That's indeed Berger as Abby, and Bob Wayne as Funky. And I think that's Barbara Kesel as Babs Gordon.
Hovy | 10.05.07 - 1:23 am | #

I can't believe you didn't recognize internet hottie Bob Wayne.
M.A. Masterson | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 1:47 am | #

Funky Flashman appears in Dr 13: Architecture and Mortality, selling used Batmobiles.
Steve Flanagan | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 1:54 am | #

By an extremely bizarre coincidence, I literally JUST won a copy of this paper on eBay. How's THAT for synchronicity?
Rich Handley | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 5:09 am | #

hasnt Abby had her hair done where is her trademark white streak ?
Richard | Email | 10.05.07 - 5:13 am | #

Actually, I think the last arc of the 1987 Dr Fate series (17-23?), is some of the best comics ever written. Although I didn't really care too much for McManus' pencils, DeMatteis story here had a strong influence on me for years.

The gist of it is, Eric dies but is reincarnated in the body of an adult who also dies at about the same time.

A terrific read and probably cheap to pick up now. Much better than what the series devolved into with the change in creative teams that came afterward and featured a Linda-only Dr Fate.

-Billy
Billy | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 6:38 am | #

That Daily Planet was one of the best tie-in type things they've ever done. Really well thought-out and clever. I particularly liked the "Teen Beam" column by Sidney Mellon, himself a phenomenon of the period.

"Sidney Mellon" had a column in Amazing Heroes, where he bravely defended the fanboy position, including such controversial statements that Uncanny X-Men was an unflinching look at a real-world situation (the persecution of mutants), while *Maus* was a trivial work "just about mice."

Sidney was a put-on, a creation of Gerard Jones, but the most fun part of it was that it was so straight-faced that lots of genuinely angry letters were written, including a few ongoing angry exchanges with actual comics pros.

Sidney even got his own masterwork, "Sidney Mellon's Thunderskull," published as an actual comic book!

I wish he'd stayed around longer. He perished before Image, but I think even Sidney (more or less an old-school "Marvel Zombie" type fan) would've been aghast at what the '90s would bring.
suedenim | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 7:00 am | #

Well that was simply awesome. I had the same "Who was Eric Strauss" check you had.

The best part is that DC emploed someone who actually looked like Funky Flashman. Why DC doesn't use their character styled after Stan Lee more often is a mystery to me.

Maybe if they kill off Jimmy olsen in Countdown, they'll fill the void with a new series - Superman's Pal, Funky Flashman.
H | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 7:42 am | #

So, who was Eric Strauss?
Josef K | Email | 10.05.07 - 7:46 am | #

Vanessa Kapatelis is cute as a button.
Matter-Eater Lad | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 8:02 am | #

Funky appeared in Swamp Thing #76, where he was, in fact, oh so funky.
Rich Handley | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 8:06 am | #

Karen Berger as Abby is a cute idea, but they should have done the trademark white streak in her hair.
Rich Handley | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 8:07 am | #

Huh. That's not how I picture Barbar Gordon in real life...

I think Funky was in SON OF VULCAN too..

I really liked the 52 website when it first went up and it had all that fake DCU stuff, like sports scores for fictional teams and so forth. Darwyn Cooke's SOLO issue had some neat little comic strips in it too, as I recall....
caleb | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 8:13 am | #

I agree with Billy -- those JMD Dr. Fate issues were some great comics.

I think the replacement fate that William Messner-Loebs & Peter Gross brought in was Inza Nelson, though, not Linda.
Rob S. | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 8:24 am | #

Is it just me, or does the picture of "Eric Strauss" look badly altered? It looks like someone painted over some facial hair or cut and pasted a new mouth on him.

Or maybe I'm just weird.
William Gatevackes | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 8:43 am | #

Eric Strauss is Art Young. And, yes, it's badly altered, but that was the state of the art in photo alterations in, remember, 19-FRIGGING-88.

And the last photo is of Ronnie Carlin, Mike Carlin's then-wife, adored by all.

--Mark Waid
Daily Planet Editor
Mark Waid | 10.05.07 - 1:18 pm | #

Hey, Mark! We were discussing great covers at my graphic design magazine the other day, and I suggested the classic Secret Origins 50 combo of apes + tears + fire + promise of death. Good times...
Seth Burgess | Email | 10.05.07 - 2:36 pm | #

Grrrrrrr. 40. Issue 40. Sigh.
Seth Burgess | Email | 10.05.07 - 2:37 pm | #

Wow, thanks Mark for the clarification about "Eric Strauss." To me, he looked like a drag king...
Anonymous Internet Guy | Email | 10.05.07 - 2:56 pm | #

MEL beat me to it: Vanessa Kapatelis is adorable.
Chris Sims | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 3:46 pm | #

I'd never heard of this, but it reminds me of the Newstime magazine DC put out during the Death of Superman business.

It may have gotten tossed out or lost over the years, but I remember it pretty clearly. It had a story on the death, on the "new" Justice League, plus fake ads, and some really great fake condescending letters to the editor ("Your article failed to mention where Guy Gardner acquired his new yellow power ring. Once again, Newstime only tells half of the story.")

I also remember a feature where they talked with celebrities (both real and in-DCU) about the death. John Goodman talked about meeting Mr. Mxyptlk selling hot dogs and killing him (?) by trapping him inside the cart. I always wondered if the real John Goodman wrote that, or if all the real celebrities were fake. (In that case, why John Goodman?)
Justin | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 3:48 pm | #

I'll the second the love of that "Newstime." It had photos by James Olsen and a two-page ad from, I think, the Coast City Chamber of Commerce, enticing people to move out there because "things are booming in Coast City!"
Brian Smith | Email | Homepage | 10.05.07 - 5:25 pm | #

More proof that Invasion was the Greatest Crossover Ever.

What an awesome time capsule. More stuff like this, please.
The Mutt | Email | 10.05.07 - 7:36 pm | #

Y'all got it backwards. Abby has white hair with a black streak.
The Eyeball Kid | 10.06.07 - 2:55 am | #

For some reason, I brought all my Invasion comics from my parent's place, but my copy of this is AWOL. I was an awesome little promotional item, though.
Justin Mohareb | Email | Homepage | 10.06.07 - 10:19 am | #