Ramona Fradon is one of the first names that comes to mind when thinking of the silver age era of Aquaman comics. Her beautiful art is recognized industry-wide, and she is a very respected creator. She also marked an era when the Super Friends comics first came out in the seventies. We had already seen a sample of her art a while ago; today, we revisit that piece and enjoy two new ones starring the Queen of Xebel: Mera.
Mera by Ramona Fradon
Aquaman and Mera by Ramona Fradon
Not long ago we announced new Batgirl memorabilia coming next year. Today, we have more information and pictures on the Batgirl Blammoids! figure available April 7th 2010:
BLAMMOIDS!: SERIES 2: BATGIRL PVC Mini Figure 
Things really start to heat up in issue number 8 of JUSTICE when the League -still short a few members- finally comes together in the Fortress of Solitude to formulate a counter attack strategy against the Legion of Doom. This issue also features the introduction of Batgirl into the story, and the first time all three redheads appear in the series. 
Hawkman and Hawkgirl give the Atom the microorganism sample they found in Toyman's warehouse, and the mighty Titan is able to discover that this is some kind of virus that takes over the body of whatever -or whoever- it infects. At the same time Zatanna and the Martian Manhunter arrive to the Fortress with a healed Aquaman, and accompanied by the Metal Men.
A few hours later, a ship crashes in the ice from beneath the surface, and a hooded figure emerges out of it. The mysterious character slowly walks towards the fortress and once arrives, is aided by Elongated Man to get in.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the heroes, the Legion of Doom continues executing their contingency plan and kidnap those closest to the League. In Gotham city, the evil Clayface, Parasite, ans Scarecrow have successfully trapped Commisioner Jim Gordon, Supergirl, and Batgirl. Parasite immediately takes the two unconscious heroines to the Hall of Doom.
The character that arrived in the ship was Queen Mera, who left instructions with Professor Vulko to stay in charge of the kingdom while she looked for help. Mera and Aquaman finally reunite, but the beautiful redhead has bad news for her King: Aqualad has taken the baby and disappeared with him. Batman explains that it was not Garth who did it, but the nanobots that have invaded his body and taken control of him. Aquaman gives an inspirational speech and gathers the forces to go against the Legion of Doom and rescue his son.
In another place, the villains are ready to attack as well, but this time they have an ace in their sleeve: all the captured relatives and friends of the heroes: Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Alfred Pennyworth, Steve Trevor, Commissioners Gordon and Emmett, Carol Ferris, Iris Allen, Jean Loring, John Stwart, and many others. And what is even worse, they have also used the nanobots to brainwash Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr, Robin, Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Speedy, Batgirl, and Supergirl. A monumental battle is approaching!
Art by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithwaite
The campaign included posters and bookmarks with beautiful art by Gene Ha featuring Barbara Gordon as a librarian while her reflection on a glass showed Batgirl. The idea is for libraries to display the posters and distribute the bookmarks to create awareness. This is how the A.L.A. describes the products: "Highlight the super powers at your library with this exclusive poster and bookmark. Original artwork provided by Gene Ha in cooperation with DC Comics."
And this is how the American Librarian Association describes our redhead: "Gifted Barbara Gordon works at Gotham Public Library during the day then takes to Gotham City’s crime-ridden streets as Batgirl at night. As a crimefighter, information is Barbara’s true weapon. Her near-perfect memory and never-ending energy make her a critical ally of Batman and all crimefighters." So now you know boys and girls... "Librarians are heroes every day!"
A while ago we saw a preview of the Hawkgirl action figure that would be launched with Wave 8 of the DC Universe Classics line, which was due to come out in April 2009.
Well, after months and months of waiting and waiting, and going to all the Target stores near me every week, and full of hope walking to the DC action figures rack to be dissapointed and find only Dr. Impossible and Cyborg figures, I had no other option but look on eBay.
Luckily, last weekend I finally won a bid for the figure I had sought after for so long, and received it today... I am so happy I am adding one more item to my Hawkwoman collection!
I think this Shayera version of the character is a variant and not the regular, because the character profile in the back of the packing belongs to that of the Golden Age Hawkgirl, not Shayera Thal; whatever it is, I know this is my Hawkwoman and not any of the other versions.
