This isn’t necessarily a DC question, but one you’re probably uniquely qualified to answer:
Whatever became of Mr. A, Steve Ditko’s proto-Question? Where did the rights to that character fall after all the years of company buyouts and the passing of Ditko?
Unlike his other characters, Steve Ditko always maintained the rights to Mr. A himself, only publishing those stories through independent small press anthologies and publishers like Wally Wood’s witzend, and Comic Art Publishers. In 2009, one of Ditko’s last projects was a self-published Mr. A series, mainly reprints of old material. It ran irregularly until 2016, two years before his death. Ditko’s estate presumably maintains the rights to Mr. A to this day.
A couple of questions, that have occurred to me after reviewing the eyecandy thread.
My limited search indicated that Superman Man of Steel1 by John Byrne was the first comic with a variant cover, is that accurate?
Also, when looking at the cover a second question occurred to me, assuming Superman was the first alien Super Hero, who was the second, and who was the first alien Super Villain?
Thanks as always
Man of Steel #1 was the first comic to be marketed with a variant cover, but technically speaking there were variants for comics released in different markets and through different channels before then. In 1966, for instance, the Golden Record Company reprinted some key Marvel Comics issues with different promotional covers as part of a tie-in to their line of audio recordings to be listened to along with the comics themselves. (Which is honestly a pretty neat idea I’d like to see resurrected.)
Through the 70s, slight changes in cover dress for publisher redistribution or repricing were fairly common, as were fluctuations in quality on the cover art itself upon reproduction for foreign markets. But as for completely original art under the program of a “collect them all” marketing scheme, Byrne’s Man of Steel was indeed the first.
As for the first alien supervillain, it’s difficult to account for every Golden Age comic ever published. But as major ones go I believe the first would be the Venusian Mister Mind, debuting in Captain Marvel Adventures #22, 1943.
The second alien superhero I could find would be Jane 6EM35, The Magician from Mars, who appeared in Centaur Publications’ Amazing-Man Comics #7, 1939. This telekinetic Martian comes to Earth with complex motives, fighting criminals but also stealing vast quantities of gold to redistribute to children’s charities.
Amazing info as always, thanks
In prepping myself, for Netflix’s Sandman series (set to debut Aug 5th), I’ve been rereading some of my favorite stories from the world of Morpheus. In what would become a part of vol. 3, we got a discussion between Dream and his sister Death, which involved William Shakespeare. What peaked my interest here, was the play that the Bard of Avon had written for the Sultan of Slumber. We all know it as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The invited guests for it’s debut performance, are prominent residents of the land of Faerie. It’s King and Queen among them. Necessary context to my questions, as you’ll see.
My mind (being what it is), suddenly made a tenuous connection between Neil’s creations, and those fairytales (pun intended) from earlier DC sources. Going all the way back to All-Star Comics #39 in late '47. A story titled "Invasion from Fairyland." Justice League of America #2, (vol 1), back in '61, gave us "Secret of the Sinister Sorcerers." And in JLA #47- 49 (vol. 1) 2002, we got the “Queen of Fables.” I’m wondering, has anyone yet made an actual connection between those characters and Gaiman’s land of Faerie? And does Bill Willingham’s fabulous world of Fables fit in to this picture, anywhere? Are the inter-dimensional “homelands” of Fable folk, at all connected, to Faerieland?
I know how you prefer smaller formatted questions. But since these all revolve around fables, fairies and folklore within the realm of Morpheus, I figured I’d take the shot. Worst case scenario, they wind up at the back of the line, with a lot of others. Thanks! 
Stay safe, be well.
I just got a copy of the Who’s Who omnibus (an absolute treat, by the way!) and discovered that Waylon Jones was once known simply as “Croc”. When did he get the “Killer” added on?
Way too cool!!! 𝐓𝐲 𝐁𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 @HubCityQuestion!! Another permanent piece of DC History for my collection. I’ve literally been learning tech all morning. Figuring out how to compress a file & save it. Then, I couldn’t find this exact thread. So, I felt, after all the digging u did for me- I could go one by one thru my activity, until I found the “ask the question thread” I actually asked it from. 2 1/2hrs later, but I’m finally here lol.
𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨
𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑪𝑬𝑹𝑬𝑳𝒀,
Capo.
I just read the latest article, and I didn’t realize that Infectious Lass’s entire race was, well, infectious! It really raises the question: how many Legionnaires actually have superpowers - abilities beyond what’s typical of their race?
I LOVE this question!
Because it really is the exception for the Legionnaires to have powers that are exceptional for their planets…
I can think of …
Lightning Lad (lightning monster)
Lightning Lass (lightning monster)
Star Boy (comet)
Ultra Boy (space whale)
White Witch (witch)
Wildfire (accident)
Sun Boy (accident)
Colossal Boy (meteorite)
Bouncing Boy (idiot)
Got some Phantom Stranger inquiries for ya this around, Master Q. Seems that DC has deliberately kept his true past under wraps. With about 5 different origin stories, last time I looked. The only one we know even less about is the Joker. You really need to work on that " world’s greatest detective," thing there Bats. But, I digress. Getting back to the Stranger, one thing seems fairly certain. And that is, that he’s been around a very long time. Maybe thousands of years, possibly going back to the days of Christ, or earlier.
