Strange Adventures (Vol.1 1950-1973) #216

Approx Fine+ 6.5. February 1969. Final Sale.

• Neal Adams cover art.

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• "All This Has Gone Before But I Still Exist" – (16-page story) – Deadman exits the Society of Assassins' headquarters and encounters Vashnu, to his great surprise. He inhabits Vashnu's body, reads a scroll in his hands, and learns of the existence of Nanda Parbat, a paradise on Earth. After saving Vashnu from a pair of the Sensei's killers, he trails them back inside the Society's headquarters and hears the Sensei order Willie Smith to board a plane and destroy Nanda Parbat with a laser weapon. Deadman accompanies Smith, inhabits the body of the plane's pilot, and, while they are over the part of the Himalayas which contains Nanda Parbat, engages him in battle. A pistol shot punctures a window, and Smith is sucked outside by the outrush. Deadman leaves the plane with the pilot, who turns back without harming Nanda Parbat. Deadman descends towards Nanda Parbat, which proves to be a Shangri-La of sorts, and, unexpectedly, materializes into human form, making a hard landing without his ghostly powers. He encounters Taj Ze, the massive, sword-wielding guardian of the realm, and Lotus, a beautiful Asian woman who shows him the cave in which Rama Kushna resides. Deadman wins a test of entrance with Taj Ze and enters, to confront his guardian spirit. Rama Kushna, in the cave, hears Deadman's plea and his demand to be allowed to return to the outside world, that he may help redress the imbalance of evil. Rama agrees, and Deadman is allowed to leave and begin his mission anew. At the exit to Nanda Parbat, Deadman is stopped by Lotus, who wishes to leave, but fears that her former nature, which was quite evil, will corrupt her again. She wishes to remain in Deadman's company, for safekeeping. But Deadman refuses, exiting and becoming a ghost again in the outside world. Lotus sobs behind him for a few seconds, until Willie Smith appears, yanks her past the boundary of Nanda Parbat, and watches as an evil smile fills her lovely face.

• "Who Ever Heard of Jay Scott Pike?" – (1-page text article) – Short pieces on artist Jay Scott Pike and the 1968 Academy Con in New York City, and fan questions.

• "I Lost My Past" – (6-page story drawn by Mort Drucker, reprinted from Tales of the Unexpected #3, June-July 1956).

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NOTE: Deadman story concludes in The Brave and the Bold #86 (Nov. 1969).

NOTE: Secret message panel by Neal Adams on page 13 as a tribute to artist Jim Steranko.

SOURCES: DC Database (dc.wikia.com), Grand Comic Database (comics.org), The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (46th edition, July 2016)