Hot Wheels #4 (September-October, 1970)
"Eye of the Storm"
"The Powderpuff Run"
Writer - Len Wein
Artists - Alex Toth & Ric Estrada
Editor - Dick Giordano
Cover Price: $0.15
We've got a strange one today... an issue of the short-lived Hot Wheels comic! It's also a very early story penned by the great Len Wein.
Now, just how in the world can there be a Hot Wheels comic book? Great question... let's find out!
--
We open up at Metro City's Weather Bureau just as they are receiving the news of an incoming torrential storm. While this is happening, Jack Wheeler of the Hot Wheels (which is a racing team) is in the midst of a big coastal buggy race. Jack Wheeler, eh? I guess before he was a Quad City Bulldog, Wild Dog was a part of the tie toy-in racing circuit! Okay, probably not... but still neat to consider. Anyhoo, another racer is Hank Jeffries, who, if the exposition is to be believed is something of a rival to Jack. He is currently in the lead.
The Weather Bureau concludes that the storm will pummel the coastline within a half hour. News gets back to the racetrack, and the race is called off. Hank is devastated, as he is leading the pack... perhaps for the first time ever! He's so psyched that he refuses to pull over with the rest of the racers...
This rash decision does not pan out well for young Hank.
He is loaded into an ambulance while the Hot Wheels look on. Luckily, he survives... only suffering a broken wing. Otherwise, he is... in his words, "groovy". While there, Dr. Wall pulls Jack and his father off to the side... he's got a job that only the Hot Wheels can handle!
It turns out the old meteorologist, Benjamin Moss received the wrong prescription medication... and if an antidote isn't brought to him, he will die within five hours! What did the druggist give, rat poison? Anyhoo. Moss lives way up atop Oak Mountain at the observatory, and the inclement weather would make it impossible for any vehicle besides the Hot Wheels' dune buggy to make it up to him.
Two hours later, the dune buggy is all decked out for the trek. Before Jack can hop into the driver's seat, he is informed by teammate Tank that he will be tagging along.
The Hot Wheels head out into the rain-soaked roads. At this point Tank reveals to Jack that he has a personal stake in this mission, as Benjamin Moss is... dun dun dun... his grandfather! They had a bit of a falling out when Tank decided not to go into the family business of "grooving as a weather man", and instead choosing to get his hands dirty working on some mean machines.
Along the way, the weather and conditions go from bad to worse when the boys narrowly avoid a rockslide. From there, they unfortunately round a blind curve too quickly to appropriately react to a fallen tree... which they careen into!
Luckily, there is very little damage. Jack and Tank hop out and attach a line to the lumber so they might pull it out of the way. The art in these panels is very impressive!
With the tree out of their way, the boys approach their final obstacle... a rickety wooden bridge. They stop to brainstorm, and decide to pop the car into gear and slowly walk it across... so if the bridge begins to give, the fellas will have a chance of survival. Can't argue with logic like that!
The fellas cross the bridge... which gives way just as they reach the other side. Shortly, they arrive at the weather station... however, there is no answer at the door. Doors are little more than a speed bump for Tank, and so he busts in. The pair find Old Ben... alive! We also learn that Tank's real name is "Thaddeus", which I'm guessing is supposed to be funny.
The antidote is administered and the day is saved. What's more, Thad and Ben hash out their differences, and all is right with the world once more. We wrap up with Jack razzing Tank for his wacky real name. Wonk wonk wonkkkk.
Our second story concerns the Daisy Derby, which is a race for... get this... girls?! I can hardly believe it... and from the looks of it, neither can the Hot Wheels. Funnin' aside... team member Ardeth really wants to represent the team for this rally. Before we go on... Ardeth? I mean, I just couldn't imagine giving a baby a name with "deth" in it. Seems kind of morbid, no?
As she pleads her case, a mysterious racer dazzles the gang with their driving prowess. They are all shocked to find that this driver is a g-g-g-girl! What's worse, she's Alexandra Carter, the cousin of Dexter Carter... who is apparently the arch-nemesis of the Hot Wheels gang! After some trash talk, our man Jack agrees to let Ardeth race.
The gang heads into the garage to soup-up the best lookin' bucket of bolts they can find. Once it's all in one piece, the gals evict the boys to put their finishing touches on it. And, well... it's quite a scene.
