J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Detective Comics No. 225
November 1955
Story: “The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Joe Samachson
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (John Jones; first
appearance; origin; earlier chronological appearance in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #71)
Intro: Dr. Mark Erdel (dies in this story), Lt. Saunders
Comment: J’onn J’onzz’s powers of invisibility, immateriality, physical
transformation, and mind-over-matter are manifested in this story.
Chronologically earlier appearances of J’onn J’onzz appear in
issue #287 and in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #71, both in flashbacks.
Synopsis: When Dr. Erdel uses a “robot brain” and teleportation system
of his creation to capture and retrieve something from space, it brings
a green-skinned Martian named J’onn J’onzz to Earth. After both introduce
themselves to each other, J’onzz asks Erdel to return him to Mars.
Erdel replies that he cannot do that, since it might take years to reverse
his computer’s program. The Martian, knowing he must adapt his appearance
to that of humans, uses his chameleon-like powers to make himself look
like a brown-haired Caucasian human male. Seconds afterward, the
shock of the preceding events takes its toll on Erdel’s weak heart.
With his last breaths, Erdel asks J’onzz to forgive him for making him
a prisoner of Earth. Then he dies.
J’onzz muses that the Martians are working on a “Project Star-Ride”
for interplanetary travel. But until that project is completed--however
long that may take--he is bound to Earth. He Americanizes his name
to John Jones. Then, going to the seaside, he uses his Martian mind-over-matter
power to extract gold from seawater to give him working capital.
John Jones then takes a tour of the Earth, sometimes using his powers of
invisibility and immateriality to conceal his presence.
One aspect of Terran life disturbs J’onn J’onzz: crime.
Since Earth is a younger planet than Mars, and since Mars underwent the
“Great Evolution” centuries ago that virtually wiped out crime, its rate
of wrongdoing is much less than that of Earth. J’onzz decides to
help the Earthmen by fighting crime. In his John Jones identity,
he takes and passes a detective exam at the Midtown police department.
But he realizes he must avoid a Martian’s one weakness--fire, which can
sap his powers and take his life.
Detective Comics No. 226
December 1955
Story: “The Case of the Magic Baseball” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Joe Samachson
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Lt. Saunders
Intro: Big Bob Michaels (only appearance)
Villains: Brad Devon and his gang, Trigger Tom Taylor, an unnamed gang
(first and only appearance for all)
Comment: J’onn J’onzz’s powers of precognition are first manifested
in this story.
Synopsis: Baseball pitcher Big Bob Michaels has a prison sentence in
his past. Gangster Brad Devon has bet a large amount of money on
the team Michaels is pitching against, and warns the ex-con that if he
wins, his criminal past will be publicly revealed. Lt. Saunders asks
John Jones to keep an eye on the pitcher. Learning of the extortion
plot, Jones uses his Martian mind-over-matter powers to help Michaels win
the game. Then, when Devon and his men try to rub out Michaels, Jones is
on hand to capture them.
Detective Comics No. 227
January 1956
Story: “The Man With 20 Lives” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Joe Samachson
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Lt. Saunders
Villains: Monte Fisk and his gang (first and only appearance)
Comment: J’onn J’onzz’s powers of telepathy and flight are first manifested
in this story.
Synopsis: Monte Fisk, who is suspected of committing at least a dozen
murders, covers his tracks too well for the police to prove his involvement.
But John Jones uses his telepathic powers to learn that Fisk is indeed
guilty. Then he uses his other powers to haunt Fisk, surviving the
murderer’s attempts to kill him over and over again. Finally, Fisk
confesses to the killings, saying a “ghost detective” has been haunting
him.
Detective Comics No. 228
February 1956
Story: “Escape To the Stars” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Dave Wood
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (origin retold
in flashback)
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding (first appearance)
Intro: Benton (only appearance)
Cameo appearance: Prof. Erdel (named misspelled “Urdle” in this story)
Villain: Alex Dunster (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones is hard-pressed to deal with scientific criminal
Alex Dunster, who has a copy of Prof. Erdel’s teleportation machine and
is using it to acquire gadgets from space.
Detective Comics No. 229
March 1956
Story: “The Phantom Bodyguard” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer:
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Lawrence Cowan (only appearance)
Villain: Drexel Mansfield (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: Detective John Jones is assigned to protect a realtor who
claims his partner is trying to murder him.
Detective Comics No. 230
April 1956
Story: “The Sleuth Without a Clue” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer:
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Detective Comics No. 231
May 1956
Story: “The Thief Who Had Super Powers” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer:
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (origin retold
in flashback)
Cameo appearance: Dr. Erdel (in flashback)
Villain: A Martian criminal (first and only appearance)
Comment: J’onn J’onzz exhibits the powers of “atom vision” (heat vision)
and super-hearing in this story. He also fears fire in his John Jones
identity, though this may be only psychosomatic. He also mentions
his family, undoubtedly meaning his parents and brother T’omm.
Synopsis: John Jones is assigned to crack the case of a thief powerful
enough to carry an armored car on his back.
Detective Comics No. 232
June 1956
Story: “The Dog With a Martian Master” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer:
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Charracter: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Jupiter (a dog; only appearance)
Villain: Andy Fletcher
Synopsis: On the trail of a jewel thief, John Jones finds his Martian
powers are interefered with by a dachshund whom he saved from drowning.
Detective Comics No. 233
July 1956
Story: “The Ghost From Outer Space” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer:
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Detective Comics No. 234
August 1956
Story: “The Martian Convict” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer:
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Chief Harding (now apparently promoted from lieutenant)
Intro: Warden Powers, Paul Drake (only appearance for both)
Villains: Big Mike Kent, Joey, Convict 25432, Miller (first and only
appearance for all)
Synopsis: Detective John Jones is assigned to go undercover in disguise
at a penitentiary to learn who is the ringleader of a suspected prison-break
plan. Warden Powers tells Jones, disguised as thief Willy Hands,
that he knows Big Mike Kent is the main plotter, but does not know who
his other main confederates are. Jones confirms Powers’s suspicions
and learns the identity of the second of three plotters, but his disguise
is knocked off accidentally and a convict recognizes him. The Martian
survives two attempts to murder him and then discovers the other two ringleaders
and turns all three over to Warden Powers.
Detective Comics No. 235
September 1956
Story: “The World’s Greatest Magician” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer:
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Daro, Joe, Zodak (only appearance for all)
Villain: The Phantom Thief (Jojo; first and only appearance)
Comment: In this story, J’onn J’onzz exhibits mind-over-matter, telekinesis,
and “X-Ray vision” (Martian vision) powers.
Synopsis: John Jones goes undercover as a circus magician to catch
a thief.
Detective Comics No. 236
October 1956
Story: “The Great Earth-Mars Mystery” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Characters: Mr. and Mrs. J’onzz (J’onn J’onzz’s parents;
first appearance; both next appear in issue #287)
Villains: Three Martian criminals, a crook (first and only appearance
for all)
Comment: In this story, J’onn J’onzz manages to establish visual and
aural communication (through a monitor) with Mars again and contacts his
parents, though he is unable to physically return there.
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz manages to contact his parents on Mars and solve
a crime on his home planet while he foils one on Earth.
Detective Comics No. 237
November 1956
Story: “The Sleuth Who Went To Jail” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villains: A gang of crooks (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones is thrown into a jail run by crooks for rival
crooks.
Detective Comics No. 238
December 1956
Story: “Earth Detective For a Day” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Intro: Lt. Saunders (only appearance)
Villains: Booby-Trap Bagley (first and only appearance)
Comment: This story reveals that J’onn J’onzz loses his powers whenever
the Earth-Mars Comet makes its annual two-hour pass between the two planets.
Synopsis: John Jones must track down a thief who has laid a batch of
deadly booby traps through a circus grounds.
Detective Comics No. 239
January 1957
Story: “Ordeal By Fire” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Burke (only appearance)
Synopsis: To investigate a suspected arson ring, John Jones is assigned
to the police arson squad, and must face fire, his deadly nemesis.
Detective Comics No. 240
February 1957
Story: “The Hero Maker” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Intro: Pat Brady, Karney (only appearance for both)
Villains: The Storage House Thieves, various crooks (first and only
appearance for all)
Synopsis: It’s the last day for Officer Pat Brady after 40 years on
the force, and John Jones decides to try to help grant his wish of being
a hero for one time in his life.
Detective Comics No. 241
March 1957
Story: “The Impossible Manhunt” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Intro: Roger Jones, Sam Jones (only appearance for both)
Villain: Firebug Smith (Jasper Craig; first and only appearance)
Synopsis: A firebug targets businesses owned by people named Jones,
and John Jones, much to his dismay, is assigned to capture him.
Detective Comics No. 242
April 1957
Story: “The Thirty Fathom Sleuth” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villains: Larry “Nitro” Bates, Jack Platter, a gang of crooks (first
and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: To search for evidence at the bottom of the ocean, John Jones
is outfitted with a diver’s suit (which he doesn’t even need) and sent
to look for it.
Detective Comics No. 243
May 1957
Story: “The Criminal From Outer Space” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Milller?
Arist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Detective Comics No. 244
June 1957
Story: “The Four Stunts of Doom” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Intro: Ted Martin, Eddie (only appearance for both)
Synopsis: To help out a movie producer friend in a jam, John Jones
agrees to do four stunts so dangerous no stunt man will try them.
Detective Comics No. 245
July 1957
Story: “The Phantom Fire Alarms” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Villains: Lance Faber and his gang (including Joey; first and only
appearance for all)
Synopsis: A crook accidentally learns of John Jones’s Martian identity
and fire weakness, and plans to use that knowledge to trap him.
Detective Comics No. 246
August 1957
Story: “John Jones’ Female Nemesis” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Diane Meade (first appearance; next appears in
issue #275; has red hair in this story), Captain Harding
Intro: Barnes (only appearance)
Villains: Tiger Raffity, Morris, Scanlon (first and only appearance
for all)
Comment: Diane Meade is revealed to be the daughter of the police commissioner
in this story.
Synopsis: A rookie policewoman, Diane Meade, is assigned to work with
Detective John Jones on his cases, creating problems for the Martian sleuth.
Detective Comics No. 247
September 1957
Story: “The Impossible Messages” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Suporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villains: A gang of crooks (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones must crack the case of a bunch of crooks who send
messages to each other by a fireworks code.
Detective Comics No. 248
October 1957
Story: “The Martian Without a Memory” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller:
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Intro: Duggin (only appearance)
Villains: A gang of crooks (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: A freak electrical accident leaves John Jones with no memory
of his Martian identity.
Detective Comics No. 249
November 1957
Story: “Target For a Day” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Intro: John (a state governor), Ann (his wife; only appearance for
both)
Villains: The Carlson Gang (including Maegland and Farley; first and
only appearance for all)
Synopsis: To save the governor from gangland reprisals after he refuses
to halt a crook’s execution, John Jones stands in for him and braves the
assassination attempts himself.
Detective Comics No. 250
December 1957
Story: “The Stymied Sleuth” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villains: Joe Ganges, Hank, Leroy Martin (first and only appearance
for all)
Synopsis: After being struck by a plank, John Jones is hospitalized,
and must take up the trail of a gang of crooks in secret with his Martian
powers.
Detective Comics No. 251
January 1958
Story: “Alias Mr. Zero” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Villains: Mike and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: In order to infiltrate a gang of crooks, John Jones poses
as Mr. Zero, super-criminal extraordinaire.
Detective Comics No. 252
February 1958
Story: “The Menace of the Super Weapons” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villains: Waldo Wilson and his gang (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones is assigned to bring in Waldo Wilson, a scientist-crook
wielding super-weapons.
Detective Comics No. 253
March 1958
Story: “The Super Reporter” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Intro: Jim Wade, Schultz (only appearance for both)
Villains: Harry Moran and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: When a mobster starts a free newspaper to drive a rival publisher
out of business, John Jones lends a hand as a “super reporter” to even
the odds.
