In 1944, Max Gaines had sold the rights to the All-American characters (Green Lantern, The Atom, Doctor Mid-Nite) and titles to DC, keeping the rights to “Picture Stories from the Bible”. By June 1946, Gaines had started publishing comics as EC, Educational Comics. Within a year or so, EC would switch to “Entertaining Comics” and […]
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Real Fact Comics #3 (May 1946) includes a letters column. I believe this is the first DC Comic to have a regular feature for letters from readers. Planet Comics (Fiction House) starts this the following month (June 1946).
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Superman #41 (May 1946) features a story in which Superman gets seriously annoyed with Lois Lane. His inner monologue says it all: “Whenever she goes out, I have to rescue her. She’s so used to it, she’s lost all sense of caution. It’s exhausting!” Clark Kent, “Clark Kent’s Bodyguard”, Superman #41, May 1946 But if […]
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In All-Flash #23 (April 1946), we actually get a genuine science fiction story in which the Flash is transported to the Planet Karma, has to time travel into the future of that planet, battle aliens and alien dinosaurs, and correct his own mistakes by doing even more time-traveling. I like how the Flash is still […]
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In Comic Cavalcade #15 (April 1946), DC introduces a new anthology feature called “Just a Story” written by Howard Purcell. This story features a scientist who creates a time machine, then accidentally travels back to France in the 1400s and becomes trapped there, meets and falls in love with Joan of Arc, and then is […]
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In Batman #35 (April 1946), Batman and Robin visit an island filled with animatronic dinosaurs called Dinosaur Island. Kind of a precursor to DC’s actual Dinosaur Island, and it appears this is where Batman and Robin pick up the mechanical T-Rex as a trophy for their Batcave.
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Batman #35 (April 1946) marks only the seventh appearance of Catwoman, but apart from her blonde hair she looks mostly like she would throughout the rest of the Golden Age: Purple mask and matching tight-fitting dress and gloves with a green cape.
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In Real Fact Comics #2 (March 1946), it is mentioned that Harvard University has a “thinking machine”. I imagine this is referring to the Harvard Mark I, which was an early general-purpose electronic computer, though Wikipedia tells me it was not Turing-complete. ENIAC is the more famous “first computer” and was put into service only […]
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The Flash’s comic relief supporting characters (Winky, Blinky and Noddy – cheap knockoffs of the Three Stooges) make their first solo appearance in All-American Comics #73 (March 1946). This is another signal of non-superhero / humor comics becoming more prominent. Phew! only a few more years of this stuff to go through before the Golden […]
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Superman earliest comic book appearances always portrayed him as a dashing, heroic figure. Joe Shuster drew the character as always in command and never surprised. As a result, he eyes were always shadowed or squinting. Did Superman even have white eyeballs? Around the time of Superman #40 (March 1946) I started noticing more illustrations of […]
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