559 – Bat-Recidivism, Part Two-Face

Only one month after Catwoman went back to being a criminal, Two-Face is also re-scarred in a freak accident when Harvey Dent tried to stop some safe-crackers in Batman #81 (December 1953). Unlike Catwoman, who only kept her paws clean for a couple years, Harvey Dent has been a reformed man for ten years. Yes, […]

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558 – Amnesiac Clark… again

Well it’s been a couple years since we’ve had a prominent Superman-gets-amnesia story, so it’s time for World’s Finest #68 (Nov 1953) and “The Menace from the Stars!”. In this story, Superman saves the planet from an asteroid by smashing it and forcing it into a steady orbit around the Earth. Unfortunately, a spectroscope reveals […]

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557 – Bat-Recidivism

Despite three years of good behavior and reform, Selina Kyle gets upset when a newspaper runs a story about Catwoman being defeated by Batman in Detective Comics #203 (Nov 1953). This triggers her to put back on the costume and guess what… she’s a criminal again! I guess maybe DC realized that reforming some of […]

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556 – Super-Radioactivity

In “The Spectral Superman!”, a story in Action Comics #188 (November 1953), Superman heroically stops a nuclear reactor from exploding in Metropolis. As a result, he finds out his entire body is radioactive… maybe permanently! Despite the super-melancholia that descends on Superman, he still manages to foil some criminals, even though his radioactivity continues to […]

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555 – Jimmy Olsen Returns

While he was a regular from the Adventures of Superman hit Radio and TV shows, Jimmy Olsen finally makes his first appearance as a regular supporting cast member in Superman #86 (November 1953). We haven’t really seen him for the last nine years in the comic books though. In this story, he gets made editor-for-a-day […]

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554 – Robotman Retires

In “The Human War Machine!”, a story in Detective Comics #202 (Oct 1953), the Golden Age Robotman (Robert Crane) makes his final appearance. In it, he shows off some of his powers one last time. Including being bullet-proof: As well as having stretchable arms? DC will later revive the name and the concept with the […]

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553 – More Super Apes

Speaking of monkeys, Captain Comet has his second encounter with a “super-ape” in Strange Adventures #39 (October 1953). This super-ape has advanced intelligence and telepathy and is Captain Comet’s first re-occurring villain in his roster. Origin-wise, this seems to be almost identical to the Silver Age Flash’s villain Grodd and the race of super apes […]

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552 – Eh!

If Crazy was a footnote on history’s page about Mad Magazine, Eh! must be a footnote of a footnote. Charlton Comics came out with Eh #1 (October 1953) which was basically another copy of EC’s Mad. Satire-based stories that included fake ads – a staple that became so important with Mad Magazine.

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551 – The Monkey

Another tale about drug use from EC’s Shock SuspenStories #12 (September 1953): The Monkey. This one is a pretty brutal take on a young man who goes from marijuana user to heroin addict within a year. He ends up stealing from his parents who discover his habit. He storms out after hitting his father with […]

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550 – Crazy Mad Crazy

Atlas (Marvel) comics “flatters” EC’s Mad comic book by introducing their own satire comedy comic, Crazy #1 (September 1953). Most of the same shtick that’s in Mad is here: crazy antics and pop culture references (Dragnet-inspired narration of Frankenstein). The Crazy comic didn’t last long, it was later revived as a magazine, once again copying […]

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