Detective Comics No. 254
April 1958
Story: “The One-Man Army” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villains: The General and his army (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: John Jones goes up against a self-styled general of crime
and his criminal army.
Detective Comics No. 255
May 1958
Story: “World-Wide Manhunt” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: John Blake, Roger Drews, Ben Troy, Larry Hart (only appearance
for all)
Villains: Horace Stone, various crooks (first and only appearance for
all)
Synopsis: To prove a man innocent of murder, John Jones must find three
members of the Adventurers’ Club in spots across the globe and locate the
one who can testify in his friend’s behalf.
Detective Comics No. 256
June 1958
Story: “The Carnival of Doom” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Willy Jones (only appearance)
Villains: A gang of crooks (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones must endure racketeers’ attempts to kill him while
taking Captain Harding’s nephew to an amusement park.
Detective Comics No. 257
July 1958
Story: “King of the Underworld” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villains: Willie Wanger, Mike Herty, Bert Weldon, various crooks (first
and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: John Jones quits the force after botching a case, and soon
is in competition with two other candidates to become king of the city’s
mobs.
Detective Comics No. 258
August 1958
Story: “The Jinxed Ship” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Captain Wade (only appearance)
Villains: Captain Seely and his gang (first and only appearance for
all)
Synopsis: On a tramp steamer voyage, John Jones attempts to counter
threats to the ship which appear to be products of a curse.
Detective Comics No. 259
September 1958
Story: “The Getaway King” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Chief Harding
Villain: Monty Moran (the Getaway Mastermind; first appearance; next
appears in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5) and his gang (Mike named in this
story; first and only appearance)
Synopsis: Monty Moran, a criminal scientist, uses futuristic gimmicks
of his own design to help his gang make safe and spectacular getaways from
crimes he has them commit. The Martian Manhunter helps nab several
members of his gang in two incidents. Then he trails a third unit
of the gang to Moran’s hideout, where he learns of the getaway genius’s
ultimate gimmick: a force-field. Using his powers invisibly, J’onn
J’onzz herds Moran and the rest of his gang into the hands of the police.
Detective Comics No. 260
October 1958
Story: “John Jones’ Super-Secret” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Slade (only appearance)
Villains: Various crooks (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones secretly works to restore a patrolman’s confidence.
Detective Comics No. 261
November 1958
Story: “The Midget Manhunter” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villain: A criminal scientist (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones tries to nab a crook who robs with a shrink ray,
only to be shrunken himself.
Detective Comics No. 262
December 1958
Story: “The Animal Crime Kingdom” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Villains: “The Boss” and his gang (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: A crime boss hits on the idea of using trained animals for
pulling robberies. The gimmick works until John Jones learns of it and
uses his Martian powers secretly to make the tactics backfire, leading
the cops to his hideout.
Detective Comics No. 263
January 1959
Story: “The Crime Conjurer” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Dick Ruark (only appearance)
Villain: The Conjurer (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones must capture a criminal magician called the Conjurer
while burdened with a hanger-on who wants to film a day in the detective’s
life.
Detective Comics No. 264
February 1959
Story: “Menace of the Martian Weapons” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in flashback in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #144)
Supporting Character: Captain Harding (next appearance in flashback
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #144)
Villain: Buggsy Roach and his gang (first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz and the heroes of Earth
battle Commander Blanx and his white Martians, as shown in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #144. It is stated in that issue that Blanx sent the Martian
weapons to Earth as a test.
Synopsis: When some Martian weapons appear on Earth, they are found
by gangster Buggsy Roach and used by him in crime-sprees. John Jones
is seen changing into J’onn J’onzz by Captain Harding, but Harding assumes
that Jones has been physically transformed somehow by one of the Martian
weapons. J’onzz invisibly causes an explosion that destroys the weapons
and allows him to capture Roach and his gang, but John Jones tells Harding
later on he was able to find the weapon that “transformed” him back to
his human state before it, too, was destroyed.
Detective Comics No. 265
March 1959
Story: “The Fantastic Human Falcon” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in flashback in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #144)
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: J. P. Harvey (only appearance)
Villain: The Falcon (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: A costumed crook by the name of the Falcon uses the attributes
of birds in his crimes, prompting John Jones to try to stop him.
Detective Comics No. 266
April 1959
Story: “The Challenge of the Masked Avenger” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Intro: The Masked Avenger (Leroy), Mabel (only appearance for both)
Villains: Various crooks (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: John Jones’s crime-fighting activities are hampered by the
appearances of the Masked Avenger, a would-be hero who wants to impress
his girlfriend.
Detective Comics No. 267
May 1959
Story: “John Jones’ Farewell To Earth” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Arnold Drake?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Jovians (only appearance)
Villain: S’vor (first and only appearance)
Comment: In this story it is revealed that Jovians (natives of Jupiter)
are as vulnerable to water as Martians are to fire.
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz encounters a squad of Jovian police in search
of a criminal from their world who is hiding on Earth, and strikes a deal
with them to catch the crook if they will take him back to Mars.
Detective Comics No. 268
June 1959
Story: “The Mixed-Up Martian Powers” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Intro: Slade, Hazel (only appearance for both)
Villain: A crook (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: The radiations of a meteorite distort J’onn J’onzz’s powers.
Detective Comics No. 269
July 1959
Story: “The Man Who Exposed John Jones” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Ward (only appearance)
Villain: Jeff Hoyt (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones tries to deal with a blackmailer who implies that
he knows Jones’s greatest secret.
Detective Comics No. 270
August 1959
Story: “The Hunted Martian” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Villain: Rod Mulloy (first and only appearance)
Intro: Dirk Johnson (no appearance; name only mentioned; first and
only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones goes to Africa to hunt down Rod Mulloy, an escaped
fugitive from America. He hooks up with a jungle guide, Dirk Johnson,
to help him track Mulloy. But when danger from attacking animals
befalls Jones twice, he secretly switches to his Martian form and deals
with the threats. Then, returning to his John Jones identity, he
deduces that “Johnson” is really Mulloy himself, arrests him, and has him
reveal where the real Johnson is held captive.
Detective Comics No. 271
September 1959
Story: “The Lost Identity” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (origin retold
in flashback)
Villains: Rocky Wheeler and his gang, the Hanshaw Gang (first and only
appearance for all)
Cameo: Prof. Mark Erdel (in flashback)
Synopsis: After John Jones assumes his Martian identity to invisibly
catch a gang of crooks, he discovers that he can no longer resume his human
form. He deduces that the robot brain of Dr. Erdel’s which teleported
him to Earth may be responsible, and discovers that the computer, which
was taken to a museum, has been stolen and tampered with by the Hanshaw
Gang. J’onzz’s presence is revealed to Hanshaw, and the Martian pretends
to aid him in a robbery until he discovers just which computer controls
Hanshaw has tampered with. Then he captures Hanshaw and his cohorts,
restores himself to normalcy through the computer controls, and resets
the machine to prevent it from having any effect on him. When another
officer tells John Jones that the Hanshaw Gang claims a Martian captured
them, Jones laughs it off.
Detective Comics No. 272
October 1959
Story: “The Super-Sleuth’s Bodyguard” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Villains: Willie Harper and his gang (first and only apperance for
all)
Intro: Mike Hanson (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: When gang boss Willie Harper is caught by detective John
Jones and sent to prison, he vows his gang will take revenge on Jones.
Captain Harding assigns Officer Mike Hanson to be Jones’s bodyguard.
The gang makes several attempts on Jones’s life, which Hanson believes
he alone wards off, but in reality it is J’onn J’onzz invisibly thwarting
the Harper gang. Later, J’onzz gives Hanson an unseen hand in capturing
the Harper gang.
Detective Comics No. 273
November 1959
Story: “The Unmasking of J’onn J’onzz” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (existence revealed
to the world in this story; next appearance in flashback in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #9 and 97)
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Villain: B’rett (a yellow Martian; first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps several other
super-heroes battle the Appelaxians in the adventure that results in the
formation of the Justice League of America, as told in flashback in JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #9 and 97.
J’onn J’onzz’s existence is revealed to the world in this story.
He also loses the ability to use his Martian powers while invisible.
Synopsis: A spaceship lands outside Midtown and disgorges a yellow-skinned
Martian criminal called B’rett. He uses his Martian weapons
and powers to commit crimes and cause chaos. John Jones is called
into action and, after sighting B’rett, becomes J’onn J’onzz to confront
him. B’rett confirms that he is a Martian and made an escape from
the law by hiding in an experimental rocket. J’onzz evades B’rett’s
ray-gun blasts, but is dosed with a pellet of Formula 20, which Martian
police use to permanently rob Martian criminals of their ability to use
their other powers while invisible. Later, when B’rett threatens
policemen, J’onn J’onzz becomes visible before them and subdues B’rett
by blowing burning leaves from a bonfire around him. J’onzz arranges
for B’rett to be sent back to Mars in the spaceship. Later, J’onzz
is welcomed to Earth by Captain Harding, who later tells John Jones that
he’ll have to cede the spot of top detective in town to the Martian from
now on.
Detective Comics No. 274
December 1959
Story: “The Human Flame” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in flashback in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #9 and 97)
Villains: The Human Flame (Mike; first and only appearance), Joey (first
and only appearance)
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Synopsis: A criminal named Mike uses a special uniform of his own devising
to commit crimes with artificial lightning, an acetylene torch, and a flame-thrower.
The last weapon he has chosen especially because he believes fire to be
the Martian Manhunter’s secret weakness. The Human Flame’s fire-throwing
does prove to be a problem to J’onn J’onzz, until the Martian tunnels underneath
the Flame and his henchman, lifts the entire piece of land they stand on
into the air, and takes them to the police. The henchman, Joey, is
convinced that fire cannot be the Manhunter’s weakness.
Detective Comics No. 275
January 1960
Story: “John Jones’ Pesky Partner” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade (between issues #246 / 282), Capt.
Harding
Villain: Willy Horan (first and only appearance)
Comment: In this story, J’onn J’onzz exhibits the power to grow to
giant size.
Synopsis: John Jones is asssigned to work with Patrolwoman Diane Meade,
who begins to suspect that he is the Martian Manhunter.
Detective Comics No. 276
February 1960
Story: “The Crimes of John Jones” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #28)
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villains: Big Boy Benson and his gang (first and only appearance for
all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
battle Starro in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #28.
Synopsis: A strange cosmic cloud causes J’onn J’onzz to lose his memory,
and a gangster takes the opportunity to convince the Martian that he is
one of his gang.
Detective Comics No. 277
March 1960
Story: “The Menace of Mr. Moth” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #28)
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villain: Mr. Moth and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: The city is attacked by a moth-costumed criminal who uses
blinding light in his crimes, and the Martian Manhunter must stop him.
Detective Comics No. 278
April 1960
Story: “The Defeat of J’onn J’onzz” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #29)
Villains: Rocky Carlin and his gang (first and only appearance for
all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
combat the Weapons Master in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #29.
Synopsis: While on the trail of a gang of Earth crooks, J’onn J’onzz
encounters an apparent trio of Venusian marauders and seems helpless against
them.
Detective Comics No. 279
May 1960
Story: “The Impossible Inventions” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #29)
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Hiram Horner (only appearance)
Villain: Willy Ward (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz must capture a gangster while trying to deal
with the disastrous effects of an inventor’s wacky creations.
Detective Comics No. 280
June 1960
Story: “Bodyguard To a Bandit” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #30)
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Villains: Biff Benson (first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight Prof. Ivo and Amazo in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #30.
Synopsis: Biff Benson, a shady character, has been hired to deliberately
get himself arrested and thrown into jail. To find out the reasons
why, the police assign Det. John Jones to shadow him, warning that he will
have to arrest Benson if he really does commit a crime. Using his Martian
powers without being detected, J’onn J’onzz frustrates all of Benson’s
crime attempts until he finally learns, from Benson’s half-conscious mumblings,
that he has been hired by gangster Sam Spooner to get into jail so that
he can kill the witness in prison who is to testify against Spooner.
