Official Black Hammer Appreciation Thread - New OA on 11/16 0

[Dr Carl]

A Quick Introduction 

When I was ten, in the summer of 1978, I was introduced to a friendly neighborhood superhero, who in turn, introduced me to an interconnect world of heroes and villains. It wasn’t long before Claremont’s X-people and Reed Richard’s Fantastic Team and so many others became a part of my everyday life (back when collecting comics was still a thing only geeks did, and when geeks were still an uncool thing to be). 

I loved (loved) learning about the universe my super powered friends lived in, discovering what had happened through starred end notes on the bottom corner of a panel (“as seen in issue 153, true believer!”). In time, I’d get a comic catalog through one of those small ads in my Amazing book, and suddenly I could order back issues by mail (whenever I could save up enough of  my allowance), and I could discover that 121 was the death of Gwen (even if I could never afford it). I loved my catalogue, and the important comic book history it contained. 
(I would also claim the DC Universe as my own beginning eight years later, in 1986, when DC relaunched their history beginning with Crisis.)

Fast forward thirty two years (where did the time go) . And suddenly Black Hammer is bringing me back to the joys of my 10 year old self, letting me re-expeirence the pleasures of uncovering a whole new world of characters, ones that are a homage to the characters I once loved. 

As my way of saying thank you to Black Hammer, and hopefully to Jeff and Dean, and because it was so much fun to do, I'll start this thread with a complete list of what each issue contains as first appearances, cameo first appearances, print runs that I could find, easter eggs, and so on. This list is a great way to know what issues are key, and, in the short history of the BH universe to date, just about every issue is key. So, read on, and help me improve on… 
 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Dr Carl

[Dr Carl]

The Black Hammer Universe: A Complete Issue by Issue Guide

1st appearances, variant covers, easter eggs, a few print run #s, and more.

(Note: Contains Spoilers.)

 

Black Hammer (note: All Cover B’s by Jeff Lemire; All Cover A’s by Dean Ormston except #12A by David Rubin)

1 Cover A, B, SDCC’16 (500 copies), SDCC’17 (1000 copies), Directors Cut, Ashcan

1st appearance Black Hammer(cameo), Lucy Weber (2nd Black Hammer), Abraham Slam (Abraham Slamtowski), Talky Walky (tlk-e wlk-e), Madame Butterfly, Golden Gail (Gail Gibbons),Barbalien (Mark Markz), Colonel Weird (Randall Weird), Anti-God, Tammy Trueheart, Earl Trueheart, Father Patrick Quinn, House of Horrors (cameo), Rosewood (town), and Black Hammer Farm.

 

2 Cover A,B

1st cameo appearance of Sherlock Frankenstein, First appearance of Zafram, origin of Golden Gail

 

3 Cover A, B

1st appearance of Taurus. Origin of Barbalien

 

4 Cover A, B

1st appearance of Cthu-Lou and Dr Star (Jimmy Robinson), Origin of Abraham Slam, 2nd cameo appearance of Black Hammer.

 

5 Cover A, B

Origin of Col. Weird (Randall Weird). 1st appearance and death of Eve, 1st full appearance of Para-Zone.

 

6 Cover A, B

Origin of Madame Dragonfly. First full appearance of Cabin of Horrors and “Swamp Monster” (no name given)

 

7 Cover A, B

1st full appearance of Black Hammer(Joseph Weber), Origin of Black Hammer, 1st appearance of New World, Starlok and The Lightriders (The Escaper, Whiptara, Time-Boy, Warpie), Lorraine Webber, Jackhammer and the demolition squad

 

8 Cover A, B

1st Full appearance of Sherlock Frankstein, 1st appearance of FrankenLock WorldWide. 1st appearance of Golden Family (Golden Gwen, Golden Gary, Captain Golden, and Golden Goose), Golden Gail “retires”

 

9 Cover A, B

Origin of Talky-Walky, “Death” of Talky-Walky, “Death” of Earl Trueheart

 

10 Cover A, B

1st appearance of MetalSmith, Mud Master, Y-Force (Youth Force; Animosity & 2 unnamed members), 1st appearance of Abraham Slam’s armored costume, Abraham Slam “retires”.

