Showcase Presents: Challengers of the Unknown, Vol. 2

Showcase Presents: Challengers of the Unknown #2

by Jack Kirby, Ed Herron, Bob Brown (Illustrator)

Over 500 pages of classic adventures are included in this value-priced volume

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics

528 pages, Paperback

First published April 23, 2008

About the author

Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is "The King."

Reviews

[Stewart Tame · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why Goodreads thinks this is by Jack Kirby. Yes, he created the team, but he was long gone by the time these stories were written. The table of contents states, "All art by Bob Brown unless otherwise noted." Writers are mostly unknown because DC didn't keep the greatest records. So: no Kirby, but these are still fun. I've always liked the basic Challengers concept of ordinary folks with no powers having adventures. It's essentially Doc Savage without Doc. These stories show their pulpy roots, and are best not taken too seriously. I hit my breaking point with the story where they come up with the idea of stopping some creatures made of molten lava by dousing them with liquid oxygen--a bad idea, needless to say. Apparently all the writer of this tale took away from his basic chemistry class was, "liquid oxygen = cold," forgetting its somewhat spectacularly combustible nature. Yes, I put up with aliens, meteors that grant powers, time travel, criminals who could make more money patenting their inventions than they gain by using them for crime, and more, but what broke me was a chemistry error. I blame society. Story quality worsens as the book progresses, but it's still a great deal of fun in the way that only early 60's DC can be.

[Matthew J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comics, man. This series is weird, and with this volume, it just gets weirder. I still think the premise of a bunch of guys who almost get killed, consider themselves on 'borrowed time,' so they devote their lives to doing totally insane, ultra-dangerous things to better the world is great. I don't know that the comic really is. The boys square off against aliens, monsters, robots, criminals, and all sorts of weird stuff. They fight Multi-Man, and he's just a treasure.
I don't know. I can't really recommend it, but if you're in the mood for this kinda of...whatever this is...give it a go. Why not?
Some of the Kirby critters are pretty good.

[Eamonn Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Over 500 pages of comics!' shouts the blurb on the cover of Showcase Presents: Challengers of the Unknown Volume 2, and it's true for there are 520 pages of comics. The original issues of even ordinary stuff from the early sixties retails at ludicrous prices now but if your aim is to read rather than invest the Showcase volumes present a marvellous opportunity, albeit in black and white. But the colour wasn't great in those days anyway.

The stories here are usually about twelve pages long and there were two per issue when they were originally published. The covers are included too, as usual with Showcase editions. The art is all by Bob Brown. Most of the stories are by Writer Unknown, which either means he's too shy to own up or no one can remember. Arnold Drake and Ed Herron are credited with some of them but whether they did the unknowns or not is unknown. Certainly, the stories with which they are credited are not particularly distinguishable from the writer unknown tales, so they might have.

The heroes are the Challengers: Ace Morgan, fearless jet pilot; Prof Haley, master skindiver; Red Ryan, circus daredevil and Rocky Davis, Olympic wrestling champion. They are joined on many adventures by their friend June Robbins and by their alien pet Cosmo who can rend steel with his teeth and shoot disintegrator beams from his eyes. The villains are scientists, criminals, criminal scientists, aliens, alien scientists and criminal alien scientists. There are some monsters and magicians too. If you read more than four stories in a row they tend to blur together into an indistinguishable alien-scientist-monster-challenger mess in the mind so this is a book best dipped into rather than read at a sitting unless you can't get to sleep.

This is, of course, the second Showcase volume of Challengers of the Unknown. The first volume featured some of Jack Kirby's best art, beautifully inked by Wally Wood. How do you follow that? I suppose you just do your best. Actually Bob Brown took over the art chores on COTU #9, about halfway through the first volume so anyone who owns that tome will already have seen his stuff. There's nothing wrong with his art: everything is plain to see, the layouts are pretty good and the story is easy to follow. Workmanlike is the word that springs to mind. Bob was a competent craftsman turning out decent stuff but had the bad luck to follow a superstar arguably at the peak of his abilities. Two superstars if you count Wally Wood, and I do.

But even without that odious comparison I'm afraid this would not rank on anyone's 'must have' list of classic comics. The stories are not bad, the art is not bad, the book is not bad. Challengers went on for 77 issues altogether, nearly a ten year run with Bob Brown on the art, so it must have had pretty decent sales and some appeal to readers of the Sixties. I'm not sure how much appeal it will have to adult readers at the close of the Noughties but the kids might like it and at this price, it makes a cheap stocking filler.

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pese a ofrecer la cuota habitual de amenazas extraterrestres y antediluvianas comunes a estos títulos (junto algún villano recurrente como es Multi-Man), las aventuras de "Los Retadores de lo Desconocido" cobran un mayor atractivo en su tramo final mediante guiones levemente más complejos, que se atreven con disputas internas - probablemente imitando el exitoso modelo de Marvel Comics -, un humor más contenido y la mayor vulnerabilidad de protagonistas cuyo valor es inteligencia compensan el superpoderes al uso. Se intentó algo más de cara a su cierre y eso es valorable.

[John Yingling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is pure fun. One big reason I enjoyed it is the Challengers aren’t superheroes; they have certain talents, but they’re not invincible. They use their brains and ingenuity more than their muscles. Another big plus is the artwork: comic book illustrations in the 1950s and 60s were amazing in their depiction of action, still life and facial features and expressions. For me this is essentially escapism at its finest.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, the B+W art makes it's hardtop tell the guys apart.
Otherwise this is a lot of fun.
Aliens arrive on earth every five minutes, a bunch of the Chals rogues gallery make their first appearances and every stage magician is up to something evil.

I did like that as the series progressed the writers put more effort into given the guys distinct personalities. Most stories it's just Prof is the smart guy, Rocky is a good natured lug, Red makes fun of Rocky etc, but it is a step up from where it was just hair color that distinguished who was who.

Would have given this 4 stars, but I hate that cute alien they adopt.

[Kevinjwoods · Rating 2 out of 5]

Existing in a world where movie studios build Giant Robots as special effects and Aliens appear every month before believing this weeks villains when they say the Challengers are bad guys.
Existing in a world where a woman can only be an Honorary Member despite regularly saving the guys.

Not quite as good without the Artwork of KIrby for some reason this doesn't quite work.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "men who live on borrowed time" wavered wildly in quality in this stretch of their careers. Some of their stories (like those involving Cosmo their Space Pet) are third-rate at best, but others are enjoyable and show them developing some characterization. High points are an expansion of their origin and stories that work a twist on the plot of alien cops pursuing alien crooks to Earth.