.  My supervillain team-up would have consisted of the most celebrated Firestorm rogues, such as: Eddie Earhart, Satin Satan, Kriss-Kross, Goldenrod, and Le Flambeau.  … Okay, just kidding.  I was making sure you were paying attention.  Truthfully, my Firestorm rogues team given the time period would have consisted of: Multiplex, Killer Frost, Typhoon, Hyena, Plastique, and Hector Hammond (from Firestorm’s JLA days).  That’s just my two cents.

Here are a few pages from the crossover featuring our villains…

Below is a page from THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #46 (April 1986), written by Gerry Conway, penciled by Joe Brozowski (a.k.a. J.J. Brozowski and J.J. Birch), and inked by Mike Machlan.  This was Joe Brozowski’s first issue.  He remained on the book for a few years, eventually leaving after issue #79.

Below is another page from THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #46 (April 1986).  On this page, Firestorm is being defeated by … a rope.

Below is a page from BLUE DEVIL #23 (April 1986), written by Gary Cohn & Dan Mishkin, penciled by Alan Kupperberg, and inked by Bill Collins.  On this page Blue Devil gets to mix it up with Firestorm’s baddies.

Below is a page from THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #47 (May 1986), written by Gerry Conway, penciled by Joe Brozowski, and inked by Mike Machlan.   Blue Devil’s conflict with Firestorm’s rogues continues on this page, and things don’t look very good for old horn-head.

Below is the final page from the crossover in THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #47 (May 1986).

This crossover had some great covers!  I’ve posted all four covers below.

The cover to THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #45 is particularly interesting.  The cover was penciled by Denys Cowan and inked by Dick Giordano.  From an artistic approach, this is a really beautiful cover!   Lots of energy, it conveys the story, and is very exciting.  From an accuracy approach, it’s got some problems.  First, in the bottom right corner you can see the Firestorm villain Stratos, who originally appeared in THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #29 (Nov. 1984).  While Stratos looks super-cool on this cover, he doesn’t actually appear within the issue.  Whoops!  Second, notice how Firestorm’s headpiece tapers into red sideburns?  What’s up with that?  That wasn’t part of Firestorm’s costume at the time.  Ironically enough, two years later those same headpiece-sideburns would become a trademark of the “Blank Slate” Firestorm.

Below is the cover to THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #46 by Joe Brozowski and Rick Magyar.

Next up is the cover to Blue Devil #23 (April 1986) by Paris Cullins and Gary Martin.  I LOVE this cover!  Both Firestorm and Blue Devil look seriously cool.  Paris really outdid himself on this piece.  The Firestorm Kirby-Krackle is a great touch!!!

Finally, below is the cover to the crossover conclusion, THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #47 (May 1986) by Joe Brozowski and Rick Magyar.  I’m not sure I can explain it, but I’ve always liked the composition and colors on this cover.  It just works for me.

That’s it for Rogue’s Gallery Week here at FIRESTORM FAN!  Thanks for sticking with us all week!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Firestorm the Nuclear Man #70 – cover art by J.J. Birch (a.k.a. Joe Brozowski)

Firestorm #99 – cover art by Tom Mandrake

Keeping watching FIRESTORM FAN in the near future for the exclusive interview with John Ostrander!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

See, I told you.  Pretty neat, huh!  To start with, I want at least one header representing each incarnation of Firestorm.  Eventually, I want a zillion different headers.  Up until now, the Blank Slate Firestorm wasn’t represented in any of the headers.  Given how similar he looks to the original Firestorm, I was having trouble making him easily identifiable.  This past weekend I got the idea to incorporate the United States and Soviet flags with some of Joe Brozowski’s artwork.  That seemed like a great way to quickly identify this Firestorm as the Blank Slate version.  A little photoshop later and viola!

I kind of dig the imagery.  I think I’ll keep this graphic around to represent the Blank Slate version when needed.  Hope you like it!

By the way, there are a total of nine different page headers for FIRESTORM FAN.  How many have you seen?

