Golden Age Showcase: The Destroyer

November 15, 2018 ~ mblair112

On November 12th, 2018 we lost the Walt Disney of comic books, a master of movie cameos, and one of the few comic book creators that almost every person in the world can name whether they’re a fan of comic books or not: Stan Lee.

Image result for stan lee

There is no denying that the man’s legacy is immense and the impact he had on comic books as a medium and as a pop culture force was almost immeasurable.

Some cliff notes on his early life. He was born in 1922 to a Jewish family in New York under the name Stanley Lieber. “Stan Lee” was originally a pen name that he used when writing comics because he was saving his actual name for when he would start writing novels.

Image result for stan lee young

Stan was around for the very beginning of the comic book industry that we know and love when he first started working for Timely Comics in 1939 after graduating high school. While his initial duties were small time stuff like filling inkwells. His first bit of writing work was creating filler text for a Captain America story named “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge”,

Image result for captain america foils the traitor's revenge

Fun fact: this is the first story where Captain America throws his shield.

From there, Stan wrote a back up feature called “Headline Hunter”,

Image result for headline hunter foreign correspondent

and in 1942 Timely Comics launched the first superhero co created by their new upcoming writer and the hero we’re going to talk about today: The Destroyer.

Image result for timely comics the destroyer

Ladies and gentlemen, here is the first superhero that Stan Lee ever created.

Origin and Career

Full disclosure, I’ve done a bit of research for this article, and I can’t find a whole lot of images of the Destroyer due to copyright, so there’s going to be a lot of text and not a whole lot of pictures.

The Destroyer made his first appearance in Mystic Comics #6 in August of 1942.

Image result for mystic comics 6

He was co created by Stan Lee and artist Jack Binder,

Image result for jack binder comic artist

Jack Binder was the older brother of Otto Binder, the man who would develop a healthy portion of the Superman mythos.

The Destroyer’s civilian identity is Kevin Marlow, an investigative journalist who was sent behind enemy lines to record and document Nazi atrocities.

He got a view that was a probably a bit too personal when he was captured, tried as a spy, and sent to a location known as Strohm Prison. While he was there he was tortured met a Jewish scientist who was forced to work for the Nazis known as Eric Schmitt.

Schmitt had been forced to develop a super soldier serum for the Nazis (yes, it turns out he was a colleague of the scientist who gave Captain America his powers) and was beaten to near death. Schmitt would wind up giving his heavily guarded sample of the super soldier serum to Marlow, who became incredibly strong and fast and used his abilities to break out of prison.

Image result for mystic comics the destroyer

Marlow vowed to fight Nazism on his own an donned his black, grey, and red costume to strike fear to the Nazis behind enemy lines.

Of course, his actions did not go entirely unnoticed and the Destroyer’s one man war drew the ire of the Gestapo under the command of Captain Fredrick von Banger.

Naturally, the confrontation didn’t go very well for the Nazis and while The Destroyer was able to overpower the captain, von Banger managed to escape by cheating.

That was The Destroyer’s first appearance and it turned out he was actually pretty popular during the wartime years. Perhaps the one thing that separated The Destroyer from his other super powered colleagues was his willingness to accept help from other Germans and to accept the idea that the Nazis were more tyrannical despots rather than an entire nation of people. Case in point, one of his earliest enemies was a psychotic scientist named Herr Scar,

Scar (Earth-616)

who was tasked by the Nazi government to quell German dissenters. Naturally, with a face and name like that Herr Scar was an evil man who died very quickly.

The Destroyer would continue to experience a fair amount of success during the war. He made cover appearances in the last four issues of Mystic Comics and would go on to become one of Timely’s most published characters, just behind the heavyweights of Captain America, the Human Torch, and Namor the Submariner.

So what happened?

Kevin Marlow disappeared in the late 1940’s when comic book superheroes were on the decline and comic books were facing a significant backlash and public hatred.

Image result for comic book burnings

Timely Comics changed its name to Atlas Comics, and Stan Lee managed to keep going by writing other stories.

Image result for stan lee atlas comics

What happened next is mostly hearsay and conjecture, but the story goes that Lee was just about to quit comic books forever until his wife Joan told him to write one last story that he wanted to write. The result was the creation of a new group of superheroes: The Fantastic Four.

Image result for the fantastic four first comic

They’re pretty obscure, you’ve probably never heard of them.

The book was a hit. Coupled with the rebirth and revitalization of the superhero genre in the 1960’s, comic books became cool again and Atlas changed its name again to Marvel Comics.

The Destroyer continued to exist, although it was no longer a heavy hitter in the Marvel lineup. However, in the 1970’s, then Marvel editor in chief Roy Thomas and artist Frank Robbins rebooted the story and made the new Destroyer a British agent named Brian Falsworth, and through a long and convoluted path of events (it’s comics, this happens) Falsworth became the British hero Union Jack.

Image result for marvel comics union jack

All previous continuity was retconned and the previous identity for the Destroyer known as Kevin Marlow was revealed to be a mistake by the FBI. It was also revealed that Brian Falsworth died in a car crash in 1953.

The Destroyer name would eventually be adopted by Brian’s close friend Roger Aubrey in a 2009 miniseries written by Ed Brubaker.

Image result for ed brubaker destroyer

A final version of the Destroyer would make an appearance in Marvel’s MAX imprint, which was the place where Marvel created its explicit and mature stories.

Image result for marvel destroyer max

This series was written by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and featured an elderly Kevin Marlow in modern times.

Kevin Marlow (Earth-616) from Destroyer Vol 3 4 0001

This version of the Destroyer still had the strength and endurance of the super soldier serum, but unlike Cap he aged.

The story itself followed the Destroyer as he set off to kill his remaining rogues gallery and ensure the safety of his loved ones, by any means necessary.

