The Hostess Formula

Hostess ads were a mainstay of superhero comic books throughout much of the Bronze Age. Criminals would stop in their tracks at the sight of Twinkies, CupCakes, or fruit pies—gleefully surrendering to authorities while biting into the Hostess snacks. Hostess products could also subdue a rampaging Hulk.

Ads for fruit pies consistently featured both apple and cherry (although a character might favor one flavor over another). Sometimes a third choice would appear from one of the following selections:

blueberry lemon peach

Daredevil defeats the crimelord Peachy Keen in the closing panels of this Hostess ad for peach, apple and cherry fruit pies.

Stilt Man

Stilt Man made a dramatic debut in Daredevil #8 (June 1965), towering above the street-level hero. The version of Stilt Man to appear in Spidey Super Stories #47 (July 1980), however, was far less intimidating than the original. In place of a full-fledged battle suit, this rendition of the criminal wore a pair of ordinary stilts as he faced Spider-Man and Spider-Woman. Even in a series designed for young readers, it is hard to imagine the reasons for stripping Stilt Man of any semblance of superpowers in that story.

More Marvel Super Heroes - 1982

Heralded as the first limited series, Contest of Champions was also groundbreaking for its appendix of Marvel Super Heroes - 1982. Biographical entries appeared for heroes who had been active up to that point (with sections on inactive and deceased heroes). While recognizing that this material was decidedly concise, in hindsight I am surprised that the listings for Clea and Silver Surfer did not note their membership in the Defenders.

In contrast, however, I am not surprised by the other heroes who had appeared in issues of the Defenders yet weren't described as members. By and large, these characters did not regard themselves Defenders—even within the parameters of a non-team. For example, Thing and Mister Fantastic remained members of the Fantastic Four while assisting the Defenders. Even Hawkeye, who briefly considered himself one of the Defenders, did so largely to spite the Avengers.

With the exception of the Defenders for a Day (who will get their own post), here are the entries for those heroes who appeared in the original series through 1982 and weren't referenced as Defenders in Contest of Champions.

BLACK KNIGHT
(Dane Whitman, physicist) American descendant of Arthurian-age champion who wields the ebony blade of his ancestor, and rides a winged horse. Last seen in Twelfth Century Britain, but is known to be back in the present. Current whereabouts: Britain. Former member of the Avengers. First appearance: AVENGERS #48.

BLACK PANTHER
(T'Challa, tribal leader of Wakanda) Jungle-born African possessing great natural strength, agility, and heightened senses. Former member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: Africa. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #52.

CAPTAIN AMERICA
(Steve Rogers, artist) Recipient of the Super-Soldier formula endowing him with great strength, agility, and stamina. Carries a shield. Member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: AVENGERS #4.

CLEA
(No other name known) Sorceress from an alien dimension with minor mystic abilities. Current whereabouts: her home dimension. First appearance; STRANGE TALES #126.

DAREDEVIL
(Matt Murdock, lawyer) Blind American with heightened senses and incredible agility and fighting prowess. Uses billy club as a weapon. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: DAREDEVIL #1.

HAWKEYE
(Clint Barton, security chief) American who has mastered the art of archery and uses various trick arrows. Occasional member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: New York vicinity. First appearance: TALES OF SUSPENSE #57.

MISTER FANTASTIC
(Reed Richards, scientist/adventurer) American possessing cosmic ray-derived power of super-malleability. Able to stretch any part of his body to great lengths and mold his pliant flesh into numerous shapes. One of the great intellects of the world, he is the leader of the Fantastic Four. Husband of the Invisible Girl. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #1.

MOONDRAGON
(Heather Douglas) American-born priestess of Titan, trained in the martial arts, telepathy, and psychokinesis. Daughter of Drax the Destroyer. Occasional member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: vicinity of the Earth. First appearance (as Madame MacEvil): IRON MAN #54. First appearance (as Moondragon): DAREDEVIL #105.

MOON KNIGHT
(Marc Spector, mercenary; alias Jake Lockley, cab driver; Steven Grant, millionaire) American possessing great natural strength and agility and mastery of martial arts. Uses crescent-darts, a truncheon, and glider-cape. Current whereabouts: New York vicinity. First appearance: WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #32.

