From 1976 to 1978, DC published 18 issues of an eclectic anthology reprint title called DC Super Stars.
I was busy in college as well as holding down a newspaper reporting job, so I wasn’t reading many comics then. But I did enjoy that wide-ranging 50-cent giant, which republished various above-average stories from my childhood, all keyed to a theme.
I’m sure I found it revitalizing to take a mental break in the pages from a simpler time.
The first and third issues featured teenage superheroes — the Teen Titans (Monster Bait, Skis of Death! and a four-page introductory profile) and the Legion of Super-Heroes (The Adult Legion!, The War of the Legions! and a feature on Legionnaires who’d died — Ferro Lad, Chemical King, Quantum Queen, Reflecto and Shadow Woman).
The fifth issue was devoted to the Flash (The Day Flash Aged 100 Years!, The Midnight Peril, Deal Me from the Bottom! and a history of the first appearances of all the Flash characters). The seventh issue belonged to the King of the Seas and Aqualad (Between Two Dooms!, Some Call It Noise! and a feature on Aquaman’s notable opponents, including Ocean Master, the Fisherman, Magneto, Torpedo, Claw, the Flying Fish, the Liquidator and Black Manta).
Firearms got the spotlight in the ninth issue, oddly enough (the 1961 Superman story The Super-Weapon, the 1953 Nighthawk story The Gun-Fighting Statue!, the 1957 Our Fighting Forces story The Unsinkable Gun, the 1955 Gang Busters story The Sightless Sharpshooter and the 1952 Mystery in Space tale The Secret Story of Ray-Gun 64!).
Athletics were the focus of the tenth issue, Strange Sports Stories. An original story headlined this issue, along with reprints from Strange Adventures (The Super-Athletes from Outer Space!) and Green Lantern (The Fight for the Championship of the Universe!).
The 11th issue presented DC Super Stars of Magic, and included a Zatanna story from Adventure Comics and the Scarlet Speedster’s Case of the Real-Gone Flash! The issue also taught readers three magic tricks, quite a bargain for 50 cents.
Superboy got the nod in the 12th issue, with the original story Don’t Call Me Superboy! and the reprints The Super-Teacher from Krypton and How the Super-Family Came to Earth from Krypton. The issue included an appeal for reader support of a revived Superboy solo title.
The 13th issue featured the comic art of Sergio Aragonés.
The 14th issue, Secret Origins of Super-Villains, offered original stories pitting Dr. Light and Grodd the Super Gorilla against Hawkman and Green Lantern, respectively, as well as the origin of Two-Face and text features on Brainiac and the Shark.
World War II was the focus of the 15th issue, with a 30-page story teaming up Sgt. Rock, the Unknown Soldier and Mille. Marie.
The 16th issue introduced Star Hunters by David Michelinie, Don Newton and Bob Layton. And the 17th issue — the most collectible one — featured the origin of the Huntress, the daughter of the Golden Age Batman and Catwoman. You can pick up an affordable facsimile edition of that one.
The 18th and final issue was an original story teaming up Deadman and the Phantom Stranger.
As fun as all those were, my primary interest was in the early even-numbered issues, collectively titled DC Super Stars of Space.
The second, fourth, sixth and eighth issues reprinted the fondly remembered adventures of DC’s science fiction heroes from the 1950s and 1960s — Adam Strange, Space Ranger, Captain Comet, the Atomic Knights, the Knights of the Galaxy, the Star Rovers, Space Cabby and Tommy Tomorrow.
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