The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 063 - X-Men #48 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Sixty-Three

X-Men #48 (September, 1968)
"Beware Computo, Commander of the Robot Hive!"
"Yours Truly, the Beast"
Writer - Arnold Drake
Pencils - Don Heck & Werner Roth
Inks - John Tartaglione
Letters - Irving Watanabe
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

How can we miss the X-Men if they never go away?

Today we wrap up the "split-up era" for our Uncanny Heroes... just an issue after we kicked it off! This time, we're hanging out high in the desert mountains of New York City with Cyclops and Marvel Girl while they face off with a reject Fantastic Four baddie! It's not ALL bad though, once we get through with our lead feature, we get to watch Hank McCoy write with his feet for a few pages!

There's still the Mutant Mail-Box, the Bullpen Bulletins, and Stan's Soapbox gets relevant! All that, plus some discussion and interview notes about Gary Friedrich and Arnold Drake's little discussed time with the World's Strangest Teens!

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 062 - X-Men #47 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Sixty-Two

X-Men #48 (August, 1968)
"The Warlock Wears Three Faces!"
"I, the Iceman!"
Writers - Gary Friedrich & Arnold Drake
Layouts - Don Heck
Pencils - Werner Roth
Inks - Johns Tartaglione & Verpoorten
Letters - Artie Simek & Joe Rosen
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12c

With the X-Men no more, we check in with the Bosom Buddies and their Belles as they try to get tickets to the theatre! It's the return of the Warlock (not THAT Warlock... or the other one... probably not the third or fourth one yer thinkin' of either!). Also, despite the title of this ish... he's only got one face, and it's very boring!

Also: The Mutant Mail-Box, The Bullpen Bulletins... small-talk on Arnold Drake and Fabulous Flo Steinberg... and, finally, I read Professor Charles Xavier's eulogy! Join us, won't you?

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 061 - X-Men #46 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Sixty-One

X-Men #46 (July, 1968)
"The End of the X-Men!"
"... And Then There Were Two"
Writer - Gary Friedrich
Pencils - Don Heck, Werner Roth, & George Tuska
Inks - John Tartaglione
Letters - Artie Simek
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12c

Back behind the mic after a long hiatus... jumping back in with the Silver Age X-Men, just as they're getting set to split up! This being a Chris-show, expect the first half-hour of it to be full of stuff you probably couldn't care less about... but, once I finally get to the comics-content, it's a pretty good time! Two "ehh" stories, the Mutant Mail-Box, and Bullpen Bulletins are all here!

Huge and sincere THANK YOU for your patience and lack of new episodes over the past few months.

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 59 - Avengers #53 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Fifty-Nine

Avengers #53 (June, 1968)
"In Battle Joined!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - John Buscema
Inks - George Tuska
Letters - Artie Simek
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

Not even a two-hour bout of oral surgery could stop your humble host from wrapping up our Magneto arc on time!  Which is to say... I'm a bit more loopy than usual today, gang!

But what a day it is... we're finally getting Round Two of AvX... and a Silver Age Dagwood Sandwich of a story that will likely leave us all scratching our heads!  It's hero vs. hero... villain vs. villain... tweener vs. tweener -- it's a wild ride all the way though!  Either that, or these painkillers I'm taking are some really wicked stuff!

You be the judge!

--

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The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 58 - X-Men #45 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Fifty-Eight

X-Men #45 (June, 1968)
"When Mutants Clash!"
"And the Mob Cried... Vengeance!"
Writer - Gary Friedrich
Layouts - Don Heck
Pencils - Werner Roth & George Tuska
Inks - Johns Tartaglione & Verpoorten
Letters - Sam Rosen & Irving Watanabe
Colors - ?
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

On the eve of Avengers vs X-Men: Round Two -- we get to experience a slapfight between Cyclops and Quicksilver!  Not much more to say about this one!  Our "Origins of the Uncanny X-Men" backup is sillier than ever... and, speaking of silly - boy, wait'll you hear how the X-Faithful eulogized Professor X in the letters pages!