PROFESSOR X
(Charles Xavier, headmaster) American mutant with the psionic powers of telepathy and astral projection. Founder of the X-Men. Confined to a wheelchair. Current whereabouts: Salem Center, New York. First appearance: X-MEN #1.

SILVER SURFER
(Norrin Radd) Humanoid alien from Zenn-La with cosmic powers to rearrange molecules and shoot energy-blasts. Rides an idestructible flying surfboard. Former herald of Galactus. Current whereabouts: space. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #48.

SPIDER-MAN
(Peter Parker, college student/freelance photographer) American possessing super-strength, super-reflexes, incredible agility, the ability to stick to virtually any surface, and a danger-detecting "spider-sense." Uses a chemical web-shooting device enabling him to swing from the rooftops entangle persons or things, and create simple objects such as shields and spheres. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: AMAZING ADULT FANTASY #15.

THING
(Benjamin Grimm, adventurer) American possessing super-strength and a rock-like epidermis making him impervious to virtually all harm. Member of the Fantastic Four. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #1.

WASP
(Janet Van Dyne, heiress) American with the ability to shrink to insect-size and fly by means of surgically-implanted membrane-wings. Shoots a bio-electric "wasp's sting." Member of the Avengers. Ex-wife of Henry Pym (Yellowjacket), who concocted her powers. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: TALES TO ASTONISH #44.

WONDER MAN
(Simon Williams, ex-industialist, aspiring actor) American possessing enormous strength and near-invulnerability. The chemical processes of his metabolism have been replaced by some strange form of energy. Former member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: Hollywood, California. First appearance: AVENGERS #8.

INACTIVE

GHOST RIDER
(Johnny Blaze, motorcycle stunt rider) American who through sorcery became the host-body for a blazing skeletal demon who is abile to create objects out of mystic flame, project soul-scalding Hellfire, and is super-strong and nearly impervious to harm. First appearance MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #5. Reason for retirement: Blaze is no longer able to control the demon and force him to use his powers for good.

MS. MARVEL
(Carol Danvers, ex-security agent, freelance writer) American who possessed ability to fly, super-strength, heightened reflexes, and a precognitive Seventh Sense. Former member of the Avengers. First appearance: MS. MARVEL #1. Reason for retirement: loss of powers.

YELLOWJACKET
(Henry Pym, biochemist) American who invented serum enabling him to reduce to insect-size. Used bioelectric "stings." Former husband to Janet Van Dyne (Wasp). First appearance (as Dr. Pym): TALES TO ASTONISH #27. First appearance (as Ant-Man): TALES TO ASTONISH #35. First appearance (as Giant-Man): TALES TO ASTONISH #49. First appearance (as Goliath): AVENGERS #28. First appearance (as Yellowjacket): AVENGERS #59. Reason for retirement: began criminal career.

DECEASED

OMEGA THE UNKNOWN
(Real name unknown) A humanoid "organic robot" from an unspecified planet trained to be a perfect warrior. Possessed super-strength, enabling him to leap long distances, etc. Had empathic link with another organic robot, James-Michael Starling. First appearance OMEGA #1. Died from a gunshot wound in OMEGA #10.

Contest of Champions featured a list of Super Heroes of Other Worlds, Other Times included Prester John (pictured here in Defenders #11), as well as members of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Squadron Supreme. Another section listed Quasi Heroes, including Alpha the Ultimate Mutant, Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, Nick Fury, and Rick Jones.

Neutral Evil: Purple Man

Daredevil #4 marked the first appearance of Zebediah Killgrave (a.k.a. The Purple Man). With the power to control minds, Killgrave would make a career forcing others to do his bidding. Both methodical and self-serving, the vindictive supervillain demonstrated characteristics of the Neutral Evil alignment from Dungeons & Dragons.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

Daredevil was the first person with willpower enough to resist the Purple Man. This panel from Daredevil #4 shows the hero in a precarious position. As attorney Matt Murdock, the the court appointed him to defend Killgrave. One could make the argument that Murdock followed one alignment (Lawful Good) when practicing law and adhering to a professional code of ethics but veered outside that alignment (toward Neutral Good) as the costumed crimefighter Daredevil.

