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| Issue |
Action
Comics 627 |
| Subtitle |
Rocks
and Hard Places chapter one: Travels; chapter two:
Distractions |
| Date |
November
22, 1988 |
| Writer(s) |
Marv
Wolfman, Cherie Wilkerson |
| Artist(s) |
Tom
Mandrake |
| storyline |
Roy
Harper and Dick Grayson made way for Ireland.
Roy planned on taking a six month retreat to get
his life back in order. When he went below (they
were taking a ferry), Dick spotted a young woman
who was following some men. He investigated. He
saw the men she was following check their cargo,
while the woman unchained a vehicle. She jumped
in and drove the van into the sea. Nightwing jumped
in after them. He saw one of the men was dead,
the other was latched onto a coffin. As Nightwing
tried to also board the coffin, the man punched
him. Speedy and a rescue boat converged on them.
Another boat appeared, and the man with the coffin
appeared to be planting drugs on the dead body
inside.
Speedy
plucked Nightwing out of the frigid waters; the
other boat picked up the man and the coffin. The
woman (who drove the van off the boat) was killed.
Back on board the ferry, Roy told Dick about how
he was fired from the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigations):
he'd linked the organization to drug trafficking
in Ireland. After making land, the three (Roy
was there to find his roots with his daughter)
were spotted. Dick got them into an ally in time
to save them from a car which attempted to run
them down. Nightwing captured one of the men and
began to interrogate him, but he was shot dead
by a helicopter.
Dick headed back to the States to check into the
CBI.
Also contains stories featuring Superman,
Secret Six, Green Lantern, and Black Canary.
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| Issue |
Action
Comics 628 |
| Subtitle |
Rocks
and Hard Places chapter three: Arrival |
| Date |
November
29, 1988 |
| Writer(s) |
Marv
Wolfman, Cherie Wilkerson |
| Artist(s) |
Tom
Mandrake |
| storyline |
Roy
and Lian were taking a train to the town from where
their ancestors came. He spotted a man following
him and was able to wrestle the man's gun away.
The man mentioned the "Friends of the Empire"
knew who Harper was. He then jumped from the train.
As they got off the train, Lian was abducted. Roy
quickly got into costume. He neared Lian, but a
gunman stood in his way. The gunman was struck and
killed by a car. A strange man handed Lian over
to her father saying a woman had left the child
on a bench.
They made it to the house Roy had leased.
Also contains stories featuring Blackhawk, Green
Lantern, Black Canary, Secret Six, and Superman |
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| Issue |
Action
Comics 629 |
| Subtitle |
Rocks
and Hard Places chapter four: New Friends, Old Enemies |
| Date |
December
6, 1988 |
| Writer(s) |
Cherie
Wilkerson |
| Artist(s) |
Tom
Mandrake |
| storyline |
As
Roy and Lian entered their new home, they were attacked
by a kid. It appeared there were two living there
alone. The doorbell rang and the strays scampered
away. A neighbor, Sean McMullen, welcomed Roy to
the neighborhood. After he left, the children told
Roy McMullen had killed their father.
The next night, Roy visited a local pub and asked
about "Sanas," which is what the girls
called McMullen. Several men attacked Roy; Sanas
appeared to be a group at odds with the Friends
of the Empire. The man who'd helped him on the train
("Hunter") helped him again.
Roy went home and got into costume. The kids (Moira
and Button) told Roy about their father, who'd been
beaten and set on fire by the Sanas. They later
found their mother hanged. Roy's house was bombed.
Also contains stories featuring Blackhawk, Secret
Six, Superman, Black Canary, and Green Lantern.
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| Issue |
Action
Comics 630 |
| Subtitle |
Rocks
and Hard Places chapter five: Attacks |
| Date |
December
13, 1988 |
| Writer(s) |
Marv
Wolfman, Cherie Wilkerson |
| Artist(s) |
Tom
Mandrake |
| storyline |
Hunter
went in to help Speedy and the children out of the
burning house; police abducted Buttons (the youngest),
who'd overheard them saying they should have also
bombed Hunter's home.