Jones has Captain Harding transfer the witness to a safe place, then brings
in Benson, who is glad to go--but Jones tells Benson he won’t be glad for
long.
Detective Comics No. 281
July 1960
Story: “The Menace of Marsville” (6 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #30)
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Tommy and his father (only appearance for both)
Villains: A gang of crooks (first and only appearance)
Comment: This story reveals that Martians have no super-powers on their
own world, which makes J’onn J’onzz’s skillful use of them in his first
appearance quite curious. It also states that Earthmen have Martian-like
powers in a Martian environiment, which is shown in later stories (such
as JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #71 and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #245) to be
incorrect. Possibly both statements are wrong.
Synopsis: The Martian Manhunter creates a fake Martian environiment
in which he has no powers, but his human guests have Martian powers.
Unfortunately, some of his guests turn out to be criminals.
Detective Comics No. 282
August 1960
Story: “The Girl With the Martian Powers” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Characters: Captain Harding, Diane Meade (between issues
#275 / 284)
Villains: Cleat Groves and his gang (first and only appearance for
all)
Synopsis: After Diane Meade collars gangster Cleat Groves, her life
is endangered by members of Groves’s gang seeking revenge. But J’onn
J’onzz secretly saves her, while making it appear as though Diane has gained
Martian powers from a fake “meteorite” from Mars which has fallen nearby.
J’onzz confesses the hoax to Captain Harding, saying the ruse is intended
to make Groves’s gang think she is super-powered and thus quit attacking
her. But the plan backfires when Harding and J’onzz learn that Diane
has gone after Groves’s gang herself, intending to capture them with her
“Martian powers”. J’onzz uses his own powers to make it seem as though
she is fighting the thugs with superhuman abilities, then, after the gang
is captured, convinces Diane that her “powers” have worn off.
Detective Comics No. 283
September 1960
Story: “The Amazing One-Man Crew” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Intro: A sea captain (only appearance)
Villains: Jim Wilkes and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: When a crew deserts a ship seemingly as the result of a curse,
the Martian Manhunter volunteers to become a one-man crew.
Detective Comics No. 284
October 1960
Story: “The Courtship of J’onn J’onzz” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1)
Supporting Character: Diane Meade (last appearance in issue #282)
Vlillains: Sonny Sommers and his gang (first and only appearance for
all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight Despero in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1.
Diane Meade first suspects that John Jones is the Martian Manhunter
in this story.
Synopsis: Diane Meade tries courting John Jones by attracting his attention
in various ways, which turn out to be disastrous.
Detective Comics No. 285
November 1960
Story: “The Menace of the Martian Mandrills” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1)
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Villains: A gang of crooks (first and only appearance)
Intro: Three Martian mandrills (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: When a Martian rocket carrying three mandrills from that
world to a zoo on one of Mars’s moons goes off-course and crash-lands on
Earth, a gang of crooks discovers it, finds a device used to mentally control
the mandrills, and uses it to make the super-powered beasts pull spectacular
thefts. J’onn J’onzz discovers that the animals’ powers are greater
than his own, but has policemen light up cigarettes in the presence of
the mandrills, weakening them through fire. Then he captures the
crooks, and has the mandrills sent back into space in the rocket.
Captain Harding asks if J’onzz would have liked to return to Mars with
the mandrills. The Martian replies that he may return to his homeworld
someday, after his work on Earth is done.
Detective Comics No. 286
December 1960
Story: “His Majesty, John Jones” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #2)
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Intro: Princess Eloise, Prince Rudolph, and other Harovians (first
and only appearance for all)
Villain: Baron Brujo, Scads, and other confederates (first and only
appearance for all)
Comments: This story establishes that J’onn J’onzz has been on Earth
for at least four years.
Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
of America fight Simon Magus and other sorcerors in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
#2.
Synopsis: Two ministers from the tiny European country of Harovia mistake
John Jones for their Prince Rudolph, who has been missing for four years
and who is a dead ringer for Jones. Jones plays along with them to
discover what’s going on, especially when he learns that the tyrannical
Baron Brujo threatens to take over the country. Brujo attempts to
assassinate Jones with a booby-trapped room in the royal castle, but Jones
reverts to his Martian identity and destroys the traps. Then he locates
Prince Rudolph, who has been in hiding and fearful for his life.
Jones convinces Rudolph to lead his troops against those of Baron Brujo.
He aids Rudolph with his Martian powers, moving at such speed that he cannot
be seen. Brujo surrenders, and Jones is allowed to return to Midtown.
Detective Comics No. 287
January 1961
Story: “J’onn J’onzz’s Kid Brother” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #2; origin retold in flashback; also appears
in flashback, his earliest chronological appearance (next appearance in
flashback in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #71))
Supporting Characters: Captain Harding, Mr. and Mrs. J’onzz (in flashback;
between issues #236 / 301), T’omm J’onzz (J’onn J’onzz’s brother; first
and only appearance)
Cameo: Dr. Mark Erdel (in flashback)
Villain: Biff Conklin (first and only appearance)
Comment: Though the story asserts that the flashback of J’onn J’onzz
having dinner with his family happened only seconds before he was transported
to Earth, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA makes it clear that this must have
taken place sometime before his fight against Commander Blanx and his exile,
from which he was brought to Earth.
Synopsis: John Jones repairs Dr. Erdel’s robot brain, intending to
use it to return himself to Mars, though the brain can only operate once
in both directions, to and from Mars. Jones trips and pushes the
switch to retrieve something from Mars. It turns out to be his younger
brother, T’omm, who has a surprised reunion with J’onn. After J’onn
explains what he has been doing in the last few years, he prepares to send
T’omm back. T’omm wants to stay on Earth with him, but J’onn refuses.
However, he cannot activate the robot brain again, and nearby gunshots
draw his attention. J’onzz proceeds to capture an escaped convict,
but Captain Harding and other cops see the Martian Manhunter and then John
Jones in the building in which the convict had holed up, and suspect that
Jones and the Manhunter are one and the same. T’omm throws
off their suspicions by appearing on a nearby roof. Later, T’omm
confesses he took a key component out of the robot brain so that he could
remain on Earth. When T’omm replaces it, J’onn sends his brother
back to Mars, saying that, when he rewires the robot brain, he will be
coming home, too.
Detective Comics No. 288
February 1961
Story: “The Case of the Honest Swindler” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #3)
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Intro: Larry Loder (only appearance)
Villains: Jed Peters and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight Kanjar Ro in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #3 and MYSTERY IN SPACE #75,
also teaming with Adam Strange in the latter appearance.
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz’s friend Larry Loder lost many people their
life’s savings when his business, in which they had invested, went bankrupt.
But Larry thinks that he can bring in riches and pay off his investors
by means of three “magic” devices which a stranger gave him. Unknown
to Larry, the stranger was gangster Jed Peters, who figures that the Martian
will lend a hand to Peters and make the “magic” devices actually attract
wealth--which J’onzz does. Peters intends to steal the gold secretly
mined by J’onzz and given to Loder. But the Manhunter secretly brings
in Peters and his gang in a way that makes it seem as though Loder’s third
magic gimmick actually worked, and Loder collects the reward for bringing
in Peters.
Detective Comics No. 289
March 1961
Story: “J’onn J’onzz--Witch Doctor” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz (last appearance in MYSTERY IN SPACE
#75)
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Villains: Cleat Moss and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Intro: Kowanga, the Lonakuans, and their chief (only appearance for
all)
Synopsis: Captain Harding sends John Jones to track down Cleat Moss
and his gang in the Asian jungle to which they have escaped. Moss
is now in the village of Lonaku, and threatens to have his gang kill the
villagers unless they deliver a large amount of ivory tusks to him.
Kowanga, the village witch doctor, opposes Moss. Jones becomes J’onn
J’onzz to help, but realizes appearing in his Martian identity when John
Jones had been sent there will endanger his secret. Accordingly,
he disguises himself as Marsmann, another witch doctor, and offers aid
to Kowanga and the tribe. J’onn J’onzz thwarts Moss’s attempts to
harm the villagers. But, when fire saps the Martian’s power, Kowanga
uses a rainmaking trick to put out the flames and restore J’onzz to normal.
The Manhunter defeats the crooks, and gives the credit to Kowanga.
Detective Comics No. 290
April 1961
Story: “Lights, Camera, and Doom” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4)
Supporting Character: Diane Meade (last appearance in issue #282)
Villains: Scobey and his gang (first and only apperance for all)
Intro: Peters (only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
induct Green Arrow and deal with Carthan in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4.
Synopsis: Diane Meade is hired by Apex Studios producer Peters to star
and do stunts in their next feature, The Lady Commando. The reason:
the set has been plagued by sabotage, and the last stunt girl has quit.
John Jones decides to hang around, and, when Diane is endangered by several
incidents of sabotage while doing stunts, assumes his Martian form and
secretly helps her safely complete the stunts. When Diane is kidnapped
by crooks, the Manhunter is temporarily disabled by a fire, but she manages
to capture all of them herself and learns that Scobey, the director, is
the real saboteur. Scobey had been paid by a rival producer to bollix
the picture. Diane arrests Scobey, and Jones wanders in seconds later,
to be told by Diane that he wasn’t needed this time around.
Detective Comics No. 291
May 1961
Story: “The Second Martian Manhunter” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4)
Intro: Dirk Giles, Hazel (only appearance for both)
Villains: The Buggsy Baines Gang (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: The real John Jones is astonished when he sees another Martian
Manhunter performing super-feats in his hometown, while trying to deal
with a gang-boss who suspects the Martian’s secret weakness.
Detective Comics No. 292
June 1961
Story: “The Ex-Convicts Club” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5)
Villains: Biff Benson and his gang (first and only appearance)
Intro: The Ex-Convicts Club (including the Human Squirrel (Ben Stoves)
and the Trickster (Tom Trent; not to be confused with the Flash villain);
only appearance for all), Mr. Dearing (only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
of America battle Dr. Destiny in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5.
Synopsis: Detective John Jones founds the Ex-Convicts Club, a society
for reformed criminals, with the objective of finding jobs for them.
Backing comes from the Civic League, but their representative, Mr. Dearing,
warns that the League will pull their support if any evidence of new criminal
activity is detected among the members. Soon after, it appears that
the Human Squirrel and the Trickster, two members of the club, are committing
robberies. The club is disbanded. But the two criminals were
impersonated by members of Biff Benson’s mob, since he needed their services
for a job he intends to pull. When he contacts the Squirrel and Trickster,
Benson reveals his presence to the Martian Manhunter, who suspected the
plot. J’onn J’onzz helps bring in Benson and his gang, and the Ex-Convicts
Club is reinstated.
Detective Comics No. 293
July 1961
Story: “The Girl Hero Contest” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5)
Supporting Character: Diane Meade
Intro: Sally Winters (only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones is scheduled to present an award to the bravest
policewoman of the year, which sets off a competition between Diane Meade
and her rival, Sally Winters.
Detective Comics No. 294
August 1981
Story: “The Martian Weakling” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller?
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6)
Villains: A gang of crooks (first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight Prof. Amos Fortune in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6.
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz pursues a gang of crooks into a cave during
a thunderstorm. A lightning bolt opens a freak spacewarp between
Earth and another dimension and hurls them all through it. In the
other world, J’onzz discovers that he seemingly has no powers, the crooks
have powers like Martians, and all of them are threatened by a gigantic
beast. But the Manhunter soon learns that his strength has merely
been sapped by flame-flowers growing nearby. He dupes the beast into
trampling the flowers, thus restoring his power. After vanquishing
the beast, J’onzz manages to return them all to their normal dimension,
and the crooks are more than willing to be captured by him after their
ordeal.