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Hey Ronnie, your trust in your relationship is to be commended!  You’re quite the catch, Mr. Raymond!  Any girl would be luck to have you… Not!

Support Firestorm (well, maybe not his romantic style)! Fan the flame!

• Brightest Day #4 came out yesterday.  This is the issue with the Black Lantern Firestorm cover.  Be sure to stop by your local comic shop and pick up a copy!

• There was some hubbub amongst Firestorm fans after Brightest Day #3 hit the stands two weeks ago.  In the issue they portray Alvin Rusch (Jason’s father) as having two hands.  The reason for the confusion is that Alvin Rusch lost his hand in an industrial accident before Firestorm vol III even started.  There is lots of speculation, everything from a simple artist mistake to Jason re-growing the hand.  At this time, I don’t believe we have an official explanation.
• Over at Primary Ignition, they’ve identified Firestorm the Nuclear Man Annual #5 from 1987 as a hidden gem.  This is the issue where the “blank slate” Firestorm was created.  Click here to read their commentary on this great issue.

• There is a really great column over at Comic Book Resources on Firestorm vol II artist J. J. Birch (a.k.a. Joe Brozowski).  J.J./Joe drew Firestorm during the “blank slate” era. This column specifically focuses on Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol II issues #70 & 71.   Click here to check out the article.

• The folks at the DC Multiverse blog pointed out something I never realized.  Firehawk (a.k.a. Lorraine Reilly) shares a last name with the second Firebrand (a.k.a. Danette Reilly).  This is interesting because they both have fire powers.  Could Lorraine Reilly be related to Danette Reilly?  Something to consider.  Click here to visit the DC Multiverse blog.
• If you’ve got $600 to spare, you can pick up a slightly charred Firestorm action figure on eBay.   Yes, you read that right, $600.  Clearly this is some kind of joke, but it’s an odd one.  Click here to see the eBay entry.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

The second incarnation of Firestorm (or as I call him, the “blank slate” Firestorm) doesn’t get talked about very much nowadays.  I think it’s important to remember this version of the character because it was the first time the Firestorm matrix had been changed in a major way.  Since then, change has become a hallmark of the character.  Regardless of whether someone enjoyed this era, it’s important to recognize the significance of the change and that for nearly two years this was the hero known as Firestorm.  If you ever go back and re-read crossovers like Millennium or Invasion, you’ll find this was the version of Firestorm present for those stories.

Ostrander’s first major story arc pitted Firestorm against the world.  Acting on a suggestion from a terminally ill Professor Martin Stein, Firestorm demanded the U.S. and the Soviet Union destroy all of their nuclear weapons. After tussles with the Justice League and most of his enemies, Firestorm faced off against a Russian nuclear man named Pozhar.  Pozhar had been Mikhail Arkadin, a nuclear technician and survivor of the Chernobyl accident now cursed with nuclear powers. In Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5, Pozhar and Firestorm battled in the Nevada desert.  Meanwhile, the U.S. government decided that the nuclear man had become a threat. The U.S. military then proceeded to drop a nuclear bomb over Firestorm and Pozhar, blasting the whole area way.

When the smoke cleared, a new Firestorm emerged.  The image below by Joe Brozowski was the final panel from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 and our first glimpse of the new Firestorm.

The changes to Firestorm’s physical appearance were subtle.  He’d grown four inches taller, his headgear had gained sideburns-like accents, his body had become skinnier, and his facial features and costume lost some definition.

While cosmetically he looked very similar, his internal make-up was drastically different.  The Firestorm matrix was now composed of Ronnie Raymond and Mikhail Arkadin.  Professor Martin Stein was nowhere to be found.  Surprisingly, Ronnie Raymond was no longer in control of the Firestorm form.  Whenever they were merged as Firestorm, both Raymond and Arkadin were trapped inside the fused body unable to affect its actions.  The being in control of the Firestorm form was independent from Raymond and Arkadin and acted very detached.  The new Firestorm had his own personality and desires, yet he seemed to lack any life experience and had no memories.  He was a blank slate.

