This Prestige format one-shot is an adaptation of Tim Burton’s 1992 Batman Returns feature film, which starred Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, Danny DeVito as the Penguin, and Michael Gough as Alfred.
In February 2005, Marvel published a further six issues of What If. They were all in the “one-shot” format. The editor, Justin Gabrie, attributed the publication of Volume 3 to a suggestion from C. B. Cebulski. Uatu the Watcher narrates some issues and there is a cameo by Brian Michael Bendis as narrator (see “The narrator” above). In Volume 3, there is a “nod” to a Volume 1 story, What if Uncle Ben had lived? In a conversation between a comic shop customer and an attendant, the customer asks,”What if Aunt May had died instead of Uncle Ben?” Leading to another alternative plot. Marvel published a single parody edition called Wha… Huh?!? in August 2005.
The series began in April–May 1975. Like its predecessor Secrets of Sinister House, Secrets of Haunted House was originally “hosted” by Cain, Abel, Eve, and Destiny who had moved over from Weird Mystery Tales. By issue #10 (Feb.–March 1978), Destiny was the only one of these who remained a regular. In issue #40 (Sept. 1981), Abel returned with no further mention of Destiny.
A Secrets of Haunted House Special was published in 1978 as part of the DC Special Series umbrella title. Secrets of Haunted House was a temporary victim of the “DC Implosion.” With issue #14 (Oct.–Nov. 1978), it was cancelled but revived a year later with issue #15 (Aug. 1979). The title continued until issue #46 (March 1982).
Born under the oppressive thumb of the Roman Empire, Aric of Dacia learned warfare at an early age. It was amid such violence that he was abducted by an alien race. Forced into slavery, he survived where others perished. His escape would come from bonding with a weapon of immeasurable power: the X-O Manowar armor. With it, he returned to Earth…only to find himself stranded in the modern day.
But that was a lifetime ago.
Now, far from home on a strange and primitive new world, Aric has begun a new life. Liberated from his past, he tends to his crops. Free from war. Free from violence. Free from the armor.
But the machinery of death marches his way once again. Conscripted into an alien army and thrown into an unforgiving conflict, the fury inside him finds voice as he is forced to embrace the armor once more. With it, he will decimate armies, topple empires and incite interplanetary warfare as he rises from SOLDIER to GENERAL to EMPEROR to VISIGOTH. They wanted a weapon. He will give them war!
The team is seen living a fairly peaceful life in the Battlezone called Westchester. The baron of this region is Senator Kelly. He has little difficulty since most of the villains were wiped out in a previous war and the remaining villains were sent to “Bureau of Super-Powers” run by Cassandra Nova for rehabilitation. After a rogue Sentinel attack the X-Men are invited to the facility to learn about process. The X-Men are then put into the virtual training pods, but were really sent into the Astral Plane, since Nova was actually possessed by the Shadow King. The team is saved by Jubilee, who Nova didn’t consider a big enough threat and didn’t put into the VR pod and by the X-Force, who assault the facility. Xavier is able to repel the Shadow King and the X-Men save Baron Kelly, but a mega-Sentinel is released against the X-Mansion. The X-Men and X-Force combine to defeat the machine before it causes too much damage.
The Bureau made its first appearance in the pages of the Hellboy miniseries Seed of Destruction (4 issues, March–June 1994) and was a major part of the comic until Hellboy leaves the B.P.R.D. at the end of Conqueror Worm. At this point the B.P.R.D. series began, following the agents of the B.P.R.D. such as Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, Roger and Johann Krauss.
DC Comics Presents debuted with a July/August 1978 cover date . The series was launched with a team-up of Superman and the Flash by writer Martin Pasko and artist José Luis García-López. Issue #26 included an insert introduction story to the then-upcoming New Teen Titans series by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. Len Wein and Jim Starlin co-created the supervillain Mongul in issue #27 (Nov. 1980) as part of a three-issue storyline. Another insert in issue #41 previewed the “new direction” Wonder Woman. In issue #47, Superman traveled to Eternia and met the Masters of the Universe. Ambush Bug made his first appearance in issue #52 (Dec. 1982) and made additional appearances in issue #59 and #81. The Superman/Challengers of the Unknown tale in issue #84 was drawn by Jack Kirby and Alex Toth. The series also contained the Alan Moore Superman/Swamp Thing story “The Jungle Line” in DC Comics Presents #85 (Sept. 1985), pencilled by Rick Veitch and inked by Al Williamson. Issue #87 featured the first appearance and origin of the divergent Kal-El of the Earth Prime reality, who would become known as Superboy-Prime. The final issue is an exception to the team-up format, instead featuring Superman in an “Untold Tale” involving the Phantom Zone, by Steve Gerber, following up in his limited series of the same title.
Howard the Duck, was created by Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. The character first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 (Dec. 1973). He graduated to his own backup feature in Giant-Size Man-Thing, confronting such bizarre horror-parody characters as Hellcow and the Man-Frog, before acquiring his own comic book title with Howard the Duck #1 in 1976.
In 1948, Western Publishing, with its publishing partner Dell Comics, launched a comic book series which lasted 145 issues. This originally consisted of reprints from the newspaper strips (as had all previous comic book appearances of the character in various titles from David McKay Publications and from Dell). However, new stories by writer Paul S. Newman and artist Tom Gill began with issue #38 (August 1951). Some original content was presented as early as #7 (January 1949), but these were non-Lone Ranger fillers. Newman and Gill produced the series until its final issue, #145 (July 1962).
Tonto got his own spin-off title in 1951, which lasted 31 issues. Such was the Ranger’s popularity at the time that even his horse Silver had a comic book, The Lone Ranger’s Famous Horse Hi-Yo Silver, starting in 1952 and running 34 issues; writer Gaylord DuBois wrote and developed Silver as a hero in his own right. In addition, Dell also published three big Lone Ranger annuals, as well as an adaptation of the 1956 theatrical film.
The Dell series came to an end in 1962. Later that same year, Western Publishing ended its publishing partnership with Dell Comics and started up its own comic book imprint, Gold Key Comics. The new imprint launched its own Lone Ranger title in 1964. Initially reprinting material from the Dell run, original content did not begin until issue #22 in 1975, and the magazine itself folded with #28 in 1977. Additionally, Hemmets Journal AB published a three-part Swedish Lone Ranger story the same year.
Larry Hama returns with a story set before his original run on Wolverine! The mutant known as Logan has made a name for himself on the mysterious island of Madripoor, where the locals know him as Patch. From their haunt at the Princess Bar, what starts as a simple recon mission lands Patch and Archie knee-deep in a paramilitary struggle that will surface some surprise revelations and characters!
EHT Comics 