Image result for marvel destroyer max

So that’s a brief rundown of the Destoryer. If I had to describe him in one word it would be…standard. During the 1940’s he was a product of his times. People wanted bright and colorful heroes to fight their battles for them, and the destroyer delivered. And while he would go on to become a part of the Marvel Universe and was well remembered by people working in comics, he would never see mainstream success.

Image result for timely comics the destroyer

As for Stan Lee? Well, he went on to help create some of the greatest and most popular heroes of all time,

Image result for marvel superheroes

become the public face of American comic books, and be well known and loved by millions of fans.

All in all, a pretty good life and a pretty good legacy.

Image result for stan lee artist tribute

Thanks for everything Stan, you will be missed.

Comic book showcase: Steve Ditko’s career and contribution to comics

July 9, 2018 ~ mblair112

So we lost one of the greats this week, legendary comic book writer and artist Steve Ditko.

Ditko was an interesting character in his own right. In an industry that thrives on creators being in direct contact with their fans through things like letter pages,

and comic conventions,

Ditko was a recluse who rarely made appearances and almost never gave interviews.

So how did Steve Ditko become such an icon in the comic book community, despite choosing to adopt a public persona that many would have considered career suicide? Well, let’s take a brief look at his career and some of his more famous creations.

Ditko was part of the great revitalization of comic books in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This time period was known as the Silver Age of Comics and was known for its focus on science fiction aesthetic and themes,

and for a little known writer named Stan Lee and a cigar chomping artist known as Jack Kirby creating the juggernaut known as Marvel Comics.

This was also a time when many of the heroes that we know and love today were either created, such as Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four,

or received a make over that would define them for the next fifty years such as Carmine Infantino’s re interpretation of The Flash.

So where was Ditko in all of this?

Well, he got his start drawing for a small company called Charleton Comics after serving in the Army after World War 2, but moved to Atlas Comics in the mid 1950’s after recovering from a bout of tuberculosis.

Ditko would frequently collaborate with Stan Lee in creating short stories for Atlas publications such as Strange Tales,

These stories were a huge success, and in 1962 Lee was given permission to create a story about a teenage superhero with spider themed powers. Lee’s first choice for an artist on the project was…Jack Kirby.

Kirby was an industry veteran and a very good artist, but in interviews Lee recalled that he didn’t like the way Kirby drew Spider Man. It was good but it was just too heroic.

So Lee turned to Ditko and together they would go on to create one of the most iconic and popular superheroes ever: Spider Man.

The hero would debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 on August 10th, 1962. While the interior artwork was done by Ditko, the cover was drawn by Kirby.

Lee and Ditko’s creation was a massive hit and helped usher in a new era of superheroes who weren’t gods or paragons of virtue, they were creatures with fantastic powers and very human emotions and problems. Spider Man may have had amazing powers, but he always suffered because of it. Everything from the death of his Uncle Ben,

to the death of Gwen Stacy,

was his fault.

But if you ask me, one of the most iconic moments in the early Spider Man comics was a scene where he’s trapped under rubble, buried alive by the Green Goblin and he has to get himself out.

Ditko helped make superheroes vulnerable, twisting Spider Man’s body into brutal and uncomfortable poses that made the reader feel the effort and pain he was going through. It’s fantastic stuff.

A few years later Lee and Ditko would go on to create Dr. Strange, who debuted in Strange Tales #110 in July of 1963.

Strange allowed Ditko to unleash some of the most surreal and fantastic artwork ever seen as the human Dr. Strange battled creatures of the mind who wielded black magic.

It’s worth remembering this was the 1960’s, a time when counter culture and New Age religions were starting to make their way into pop culture. It’s also worth remembering that Dr. Strange became really popular with college kids at the time.

Unfortunately, Steve’s relationship with Marvel and Stan Lee wouldn’t last. See, Marvel Comics in the 1960’s pioneered a style of comic creation known as “The Marvel Method”. Long story short, what would happen is that the writer would send an artist a rough idea of a story, the artist would draw the story as they interpreted it, and then the writer would write out the dialogue afterwards.

It was a great way for a writer like Lee to produce a metric crap ton of work while maintaining his public image, but it wasn’t without problems. Sadly, there is a lot of debate to this day over who created what at Marvel and whether or not Stan Lee deserves the level of credit and respect he is enjoying in popular culture while artists like Kirby and Ditko were relatively sidelined in the public eye.

But that’s a debate for another day. What we do know is that Ditko was frustrated with Marvel and Lee enough to leave them and go work for his old collaborator Charlton Comics.

While Charlton didn’t pay as much as Marvel, they did allow their creators more freedom in their work. Ditko thrived at Charlton, helping to create some of their most iconic heroes such as Captain Atom,

and The Question.

The Question was probably Ditko’s most personal work. He was a big fan of Ayn Rand and objectivism, the idea that morality must be realized through individuals seeking to act in their own self interest. The Question was Ditko’s way to express his personal philosophy to the world, something that hadn’t really been done in a medium that was originally more concerned with simple stories for children.

The Question was uncharacteristically brutal for the time period. There was a scene where he let a pair of criminals get swept away in a sewer than save them.

Ditko also did some work for DC in the 1970’s creating heroes like Hawk and Dove and Shade the Changing Man along with a whole host of others.

During the 1980’s and 90’s Ditko would become even more reclusive, working for small presses and often taking bigger work simply for the paycheck. He would eventually retire from mainstream comics in 1998, although he did work with former Charlton editor Robin Snyder in publishing bits of solo work.

While Steve Ditko became more and more of a recluse, his work and characters continued to have a lasting effect on comics and popular culture. While Spiderman is his most famous work,

and Doctor Strange is currently enjoying higher status thanks to the Marvel movies,

I think a lot of his work at Charlton and DC comics deserves special mention.

