Superman Sonderausgabe #6 - Superman gegen Mongul! (1981)

I never thought of Cologne as a must-visit locale for comic book fans. However, my second trip to Germany was going to be too brief to do anything substantial, so I Googled some nice looking shops within walking distance of where we were staying. As it happened, there were actually several very appealing and quite varied fandom-related stores in the area. Some were more geared toward Generation X nostalgia, like 1970s actions figures, lunch boxes, and such. One was a three story deal in the heart of the tourist section that gives Forbidden Planet a run for its money. My Gal found a vintage Playmobil from her childhood in their basement, while I hoarded a bunch of cheap '80s/'90s digest reprints of U.S. comics for "stocking stuffers." I was quite pleased to find Red Circle and First Comics representation in that department, although the condition on the latter was so poor that it's physically warped (while reprinting Warp.)

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Given the oft-noted fastidiousness of Germans, I was surprised to observe that they don't know how to store comic books. For instance, all of those digests were loose on a freestanding display rack, and some had been mauled to pieces by small children and clumsy adults (guilty.) They don't use standardized comic boxes either, with that mega-store I mentioned employing wooden shelves with dividing panels instead. Houston's own Bedrock City Comic Company has a similar set-up, with the key difference being that the Germans also don't use backer boards. Their vintage "floppies" are often on a thinner, glossier stock than their Bronze Age U.S. counterparts, and on top of that, they love sealing their comic bags with 3-inch-plus strips of tape. I over-zealously chanced opening them while on the road, and surely put some crimps in them spines, where a wiser man would have cut them free with scissors instead.

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I bring this up in part because there was one specific shop that I had targeted when getting the lay of the land. While on vacation in Europe, we saw plenty of modern style comic shops full of Panini reprints or North American imports, usually with at least some selection of more antiquated formats. This one shop in Cologne though was a proper Android's Dungeon hole in the wall. Mind, it probably still had more square footage and better bones than your average dusty old American dump, but it was still a dim and cluttered mess with treasures of yore. I could have easily spent a whole day there, and way too much money, but I had already punished my wallet and suitcase miserably at early stops. I needed to be as swift and objective-minded as I could be in the time allotted.

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This was tough because there were boxes everywhere, and again, random old repurposed and tape-reinforced cardboard of quite varied dimensions. Not knowing what else to do, I grabbed a smallbox small box (about a square foot) off of an eye-level but deep shelf, and set it on another chest-level box. A severe and socially disinclined shopkeeper that was already giving my gal hairy eyeballs just for taking up the limited space scolded me in Deutsch. Following his gestures, I was meant to take any given box to a cluttered wooden table nearby to peruse, since again, these comics were not held up by backer boards. I had been selfish in many of my prior purchases, but also, there wasn't that much representation of the Bronze Age DC favored in my blogging/podcasting circles. Here I had a good chance of digging up varied Silver/Bronze reprint floppies of their childhood favorites, and I did. Several nifty old numbers and a few more contemporary items that were reasonably inexpensive, so I didn't feel to guilty about it.

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There was one though that kind of broke the bank. The first Mongul story from 1980's DC Comics Presents #27 has been reprinted a bunch of times, thanks mostly to his being immortalized in "For the Man Who Has Everything." However, that introductory story arc by Wein & Starlin was pretty well regarded by Superman fans even before Moore & Gibbons got to him. I thought for sure I'd gotten the UK hardcover collection with the original Bolland cover at some point, but I guess not, so this German edition is my first oversized collection of DC Comics Presents #28 with Supergirl and DC Comics Presents #29 with The Spectre, plus unrelated bonus reprints. Despite his fallen posture, the Jim Starlin Martian Manhunter cover remains a personal favorite, so it's nice to have it on squarebound cardstock in a 9" x 12" presentation. The interiors are also on a heavier white stock, recalling the Baxter format, which is much more vibrant than the original comics without becoming glossy eyesores. The inside covers are plain white, and the random reprint stuck between the first and second Mongul chapters is a Supergirl serial that started in 1971's Adventure Comics #408. Mike Sekowsky is joined by inker Dick Giordano for a tale of green-skinned alien invaders that concluded in Adventure Comics #409. I feel this was worth my 25€, but I do feel a bit bad for not feeling the same about getting a similiar edition featuring Firestorm's induction in the Justice League of America (as advertised on the back cover) for my buddy Shag. Eh, he's well traveled enough to go get his own, plus I already got him other cool stuff.