The Marvel Age of Comics--Phase 2

A promotional blurb on the cover of Defenders #10 (Nov. 1973) asked readers, "See For Yourself Why It's the Marvel Age of Comics All Over Again!" In the months that followed, several covers went one step further, directly referencing a second era of Marvel Comics.

Captain America & Falcon #173 (May 1974) prompted readers, "Make Way for the Marvel Age of Comics--Phase Two!" Guest-starred two of the original X-Men, the story pre-dates the "The All-New, All-Different" mutant team billed on the covers of X-Men #94-99, #101-111.

Marvel Chillers #6 (Aug. 1976), featuring Tigra the Were-Woman and Cheyenne hero Red Wolf, reiterated, "It's the Marvel Age of Comics--Phase 2!"

Covers of other Marvel titles during this time frame expressed a similar sentiment. Daredevil #121 (May 1975) announced, "The Mighty Marvel Renaissance Moves Ahead!" Marvel Presents #6 (Aug. 1976), starring the Guardians of the Galaxy, declared, "The New Marvel Mage of Comics!"

This begs the question, What did this new era entail? Although the covers didn't specify, several factors were at work. The 1971 revision to the Comics Code gave publishers renewed leeway in portraying realistic themes in comic books—and creative license to draw inspiration from the genre of horror. In tandem, the Seventies saw an increase in international and multicultural superheroes, as well as superheroines with origin stories and identities independent of male heroes.

In short, the shift initially described as "Phase Two" of Marvel Comics matches what we know more broadly today as the Bronze Age of comics books.

Tagak, the Leopard Lord

One of the most promising Defenders for a Day was Tagak, the Leopard Lord. Introduced in Daredevil #72, the mysterious Tagak was a costumed adventurer from another dimension. His home land was polytheistic, with only hints of what the religion entailed.

In his debut, the acrobatic Tagak revealed he was blind but could see by way of a mind-link with the trained leopard accompanying him. The leopard, however, did not join Tagak during his day with the Defenders, suggesting more nuance to the hero's sensory abilities.

Had Tagak stayed with the the non-team, or rejoined at some point, he certainly would have had potential to explore.

Daredevil. Vol. 1. No. 72. January 1971. "Lo, the Lord of the Leopards!" Stan Lee (editor), Gerry Conway (writer), Gene Colan (artist), Syd Shores (inker), Artie Simek (letterer).

The Best Defense

I am happy to see that plans are underway for the formative members of the Defenders to regroup later this year. Promotional images feature Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Silver Surfer, and Dr. Strange.

The most recent comic book version of the Defenders ended at #10 with Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage re-establishing Heroes for Hire. This should help readers differentiate the two teams.

I recognize of course that viewers of the recent Netflix series will continue to identify the Heroes for Hire and Daredevil as the Defenders even as the comic books veer another direction.

Existentialism

The latest comic book series of the Defenders—chronicling Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist's crusade against organized crime—concluded with Defenders #10.

Making a cameo appearance that issue, Hellcat noted that she remembered every detail of Reed Richards and Sue Storm's wedding yet at times had forgotten events that actually had happened to her. That remark was telling. In a serialized medium with decades of history—and, by the nature of the work, revamped continuity—only so many comic book stories have a lasting impact on the characters or the storytelling universe. Over the years, not every published issue remains key to the ongoing narrative.

On a related note, it's getting hard to keep track of every Defenders relaunch attempted over the last ten years, when I began writing this blog; I don't begin to predict what versions of the team might appear in the future. In the meantime, this blog provides me with space to continue reflecting on their past.

Brian Michael Bendis wrote Defenders #10 (April 2018).

Daredevil Meets Power Man & Iron Fist

The cover may have said Daredevil … Meets Power Man & Iron Fist, but Daredevil #178 (January 1982) wasn't the first time they made each other's acquaintance.

Power Man met Daredevil in Defenders #24 (June 1975).