What we don’t have, is much data on his past lives, as he moved through human history. So, my query is this, has the Stranger ever “intervened” in any of the schemes of Vandal Savage or Ra’s al Ghul (in centuries past), to keep them from conquering the human race? I assume that something (or someone) did, before modern day heroes like the JSA, JLA, Batman and the like, were around to oppose them. Yes/no? 
Stay safe, be well.
I’ve addressed the question before of heroes who have intervened in Vandal and Ra’s al Ghul’s designs before the current age of heroes. As far as we know, Phantom Stranger was not among them. But his nature is that he is rarely authorized to act directly.
It seems I’ve missed those previous answers of yours, sir. Can you direct me to them?
Sure, this is from the 29th edition of the column, back in the DC Universe days:
wrightline1.42741 asks:
“Thanks to the Lazarus Pit, Ra’s al Ghul has lived an enormously long life, so far. And it’s only been a few short years (in DC Comics time) that he has run up against Super Hero opposition to his global plans for humanity. But, since even prior to Batman, he has failed to accomplish his goal. One has to wonder, why? What other heroes (or villains) in times past have stood in his way?”
Not too many. But those who have stood against the League of Assassins have generally been equally clandestine organizations, waging a shadow war against the Demon’s Head for centuries.
Early issues of Azrael suggest that Jean-Paul Valley’s own Order of St. Dumas may have been one such organization. Similarly, the Rebirth era introduced us to the existence a splinter counter-faction from within the League of Assassins, known as the League of Shadows… once led by Lady Shiva, the world’s deadliest assassin, but currently headed up by the Demon’s own daughter, Talia. Ra’s has also been long embroiled in a bitter struggle for dominance with the enigmatic “Sensei” — a figure who may either be Ra’s al Ghul’s father, or his own son, depending on the legend.
Another opposing faction to the League of Assassins is the mysterious All-Caste, an ancient order of mystic warriors who trained Jason Todd in the New 52 after his resurrection.
Robin: Son of Batman introduces us to the Lu’un Darga, an ancient family of immortals who seek to keep the likes of Ra’s al Ghul from exploiting Earth’s Lazarus Pits — but also to cleanse the world of all life and start over. Luckily, Damian was able to deal with them.
One of Ra’s al Ghul’s most recurring enemies in ancient times may have been I-Ching, the martial arts master who took upon the heavy burden of embodying both the light and dark essences of the universe. In his ongoing struggle against corrupting influences such as Ra’s, I-Ching has trained Batman, Wonder Woman, and China’s own New Super-Man.
Maybe the most enlightening encounter with the pre-Batman history of Ra’s occurred in 2009’s Justice League of America 80-Page Giant #1. One of many time-bending stories in that anthology is set in the early 20th century, where the S.H.A.D.E. organization has dispatched their agent The Bride (as in, of Frankenstein) to keep Ra’s from exploiting another Lazarus Pit. Most surprisingly, it’s revealed through the course of that adventure that The Bride was once married to Ra’s al Ghul, as well.
In media outside of comics, Ra’s has had his fair share of enemies before Batman as well. The Batman: The Animated Series episode “Showdown” relates the 19th century tale of an aging Jonah Hex opposing Ra’s al Ghul in his own right. And in the Arrowverse series, we find Ra’s has long struggled for control against his ally turned rival Damien Darhk, and enlists Oliver Queen to aid in defeating him.
But here’s a thought for you. Despite all of that, before Batman appeared to oppose him… what makes you believe Ra’s al Ghul was ever truly stopped?
Impressive sir, very impressive! Thank you muchly! 
I’d forgotten all about that inquiry. Old age will do that to you sometimes.
I’ll assume that your answers (although not explicitly stated) are applicable to Vandal Savage as well. But staying with the Stranger for a moment longer, when was his first appearance together with the Spectre? And was said appearance also the first time they’d ever met?
In JSA #43-44 Vandal Savage in ancient Egypt battled Black Adam, Dr. Fate, and Hawkman. In Justice League United he is mentioned to have battled Easy Company many times.
Now that’s something i wanna see.
Jim Lee and Brandon Choi created the Wildstorm universe (in '92), which included the Authority and WildC.A.T.s, among others. A few years later (in '98), the equally talented Warren Ellis created the Planetary, within that universe. Also in '98, DC acquired the Wildstorm property from Image. In 2020, Jim Lee became sole publisher of DC at that time. Crossovers with his Wildstorm characters became more commonplace. The JLA had already met the WildC.A.T.s, in 1997, and versions of the Planetary and League, would likewise meet, a few years later.
Now, if I’ve got all that correct (and I may not), Grant Morrison wrote his Multiversity “guide book” from 2014-16. After DC had acquired Wildstorm, lock, stock and barrel. And yet, I find no trace of their Earth (once said to be Earth 50), among the 51 listed, in the tpb. Leaving one to imagine them, as one of the countless others out there. Or perhaps one of the 7 “unknowns” also shown.
That seems odd to me. As the Wildstorm characters were and are, major players in the DCU now. So, why wouldn’t Morrison list them as such? Unless of course, some perfectly logical reason exists for it, to which I am not privy. Or, I’ve simply overlooked something, which will once again prove very embarrassing. Your take on all this, good sir?
Stay safe, be well.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Wildstorm characters now seem to exist on the main earth instead of a separate earth of their own. Just a guess but it looks like Earth 0 swallowed up the Wildstorm universe.
