In EC’s Haunt of Fear #28 (Sept 1954), a story called “The Prude” tells how Mr. Forbisher, a twisted council member with ties to powerful businesses in an 18th century town, tries to establish a law against kissing in public. The council members stand up to him, so he vainly attempts to coerce the press […]
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In World’s Finest Comics #73 (September 1954), Batman and Superman have settled into a nice rhythm of working together. In the course of this adventure, Bruce Wayne mentions to Clark that he had been inspecting the Wayne Steel Foundries when he stumbled onto a crime. Wayne Steel joins the ranks of Wayne Motor Co in […]
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In Adventure Comics #206 (September 1954), DC finally addresses the time continuity problem they have in Superboy, with a panel showing that atomic experiments had just begun when Superman was a boy, meaning all of Superboy’s adventures have taken place in the 1920s / 1930s (despite having more modern cars, robots, etc). I can’t remember […]
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In DC’s Watchmen timeline, superheroes did not have a resurgence in popularity in comic books in the late 1950s. Instead, pirate-themed comic books took over the industry with “Tales of the Black Freighter” being popular. This apparently is based in some reality: EC’s Crypt of Terror #45 (August 1954), includes the above ad where they […]
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In Adventure Comics #205 (August 1954), Aquaman meets a man posing as the god Neptune, complete with a magical trident. The trident turns out to be a scientific invention containing a jet engine, a magnetic mechanism, and deliver an electrical charge.
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The Catwoman continues her renewed crime spree from last year in Detective Comics #211 (July 1954). This time her Kitty Car has morphed into a Cat-Jet, complete with “Claw Retractors” that lets her damage the Bat-jet.
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Another fixture of the Silver Age debuts in July 1954: Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen. This comic book appeared largely due to his popularity in the “Adventures of Superman” television series. It features Jimmy Olsen getting into trouble with lots of appearances of Superman (only two panels of a brown-haired Lois Lane in this first issue […]
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The Space Cabbie first appears in Mystery in Space #21 (June 1954). He operates in the 22nd century, having adventures while whisking people around the solar system. In this first story, he encounters a Martian who has a “photonic mesh suit” that gives him invisibility. The Martian ends up stiffing him for the cab fare, […]
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Psst, Atlas! Your superhero revival attempt seems tinged with DC-envy when you describe Namor as “the original Aquaman”. Yes, Namor was introduced two years before the DC aquatic character. Yes, your anti-hero character is more complex and has a more interesting mythology. Yes, your character actually has a supporting cast. Not only that, your character […]
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In Captain America #78 (May 1954), Atlas (Marvel) continues to try to make their superheroes exciting by adding new super-villains. This time, the Commies create their own version of a “super soldier” to square off against Captain America. Ivan Kronov is given electrical powers and the name Electro. Like electric cars, he has one slight […]
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