All three heroes worked together in Marvel Team-Up Annual #4 (1981).

Daredevil #178 was, however, the first of a two-part crossover that continued in Power Man & Iron Fist #77 (January 1982).

Interestingly, when Iron Fist and Daredevil later faced one another in Contest of Champions #2 (July 1982), Iron Fist introduced himself as though they had never met—or as if Iron Fist knew that Daredevil's radar sense enabled the blind hero to detect a silhouette but not see the details of someone's costume.

Round Up the Defenders

This ad for Booking.com appears on the back cover of Defenders #4 (and other comics with a publication date of October 2017). The scene of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Daredevil vacationing at Big Mountain Ranch is reminiscent of Nighthawk's ranch—home to an earlier version of the non-team.

The Defenders logo at the bottom of the ad, interestingly, comes from a previous run of the Defenders (Volume 4) rather than the current series (Volume 5).

In Name Only

While repurposing the original nameplate, the latest team billed as the Defenders is decidedly dissimilar to the original non-team.

Starring the characters from the new TV mini-series, the comic book features super-powered couple Jessica Jones and Luke Cage (Power Man), as well as Cage's longtime crimefighting partner Iron Fist and informal ally Daredevil.

An in-story interview with Luke Cage at the end of Defenders #1 (August 2017) noted how he had been a member of a few super-teams, including the Defenders. Within the interview, Cage responded that most super-groups are more or less families—including the Defenders. It is unclear if the hero meant the Defenders in general or, more specifically, the latest version of the team. As of #2, the current combination of Defenders have been too busy battling the underworld to stop and discuss a group name.

Pawns of the Purple Man!

With a TV version of the Defenders just around the corner, I've been looking for comic books that mirror the upcoming series centering on Power Man, Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Jessica Jones.

Marvel Team-Up Annual #4 is the closest I've come. This issue featured Power Man, Iron Fist, and Daredevil, along with Spider-Man and Moon Knight. Their foe was Purple Man (later revealed as a nemesis of Jessica Jones in the comics and on her own TV show).

Marvel Team-Up Annual #4 was published in 1981.

Lawful Evil: The Secret Empire

The Secret Empire was a recurring enemy of the Defenders as well as Captain America. With its rigid chain of command, jingoistic aims, and a pattern of abducting and manipulating super-humans, the subversive organization easily met the criteria for Lawful Evil under the early alignment classifications from Dungeons & Dragons.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

In this panel from Defenders #106, Daredevil, the Son of Satan, and Dr. Strange are disguised as Secret Empire guards while infiltrating the organization's headquarters.

Hard-Rock Heroes

With unique stage costumes and face makeup to mask their identities, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss of the rock band KISS became comic book heroes in Marvel Comics Super Special #1 (1977).

The foursome gained their super-powers from the Box of Khyscz, which held mystical properties understood by a man identified as Dizzy.

At the Sanctum Sanctorum, Dizzy met with Dr. Strange and a group of the Defenders consisting of Daredevil, Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Son of Satan, Hulk, and Red Guardian. The Defenders, along with other established super teams, decided not to intervene as the members of KISS embarked on an inter-dimensional adventure that pitted them against Dr. Doom.

KISS returned in Marvel Comics Super Special #5 (1978). This go-around the group encountered the infamous Elf with a Gun while entering the Land of Leftovers, where symbolic figures of the 1960s lived out that decade indefinitely. Stever Gerber wrote Marvel Comics Super Special #1 and #5 after his tenure as writer of the Defenders.

Tales from 1967

In honor of the cliffhanger from Defenders #8 that referenced 1967, here's a look back at more memorable events from comic books published that year.

Out for revenge against Hank Pym and Wasp, the fiendish Whirlwind trapped the size-changing duo in an ant hill. After they escaped from that death trap in Avengers #46 (Nov. 1967), Pym installed cybernetic antennae into his latest costume as Goliath—regaining the insect-control powers he originally used as Ant-Man.

Nick Fury began to show his age in Strange Tales #154 (March 1967). Whereas prior issues depicted the S.H.I.E.L.D agent with a full head of brown hair, Nick Fury now sported "snow" around the temples. The distinguishing trait signaled the passage of time since Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos, a series published at the same time but set during World War II.