In 1983, most of the Charlton characters were bought by DC comics when Charlton was suffering financially. They were approached by Alan Moore, who wanted to write a 12 issue series that was a dark and gritty deconstruction of the superhero genre called Watchmen and he wanted to use Charlton characters to do it. Two of them were Ditko creations, The Question and Captain Atom. When DC said no, Moore used the idea of The Question to create his own character: Rorschach.

and the idea of Captain Atom to create Dr. Manhattan.

Most of the Charlton characters would go on to have successful careers in the DC universe on their own accords. I can specifically remember the Justice League cartoon making fantastic use of The Question in its later seasons.

So, how do we process the legacy of Steve Ditko? He helped elevate the medium of comic books by introducing deeper and more meaningful themes and ideas into his work, he stood by his beliefs and preferred to let his work speak for him, and he helped to create two of the most iconic superheroes in modern history.

All in all, as far as legacies go, his position as one of the greatest comic book creators of all time is well deserved.

Thank you Mr. Ditko, you will be missed.

Diamond Comic Distributors: a brief history.

June 25, 2018 ~ mblair112

I was going to write an article about an obscure superhero this week, but then I heard the news that DC is teaming up with Walmart to start selling comic books.

Image result for walmart

For anyone who doesn’t know, Walmart is going to start selling 100 page anthology titles for $5 starring Batman, Superman, the Justice League, and the Teen Titans in July.

Image result for dc walmart anthology

Personally I find this pretty exciting, partially because I’m a fan of anything that gets comic books into the hands of more people and expands the public profile of the medium that I love. While some people may question my enthusiasm for supporting a mega corporation that engages in some of the shadiest business practices ever, I can assure you that Walmart is a step up from the current state of affairs.

For those of you who know what I’m talking about, yes it’s going to be one of those articles that confirms what you probably already know and yes, there will be much anger and rage. For those of you who don’t, let’s delve into the history and reputation of the biggest distributor of comic books: Diamond Comic Distributors.

Image result for diamond distributors

A very brief history of comic book distribution.

In the early days of the comic book industry, comic books were distributed like newspapers to newsstands and drug stores.

Image result for comic books on newsstands 1940's

It was a good place for comics at the beginning, but the system had three big problems. For starters, comics suffered from the reputation of being cheap and disposable entertainment that wasn’t worth a whole lot of attention, so books tended to be shipped and sold in very poor condition by people who had no idea what they were talking about.

Image result for comic books in poor condition

Second, if a book didn’t sell well, the seller could rip the cover off of the book and return it to the publisher for credit towards the next order, which was very bad news for a publishing industry that survived off of very small profit margins and was perpetually going out of business. And finally, the stranglehold that newspaper distributors held on getting a comic book out to the people allowed for censoring bodies like the Comics Code Authority to step in and impose their will on content.

Image result for comics code

If comics didn’t have this sticker on them, then distributors wouldn’t move the comic, ensuring that the comic would make nothing.

All of this started to change in the 1960’s with the rise of the underground comix scene.

Image result for comix

The comix scene was a network of alternative, underground, and controversial creators and artists who disliked the rules imposed on the comic book medium and protested by creating some of the raunchiest and explicit material I’ve ever seen.

No, I’m not showing this to you, go find out yourself if you want to learn more.

Naturally, no big newspaper distributor would sell this kind of stuff, so the creators created their own small time distribution models in places like San Francisco, where their comics were sold out of head shops and weed dispensaries.

Things would come to a head in 1972 when comic book dealer, convention organizer, and fan Phil Seuling,

Image result for phil seuling

approached publishers with an idea. He would create a new distribution model where purchases were no longer returnable and where shops and retailers could order the specific number of books that they wanted, something that was unheard of at the time. This idea, coupled with the fact that Seuling could offer retailers a discount if they bought a certain number of books, would lead to the decline of the newsstand model and the rise of the specialist comic book store.

Image result for comic book store

For a while this new system was a success. Now, comics could be bought and sold faster, cheaper, and by people who knew what they were talking about and what they were doing.

And it only took two decades for all of it to go wrong.

The rise of Diamond

In 1982 a Baltimore comic book store owner by the name of Steve Geppi,

Image result for steve geppi comics

took over the sales accounts and warehouses of defunct comics distributor New Media and another distributor named Irjax. He named this new company Diamond, after an imprint that Marvel had created for non refundable comics.

Mr. Geppi’s new venture quickly became one of the largest comic distributors in the United States, mostly because they actually knew what they were doing and were one of the most efficient operations in an industry. Most of their rivals either went bankrupt due to poor business management, or were bought out by Diamond in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

By the mid 1990’s the comic book distribution business was dominated by three players: Diamond,

Image result for diamond distributors

Capital City,

Image result for capital city comics distribution logo

and Hero’s World.

Image result for heroes world comic distribution

In 1996 Marvel Comics, who was enjoying its position as the largest comic book publisher in the world and riding high off of a massive sales boom in the late 80’s and early 90’s, decided to buy Hero’s World and make them the sole distributor of all of Marvel’s titles.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty clear that Marvel was being a jerk during this whole ordeal so I’m not passing too much judgement on Diamond for what happened next. Long story short, Diamond managed to outbid Capital City and become the exclusive distributor for DC Comics,

and Dark Horse Comics,

which made the largest comic distributor in the United States even bigger.

The Marvel/Hero’s World deal failed miserably. Hero’s World didn’t have the infrastructure and ability to handle nationwide distribution for the world’s largest comic book publisher and folded after less than a year of business. Out of options, Marvel went to Diamond cap in hand,

Image result for the godfather

and Diamond became the sole distributor of the entire American comic book industry.

If all of this sounds sketchy as hell, you’re right. In 1997 the Department of Justice launched an anti trust investigation looking into Diamond.

