426 – Super Sucking
In Superman #60 (July 1949), the Man of Steel demonstrates, for the first time, his ability to suck all the air out of a room…. literally!
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425 – Captain Marvel is not Billy
From Whiz Comics #112 (June 1949), Fawcett Comics continues to draw a hard line between Billy Batson and Captain Marvel – which are still clearly different people, I was surprised to learn that this did not change until well after Fawcett went under and DC acquired the rights to the character. In fact, it wasn’t […]
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424 – The Supporting Kents
Though the Kents were introduced way back in Superman #1 – in Superboy #3 (May 1949), Ma and Pa Kent finally join the supporting cast of Superboy stories. Up until this point, both Kents have only been seen in 1 or 2 panels in Superboy or Superman flashbacks, but this is the first time they […]
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423 – Justice Society Continues to Mosey
By April 1949, the only DC superheroes left with their own books are the Trinity, but there is one exception: All-Star Comics. Amidst all the superhero comic book cancellations in the late 1940s in both Timely (Marvel) and DC Comics, the Justice Society of America continues to escape replacement by a horror or western comic! […]
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422 – Namor as a Boy
The final issue of Sub-Mariner Comics #23 also came out in March 1949. Like the Human Torch’s last issue, it features an origin story for the Sub-Mariner that goes much deeper into Namor’s birth, early life, than has ever been seen before. I don’t know if this was just a backup story they had lying […]
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421 – Lovely Rita
March 1949 ends another Timely (Marvel) superhero solo book with Captain America #73 (March 1949). With its next issue, it becomes “Captain America’s Weird Tales”, a horror comic, which maybe was fore-shadowed by the truly macabre ads for toys in this issue. Pictured above is Rita, a babygirl doll with long vivacious red hair that […]
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420 – Super Irony
In Adventure Comics #140 (March 1949), Superboy takes a trip to the moon with an absent-minded professor. Mind you, this would have been in the 1920s or 1930s, but by this time DC was kind of ignoring the time difference between Superboy and Superman, basically treating them as individual characters to a degree. Anyway, a […]
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419 – Fortress of Solitude!
Although Superman had built his “sanctuary” back in 1942, it was more or less a one-off story that was never explored. Superman #58 (March 1949) firmly establishes that Superman has a “fortress of solitude” and it is in the “polar wastes”. Interestingly it looks a lot like an artist’s depiction of an older European town. […]
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418 – Superboy Time Travel
Another story from Superboy #2 (March 1949) establishes the first time that Superboy willingly travels through time. After discovering a familiar red cape inside a 150-year drum in a museum, Clark steals it, drags it through a volcano and a vat of acid before declaring it his cape. He then breaks through the time barrier […]
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417 – Smallville!
In Superboy #2 (March 1949), it is finally established, for the first time, that the young Clark Kent lives in a town named Smallville. As recently discussed, amidst many other superhero books getting cancelled and characters disappearing into the Golden Age, Superboy is the only superhero to get his own book. I think this is […]
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