Hunter insisted that Button was safe with the police,
but Speedy was suspicious of the man. Later, Roy
got a call that the FOE had Button. Speedy followed
the tip and watched the child being loaded onto
a train in the middle of a gun battle. He jumped
atop the moving locomotive.
Also contains stories featuring Superman, Secret
Six, Black Canary, Green Lantern, and Blackhawk. |
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| Issue |
Action
Comics 631 |
| Subtitle |
Rocks
and Hard Places chapter six: Old Friends, New Enemies |
| Date |
December
20, 1988 |
| Writer(s) |
Cherie
Wilkerson |
| Artist(s) |
Vince
Giarrano, Tom Mandrake |
| storyline |
Speedy
was able to save the child from the run-away train.
Hunter, a secret agent, knew police were behind
the bombing and abduction of the child.
Dick returned and joined Roy. On their way home,
Roy noticed a car following them. It opened fire.
Dick grabbed Roy's bow and ran the other car off
the road with an arrow.
The Orange Day Parade took place. Moira was injured
trying to save the group from a bomb; a police patrol
car was attacked by Sanas.
Also contains stories featuring Green Lantern,
Phantom Stranger, Blackhawk, Superman, and Black
Canary |
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| Issue |
Action
Comics 632 |
| Subtitle |
Rocks
and Hard Places chapter seven: A Time of Changes |
| Date |
December
27, 1988 |
| Writer(s) |
Cherie
Wilkerson |
| Artist(s) |
Vince
Giarrano, Tom Mandrake |
| storyline |
A
gun battle broke loose and Dick got into costume.
Not knowing which side they were on, Nightwing and
Speedy tried to stay clear of the battle. They were
saved by Hunter.
Roy left the two orphans with a friend. As he and
Dick left the hospital from their visit with Moira,
a Sanas woman was hit with a grenade.
Also contains stories featuring Black Canary,
Superman, Green Lantern, Blackhawk, and Phantom
Stranger |
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| Issue |
Action
Comics 633 |
| Subtitle |
Rocks
and Hard Places chapter eight: Behind Closed Doors |
| Date |
January
3, 1989 |
| Writer(s) |
Marv
Wolfman, Cherie Wilkerson |
| Artist(s) |
Tom
Mandrake |
| storyline |
Roy
and Dick arrived in Washington, DC, and were approached
by the CBI. Sepulveda, the man who'd fired Harper,
picked them up. Agent Hunter was there and watched
them land. He was surprised to see Lord Danvers
in a taxi. Danvers' men grabbed him.
The CBI car was crashed into, and armed men ordered
everyone out. Nightwing and Speedy took them down
without incident. The gunmen claimed to be Sanas.
Hunter took control of the car and picked up Speedy
and Nightwing.
Sepulveda set up the heroes by planting secure documents
on them.
Also contains stories featuring Blackhawk, Green
Lantern, Superman, Black Canary, and Phantom Stranger |
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| Issue |
Action
Comics 634 |
| Subtitle |
Rocks
and Hard Places chapter nine: The Circle Closes |
| Date |
January
10, 1989 |
| Writer(s) |
Marv
Wolfman, Cherie Wilkerson |
| Artist(s) |
Tom
Mandrake |
| storyline |
After
taking down their would-be captors, Speedy and Nightwing
were approached by a woman who began telling them
of the corruption within the agency. They told her
Danvers was behind Sepulveda. Hunter confirmed it.
The FOE was an Irish terrorist group.
Sepulveda and Danvers were arrested. Sepulveda got
30 years; no evidence was found on Danvers.
Some time later, Roy got a letter from Moira and
Buttons. Hunter wrote a book on the situation, and
Danvers was later caught in a tax evasion / sex
scandal. He hung himself.
Also contains stories featuring Green Lantern,
Phantom Stranger, Black Canary, Superman, and Blackhawk |
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| Notes,
references to time, and chronology: |
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Note:
issue 627 the first two chapters of this nine part serial. |
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"I
know my roots - back for many generations. Circus performers,
acrobats, clowns. The Graysons go all the way back to eighteenth
century England." (Dick, issue 627) |
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