Comic Scene: Birthday Purchases and Chris March

For my birthday, I went to Time Machine and purchased another cache of comics. Going there makes me think of a secret club for cool kids. You have to ring a bell and climb a flight of stairs to get to it. I conferred with other collectors on the quality of vintage books including the placement of staples and cut-out panels which ruin the value. I'm nearing completing my Supergirl in Adventure Comics run, finding #397 and #415 from the late 19602-early 1970s. In #415 the Maid of Might is choosing a new costume based on readers' suggestions. Perhaps that would make a good Project Runway episode.

Speaking of which, I met Chris March, of PR and Mad Fashion at the Drama Desk nominee event yesterday at the Essex House. His Butt-Cracker Suite is nominated for Unique Theatrical Event and Costume Design. We chatted briefly and agreed Michelle was the correct winner of this season. He also said he couldn't imagine going through what Stanley did, having to sew so many dresses at the last minute backstage at the Fashion Week show. He said if that happened to him, he'd have been crying in a corner.

Other comics purchased: Adventure #305 (featuring Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes); Atom #20 and #43; Flash #199 and #203

Chris March of Project Runway and Mad Fashion at
the Drama Desk nominees Event

Comic Scene: Supergirl's Identity Crisis

We're going to start a new department at the David Desk: Comic Scene, where I will examine trends and issues raised by my comic book purchases:

The last comic book I bought was Adventure #421 from the days when Supergirl was the star of that series (1972). The front cover shows the Maid of Might beset by green demons with a blonde villainess pointing a flaming sword and screaming "You've tried to destroy us. Now, Supergirl, you must die!"  In the issue's story "Demon Spawn," the baddie Nightflame is in fact the evil part of Supergirl herself who lives on a microscopic world inside the Blonde Blockbuster's head. She kidnaps Supergirl and brings her to this bizarre nightmarish place which is really the heroine's subconscious, with the intention of draining her superpowers and taking her place in the outside world. In a typically sexist choice, Supergirl is only saved by the love of a good man, Geoff, the producer of the TV news show where she works in her civilian identity of Linda Danvers. Geoff, who has no superpowers, somehow infiltrates Supergirl's mind and forces Nightflame and the Demons (sounds like a rock group, doesn't it?) to retreat.