DC in Germany

• Aquaman in Top Comics Wassermann Nr. 108 (1970)
• The Atom & Aquaman in Superman-Batman Heft 8 (April 1976)
• Wonder Woman in JLA - Die neue Gerechtigkeitsliga #31 (1999)
• GrimJack in Die Cosmic-Ranger Nr. 3 (1985)

2025 The Martian Criminal Baytown Eastern Rim Funny Book & Vintage Con Commission by Sam Lotfi

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For once on this blog, I'm featuring a vintage talent from way back, instead of antique unpublished art. Sam Lotfi was unknown to me when I first got a commission from him twelve years ago, having only published a little work with Antarctic Press in 2002-2003. In the dozen years since, he was twice featured in DC Comics' New Talent Showcase, and worked on their titles Anti / Hero, Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend, Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story, Zatanna & the Ripper, Birds of Prey Giant, and Scooby Apocalypse; plus drew the YA graphic novel Young Alfred: Pain in the Butler. For Marvel/Icon, he did Painkiller Jane: The Price of Freedom, and contributed to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Reborn at IDW, plus the Boom! Studios mini-series Mosely, and more besides. It's been cool seeing one of "our guys" do well, but I haven't seen much of him locally between COVID and backing away from the biggest Houston show. I also ran into another art "regular" from the glory days, Nick Pitarra, who was doing free sketches on Saturday (so I argued with him about my refusing free art and ended up with a gifted hardcover of Ax-Wielder Jon instead.)

But back to Lotfi, I've always found his modern stylist take on mid-century aesthetics a great fit for Martian Manhunter material, but he did ask if it was okay to shake it up a bit with the so-called "Magician-Thief" from 1956's Detective Comics #231. In their one story together, the Martians in their natural forms were more or less indistinguishable, with a color gaffe even giving them both pink outfits. I was happy to have the artist give the Martian Criminal his own vibes, and it helped that one's had evolved over decades, where the other was frozen in fifties form. I enjoy Lotfi's more elongated and menacing face, the temple veins, and the big hand forced perspective. The unnamed Magician-Thief should have had the same powers as the Alien Atlas, but he favored subterfuge, and the art here hints at different manners of manifesting those abilities than J'Onn J'Onzz's. This turned out great, and it's also a nice way to look back on past works as part of the blog's extended anniversary celebration!

Sam Lotfi

• 2013 TOR, the Robot Criminal of Mars Comicpalooza Commission
• 2014 The Human Flame Comicpalooza Jam Sketch Detail
• 2014 Martian Manhunter Villains Comicpalooza Jam
• Instagram
• Sam Lotfi's Website

More Art Monday

• 2023 FAN EXPO Chicago The Rocky Horror Picture Show Brad Majors Commission by Andrew Pepoy (signed by Barry Bostwick)
• 2024 Charlotte Heroes Convention The Maxx colors by Daniel Govar

2025 Primaid Baytown Eastern Rim Funny Book & Vintage Con Commission by Pop Mhan

With commission rates skyrocketing and my interest in paying them for corporate-owned characters plummeting, you might be surprised to see that I actually have some brand new art to show off on this blog. This piece offers remedies. Firstly, I'd still kind of like to complete a set of Hyperclan spotlight pieces, but it especially bugged me that I hadn't gotten any of the female members. Heck, Primaid's the second best known member. I mean, I have an Armek because Rick Hoberg wanted to draw a mech, and an A-Mortal because the dude sitting with Tim Vigil did good Halloween stuff. Only Primaid and Protex were in the second big White Martian story arc and fought a member of the DC Trinity. Plus, she just looks cool, and can rarely by seen in full figure on the comics page.

The other motivator was that despite maintaining a career since the '90s on heavy-hitting properties like The Flash, Batgirl, Masters of the Universe, Raven: Daughter of Darkness, Ghost Rider, and a mini-series of The Demon, Pop Mhan still charges perfectly reasonable rates for high quality work. I've dug him since at least The Impulse/Atom Double Shot in '98, plus he co-created Spyboy with the late, great Peter David. He was also a cool guy who talked about the demands of the licensing work that he's been doing more heavily in recent years. He's work on another creator-owned project that he's developing, a sort of younger readers Hellboy, and I hope to see that come to fruition.

