Showcase 1956 #68 - reader copy - $3.00

The Maniaks are "not to be confused with the Beatles, the Monkees, or anyone in his right mind!" Jangle can do sound effects and impressions. Pack Rat is a gadgeteer. Flip is a contortionist. And Silver Shannon is "The Mod Miser", a gold digger. They perform at Palisades Park, mobbed by teenage girls! They run to hide. Meanwhile, "Eggs" Benedict's gang has planned an ambush on the rival gang of "Dutch" Edam at the park. And in stumble the Maniaks, now witnesses. "Rub 'em out!"

A goofy editorial session in the DC conference room yields, "THE MANIAKS..."

Model hint: Use your sister's colorless nail polish to not fog up a jet windshield.

The Flips run from two gangs. Pack Rat cobbles a popgun and fishhooks to make a grapple to snag the cable car. Flip bounces so much gangsters can't nail him. Pack Rat cobbles an electromagnet to catch bullets. But the band is trapped atop a Ferris wheel. Flip leaps into a pool - and is snagged in a net. Money-mad Silver is worried because his insurance isn't paid up!

The Maniaks will be dumped in the ocean. Shannon sings a heartbreaking song, "He's just my Bill, a stupid-looking slob" that reduces the mobsters to tears. "I am even more sorry we have to bump you off!" On the pier, Jangle imitates a police squad. Flip flips them onto crooks' heads. Pack Rat improvises lock picks. Shannon kicks tail with concrete go-go boots. And the cops arrive. Jangle hopes "the comic-reading public is groovy over us and we get our own fab mag!" And Shannon starts counting. "Let's see... One million copies at 12 cents each..."

Brains, Emotions, and Muscles alone don't impress girls - so all three combine into BEM!

First appearance of The Maniaks, a parody of rock bands like The Beatles or The Monkees. On-sale date from ad in Sea Devils #35 and copyright registration.

• - Pencils credit from Nick Caputo; we formerly credited Joe Orlando.
• "A Crooks' Tour of Palisades Amusement Park!" or "How to Cook a Goose!" - Silver sings a parody of the Monkees? "Last Train to Clarksville", "Take the last train to Knoxville - They are cutting off the service..." Palisades Amusement Park ran ads with coupons in DC comics for years, so the story setting might be a thank-you.
• Who Is This Teen-Terror? - House ad for Challengers of the Unknown (DC, 1959 series) #56, where "Tino Mannaray" vows to kill the Challengers in "License to Kill!"
• - hint submitted by Mike Stachurski of Addison, Illinois
• CRUNCH! YIP! BLAM! - House ad for Superboy 138, an 80-Page Giant "Featuring Superboy and Krypto's Most Terrific Battles!"
• For the Most in Laughs - House ad for The Adventures of Bob Hope (DC, 1951 series) #105 and The Adventures of Jerry Lewis (DC, 1957 series) #100.
• Hoo-Boy! He's Getting Hammered by Hafnium!.. - House ad for Metamorpho (DC, 1965 series) #12, "Trap of the Test-Tube Terrors!"
• - "Well, that time is here again when April showers are supposed to bring May flowers - and the newsstands blossom out with a new crop of DC mags!" Go-Go Check blurbs Sea Devils 35, Detective Comics 363, Strange Adventures 200, and more.
• BEM Shows Up! - inside back cover; published in cooperation with the National Social Welfare Assembly
• The Rat Patrol - "A new Aurora hobby kit featuring the men, the jeeps, the tanks, and the excitement of the TV show!" This model was a new experiment for Aurora, with miniature jeeps, soldiers, and sand dunes you could arrange in a diorama however you like.