--

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The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 57 - X-Men #44 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Fifty-Seven

X-Men #44 (May, 1968)
"Red Raven, Red Raven...!"
"The Iceman Cometh!"
Plots - Roy Thomas
Writer - Gary Friedrich
Layouts - Don Heck
Pencils - Werner Roth & George Tuska
Inks - John Tartaglione & John Verpoorten
Colors - ???
Letters - Sam Rosen & Artie Simek
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

We're finally back for a stint in the Silver-Age... where one of our teen-age heroes meets a fella outta Marvel's Golden Age!  It's the coming (and going) of Red Raven!  Hold on to yer harnesses gang, this one's gonna be a barn-burner!  We've got us a new writer to boot!

Plus - The Origins of the X-Men backup strip focuses on Kid Kool as he gets roughed up by some Strong Island street toughs, and thrown in the clink!

Also - our normal Silver-Age back-matter - Letters Pages (featuring future pros Keith Giffen and Carl Gafford), an abridged Bullpen Bulletins bit, and an absolutely overflowing MIGHTY Marvel Checklist!

It's great to be back in "the long ago", I sure hope you'll join me!

--

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The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 056 - X-Men #43 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Fifty-Six

X-Men #43 (April, 1968)
"The Torch is Passed...!"
"Call Him... Cyclops"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - George Tuska & Werner Roth
Inks - John Tartaglione & John Verpoorten
Letters - Sam Rosen & Artie Simek
Colors - ???
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

Back to the flagship... but still with Magneto!  A wildly convenient little ditty today, which starts at Professor X's somber memorial... and ends up on the electrified floor of Island M.  The hows and whys are part of (if not ALL of) the fun...

Also: A backup strip to shut up some of the more annoying... err, prolific... letterhacks, finally explaining how Cyclops' powers work!

Speaking of letterhacks, we'll be covering 7-8 of those, then hopping into the Bullpen Bulletins to talk about the 1968 Marvel Explosion, I kvetch s'more about variant covers... and much, much more!

--

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The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 055 - Avengers #49 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Fifty-Five

Avengers #49 (February, 1968)
"Mine is the Power!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Art - John Buscema
Letters - Artie Simek
Colors - Oh, yew know
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

Wrapping up our three-issue stint with Earth's Mightiest to discuss the return of Magneto.  Today, he continues attempting to convince Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch into putting the Brotherhood Band back together... with unexpected results.  He also approaches the United Nations Security Council in hopes of... get this... establishing sovereign nation-hood for Mutants!  Wow, where have we heard THAT before (or since)?

Plus, we wrap up our Roy's Recollections feature from Alter Ego #24 (2003), where our Boy gets rather snippy and also discusses the latter-half of his first go-round with the Muties!

I also kvetch for awhile about variant covers... fun times, indeed!

--

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The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 054 - Avengers #48 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Fifty-Four

Avengers #48 (January, 1968)
"The Black Knight Lives Again!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Art - George Tuska
Letters - Artie Simek
Colors - ???
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

Continuing our sidebar into Avengers, where we're following the grand return of Magneto!  Today's episode answers the question "Is that a microphone down your pants, or are you just happy to see me?", and sees the All-New, All-Different Black Knight take flight!  Also, the Avengers are verrrrrrry sloppy without the guidance and leadership of Captain America!

Plus: We discuss a portion of an essay written by Roy Thomas in 2003 wherein he reflected on his first go-round with Marvel's Merry Mutants.

--

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The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 052 - X-Men #42 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Fifty-Two

X-Men #42 (March, 1968)
"If I Should Die...!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Don Heck
Inks - George Tuska
Letters - Sam Rosen
Colors - ???
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

Not a Dream!  Not a Hoax!  Not an Imaginary Story!  Not a... good story either!

Today we celebrate... wait, that's not the right word for it... we commemorate the passing of the Mentor, Trainer, and Tormenter of the Uncanny X-Men: Professor Charles Francis Xavier!  We will almost certainly never see him ever again.

Plus: We wrap up Cyclops' origin in our Origins of the X-Men backup, we chat up the letters pages, go through the Bullpen Bulletins - have a brief aside about the Somerton Man, check out the new-look MIGHTY Marvel Checklist (now with 2 less anthologies!), hit up out own mailbag... and much, much more!

