As we recounted in passing last time, the arrival of creator Joe Simon and Jack Kirby to the Sandman strip that had been running in the back pages of ADVENTURE COMICS swiftly turned it into a popular feature once again. The stories were much improved, with a thematic thread of dreams running through them all, … Continue reading The Last Sandman Story
My grade school friend Donald Sims only had two comic books from Jack Kirby's by-then-gone Fourth World line of titles. This was the other one, MISTER MIRACLE #2. And like FOREVER PEOPLE #1 which I spoke about last time, this comic book seemed strange and alien to my young sensibilities. It was clearly a super … Continue reading BC: MISTER MIRACLE #2
SUPERMAN FAMILY was constantly a solid B-book, which is to say that the material contained therein never rose to the level of being a must-read. But it was a home to several well-crafted stories each issue, none of which was especially challenging. So it was a comfortable reading experience, assuming that you liked the world … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN FAMILY #196
The Sandman was introduced in NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR COMICS #1 and immediately became the featured player in ADVENTURE COMICS staring with #40. He was a character steeped in an old formula and clearly influenced by the radio hero the Green Hornet. Like the Hornet, his main weapon was a gas gun, and he battled … Continue reading The First Sandy Story and the Super-Heroification of the Sandman
This week brought another issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, the third and concluding chapter to the League's body-swapping adventure with the Secret Society of Super-Villains, a group whose short-lived series I was a big fan of. This story was also influential on novelist and future DC writer Brad Meltzer, who made it a key … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #168
I would occasionally venture over to my friend Don Sims' house across town, located several blocks behind my regular 7-11 haunt (which became a communal space for us on Thursdays) down on the access road that paralleled the Long Island Expressway. Don had a nice little collection of comic books, including a bunch that had … Continue reading BC: FOREVER PEOPLE #1
I'm not certain what compelled me to pick up this issue of BATMAN on my weekly trip to my local 7-11 for comics. It could simply have been a function of me having a bit more change to my name than usual and deciding to branch out a bit further. At some point during this … Continue reading BHOC: BATMAN #313
By the time 1946 rolled around, the excitement over costumed super heroes had cooled considerably on the nation's newsstands. With the war over, the active servicemen who needed portable easy-to-read entertainment went back to public life, and sales of super hero titles fell sharply. Other genres, such as teen humor, funny animals, crime, romance and … Continue reading The Last Starman Story
By 1941, ADVENTURE COMICS was lagging a bit behind DC's other anthology titles, in particular ACTION COMICS which held the popular feature Superman and DETECTIVE COMICS with Batman and Robin. ADVENTURE's headliner Hour-Man clearly wasn't getting the job done, nor was the gas-mask-wearing Sandman. Clearly what was needed was a new feature with popular appeal. … Continue reading The Second Starman Story
Like the Green Arrow who we talked about last week, Aquaman was another of three features created to fill the back pages of the ailing MORE FUN COMICS and hopefully reverse its fortunes by creating some additional reader interest. The Sea King was the brainchild of newly-hired editor Mort Weisinger, who collaborated with artist Paul … Continue reading The Second Aquaman Story
The Tom Brevoort Experience 