More Art Monday

• 2023 FAN EXPO Chicago The Rocky Horror Picture Show Janet Weiss Commission by Brandon Peterson (signed by Susan Sarandon)
• Pitt & Friends finished art by Evan Dorkin
• Pop Mhan.com

2014-2016 Vulture Jam Art featuring Mr. V by Antoine Mayes

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I've gone back and forth on whether I wanted to end the anniversary month on a jam piece, or new stuff. Given how much of this month was devoted to finally getting a Marco Xavier bio page online, and all the revisiting of his vast criminal organization that entailed, it was only natural to end September on Vulture. For the record, besides being part of the blog's bucket list, I'm also still miffed that Marco Xavier doesn't have a page on Fandom's DC Comics Database (defaults to Amalgam and House of Mystery results,) Comicvine (defaults to Mister X,) or Wikipedia (a small Vulture page.) Not to get a swell head, but let's be real, a lot of what is out there is derived from my work here, often using art that I commissioned, sometimes by folks who were/are regulars here (Alien Atlas Apostles?) For nearly thirty years, I've been the Martian Manhunter-related change that I've wanted to see in the world. The work's still not done either, but I did take advantage of time spent here to bookmark future entries and built much of a Vulture profile/link list for later.

Enough about me though, because this is supposed to be about the artists... who were mostly paid a decade ago and I don't see much/at all anymore. Chris Foreman was at a small show in Baytown earlier this month, but he'd already contributed to the only related jam I was trying (and failing) to nudge forward there. I see Johnny J. Segura III every once in a while, but the rest of these folks have been missing from my sphere since at least COVID. I got a relatively large amount of work from Antoine Mayes in the short time that he turned up at local shows, including Porto “The Man of 1,000 Disguises” (twice,) The Alien Robots, The Doom Shadow, The Giant Watery Hand of Gilgana, and the Horn Firing Creature of Gilgana. Better luck next year for getting that still deferred jam out to the public! Anyway, I asked Adrian Nelson to do some wraparound art for the 2015 J'Onzz Family Portrait Artist Jam, and wanted to do something similar for this jam. By the way, I keep up with art commissions in part through creators' business cards, and I've had a stack on my desk for a few months now. Adrian's with his take on Deadpool sits right on top, and Bad Cog had a small booth at that Baytown con. He passed a few years ago, and I get a bit maudlin when I glance over at it.

Back on track, I found Mayes' work to be cool and imaginative, plus he didn't some nice work with ballpoints without being overly precious and taking forever. Since it was a selection of Vulture's more monstrous operatives, with Marco Xavier embedded at right like some sort of horror host, it made sense to have the specter of Mr. V hanging over the gang. Also, there wasn't a lot of space to work with, and he didn't have a lot of face to work in. Because he's Faceless, see? Anywho, I think Mayes put the capper on this around 2015-16, but nobody dated their contributions, and I only ran into him at a couple or three shows. I hope he's still out there. I'm sorry I kept everyone waiting on this, but maybe it's a fun blast from the past and not gross negligence on my part?

Vulture Jam

• Abba Sulkar, Shtarker, & Grosse by Isaiah Broussard
• Crime Goliath Monster-Man by Johnny J. Segura III
• The Manhunter Monster by Chris Foreman
• Marco Xavier by Brian Denham
• "The Martian Double-Cross!" Robot by Chad Townsend

The Vile Menagerie: MARCO XAVIER

Alter Ego: Marco Xavier
Occupation: Playboy; Sportsman; Crime Czar
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Vulture
Base of Operations: The Mediterranean
First Appearance: House of Mystery #160 (July, 1966)
Height: Approx. 6"
Weight: Approx. 170 lbs.
Eyes: Dark
Hair: Black

History:
Little is know of the past life of the wealthy mystery man, Marco Xavier. Behind the high iron gates of his posh Mediterranean villa, he lived alone, with neither friend nor relative. Called by some a "very stubborn... lone wolfer," Xavier maintained his fortune by working with illicit operations, but never as a dedicated member. Still, his reputation of being reliable in performing "extra-legal chores" was "well known in underworld circles." The internationally famous playboy was eventually linked to such shady figures by a special security department, which in fact appeared to be their only lead in investigating the most sinister criminal organization on Earth, Vulture. Mr. Steele brought in J'onn J'onzz, the Manhunter from Mars, to pursue this lead. However, as soon as the Alien Ace began observing Xavier, he bore witness to a seemingly fatal car accident, as the playboy careened through guardrails on a winding mountain road and plunged to a fiery explosion below. Thinking quickly, the shapeshifting Martian assumed the guise of Marco Xavier, dangling from an outgrowth to be "saved" by local authorities.

