The Fury of Firestorm

Firestorm I

The first run of Firestorm was short - only 5 issues were published before it was cancelled in the Implosion.  A sixth was half-done but would not be finished and saw publication later in Cancelled Comics Cavalcade. 

Compared to the second run, the first was more juvenile and the art more cartoonish.  Professor Stein lost his memories of their time together as Firestorm.  The supporting cast of characters were not as fully developed, but the major cast and three of the more important villains were introduced (Multiplex, Hyena I, and Killer Frost I).  As a comparison to the second run, the first feels like it was aimed at an even younger audience. 

Firestorm II

The second run of Firestorm was quite respectably long - 100 issues and 5 annuals, and that's not mentioning that our hero had crossovers during that period.  Gerry Conway continued to write for Firestorm through issue #53.

Conway's run on the comic was fun and light-hearted for most of it.  The characters did grow, especially Ron and Martin, but not to the degree that they would later.  Conway's run was marked by gaudily-costumed villains and Firestorm fighting crime.  For the most part, it was a villain-of-the-month shtick, with plots rarely lasting more than two or three issues at the max.  Conway's Firestorm was a comic you could pick up at any point and get involved with.

But, lest Ostrander get 'blamed' for the turn toward the darker, more gritty Firestorm, it was Conway who introduced Stein's brain tumor at the end of his run as the writer.

When Conway left, DC brought on John Ostrander as the chief writer for Firestorm.  Ostrander took the brain tumor that Conway had introduced and ran with it.  He brought darker, more serious sensibilities to Firestorm.  He abandoned Conway's light-hearted approach and had Firestorm tackle world-issues and environmental problems.  He changed the tenor of Firestorm forever.  It's because of Ostrander that Firestorm's story is so complex and involves so many identity changes.

As more than one person has said, if you liked Conway's run on Firestorm it was a real toss-up as to whether you liked Ostrander's.  Conway's run was, for the most part, juvenile escapist material, and I loved it - but (excepting one part) I loved Ostrander's more.  I like stories and characters that evolve, that change, that have angst and issues and try their best to deal with them.  The only thing I missed was the old Professor Stein, because he has always been my favorite, and the relationship between Ron and Martin was always one of the high points of Firestorm for me.

All that being said, a lot of people apparently didn't like the elemental Firestorm.  I really like that character and what he tried to do.  (Of course, I'm rooting for The Dragons of Earth in X/1999.)  Because I wasn't reading the other titles that featured elementals, I had no idea that they were popular with DC at the time. 

Ostrander's book became one you couldn't just pick up at any issue.  It was an ongoing story, one you needed the background for, one that centered on the character's troubles and not this issue's fight with today's villain.  A lot of people didn't like the changes the character underwent, sales dropped, and Firestorm was cancelled, the last issue being #100.


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