Join us, won't you?  This probably isn't the best jumping-on point... but, give a listen anyway, you'll be hooked!

--

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The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 051 - X-Men #41 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode Fifty-One

X-Men #41 (February, 1968)
“Now Strikes… The Sub-Human!” & "The Living Diamond!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Don Heck & Werner Roth
Inks - George Tuska & John Verpoorten
Letters - Sam Rosen
Colors - ???
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

In our Essentials "October finale... in the middle of November", we're going out with a... meh!  The X-Men fight another interchangeable monster of the month... and Cyclops fears that Professor X might have the not-so-secret hotpants for the lovely Ms. Grey!  Plus: Our Origins of the X-Men featurette rolls on, showing us how Scott and the Prof first met!

Plus - All the usual back-mattery nonsense you've come to know and tolerate!

--

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The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 050 - X-Men #40 (1968)

The Essential X-Lapsed, Episode 050

X-Men #40 (January, 1968)
“Mark of the Monster!” & "The First Evil Mutant!"
Writer - Roy Thomas
Pencils - Don Heck & Werner Roth
Inks - George Tuska & John Verpoorten
Letters - Artie Simek & Al Kurzrok
Colors - Ya know, that guy
Edits - Stan Lee
Cover Price: 12¢

It's the regular-sized, nothin' happenin' Landmark Milestone FIFTIETH Episode of The Essential X-Lapsed!

And, boy do I wish we had a better story to talk about...

It's the X-Men vs. Frankenstein('s Monster)... by the way, I will refer to him both as "Frankenstein" AND "Frankenstein's Monster"... so, consider that your trigger warning!  Also, we meet the First Evil Mutant, the ridiculous Jack O'Diamonds!

All'at and all of our normal nutty back-matter!

--

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Teen Titans #13 (1968)

Teen Titans #13 (January-February, 1968)
"The TT's Swingin' Christmas Carol!"
Writer - Bob Haney
Artist - Nick Cardy
Cover Price: $0.12

Merry Christmas, friends!  Hope everyone woke up to a tree-full of great stuff from Santa.

Today we're going to wrap up our Twelve Days of Christmas on Infinite Earths with one Swingin' Christmas Carol.  I know what you're thinking... "Chris, you merry elf... you covered this story last year!"  To which I say... well, yeah... I did!

We looked at this story way back on December 21, 2016 as part of the 1988 Christmas With the Super-Heroes Special.  So, why do it again?

Well... I finally came into a copy of the original... which has been one of my "white whales" of collecting... also, I get to share all of the groovy ads and letters page... last year I was only able to dedicate about a paragraph to this in our "discussion" section... and finally, it affords me the opportunity to "organically" promote the fact that Reggie and I included this in the Cosmic Treadmill Christmas Special... now available for download!




Before we hop in... I'd like to once again wish everyone the Merriest and Brightest Holiday!  Thank you all for a great year of comics chatter... and look forward to our 700th Daily Discussion coming in just five days!

--

We open at Ebeneezer Scrounge's Junkorama... oi... inside Scrounge is being a slave-driver to his employee... Bob *hm* Ratchet.  Bob asks Scrounge if he might have Christmas Day off to be with his son, Tiny Tom... is any of this sounding familiar?  No?  It's just me, then?  Anyhoo... Scrounge is all "Humbug", but tells him if he gets his work done he can have the day off.  Hmm, sounds reasonable, no?  Suddenly a truck pulls up, and Scrounge decides to shoo Ratchet off for the evening.

Just as this occurs, Tiny Tom rolls up in his not-so-deluxe wheelchair.  He overhears Scrounge and a pair of thugs making a deal on some old garbage.  Ya see, they've got a sort of ray that makes old garbage into new stuff.  Why, they'll make millions!

Tom rushes home to tell his father what he'd heard.  He suggests he confront Scrounge with it... which, goes about as well as you might imagine.  Scrounge decides that poor Ratchet's gonna have to work Christmas after all.  Tiny Tom's outta tricks, so he decides to call in the cavalry... the Teen Titans!  Not sure how he got a hold of them... but, c'maaaaaan, it's Christmas... we'll allow it.

