Action Comics #223 (October 1956), brings us another super-coincidence, as Superman discovers a chunk of Krypton that happens to contain the laboratory of Jor-El, including his journal and films of his exploits. Superman is discovers that before he sent his son to Earth, he had built an “Earth valley” on Krypton to explore how Kryptonians […]
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Jack Kirby continues to lay the groundwork for the Marvel era. In Yellow Claw #3 (October 1956) an alien named UFO from Alpha Centauri is befriended by the Yellow Claw and turned against Americans. He has the ability to manipulate tremendous cosmic energy, which he yields against the Americans until he is shown the error […]
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Though Batman may be insisting on only One Robin for now, Action Comics #222 (Sept 1956) brings us “The Duplicate Superman”. The government sets off a new experimental bomb, the Q-Bomb, and Superman is caught in the blast, resulting in the splitting of Superman into two nearly identical beings. It turns out they are identical […]
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Complete with a cheeky sidelong glance to the reader, Detective Comics #237 (September 1956) seeks to ensure Dick Grayson that there will _NEVER_ be another Robin. “Search for a New Robin” finds Bruce Wayne seeking a new identity as “Barney Warren”. While sinking into his new identity, he encounters a couple of brash youngsters and […]
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In Yellow Claw #2 (Aug 1956), Jack Kirby takes a crack at Marvel’s latest super-villain, the Yellow Claw. More examples of early “Kirby Krackle” as well as wonderfully intricate layouts like the above Inception-like warping of space. In “Concentrate on Chaos”, the Yellow Claw has kidnapped six mutants with powers that can skew people’s perceptions […]
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The early Martian Manhunter stories relied a bit more on J’onn J’onnz interacting with Mars, like earlier in the year when he encountered a Martian criminal on Earth. In Detective Comics #236 (August 1956), he finds a way to contact his parents on Mars through “recent solar explosions… they must have created space energy that […]
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A meteor destroys the Kents home just as they are prepping for a camping trip in Adventure Comics #229 (August 1956). Because there was an eyewitness, the Kents decide to start new identities as the “Kings” in Centerville, with Clark adopting the name Charles King. Typical minor plots like Charles meeting “Millie”, a Lana substitute […]
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In Detective Comics #236 (August 1956), a criminal scientist is released from prison and starts selling defenses against Batman’s gadgetry. As a result, Batman switches up all their tricks, introducing new vehicles like the above “Bat-Track” tank, an aerodyne, and the like. Of course once the scientist is re-captured, it’s back to the same ol’ […]
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In Marvel’s World of Mystery #3 (July 1956), a young boy and his farmer father encounter what appears to be a small space ship and some “bugs” in their barn. The father dismisses it all as “junk” and tosses it away, but the big reveal comes in the last couple panels: The “junk” is really […]
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In Detective Comics #235 (July 1956), Bruce and Dick are cleaning out the attic when they discover an older bat costume and evidence that Bruce’s father, Thomas Wayne, originally wore a bat costume to a masquerade party wherein he foiled a crime by a mob boss, Lew Moxon. It is later revealed that Lew Moxon […]
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