Cover: Mike Sekowsky & Dick Giordano

Showcase #90

May 1970 · DC · 0.15 USD

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About this Issue

Showcase #90 holds a singular place in the final chapter of DC's most storied tryout anthology: it closes out Mike Sekowsky's three-part Jason's Quest serial while simultaneously unveiling, in a short backup story, the earliest glimpse of Manhunter 2070 — a science-fiction bounty hunter who would anchor Showcase's last three issues before the title folded in 1970. The issue is also a rare example of a single creator — Sekowsky — functioning simultaneously as writer, artist, and editor on a mainstream DC title, giving the book a genuinely auteur character unusual for the era. As one of the final issues before the original Showcase series suspended publication with #93, it represents the late-Silver Age twilight of DC's most consequential character-testing vehicle.

In "The Circle of Death," Jason teams up with the enigmatic GG as they evade Tuborg's henchmen and a radical painter named Andy, uncovering fragments of GG's forgotten past along the way. Written and illustrated by Mike Sekowsky, with inks by Frank Giacoia and letters by John Costanza, this 1970 DC tale blends mystery and suspense as the duo’s bond deepens—only for them to be separated, leaving Jason to carry on his search for his sister. The cover, penciled by Sekowsky and inked by Dick Giordano, captures the tension of their perilous journey.

Contains 2 stories

The Circle of Death

23 pp

Jason GrantTuborgGG [Geraldine Collins]Andy (villain, angry painter, introduction)

In "The Circle of Death," Jason and GG team up to outrun Tuborg's thugs and a deranged painter protestor named Andy, their journey uncovering fragments of GG's forgotten past—though their bond is tested when they’re separated, leaving Jason to press on alone in search of his sister.

Incident on Krobar 3

2 pp

Manhunter 2070 (first appearance)

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (Fine) $28

CGC 9.8 · 2 in census $1,813*

CGC 9.6 · 3 in census $598

CGC 9.4 · 5 in census $361*

CGC 9.2 · 2 in census $258*

CGC 9.0 · 3 in census $209*

CGC 8.5 · 1 in census $171*

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CGC 8.0 · 4 in census $84*

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VG $3.95 VG+ $4.2 VG $4.5 VG $5 VERY GOOD $5 VG $5.99 VG $8.49 FN $8.7

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History

By 1969–1970, Mike Sekowsky had been given unusual editorial latitude at DC, where he had already revamped Wonder Woman, Metal Men, and Supergirl; Showcase became his personal laboratory for new concepts. He wrote, penciled, and edited the final stretch of the original series run himself, using it to road-test two original properties: Jason's Quest (a grounded, Easy Rider–inflected motorcycle chase across Europe) and Manhunter 2070 (a space-western bounty-hunter concept). For the Manhunter 2070 backup in #90, Sekowsky was inked by Dick Giordano, who was freelancing for DC following his editorial tenure there. The Comics Journal has described #90 specifically as the issue where Sekowsky packed a teen romance adventure, a space-thriller teaser, and a promotional house ad all into a single Showcase number — making it an uncommonly dense and self-contained creative statement.

Trivia · 8 facts

Cover date: May 1970; on-sale date: March 10, 1970 (DC Comics, Showcase Vol. 1 #90).
Primary story: 'The Circle of Death,' the concluding chapter of Jason's Quest — a three-part serial (Showcase #88–90) featuring a young man on a motorcycle chasing across England and France to find his sister while evading a deadly gang.
Jason's Quest was written, penciled, and edited entirely by Mike Sekowsky, who at the time also held editorial responsibilities over the final issues of the original Showcase run.
Backup feature: A short Manhunter 2070 prequel story, written and penciled by Sekowsky and inked by Dick Giordano, serving as an introduction to the character who would headline Showcase #91–93.
Manhunter 2070 — whose full name was later established as Jon Starker — is a far-future bounty hunter operating in a 21st-century solar system colonized by humanity, accompanied by a robot sidekick named Arky; his full debut run occupied Showcase #91–93, the last three issues before the original series ended.
The issue exemplifies a 'one-artist anthology' structure documented by The Comics Journal: Sekowsky placed two distinct genre features — a contemporary teen-adventure and a science-fiction thriller teaser — alongside a faux house ad for upcoming stories, all within a single issue.
Starker later appeared in a cameo in Showcase #100, and was substantially revisited in Howard Chaykin and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's 1990 miniseries Twilight, which retroactively linked him as the brother of Silver Age character Star Hawkins.
The original Showcase series — DC's premier character tryout vehicle since 1956 and the title that launched the Silver Age Flash, Green Lantern, and the Justice League — ended its initial run just three issues after this one, with #93 in 1970.