By the Seven Rings of Raggadorr! In another story from Strange Tales #154 (March 1967), the master of the mystic arts fought off hostile creatures in the Dark Dimension on his quest to the castle of Umar. There, Dr. Strange encountered the evil sorceress who had captured and threatened to kill Clea.

To protect his secret identity in Daredevil #25 (Feb. 1967), attorney Matt Murdock began the ongoing ruse that he had a twin brother named Mike. That issue also marked the first appearance of Leap-Frog, a villain whose son would later become the struggling hero known as Frog-Man.

Contest of Champions

In what arguably was the first limited series in comics, Grandmaster and the personified entity of Death mystically transported almost every hero on Earth for consideration in the three-issue Contest of Champions (June, July, August 1982).

Dr. Strange, Mr. Fantastic, Professor X, and other leading minds tried to discern why everyone had been summoned until Grandmaster and Death finally outlined the rules of the competition.

In four scavenger hunts situated on different parts of the Earth, three heroes from each side would compete against each other to locate a corner of a mystic globe. If Death's team won, she would add one-million years to the life of Earth's Sun. If Grandmaster's team won, he would stop using Earth's heroes in competitions.

Grandmaster chose:

• Captain America, Talisman, Darkstar, Captain Britain, Wolverine, Defensor, Sasquatch, She-Hulk, Daredevil, Peregrine, Thing, and Blitzkrieg.

Death selected:

• Iron Man, Vanguard, Shamrock, Iron Fist, Storm, Arabian Knight, Sabra, Invisible Girl, Angel, Black Panther, Sunfire, and Collective Man.

Official ground rules stated that participation was limited to humans (including mutants). That forbade androids, extraterrestrials, and gods from taking part in this particular competition.

I'd like to imagine that some additional ground rules also came into play.

Given that all 24 of the chosen heroes participated without question, Grandmaster and Death may have sensed which of the summoned heroes felt strongly enough to fight for one cause over the other (further narrowing which combatants were available to each side). This interpretation adds depth to the series by revealing the characters' values. It's telling that Daredevil, who had outsmarted the Grandmaster once (Giant-Size Defenders #3), now fought for Grandmaster's conditional pledge to stop coercing Earth's heroes into battle.

Another unspoken rule must have been that in the event of a tie, Death won. This explains why Death declared herself victorious at the end of the series even though Grandmaster's team won two of the four challenges.

Contest of Champions was reminiscent of an earlier challenge between Grandmaster and the time-traveler Kang, which pinned Nighthawk and other members of the Squadron Sinister against four of Earth's mightiest heroes: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Goliath (Clint Barton).

Each of those one-on-one battles also took place on a different part of the Earth (Avengers #70).

To Thine Own Self Be True

Of all the evil mutants the Defenders faced, Mandrill seemed the most driven by vengeance. As Mandrill described it, the torment he experienced as a child justified his criminal objectives.

Unusual appearance notwithstanding, Mandrill's mutant pheromones enabled him to enslave a Fem-Force army of women. The women of the Defenders were just as susceptible to the intoxicating effects, turning them against their own teammates (Defenders #90).

Hulk: Why does Valkyrie fight against Hulk? Valkyrie is Hulk's friend!

Valkyrie: Bumbling brute! Such as yourself could never be a friend of the Valkyrie! Stand away, or feel the sting of my blade, Dragonfang!

Hulk: Hulk doesn't understand--but if Valkyrie wants to hurt Hulk … Hulk will have to hurt Valkyrie.

Even with such chaos underfoot, the battle against Mandrill and his Fem-Force revealed how much the Defenders had come together as team.