Detective Comics No. 295
September 1961
Story: “The Martian Show-Off” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6)
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Intro: Danny Jensen (only appearance)
Villains: Stan Wheeler, Floyd Nolan, Biff Stearns and his gang (first
and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: Patrolman Danny Jensen is set several times to make his 1,000th
arrest, which will entitle him to a European vacation, but each time the
Manhunter from Mars seems to deliberately scoop him.
Detective Comics No. 296
October 1961
Story: “The Alien Bodyguard” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #7)
Supporting Character: Diane Meade (next appearance in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #7)
Villains: Rocky Dawson and his gang (first and only appearance for
all)
Intro: Officer Wade (only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
deal with the Cosmic Fun House in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #7.
Synopsis: Diane Meade, while trying to call in an alarm on gang boss
Rocky Dawson, slips, falls, hits her head, and gets amnesia. The
doctor who treats Diane has her sent back to her patrol, in hopes that
her memory will be jogged by familiar sights. Jones becomes J’onn
J’onzz, secretly looking after Diane and saving her from attempts on her
life. Eventually, J’onzz captures all of Rocky Dawson’s gang and
Dawson himself, while Diane endures what seems to her a terminally boring
day. When she returns to headquarters, her memory returns.
John Jones brings Dawson and his men in at that moment, and she barks at
him for interfering.
Detective Comics No. 297
November 1961
Story: “J’onn J’onzz Vs. The Vigilantes” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #7)
Supporting Character: Capt. Harding
Villains: The Vigilante Committee (including Roger Weems and Lee),
Fangs Frazer, Biff Higgins, and their gang (first and only appearance for
all)
Synopsis: The Martian Manhunter must deal with a self-appointed Vigilante
Committee who wish to take the law into their own hands and imprison criminals
who got off on technicalities.
Detective Comics No. 298
December 1961
Story: “The Man Who Impersonated J’onn J’onzz” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #8)
Intro: Barry Clark (only appearance)
Villains: Mike and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
of America fight Pete Ricketts and the Top Ten in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
#8.
Synopsis: When Barry Clark, an impersonation artist, sprains his ankle
before attempting a grand comeback while imitating his friend J’onn J’onzz,
the Martian helps out by imitating Barry imitating him, and performs Clark’s
act before an appreciative audience. When a gang of crooks stumbles
into Clark’s trailer and discovers the ailing mimic, J’onzz secretly appears
and beats the gangsters, making it seem as though Clark is the real Martian
Manhunter. The crooks are taken off by the police, and Clark shakes
J’onzz’s hand.
Detective Comics No. 299
January 1962
Story: “Bodyguard For a Spy” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz (last appearance in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #8)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade (last appearance in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #8) Commissioner Meade (her father; first and only appearance)
Intro: Princess Cassandra (only appearance)
Villains: A gang of spies (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: Diane Meade gets jealous when John Jones has eyes only for
Princess Cassandra at a reception held in Commissioner Meade’s house.
Later, Diane overhears Cassandra making contact with a spy in search of
secret plans, and concludes that the princess is actually a spy.
John Jones appears to pooh-pooh her suspicions when she tells him what
she has learned. It isn’t until both Diane and Cassandra are captured
by the spy ring the princess was working hand-in-hand with Jones to expose
that Diane is convinced she is wrong. Jones turns into the Martian
Manhunter, captures the spies, and rescues the women.
Detective Comics No. 300
February 1962
Story: “The J’onn J’onzz Museum” (7 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #9)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding
Intro: Aloysius Bean (only appearance)
Villains: A gang of crooks (first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz helps relate the “official”
origin story of the Justice League of America in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
#9.
Synopsis: Aloysius Bean opens a J’onn J’onzz museum, complete with
a life-size plastic dummy of the Martian Manhunter and newsreel footage
of some of his cases. But crooks who watch the films notice J’onzz
avoiding fire, and conclude that fire is his secret weakness. The
gang equip themselves with fire-throwing helmets and bulletproof clothing
in their next robbery. However, when they face what appears to be
J’onn J’onzz, their flames seem to have no effect on him. The crooks
are swiftly caught and turned over to the police. Later, J’onzz takes
back the fireproof plastic statue of himself, which he had hidden behind
to avoid the flames, back to the museum.
Detective Comics No. 301
March 1962
Story: “The Mystery of the Martian Marauders” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #9)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding
GS: Mr. and Mrs. J’onzz (J’onn J’onzz’s parents; last appearance in
issue #287; last appearance)
Villains: Dr. Alvin Reeves and a gang of Martian criminals (first and
only appearance for all)
Intro: Martians (next appear in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #50)
Comment: Though J’onn J’onzz is revealed to have been a leader of the
fight against Commander Blanx in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #71, there is
no evidence of Blanx’s conquest when J’onn returns to Mars. It is
possible that J’onzz’s hometown remains unconquered as of yet, or that
Blanx has not yet exercised tyrannical rule over the city.
More likely is that J’onn’s people still resist Blanx, despite
J’onn’s exile, and his presence there, if discovered, might make things
harsh for his parents and friends, necessitating his continued stay on
Earth until the time of his exile is finished. J’onzz only makes
brief visits when he returns to Mars in later stories.
Synopsis: After scientist Alvin Reeves suffers amnesia and disappears,
John Jones is assigned to find him. But shorty afterward, a gang
of Martian criminals appears on Earth and begins pulling spectacular robberies.
Investigating, Jones discovers that Reeves has completely rebuilt Prof.
Erdel’s robot brain and added a radio for communication with Mars.
Jones becomes his Martian self and, after adding a timer device to the
machine, has himself teleported back to Mars. There he has a heartfelt
reunion with his mother and father. He learns that Reeves, still
amnesiac, is leading the group of Martian thieves there, using matches
stolen from Earth to produce fire, which he uses to ward off Martian lawmen.
J’onn J’onzz discovers Reeves’s matches cache and secretly douses it with
nectar from flowers, rendering the matches useless. Then he captures
Reeves and the Martian police take care of the gang. After he says
goodbye to his parents and tells them he can come back to Mars from time
to time, he takes himself and Reeves to the spot at which Erdel’s machine,
controlled by the timing mechanism, hits them with a teleport ray and takes
them back to Earth. While Reeves remains groggy from the experience,
J’onzz changes back to John Jones. He learns that Reeves has
regained his memory and his law-abiding personality, but that he thinks
the Martian episode was only a nightmare. Jones returns to Captain
Harding, the recovered Reeves in tow.
Detective Comics No. 302
April 1962
Story: “The Crime King of Mount Olympus” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding
Villains: King Zeus and his gang (including Perseus; first and only
appearance for all)
Synopsis: A villain calling himself King Zeus, who dresses himself
and his gang in the garb of Greek gods, rides in a mechanical “flying chariot”
and throws “thunderbolts” which are really concealed hand grenades, pulls
several robberies, avoids capture by the Martian Manhunter, and captures
Diane Meade, whom he claims is the goddess Diana. When J’onn J’onzz
follows, he finds that Diane and Zeus are protected by a ring of torches
at the villain’s hideout. But Zeus appears to believe the Martian
is an incarnation of Hercules, and sends him off to duplicate the hero’s
twelve labors. During one of the “labors”, J’onzz snuffs out Zeus’s
torches with “golden apples” full of compressed air. Then he saves
Diane and captures Zeus and his gang.
Detective Comics No. 203
May 1962
Story: “The Great J’onn J’onzz Hunt” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #10)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding
Villains: Biff and other gangsters (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight the Lord of Time, Felix Faust, and Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast in
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #10-11.
Synopsis: When the Martian Manhunter has to save person after person
from disasters in Middletown, he is baffled as to the reason for the events,
until he nabs two crooks attacking a warehouse manager. The crooks
tell him that their boss has been seeking out J’onn J’onzz’s Earth identity
by eliminating suspects from a list, and they flatly tell him that the
only person left whom he could be is John Jones. J’onzz remembers
that he saved a plane which he was aboard recently when its engines conked
out, and the gang boss and a confederate happened to be on a passing plane
and saw him, deducing he had to be one of the passengers on the plane.
J’onzz throws off the gangster’s suspicions by using his powers to make
it seem he is saving a plane that John Jones is aboard. Then he captures
the gang boss and his cronies. Later, Captain Harding tells Jones
about two crooks in jail who are insisting that Jones is the Martian Manhunter,
but the rescue incident has convinced Harding that the two cannot be one
and the same.
Detective Comics No. 304
June 1962
Story: “The Crime College” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (between JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #11 / 12)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding
Villain: Prof. Proxon, Wilson, Stuart, Croft, and other members of
the Crime College (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight Dr. Light in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #12.
Synopsis: Crooks begin committing robberies using fantastic machines
in Middletown, and J’onn J’onzz captures the criminals but fails to learn
the identity of the mastermind behind it all. In reality, the thieves
are “students” at Professor Proxon’s Crime College, where, for tuition
money, crooks learn how to operate Proxon’s fantastic crime machines.
The Manhunter invisibly eavesdrops on a couple of imprisoned “students”,
learns of the College, and enrolls there while disguised as Fred Framer,
a criminal. Later, when the Manhunter confronts Proxon and his men,
the villain trains a flame-throwing machine on him. But, since J’onzz
has switched the machine’s gas tanks for tanks containing phosphorescent
material, he is not weakened and captures the entire gang.
Detective Comics No. 305
July 1962
Story: “J’onn J’onzz Vs. Futureman” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #12)
Villains: B’enn B’urnzz and his gang (first and only appearance for
all)
Intro: Futureman (only apperance)
Comment: The existence of B’enn B’urnzz demonstrates that Martians
will still be alive by 2062.
Synopsis: After appearing to catch a falling girder, J’onn J’onzz is
confronted by a man who claims to have come from 100 years in the future
and who declares his intention to capture him. The Futureman wields
powerful weapons from his time, but J’onzz is able to triumph. Then
he learns that Futureman is a policeman from the 21st Century who has come
after B’enn B’urnzz, a Martian criminal of his time, who has travelled
back to 1962 via a time machine. B’urnzz has hooked up with a criminal
gang in Middletown and is committing robberies, but J’onzz confronts him.
The two Martians battle for hours, until J’onzz finally seems to run away.
However, he was only getting a mouthful of fuel from a gasoline truck,
which he spits around B’urnzz. The Futureman ignites the gasoline
ring, causing it to burst into flame and weaken B’urnzz. Futureman
takes B’urnzz back to 2062, and J’onzz takes care of the rest of the gang.
Detective Comics No. 306
August 1962
Story: “The Last Days of J’onn J’onzz” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #13)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding
Villain: The “Menagerie Master” and his gang (first and only appearance
for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight their robot counterparts in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #13.
Synopsis: A gang of animal-shaped robots, directed by hoodlums concealed
inside, ravage Middletown with robberies. When John Jones becomes
the Martian Manhunter to combat them, he finds his powers mysteriously
sapped. J’onzz has Diane Meade drive him to the source of his weakness,
which turns out to be a crashed meteorite. Nothing the Martian can
do staunches the power-sapping rays of the meteorite, and, the next time
he assumes his J’onzz identity, he is so weakened that he realizes he must
remain as John Jones, or die. The master of the criminal “animals”
makes a mass raid on Middletown, feeling himself safe from attack by the
Martian. But Jones learns that the meteorite has burned itself out.
Thus, he safely becomes J’onn J’onzz again, and defeats the crooks.
Detective Comics No. 307
September 1962
Story: “Alias Scarface Scanlon” (11 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (between JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #13 / 14)
Supporting Characters: Captain Harding, Diane Meade
Villains: Hammer, Scarface Scanlon, Joe Mole, Hank Hanley, and other
crooks (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
initate the Atom and fight Mr. Memory in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #14.