Both Ronnie and Mikhail had the ability to initiate the merger of Firestorm, regardless of the distance between them. Whenever Firestorm was no longer needed, he would separate back into Raymond and Arkadin, returning them to where they originated.  Typically Ronnie would return to the United States and Mikhail would return to the U.S.S.R. Firestorm still functioned as a superhero, but often seemed confused about the situations he was involved in.  As Ron and Mikhail only formed Firestorm when there was a crisis, the Firestorm entity wondered if his only purpose was to fight.

About a year after this new incarnation of Firestorm came about, it was discovered that the “blank slate” personality of the new Firestorm was in fact the amnesiac mind of Professor Martin Stein.  Though his physical body didn’t join them to create the new Firestorm matrix, his subconscious mind was in control of the Firestorm body.  Stein was found to be suffering from amnesia and living in a Nevada mental institution.

The “blank slate” Firestorm was part of the series from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 (Oct 1987) through Firestorm The Nuclear Man vol II #84 (Apr 1989).  This nineteen month run was drastically different from the previous nine years.  While  Firestorm still battled supervillains, they also tackled socially-conscious issues like nuclear weapons and famine.  Several stories also took place in Moscow, this being just before the end of the Cold War. To help draw attention to the change in the direction of the series, DC ran the house ad below in November 1987.  I’m not sure who the artist was for this ad, but I don’t believe it was series artist Joe Brozowski.  The advertisement was fairly small (only 1 inch by 3 inches) and was run on the letter column page.

Below you’ll find a drawing I did back in 1988 of the “blank slate” Firestorm that I recently unearthed.  I had been inspired by the changes, so I decided to try my hand at drawing the new character.  I drew it free hand, but based it upon a combination of the artwork above from Firestorm The Nuclear Man Annual #5 and the advertisement.  My drawing measures 13 inches by 17 inches.  Please forgive the patchwork-looking white background.  The original image is so large that I had to do multiple scans and pieced them together digitally.

As I mentioned, for the first year of the “blank slate” Firestorm, Professor Martin Stein was nowhere to be found.  It was assumed that he was killed in the nuclear blast that created the new Firestorm.  In Firestorm The Nuclear Man vol II #75, Professor Stein was found alive in a Nevada mental institution completely cured of his terminal brain tumor.  Stein had no memory of his previous life and was unaware of the part he played in the “blank slate” Firestorm. The institution staff  had no idea how to diagnose Stein as from time to time he would fall into a coma-like state for no apparent reason. Unbeknown to them, these were the times when Firestorm merged and Stein’s subconscious mind was in control of the  Nuclear Man.  The original artwork below comes from our friend Jon over at Fizzit, the Firestorm-themed blog.  This was the last page of Firestorm vol II #75 drawn by Joe Brozowski.  Ronnie Raymond and the amnesiac Professor Martin Stein were finally reunited after a year apart.  When issue #75 was published, I felt this single panel was the most emotionally-moving scene in Firestorm’s publishing history.  Our thanks to Jon for allowing us to reprint this page here.  Click the image to enlarge.

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Today we’ll be looking at Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Update ’88 #1 (August 1988).   This was the third Who’s Who mini-series and featured the “Blank Slate” Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond/Mikhail Arkadin/Professor Martin Stein).  Again, it’s not clear who wrote this particular entry, but from the contents page we know it was one of the following people: Mark Waid, Robert Greenberger, or Peter Sanderson.  The art in the entry below is by Joe Brozowski & Sam De Le Rosa; they were the artists on the monthly series at the time.  This particular issue of Who’s Who was published around the same time as Firestorm the Nuclear Man (volume II) #74, so information presented was current to that point.

If you are interested in reading the text, click the image for a larger version.

Below you will find the cover to this issue of Who’s Who by Ty Templeton.  It was a wraparound cover, but I’ve only displayed the front-side as there were no Firestorm-related characters on the back.

Come back tomorrow for a look at the elemental Firestorm and a role-playing supplement!

Support Firestorm! Fan the Flame!