February 1940 also brought another major character to the DC Universe with the introduction of Luthor, probably Superman‘s greatest villain. First appearing in Action Comics #23 (February 1940), Luthor was a mad scientist bent on world domination that used hypnotism to keep his lackeys in check. Later on in the month he also appeared in […]
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The more colorful and super-powered Hourman, Rex “Tick-Tock” Tyler, debuted in Adventure Comics #48 (February 1940) alongside the other superhero in that book, The Sandman. He was created by writer Ken Fitch and artist Bernard Baily. Hourman got his powers from taking a bump of Miraclo, a pill that he invented that gave him super […]
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The “gadgeting” of Batman continues in Detective Comics #37 (February 1940) with Bruce adding a night-vision device to let him see in the dark. Note that this is only a couple months after Germans started experimenting with nightvision goggles in World War II!
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The Spectre‘s costume was revealed in-story during More Fun Comics #53 (February 1940). The original setup was that Detective Jim Corrigan is dead, but still walks the earth, and he made the costume in order to fight crime.
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January 1940 also saw the debut of DC’s latest superhero, The Spectre in More Fun Comics #52. The Spectre was created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily. Although the Spectre appears in full “costume” on the cover and on the splash panel, in this first story we don’t get to see him in his green […]
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The Flash gained a new power in Flash Comics #3 (January 1940) by learning how to vibrate rapidly to appear invisible!
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Speaking of bald, evil geniuses with misshapen heads, Batman gets his own version with Hugo Strange in Detective Comics #36, January 1940.
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In December 1939, we finally get a new company, that is not DC, creating a superhero character that has an impact outside of comic books, with the introduction of Captain Marvel in Whiz Comics #1 (actually #2 because of the ash-can edition) by Fawcett Comics. Captain Marvel, sometimes confused with the wizard Shazam, who gave […]
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In Detective Comics #35 (December 1939), Bob Kane decided to show the provocative image of Batman holding a smoking gun in the splash page of the story, even though Batman never uses a gun in the story itself! But more importantly… wtf is going on with Batman’s body below the belt?!? Also, the cover of […]
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Doll Man debuted in November 1939 in Feature Comics #27 (November 1939), published by Quality Comics. Doll Man was created by Will Eisner under the pseudonym “William Erwin Maxwell” and is now owned by DC. Darrel Dane, a scientist, invented a formula to shrink himself to 6 inches tall, giving him super strength. He was […]
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