Posted By Dan Greenfield on May 3, 2020 | 1 comment

Denny O’Neil turns 81!

1977’s DC Super-Stars #17 — highlighted by the origin of the Earth-Two hero Huntress — is coming out Tuesday, May 5, as a Facsimile Edition, ads and all.

It’s a pretty nifty issue because not only do we get the Huntress’ back story — complete with a column by Paul Levitz laying out how she came to be (click here) — there are also revamped origins for the Legion of Super-Heroes and Green Arrow.

That GA tale is by Denny O’Neil and his second great partner on the Emerald Archer — Mike Grell. And guess what — we can show you a fancy excerpt right here, what with it being O’Neil’s 81st birthday. (He was born May 3, 1939.)

And as a bonus, we’ve got two supergroovy ads from the issue to entertain the heck out of ya!

Dig it:

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A few thoughts:

— Boy, O’Neil and Grell were great on GA. Not as groundbreaking as O’Neil and Adams, but still. And besides, it’s not a competition.

— Standard price comparison: A pretty clean, unslabbed copy of this original issue recently went on eBay for $125 (thanks to the Huntress’ origin). The facsimile edition is priced at $4.99. I’m fairly certain this is the first DC Facsimile Edition to reach that price (they’re usually $3.99). I’m chalking it up to the additional page count.

— Now, the big question: How to get this? If your local comics shop is open, they may be getting it from DC’s new distribution system. Contact them and find out. (The store may also offer mail-order options.) I believe the issue will still be offered through Diamond after the distributor gears up again, possibly later in May. Again, contact your shop for the best option.

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MORE

— DENNY O’NEIL Opens Up About His Greatest BATMAN Stories. Click here.

— The TOP 13 Denny O’Neil THE QUESTION Stories — RANKED, by FRED VAN LENTE. Click here.