Xavier appeared to have at least one named servant, a gentleman named Jeffers, who ushered in agents of Vulture to meet with "Xavier" the morning after the accident. Despite the assertions of Mr. Steele, Xavier had a highly desirable number of associates and friends, whom Xavier would be paid to spy upon or otherwise sabotage-- among them, notable magnates such as Apollo Magnus, Miklos Agar, Aldo Szuzi, and Pierre Carré. Marco Xavier appeared to have been quite the ladies man, often followed by a "bevy of beauties;" from doting socialites to dating secret agents, who he referred to frequently as "chicks." These assets seemed to help the faux Xavier maintain high value with the Faceless leader of Vulture, Mr. V.

After some time with J'onn J'onzz active under the guise of Marco Xavier, assisting Vulture in various plots, he received his final assignment. Manhunter/Xavier stole "the ultimate weapon" prototype pistol from The Carré Company, swapping it for a replica, but the deception was soon detected. Marco Xavier was finally wanted by the police for a specific crime, limiting his usefulness to Vulture, who still owed him a million dollars for the heist. After repeatedly evading authorities, Manhunter/Xavier was picked up by Vulture operatives, and taken to a tiny island on the opposite side of Mediterranean from his villa. This was a different location from where the pistol had been taken, and another high-tech underground Vulture base, which explained why the Manhunter had not detected it in prior surveys.

"Xavier" was led to Mr. V, who unmasked to reveal "Faceless" as Marco Xavier. Supposedly, one of Vulture's men had posed as the gendarme who had pronounced Xavier dead after the accident. It was declared that Vulture had been toying with the Manhunter from Mars the entire time, until they could deduce his secret weakness of fire. This Marco Xavier had continued the masquerade until he could lure Manhunter into "the perfect trap!" Rather than simply roast the Martian alive, and apparently "insane with power," this Xavier targeted Manhunter with the purloined prototype. It immediately exploded, wrecking the Vulture base, and presumably killing Marco Xavier before the Manhunter's eyes a second time.

Quote: "HA-HA! And now, while there still remains a breath of life in you, I shall test the ultimate weapon-- on my favorite target-- you!"

Created by Jack Miller & Joe Certa

Ivor Sandez

The killer Ivor Sandez was the personal "hatchet man" of Mr. V, and believed to be the only person in Vulture who knew Faceless' true identity. He was spotted by the Manhunter from Mars along a road near the posh Mediterranean villa of Marco Xavier, briefly stranded with his chauffeur as they experienced car trouble. The Alien Ace trailed Sandez to one of Mr. V's main headquarters in the mountains, but a Martian meteorite caused a body swap between Manhunter and the hatchet man. Ivor Sandez then decided to use his newfound Martian might to take out his grievances with the world, especially a Mr. V who "treated me like a dog-- ordering me around!" Sandez trashed the Vulture base, and J'onn J'onzz in Sandez's human body was blamed for leading Manhunter to the lair. While Mr. V was presumed to have vacated the site, Ivor Sandez continued his hate-filled rampage across the Mediterranean, while Vulture agents were under orders to shoot the human "Ivor Sandez" on sight. The day was saved by Manhunter's visiting other-dimensional side-kick Zook, who used his freezing powers to quash the meteorite, which reverted the Martian and Sandez back to their normal bodies. The Manhunter then captured Ivor Sandez, which may have led to his final confrontation with Mr. V. Ivor Sandez appeared in House of Mystery #170 (February, 1968).

Aldo Szuzi & Inspector Marchal

Aldo Szuzi is yet another obscenely wealthy old friend of Marco Xavier, but in this singular instance, he is also chummy with the Manhunter from Mars. While exhibiting ten million dollars worth of jewels at a fabulously posh resort of Deauville in France, "Senor" Szuzi had cause to expect theft. Despite detectives like Inspector Marchal being posted at every access point, Vulture brazenly stole the jewel case by air. A helicopter fitted with a crane had dome the deed, but Szuzi had also entrusted the Alien Ace with aerial assessment, who aced the whirlybird. Szuzi then announced a "big bonus for your favorite charity" and a ball the following week in the Manhunter's honor. The latter prompted Mr. V to entrust Marco Xavier with delivering a weapon into the ball for an assassin to use against the Martian Marvel. Aware of the plot via his dual Xavier/Manhunter identity, the Alien Atlas briefly shapeshifted into Aldo Szuzi to foil his own attempted murder, while allowing Szuzi to take all the credit for the feat of physical strength and prowess necessary to take out to murderous criminals.

