The Haunt of Fear #14 (June 1952) continues EC’s march into gruesome territory. The story “Take Your Pick!” features a cold-hearted, penny-pinching husband who refuses compassion at every opportunity. After turning away beggars and destitute friends, sending a dog to sleep outside in the winter, driving on by someone who was hit by a car, […]
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The Phantom Stranger makes his debut in DC’s Phantom Stranger #1 (June 1952) and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. The character is unnamed and not given an origin, simply appearing across 3 different stories of people encountering supernatural events. In each story, he debunks the supernatural aspects as hoaxes and solves the […]
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In June 1952, DC launched “Our Army At War” #1. In it, the tale “Dig Your Foxhole Deep!” written by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Irv Novick features many panels empty of dialog but filled with dread and psychological warfare. Our Army At War also features a letters column, which may be the first DC […]
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In Detective Comics #185 (May 1952), Batman loses his utility belt which contains a pin that, when sprayed with a special chemical, will reveal Batman’s identity. Batman thinks this is a good idea because something might also happen to Robin. Ok, but isn’t it more likely that you’ll die and then reveal your and Robin’s […]
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In “The Man Who Went To Krypton!”, a story from Superman #77 (May 1952) written by Bill Finger, Superman discovers that a human had visited Krypton in the past. Thirty years ago, Professor William Enders intercepted radio signals from Krypton (which must have traveled through a time warp?) and learned how to communicate with Jor-El […]
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In Atlas/Marvel’s Mystic Comics #10 (April 1952), it becomes pretty clear that someone over at Atlas (perhaps a Mr. Stan Lee?) is really jealous of the attention that E.C. Comics is getting. Each story features a little blurb that pays homage to an E.C. comic book: Cryptic Tales, Vault of Evil, Crypt of Shadows… I’m […]
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In Detective Comics #184 (April 1952), a new Batman villain arises: The Firefly! The Firefly is Garfield Lynns, the world’s foremost lighting-effects genius, who is bitter at lack of recognition and becomes a criminal. After being chased by Batman and Robin, he is saved by a firefly distracting the dynamic duo and decides to take […]
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Although it was made pretty clear in continuity that Superman only learns of Krypton in his adult-hood, three years later DC is ret-conning in Superboy #20 (April 1952). In this story, a scientist tries to swindle Smallville residents by having them chat with people from their past. Clark is caught off-guard with a discussion with […]
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Superman may have started using his robots recently, but “Mrs. Superman!”, a cute story in Superman #76, makes the debut of Superman using a robot to specifically trick Lois Lane who has the notion that Clark and Superman are one in the same.
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Although this isn’t the first or even second time that Superman and Batman meet in comics, Superman #76 (March 1952) is the first time the two heroes share an adventure together and learn each other’s secret identities. Written by Edmond Hamilton and drawn by Curt Swan, it’s a pretty cool story and it’s one of […]
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