292 – Crazy Super Feat

In Superman #36 (June 1945), we see the first truly ridiculous “super-feat” that Superman performs. Criminals surprise Clark Kent and “kill” him by gassing him and dumping him in a river. When he finishes playing dead, Clark is surprised to find an imposter has taken his place and then proceeds to foil the criminals plans […]

Read More »

291 – Green Lantern Moons

Green Lantern joins Wonder Woman (who went to Mars and Venus) in the ranks of DC’s space-traveling superheroes in Green Lantern #16 (June 1945). Superheroes traveling to other planets became a common trope in the 1950s, but this is the first time we see Green Lantern leaving the Earth’s atmosphere and taking a quick trip […]

Read More »

290 – Will Scarlet Speedster

The Flash experiments a little more with time travel in Comic Cavalcade #11 (May 1945). This time, seeking a vacation, he travels back to the time of Robin Hood and accidentally becomes the Will Scarlet character of those stories. I’m taking a couple days off for Christmas – be back Thursday!

Read More »

289 – Superboy Taking Cover

The fledgling character Superboy makes his first appearance on the cover of More Fun Comics #104 (May 1945). In promoting him to the front cover, DC must have realized he was going to be a hit character, but he is little more than a bland 10-year old version of Superman with no supporting cast at […]

Read More »

287 – Fran Hopper

Fran Hopper takes over drawing the salacious “Mysta of the Moon” in her second story in Fiction House’s Planet Comics #37 (April 1945). I don’t know whose arm is holding that gun!

Read More »

286 – Thinking Cap

In Flash Comics #65 (April 1945), scientist Hartford Jackson creates a Thinking Cap – basically a colander with wires – which can unlock the unused potential in a human brain to perform acts of telekenesis and more. Of course, Tricky O’Rickey, some gangster criminal type, gets ahold of it and plagues the Golden Age Flash […]

Read More »

285 – Namor the Brutal

Timely Comics continues its trend into gruesome territory. In Marvel Mystery Comics #64 (March 1945), Namor shows his savage side by murdering a random henchman by tossing him into an iron maiden.

Read More »

284 – Lois Knows

Throughout the eighty-plus years that Superman has been around, Lois Lane has discovered Clark’s secret identity probably dozens of times. But in Superman #34 (March 1945), Lois discovers his secret for the very first time. In what can maybe be considered the first “imaginary” story, Clark sees his future in a crystal ball and learns […]

Read More »

283 – Tomorrow, the World

In February 1945, Comic Cavalcade #10 reprinted “Tomorrow, the World”, a 17-page story based on the 1944 movie of the same name, which, in turn, was based on the 1943 Broadway play of the same name. It’s a pretty powerful story of a Nazi-influenced Germany boy coming to live in America with his uncle and […]

Read More »