Little else is known about Aldo Szuzi, but given that he was repeatedly referred to as "Senor" by his French associates, he is presumably of Hispanic persuasion. He is seen as gregarious and confident, has a robust figure, and usually smoking a cigar. Whatever their prior history, the Manhunter referred to "Aldo" informally in their sole published meeting in House of Mystery #164 (January, 1967).

Pierre

Pierre was a Vulture operative who worked out of a pastry shop front on the Rue Montville. Although his one story was initially set in Sweden, it seems more likely that it transitioned to France. Pierre even worked with a associate who superficially resembled Monsieur Ferreau. At minimum, Pierre was involved with the presentation of the robotic "Manhunter's Doom" to Marco Xavier, and had also paid the playboy a quarter of a million dollars in a briefcase for his role in determining the Manhunter's weakness to fire. Also, as with Monsieur Ferreau, we never saw this operative apprehended or his Vulture front shut down. Pierre appeared in House of Mystery #170 (October, 1967).

2011 HeroesCon Miss Martian commission by Rhiannon Owens

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Still not 100%, and stumbled upon the rare unpublished draft (from a dozen years ago) that doesn't have a freakin' Photobucket watermark visible (it's there, but barely.) Free day for me! This brings me down to just 224 such drafts in various stages of completion, dating back to 2008. So many watermarks.

2001 DC Direct Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter action figure promotional poster

I had a very busy day, but also felt like I rested up after, and felt a swell of energy going into the night. I spent it replying to the Fanholes Podcast's final episode covering the "Titans Hunt" story arc. During that effort, I began to feel quite unwell, and at times thought that I may vomit. This was no fault of the Fanholes (the language is saucy, if you're the easily offended type,) but it did much diminish any ambitions that I had here. I also wasted a bunch of time trying to find a New Titans tie-in appearance, but that well was very dry, pre-Miss Martian.

Anyway, here's a comic store poster advertizing a Martian Marvel action figure that I ordered for my shop and have lovingly kept with me ever since. I don't adore it as much as my childhood Super Powers or my adult Hasbro JLA 9" Doll (I own at least 3, two boxed,) but it's higher than 1998 Hasbro. Yes, even with DC Direct's very McFarlanesque tendency to break at joints with the slightest provocation (multiple immobilizing knee surgeries.) I probably hung this one in my store, but not definitely. I don't seem to have kept a copy. Sorry that they of course had to feature him with "The Usurper" (though I've softened on Reddy over the years. By the way, some dude is on eBay selling "mini-posters" that are just pages of ripped out of the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con International program book, featured in our own art gallery.

2018 North Texas Comic Book Show Super Friends Martian Manhunter by Tom Cook

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This is another piece that I've mothballed for so long that virtually all of the particulars are lost to me. I thought at first that I got it at the Amazing Con where much of the J'Onzz Family Portrait Artist Jam was completed, but I don't believe I've held this back for a full decade. I thought maybe a Space City Comic Con, but I think they went defunct in 2016, and it hasn't quite been that long either. I'm taking a guess that it was the same Dallas-adjacent show where I interviewed Jim Starlin, a mere seven years gone. All I remember for sure was that there was a long line to get to one signing (I'm guess the Secret Wars reunion) that stretched in front of a bunch of people's tables all day, and one of them was Tom Cook's.

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Tom Cook is an animator who worked on some many TV cartoons that no Generation X child could possibly escape him. On the super-hero front, he started on Plastic Man in 1979, then did The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! from 1981, and Super Friends from 1981-84. Other boy toys included Thundarr, Blackstar, He-Man, She-Ra, and BraveStarr. I picked up a nifty Super Friends character sheet (oooo-- scaaale,) and thought it would be fun for Cook to add J'Onn J'Onzz to their number, since he was one Leaguer that didn't make the animation cut. Well, discounting a few seconds of a 1984 Kenner Super Powers Collection Commercial and my pet theory that El Dorado was an alternate identity like Bloodwynd. So hey, you tell me how that worked out, and feel free to check out some more of today's art posts!

