Hasslein Books: Evil to the Core Since 1971

By Rich Handley

The Comics Cube!'s Duy Tano recently forwarded me the following story, published in World's Finest #205 (cover date: September 1971). The story, titled "The Computer That Captured a Town," was written by Steve Skeates and illustrated by Dick Dillin and Joe Giella, with a cover by the legendary Neal Adams. It's a solid tale about racism and bigotry, and it has a fascinating real-world backstory involving Skeates' not-so-subtle swipe at Bob Haney. But none of that is why Duy sent it to me.

No, the reason is quite simple: He discovered my true nature... you see, I'm a super-villain who, back in the early '70s, ruled an entire town. Don't believe me? Read on. I deny nothing―in 1971, I was a downright evil asshole. I sure did look snazzy in my bowler cap, though, didn't I?