Synopsis: After several crooks elude capture by spectacular getaway
means, one such crook, Scarface Scanlon, appears to jump to his death from
a bridge into a river. Accordingly, Detective John Jones is made
up to look like Scanlon and takes his place to learn the secret of the
getaways. The masquerade almost works, until Scanlon turns up alive
and Jones’s makeup disguise is removed. Jones is thrown in a cell,
which he escapes by becoming the Martian Manhunter and walking through
the wall. He proceeds to nab Scarface, turn him in to the cops, and
uses his chameleon powers to transform himself into Scarface Scanlon.
Since the crooks cannot remove his disguise this time, they take J’onzz
for the real Scanlon, and he manages to capture all of the getaway gangsters.
Detective Comics No. 308
October 1962
Story: “The Day John Jones Vanished” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #14)
Supproting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding
Villains: Baron Voto and his men (first and only appearance for all)
Intro: King Leo (only appearance)
Synopsis: John Jones is assigned to take back an ancient ring and jewel
box to the medaeval European nation of Lavonia after the objects are recovered
in a raid on a Middletown fence. Once there, Jones is attacked by
bandits and becomes the Martian Manhunter and repels them. But he
is struck by a strange ray from the ring which inhibits him from turning
into John Jones again. The ring is recovered by the evil Baron Voto,
who wishes to conquer Lavonia. The Manhunter battles Voto, is struck
by the ring’s beam again (which cancels the effects of the first blast),
and defeats the usurper.
Detective Comics No. 309
November 1962
Story: “The Man Who Saved Earth” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #15)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding
Intro: Horace Reeves, Tyl and other Centurians (only appearance for
all)
Villains: Ryx and his enemy Centurians (first and only appearance for
all)
Comment: Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
deal with untouchable aliens in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #15.
Synopsis: Diane Meade checks up on missing recluse Horace Reeves and
goes missing herself, which prompts Captain Harding to assign John Jones
to follow up on her. It transpires that a flying saucer has landed
near Reeves’s shack, that Reeves is unconscious and a prisoner in the saucer
(as is Diane, though Jones does not know it), and that the Centurians who
have piloted the spacecraft there believe that Earthmen will be easy to
defeat. J’onzz gets Reeves back to his shack, assumes the form of
Reeves with his chameleon powers, and returns with the aliens and Diane
to Centuria. There he assumes his Martian form, defeats everything
the Centurians can throw at him, and convinces them that all Earth males
have powers like his own...though he has to admit that females like Diane
do not possess such powers. Ryx, the enemy Centurian, attempts to
conquer Centuria on his own after being balked, but the Manhunter defeats
him. Both J’onzz and Diane are allowed to return to Earth, with Diane
thinking that Reeves is J’onzz’s secret identity. When they land
on Earth, Reeves has awakened. J’onzz goes looking for some water
for Reeves. While he is out, the Centurians present Reeves with an
award for saving their planet.
Detective Comics No. 310
December 1962
Story: “The Miniature Manhunter” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #16)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding
Villain: Victor Vance (first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
solve the problem of the Maestro in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #16.
Synopsis: After J’onn J’onzz is shrunk by a size-changing machine invented
by criminal scientist Victor Vance, he uses his small size to his advantage
in battling and defeating Vance. Then he dupes Vance into restoring
his normal height, and reduces Vance temporarily to tiny size in order
to take him to the police.
Detective Comics No. 311
January 1963
Story: “The Invaders From the Space Warp” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #16)
Supporting Characters: Zook (first appearance; origin), Diane Meade
Intro: R’ell, a scientist from another dimension, a police chief (only
appearance for all)
Villains: Two thieves from another dimension (first and only apperance
for both)
Synopsis: Two red-skinned aliens pull a robbery in a general store
on Jade Island, drawing the attention of vacationing Diane Meade, who calls
Captain Harding. Harding assigns John Jones to the case. Jones
becomes the Martian Manhunter, but, by the time he reaches Jade Island,
finds another type of alien...a short, orange-hued, antennaed creature
called a Zook, who can emit heat or cold waves at will. J’onzz rescues
the Zook from pursuing townspeople, and later encounters and captures the
two alien thieves. R’ell, another alien of their race, appears and
tells the Manhunter that the thieves are his enemies and have fled from
their world, in a parallel dimension, to Earth thru a scientist’s experimental
space-warp. He adds that the crooks have stolen plans for a weapon
that could enable them to conquer Earth, and tells J’onzz that the Zook
is “a mischievous little animal” from their world that must have sneaked
through the warp. The alien thieves break loose, capture Diane, and
hold her hostage, but the Zook helps J’onzz and R’ell free her and nab
the two. J’onzz tosses the thieves and R’ell through the space warp
just before it closes. But the Zook remains behind, and crawls into
J’onn J’onzz’s arms. Diane remarks that the Manhunter now has a pet.
Detective Comics No. 312
February 1963
Story: “J’onn J’onzz’s Pesky Partner” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17)
Supporting Characters: Zook (learns to speak English in this story),
Diane Meade, Captain Harding
Villains: Doc Duggan and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight the Tornado Tyrant in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17.
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz encounters crime-machines created by Doc Duggan
while teaching Zook the English language and features of Earth in general.
However, he forbids Zook to leave the cave J’onzz uses as their headquarters
and go off by himself. J’onzz takes off after Duggan and his gang
when he hears a radio message, but, when he is downed by one of the criminal
scientist’s weapons, Zook hears another radio report of it and charges
off to save the Manhunter. He manages to do it, though the gangsters
escape before J’onzz revives. He tells Zook that he was only shamming
in order to learn where Duggan’s hideout is. The Martian goes off
to become John Jones again, and Zook, on his way back home, is sighted
and picked up by Diane Meade, who brings him to headquarters to meet Captain
Harding and Detective Jones. When Zook meets Jones, his antennae
pick up electrical impulses that reveal to him that the detective and J’onn
J’onzz are one and the same. When J’onzz learns of Zook’s power,
he uses him to track down Duggan and then defeats the scientist and the
rest of his gang.
Detective Comics No. 313
March 1963
Story: “The Wizard Who Conquered J’onn J’onzz” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (between JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17 / 18)
Villains: Argus Weede and his gang, Roy Roggins (first and only appearance
for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight the Protectors of Starzl in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #18.
Synopsis: Roy Roggins, a thief, steals the magical Wand of Wodessa
from an estate collection, beating magician-criminal Argus Weede’s gang
to it, and appears to prove the wand’s power by using it to defeat J’onn
J’onzz. Roggins is accepted by the gang and taken to Weede, with
the Manhunter (who had been feigning defeat) secretly trailing. But
when Weede acquires the wand, he energizes it with a “magical element”
and activates its real magic. J’onzz is hard-pressed to deal with
Weede’s magic until he becomes invisible, snatches the wand away, and destroys
it. Then he takes Weede and his gang to jail.
Detective Comics No. 314
April 1963
Story: “J’onn J’onzz Vs. John Jones” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #18)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding, Zook
Villain: A Saturninan criminal (first and only appearance)
Intro: Two Saturninan policemen, a farm couple (first and only appearance
for all)
Comment: The Saturninans who appear in this story are not of the Titanian
race that Saturn Girl of the Legion of Super-Heroes belongs to.
Synopsis: A fugitive criminal from Saturn lands on Earth, stuns John
Jones with a force-blast, and assumes his identity with chameleon powers
after learning he is a lawman on Earth. He then throws Jones in a
river. The detective survives, but sustains a case of amnesia.
Meanwhile, the phony Jones soon meets with Diane Meade, Captain Harding,
two Saturnian policemen in pursuit of him, and Zook, who realizes from
the impostor’s electrical aura that he is not the real Jones. Zook
tracks down the real John Jones and helps restore his memory. The
phony Jones lures the two policemen from Saturn into a trap, exposing them
to oil, which strips a Saturnian’s powers away and can even kill him.
Jones becomes the Martian Manhunter, confronts his impostor, who returns
to his Saturnian identity, and battles him. But the Martian’s and
Saturnian’s powers are too similar for either to prevail, until J’onzz
tears a crankcase loose from Diane’s car and squirts oil on his Saturnian
foe, defeating him. Then he rescues the Saturnian cops, who take
charge of the criminal and return him to their world.
Detective Comics No. 315
May 1963
Story: “The Man of 1,000 Disguises” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #19)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding, Zook
Villains: Porto and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
of America fight Dr. Destiny and the Super-Justice League in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #19.
Synopsis: After J’onn J’onzz and Zook fail to capture a “human fly”
bandit, John Jones’s attention is drawn by Diane Meade to Porto, a “man
of 1,000 disguises” who is performing, among other things, a human fly
as part of his repertoire. Jones and Diane take Zook to the performance,
and Zook’s antennae indicate that Porto and the bandit are the same man.
J’onn J’onzz captures Porto, and, when the latter refuses to reveal where
the rest of his gang is, assumes Porto’s identity with chameleon power
and hides the disguise artist away. J’onzz whips through Porto’s
act onstage, using his chameleon powers to effect the disguises.
But Porto himself escapes, contacts his gang, and takes them to the theater
where J’onzz is performing, intending to kill him when he assumes a vulnerable
human aspect. Zook rescues the Manhunter by melting the gang’s bullets
before they can hit him, and J’onzz captures Porto and his gang.
Detective Comics No. 314
June 1963
Story: “The Bandits With Super-Powers” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (between JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #19 / 20)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding, Zook
Villains: Joe, Lon, and another crook (first and only apperance for
all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
of America fight Spaceman X in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #20.
Synopsis: A meteorite lands near Middletown that can give Earthmen
temportary Martian powers, but strips the powers away from J’onn J’onzz.
When three crooks gain such powers, and J’onzz loses his, he is rescued
by Diane Meade, who exposes herself to the meteor and, gaining super-powers,
helps him escape. Later, when his powers return, the Manhunter transforms
himself into John Jones, exposes his now-human self to the meteorite, and
gains powers in his human identity. Jones, Zook, and Diane capture
the crooks and destroy the meteorite.
Detective Comics No. 317
July 1963
Story: “The Challenge of the Alien Robots” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #20)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding, Zook
Villains: Jasper Dowd (first and only appearance), four alien robots
(first appearance; all destroyed in this story)
Synopsis: Four alien robots land in a capsule on Earth, complete with
full operating instructions. They are discovered by Jasper Dowd,
a criminal, who uses the automaton’s mighty powers to help him pull off
spectacular robberies. J’onn J’onzz battles the robots, but is stymied
by their gas, lightning, and fire powers, and by their ability to teleport
away when Dowd wishes. Diane Meade tracks down Dowd, but is captured
by his robots. However, the Manhunter destroys one robot, assumes
its guise, and trails the other robots back to Dowd’s hideout. There
he smashes the other robots, saves Diane, and captures Dowd.
Detective Comics No. 318
August 1963
Story: “J’onn J’onzz’s Enemy--Zook” (10 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Characters: Zook, Captain Harding
Villains: The Hank Waters Gang (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz is on the trail of the Hank Waters gang, but
Zook finds them first, falls from a high tree limb while eavesdropping
on them, and gets amnesia from the impact. Waters convinces Zook
that he and his gang are undercover agents, that the Martian Manhunter
is a criminal, and that Zook, one of their agents, has worked his way into
the Manhunter’s confidence. Accordingly, Zook frustrates J’onzz’s
attempts to capture Waters, until the Martian locates the crook’s hideout
and Waters stumbles over Zook in his rush to get out, causing the Manhunter’s
pet to strike his head against the door. Zook regains his memory
and helps J’onzz capture Waters.
Detective Comics No. 319
September 1963
Story: “J’onn J’onzz--Wizard of 1463" (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #21)
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding
Villains: The Black Duke and his henchmen (first and only appearance
for all)
Intro: Capt. Louis Moray, Prince Charles, people of Auveregne Province
(first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
and Justice Society battle the Crime Champions in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
#21-22.
Synopsis: While vacationing in France, John Jones explores a cave,
passes through a time-warp within it, and emerges in the year 1463.