Days pass, and it's time for the Daisy Derby. The cars take off, and believe it or not, our Ardeth has got some great racing chops! Nobody's more surprised than Alexandra, who proceeds to get dirty. She cuts Ardeth off, and squirts her windshield with an "ebony fluid". This costs Ardeth precious seconds, as she needs to pull over to wipe up the mess.
Ardeth then further proves that she's actually a very talented driver. It isn't long before she's neck-and-neck with Alexandra. Fellow Hot Wheel Janet decides to fight fire with fire by... holding up a sign to inform Alexandra that her lipstick is smeared. Whoops. A distracted Lexie spins out... hits a wall, and bursts into flames! Was it worth it, Janet? Was it worth it? Okay, none of that happened... well, the lipstick sign did, but it just distracted Ms. Carter long enough for Ardeth to pass her and cross the finish line.
We wrap up with the Hot Wheels celebrating, while the Carters... well, do the opposite of celebrating.
--
If you were to tell me that I'd enjoy my time reading a Hot Wheels comic, I'd probably have said "There was a Hot Wheels comic?"
All kidding aside, this book was a lot of fun. Had a much better time with it than I ever expected. I mean, it's a toy tie-in book... however, the focus is most definitely on the characters. That's something I can get behind. We don't get a good look at the entire Hot Wheels team, but the members we do get a chance to meet were pretty decent. Archetypal, to be sure... but, not at all bad.
What we have here are a pair of pretty disposable stories. The plots were pretty thin... but, I really wasn't expecting much in the way of depth. The closest we get is learning that Tank's real name is Thaddeus, and he thought his grandfather was disappointed in him for not being a weather man.
I suppose I should at least touch on the anachronistic tone of the Powderpuff Run back-up. I mean, this isn't a story that could/would be told today... but to opine on that is sorta like complaining that those old floppy disks only held so little data and VHS tapes need to be rewound. Things were different... times have changed. That having been said... it was a cute little story, and it ended with the "good guys" winning.
I gotta mention the art. I found myself really enjoying the look of this book! Both Alex Toth and Ric Estrada's contributed some amazing, clean, and dynamic artwork. I also gotta say... the sound effects were a ton of fun here, particularly in the Toth story. Entire panels were overcome with crazy effects... really appreciated that!
Overall... I'd recommend nabbing any issue of Hot Wheels should you come across it in the wild for... I dunno, a couple of bucks (or less), simply for the novelty of the thing. Even if I thought this issue was terrible, I'd say snag it. Thankfully, I thought this was a lot of fun... so, it comes doubly recommended. Not surprisingly, this bugger ain't available digitally... nor, to my knowledge, has it been collected. This is a single-issues dealie, folks.
--
(Not the) Letters Page:
--
Interesting Ads:
Legion of Super-Heroes (vol.4) #28 (April, 1992)
"Terra Mosaic, Part Four"
Story - Tom & Mary Bierbaum
Breakdowns - Keith Giffen
Pencils - Jason Pearson
Inks - Al Gordon
Letters - John Workman
Colors - Tom McCraw
Assists - Bob Kahan
Edits - Michael Eury
Cover Price: $1.75
Today's discussion will be a special one... as it is the first (of I hope many) Reader-Requested-Review! Good pal of the site and shows, Jeremy offered the suggestion of covering this book here today. This piece was supposed to hit last Friday, however, due to my confusing this issue with another (thought it was #38, which I did have)... it wasn't to be! Anyhoo... hit the shops this week and was able to snag the proper book!
Before we move into the spoilery-synopsis, I want to thank Jeremy for the suggestion and his readership (and his patience!). He maintains his own blog, right here! Definitely give him a look. He also has a permanent home over on the right-hand side in the "Blogroll of Chris" (click a link, maaaaan).
If you dig the idea of me taking requests every Friday, lemme know... and send in your suggestions... here, via email or anyplace where the media is social. Thanks!
--
We open in darkness, however there are voices. There seems to have been an accident... a(n uncooked) human has been injured. The voices of the bystanders conflate with those in a memory. Suddenly, we can see... and what we see is a bullied young boy. He is crying, and his father is none too pleased. When the lad asks for advice, he is told that things aren't always fair... and sometimes you need to "make them" be fair.
We are back in darkness, with the commingling voices. When we return to the light, we again see the boy. Now, however he is barely a toddler. His mother appears to be more interested in the upcoming fashion show than seeing to her son's cries. His Durlan (I think she's Durlan) nanny is assigned the task. We learn here that the boy's father might not be the most committed husband. Then, again, darkness.