However, in 2000 the DOJ ceased their investigation, believing that further investigation was unwarranted since Diamond only controlled the distribution of comic books but not the distribution of all books.

Which doesn’t seem very fair at all.

The current state of affairs, or why Diamond is bad for business

Despite the fact that the Feds didn’t find anything wrong with Diamond’s business practices, it’s pretty clear that Diamond is a monopoly and certainly acts like it.

Image result for business monopoly

That’s what Diamond is now.

Since there is no competition to keep Diamond honest and promote fair business practices everyone has suffered and everyone has a reason to dislike Diamond.

Retailers dislike Diamond for their poor customer service, late shipping of orders, and sloppy business practices.

You can read a store owner’s own troubles here.

Seriously, I have a friend who owns a comic book store (who shall remain anonymous) who has told me that several colleagues still have to mail checks to Diamond every month in order to pay for orders.

Mailing checks…in an age where everything is paid for online.

But retailers aren’t the only ones who suffer, publishers and creators suffer as well.

If you’re a small time comic book creator and you want to get your book out to stores and in front of prospective buyers than you better get really good at cold calling, because Diamond won’t even consider selling your book unless you can do at least $2,500 worth of business.

Sure, this is great news for bigger publishers who don’t have to worry about too much competition and can sell their books at a lower price point by offering bulk discounts, but even Marvel and DC have problems.

There was an infamous incident in 1986 where a comic book called Miracleman showed a graphic scene of a mother giving birth.

Image result for diamond distributors miracle man 9

There was some negative backlash against the scene, and Diamond responded by encouraging retailers to drop the title all together.

If this sounds like the echos of the Comics Code Authority, you’re absolutely right.

Quite a few creators have taken notice and aren’t very happy with the current state of affairs. Don’t believe me? Here’s a page from a Spongebob comic book that was given out during Free Comic Book Day.

mdabavd

So, that’s the way things are now. Will this deal between Walmart and DC change things for the better, or is it simply an interesting footnote in comic book history? Will this usher in a new era of comic book popularity, or are we simply trading one monstrous corporation for another?

Only time will tell, but I for one am going to be watching the future of comic books very closely.

Golden Age Showcase: Waku Prince of the Bantu

February 20, 2018 ~ mblair112

Did I go and see the Black Panther movie this weekend? Of course I went to go see the Black Panther movie this weekend!

Image result for black panther movie poster

It’s a great movie, if you haven’t seen it yet than you need to stop what you’re doing and go watch this movie right now, you can read this article while you’re watching the dozens of previews attached to the movie.

But I’m not here to talk about how this movie is important, other people are doing a better job of that than I can. While he was the first black character in mainstream comics, he wasn’t the first black character to star in his own series.

That was Waku, Prince of the Bantu.

Image result for waku prince of the bantu

Origin and Career

Waku made his first appearance in Atlas Comics’ Jungle Tales #1 in September of 1954.

Image result for atlas comics jungle comics #1

Yes, the title says “Jungle Action” we’ll get to that.

The character was created by artist Ogden Whitney,

Ogden Whitney Self Portrait.jpg

who worked as a fairly successful artist for several comic book companies and is most famous for co creating a hero named Herbie Popnecker.

It’s pretty clear that the comic is following in the footsteps of the old Tarzan stories, which makes sense because this book came out during a time when comics were moving away from super heroes and into alternate genres such as romance and westerns.

Image result for 1950's romance comics

Image result for 1950's western comics

It was also released at a time when race relations in America weren’t at their best.

Image result for 1950s america racial segregation

What’s interesting about comics is that black people have actually been part of the comic book landscape since the beginning. It’s just that the way they’ve been portrayed hasn’t always been…

Image result for ebony white golden age of comics

well let’s be polite and say “sensitive”.

Waku was the first black character to star in a series of stories as the main lead. Not only that, but the stories featured a predominately black cast.

Image result for waku prince of the bantu

Certainly sounds familiar.

The character was the head of a tribe living in the depths of South Africa, and it is worth mentioning that there is some respect paid to actual history here. The Bantu Migration was an actual historical event and is widely considered to have played an important role in developing African politics and identity.

Image result for the bantu migration

You can read more about it here.

The character’s first adventure has him inheriting the leadership of the tribe from his dying father, who tells him to forswear violence and govern with kindness and wisdom. This proves problematic when he refuses to participate in ritual combat in order to take his place as king and loses his throne to a greedy and ambitious rival, who tries to sell his people’s services to “white hunters” at great personal profit. Waku winds up killing this usurper and is about to kill himself in penance for what he’s done when his father appears as an apparition and frees him from his vow.

Image result for waku prince of the bantu

The character would go on to appear in seven more issues and in each issue he would fight off some challenger to his throne or threat to his people. This ranged from wrestling lions,

G-840 The Pool Of Doom Page 1

to evil shamans capable of raising armies of the dead.

Image result for waku prince of the bantu

In all of his appearanc

So what happened?

Jungle Tales lasted seven issues and was later changed to Jan of the Jungle.

Image result for jann of the jungle

I guess it’s true what they say, sex sells.

Normally changing a title like that hints at some serious problems for the publisher but this time it wasn’t the case. Atlas Comics re branded in the 60’s as the more familiar Marvel Comics.

Related image

I’m sure they need no introduction.

Marvel rode the coattails of a little known writer who had been working for them since the 30’s and an artist with an incredible work ethic and a penchant for smoking cigars: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Image result for stan lee and jack kirby

For the handful of people that don’t know their names, these two men basically invented the entire Marvel Universe that we know and love today.

Image result for marvel comics characters

And in 1966 they introduced the Black Panther in Fantastic Four #52.

