DC Comics gave the paying public a shot of Christmas in 1978 with this quartet of comic books.

        Kicking off the season was Green Lantern/Green Arrow (1960) issue 113 which hit the stands November 30.

        Lantern, Arrow and Black Canary survive a Christmas eve complete with kidnapping and volcano in That They May Fear No More.

        A group of musicians find themselves prey to Granny Bleach and followers. They feel pregnant Marcy who is with musicians will birth the chosen one who will keep the suddenly active volcano dormant.

Season’s Greetings

        Lantern is able to divert the lava flow and save the town.

        Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas from Batman (1940) 309 was covered back in December 2018. Slip back there for a rehash of events between the Dark Knight and Blockbuster. It was on the spin racks December 14.

        Ross Andru’s non-descript cover belies the festive Happy New Year…Rest in Peace! behind Bizarro’s toothy grin in Superman (1938) 333. It was released December 28.

        The Brave and the Bold (1955) 148 is another book covered in 2018. The Night the Mob Stole Xmas! was originally reviewed in January of that year though released December 28 of 1978.

        While none of the above-mentioned books made the highlight reel for 1978, DC made an effort.

        What did make the nightly news included the Great Blizzard of 1978 hitting the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes January 25-27 killing 70.

        By February 5 through the 7, the blizzard had worked its way to the New England states. An estimated 100 people died and $520 million in damage resulted.

        As winter started to come to a close, other matters took the spotlight as the year progressed. In March, Charlie Chaplin’s remains were stolen from Cosier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.

        Dallas became known for more than assassinations and football with the debut of the series of the same name April 2. It would give birth to the modern-day primetime soap.

        In May Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds hit his 3,000 MLB hit.

        The first test tube baby was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester UK in July.

        Pope John Paul I succeeded Pope Paul VI as the 263^rd Pope in August.

        September and Camp David hosted the Camp David Accords with Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat.

        President Jimmy Carter authorized the Susan B. Anthony dollar in October.

        In December, serial killer John Wayne Gacy was arrested. He would later be found guilty for the deaths of 33 men and boys between 1972 and 1978.

        All in all, a busy year capped off with some DC goodness for the holidays.

The DCU celebrated Halloween 2019 with a trade paperback of reprint material issued the previous two years entitled A Very DC Halloween.

The first half of the trade is pulled directly from DC House of Horror (2017).

Keith Giffen gives readers Bump in the Night with a retelling of Superman’s arrival on Earth. This time it doesn’t end well.

His next offering is a slasher tale featuring the ghost of Wonder Woman in Man’s World.

Another ghost story, Crazy for You, features Harley Quinn haunting a man into killing his wife.

The Last Laugh is more original as Giffen debates the yin and yang of vigilantism.

Blackest Day is a zombie apocalypse on Earth with plot by Giffen and script by Brian Keene.

Ronald Malfi scripts Giffen’s Stray Arrow with Green Arrow as a vigilante killer.

A Very DC Halloween (2019)

Two-Face is featured in Unmasked, a story by Giffen and Wrath James White.

Uttering Shazam takes the speaker to darker realms in The Possession of Billy Batson.

Swamp Thing stars in The Spread, as taken from Swamp Thing Halloween Horror Giant issue one. This Walmart exclusive was a 100-page special offered in 2018 with an original story followed by reprints from previous Halloween specials.

The remainder of this book is filled with stories from 2018’s Cursed Comics Cavalcade in the order they originally appeared, the first being Gorehound.

Batman saves the final girl who – spoiler – is really the killer.

Siren Song is a tale of myth and mystery starring Wonder Woman.

Alien zombies spoil Guy Gardner’s vacation in Life Sentence.

Demon Etrigan possesses a man a woman hires Jason Blood to find in Yellow Jack.

A ghost from the Phantom Zone haunts Lois and Clark in Strange Visitor.

The Monster in Me pits a doppelganger of Green Arrow against himself on a long, hot night.

Black Lightning and Katana get some love in Mercy Killing as they protect a young girl from a demon.

An unlikely pairing of Solomon Grundy and Robin share top billing in The Devil You Know. Professor Pyg threatens three runaway girls under the protection of Grundy.

Finally, Halloween Hayride is a simpler story showcasing Zatanna. The magic mistress plies her trade to stop an older brother from scaring his sister.

With this many stories to pick and choose from, there are plenty of tricks and treats.

Before television, before Internet, there was radio.

Radio was, literally, the voice that captured imaginations, entertained the masses and informed the world.

Today radio is more relegated to vehicles.

