Mostly this series focuses on the Doctor Fate work of Martin Pasko, Keith Giffen, and Larry Mahlstedt; issues #2 and 3 each reprint a four-issue story originally published as a backup in The Flash in 1982. Issue #1 provides some context by including a Fate origin by Paul Levitz and Joe Staton from DC Special #10 (1978), a one-off by Martin Pasko and Walter Simonson from 1st Issue Special #9 (1975), and a six-page Golden Age story by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman. (I assume the latter is included to bring the page count up, because it very much doesn't fit otherwise. It's also pretty nonsensical, even by Golden Age standards.)
from The Immortal Doctor Fate #1 (script by Martin Pasko, art by Walt Simonson) |
from The Immortal Doctor Fate #2 (script by Martin Pasko, art by Keith Giffen & Larry Mahlstedt) |
But something just never grabs me about Fate stories, even ones I can recognize as well done. I think it's because the magic can often be the fantasy equivalent of technobabble, what I often call "thaumababble." It feels like anything can happen, which is sometimes cool, but also means it's hard to grasp the logic of the world. Or maybe more accurately, I don't need to grasp the logic of fantasy stories (sometimes that removes the magic), but I do need to feel like there is a logic I could grasp. Le Guin treads this line well. It feels churlish to complain that Martin Pasko isn't Ursula K. Le Guin, but well, there you go. Worth tracking down (it took mildly more effort than 1980s comics usually do) and reading but I probably wouldn't reread them.
The Immortal Doctor Fate was published in three issues (Jan.-Mar. 1985). The original stories were published in various comics from 1940 to 1982, and were written by Paul Levitz, Gardner Fox, Martin Pasko, and Steve Gerber; pencilled by Joe Staton, Hal Sherman, Walt Simonson, and Keith Giffen; inked by Mike Nasser, Hal Sherman, Walt Simonson, and Larry Mahlstedt; lettered by Shelly Leferman, John Costanza, Ben Oda, and Adam Kubert; colored by Adrienne Roy, Anthony Tollin, and Tatjana Wood; and edited by Gerry Conway, Mike W. Barr, and Len Wein. The reprints were edited by Nicola Cuti.
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- The Huntress: Origins (1977-82)
- All-Star Squadron (1981-87)
- Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume One (1983-84)
- Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume Two (1984-85)
- Showcase Presents... Power Girl (1978)
- America vs. the Justice Society (1985)
- Jonni Thunder, a.k.a. Thunderbolt (1985)
- Crisis on Multiple Earths, Volume 7 (1983-85)
- Infinity, Inc. #11-53 (1985-88) [reading order]
- Last Days of the Justice Society of America (1986-88)
- All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant (1999)
- Steel, the Indestructible Man (1978)
- Superman vs. Wonder Woman: An Untold Epic of World War Two (1977)
- Wonder Woman: Earth-Two (1977-78)
- Secret Origins of the Golden Age (1986-89)
- The Young All-Stars (1987-89)
- Gladiator (1930)
- The Crimson Avenger: The Dark Cross Conspiracy (1981-88)
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