Image result for fantastic four 52

After a couple of guest spots with the Fantastic Four and Captain America, Black Panther was given his own solo series. The title of the book? Jungle Action.

Now, I’m not saying that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby used Waku as a direct inspiration for Black Panther, there isn’t any evidence of that and any allegations made would be unfounded and unprofessional. But it’s worth considering that both characters were kings of African nations and tribes, both of them were capable warriors, and both Lee and Kirby were working for Atlas at the time Waku was being published.

I’d say that is one hell of a coincidence.

Is Waku a better character than Black Panther? Not really. Should Waku have been the face of black characters in comics? No. But Waku was the first black character who was the star of his own stories and he was treated with respect and dignity.

Image result for waku prince of the bantu

He was a good man, a capable ruler, and a good starting point for Marvel’s long and storied collection of black comic book characters.

Golden Age Showcase: The Hand

February 5, 2018 ~ mblair112

This one is going to be a short one, but boy is it a weird one.

We’re all familiar with the idea of a giant hand that is used as a metaphor for controlling things. The hit video game Super Smash Bros. has the “Master Hand” as a final boss,

Image result for super smash bros master hand

Marvel Comics has the super secret group of ninja demons known as “The Hand”,

and many real life people love to claim that our lives and fortunes are at the whim of the “invisible hand of the market”.

Image result for invisible hand of the market

Yes, the hand is always there. It’s big, it’s powerful, and it’s completely unknown to we small pathetic creatures.

But did you know that someone tried to take this idea of “The Hand” and turn it into a superhero in the 1940’s?

Image result for speed comics the hand

Told you this was going to be weird.

Origin and Career

The Hand made his first appearance in Speed Comics #12 in 1941.

Image result for speed comics harvey

The comic series was the first comic book title published by Harvey Comics, a relative newcomer to the comic book scene and a company that would become famous for licensed titles such as Caspar the Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich.

Fun fact: Speed Comics had been bought from a struggling publisher called Brookwood Publications and was Harvey’s entry point into comic book publishing. Without this title, Harvey wouldn’t go on to become a major comic book publisher.

The character of The Hand was created by Ben Flinton and Bill O’Connor, two men who would go on to create the Golden Age version of the superhero known as The Atom.

Image result for golden age atom superhero

Unfortunately, both men would wind up joining the armed services in 1942, and while both men survived they did not return to comics after that.

In his first and longest adventure, the Hand doesn’t fight Nazis or stop saboteurs. Instead, he stops a couple of card sharks from ripping off a casino.

He is introduced with no fanfare, no explanation, and no backstory. He just appears and warns two men that they better watch themselves.

Comic Book Cover For Speed Comics #12

The two men ignore the warning and begin to clean out the house. The Hand warns management, who takes it all in remarkable stride and agrees to let the disembodied hand help him.

Comic Book Cover For Speed Comics #12

I like to imagine that the hand belongs to some sort of cosmic being that is actually a child and is trying to act all grown up by helping people.

Why not? It’s more explanation than the comic gives.

The Hand is also a capable fighter…and capable of phasing through walls.

Comic Book Cover For Speed Comics #12

However, when the criminals attempt to stop The Hand by confessing, The Hand realizes that they will not be arrested or charged for their crimes. So he brands them on the forehead so the world will know what they’ve done.

Comic Book Cover For Speed Comics #12

Apparently, The Hand has never heard of hats. Which kind of makes sense.

On a side note: this comic issue deserves special mention for the story that came directly after this one. Since most comics at the time were anthologies publishing short stories of only a couple of pages, we got treated to this one.

Comic Book Cover For Speed Comics #12

A kid taking out a head of state with a rifle and people being okay with it? Boy the times really were different back then.

Anyway, The Hand would have one more story in the following issue of Speed Comics where he played the patriotic game and helped the F.B.I defeat some foreign spies.

Comic Book Cover For Speed Comics #13

It was shorter, but had more action.

So The Hand was an established hero with a gimmick and a creative team behind him…

So what happened?

…and that was it, those were the only two issues that featured The Hand as a superhero.

It’s really not that surprising really. The character was a small backup feature in a series that didn’t last very long and was published by a company that shifted focus away from original characters and into licensed stories.

Image result for harvey comics

Plus, let’s be honest, the two stories that The Hand appeared in weren’t that exciting or good.

The Hand may have been a small time character with boring stories, but that doesn’t mean the concept wasn’t interesting or that he didn’t have any value. Sure, the creature was a hero and had a sense of agency and purpose, but it always had room for normal people to step in and take over when the time was right.

Comic Book Cover For Speed Comics #13

It appeared that The Hand was some sort of benevolent spirit who helped where he could and allowed normal people to do the right thing, and if that isn’t heroic I don’t know what is.

The Hand had potential, it would be a shame to forget that.

Golden Age Showcase: Mister Mind and the Monster Society of Evil

November 20, 2017 ~ mblair112

So the Justice League movie came out this weekend.

Image result for justice league

I haven’t seen it, I probably will despite the negative reviews, and I think I’ll use this opportunity to talk about super hero team ups.

The idea of superheroes teaming up to fight evil together is nothing new in comics. The very first time it happened was in All Star Comics #3 in 1940 when the Justice Society of America was formed.

Image result for all star comics 3

Super hero team ups like this can happen for a couple of reasons. In the case of the JSA above and the original Luke Cage and Iron Fist books,

Image result for iron fist and luke cage

it was a successful attempt at saving the characters from poor sales numbers. In the case of the modern day Avengers,

Image result for the avengers

It was a reward for the fans for watching the movies and making the MCU into the most successful franchise of all time.

But it’s not just superheroes that have been brought together, the bad guys get their team ups too.

While one of the most famous examples has to be DC’s Suicide Squad,

Image result for suicide squad 1987

today I want to talk about the first super villain team up in comic book history: The Monster Society of Evil.