 

11 Cover A, B

Barbalien “retires”

 

12 Cover A, B

1st appearance of Hall of Hammers, written mention of Anaconda, Metal Minotaur, Black Stallion, Tentor Hoots, Miniverse, Burning Plant Men.

 

13 Cover A, B

“Death” of Y-Force, LightRiders, Golden Family, 1st appearance of Lucy Weber as Black Hammer.

 

Annual 1

1st appearance and death of Rex Pacer. 1st use of Barbadar and Martian Vision.

 

Edited September 19, 2019 by Dr Carl

[Dr Carl]

Black Hammer: Age of Doom

 

1 Cover A, B, C3E2/SDCC (1000 copies),  C2E2 Retailer Varient

1st appearance of Ante-room and Lonnie James

 

2 Cover A, B (Cover B by co-creator Jeff Lemire)

1st appearance of Jack Sabbath, 1st cameo appearance of StoryLand and StoryMan

 

3 Cover A, B

1st full appearance of StoryLand, StoryMan, The PageCounter, Mystery, Romance, and The Editor. Sweet Tooth cameo appearance

 

4 Cover A,B

5 Cover A,B

6 Cover A,B

1st appearance of Nowhere, Inspector Inspector, .Hellamentals, Ms. Moonbeam, Soldier X, Mister Grizzly, Excali-Burt, Stella Steele, Ham Samwich, Barbali-Bunny. 2nd appearance of Golden Goose

 

7 Cover A,,B

Origin of Excali-Burt (Burt Lancelot), Inspector Inspector (Harry Troubadour), Ms. Moonbeam (Nancy Ness). Death of Exacli-Burt, Ms. Moonbeam, Soldier X, Mister Grizzly. The Creator (Jeff Lemire) cameo appearance. Guest appearance of unnamed comic book creators.

 

8 Cover A,B

9 Cover A, B

10 Cover A,B

11 Cover A,B

12 Cover A,B

 

Edited September 19, 2019 by Dr Carl

[Dr Carl]

Black Hammer ’45

 

1 Cover A, B

1st appearance of the Black Hammer Squadron (Hammer Hawthorne, Jean Paul, Li, Grips), Ghost Hunter (Oberst Klaus von Lowe), Red Tide and Aleksandra Nazarova. 1st mention of the Beast Patrol, Captain Jack Flag and Bulldog, Atlantic King, GreenBaum family (Monica, Herman, and son), Project Wierd. 1st cameo appearance of Nachtnwulf patrol, laboratories of the Sturmhexen, Drachenriegers, Major Thompson, . Golden Gail, Horseless Rider  cameo appearance.

 

2 Cover A, B

1st cameo appearance of GreenBaum family, Sturmhexen’s cloud shapers, die Fliedermaus, unnamed Atlantean superhuman (fighting alongside Horseless Rider), 1st mention of Dr Star as Dr Andromeda. Wingman, Horseless Rider, and Abraham Slam cameo appearance.

 

3 Cover A,B

Abraham Slam appearance, 1st full appearance of GreenBaum family

 

4 Cover A, B

Death of Hammer Hawthorne, Ghost Hunter, Aleksandra Nazarova.

 

[Dr Carl]

Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise

1 Cover A, B

1st mention of Battle of Ypres (Story told in Black Hammer ’45 issues 1-4. Predates Black Hammer '45)

 

[Dr Carl]

Doctor Star

 

1 Cover A,B

Third appearance of The Liberty Squadron. First time Liberty Squadron members are identified (Abraham Slam, Golden Gail, Wingman, Captain Night, Doctor Day, Wingman, and Doctor Star). First time Captain Night and Doctor Day are mentioned by name.

 

2 Cover A,B

First cameo appearance of SkullDigger. 1st appearance and death of Gravity Leviathon

 

3 Cover A,B

1st appearance of Star Sheriff Squadron

 

4 Cover A,B

 

[Dr Carl]

Sherlock Frankenstein

 

1 Cover A B,SDCC (750 copies), LCSD

First appearance of Spiral Asylum for the Criminally Insane, Wingman, Liberty Squadron, Concretestador (Officer Lopez), Mectoplasm (Eugene Trembley), GrimJim, 1st written mention of Sultrix.

