COMICS: DC Presents (Vol. 1) #31 (1981) AKA Fond Memories of My First Comic.
I've had a deep love for Superman ever since a drive-in screening of the Christopher Reeve led Part II. Apparently, my Mom was on a date and she propped me and my diaper up on the front hood of the car while God knows what was happening in the back seat. I was entirely transfixed and going back I have a fondness for those movies but boy it sure is all about that Reeve presence, huh? So anytime there’s a new take of the big budget variety on the horizon my adrenaline really kicks into overdrive (yes, even after the entire Snyderverse fiasco). Batman has always meant a lot to me and I love him deeply (that is a whole other story), but Superman is the one fictional character I have always felt the strongest emotional bond with. With that in mind and all of this current speculation as to how well James Gunn will handle the character with his upcoming reboot of the DC cinematic universe, I've decided to write a little something about DC Comics Presents (Vol. 1) #31 aka the first comic book I ever owned.
Now after Superman, my second favorite character has always been Robin. I’m certain this has plenty do with growing into a steady diet of taking in the 60’s Batman show reruns. There was something so cool to me about being a sidekick! I didn’t necessarily want to be the hero and it was very exciting to imagine fighting alongside and watching the best do what they do best. So when my small and impressionable little eyes rolled past the spinner and took in that cover above, a Robin and Superman team up!? I mean, I’m still thinking about it.
Even though this book hit stands in March of 1981, I didn't actually get mine until somewhere between the ages of 2 and 3. Back then comic books could regularly be found on racks at most grocery stores or gas stations, and the shelf life was typically just as long as a hostess product. To be honest I'm not sure which relative bought this for me but I want to say it was my Aunt Brenda. I carried that original book around with me for years as a kid and while my comic collection grew larger and larger, for a long time this was the one I always felt the greatest sentimentality toward.
The story centers around Dick Grayson (at this point dubbed "The Teen Wonder" which I also thought was super cool) investigating a suspicious circus only to discover that they've kept Superman under some sort of mind control and in disguise as their strong man. The Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez artwork is really great (despite Giordano inks) and it's on the brief side which means it was just begging to be read over and over.
Does Robin manage to awake old Supes in time to stop these evildoers from accomplishing whatever weird shit they were trying to get away with?
Well, I don't want to ruin it for you.
Eventually I wore that book down pretty good and I have always bought a copy anytime I've come across it in various back issue bins or flea markets here and there. It’s such lo-fi time travel to occasionally revisit this story, taking a good deep, hard whiff of that cheap vintage paper.
Oh and I totally scored a Super Powers Robin figure over the weekend to finally be able to make this shit happen.
Whatever did happen to Robotman? Huh.