Next flashback is the boy... a bit older. He is on the soccer (or whatever the far-flung future has instead) field disputing a bad call from an official. He claims the other team cheated, but his father reasons that perhaps the other team just valued winning more.
We shift forward a few years, and the boy... now a young man, is brought into his father's business, in a seemingly management level role. I'm just going to refer to him as Dirk or Sun Boy from this point on. He is introduced to his team... one of whom (Dr. Regulus) greets him with a bit of disrespectful sass. We learn that by this point, Dirk can give as good as he takes... and makes Regulus look rather foolish. Perhaps this is a sign that his father's words have an effect?
Darkness... then light. Dirk heads into his father's office, and finds him having "a time" with someone who isn't his mother. This leads to a discussion where Dirk tries to wrap his head around why his father would act in such a way... to which, he is told that he is only acting the way women want him to. Hmm, whatever you gotta tell yourself, pal.
To make things up to his son, Mr. Morgna decides to... send him to a cathouse. Ay yai yai. Anyhoo, inside the "Cherry Patch Ranch", young Dirk meets with his lady of the evening... however, when he looks at her, he can only see his mother's face!
We flash forward a bit to an accident at the office. There was an explosion, and there are casualties. Turns out Dr. Regulus was getting even for his ribbing... for ruining his career. He decides an eye for an eye should suffice... Dirk killed his career, and so, he'll kill Dirk. This doesn't work out so well...
Dirk's hands grow hot, and next we see him he is in full Sun Boy garb. He approaches Regulus, and proceeds to beat him to death. As he pummels, Regulus takes on the visage of Dirk himself! Perhaps a sign that he is fighting what he has become... or, maybe he now sees Regulus as a weakling... like he used to be? Either way, it's a fairly striking (pun!) sequence. Love that the Sun on Sun Boy's uniform now shows a skull! I should mention, that while the whaling occurs, the Legion oath is being read. Neat juxtaposition.
Darkness... the light. The scene becomes rather frenetic at this point... and we see Sun Boy at various stages of maturity. I do not have the context for what follows, however what I am getting is that Sun Boy has been tasked with evacuating a planet... and just might have bitten off more than he can chew. Taking the words of his father to heart, he may feel as though he has total control over the "fairness" of a given situation... however, he might just be about to learn that certain things will never be fair.
We continue... into a stream of Legionnaire cameos. It's pretty clear that Sun Boy was, at one time, the leader of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and one-by-one his teammates enter his quarters... and resign. The resignations begin relatively benign... but grow ever crueler as they persist.
After some guilt-tripping in the form of his father, and Alisia (one who died at the lab), Sun Boy is visited by... Polar Boy, who appears to be our man's #1 fan. He is completely upbeat, and appears to be telling Dirk everything he'd ever want to hear... which, in this instance, is the last thing Dirk wants to listen to. He lashes out at Polar Boy, and then resigns from the Legion himself!
Darkness again. When we come back into focus, Dirk is standing in a charity line... at one time he had it all, now... nothing. He is approached by his fellow hard-luckers, and is called out for being an Earthgov traitor and a Khund conspirator, as they pelt him with garbage. He is rescued by an armored officer... who is revealed to be Science Police member Shvaughn Erin. He is taken in and given a hot meal. He expresses interest in joining something... maybe the Earthgov... but she tells him it's not worth it.
From here, he goes off to drown his sorrows, at which time he is approached by a young lady who promises to show him that he deserves better. Then another young lady... and another... and another. What I'm trying to say is our Sun Boy might have an addiction... or that this woman is a shape-shifter that I oughta recognize.
He is told that the world can be his... so long as he joins the Earthgov team. I thought he was already interested from his chat with Shvaughn? Maybe I'm missing something. Anyhoo... he signs on the dotted line. At this point we meet our old friends the Dominators... and in a horrifying panel, Dirk takes on some of their more prominent features! The art here is truly amazing... but we'll talk about that later.
Sun Boy then prepares to give a speech regarding a recent Earthgov event. He starts off strong... however, the longer it goes... the more uncomfortable he appears. He knows the words he speaks are nothing more than lies. He stops... refusing to continue... at which time he is informed that he has a job to do.
We shift to Dirk's vehicle surrounded by citizens... and they ain't at all happy. They riot, and beat on his rig, until an armored officer blasts the bystanders with a disintegrate ray! Dirk has a front-row seat... and is a captive audience to the gore.