• Hulk remained calm under pressure. When a mind-controlled Valkyrie drew her sword at the Hulk, he tried to reason with her before fighting.
• Valkyrie outgrew her allegory. Early incarnations of Valkyrie were decidedly feminist clichés (Avengers #83; Incredible Hulk #142). Seeing the character mind-controlled to join the one-dimensional Fem-Force showed how far removed Valkyrie of the Defenders truly was from such caricatures.
• Hellcat honed her psychokinesis. Despite her inability to control her psionic abilities since learning of them in Avengers #151, Hellcat successfully used the paranormal Shadow Cloak she acquired in Defenders #60 when attacking the women under Mandrill's command.
• Nighthawk lived up to his position as leader. After noticing that an electrical shock could free someone from the Mandrill's mental hold, Nighthawk used his resources at Richmond Industries to develop a bracelet that would emit an electrical pulse to protect against the villain's hypnotic power (Defenders #91).
• Daredevil returned! After several guest appearances as attorney Matt Murdock, the man without fear returned in costume to accompany the non-team during this adventure.

Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 90. December 1980. "Mind Over Mandrill!" Ed Hannigan (writer), Don Perlin and Pablo Marcos (artists), Diana Albers (letterer), George Roussos (colorist), Al Milgrom (editor), Jim Shooter (final arbiter).

Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 91. January 1981. "Defiance." Ed Hannigan (story), Don Perlin and Pablo Marcos (art), Diana Albers (lettering), George Roussos (coloring), Al Milgrom (editing), Jim Shooter (ed-in-chief).

Matt Murdock: Attorney without Fear

Daredevil was a welcome guest star in the Defenders. In fact, his real-life identity as attorney Matt Murdock was probably more valuable to the team than his costumed persona.

Here are a few examples:

• When police arrested Valkyrie for appearing to use undue violence against an opponent, Matt Murdock got those charges dropped (Defenders #40).
• When Nighthawk faced legal troubles due to problems with his company's finances, Murdock did what he could to help (Defenders #88).
• Murdock drafted the document that led to the celebrated amnesty of the Hulk (Incredible Hulk #279).

In short, the Defenders owed a lot to Matt Murdock!

This image of Daredevil appeared in the first edition of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

Once a Defender...

With Dr. Strange, Valkyrie, Nighthawk, and Yellowjacket captured by the Sons of the Serpent, Bruce Banner (a.k.a. the Hulk) knew he needed help thwarting the foes. As a result, Defenders #24 became the first in a two-part reunion, of sorts, bringing back several additional allies of the team.

In her first attempt at using the Crystal of Agamotto, Clea got the ball rolling by telepathically summoning several heroes who had lent a hand to the non-team in the past. The effort worked, and Daredevil, Power Man, and Daimon Hellstrom arrived to accompany the Hulk against the villainous organization.

I like this issue for accenting the history and dynamics of the team. Yet for all its strengths, Defenders #24 invariably reminds me of Giant-Size X-Men #1, in which Professor X used his Cerebro technology to telepathically summon mutant allies to help Cyclops rescue the original X-Men. With a May 1975 cover date, that milestone X-Men adventure appeared one month before this issue of the Defenders.

Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 24. June 1975. "--In the Jaws of the Serpent!" Stever Gerber (writer), Sal Buscema (artist), Bob McLeod (inker), Tom Orzechowski (letterer), Phil Rachelson (colorist), Len Wein (editor).

Acknowledgments

Two other blogs were kind enough to recognize The Defenders Fansite with Kreativ Blogger and One Lovely Blog Award earlier this year. So the time feels right to do some acknowledging of my own.

Dispatches from the Arrow Cave was the first superhero blog I began following. I especially enjoy the posts on Green Arrow's insurmountable array of trick arrows.

Why do bad things happen to smart villains? Silver Age Comics answers this question with an inspiring series of panels labeled When I'm the Evil Genius.

The extensive issue-by-issue coverage at Justice League of America Satellite ultimately prompted me to create this blog surveying the Defenders. My favorite JLA posts are those labeled new member, which also tell when heroes chose not to join.

Although the topic seldom crops up in Defenders discussions, scientific literacy is one of my areas of interest. I highly recommend the conscientious section on Daredevil Science at The Other Murdock Papers.

Fortress of Baileytude deserves credit for having the most comically complete bio About The Guy Writing This Blog. On that site, I recently began listening to the postcast Tales of the Justice Society, reporting on the heroes of Earth 2 and the memorable Hostess ads that filled comic books for many years.