 

2 Cover A, B

First appearance and Origin of 2nd Chtu-Lou (Louis Kaminski), 1st cameo appearance of Metal Minotaur. 1st appearance of Chtu-Louise (Louise Kaminski). 1st appearance of Chtu-Lou creator (no name given)

 

3 Cover A, B

First full appearance and Origin of Metal Minotaur (N. Parker). 1st cameo appearance of Manaconda.

 

4 Cover A,B (Cover B by co-creator Jeff Lemire)

Origin of Sherlock Frankenstein. First appearance of Doc Steele, Crimson Mist, and Tazara. 2nd appearance of Liberty Squadron. 1st appearance of Igor Watson.

 

Graphic Novel (issues 1-4)

First sketches of Tentor Hooks, Black Stallion, Sultrix

 

[Dr Carl]

Quantum Age

 

1 Cover A, B, SDCC (1,000 copies)

1st Appearance of Barbali-teen (Trev Trevz), Quantum League (Storm Girl, Hammer Lass (Lyndda Weber), Gravity Lad, Modular Lass (Ginna), Archive V,  Erb). 1st mention of The President and The Citadel. 1st appearance of Trev Trevz. Martian invasion of Earth. Cameo appearances of Monster Boy, Lasar Phasar, Fireball, Stratum, Goliathan, Antler Boy, Unknown Boy, Ice Boy, Hornet Girl, Glue Girl, Storma, Mechanos, Trionic, Doppler Diva.

 

2 Cover A,B

1st motion of EarthGov and the Science Militia, Gorilla Girl, Doppler Damsel. 1st appearance of Gravity Boy aka The President (Dank Allen)

 

3 Cover A,B

1st mention of United Galaxies and Earth Colonies. Origin of Archive V (“descendent” of Talky Walky) and Quantum League, 1st appearance of Mother Computer as futuristic Talky Walky.

 

4 Cover A,B

Origin of Hammer Lass. 1st appearance of Colonel Weird as Chronokus.

 

5 Cover A, B

1st appearance of Madame Butterfly as futuristic Madame Dragonfly

 

6 Cover A, B (cover B by co-creator Jeff Lemire)

1st appearance of Quantum World.

[Dr Carl]

Very Few Inconsistencies... But a Few...

There are remarkably few inconsistencies in a Black Hammer Universe of growing complexity. I found just a very few that I’d value your insights on:

 

1. Sherlock Frankenstein #4 says he won the space race to the moon, but Dr. Star #2 appears shows Dr. Star on the moon first in 1951. (It’s possible Sherlock was unaware of Dr Star’s presence, given the moon is, you know, big.)

 

2. Quantum Age #1 opens saying 3041AD, but both issue #4 and the Encyclopedia indicate the setting is 100 years into the future, putting it at about 2119AD.

 

3. In Quantum Age 6, Col. Weird says he doesn’t know what happens next, and that this is the first time that’s happened to him. However, this also happened to him in Age of Doom #11. It’s possible that Col. Weird simply forgot (living with dinosaurs might do that to a person, to say nothing of traveling through the para-zone).

 

4. Black Hammer ’45 #4 states that no one would know of the battle, but it is taught in the history class attended by Cthu-Louise in her one-shot.

[chrisco37]

I read the first few trades. Thought it was great.  I need to get back up to the library to see if any new ones have been released. 

Have you read Astro City?   

[Dr Carl]

2 hours ago, chrisco37 said:

I read the first few trades. Thought it was great.  I need to get back up to the library to see if any new ones have been released. 

Have you read Astro City?   

I'm so glad you enjoyed Black Hammer. Regarding trades, most everything is out in trade form now: BH (2 trades), BH: Age of Doom (only the 1st of the 2 is currently out), BH '45, BH: Streets of Spiral (contains one-shots), Doctor Star, Sherlock Frankenstein, and Quantum Age. I'm remarkably impressed by the interweaving narratives, and how each contains pieces of (and sometimes clues to) the others. Not only do they honor the heroes that came in universes before, but they also honor the heroes from their own world.