Brightest Day, Blackest Night (2002)

If Gugliemo Marconi couldn’t visualize what his creation was to become, neither could Nikola Tesla, who demonstrated the first radio in 1893. Hard as it may be to believe, radio wasn’t first envisioned as a communication device. It took many minds and hands to determine a functional use for the invention.

Lee de Forest made the first public transmission via the new device in 1910. In 1920, the first radio news program was broadcast out of Detroit, MI.

All of this has led to National Radio Day. Our host is Golden Age Green Lantern alias and radio announcer Alan Scott.

The 2002 Brightest Day, Blackest Night one-shot pre-dates the zombified and reunified titles of the later part of the decade.

This flashback showcases Scott and his golden oldie persona battling Nazis and Solomon Grundy at the behest of the Justice Society of America.

Radio station WGAH plays a minor character in the opening act setting the stage for the drama to come.

Scott was introduced in the pages of All-American Comics issue 16 in 1940. His skimpy eight-page introduction to the comic book reading universe was given the nod by legendary four-color pioneer Max Gaines.

Green Lantern would quickly become a member of the Justice Society and given a sidekick, taxi driver Doiby Dickles. Their exploits would continue to 1949 when disinterest in the mystery men would shelve the character for 12 years.

Radio would endure, even if Green Lantern would not – at least for a short publishing period.

Currently it is estimated 71 percent of the driving public listen to the radio while in their vehicle. At least 67 percent listen on a daily basis. Of those, 48 percent admit to singing along to the music broadcast; over half of them being women.

Today, turn on, tune in and drop the pretense: it’s National Radio Day. Spin the dial and find a good soundtrack for Brightest Day, Blackest Night.

Oh, yes, this is real.

As real as National Fried Chicken Day.

Fried chicken, or southern fried chicken, are pieces of chicken that have been coated in a seasoned batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior of the chicken while retaining juices in the meat. Boiler chickens are most commonly used.

The history of National Fried Chicken Day is unknown.

Green Lantern co-staring Colonel Sanders (2017) 3

Still, it’s a better idea than a team up with Green Lantern and Colonel Sanders.

This 16-page product-placement misadventure has the Colonel hawking his fried fowl across this and any other universe that hadn’t been destroyed during one of DC’s house cleanings.

The story really runs afoul when the Colonel learns his new Zingers (patent pending) are being hijacked before they can reach their cosmic destinations.

Together, the Colonel and Green Lantern set off to solve the mystery of the missing sandwiches. On their way they meet with Adam Strange, a big fan of the Colonel’s, and the Hawk people of planet Thangar.

Larfleeze is discovered to be the thief. Green Lantern and the Colonel team to trash the greedy alien. Thanks to Sander’s KFC bucket-shaped power ring, he is able to unleash a bushel of greasy justice with his drumstick and plastic spoon and fork creations.

On the ropes, the Colonel finally outwits Larfleeze by offering him his own KFC franchise for the planet Okaara.

Back on Oa, Harland Sanders is made an honorary Green Lantern by the Guardians of the Universe.

While this may have been envisioned by some grease-soaked, feverish nightmare born of an ad exec, the actual event was crafted by writer Tony Bedard and rendered by Tom Derenick.

Read at your own risk.

Now, back to fried chicken.

It is believed the practice of frying chicken in its own fat was done by the Scotts in the middle ages. They did not use seasoning. West African tribes practiced similar recipes, but did season. When the two cultures met during the days of slavery, the processes were combined.

To celebrate give the above reviewed comic book a pass and visit a local fried chicken franchise to see if they are offering any specials.

After a cloistered past coupla years, Americans are ready to hit the roads once more. Today is the day to do so.

Today is National Road Trip Day.

National Road Trip Day is the Friday before Memorial Day, the official kickoff to the summer road trip season.

Our official travelers are the “hard-traveling heroes” Green Lantern and Green Arrow. The pair bid farewell to the end of the Silver Age and the 1960s as they discovered America, faults and all, for a celebrated 14-issue run chronicled by Denny O’Neil Neal Adams.

The term “hard-traveling heroes” wasn’t coined until the early 1990s when their exploits were first reprinted in the burgeoning trade paperback genre. They had first been reprinted in the Paperback Library version of Paperback Comics in 1972. The book featured black and white reprints of Green Lantern (1959) issues 76 and 77.

That same year a second volume, in the same format, was offered featuring reprints of issues 78 and 79.

Green Lantern (1959) 76-87 and 89

In 1983, DC reprinted the issues in what has been termed as the Baxter series. The seven-issue run offered two issues per book, completely reprinting the original storyline.

