78 – The Sub-Mariner!

Marvel Comics #1 (August 1939) also introduced another character that would live beyond the Golden Age of Comics: Namor, the Sub-Mariner created by Bill Everett. Namor debuted a full two years before that other famous aquatic superhero, Aquaman. Like the Human Torch, his origin was pretty unique: Namor is a young prince of the deep […]

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77 – The Human Torch!

August 1939 saw the birth of another comic book company, Timely Comics, the company that would eventually be renamed Marvel Comics many years later. Marvel Comics #1 hit the stands introducing a unique superhero character, The Human Torch, created by Carl Burgos. This version of the Torch was a synthetic human (an android) created by […]

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76 – The Batarang!

The Batman introduced two new gadgets in Detective Comics #31 (August 1939): The Bat-Gyro and the Bat-arang. It is also revealed that Bruce Wayne has a fiance named Julie Madison who is hypnotized by the second villain in Batman’s rogue’s gallery: The Mad Monk. In just five issues, Gardner Fox and Bob Kane have done […]

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75 – The Saturn Manhunter?!?

In Action Comics #16 (August 1939), Zatara ventures into space and lands on the planet Saturn, where he encounters a bald, green-skinned man wearing a cape and a distinctive cross across his chest that very much resembles the Martians of the Martian Manhunter era.

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74 – New Beetle Duds

Mystery Men Comics #2 (July 1939) was the second outing for the Blue Beetle and Dan Garret decides to wear a new costume while crime-fighting, featuring a blue textured tunic printed with a beetle insignia, blue gloves, and… curly-toed leggings? Inexplicably, the costume does not include a mask, though in his next outing a domino […]

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73 – Ol’ Long Ears

By the fourth Batman story in Detective Comics #30 (July 1939), Bob Kane had lengthened the cowl’s ears and straightened them, giving The Batman a more streamlined and deadly appearance, despite the stiff, winged-looking cape. The comics from the 1980s and early 1990s featured a return to the look of this cowl and I loved […]

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72 – The First Iron Man

Quality released Smash Comics #1 in June 1939. It featured a silly series called “Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man”, who is turned from villain to crime-fighting slave and given the humiliating name of “Bozo” in this first story. Of course, Bozo the Iron Man predates Marvel Comics own Iron Man by decades.

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71 – The Blue Beetle?!?

June 1939 saw another important superhero moment in the publishing of Mystery Men Comics #1 (Fox Feature Syndicate) which included the first story of The Blue Beetle. I was first introduced to the spandex-wearing, powerless-but-gadget-loving Ted Kord version of the Blue Beetle in the 1980s after DC decided to fold its Charlton comic characters into […]

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70 – Batman’s Gadgets

In June 1939, Detective Comics #29 is the first story to feature The Batman‘s use of gadgets. This much longer story (10 pages) featured Batman’s first “arch criminal”, Doctor Death and lots of action: Batman swinging around the city on his rope, Batman scaling a building, Batman getting shot, and finally vanquishing his foe. I […]

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69 – The Sandman Creepeth

In June 1939, Adventure Comics #40 published the first Sandman story (after the appearance in New York’s World Fair Comics). What I love about this story is the panels without dialog or captions. It really helps to establish the mood and the characterization of Wesley Dodds.

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