A Trio of Team-Ups - DC Comics Presents #12, #41, and #84

Back in the day, the team-up books were my favorites.  I loved Marvel Team-Up, Marvel Two-In-One, The Brave and the Bold, and even World's Finest.  However, the one I have the most issues of in my collection is DC Comics Presents.

Ten years ago, one of the local comic shops was having a huge back issues sale and I snagged these three.  They went into a long box unread.  Unread until today, that is.

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DC Comics Presents #12
Cover: Ross Andru and Dick Giordano
Writer: Steve Englehart
Artists: Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano

Mister Miracle escapes from a coffin dropped from a plane over the Nevada desert and is pissed when he finds out most people were tuned to a documentary about Superman and missed his special.

After some moping, Mister Miracle sees an Intergang boss and follows her.  Turns out Intergang has a mind control device that can destroy Superman!

The criminals test the device and Mister Miracle tries to warn Superman but can't because of the device's effects.  Since he can't warn Superman, Mister Miracle challenges him to a contest to somehow convey the message to him.  Huh.

Anyway, Superman confronts Mister Miracle for acting like a douche and they head back to the desert to settle things.  Mister Miracle tricks Superman and destroys the machine, freeing him from his mental block.

Yeah, the ending was pretty hokey but getting there was fun.  DC sure brought the A-game to the table with the art on DC Comics presents.  Ross Andru always gets overlooked as one of the top artists of the late 70s/early 80s and Rich Buckler was hot at the time.  The plot was kind of flimsey but gets extra points for alluding to Superman vs. Mohammed Ali.

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DC Comics Presents #41
Cover: Ross Andru and Dick Giordano
Writer: Martin Pasco
Artists: Jose Luis Garcia Lopez and Frank McLaughlin

The gripping Ross Andru cover sets this one up nicely, or does if the scene actually appears in the issue.  Superman has to choose between saving Perry White or The Joker.  Maybe let them both die?  Didn't The Joker kill Lois in the Kingdom Come timeline?

The Joker springs the Prankster from the joint.  Superman goes looking for the Prankster.  Superman calls Alfred and tells him to keep Batman in the dark about The Joker being on the loose again.  WTF, Supes?

Clark Kent, Lois, and Perry White head to California for an assignment and sees that the estate of a famous comedian is going up for auction.  Putting two and two together, Superman heads for the auction.

The Prankster swipes some novelties from the auction and takes Perry White hostage.  Since there's no room for two criminals with similar gimmicks, The Prankster turns on the Joker and throws him out of the helicopter as they make their escape.

Superman and the Joker team up to find The Prankster.  The Joker turns on Superman and poisons the Prankster before he can reveal where Perry White is being held captive.  Supes takes the Prankster to the Fortress of Solitude and saves his life with Kryptonian medicine.  Superman arrives just in time to save Perry White and haul the Joker off to jail.

Apart from the Joker and the Prankster turning on each other, this one's plot was kind of a dud.  JLGL's art is spot on, though.

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DC Comics Presents #84
Cover: Jack Kirby and Greg Theakson
Writer: Bob Rozakis
Artists: Jack Fucking Kirby and Alex Fucking Toth (with Greg Theakson on inks)!

Before Jor-El discovered the Phantom Zone, criminals were put in prison ships orbiting Krypton.  Now, one of them is approaching Earth.

The Challengers of the Unknown are hassling a secretary at the Daily Planet when Clark Kent shows up for work.  The Challengers are there looking for Superman and relay the tale of saving a suicidal jumper.  The jumper had a card in his pocket with Kryptonian symbols on it.

Using the wayback machine at the Fortress of Solitude, Superman identifies the symbol as a mind control symbol used by Zo-Mar, a Kryptonian criminal foiled by General Zod and exiled to a satellite prison. Superman gathers the four Challengers up in his arms and they go looking for Zo-Mar.

Zo-Mar whips the symbol on Superman and the Challengers and quickly has them under control.  Jo-Mar sends Superman on a property destroying rampage.  Superman uses super-ventriloquism to command the Challengers to subdue Zo-Mar and take the symbol from him. 

By this time, Zo-Mar is exhibiting Kryptonian super powers due to exposure to the card bearing the symbol, which is somehow made of a weird variety of Kryptonite.  Superman manages to use his super breath to hit Zo-Mar with the symbol, robbing him of his powers.  Superman exiles Zo-Mar to the Phantom Zone and everything is right again.

Okay, I was enjoying this one quite a bit right up until the Super-Ventriloquism.  The card being made of Kryptonite and giving Zo-Mar powers was also dubious.  Still, the tale was still pretty enjoyable.  Alex Toth AND Jack Kirby on art?  Holy shit!

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The Conclusion:  These three issues of DC Comics Presents were all enjoyable at times but none of them really jump out at me as particularly good issues of the title.  As a kid, I would have loved them.  As an adult, #84 is the only one that strikes me as particularly memorable and that's because of the art.  It was fun reading these three issues of DC Comics Presents for the first time but there are a lot of issues that were better than these three.