The “hard-traveling heroes” were the brainchild of writer Denny O’Neil. DC editor Julie Schwartz offered him the floundering character allowing the writer carte blanch to boost sales.

O’Neil returned the space-faring policeman of sector 2184 and rooted him on Earth in the dying counterculture movement of the previous decade. With liberal Oliver Queen, aka, Green Arrow, they shared experiences and differed in opinions as they traversed the highways and byways of America.

False sales figures brought their adventures to a premature close with issue 89, but the storyline peaked with issues 85 and 86. Those featured Arrow’s teen sidekick and sometime Teen Titan, as a heroin addict in one of the first serious looks at drugs in the pages of comicdom.

At times the story telling was heavy handed, but the tales were recognized beyond comic book pages by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek.

Now, plot a course for your own adventure or relive part of comic book and American history. Either way, you won’t be disappointed.

What do Alessandro Volta and Green Lantern have in common?

National Battery Day.

Volta is the father of the battery. Maybe not as we think of it today, but his combination of silver, cloth/paper soaked in salt or acid and zinc forming “voltaic piles” generated the first limited, portable electrical current.

Alan Scott was the Golden Age Green Lantern. The lantern served as a battery to power his ring.

All-American Comics (1939) 16

Thus, we have however-many-degrees-of-separation between Volta and Green Lantern joined for the non-holiday.

While the Italian scientist invented the first battery, England’s William Cruckshank designed batteries for mass consumption in 1802.

The battery was improved upon over time. In 1896, the National Carbon Company, later christened the Eveready Battery Company, produced the first commercially available battery. Two years later, the first D-sized battery was unveiled for flashlights.

Martin Nodell and Bill Finger birthed the first Green Lantern.

The Golden Age Green Lantern, aka Alan Scott, became owner of a magic lantern. With the lantern he was able to create a ring allowing him a variety of powers.

By the early 1950s, the Golden Age mystery men had fallen out of favor. It would be almost a decade before another Green Lantern would grace comic book pages.

Following the success of the Silver Age Flash’s debut, DC Comic’s revamped Green Lantern. The 1959 version was sleeker and received his lantern and ring courtesy of an alien from space.

From his debut in Showcase issue 22, Green Lantern spawned an ever-growing legend that would include a corps of similar heroes who police the universe and beyond.

Together they help commemorate Volta’s birthday to honor a common tool we take for granted and the man who made it possible.

To celebrate, dust off the old flashlight and prop the covers over your head as you read an issue or two of Green Lantern by the light of the handheld device.

Alan Scott is a ghost of Christmas past, but not The Ghost of Christmas Past.

JSA Classified (2005) 33

Scott first appeared in All -American Comics issue 16 as the Golden Age Green Lantern. While no criminal could escape nor cosmic event stop his war on injustice, indifference did bring his career to an end.

Following the second World War, people tired quickly of heroes. Publishing companies scrambled to fill their books with new fads and forgot.

By the late 1950s, a new generation was ready for colorful characters to return. Flash was the first. Green Lantern followed. Not Scott, but a Green Lantern for a new age.

Eventually Scott’s memory, and form, were resurrected as heroes from one Earth would cross over with heroes of another Earth. An Earth from the past. Green Lantern met Green Lantern in, well, the book of the same name (1960) 40.

Other attempts were made to keep the Golden Age heroes from appearing in our universe, but failed. Writers – and fans – wanted them back. A company-wide crossover allowed them to return.

All of which brings Scott/Green Lantern to this point in time, 2008, and the return of a formidable foe, Vandal Savage. In the previous issue, Savage had plotted his revenge in bringing back the image of Scott’s dead daughter, Jeanie Lynn Hayden, aka, Jade.

Scott is able to overcome the grief of what he believes is the return of Jade and finally defeat Savage. His reward is a warm evening with friends and loved ones as they celebrate Christmas.

Giving Thanks is the inappropriately named Thanksgiving story from the 2008 JSA Classified book.

JSA Classified (2005) 32

Alan Scott makes a pilgrimage to his daughter’s grave for some introspection. In the meantime, fellow Justice Society Members Flash and Wildcat hold down the JSA’s Thanksgiving Day parade float.

Not long after Green Lantern joins them, the Superman balloon floating above explodes showering all in a pink dust. Before it can settle, Solomon Grundy attacks.

Lantern deals with the threat, leaving fellow Society members to handle crowd control. Both problems dealt with, the trio dissolve leaving GL to face the real menace, Vandal Savage.