There he rescues Captain Louis Moray from minions of the Black Duke, and
learns that the Duke has captured Prince Charles, rightful ruler of the
province, intent on usurping his throne. The Manhunter rescues Charles,
then, assuming his form, rallies the people of the province, turns into
his Martian form (which is branded a “wizard’s trick” by the populance)
when the Duke’s men attack, and defeats them. When J’onzz resumes
the prince’s human form again, the Duke strikes from hiding and renders
him unconscious. J’onzz is imprisoned, unable to return to his Martian
form thanks to torches burning in his cell, but the real prince and Captain
Moray free him. He then resumes his Martian form and defeats the
Duke and the rest of his men. Afterwards, J’onzz makes his way back
through the time-warp to 1963 and seals the cavern.
Detective Comics No. 320
October 1963
Story: “The Case of the Golden Eagle” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter from Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #22; next appears in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #50)
Supporting Characters: Captain Harding, Zook
Villains: Dulac, Lucky Bronson, Red Higgins and other crooks (first
and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz teams with Green Arrow
and Speedy to combat Vulkor and other Martians in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #50.
Synopsis: Detective John Jones is paired with Dulac, ostensibly a French
detective on the trail of the stolen Golden Eagle. Dulac informs
Jones that Lucky Bronson, an American gangster, is the Eagle thief, but
stays so close to Jones that the latter cannot become the Martian Manhunter.
Accordingly, Zook helps capture some of Bronson’s gang, and gets a swelled
head from the resulting publicity. In reality, Dulac is also a thief,
and snatches the Eagle away from Bronson when the latter is captured by
J’onn J’onzz. Zook helps capture Dulac, and makes amends with J’onzz.
Detective Comics No. 321
November 1963
Story: “The Cosmic Creature” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #50; next appears in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #23
/ ATOM #8)
Supporting Characters: Captain Harding, Zook
Intro: A “cosmic creature” (first appearance; dies in this story)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight the Queen Bee in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #23 and briefly appears
in THE ATOM #8.
Synopsis: An alien beast which was held pent in a crashed space capsule
for “eons” beneath the Manhunter’s cave hideout breaks loose and endangers
Middletown. J’onn J’onzz and Zook attack it and appear to defeat
it, but the monster has the power to change into other shapes and assumes
sea- and air-dwelling forms. Zook and the Manhunter discover pieces
of a substance used to restrain the creature still in the capsule’s wreckage,
and use it against the beast. It weakens, goes through a series of
shape-changes, and pops out of existence.
Detective Comics No. 322
December 1963
Story: “The Man Who Destroyed J’onn J’onzz” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #23 / ATOM #8; next appears in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #24)
Supporting Characters: Captain Harding, Zook
GA: Batman (last appearance in first story of this issue; next appears
in ?)
Villains: Prof. Arnold Hugo (last appearance in issue #306; next appears
in HOUSE OF MYSTERY #153) and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz has an unchronicled
adventure with Green Arrow and then helps the Justice League and Adam Strange
defeat Kanjar Ro in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #24.
Synopsis: Prof. Arnold Hugo, an old foe of the Batman’s, has escaped
from prison in Gotham City and come with his gang to Middletown, where
he is working on a machine that can duplicate J’onn J’onzz’s powers and
transfer them to Hugo’s body. After a series of encounters, J’onn
J’onzz and Zook are captured by Hugo, and the scientist does give himself
Martian powers. But J’onzz breaks free of his captivity and destroys
the machine, though Hugo still retains his powers. Both Hugo and
J’onzz battle each other to a standstill, until J’onzz breaks off the fight
to allow Zook to glow red-hot and start a fire. Since Hugo has absorbed
J’onn J’onzz’s fire-weakness along with his powers, he is rendered unconscious.
Zook puts out the fire, and he and J’onzz turn the captive Hugo over to
Batman in Gotham City.
Detective Comics No. 323
January 1964
Story: “The Hobby Missions” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #24)
Supporting Character: Captain Harding
Villain: Ron Hawkins (first and only appearance)
Intro: Dick Rumson, Jim Stone, Tom Clay, other members of the Hobbyists’
Club (including Hawkins, Peters, Elidge, Borden, Davis, Small, Phillips,
Stone, Carrol, Roberts, Voight, Jamison, Patterson, Clay, Rumson, Wallace,
Gregory, Dennis, Hingle, and Cummin), a tribe of Peruvian Indians (first
and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: The Martian Manhunter agrees to perform one task apiece for
three members of the Hobbyists’ Club, to be decided by the turn of a wheel
and its pointer. Each member pays $10,000 for the privelage, with
Ron Hawkins spinning the wheel. The Manhunter performs the three
tasks, including earning a magic mask by doing good deeds for a Peruvian
tribe which owned it. The mask gives its wearer the power of invisibility,
and J’onzz is astonished later when Clay, the mask’s winner, appears to
be committing robberies while wearing the mask. J’onzz learns that
Clay is still a millionaire, and later discovers that Hawkins rigged the
wheel to point to Clay on the last turn, knowing he would have the Manhunter
go after the invisiblity mask. Then he kidnapped Clay, took the mask,
and masqueraded as Clay while using the mask’s power to commit crimes.
J’onzz destroys the mask, captures Hawkins, and frees Clay.
Detective Comics No. 324
February 1964
Story: “The Beast Who Was J’onn J’onzz” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Characters: Diane Meade, Captain Harding, Zook
Intro: A group of archaeologists (only appearance)
Villains: Marlon (a sorceror; no appearance; name only mentioned; first
and only appearance) and Marlon’s creature (first appearance; dies in this
story)
Synopsis: A team of archaeologists unearth a cavern in which a purple
monster sleeps in suspended animation. A lightning bolt revives the
monster, and it goes on a rampage outside Middletown. J’onn J’onzz
and Zook are alerted, but find that J’onzz’s Martian powers are not enough
to defeat the beast. J’onzz learns from a cave inscription that the
monster was created by the sorceror Marlon as a terroristic threat, and
that one of three beasts depicted on the cavern wall has the power to defeat
it. Accordingly, the Manhunter assumes the form of each beast in
turn, until he finds the one with the correct power and uses that identity
to destroy the creature.
Detective Comics No. 325
March 1964
Story: “The Hero of 500 B.C.” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #26)
Supporting Character: Zook
Villains: Nemesus and his men, two crooks (first and only appearance
for all)
Intro: Professor Haggard, Dion, Lydia, King Delos (only appearance
for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight Despero in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #26.
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz is accidentally thrown back in time by a time-machine
activated when he is battling crooks out to take it away from its inventor,
Prof. Haggard. He finds himself in Greece in the year 500 B.C.
There he rescues Dion, a Greek who is endangered by a magic cloud while
performing a certain task, one of three he must do in order to win the
hand of Lydia, daughter of King Delos. J’onzz learns that the cloud
was sent by the sorceror Nemesus, who will gain the throne unless Lydia
weds and has a child. The Manhunter helps Dion perform the two remaining
tasks, despite Nemesus’s interference. The sorceror only has enough
power for one last task, and that is to bewitch Delos into refusing to
give Lydia in marriage and ordering Dion’s execution. But the Martian
eavesdrops on Nemesus, learns of the plan, flies Delos to a remote spot
so that he cannot obey Nemesus’s orders, and takes on his identity with
his chameleon powers. As Delos, Manhunter gives Dion and Lydia permission
to wed. Nemesus attacks “Delos”, but Zook has been sent back in time
by Haggard and appears in time to freeze him. The Manhunter returns
Delos to his people and returns with Zook to the 20th Century A.D.
There the two of them learn from Prof. Haggard that the time machine has
burned out and will take years to be rebuilt.
Detective Comics No. 326
April 1964
Story: “The Death of John Jones, Detective” (12 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (loses his John
Jones identity in this story; next appears in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
#27)
Supporting Characters: Captain Harding, Diane Meade (last appearance
for both), Zook (next appears in HOUSE OF MYSTERY #143)
Villains: The Idol-Head of Diabolu (first appearance; next appears
in HOUSE OF MYSTERY #143), Vance Durskin (first and only appearance), a
glowing creature (first appearance; destroyed in this story)
Comments: This story begins the long-running Idol-Head of Diabolu series
of stories in this feature, running through HOUSE OF MYSTERY #?.
J’onn J’onzz resumes his John Jones identity in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #246.
J’onn J’onzz’s series continues in HOUSE OF MYSTERY #143.
Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
battle “I” in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #27.
Synopsis: Vince Durskin, a criminal, steals the ancient Idol-Head of
Diabolu from the collection of John R. Collins, having already stolen the
key that will open it. John Jones is called in on the case and learns
from one of Collins’s books on magic that the head reputedly had all the
evils of mankind locked within it, and that once it was activated by the
key, one evil will emerge from its head every full moon. When Durskin
opens the Idol-Head, it emits a flash that gives Durskin the power of emitting
destructive rays from his eyes. Before the head closes again, a giant,
glowing, snake-like creature which devours matter emerges from it.
J’onn J’onzz is hard-pressed to cope with both menaces. While in
his John Jones identity, he and the car he is in are apparently devoured
by the glowing creature. Jones assumes his J’onn J’onzz identity
and barely escapes, but Chief Harding, who has seen the incident, is aghast
and assumes that John Jones is dead. J’onzz manages to get Durskin
to blast the creature with his eye-rays, thus destroying it and cancelling
out his power. The Idol-Head of Diabolu has fallen into a canal and
been swept away. A memorial service is held for John Jones, and the
Martian Manhunter vows to Diane, Captain Harding, other police, and Zook
that he will avenge Jones’s “death” by finding and destroying the Idol-Head.
House of Mystery #143
June 1964
Cover: J’onn J’onzz and giant Zook //Dick Dillin / Sheldon Moldoff
Story: “The Giant-Maker” (10 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #27; next appears in GREEN LANTERN #29)
Supporting Character: Zook (last appearance in DETECTIVE COMICS #326)
Villains: Malador and his creature (first and only appearance to date),
the Idol-Head of Diabolu (last appearance in DETECTIVE COMICS #326)
Intro: Henderson (only appearance)
Comment: This is the first J’onn J’onzz story in HOUSE OF MYSTERY and
the second Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz and the Justice League
monitor Green Lantern’s battle against the Protonic Force in GREEN LANTERN
#29.
Synopsis: The Idol-Head of Diabolu, now in a junkyard, releases another
menace during the full moon: a giant, hairy creature whose touch can turn
its victims into rampaging giants. J’onn J’onzz is able to subdue
a farmer grown giant-size, but is endangered when a maddened, king-size
Zook radiates heat and attacks him. After Zook stops radiating heat,
J’onzz knocks him unconscious with a judo throw. The creature finally
accomplishes its mission, restoring height to the evil sorceror Malador,
who had been reduced to atomic size by his rival, Sorbo. The creature
then shrinks to microscopic size. The Manhunter battles Malador,
but both he and the magician are frozen in ice blocks by a revived giant
Zook. J’onzz breaks free, carries Malador closer to the frosty Zook,
and causes him to shrink back to infitesimal size. Zook and the farmer
return to normal, and the Manhunter realizes that he will face more such
menaces until he destroys the Idol-Head.
House of Mystery #144
July 1964
Cover: J’onn J’onzz drawn into hole in sky //Joe Certa
Story: “The Weird World of Gilgana” (10 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in GREEN LANTERN #29)
Supporting Character: Zook
Intro: Three men (only appearance for all)
Villain: Idol-Head of Diabolu
Comment: This is the third Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: The Diabolu Head causes a hole to open in the sky, drawing
people into the strange and dangerous dimension of Gilgana, and the Martian
Manhunter must follow and rescue them.
House of Mystery #145
September 1964
Cover: Zook watching Venomee turn J’onn J’onzz into fish //Joe Certa
Story: “The Secret of the Purple People” (16 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Zook
Intro: Rashid (only appearance)
Villain: Idol-Head of Diabolu, the Venomee (first and only appearance)
Comment: This is the fourth Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: The Idol-Head of Diabolu brings the purple Venomee people
to Earth, where they change people--including J’onn J’onzz--into animals.