Image result for the monster society of evil

Origin and Career

The Monster Society of Evil was a collection of super villains that were published by Fawcett Comics: the original creators of Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel was an interesting hero, mostly because for a brief period of history he was actually more popular than Superman.

Image result for captain marvel vs superman

But we’re not here to talk about Captain Marvel, we’re here to talk about the bad guys and the devious mastermind that brought them together.

The Monster Society of Evil made its first appearance in Captain Marvel Adventures #22 in March of 1943.

Image result for captain marvel adventures 22

The story was drawn by the original Captain Marvel artist C.C Beck,

and written by one of the most prolific Captain Marvel and Superman writers of all time: Otto Binder.

Image result for otto binder

The comic starts off with the mysterious and intimidating Mister Mind intercepting a broadcast about an Indian Princess who has a set of jewels that she wishes to donate to the Allied war effort.

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #22

For starters, props to the villain for having a moon base and second, it’s amazing how just on the nose a bad guy named “Captain Nazi” can be.

Why is Mister Mind helping someone like Captain Nazi? Because it’s evil of course!

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #22

It turns out that there’s more to the princess’ jewels than meets the eye, and that Captain Nazi is very good at disguises,

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #22

even if his henchmen are idiots.

Captain Marvel manages to track down Captain Nazi, only to find that it was all a trap set up by Mister Mind.

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #22

While the hero is able to take the villains out one by one, both sides manage to track down a second pearl and the villains make their getaway through the power of teamwork.

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #22

The race to retrieve the pearls would go on for several issues, with Captain Marvel taki. Interestingly, the mastermind behind the whole operation would continue to remain hidden for two more issues until Captain Marvel finally decides to take the fight to Mister Mind’s moon base.

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #26

It’s a pretty awesome story, with Captain Marvel fighting robots,

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #26

and squid men.

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #26

The Captain decides to search as his alter ego, Billy Batson. After brushing off an insignificant little worm he’s confronted by a giant of a man who appears to be the real Mister Mind.

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #26

Our hero manages to defeat the villain with an epic headbutt!

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #26

But it turns out that the giant wasn’t Mister Mind at all!

Not to worry though, they reveal the true identity of Mister Mind in the next issue. You know that worm Batson brushed off of his shoulder? Yep…that’s the criminal mastermind!

Image result for captain marvel mister mind

Oh yes, that’s certainly the face of a criminal mastermind and genius.

Despite his small stature and lack of long range vision, Mister Mind is a capable villain with the ability to hypnotize creatures and humans to do his bidding. So naturally he teams up with Hitler.

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #28

Mister Mind turns out to be a very slippery nemesis for Captain Marvel and the two would continue their game of cat and mouse (worm and human just doesn’t have the same ring to it) for over twenty issues and ended in Captain Marvel Adventures #46 when he’s captured, tried, and executed via electric chair…

Comic Book Cover For Captain Marvel Adventures #46

somehow.

And that was the end of Mister Mind in the Golden Age of Comics, one of the smallest and most devious villains in all of comic books.

So what happened?

Sure the evil worm may have been killed, but we all know that death is but a revolving door in comics so he could have made a comeback.

Unfortunately that wouldn’t happen. Fawcett stopped making comics in 1953 and DC wound up suing Fawcett for copyright infringement in one of the longest court cases in comic book history.

In 1972 DC Comics began publishing their own Captain Marvel stories under the title of SHAZAM! due to Marvel Comics snapping up the copyright to the name.

Cover

Mister Mind would be reborn as a DC super villain in the second issue of the series where it was revealed that he had survived the electrocution and hypnotized a taxidermist into creating a fake corpse.

Image result for mister mind dc comics

The villainous worm would reform the Society of Evil to include some of the most powerful and deadly villains in the Captain Marvel franchise.

Image result for the monster society of evil

This would continue until DC reset its entire universe in 1986 with the Crisis on Infinite Earths event and everything was reset.

Mister Mind would wind up returning to the DC universe in the limited event series The Power of SHAZAM!, only this time he became a tad more…intimidating.

Image result for mister mind dc comics the power of shazam

This version of the villain was a member of a species from Venus and almost destroyed the Earth in a nuclear holocaust.

The worm would continue to be a nemesis of the Captain Marvel series and DC heroes as a whole. His most recent appearance was in the company’s New 52 reboot, although the Society of Evil didn’t make an appearance.

Image result for mister mind dc comics the power of shazam

He has yet to appear in any recent DC comics.

Mister Mind is one of the most interesting comic book villains to ever come out of the Golden Age of Comics. He was smart, capable, and evil to the core but needed to manipulate others to do his dirty work for him. Outside of stalwarts like Lex Luthor and the Joker, Mister Mind has one of the longest and most successful careers of any comic book super villain and I would be very interested in seeing if DC decides to do anything with him in the future.

Image result for mister mind dc comics the power of shazam

Golden Age Showcase: Stuntman

November 13, 2017 ~ mblair112

We all know who Jack Kirby is right?

Image result for jack kirby

Okay, so for anyone who doesn’t know the name all you need to know is that Kirby was the main artist and one of the biggest creative voices behind many of Marvel’s greatest superheroes. The man had one of the most prolific art careers in comic book history (there are stories out there that said he could draw five to six pages a day) but was sadly, and unfairly, overshadowed by his more famous counterpart: Stan Lee.

Image result for jack kirby and stan lee

With such a legendary career you would think that Kirby created nothing but legendary stories. Sadly, that wasn’t the case as evidenced by today’s hero: Stuntman.

Image result for stuntman comic golden age

Origin and Career

Our hero made his first appearance in the self titled Stuntman #1, which was published in April of 1946.

