The last time we saw Luthor, he was trapped on Roxar, a planet ruled by a sentient race of robots called the Automs. In Action Comics #294 (Sep 1962) we catch up with Luthor, who has decided to make himself useful so that he can escape his prison. I appreciate the attempt at continuity here. […]
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Fantastic Four #3 (Dec 1961) comes with some more world-building with Marvel’s new set of super-heroes given some snazzy uniforms (reminiscent of the Challengers of the Unknown), a Fantasticar, and an official headquarters (though the building is not yet named). This issue, the FF are up against “The Miracle Man”, who (spoiler alert) turns out […]
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DC finally bites the bullet and makes a big, story-altering change to Supergirl by having Superman reveal her to the world in Action Comics #285 (Dec 1961). First, she reveals her identity to the Danvers, and then Superman reveals her hero persona to the world using a special television broadcast. She gets a big warm […]
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The Legion of Super-Pets make their official debut in Adventure Comics #293 (Dec 1961). The Legion of Super-Heroes recruit a variety of super-powered pets: Krypto, Streaky, Beppo and Comet the Super-Horse, who makes his “sneak peak” premier here. The pets are called upon to save Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes who are being threatened […]
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In Wonder Woman #128 (Dec 1961), the writers struggle to figure out how to solidify the “Wonder Family” by having Wonder Woman tell the origin story of her invisible robot plane to recordings of herself at younger ages as Wonder Tot and Wonder Girl. As Wonder Woman is about to leave Paradise Islands, she realizes […]
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In Action Comics #284 (Nov 1961), a ghostly hand leaves Clark Kent a message. Using red kryptonite, Superman shrinks himself down to toddler-size for the amusement of the reader. Of course there is a reason he does this, and we just have to be patient and watch random humans refuse to believe the toddler is […]
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Action Comics #284 (November 1961) wraps up the long-running Supergirl serial of stories that began in early 1961 with a carryover of the last three effects of red kryptonite from the previous issue, one of which is to turn her into a mermaid. Jerro takes this opportunity to propose, which leaves Supergirl briefly speechless. The […]
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Detective Comics #298 (October 1961) introduces a Silver Age counterpart to an old Golden Age Batman villain: Clayface. Batman and Robin are attending a charity benefit when suddenly a lumpy man in a trenchcoat appears. If I had a nickel for every time that happened. Suddenly Clayface turns into a giant snake, then an eagle […]
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In Flash #125 (October 1961), Wally West, aka Kid Flash, goes to visit his aunt and ends up spending time with Barry Allen, aka the Flash. We learn that since time travel has become an important part of being a speedster, that Barry has invented a “cosmic treadmill”. Barry explains that the treadmill helps a […]
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In Tales to Astonish #27 (Sept 1961), a one-shot quickie sci-fi / horror tale “The Man in the Ant Hill!” establishes the second major character in the fledgling Marvel universe: Hank Pym! Despite being mocked by the scientific community, Hank develops a serum that can shrink things. Okay. After trying it on a chair, he […]
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