• 2019 Connecticut TerrifiCon The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Professor Albert Wickwire Commission by Rafer Roberts
• 2019 Fandemic Tour Huntsman colors by Daniel Dahl

Monsieur Ferreau

Monsieur Ferreau operated out of the Lyons Branch of the international criminal syndicate Vulture, hidden behind a flower shop front, guarded by thugs. Under direction of the faceless chief of the sinister organization, Mr. V, Ferreau was tasked with briefing the international playboy Marco Xavier in a scheme against the Manhunter from Mars. Fearing Xavier's ties to multiple Vulture capers that were thwarted by the Martian Marvel might implicate him, and thus render him ineffective, Mr. V fed Xavier information to forward to the Manhunter on heists involving non-regular, expendable associates, in order to make Xavier appear to be on the side of angels. In this way, the Alien Atlas halted attempts to rob The Lyons Bank and The Montparnasse Museam, but soon realized that the easy busts were intended to distract the Sleuth from Outer Space while more consequential efforts were being executed elsewhere. With this realization, the Manhunter simply planned ahead and multi-tasked the downfall of both crimes. However, we do not see the Manhunter attempt to shut down the Lyons Branch or apprehend Monsieur Ferreau, so they presumably continued to operate beyond House of Mystery #167 (June, 1967).

1987 Cromy Super Amigos Match 4 Nueva Edicion Manhunter card #E3

"This Martian came to Earth as a result of a failed special experiment. Once here, he decided to ally himself with the forces of good."

There's definitely international representation for the Martian Manhunter in comics and merchandise, but not so much in the '70s and '80s. The Sleuth from Outer Space was largely out of print in the States, and a lot of overseas goodies were based on José Luis García-López's DC Style Guides, which did not substantially feature J'Onn J'Onzz. Solo Alien Atlas art was produced by persons unknown in 1984, presumably anticipating his inclusion in the Super Powers Collection. The Argentine company Cromy produced Super Powers licensed materials under the Spanish language Super Friends banner, carrying over from the long-lived TV cartoon, and serving as a catch-all term for super-heroes (Spider-Man gets mingled with this stuff, for instance.) Cromy produced things like small jigsaw puzzles and sticker albums in the '80s, but again, using art from earlier comics and the 1982 Style Guide. This included their 1984 match game, but later Super Powers additions were part of a "New Edition" offered three years later. Somewhat curiously, we did not get Detective Martiano, as was often the case in Spanish language territories, but instead simply "Manhunter." This despite the Goodwin/Simonson Paul Kirk having been previously trafficked in Argentina under that singular name. It was striking to see a relatively obscure '70s character in the mix, so I thought he must have been big down there. Not so much that he couldn't be supplanted by the Martian variety, who joined a refresh heavy on Gods and Teen Titans New.

2016 Cryptozoic DC Comics: Justice League - Model Sheets #MS8 - Martian Manhunter

You might say, "Hey Frank, aren't you glad to have another chase card featuring a classic style J'Onn J'Onzz to help fill out your month of posts?" If you know me at all, positivity is not my default, so who are you and why are you making suppositions on my blog? The base set is only 63 cards with 5 cards per pack and 24 packs per box. That means you're only getting one base set at most per box. The Model Sheets chase subset is one in three packs, so the odds favor your being at least one card short of completion out of a box. These cards are just reprints from the 1980s DC Style Guides, which were already fairly accessible online, have been used constantly on 21st Century licensed merchandise, and they've mostly all been collected in a hardcover edition within the past year (I bought two.) Having familiar stock images (which I'm not even confident are by the same artist) remixed on a trading card is not getting me high. Also, they keep making Manhunter the eighth card in these subsets, despite being one of the seven founding members. It irks.

2016 Cryptozoic DC Comics: Justice League - Blank Cover Box Toppers #BT8 - Martian Manhunter

I knew that I was going to leave the JLX post up overlong, because I wanted to copyedit it to promote on social media, and because I spent too much time writing the dang thing to bury it. I had an early day at work, and figured I'd knock something out in the evening. Then when I got home, I worked on organizing my comic box, then took a "nap" until 11:58 p.m. So I figured as an 11:59 No-Prize "daily" post, here's a mostly blank trading card. Cut. Disposable. Move on.

But wait. This very much had the potential to be annoying, as one of nine chase cards in the subset that come one per box. Further, they're literally in the box, because they measure 3½" X 5", which is too big to fit in a pack but dinky for a postcard, much less the blank sketch covers its emulating. Why would anyone want this atypical, difficult to store nonsense? Oh-- because it has the 1980s Martian Manhunter logo used on his Super Powers figure card and few other places pre-21st Century retro merch. Also, it combines that logo with the short-lived DC "peel" logo, which has its fans. If you're a lettering nerd, this is tough to beat on the obscure combos tip.