Comic Book Cover For Stuntman #1

A couple of things to note here. First, the cover claims that it’s not a comic book. Instead, it’s a comic novelette which makes me think the comic’s creators were trying to create something a bit classier than the throwaway pulp that made up most of the comic book scene of the 1940’s. Second, you’ll notice that the book was created by Jack Kirby AND Joe Simon, the creator of Captain America.

Image result for joe simon and jack kirby

So we have not one, but two of the greatest comic book creators of all time working on single project. This ought to be good.

The story starts off with a criminal gang trying to shake down a travelling circus, implying that there will be several accidents if management doesn’t pay up.

Comic Book Cover For Stuntman #1

Sadly, the criminals succeed in killing the circus’ greatest act: a group of high flying acrobats known as “The Flying Apollos”

Comic Book Cover For Stuntman #1

The only survivor is their young ward Fred who vows revenge and accidentally runs into a movie star/amateur detective named Don Daring.

Comic Book Cover For Stuntman #1

What? Is the origin of an acrobatic superhero who used to work for a circus before his parents were murdered starting to sound a bit familiar to you? Shut up and focus on the excellent artwork!

Anyway, Fred takes a job as Don’s stuntman in his pictures with the purpose of getting a new job and working with Don in order to solve the case by acting as bait for the killer. Fred is eventually attacked and decides to don a costume to go after the killer

Comic Book Cover For Stuntman #1

Hmmm, could use more black.

Don discovers that it was a circus manager who was behind the crime all along, but before he can carry out his dastardly deed he is ambushed by the Stuntman and the day is saved.

Comic Book Cover For Stuntman #1

The rest of Stuntman’s adventures would have a similar theme to them. Don would do all of the detective work while Fred would swoop in as the Stuntman to do the fighting. The two men were a duo, dynamic even, and their adventures all centered around the entertainment industry and the various people looking to fleece audiences and entertainers alike.

For a Golden Age comic the writing and artwork were fantastic. But then again, that’s what you expect from the minds and talents of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Surely the Stuntman would go on to become one of the greatest superheroes of all time.

So what happened?

The Stuntman Comic only lasted three issues and the character would only make nine appearances for a single year.

Honestly, considering the talent behind the character and quality of the artwork and writing, I’m really surprised it only lasted that long. Maybe it was the post war backlash against superheroes, or maybe it was Harvey Comics’ decision to focus on licensed characters instead of original content.

Image result for harvey comics

but sadly we were deprived of more excellent stories.

However, it’s safe to say that the legacy of the Stuntman superhero lives on in another circus performer who watched his family get murdered before his eyes and eventually wind up fighting crime under the guidance of a rich amateur detective.

Image result for golden age robin

Okay, so maybe Stuntman bears too much of a resemblance to Robin for comfort and maybe if the title had kept going Harvey would have found themselves on the receiving end of a DC lawsuit, but I honestly think that comic book fans and readers missed out on something fantastic with this Golden Age hero created by two of the greatest comic book creators of all time.

Image result for stuntman comic golden age

Golden Age Showcase: Sun Girl

October 9, 2017 ~ mblair112

It’s October folks!

The days are getting shorter, the leaves are changing, and the weather is getting cooler.

Normally, most forms of entertainment start churning out the horror and scary stuff around this time, and in the near future we won’t be so different. However, I thought it might be nice to give the sun one last hurrah and talk about a bright and colorful superhero from days of yore.

She’s also a lady so here’s another chance to showcase a hero that didn’t get a whole lot of attention back then.

This is Sun Girl.

Image result for sun girl timely comics

Origin and Career

Sun Girl made her first appearance in her self titled series Sun Girl #1 in August of 1948.

Image result for sun girl timely comics

While the writer of the comic is uncredited, the art was done by a man named Ken Bald.

Image result for ken bald comics

Ken Bald was actually one of the more prolific and successful artists of the Golden Age and did a lot of work as a staff artist at Timely Comics where he drew many of Timely’s most popular heroes. He is also known for his comic strip work, such as a strip based off of the 1970’s tv show Dark Shadows.

Image result for ken bald dark shadows

A couple things of note. First, hooray we actually managed to tie in some horror into an October post! Second, if the name Dark Shadows isn’t familiar to younger readers all you need to know is that they tried making a modern movie based off it starring Johnny Depp.

Image result for johnny depp dark shadows

It wasn’t well received.

Anyway, in an age where comic book super heroines were surprisingly independent and capable Sun Girl…was not. Her civilian name was Mary Mitchell and she started life as the secretary and love interest of the original Human Torch. When the Human Torch’s original sidekick Toro takes a leave of absence she insisted that she becomes Torch’s sidekick despite having no superpowers. The Torch is not pleased and responds with stereotypical 1940’s male talk.

But…she knows judo so that fixes everything I guess? Also, she had a “sun beam” gun that shot bright flashes of light. Honestly, there were better superheroines out there at this time.

Her lack of powers and crazy weapons didn’t stop her from having something of a career. After her three issue solo series she appeared in the Human Torch series for three issues,

Image result for sun girl and the human torch

and she guest starred in Captain America and Submariner books.

Image result for sun girl captain america

Thankfully, during her short career she wasn’t entirely useless. She would often bring a more human and compassionate side to her superhero work and was able to make an impact on the Human Torch’s career. Perhaps her biggest achievement was helping the Torch prove a wrongfully accused man innocent.

Image result for sun girl timely comics

So what happened?

Toro came back from his leave of absence and Mary went back to being the Human Torch’s secretary. Then the comic book industry went kaput and Timely Comics re branded to eventually become Marvel Comics and the Human Torch became a character who didn’t need a secretary.

Image result for the fantastic four 1960's

However, Sun Girl didn’t just fade away into obscurity and become a tiny little footnote in comic book history. She had enough fans and people who remembered her to bring her into the modern era. The first appearance of the new and improved Sun Girl was in Superior Spider Man Team Up #1 in June of 2013.

Image result for sun girl superior spider man

Right off the bat the new Sun Girl has a more independent and interesting origin. She’s an engineer named Selah Burke who developed a suit that gives her the ability to fly and two light blasting pistols. Also, she’s the daughter of Edward Lanksey, an out of work college professor who became a super villain.

Image result for spiderman light master

Her next appearance would be as part of the Marvel Comics team called the New Warriors in 2014.

Sun Girl is an interesting comic book super heroine, but not for the reasons you might expect. She didn’t have any extraordinary powers, she didn’t have a very long career, and she didn’t have the impact on popular culture that many of her other female colleagues had. With that being said, she was smart, courageous, always willing to do the right thing, and has one of the most comprehensive and fulfilling post Golden Age careers of any female superhero.

Image result for sun girl timely comics

Golden Age Showcase: Atomic Tot

August 14, 2017 ~ mblair112

So I just discovered Rick and Morty last night.

Image result for rick and morty

It’s a good show, a bit dark, bleak, and incredibly pessimistic.

I bring this up because it provides a direct contrast with my love of superheroes.

Image result for superheroes

Yes they’re bright, colorful, and probably have no place in modern society but that’s not the point.

Superheroes are supposed to be titans of morality and/or walking metaphors that can solve all their problems by punching them or blasting them with energy rays. Sure, sometimes they may a bit more complicated and complex, but in the end that’s what they are.

Superheroes did the right thing, ate their vegetables, said their prayers, and told little Timmy that doing the right thing came first, no matter what. They were uncomplicated lessons in morality for kids in an uncertain and dangerous time and that is something that the Golden Age of Comics did better than almost anyone else.

So let’s talk about a superhero named Atomic Tot, who was a superhero that was unquestionably for the kids,

Tom Tot undergoes his amazing transformation. Artist: probably Ernie Hart.

and kind of dropped the ball in that regard.

Origin and Career

Atomic Tot made his first appearance in Quality Comics’ All Humor Comics #1 in September of 1946.

Comic Book Cover For All Humor Comics #1

That joke on the cover of the issue? That’s as good as they would get.

He was created by comic book writer and artist, Ernie Hart. While I can’t find a picture of him, I can tell you that his most famous creation was the famous Super Rabbit for Quality Comics.

Pssh, the idea of talking anthropomorphic animals is so lame. Who could possibly make any money off of that?

Image result for mickey mouse

Anyway, before Atomic Tot got his name he was originally known as “Mitymite”, the weakling son of a poor peasant living in a land being terrorized by an evil giant.

Comic Book Cover For All Humor Comics #1

Yes the captions are in rhyme, to explain why I don’t have time.

Mitymite grows up wishing to meet this princess, but is blocked by the wicked giant. Humiliated, he swears revenge.

Comic Book Cover For All Humor Comics #1

So what does he do? Does he subject himself to strange experiments? Find a magical artifact? Nope! He eats his cereal and works out.

Comic Book Cover For All Humor Comics #1

Wheaties would love this guy.

Naturally he defeats the giant, by tossing him out a window…presumably to his death.

Comic Book Cover For All Humor Comics #1

However, it turns out the princess isn’t all she cracks up to be and Mitymite acts like a total dick and abandons her.

It’s worth mentioning that he looks like he’s only six year old.

Mitymite was given a modern update in the very next issue. His new name was Atomic Tot and he got an alter ego of Tom Tot.

Comic Book Cover For All Humor Comics #2

His second adventure saw him stopping an evil scientist that was kidnapping children and turning them into monkeys. Why? To sell them to the zoo of course.

Comic Book Cover For All Humor Comics #2

How does he do that and wouldn’t it make more sense to sell them to laboratories as test specimens? I don’t know and the comic doesn’t care.

It’s worth mentioning that Atomic Tot could be incredibly cruel to his enemies. He even threatened to turn the scientist into a monkey if he didn’t help return the kids.

Comic Book Cover For All Humor Comics #2

Atomic Tot would go on to have five more stories just like this one. There really isn’t anything else to say.

So what happened?

For some strange reason, Atomic Tot did not survive past the 1940’s.

Why he didn’t last long is a real mystery.

For some bizarre reason, Atomic Tot wasn’t fondly remembered enough to get a reworking in modern comics either, although he did make an appearance in an anthology title called Not Forgotten which was successfully funded through Kickstarter a few months ago.

Image result for not forgotten anthology

The anthology has a website, it’s pretty interesting stuff and worth checking out.

Atomic Tot is a superhero boiled down to its most basic essence. There is no complicated backstory, no surprising plot twist about his parents, not horrifying life event that inspired him to become a superhero. He’s just a kid who has the ability to do great things and decides to use his talents for good.

Image result for Atomictot

Huh, come to think of it…that is pretty boring. Maybe all this straight laced morality isn’t quite for me than.

Image result for rick drinking

Golden Age Showcase: Amazing Man

August 7, 2017 ~ mblair112

Well, last week was fun but I think it’s time for a return to form. Let’s talk about an obscure comic book hero from an obscure comic book publisher who had more of an impact on the world of comics than he had any right to have.

Today we’re talking about the aptly named Amazing Man.

Image result for centaur publications amazing man

Origin and Career

Amazing Man was one of the greatest and most noteworthy heroes to come out of a small publisher called Centaur Publishing, mostly because he was created by comic book super creator Bill Everett.

Image result for bill everett timely comics

Centaur was a spin off company created by two former employees of National Allied Publications, the company that would eventually become DC Comics.

They were actually one of the first comic book publishing companies in American history and in 1939 they debuted Amazing Man in the creatively named Amazing Man Comics #5.