The Force of July, from their Who’s Who entry. (C) 2023 DC Comics

Every year on American Independence Day, I post a picture of The Force of July on social media, both as cheeky humor, but also to make a small comment about 1980s comics and authoritarianism. This year, instead of that, I decided to do an episode devoted to the short-lived DC Comics villains (Yes, if you couldn’t tell, they are the bad guys). We start by discussing their first appearance in Batman and the Outsiders Annual 1, by Mike W. Barr, Jim Aparo and others. We explain the original creation of the Outsiders and their patriotic-themed foes. If you’ve never read this issue before, get ready, because it’s a doozy, straight out of 1984, the novel and Reagan’s America. Then, we talk about the return appearances facing the Outsiders and later the Soviet Super Team, the Peoples’ Heroes. Then, it’s onto the Outisders/Infinity Inc crossover, not only featuring the Force of July, but also (spoiler alert) The Psycho-Pirate (hooray). We end discussing The Force of July appearing in the John Ostrander version of the Suicide Squad comic in 1989, and that can’t be good news for Major Victory, Mayflower, Lady Liberty, Silent Majority and Sparkler. (Yes, those are their names.)

I love C-list super villains and these guys are so of their time, that they are an intersting to examine from a historical and socio-political context. All of the issues discussed in the pod are available on DC Comics Unlimited App, if you want to read them for yourself.

Note: Had some coughing issues while recording. So, if some made it through the edit or it seems more choppy than usual, that’s why. Apologies