'Captain America' #289

'Bernie America, Sentinel Of Liberty'

Hi again, today’s post focuses on Bernadette “Bernie” Rosenthal, Captain America’s longtime girlfriend.

The Assistant Editor for this issue was Mike Carlin.  For those unfamiliar with his work, Carlin has worked as a writer and editor in comics for most of the past four decades.  In the 1990s, he worked for DC and served as editor on their Superman books. During his time at DC, Carlin oversaw  the famous "The Death Of Superman"  saga.  But let’s get back to Bernie!

Bernie Rosenthal was created by Roger Stern & John Byrne and first appeared in Captain America #248 back in 1980.  She was a glass blowing artist, described in her official Marvel bio as "one of the most talented glass blowers in the New York metroplex".

Bernie was more than an intellectual match for Steve Rogers and often teased him about his interest in 40s films & music.  Eventually, she discovered that Steve was secretly Cap, and the two were engaged to be married for a while.  Their relationship ended when Bernie left New York to attend law school.  Nothing against Diamondback and the Carter sisters, but for my money, Bernie was the best love interest Cap ever had.  The “Mary Jane” to his “Spider-Man”, if you will.  I was sorry to see her get written out of the book.  I don’t follow current comics, but I hear Bernie recently returned for a spell as Bucky’s lawyer and still enjoys a friendship with Cap.

As for this issue, let’s start with the cover at the top of this post. In the corner box, Cap has his back turned.  He's being menaced by Mo-Skull (an amalgam of Red Skull and MODOK), while Bernie America rushes in to save him!

The guys in the window are the creative team for the issue.  I didn’t know who was who, so I asked writer J.M. DeMatteis about it, he was kind enough to answer my question on his blog:

“(T)hat's me in the dark glasses, Mike Carlin right in front of me in the green shirt. Mike Zeck is the guy with the beard and glasses and our inker, John Beatty, is right behind him.”

A little background: In issue #286, Steve & Bernie are on their way to visit her parents. Steve spies Deathlok and leaves Bernie to tail him, saying he'll be at her parents' house by the next morning, which upsets Bernie.  The main story in #289 is straightforward, finishing up a multi-part time travel epic.  But on the last page, Cap runs off:

Which leads to the back-up feature.  It's introduced by Mike Carlin, dressed as the Watcher!  We see Bernie at her parents' house, daydreaming about Steve’s life as Captain America, wondering how Steve would feel if their roles were reversed.   She falls asleep and we get to see Bernie's dream!

“Bernie America” attends a meeting with her fellow Avengers at their mansion, when suddenly they're  attacked by Mo-Skull!  Yep, Bernie's subconscious has combined Cap's foes MODOK and the Red Skull into an amalgam villain.

Bernie easily defeats Mo-Skull (I love the way he simply walks away!), and Steve Rogers shows up. He wants to have a “State of the Relationship” talk with Bernie.

In the middle of their conversation, Bernie hears a call for help and runs off to save the day.  Steve weeps over playing second fiddle to Bernie's crime fighting career.  That's when Bernie's sister Nancy wakes her up and announces that she has a visitor!  It's Steve!  They embrace and Bernie is thankful that her "Bernie America" adventure was just a dream.

I'd say Bernie is also telling the readers, not just Steve, that being a superhero isn't easy, and being in a relationship with one is no picnic either.

Here's one last quote from DeMatteis about this issue:

"I still have a ridiculous fondness for that "Bernie America" story."

And so do I, 28 years later!  I've had many dreams where something is just not quite right, people or places sometimes get combined (like Mo-Skull).

A big "thank you" goes out to J.M. DeMatteis for answering my "fanboy" questions about this issue and I also want to thank him, Mike Zeck, John Beatty and Mike Carlin for giving us such a fun & memorable little story.

Next:

What does Rom do when he's not fighting the Dire Wraiths? Check back here in a few days to find out!

J.A.

'Marvel Tales' #159

This time Spider-Man makes his first of four visits to Assistant Editors' Month Online!

The Assistant Editor at the time was Bob Denatale. If you visit his website, you'll see that he has left comicdom and has worked as a musician, stage performer and filmmaker. Denatale was "filling in" for Danny Fingeroth, who was Editor on all the Spider-Man titles at this time.
In case anyone doesn't know, 'Marvel Tales' was a long-running reprint series, issue #1 came out in 1964, the final issue was cover dated November 1994. In the beginning, the series reprinted adventures of multiple Marvel characters, but Spider-man was the only constant. Beginning in late 1981, the series was "rebooted" and went back to the beginning, reprinting Spider-man's first appearance from 'Amazing Fantasy' #15, and continued reprinting early issues of 'Amazing Spider-Man', featuring the first appearances of Spidey's classic villains and Peter Parker's struggles to fit in at Midtown High. It was a great way for 80s kids like me to read classic Spider-Man stories written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko.
The stories were reprinted in their original form, but every now and then, out-dated pop culture references would be changed for the 80s audience. For example,in this panel from 'Marvel Tales'#150(which reprinted 'ASM' Annual #1) , Aunt May frets about missing 'Dukes Of Hazard':
In the original story , 'The Beverly Hillbillies' was the show she missed.

Which brings us to #159, which reprinted 'ASM' #21. How much "damage" can an Assistant Editor do to a comic that simply reprints an old Lee-Ditko tale?

The main story reprinted in this issue isn't changed. The fun starts on the 'Marvel Mails' letters page. A fan writes in and suggests they should go further with the edits and update 1960s slang and fashions for 1980s readers:

That's exactly what Denatale does!

