WC: SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #75

It's maybe difficult to believe looking back on events from fifty years on, but the title above was one of the best-selling series of the 1960s. It handily outsold even the most popular Marvel books by far, and left more storied titles such as JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and GREEN LANTERN in the dust. Such … Continue reading WC: SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #75 →

WC: ACTION COMICS #311

There's something extremely comforting about the Superman titles edited by Mort Weisinger at the start of the Silver Age of Comics. They were unfailingly consistent in terms of their execution and in the level at which they placed their stories. While there were occasionally physical challenges to be overcome, these Superman stories weren't about action-oriented … Continue reading WC: ACTION COMICS #311 →

WC: SUPERBOY #119

Like the rest of editor Mort Weisinger's Superman line-up of titles in the 1960s, SUPERBOY was a top seller. Though not appreciated all that much by the fan community of the next two decades due to the fact that Weisinger aimed his material squarely ad a younger audience than most, these books had a range … Continue reading WC: SUPERBOY #119 →

The First Silver Age DC Super Hero

As the 1940s transitioned into the 1950s, the heyday of the typical costumed super hero appeared to be in its twilight. While big marquee characters such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman continued to post sufficient sales to continue in their respective titles, all across the field, other less fortunate crusaders were hanging up their … Continue reading The First Silver Age DC Super Hero →

WC: SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #70

Here's another issue of SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN that I got as part of my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988, where I bought a box of around 150 Silver Age comics from a guy I met at my local Post Office for the measly sum of just $50.00. There were proportionately more Mort Weisinger Superman … Continue reading WC: SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #70 →

Brand Echh: Son of Vulcan #50

As we've spoken about in the past, Charlton Comics never really had a motivated interest in getting into the super hero field. They were quite happy most of the time to produce their line of largely-interchangeable war, romance, mystery, hot rod and western comics. But every once in a while, somebody at the organization would … Continue reading Brand Echh: Son of Vulcan #50 →

WC: ADVENTURE COMICS #304

Now this was a bit of a seminal issue in DC Comics history, though you really couldn't tell so by looking at this cover. But it represents one of the very few times that a super hero legitimately was killed off during the Silver Age of Comics. And even though that character would be revived … Continue reading WC: ADVENTURE COMICS #304 →

WC: ACTION COMICS #305

As more and more of these pieces get written, we begin to get down to those titles that had a number of different issues within that Windfall Comics box that I bought for $50.00 back in 1988. Which is to say, expect to see a preponderance of Mort Weisinger-era Superman titles in the weeks ahead. … Continue reading WC: ACTION COMICS #305 →

WC: WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #160

Editor Mort Weisinger wound up inheriting the oversight on WORLD'S FINEST COMICS in the DC editorial shuffle that passed the flagging Batman titles into the hands of editor Julie Schwartz in the hopes that Julie could reverse their fortunes. One gets the sense that, while he was happy enough to have another series that regularly … Continue reading WC: WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #160 →

WC: SUPERMAN #167

Now, this was a noteworthy issue of SUPERMAN for a number of reasons. In addition to being the first time that the Man of Steel's two most persistent enemies, Lex Luthor and Brainiac, met and teamed up, it also introduced an entirely new backstory for Brainiac--up to this point, he's simply been an alien space … Continue reading WC: SUPERMAN #167 →