The Titans hide under the bad guys' truck as they head out.  They are stopped by a giant of a man who starts wrecking fools left and right.  The Titans bail out and decide to trail their potential ally... all the way back to Ebeneezer Scrounge's run down mansion.

The big man beats on the door onto Scrounge answers... it's Jacob *hm* Farley, fresh from the clink... still wearing the stripes, even!  He's here to take some justice from the ol' skinflint's be-hind.

The Titans enter the mansion before Farley can obliterate the old geezer... and we come to find that he was Scrounge's scapegoat for some scummy dealings, which caused some on-the-job injury.  Scrounge knows his rights, and decides to phone up the police... Farley and the Titans both scram before they get arrested.  Outside, the Titans compare what they're going through with Dicken's A Christmas Carol... okay, so we're going there, fair enough.

The gang decides... what the hell... let's keep playing along.  Maybe have ol' Scrounge visited by some ghosts and what-not... which, ya know... is exactly what they're gonna do.  First it's the Ghost of Christmas Past... who I'm guessing is Wally, because he comes in through the wall.  He spooks Scrounge pretty good... causing him to flee the mansion...

... where he meets the Ghost of Christmas Present... who is, I dunno... either Robin or Aqualad, I guess.  He takes Scrounge out to where he can see Bob Ratchet digging through the snow for spare parts with which he can repair Tiny Tom's wheelchair... good thing there's a perfectly good wheel under that snowdrift, right?

Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Future arrives... which is, get this... Wonder Girl in a cute little Santa onesie, with her hood up.  We hear some phantom voices about Scrounge's legacy, including a very nice one from Tiny Tom.  The baddies arrive during the haunting... and, not messing around... shoot her right out of the sky.  Ouch.  Anyhoo, the jig is up.

The next scene is a... weird fighty bit, where the Titans get sucked into a giant "garbage tree" or something.  I guess it's an anti-burglar device... that, I dunno... attracts human flesh?

Suddenly, the attractor starts... attracting, Tiny Tom's wheelchair.  It falls and gets crushed... and they say, that Ebeneezer Scrounge's heart grew three sizes that day.  Seeing the wheelchair of the only boy who ever said anything nice about him destroyed is enough to set him off.  He turns off the machine, and frees the Titans.

Scrounge has seen the light... he decides to turn over a new leaf... he even goes as far as to buy Tiny Tom a state of the art, groovy electric wheelchair!

Not only that, Ebeneezer replaces Wonder Girl's cute little Santa suit so the gang can all pose and deliver a very special (and of course, swinging and groovy) Holiday greeting!

--

This one just gets sillier (and better) every time I read it!  I think it's the perfect note to end our Twelve Days of Christmas on Infinite Earths feature on.

We really acquainted ourselves with this story for the latest Cosmic Treadmill Podcast... there was so much great far-out dialogue in here that I was toying with the idea of scripting out the entire thing!

The thing of it is now, however, is that I almost feel too close to this one to give it a "fair and balanced" review.  I think I can safely say this one won't rock everybody's socks.  It's pretty light on action... and it's, ya know, a parody/homage to A Christmas Carol (by Dickens, if ya dig), so we get pretty much exactly what we expect.

Scrooge/Scrounge is visited upon... then has a complete change of heart.  That's the quick and the dirty on both stories.  It still tickles me thought, that the Titans actually come to the revelation that their situation is strikingly similar to A Christmas Carol halfway through the issue.  I mean, it sets up the second half... but it's still just so weird!

Nick Cardy's art here is fantastic... and just like we mentioned during the podcast, his work on the Titans and the A Christmas Carol knock-offs is quite different.  The Titans still look like their usual comic book selves, whereas the rest have sort of a rougher look... heavily shadowed... almost as if they'd literally just stepped out of an old book.  It's a great look and doesn't distract from the storytelling one bit.

Overall... this story gets a huuuge recommendation from ol' Santa Chris.  It's available digitally, and has been reprinted a whole slew of times (including 1988's Christmas With the Super-Heroes, natch).  If you see this one, definitely grab it... I think you'll have a great time with it.

Before I cut out (for another handful of Christmas cookies that I shouldn't be eating), I want to once again wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season.  Thanks for making this a great year... and hopefully some of my silliness has helped in some small part to brighten yours!