Here we have several pictures of Figure 7, Wave 8 of the collection; one of them has labeled every articulation which is pretty cool. Disclaimer: I did not take these pictures. As with all the other waves, this one also has a "collect and connect" character, which in this case is the villainess Giganta. The Hawkgirl figure comes with the stand for Giganta, but I put it to good use for Shayera so she can stand in a cool pose.
Zatanna and the Martian Manhunter have taken Aquaman's body to Dr. Niles Caulder, leader of the Doom Patrol to see whether he can return him back to health. The King's body is placed in a containment unit, and to everyone's surprise, his body starts to heal and regenerate itself. After what seemed to be an eternity, Aquaman opens his eyes and pronounces one name: Mera!
Mera immediately understands that Aquaman was set up when he was summoned, and Manta has taken advantage of his absence to try to attack the city. The Queen wants to think of a way to help her husband, but her thoughts are interrupted when the young Garth attacks her and knocks her unconcious. The brainwashed Aqualad then takes baby Arthur Jr. from her arms and kidnaps him to finally deliver him to the evil Black Manta!
I was glad to see Mera again half way through the series; it was an unexpected surprise. Unfortunately, the circumstances were not the best, come on... punched by Aqualad? It is here that i noticed how much the artists seemed to enjoy doing close-ups of Mera. During her first apparition in this series, Mera played the role of wife waiting for her husband's return, like Penelope in the Oddissey; in this scene she was shown as a mother, having her child taken away from her, like the goddess Demeter; next time we see her, she'll be playing the role of the Queen looking for her family like Catlyn in a Game of Thrones.
Art by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithwaite
Issue number seven of JUSTICE features a beautiful cover by Alex Ross starring Hawkman and Hawkgirl against the constructs created by Toyman. Almost all the covers in the series highlight a particular color, in this case, the earth colors are showcased, which is very appropriare for the hawks.
Little by little, the heroes of the league are able to overcome the attacks of their enemies, and start to put together the pieces of their evil plot. The Martian Manhunter with his telepathy, and Zatanna with her magics are able to finally find the location of Aquaman, but a gruesome scene awaits them when they see that their friend has been victim of a partial lobotomy.
Meanwhile, in the headquarters of the Legion of Doom, the villains set in motion their contingency plan: since they failed in defeating the core members of the Justice League, they will capture those closest to them: Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Iris West, Jean Loring, Carol Ferris, Steve Trevor, John Stewart, and others!
Back in the warehouse, Katar and Shayera try to destroy as many copies of the Brainiac android as possible, but the clones continue appearing from all directions. Hawkman uses a bomb to destroy the Brainiac factory, and at the same time is able to obtain a sample of the microorganism that was giving life to the toys and the robots.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl use their Thanagarian spaceship to travel to the emergency rendevouz point, which is located in Arctic Circle: the home of Superman, the Fortress of Solitude. Once there, the hawks meet with the other members of the League who were able to escape the traps set by their enemies. Soon, the Metal Men and Superman himself join them and they enter the Fortress to plan their next move.
In the meantime, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen have been captured in Metropolis; Dick Grayson and Wally West have been taken from Gotham by Solomon Grundy; Mary Batson and Freddy Freeman have been trapped by Black Adam in the Rock of Eternity; and Black Manta has hunted Aqualad in the depths of the ocean!
Art by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithwaite
A few years back, Hallmark created a series of reproductions of popular lunch boxes of the seventies. With new art and 75% of their original size, these articles are very hard to find. Here, we see the modern version of the lunch box art, featuring again Flash, Green Arrow, and of course, Batgirl. I was lucky enough to find one of these, and is one of my most valued possessions.
The original lunch box also contained a plastic thermos, and our dear Batgirl appeared in it as well, along with Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Flash. The quality was a little crappy perhaps due to the plastic, and some of the colors were wrong as well; but I'll take one if someone is feeling generous!
The christmas ornament reproduction of the thermos does not feature the Super Friends as did the original version; instead, it features Super Villains Catwoman, Joker, and penguin, who also appear on the sides of the lunch box.
