BHOC: WORLD’S FINEST Tempo Paperback

The last of the four Tempo DC paperbacks that I wound up buying was this one dedicated to WORLD'S FINEST and the team-ups between Superman and Batman. Again here, I can't quite explain this purchase apart from it probably being an acquisition of opportunity: some point at which the number of available options was limited … Continue reading BHOC: WORLD’S FINEST Tempo Paperback

BHOC: SUPERBOY & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES Tempo Paperback

The third Tempo paperback that I wound up buying was dedicated to the adventures of Superboy and the futuristic Legion of Super-Heroes. I seem to think that I got this book at a short-lived convenience store that operated in the local supermarket mall for a short time called Shanes. I had never entirely clicked to … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERBOY & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES Tempo Paperback

BC: BATMAN #257

I'm not 100% certain who I borrowed this issue of BATMAN from. it might have been my grade school friend Donald Sims as with most of the books that we've been looking at recently. But I suspect that it was actually my next-door-neighbor Johnny Rantinella. Johnny was a year younger than I was and a … Continue reading BC: BATMAN #257

Perfect Game – SUPERMAN #423

It cannot be overstated just how amazing an impact was made by writer Alan Moore on comic books. He came along at exactly the right time, just as the Direct Sales Market was making it possible to do comic book stories with greater sophistication for a somewhat older audience. It was a rare thing for … Continue reading Perfect Game – SUPERMAN #423

The First Sandy Story and the Super-Heroification of the Sandman

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

The Second Aquaman 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 Second Green Arrow Story

When editor Mort Weisinger was first hired by DC Comics (then Detective Comics Inc) in 1941, one of the first tasks he was given was to improve the fortunes of one of the firm's longest-running titles, MORE FUN COMICS. The popularity of headliner characters Doctor Fate and Jerry Siegel's The Spectre were lagging behind the … Continue reading The Second Green Arrow Story

The Last Johnny Quick Story

We spoke a bit previously about Johnny Quick, DC's alternative super-speedster who occupied the back pages of first MORE FUN COMICS and then ADVENTURE COMICS during the Golden Age of Comics. Johnny was a long-running second banana character whose adventures were typically better-drawn than the company's more mainstay fast hero, the Flash. But also, as … Continue reading The Last Johnny Quick Story

The Second Johnny Quick Story

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 … Continue reading The Second Johnny Quick Story

Brand Echh: The Good Guys #1

Jim Shooter is one of the most undeniably important figures in the history of comics. A child prodigy, he first broke into the business when he was only 13 years old, submitting stories to DC editor Mort Weisinger for the Legion of Super Heroes feature in ADVENTURE COMICS. Not realizing quite how young Shooter was, … Continue reading Brand Echh: The Good Guys #1