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Letters Page:

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Fun Stuff:

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Interesting Ads:

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O' Christmas Tree 2017:

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas on Infinite Earths, I give to you Teen Titans #13, Adventures of Superman #520, Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12, JSA Classified #33, The Spirit #13, Justice League Unlimited #28, Shade the Changing Man (vol.2) #19, Action Comics #762!  Young Justice #40, Superman: The Man of Steel #109, Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special, and a Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #2  Review.   Merry Christmas, friends! 

695

Teen Titans #17 (1968)

Teen Titans #17 (September-October, 1968)
"Holy Thimbles, it's the Mad Mod"
Script - Bob Haney
Art - Nick Cardy
Editor - Dick Giordano
Cover Price: $0.12

Now there's a groovy cover, no?

Keeping with our impromptu look at odd-ball villains, let's keep the ball rolling by checking in with one of the odd-est.  Or is that Mod-est?

--

We open at Buck House (that's Buckingham Palace for all the squares), where Teen Titans Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Aqualad are present for the Royal Command Performance.  Wow, these kids have met the Queen of England and President John F. Kennedy!  Anyhoo, as the Royal Sceptre makes an appearance the gang wonders what might be keeping Robin.  Um, it goes without saying that the Sceptre gets stolen, right?

Of course it does!  And the fella behind the swipe is none other than... the Mad Mod!  The Titans leap into action... however, come up embarrassingly short.

As the kids are flat on their backs they think back to exactly how they got into this situation.  Earlier in the day, all four Titans were in their "spacious, gracious" hotel suite overlooking London.  There's a knock at the door, and it's their newly laundered and pressed costumes.  Guess the costumes they were already wearing weren't quite up to snuff for hob-nobbin' with the Queen Mother.  This might sound dumb, but trust me when I say... it's integral to the story.

And so, the Titans have themselves a bit of a wardrobe change... not that any of us would have been able to tell had we not seen this scene.  Wally, Garth and Donna (who they refer to as Double-You Gee here, which takes longer to say than just "Wonder Girl") head off to do some dancing at a discotheque while Robin decides to pursue some culture.  While Robin is getting his culture, he accidentally locks himself inside the Tower of London.  Whoops?

Back in the present, Wally is pursuing the Mad Mod...'s van.  Ya know, I'd figure the Mod would have a more fashionable ride.  That's not really important... what is important, however, is that Wally's having one helluva time keeping up!  It's as though he's lost his connection with the speed force!  And so, he heroically steals a motorcycle and continues his pursuit.

He follows the baddies all the way to a pub called The Chalk Charger.  He overhears that the Mod is planning to hold that "ruddy" sceptre for a king's ransom.  I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

Wally also overhears that the sceptre is stashed in a horse's ear.  That'd be around the time my investigation would have hit the wall... but thankfully Kid Flash is a bit more up on all things English.  I'm about to let my lack of culture and worldliness show, but I guess there are giant chalk figures carved into hills over there!  Whodathunkit?  Well, probably most people who aren't me.  Anyhoo, one happens to be a... horse!

And so, Wally heads out toward Westbury, and tries his hunch... and wouldn'tcha know it, he finds the sceptre!  Unfortunately, the Mod and Company arrive just in time to bonk him on the head and steal it right back.

Next, we join Wonder Girl and Aqualaddio in a helicopter over Loch Ness.  I probably don't need to even say what's eventually going to happen here, right?  We'll get there... I promise.  First, however, we need to get Garth in the water.  After seeing a strange craft submerge, our Aqualad dives in to see what's up.  What he finds is... the Mad Mod planting the sceptre in an undersea jug.

Garth grabs it, but doesn't get far before the Mod snags him in a net.  He's then taken to an old tower... where he's hung (by his wrists).  The Mod somehow seems to know that Aqualad can't be out of the water for over an hour.  Not sure why they didn't just, I dunno... kill him?  Guess that's why I'm not a supervillain.  Anyhoo... the Mod leaves, Garth uses his marine-life-communication hoo-doo... and suddenly, say it with me: The Loch Ness Monster!