Regarding Astro City, I'm unfamiliar but will be sure to take a look. If you'd like to share more, I'd like to learn more. Thanks.

[chrisco37]

1 hour ago, Dr Carl said:

 

Regarding Astro City, I'm unfamiliar but will be sure to take a look. If you'd like to share more, I'd like to learn more. Thanks.

Astro City is a series written by Kurt Busiek (Marvels).  Based on what you said earlier about discovering an interconnected world of heroes & villains, I figure you would enjoy the series.  It's been years (more than 10) since I've read it, so I don't recall the details of the story.  I just remember thinking, "Man, this is good stuff".  It's a brand new set of heroes and villains (ie, not Marvel or DC); some will feel familiar, while others are "brand new".  Really good stuff.  Multiple Eisner & Harvey awards.  

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astro_City

Kurt Busiek's Astro City is an American superhero anthology comic book series centered on a fictional American city of that name. Created and written by Kurt Busiek, the series is mostly illustrated by Brent Anderson, with character designs and painted covers by Alex Ross.

The first volume was published from 1995 to 1996 by Image Comics. In 1996, a second volume was launched under the Homage Comics imprint of Image partner studio WildStorm, which was then acquired by DC Comics, where the series later transitioned to the WildStorm Signature Series imprint and continued until 2010. During this period it switched from a regular ongoing series to a sequence of periodic mini-series and special issues. A third, ongoing volume was launched under DC's Vertigo imprint in 2013^[1][2] and concluded in 2018, reverting to occasional miniseries and original graphic novels. Counting all series, mini-series and special issues, over 100 issues have been published.^[3

[Dr Carl]

9 hours ago, chrisco37 said:

Astro City is a series written by Kurt Busiek (Marvels).  Based on what you said earlier about discovering an interconnected world of heroes & villains, I figure you would enjoy the series.  It's been years (more than 10) since I've read it, so I don't recall the details of the story.  I just remember thinking, "Man, this is good stuff".  It's a brand new set of heroes and villains (ie, not Marvel or DC); some will feel familiar, while others are "brand new".  Really good stuff.  Multiple Eisner & Harvey awards.  

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astro_City

Kurt Busiek's Astro City is an American superhero anthology comic book series centered on a fictional American city of that name. Created and written by Kurt Busiek, the series is mostly illustrated by Brent Anderson, with character designs and painted covers by Alex Ross.

The first volume was published from 1995 to 1996 by Image Comics. In 1996, a second volume was launched under the Homage Comics imprint of Image partner studio WildStorm, which was then acquired by DC Comics, where the series later transitioned to the WildStorm Signature Series imprint and continued until 2010. During this period it switched from a regular ongoing series to a sequence of periodic mini-series and special issues. A third, ongoing volume was launched under DC's Vertigo imprint in 2013^[1][2] and concluded in 2018, reverting to occasional miniseries and original graphic novels. Counting all series, mini-series and special issues, over 100 issues have been published.^[3

Thanks for taking the time to -- and for your kindness in -- explaining this to me. I had no idea, and will excitedly explore this further. 

[Dr Carl]

Tomorrow morning, I'll share a few photos of my Black Hammer collection (at which time you can see I'm a bit of Black Hammer "nut")... 

If anyone out there would like to share their collection as well, that'd be wonderful. I'd love to see it.

[Dr Carl]

Picture time..

I’ve greatly enjoyed spending time in the Black Hammer universe, a world colored by Abe, Gail, Mark, Talke, Randall, Lucy, and so many others. And it’s a world -- if the NY Times is to be believed -- headed to both movie and TV land (fingers crossed).

I couldn’t help myself but stock up on their first appearances, and the next few posts share images of my,  um, infatuation….

[Dr Carl]

Dean’s original cover of Black Hammer 1

[Dr Carl]

Jeff’s variant cover of Black Hammer 1

[Dr Carl]

Dat’s SDCC 2016 cover (limited to 500 copies)

[Dr Carl]

Fabio’s SDCC 2017 cover of Black Hammer 1 (1000 copies)

[Dr Carl]

The Aschan (that I believe was an SDCC ’16 exclusive) … no idea how many were printed (anyone?)