Freedom Fighters #14

Freedom Fighters #14 (June 1978)
title: "Sideshows of Doom!"
writer: Bob Rozakis
penciller: Dick Ayers
inker: Jack Abel
letterer: John Workman
colorist: Mario Sen
editor: Jack C. Harris
letter column: Jack C. Harris
cover: Rich Buckler & Jack Abel

Order of Appearance: All appear in one group scene on page one: (L/R) Doll Man, The Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, Uncle Sam, Black Condor, and The Ray

Guest Stars:  Batgirl and Batwoman

Supporting Characters:
WGNY-TV reporter Martha Roberts, 

Opponents:
aliens, "clone" copies of our heroes

Overall Summary: 
The Freedom Fighters visit a travelling carnival and stumble into an alien invasion plot!  

Plot Summary:

In Provincetown, Massachusetts the Freedom Fighters, including new member Firebrand, are relaxing at Kane's Karnival. Unbeknownst to our heroes, Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) is also visiting the owner, Kathy Kane, who is secretly Batwoman. 

Phantom Lady, the Ray, and the Human Bomb go on the roller coaster while Doll Man and Firebrand have lunch. Firebrand tries to calm Doll Man down, who is upset that his girl-friend Martha didn't quit her job at WGNY-TV to join up with them. 

On the roller coaster, someone plants a bomb and the tracks explode. The Freedom Fighters jump into action. Black Condor grabs the Ray to help rescue the riders while the Human Bomb jumps out from the rail car and tries to stop its acceleration. Two kids fall, but are rescued by Black Condor and the Ray. 

Meanwhile, Doll Man and Firebrand chase after the suspected bomber, followed by Batgirl and Batwoman. Doll Man hits him after being thrown by Firebrand, but then he's captured by the Dynamite Duo. When the police arrive, the Freedom Fighters disappear.  

Later that night, the Freedom Fighters are watching the local news when Uncle Sam tells them he has an idea for them to stop running from the police. 

The next day the Freedom Fighters in their civilian identities audition for Kathy Kane as a sideshow attraction. Uncle Sam is the ringmaster, Black Condor and Firebrand are acrobats, the Ray is a "fire-eater," Doll Man is an escape artist, and the Human Bomb is a magician with Phantom Lady as his assistant. They are hired. 

That night, the Ray, Phantom Lady, and the Human Bomb go on the roller coaster again. They buy tickets from an alien (?) without noticing. 

As the others walk around the carnival trying to relax, the three return. They demand that the others go on the ride, too, and the group ends up fighting. 

The three turn out to be zombie-like copies that disintegrate when hit. Uncle Sam, Black Condor, Doll Man, and Firebrand suit up. Black Condor and Doll Man head over to try to find their friends, and Uncle Sam and Firebrand head to Kathy's office to confront her. 

Review: 

This is an issue that I feel a bit ambivalent about. On the one hand, the idea of the Freedom Fighters travelling around the East Coast incognito with Batwoman makes a lot of sense (well, comic-book sense). On the other hand, I know what is coming in one more issue so I can't get overly enthusiastic about this story direction. (And if you don't know what I'm referring to, you'll find out next week). 

As I said, the Fighters posing as side show attractions is brilliant. I will never not think that's a great idea. On the other hand, shoe-horning Batwoman AND Batgirl into this story makes less sense. Did Batgirl really have to be a part of this? It's logical for Kathy Kane to be here (it's her carnival, after all) but do we really need ANOTHER non-powered character to add to the mix? Including them here makes Doll Man and Firebrand a little less good at their jobs, as they are not allowed by Bob Rozakis to actually catch the alien. See what I mean? 

And speaking of aliens, I am NOT a fan of alien invasion stories, and this one is especially odd. It reminds me of the classic Justice League of America story "The Cosmic Fun-House" from JLA #7, where aliens are switching Americans for their "people" via a carnival side-show attraction. See the similarities? It was a silly idea back in 1961 and it's a silly idea here. And this story is NOT as good as that one is!  

What Bob Rozakis does do better is characterization. I get the feeling that Phantom Lady enjoys being fought over by the Ray and the Human Bomb, but that she's about at her limit. She doesn't say anything while they fight over going into the roller coaster except, "I really wish you two boys would grow up!" According to Uncle Sam (on the next page), he thinks she has her eye on a different Fighter altogether! We never hear who he thinks she likes, but remember this exchange: we will return to this topic much later in our reviews.  

Also of interest is how Rozakis puts Firebrand and Doll Man together. Firebrand is I guess supposed to come off as something of a narcissist? Certainly he has a super-hero ego. There is only one page of dialogue between them, but it's clear that Doll Man is not a big fan of Rod Reilly. I'm not sure I like him much, either, but I do kind of agree with him here. As a kid when I first read these comics I didn't understand any of the subtext, but as an adult I can maybe imagine where there might be something? What I mean is: here's a character running around in hot pink and red calling himself Firebrand, with no love interests. Possibly gay?  He's on Martha's side, telling Darrel that she shouldn't be expected to give up her life to traipse around the country with them. This, Darrel finds annoying. Interesting...

As for the art, I am not a fan of Jack Abel's heavy inks on Dick Ayers' competent pencils, but this issue especially there seems to be a lack of backgrounds and details where we usually get something. Because the story is set in a carnival, there are plenty of panels where in order to represent the expanse of land,  there are no backgrounds at all! I don't know, the art just seems mediocre to me. And the printing on my copy makes the inks even heavier on certain pages, which doesn't help. 

My other artistic complaint has to do with the roller coasters. They seem to be drawn as large as they need to be, depending on the situation. On the splash page they look positively huge, but later in the story they seem tight. Add to this the fact that there are no seat belts or locking mechanisms in them at all and I call "lazy artist!" 

Black Condor and The Ray Moment

Black Condor and the Ray save the kids who fall off the roller coaster.    

Doll Man and Firebrand Moment

Doll Man and Firebrand use teamwork to try to catch the terrorist.  

Human Bomb Moment

The Human Bomb tries to stop the roller coaster car from plummeting to the ground.  

Phantom Lady Moment 

Phantom Lady tries to keep the passengers calm, but realizes it's a waste of time. 

Nice self-realization on her part! 

Uncle Sam Moment

Uncle Sam introduces the Fighters' new secret identities.

In fact, this scene is....

Best Moment

Uncle Sam thinking about how the Fighters are secretly using their powers 

as Side Show acts is just fantastic.   

Worst Moment

Roy, Happy, and Sandy are arguing about who gets to sit next to who.

So... they don't notice that their ticket-taker is an ALIEN!?!?!  

Moment They Could Have Been Cleared:

There isn't a moment in this issue where the Freedom Fighters could have cleared their names; they're too busy establishing new identities. 

This issue's letter column was about FF #11, and includes the nutshell that the "power" that granted the Renegades in that story was Homilus itself. Also, Editor JCH hints at an "exciting announcement" for the next issue.  Hmm...

Freedom of Information

• For the first and only time all seven members appear on the cover. 
• Firebrand has joined the Roll Call on page one. 
• Batgirl and Batwoman discuss recently meeting The Huntress from Earth-2. Little do they know they're about to meet the heroes of Earth-X!
• The Ray is holding Phantom Lady's hand on page one. 
• No one is strapped in on the roller-coaster cars!   
• The Human Bomb and Phantom Lady appear in their costumes on only one page in this issue. 

The Freedom Fighters

 

assembled by Len Wein