EC tried to put on a brave face and launch comic books in new directions like Piracy, Pschoanalysis. With Impact #1 (January 1955), the emphasis was on surprise or twist endings. In “The Master Race”, Bernard Krigstein gives us the tale of an old man who fled Germany during World War II and lives in […]
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In January 1955 Atlas (Marvel) put out The Black Knight #1 – a new comic book featuring a new character. The Black Knight had the secret identity of the foppish Percy of Scandia in King Arthur’s court, an ally of Merlin’s who battled against barbarians and occasionally King Arthur’s nephew Modred, who was married to […]
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In 1955, all DC and Marvel comics began having the “Approved by the Comics Code Authority” seal displayed prominently on the cover. The CCA was voluntarily put into effect by many players in the comics industry in response to Senate hearings around juvenile delinquency, championed by Dr. Wertham. This spells the end to EC comics, […]
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In Adventure Comics #210 (January 1955), Superboy encounters a dog that has powers matching his own. Finding the rocket where the dog arrived on Earth, Superboy discovers this dog is actually his pet Krypto from when he was a baby on Krypton. Yay for more Krypton coincidences! A colorful scene with Jor-El, Lara, baby Clark […]
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Although it borrows elements from the story of when Roy Harper met Oliver Queen 11 years earlier, the back-story to Speedy is given some retcon attention in the Green Arrow story in Adventure Comics #209 (Dec 1954). The new story is that Roy was orphaned when his scientist father blew up their cabin in the […]
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In Sub-Mariner #38 (Nov 1954), Namor is called into the Emperor’s castle underneath Antarctica. In a quick exposition, we are told that the Sub-Mariner used to have incredible powers: super-strength, flight, invulnerability, but that he has lost them over his extended time interacting with land dwellers: Namor is told that their scientists have discovered how […]
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In World’s Finest #74 (Nov 1954), an alien with the abilities to shape-shift and absorb powers lands on Earth and causes a panic. Batman and Robin corner it and find out that the alien is good-natured and wants to be a hero, so takes Batman’s appearance. This leads to a confrontation with Superman. Which somehow […]
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In Adventure Comics #207 (October 1954), Johnny Quick has his last adventure of the 1950s, making him the last Golden Age superhero DC retires in this tail end of the superhero decline. It’s a forgettable tale (other than force-feeding his sidekick Tubby Watts hamburgers to drown his heartache), but it does mean that DC will […]
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In the Tommy Tomorrow story “The Interplanetary Bank!” from Action Comics #199 (Oct 1954), Tommy needs to solve crimes and so is hired on as a bank employee. On their way to cross the solar system, they dive into a crater on an asteroid and are swallowed by a giant worm, much like the scene […]
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In “The Phantom Superman!” from Action Comics #199 (October 1954), Luthor creates a living duplicate of Superman with a “three-dimensional materializer” and an “atomic transformer”. This duplicate is completely grey, lacking in color, but has all of Superman’s abilities for a few hours until the charge wears out. Luthor then sends the duplicate out into […]
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