First, read these pages, from 'Marvel Tales' #157(a reprint of 'ASM' #19):

Now take out a look at the "new and improved" 80s version!:




You'll notice Aunt May is wearing sweats, Liz Allan has a mohawk and Flash Thompson is a skinhead punk. But even in 1983, "Puny Parker" is still rockin' the sweater vest!
Denatale added this note after the "updated" pages:



I think he's right about not changing the stories and I believe they never added another "update" to reprint stories after this. But I'm glad that Denatale & co made sure 'Marvel Tales' participated in AEM!

In our next installment, we'll look the first and only appearances of Bernie America and Moskull!


J.A.

'Conan The Barbarian' #154

Now it’s time for a trip to Cimmeria, during the Hyborian Age, as we take a look at ‘Conan The Barbarian’ #154.
Our Assistant Editor for this title is Jim Owsley, he was Larry Hama’s Assistant at the time.
Owsley has had a long career as a writer and editor for the Marvel, DC and Acclaim comic companies. He was the first African-American writer and editor in comics, and became a Marvel editor at the age of 22, making him the youngest in the business. He was also one of the founders of Milestone Media.
In the 1990s, he changed his name to Christopher J. Priest and has continued to work in the industry. He’s also an ordained Baptist Minister. For more info on him & his career, check out Priest’s website here


As for Conan #154, you’ll notice that the cover has a circle that says “MC” inside it.


That's an homage/parody of the old "checkerboard" logo DC Comics used in the 1960s.

Inside, instead of a traditional splash page, we get a “Special Edition” of 'The Hyborian Page, Conan's letters page. Owsley gives us an essay about ‘Caesar’s Commentary on the Gallic War’. By the third paragraph, he veers way off course and gives a funny review of ‘Jaws III’ (which was in theaters shortly before this issue was published).


I’m not proud to admit that I saw ‘Jaws II’ in theaters, and I have to say that Owsley was correct here.

And now we get to this issue’s story, called ‘The Man-Bats Of Ur-Xanarrh!’


Like the cover logo, the title is a reference to The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, a Batman from another planet who first appeared during the Silver Age.

I’ll admit that I’ve never been much of a Conan fan, only picked up a few issues here and there. But besides the title, I don’t notice anything funny or odd about this issue, just a typical "Conan vs. Bad Guys story". If any Conan experts happen to read this, maybe they can point out “offbeat” stuff about this story.

That's it for now, check back in a few days when AEM looks at fashions of 1983...and 1964.
J.A.

'The Incredible Hulk' #291

'Old Soldiers Never Die!'

Today we look at a Hulk issue from Assistant Editors’ Month. This was published during the era when Bruce Banner could control his transformations and Hulk kept Banner’s intellect.    n                           The Assistant Editor for this issue was Ann Nocenti


Nocenti is probably best remembered as co-creator of Longshot and for her run as writer on Daredevil in the late 80s, with John Romita Jr. and Al Williamson providing the art.     I loved that run, it was the best post-Miller run I can think of.  Typhoid was created by Nocenti in those DD issues and continues to be one of Daredevil’s greatest foes.       TPBs of these stories can be easily obtained. Nocenti’s stories often dealt with socio-political topics, which ultimately lead her to a career in Journalism and documentary filmmaking.  She currently teaches film in Haiti. You can find Nocenti's personal web site here.

The cover of this issue features a caricature of Nocenti as Hulk in the cover corner:

This story is one of the more serious to be published during AEM.  It opens with Bruce Banner paying a visit to the Marvel offices looking for his “official biographers”, the classic Hulk creative team of writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema.  His greatest enemy, General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross has recently betrayed his country by working with MODOK and the Abomination.  Banner wonders if revealing this to the world would damage the United States:

This leads us to the issue’s main feature, by the aforementioned Mantlo and Buscema with inks by Gerry Talaoc.  It’s a Thunderbolt Ross solo story, in which the General looks back on his life and endless feud with the Hulk.

We learn that Ross is a third generation officer, who married his Captain’s daughter .

It was during World War II (then)Captain Ross earned his nickname:

Victory in WWII and Korea only made Ross restless, since he was happiest when he was in combat.

Ross loved his daughter Betty.  But women couldn’t be soldiers in those days, so he would always be disappointed that she wasn’t a son.  The death of his wife created even more emotional distance between Ross and his daughter.

Ross’s flashback eventually leads to his involvement with the Gamma Bomb project, created by Dr. Bruce Banner.  Ross hated civilians, especially scientists, and was sickened to learn his daughter was in love with Banner.  The Gamma Bomb, of course, explodes and turns Banner into the Hulk, setting off the war between Ross and the Hulk.  Like past wars, this new conflict gave new meaning to Ross’ life.

Their war seemed to end when Banner gained power of his transformations, allowing the Hulk to become a full-fledged superhero.  Pres. Reagan pardoned the Hulk for his past crimes, overriding Ross’ objections. This leads Ross to conclude he must go outside the law to defeat the Hulk, seeking out super-villains, and thus, betraying his sworn oath to the United States. His daughter calls him a “traitor”.

His collaboration with criminals has destroyed his career and legacy, Ross removes his decorations and contemplates suicide.  He ultimately decides that the next war will be learning to live with his actions:

We cut back to the Marvel offices. Nocenti watches the Hulk walk away in a rain storm:

This is a powerful story, and nice example of how a comic book can be good even without action or fight scenes.  When this was published, Ross had been a comic character for 21 years.  In some ways, this story fleshes out his character more than all stories that came before it.  Ross is the sort of warrior who can never be at peace with the world or himself.  Kudos to Mantlo, Buscema and Talaoc, ‘Old Soldiers Never Die’ belongs on any list of “essential” Hulk stories!