House of Mystery #146
October 1964
Cover: Chulko menacing J’onn J’onzz and Zook //Joe Certa
Story: “The Doom Shadow” (10 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #31)
Supporting Character: Zook
Villains: Idol-Head of Diabolu, Aroo (first and only appearance), the
Chulko (first appearance; destroyed in this story)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
initiate Hawkman in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #31, then attends the wedding
of Aquaman and Mera with the other Justice League members in AQUAMAN #18,
then teams with the Flash and Hawkgirl to defeat an alien mutant in BRAVE
AND THE BOLD #56.
This is the fifth Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: The Idol-Head of Diabolu brings two more monsters to challenge
J’onn J’onzz and Zook: Aroo, who tries to halt the coming of the second
monster, and the Chulko, whose shadow can petrify anything it falls upon.
House of Mystery #147
December 1964
Cover: J’onn J’onzz, Zook, and civilians battling at the behest of
the Orchestra of Doom //Joe Certa
Story: “The Orchestra of Doom” (10 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #56)
Supporting Character: Zook
Villains: Idol-Head of Diabolu, the “Orchestra of Doom” (including
the Maestro; first appearance; all destroyed in this story), a gang of
crooks (first and only appearance)
Comment: This is the sixth Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: The Diabolu Head causes a group of living magical musical
instruments to come to Earth, where they cause chaos with their mystic
tunes, defying the Manhunter and Zook.
House of Mystery #148
January 1965
Cover: J’onn J’onzz and Zook vs. Color-Ring Creature //Joe Certa
Story: “The Beings In the Color Rings” (16 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #33)
Supporting Character: Zook
Intro: Johnny and his mother (only appearance for both)
Villains: The Color-Ring Creature (first appearance; dies in this story),
other ring beings (first and only appearance), the Idol-Head of Diabolu
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight the Alien-Ator in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #33.
This is the seventh Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: The Idol-Head of Diabolu releases a strange “color-ring creature”
which drains color from objects on Earth and teleports the color-bleached
objects and the colors to another dimension. There other ring-beings
absorb the colors, which give them power, and prepare to stage an invasion
of Earth. J’onn J’onzz manages to invade the other dimension by having
the ring-creature absorb his green color, and Zook does the same by glowing
red near a fire engine which he has the being pick up. Together,
the twosome defeat the ring-beings, have the colors drained from the ring-creature,
return to Earth, and see the creature fade from existence.
House of Mystery #149
March 1965
Story: “The Man-Thing That Unearthed Secrets” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #33)
Supporting Character: Zook (next appears in issue #151)
Intro: Driftwood Dagan (only appearance)
Villain: Idol-Head of Diabolu
Comment: This is the eighth Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: A drifter is changed into strange animals and forced to acquire
certain objects by the Idol-Head of Diabolu, and the Martian Manhunter
must learn the reason why.
House of Mystery No. 150
April 1965
Story: “The Supernatural Masterpieces” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Cameo appearance: Driftwood Dagan (in flashback)
Intro: Henri, Andre, Pierre (only appearance for all)
Villain: Idol-Head of Diabolu
Comment: This is the ninth Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: The Idol-Head brings into existence brushes which cause whatever
an artist paints with them to come to life.
House of Mystery No. 151
June 1965
Cover: Zook vs. Flame-being; J’onn J’onzz being changed into winged
creature by aliens //Joe Certa
Story: “The Doom From Two Worlds” (16 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #36)
Supporting Character: Zook (between issues #149 / 156)
Villains: A flame-creature (first appearance; dies in this story),
a winged creature (first and only appearance), the Idol-Head of Diabolu
Intro: Aliens from another dimension (first and only appearance)
Comments: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight Brain Storm in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #36.
This is the tenth Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: On the night of the full moon, J’onn J’onzz and Zook witness
the arrival of a winged beast and assume it is the latest menace from the
Idol-Head of Diabolu. It opens a space-warp and forces the Manhunter
and itself into another dimension. There, aliens train a ray on the
Martian that transforms him into a duplicate of the creature, enabling
him to better battle it, though he blasts their ray-gun with an eye-beam.
They restore the creature to a harmless form, tell the Manhunter that the
winged creature was being bred as a beast of burden, and that they transformed
him into a similar creature to put him on an equal footing with the beast.
However, J’onzz finds that he cannot transform himself back to his Martian
identity, and their reverser-ray was damaged when J’onzz blasted it.
However, he does have power to open a warp into Earth’s dimension, where
a fire-creature from the Diabolu head is menacing Zook. He warps
himself and the fire-being into the other dimension and destroys it with
the repaired freeze-ray of the aliens’, and then uses the ray to transform
himself back to his Martian identity. Then he returns to Earth.
House of Mystery No. 152
July 1965
Cover: J’onn J’onzz vs. Iwangis //Joe Certa
Story: “Iwangis--Creature King” (10 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #36)
Villain: Iwangis (first appearance; destroyed in this story), the Idol
Head of Diabolu
Comment: This is the eleventh Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: The Idol-Head of Diabolu brings to life the stone statue
of Iwangis, a creature with the power to cause explosions when it is struck,
and to impart life to the stone statues of beasts. The Martian Manhunter
seems powerless to cope with Iwangis until he tricks him into touching
a steel statue which he has magnetized. Iwangis’s power drains into
the unanimated statue, and he becomes inert stone again. J’onn J’onzz
destroys the Iwangis statue, and then takes the animal statues (now also
inert) back to their proper locales.
House of Mystery No. 153
September 1965
Cover: J’onn J’onzz vs. giant caveman //Joe Certa
Story: “The Giants Who Slept 1,000,000 Years” (15 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #38)
Villains: Prof. Arnold Hugo (last appearance in DETECTIVE COMICS #322;
next appears in issue #157), three caveman giants (first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz briefly appears in
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #38.
Synopsis: Professor Arnold Hugo escapes from jail again and locates
three frozen, indestructible, giant cavemen whose powers once ruled the
Earth. He uses his power-transfer machine to duplicate the giants’
power in his own body, becoming a giant and defeating the Martian Manhunter
in battle. While Hugo terrorizes a nearby town, J’onn J’onzz must
deal with the three super-cavemen, who have broken free from their ice
prison. J’onzz arranges for the caveman trio to battle Hugo, who
is forced to create a freeze-ray and return the three to their icy imprisonment.
Then J’onzz trains the ray on Hugo, who shrinks and loses his powers.
J’onzz captures Hugo and says that he will restore the frozen cavemen to
their cavern.
House of Mystery No. 154
October 1965
Story: “The Mirror Martian Manhunter” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (between JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #38 / 40)
Villains: Orry Kane, a mirror-J’onn J’onzz (first and only appearance
for both)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
deal with menaces created by Andrew Helm in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #40.
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz is faced with an evil, distorted duplicate of
himself when an old enemy discovers a magic mirror.
House of Mystery No. 155
December 1965
Story: “The Giant Genie of Gensu” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (between JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #40 / 41)
Villains: The Genie of Gensu, Duke Durgon and his gang, Mousy Mulloy
(first and only appearance for all), the Idol-Head of Diabolu
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight the Key in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #41.
This is the twelfth Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: The Idol-Head brings forth a genie who obeys every command
of small-time crook Mousy Malloy, which draws him into conflict with the
Martian Manhunter.
House of Mystery No. 156
January 1966
Story: “Look What Happened To J’onn J’onzz” (11 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #41)
Supporting Character: Zook (last appearance in issue #151)
Villains: A cobra-beast (first appearance; destroyed in this story),
the Idol-Head of Diabolu
Comment: This is the fourteenth Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: A cobra-beast with fantastic powers emerges from the Idol-Head
of Diabolu, and the Book of Diabolu Legends confirms that only an alien’s
touch can defeat it, though the alien will disappear as a result, being
absorbed into its body. J’onn J’onzz and Zook try to defeat the cobra-beast
from long distance, but the creature survives all their attempts.
Finally, J’onzz does touch the creature and is absorbed into its being.
But he simply uses his chameleon power to restore himself to his Martian
identity, thus cancelling out the beast’s existence.
House of Mystery No. 157
March 1966
Story: “Manhunter, World’s Greatest Clown” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Zook
Villains: Prof. Arnold Hugo (between issues #153 / 165), other convicts
at Grayton Prison (first and only appearance for all)
Synopsis: Prof. Arnold Hugo creates a thought-control machine that
enables him to escape prison. Then, intent on making J’onn J’onzz
a laughing stock, Hugo disguises himself as a clown, captures the Manhunter
with his machine, and forces him to perform super-feats in a clumsy way
before a circus audience which laughs at him. However, the crowd
simply believe that J’onn J’onzz is entertaining them, and doing a good
job of it. Zook appears shortly after Hugo forces J’onzz to rob a
bank, and destroys the mind-control device by freezing it. The Manhunter
and Zook take Hugo back to jail.
House of Mystery No. 158
April 1966
Story: “The Origin of the Diabolu Idol-Head” (8 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Arttist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #44)
Supporting Character: Zook (next appears in issue #166)
Villains: Diabolu (first appearance; dies in this story), Idol-Head
of Diabolu (origin revealed; destroyed in this story), a creature (first
appearance; destroyed in this story)
Intro: Diabolu’s apprentice (only appearance)
Comments: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight the Unimaginable in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #44.
This is the fifteenth and final Idol-Head of Diabolu story.
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz and Zook finally find the Idol-Head of Diabolu,
just as a smoke-creature begins to emerge from it. J’onzz forces
the creature back into the head, but is drawn with it back to ancient Babylonia.
There he rescues a group of people from the creature and learns from them
of Diabolu, the evil wizard. They tell him that Diabolu was the power
behind Nebuchadnezzar, the late king of Babylon, and that he has been deposed
by the Persian king, Cyrus. Diabolu, dying and insane, has vowed
vengeance and is creating the Idol-Head to plague mankind after his death.
J’onn J’onzz assumes the form of the smoke-creature, which he has destroyed,
has himself put into the Idol-Head by Diabolu just before the latter’s
death, and emerges from the Idol-Head in the 20th Century before a startled
Zook. Then he resumes his Martian form and finally destroys the Idol-Head
once and for all.
House of Mystery No. 159
June 1966
Story: “The Devil-Men of Pluto” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #44)
Intro: Joe (only appearance)
Villains: Nar (in flashback; dies in this story), Xanadar, L’lex, and
another Devil-Man of Pluto (first appearance for all; all die in this story)
Synopsis: Three “Devil Men” from Pluto come to Earth and encounter
J’onn J’onzz while searching for the loot of a dead colleague.
House of Mystery No. 160
July 1966
Story: “Manhunter’s New Secret Identity” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (assumes the secret
identity of Marco Xavier through issue #173)
Intro: Apollo Magnus (only appearance)
Villains: Faceless (Marco Xavier; first appearance; also known as Mr.
Vulture or Mr. V), Vulture (a criminal organization; first appearance),
Sr. Mendez (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: A “special security department” alerts J’onn J’onzz to the
existence of the criminal organization Vulture, and tells him that international
playboy and mystery man Marco Xavier is reputed to have ties to it.
When Xavier appears to die in a car wreck shortly afterward, J’onzz assumed
Xavier’s identity as a cover with his chameleon powers. He fakes
having amnesia from the car crash, and shortly thereafter is contacted
by a Vulture agent who gives him $10,000 to learn which ship magnate Apollo
Magnus will use to transport a gold shipment. J’onzz trails the man
to a secret meeting place where he sees other Vulture agents communicate
with Faceless, the blank-masked head of the organization. As Xavier,
J’onzz learns that Magnus will be transporting the gold on his private
yacht. He gives the information to Vulture, and then, as J’onn J’onzz,
thwarts the agents’ attempt to rob it using a submarine.
