Sargon the Sorceror debuts in All-American Comics #26 (March 1941). Wikipedia describes him as a “second string mystic”, though his turban, ruby and cape make him pretty distinctive. Sargon is really David Sargent, just a regular guy, who learns he has powers to shape reality to his whim through the Ruby of Life – maybe […]
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In Superman #10 (March 1941), Luthor appears bald for the first time in a comic book, joining a whole host of other evil bald geniuses who stalk comic book universes: Ultra-Humanite, Hugo Strange, Doctor Sivana. I talked about the history of Luthor’s baldness here.
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The first Starman, Ted Knight, debuts in Adventure Comics #61 (March 1941). He is an inventor who discovers that “infra rays” from stars can be harnessed in a “magnetic tube” that he calls a “Gravity Rod”. Woof that’s a lot of technobabble for the 1940s! I guess the Gravity Rod lets him defy the laws […]
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The Golden Age Angel meets a new nemesis, a spy dressed in a tight-fitting black cat costume, known as The Cat’s Paw in Marvel Mystery Comics #18 (February 1941). The Cat’s Paw looks almost identical to the modern day Catwoman minus her whip.
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After a year with no background, the mysterious Doctor Fate decides to unmask himself to Inza and his readers, in More Fun Comics #66 (February 1941), in what I can only assume is an attempt by the writers to humanize him and make him more interesting. Though not named in this issue, he is Kent […]
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Doctor Mid-Nite suits up and makes his first appearance in All-American Comics #25 (February 1941), bringing the superhero count up to three in that magazine alongside Green Lantern and the Atom. Doctor Mid-Nite was a real doctor who was injured by gangsters, discovered he could only see in the dark, and decided to tackle those […]
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In All-Star Comics #4 (February 1941), the Justice Society of America goes to war against subversives and fifth-columnists… basically Nazis. This was the first adventure the team fought together (even though each character had his own mission that took up the bulk of the story).
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In Marvel Mystery Comics #17 (January 1941), the Human Torch and Namor appear together again, but this time as allies fighting the Nazis. The two still spar a bit with each other before they learn to cooperate. I had no idea this hallmark of Marvel Comics existed from the Golden Age!
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Sorry Bruce, but you’ve been hanging out with the boy too much and you won’t pick up the phone at night. Julie Madison breaks off the engagement to Bruce Wayne (Batman) in Detective Comics #49 (January 1941). This is the last appearance of Julie Madison in the Golden Age. Presumably she did well with her […]
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Speaking of super patriotic heroes, Action Comics #34 (December 1940) saw Tex Thompson transition into a superhero role by dying his hair black, donning a domino mask and red cape, brandishing a whip, and calling himself Mister America. This is the first time a regular adventure strip morphed into a superhero strip (I don’t really […]
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