With Garth saved by the friendly beast, we now join Wonder Chick as she literally watches the Mad Mod place the sceptre under Stonehenge.  She waits for him to leave... then fetches it for herself, though... has one heckuva time hoisting that rock.

Oddly, Donna's feat of strength was witnessed by some local Druid's (?), who mistake her for their Goddess.  They hoist her in the air and begin to chant.  It's this ruckus that grabs the attention of the still-not-yet-fled Mad Mod.

The Mod rushes into the fray... and hits Donna with his, er... thimble fingers (first I saw them, I thought they were salt and pepper shakers!)?!  Having successfully reclaimed the loot, the baddies hop back into the van, and proceed to barrel through the mob of Druids!

The Titans then reconnoiter at a country crossroads to discuss their next move.  They spy a sign posted to a... er, post... advertising the Ungrotty Grotto... which just so happened to be what was written on the side of the Mod's van.  The kids know they're Cornwall-bound!

Along the way... Donna decides to change costumes, because why not?  Hopefully the boys gave her some privacy... though, it is a rather small helicopter.  The boys also change into their spare costumes and realize that... their powers are returning!  Looks like the Mad Mod must've gimmicked their gear! 

We rejoin the Titans (and the Mod) not just in Cornwall... but, haunted Cornwall.  The teens witness the Mod dropping a man attached to a ball and chain into the water.  A repowered Garth dives in to make the save... unfortunately before he can reach the body, a Killer Whale swoops in and gobbles the poor feller up.

Meanwhile, at the Mod Cave... Wally and Donna arrive to face off with the odd villain, who is rather displeased to see that they've regained their powers.  While Kid Flash beats up his goons, the Mod attempts to make an escape.  Wonder Girl gives chase, and winds up taking a rock to the side of her head for her troubles!

As the Mod flees though a maze of grottos, Aqualad finally catches up to the Killer Whale... and forces crushed pepper pods into its blowhole.  I dunno, that seems pretty mean, right?  Anyhoo, turns out (shocker) the body that was dropped was just a dummy.  Inside the dummy, however, is the Royal Sceptre!

We rejoin the Mod in a grotto that is rapidly filling with water.  Seems our fashion maven has forgotten what time the tides roll in.  Luckily, Garth is still in the area... and he swims in for the save.

The Titans return the Sceptre to the Queen before returning to their suite, where they find... Robin.  He reveals he's been locked in the Tower of London for an entire day, wonk wonk wonkkkkkk.

We close out with the Titans debating telling Dick what really happened during the Command Performance.

--

So... the Mad Mod, eh?

It's weird... as much as my head is telling me that I didn't really dig this, I can't help but sit here with a dopey smile on my face thinking about it.  This was just so silly... and, ya know... kinda dumb, but it was just what the doctor ordered.

Sometimes we (or at least, I) just need a silly superhero story, where one thing leads neatly to the next, and at the end of the day... everything is a-ok.

The Mod as a villain... well, he's about as effective as his name would suggest.  But he's fun!  This is a character that couldn't work outside of this time period.  We saw him briefly pop up during the relatively-recent Titans Hunt (2015-16) miniseries... and boy howdy, did his Millennial makeover give me the dry-heaves!  Talk about a most punchable face for all the wrong reasons.

I think it was wise taking Robin off the table for this story... it's not like a starched costume would make him less analytical, right?  Then again, he did get himself locked in a dungeon overnight.  Maybe that's what they mean by "tourist trap"?

I'm not completely sold on Bob Haney's "three-act play" format.  Many (perhaps all) of his Titan's stories have three parts... and it gives the issue a sort of disjointed feel.  It facilitates "hopping around" in location, time, and character... but, really takes me out of the story.  We go from a panel with Wally getting bonked on the head immediately to a panel with Aqualad and Wonder Chick in a helicopter over Loch Ness.  It's a bit jarring.  Perhaps if I read more any (non-comic) books, I'd appreciate this a bit more.

Overall, not a bad issue at all and I'd say most comics enthusiasts would definitely get a kick out of it!  I think this is the last we see of the Mod until the mid-1990's too!  This issue has been collected a couple of different ways, including the super-affordable SHOWCASE Presents: Teen Titans, Volume One.  It is also available digitally.

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