While listening to a report about oncoming tsunamis, meteors, and Dominator ships, Dirk cuts himself out of his vehicle. We shift to a young man pointing skyward... and we see, atop a building... Sun Boy!
He's smiling... and it's really quite eerie. Now, it would appear that he was expecting the crowd below to give him a hero's welcome... that, however, is not the case. Instead they boo him for being a traitor. He looks out over the horizon, and a wave of radiation approaches...
... and just wrecks Sun Boy.
We wrap up learning that Dirk Morgna is in a pod... inside a lab... and he is screaming. Damn.
--
Well... I'm not sure what I just read, but I gotta say... I loved it!
This definitely has that Giffen feeling of insanity and discomfort... that I never would have guessed would appear in a Legion comic. I always expected them to be more straight-up sci-fi space opera. This more, I dunno... twisted (?) look at one of their members was amazing to experience. Now, I do gotta say, I read this with zero context. That is to say... I don't know any of these characters... who they are, where they've been, what they've done. Nada. I'm currently kicking myself for doing so, as I'm sure my reactions are quite a bit different from those of a seasoned Legion vet.
I am going to assume (emphasis on "assume") that Sun Boy was a somewhat less than savory individual prior to this. This issue shows that he was raised by one aloof parent in his mother, and one less than moral Type-A parent in his father. During his childhood and into his adolescence he sort of walked a line between privileged and abused. We hear his father compare his whining to that of "a loser", however, he's also given positions of authority over skilled engineers and technicians simply because of who he is.
In his mocking of Regulus, Dirk shows that he sort of embraces his father's words. He goes against type... and instead of being the bullied child who cries to his parents, he becomes the bully. We also see the way in which his father treats women... and the way he justifies his behavior. In telling Dirk that women really want to be used and/or treated as objects, ya gotta wonder how much of that might've stuck.
During the scene in which Sun Boy fights Regulus... the latter appears to the former... as the former. It is as though Sun Boy is trouncing... Sun Boy! Is this an indication that Dirk hates what he's become? Does he see Regulus as weak... sort of like he sees himself? I dunno... it's really deep if you think about it, and sadly... though I find myself engaged and intrigued, I still have no context for any of this! I definitely need to "get in" on the Legion...
We see Dirk as a one-time leader of the Legion, and from all indications, he wasn't all that great in the role. I'm not sure when that Black Dawn event was... and I'm not entirely clear on the particulars. If it had anything to do with that planetary evacuation, I'd really like to check it out.
The idea that poor Dirk is in a pod, reliving all of these horrible events in his life... well, just like the fellas at the end said, "he's supposed to be dead... and right around now, he wishes he were". Living through that waking nightmare is most certainly a fate worse than death... and the pain... think about the pain. The dude was wrecked by an entire sky-full of radiation. Dang.
Now... the art. Let's first talk about the panel placement... this issue is almost entirely nine-panel grids. It feels claustrophobic... and we can almost immediately tell that Keith Giffen had a hand in the layouts. The only page without a nine-panel is the full-page spread, with Sun Boy in all his glory. Without even realizing it... I gotta say, there was a brief (ever so brief) moment of relief having broken out of the grid. I'm not sure if that was the creators' intention... to give the reader that scant moment of hope... room to breathe. That's how I received it... however, I will concede that I may be thinking too hard.
The art proper... amazing. I mean, panels that are supposed to be ugly... are ugly. Panels that are supposed to not be ugly... are beautiful in ugly, broken ways. It's really hard to explain... there's this feeling of distress and hopelessness. I loved the use of cartoony mouths throughout. These smiles are just gigantic... bigger than the faces, and work perfectly to convey the creepiness and Dirk's perception of these personalities and events.
This is most definitely not a book I would have checked out on my own... and, I gotta say... I am so glad I did. This is precisely why I decided to take requests... to broaden my horizons into unfamiliar DC waters. It's only fitting that our first stop is in the 31st Century. This issue is certainly recommended to check out. For your convenience it is available digitally.
Before we wrap up... another big thanks to Jeremy for the suggestion! I hope you enjoyed my (highly uneducated) take on this powerful and intense issue. Remember to give him a look here. If anyone else is interested in getting my "hot take" on a particular issue, please let me know. Thanks!
--
Letters Page:
--
Interesting Ads:
