Johnny Quick was one of the perennial second banana super heroes of the Golden Age of Comics. He was created by newly-hired DC editor Mort Weisinger and debuted in the pages of MORE FUN COMICS #71 in 1941. At the time, what we think of today as DC Comics was actually two separate organizations with some owners in common who shared distribution, paper contracts and promotional efforts: National Comics and All-American Comics. One of All-American’s most popular characters was the Flash, and Johnny was created to give national its own version of the same idea.
While he never became quite as popular as the Flash, Johnny Quick had the advantage of location. After becoming a respectable page-filler in MORE FUN COMICS, his strip made the leap to ADVENTURE COMICS when the decision was made to switch MORE FUN to an all-humor format. This transition served him well and kept his adventures in print for several years beyond the point where the Flash had run his last race.
This second Johnny Quick adventure, from MORE FUN COMICS #72, was also written by Mort Weisinger, and illustrated by Ed Moore and Chad Grothkopf. The artwork is a bit stiff and old-fashioned at this point, but within a couple of months, Johnny would become a much better-looking strip once Mort Meskin took over the art chores.
Johnny Quick continued to appear in ADVENTURE COMICS until 1954, when a page count reduction meant that one strip had to be eliminated, and Johnny’s number was up. A couple of his stories were reprinted in the 1960s and 1970s, most often in oversized issues primarily devoted to the revived Flash. And eventually, the character appeared in a new story once again in the 1978 FLASH SPECTACULAR in DC SPECIAL SERIES #11:
The Tom Brevoort Experience 
I know I like Johnny Quick in his All-Star Squadron appearances. His second costume is definitely better than his first. Plus how his power works is very unique( Inspired by SHAZAM but different –mathematical formula discovered in a pharaoh’s tomb — 3X2(9YZ)4A ). Trivia — Marvel has a speedster named John ( Jean-Paul Beaubier/ Northstar ).
LikeLike
3X2(9YZ)4A.
You would think “c” (a constant for the speed of light in a vacuum) would be in this somewhere. You would also think it would be equal to something . . . .
LikeLike
= super-speed!
LikeLike
The way his power works always bothered me, precisely because of the SHAZAM-like aspect. It felt as if he was a magic-based hero saying a magic word, which struck me as wrong for a “science”-type hero. And you get that at the start of the action in every story. I don’t think the Whizzer was going around in every story saying “Due to my mongoose-blood transfusion granted speed powers …”.
LikeLike
Well, if it is an equation what does it equal and what are the constants? It almost seems like a chemical formula, but no chemical symbols are used.
i think Mark Waid explained it as something that let your mind visualize space/time and access the Speed Force and it does reference the x, y and z axises of the Cartesian Coordinate System.
What I guess Weisinger qasr thinking about was E= Mc^2. but his friend Schwartz (who had a Physics Degree from CCNY could tell him he had nothing when he joined All-American in 1944.
LikeLike
My favourite piece of Johnny Quick trivia – in Adventure Comics #134, he travels a hundred years into the future (accidentally, just by running too fast) and finds that his magic formula no longer works – “evidently new time co-ordinates are needed here in 2048!” says a future scientist. Johnny uses a future super-computer to calculate a new formula (it takes several hours to calculate, which Johnny spends capturing criminals on jet-powered rocket skates) and eventually comes up with a new formula that works in the future.
Since we’re now much closer to 2048 than 1948, we all clearly need to stop saying 3X2(9YZ)4A and start using 5X3(99ZY)444AB when we go out and pretend to be Johnny Quick!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Junior Samples’ “BR-549” must be related. Thus spake my head-canon, which is as accurate as the day is long.
LikeLike
I liked Johnny in reprints even before seeing him in current comics. He was more carefree and full of humanity than most of DCs stable of veritable demigods. I loved the always perfect Flash and Superman but the Johnny Quick’s were a great addition to the DCU as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hemeralopia is an actual medical condition…but it doesn’t work that way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Johnny Quick’s adventures really picked up when Mort Meskin took over on art.
LikeLike
What a great artist.
Both Kubert and Ditko spent time working with Meskin (Kubert on The Vigilante and Ditko on CPT 3D at Prize).
LikeLike
That splash panel–Johnny has no head!
LikeLike
Johnny’s superpowers are borrowed from the Flash; the Murder Maestro’s are copying Doctor Mid-Nite. But More Fun at least has something really new and different in the Spectre stories! 😀
LikeLike
Although, arguably not “more fun” for the perps . . . .
LikeLike
You can see why they eventually moved the adventure stories to Adventure and the fun ones to More Fun 🙂
LikeLike
Blind, only by day? Is this really a thing????
LikeLike