The story is continued in a Christmas issue that will be dealt with next month. For now, take time to enjoy those around you while you can. While this is a time known for thanksgiving, every day is, too.

The JSA first appeared in All Star Comics issue three. Their gathering marked the first team in comic books. The theme would be copied over time, most notably when the Justice League of America was formed in 1960.

Though on sale Nov. 19, 1946, the cover of Comics Cavalcade issue 18 is the only reference to Thanksgiving.

Wonder Woman and Octavia of Venturia are kidnapped by the power-mad Manilus in the opening story, The Menace of the Rebel Manlings.

Manilus, a former lab assistant, has been dosed with Vitamin Z gas. The resulting effect was an enlargement of his brain. Apparently, an enlarged brain causes delusions of grandeur and the wish for world domination.

Comics Cavalcade 18

The full story has been reprinted in Wonder Woman:  The Golden Age Omnibus volume three.

The Galloping Greenbacks is a Flash vehicle, co-starring Winky Moylan, Blinky Boylan and Noddy Toylan.

Uncle Josh was afraid of money. When short, the old guy would go into a trance and wake up flush with cash. Of course, that led to paranoia and a fear of being sent to jail should his gain be illegal. Signal the Flash and the end to a mystery.

Green Lantern is the final headliner in The Meaning of “D.”

A wealthy man is convinced he owns everything, but must steal something beginning with the letter “D,” to save his wife. It’s up to Green Lantern and Doiby Dickles to foil the phony fortune teller.

The book is rounded out by six Mutt & Jeff one-page gags, features and Hop Harrigan in Seek and Hide! Or The Airmail Trail. Harrigan is the creation of Jon Blummer. He was one of the busiest characters of the Golden Age appearing in All-American Publications, radio serials and film serials.

Comic Cavalcade was published from 1942 to 1954.

The anthology series featured Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Flash as the heavy hitters with filler stories sprinkled between. Comic Cavalcade moved from the form fitting figures of the mystery men to funny animal stories in 1948 when super heroes fell out of favor.

To entertain your guests, or host, here are a few Turkey Day facts: approximately 45 million turkeys are sold for Thanksgiving annually. That’s over 18-percent of the total turkey population raised each year.

California consumes the most fowls with 675-million pounds on the day.

The total calorie intake for a common Thanksgiving meal is 2,500. The average recommended calorie intake for one day is between 1,600 and 2,400.

A chunk of that may be from desserts eaten. Apple is the favorite, unless from the south where pecan takes top billing. On average, 18.9-million pies are purchased for Thanksgiving.

On Dec. 17, 1903, mankind truly mastered three dimensions as the first controlled powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight took place.

While Dec. 17 would seem the logical choice for National Aviation Day, it’s really today. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into observance National Aviation Day using Orville Wright’s birthday, Aug. 19, 1871. Today is the day a grateful world recognizes the pioneers of flight.

Showcase (1956) 22

Acting as chairman for the day former test pilot Hal Jordan.

Introduced in Showcase issue 22, October 1959, Jordan embodied the Silver Age Green Lantern as brought to life courtesy of fathers John Broome and Gil Kane.

The writer/artist combo made Jordan a combat pilot cum test pilot for Ferris Aircraft. It was while training for the company he was summoned by a dying alien, Abin Sur, to become his replacement for Sector 2814 as part of the Green Lantern Corp.

Jordan appeared in two more issues of Showcase before granted his own title in July-August 1960. Gardner Fox would join Broome as co-author of the scripts beginning with issue 17. Together, with editor Julius Schwartz, they crafted adventures until 1970.

With issue 76, Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams began the legendary Hard Traveling Heroes saga. The wunderkinds teamed Jordan with fellow Justice Leaguer Green Arrow and set them on a path across the United States. For two years, until issue 89, the green-garbed duo tackled such topics as overpopulation, bigotry and drug use.

As with the rest of the DC Universe, Jordan had to survive Crisis on Infinite Earths. He did and returned in the third volume bearing the Green Lantern title.

By the early 1990s Jordan was living on borrowed time in the DCU. A multi-part storyline turned him to the dark side. He adopted a new identity in Parallax and was replaced by Kyle Rayner.

In the new millennium, Jordan was allowed to wear the ring once more. He has continued to be the most recognized of the Green Lantern Corps, having lived through the New 52 and DC Rebirth.

Proclamation USC 36:I:A:1:118 allows the sitting president to proclaim August 19 as National Aviation Day each year. If desired, the President’s proclamation may direct all federal buildings and installations to fly the U.S. flag on that day.