House of Mystery No. 161
November 1966
Story: “The Unmasking of Marco Xavier” (8 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Intro: Marie Fouchere and two scientists (only appearance for all)
Villains: Abba Sulkar (first appearance; dies in this story), Shtarker,
Grosse (first and only appearance for both), Faceless, Vulture
Synopsis: On the trail of two missing scientists, J’onn J’onzz (as
Marco Xavier) meets with Marie Fouchere, one of Xavier’s old girlfriends,
who delivers him into the hands of Vulture agent Abba Sulkar and his henchmen.
Sulkar subjects “Xavier” to a process that drains his memories and encodes
them on tape. After reporting to Faceless via closed-circuit TV and
learning that Xavier is their trusted ally, Sulkar views the tape himself
and learns that “Xavier” is really the Martian Manhunter. Meanwhile,
Marie, who is really an agent of the French secret service, restores Manhunter’s
memories to him after helping him escape. J’onn J’onzz secretly assumes
his Martian identity and battles Sulkar and his men. Sulkar accidentally
destroys himself with a disintegrator weapon.
House of Mystery No. 162
October 1966
Story: “The Lair of Mr. V” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in AQUAMAN #30)
Intro: Miklos Agar (only appearance)
Villains: Faceless, Vulture (both next appear in flashback in JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #52), Zoltar (first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz attends the mock funeral
of Aquaman with the other Justice Leaguers and Metamorpho in AQUAMAN #30
and then teams with Hawkman to battle Faceless and Vulture in flashback
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #52.
Synopsis: Marco Xavier is hired by Vulture to return a stolen statue
after its ransom is paid. He accepts, hoping the Martian Manhunter
will have a chance to capture Faceless.
House of Mystery No. 163
December 1966
Story: “The Doomed Captive” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (between JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #52 (flashback) / 50)
Villains: Faceless, Vulture (last appearance for all in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #52), Cluzot, a Mercurian renegade (first and only appearance
for both)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz briefly appears with
the Justice League in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #50.
Synopsis: The Martian Manhunter is faced by two enemies: Vulture and
a renegade Mercurian, who find themselves working together against their
common foe.
House of Mystery No. 164
January 1967
Story: “Marco Vs. Manhunter” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #50)
Villains: Faceless, Vulture (all next appear in issue #166), Scarface
(first and only appearance)
Intro: Aldo Szuzi (only appearance)
Synopsis: The Martian Manhunter is made guest at a special ball thrown
by Aldo Szuzi after he saves some of Szuzi’s precious jewels from a Vulture
robbery attempt. Faceless informs “Marco Xavier” that he will provide
him with a special weapon designed to destroy J’onn J’onzz, which he will
give to a Vulture assassin who will appear at the ball. When “Xavier”
is given the weapon, he learns that it is a flame-throwing gun. He
does give the weapon to Scarface, the Vulture killer, at the ball, and
then assumes his J’onn J’onzz identity to draw Scarface’s fire. But
he secretly turns into Aldo Szuzi to throw Scarface off-balance, and captures
the assassin. Later, Faceless tells “Xavier” that the flame-thrower
was a slip-up; he should have been given a laser weapon instead.
“Xavier” muses to himself that J’onn J’onzz could have survived a laser
attack.
House of Mystery No. 165
March 1967
Story: “The Deadly Martian” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Villains: Prof. Arnold Hugo (last appearance in issue #157; last appearance)
and his gang (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: Prof. Arnold Hugo appears once again and stymies the Manhunter
with a weapon that turns his body radioactive.
House of Mystery No. 166
April 1967
Story: “Vulture’s Crime Goliaths” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
Supporting Character: Zook (between issues #158 / 168)
Villains: Faceless, Vulture (last appearance for all in issue #164),
the Monster-Man (Joe; first and only appearance)
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz encounters a powerful “monster-man” created
by Faceless and Vulture.
House of Mystery No. 167
June 1967
Story: “Marco Xavier, Manhunter’s Ally” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #54)
Villains: Faceless, Vulture (all next appear in issue #169), Ferrau
(first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight the Royal Flush Gang in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #54.
Synopsis: Vulture hopes to set a trap for the Martian Manhunter by
using Marco Xavier as bait.
House of Mystery No. 168
July 1967
Story: “Thantos--the 3-In-1 Man” (9 pages)
Editor: Jack Schiff
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz (last appearance in JUSTICE LEAGUE
OF AMERICA #54; next appears in SUPERMAN #199)
Supporting Character: Zook (between issues #166 / 171)
Villains: Thantos and his gang (first and only appearance for all)
Comment: Shortly after this story, J’onn J’onzz and the rest of the
Justice League attend the first Superman-Flash race in SUPERMAN #199.
Synopsis: With Vulture laying low for awhile, J’onn J’onzz rejoins
his old ally Zook to confront Thantos, a dimensional alien with strange
powers, including the ability to split into three forms and vanish.
Thantos is in search of rare herbs, as the Manhunter learns when he captures
a gang of Earth crooks the villain has allied himself with. J’onzz
guesses that Thantos intends to use the herbs to make a mixture that will
allow him to return to Earth at any time he wishes, rather than the 12
hours he has left before returning to his home dimension. J’onzz
grapples with Thantos, but the villain wrenches free and vanishes.
When Zook exclaims that Thantos will be trouble when he comes back, J’onzz
displays a pouch of herbs he wrested from Thantos’s belt, which were integral
to the alien’s formula, and says that Thantos won’t be coming back.
House of Mystery No. 169
September 1967
Story: “The Manhunter Monster” (9 pages)
Editor: George Kashdan
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in SUPERMAN #199)
Villain: Faceless, Vulture (last appearance for all in issue #167),
three agents transformed into monsters (first and only appearance)
Synopsis: As “Marco Xavier”, J’onn J’onzz is present when three monsters,
actually transformed agents of Vulture, steal a golden trophy at an Aegean
spa. He assumes his Martian identity to battle them; then, after
learning that the monsters breathe fire, uses his chameleon powers to become
one of them, but finds he cannot change back. Later, though, he hooks
up with the other monsters, is taken to a Vulture hideout where he and
the other monsters are restored to their previous forms, and captures all
the Vulture agents there.
House of Mystery No. 170
October 1967
Story: “The Martian Double-Cross” (12 pages)
Editor: George Kashdan
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in THE FLASH #175)
Intro: Baron Du Marchal (only appearance)
Villains: Faceless (next appears in issue #173), Vulture (next appear
in issue #172), a robot (first and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this J’onn J’onzz attends the second Superman-Flash
race with the rest of the Justice League in THE FLASH #175.
Synopsis: Faceless learns that fire is J’onn J’onzz’s secret weakness
from Marco Xavier (the Manhunter) himself.
House of Mystery No. 171
December 1967
Story: “The Martian Marauders” (10 pages)
Editor: George Kashdan
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in THE FLASH #175; next appears in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #59)
Supporting Character: Zook (last appearance in issue #168)
Villain: Six Martian criminals (first appearance; all die in this story)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
fight the Impossibles in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #59.
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz must stop six Martian criminals who have changed
their shapes into powerful monsters that are each stronger than he is.
House of Mystery No. 172
January-February 1968
Story: “Manhunter’s Stolen Identity” (12 Pages)
Editor: George Kashdan
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (between JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #59 / 60)
Supporting Character: Zook (last appearance)
Villains: Vulture (last appearance in issue #170), Ivor Sandez (first
and only appearance)
Comment: Shortly after this story J’onn J’onzz helps the Justice League
and Batgirl fight the Queen Bee in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #60, then
helps the Justice League battle Dr. Destiny and other villains in JUSTICE
LEAGUE OF AMERICA #61.
Synopsis: A Martian meteorite causes J’onn J’onzz to switch bodies
with a Vulture assassin.
House of Mystery No. 173
March-April 1968
Story: “So You’re Faceless!” (11 pages)
Editor: George Kashdan
Writer: Jack Miller
Artist: Joe Certa
Letterer: Gaspar Saladino
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #61; next appears in ACTION COMICS #365)
Intro: Pierre Carre (only appearance)
Villains: Faceless (last appearance in issue #170; revealed as Marco
Xavier; dies in this story), Vulture (last appearance; several agents die
in this story)
Comment: This is the last J’onn J’onzz story in HOUSE OF MYSTERY.
Synopsis: After accidentally giving him access to the most powerful
weapon on Earth, J’onn J’onzz finally manages to come face-to-face with
Faceless.
J’onn J’onzz’s interim appearances:
ACTION COMICS #365, 366
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #71
WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #212
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #100, 115
Adventure Comics No. 449
January-February 1977
Story: “Mission: Catch a Killer” (6 pages)
Editor: Paul Levitz
Writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciller: Mike Nasser
Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (last appearance
in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #115)
Villains: R’es Eda (first appearance; next appears in WORLD’S FINEST
COMICS #245), N’or Cott (first appearance)
Cameo appearances: Superman, Flash, Green Lantern
Comment: This story continues in the next issue.
Synopsis: Just as J’onn J’onzz is awarded leadership of Mars II for
a second term as popular vote, his friend R’es Eda is cut down and apparently
killed by a sniper. Eda’s last words were “was from...was...sol...”,
which J’onzz interprets as meaning the killer was from Earth, a world circling
Sol (Earth’s sun). Since no one there except the members of the Justice
League knew where Mars II was located, J’onzz suspects that, like it or
not, one of them may be involved in the murder. Though N’or Cott
and other Martians try to stop him from leaving Mars, J’onzz steals one
of Mars’s two spacecraft and heads for Earth, with N’or Cott in pursuit.
Adventure Comics No. 450
March-April 1977
Story: “Return To Destiny” (6 pages)
Editor: Paul Levitz
Writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciller, colorist: Mike Nasser
Inker: Terry Austin
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars
GS: Supergirl (between SUPERMAN FAMILY #182 / 183)
Villain: N’or Cott
Cameo: R’es Eda (in flashback)
Synopsis: Just after J’onn J’onzz breaches Earth’s atmosphere, his
ship is blasted by N’or Cott, destroying it, dazing him, and drawing the
attention of Supergirl. The Girl of Steel is mistakenly drawn into
battle against the Martian Manhunter until she brings him back to his senses.
When N’or Cott releases two more torpedoes, Supergirl intercepts and destroys
them. J’onn stops her from pursuing Cott, saying that their attacker
“is merely doing his duty.” But he tells her that somewhere on Earth
is R’es Eda’s murderer, and he is bound to bring him to justice.
Adventure Comics No. 451
May-June 1977
Story: “The Suspects” (6 pages)
Editor: Paul Levitz
Writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciller: Mike Nasser
Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Liz Berube
Feature Character: J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter From Mars (next appears
in WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #245)
GS: Hawkman, Hawkgirl (last appearance for both in SECRET SOCIETY OF
SUPER-VILLAINS #7; next appear in WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #245)
Villains: N’or Cott (next appears in WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #245), a
Superman robot (first appearance; next appears in WORLD’S FINEST COMICS
#245)
Comments: This story concludes in WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #245, in which
J’onn J’onzz, Superman, Batman, Hawkman, and Hawkgirl defeat R’es Eda and
N’or Cott.
Synopsis: J’onn J’onzz, having eliminated Superman and Green Lantern
from his list of suspects, confronts and attacks Hawkman and Hawkgirl in
their Thanagarian spaceship and accuses them of R’es Eda’s murder.
Hawkgirl rescues her husband and J’onzz from dying in airless space, and
they prove their innocence to J’onzz, who apologizes. But N’or Cott
has equipped a Superman robot with a bomb and sent it towards Hawkman’s
ship, and it is admitted inside.
J’onn J’onzz’s later appearances
WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #245
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #177, 178
DC COMICS PRESENTS #27
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #200, 228-230, 232
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA ANNUAL #2
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #233-239, 241-243
INFINITY, INC. #19
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #244
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #5-8
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA ANNUAL #3
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #9, 10
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #245
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #12
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #246-257
After this story, J’onn J’onzz of Earth-One is replaced by the
J’onn J’onzz of the New DC Earth.