Continuing my streak of hard-hitting investigative comic book journalism, is the elevator boy in Action Comics #38 (May 1941) the first true appearance of Jimmy Olsen? We have red hair, bowtie and green coat! At this point in history, Jimmy Olsen existed as a character in the Superman radio show for about a year and […]
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In Superman #11 (May 1941), it seems that Superman finally has the ability to defy gravity and truly fly. Brian Cronin debunks the myth that the Fleischer Superman cartoons were the first place Superman deliberately flew and he believes that Superman actually first flew in the comics in Superman #10 (March 1941). However, while inspecting […]
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In Batman #5 (April 1941), Batman and Robin drive a suped-up vehicle adorned with bat wing fins and a cowl, the official first version of the Batmobile!
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Although Batman #5 (April 1941), features another tale of Bat-silliness with dragons, giants and flying carpets, it also features a separate story in which Batman finds the near-lifeless body of Robin, beaten up by criminals. He experiences terrible feelings of rage and vengeance; a dramatic departure from his silent, mysterious, and almost dispassionate first year […]
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In Superman #10 (March 1941), Luthor appears bald for the first time in a comic book, joining a whole host of other evil bald geniuses who stalk comic book universes: Ultra-Humanite, Hugo Strange, Doctor Sivana. I talked about the history of Luthor’s baldness here.
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In All-Star Comics #4 (February 1941), the Justice Society of America goes to war against subversives and fifth-columnists… basically Nazis. This was the first adventure the team fought together (even though each character had his own mission that took up the bulk of the story).
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Joe Simon and Jack Kirby have their first hit with Captain America #1 (December 1940). Captain America is the first character to star in his own comic book, not as a try-out feature in another book, and comes complete with a fully-fleshed out (and interesting) origin, a sidekick and an iconic villain (the Red Skull) […]
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By Detective Comics #48 (December 1940), Bob Kane and Bill Finger are starting to develop the Batman back-story a bit, giving the dynamic duo a secret tunnel leading to a seemingly abandoned barn with their “supercharged” car, called for the first time: the Bat-Mobile!
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The Justice Society of America debuts in All-Star Comics #3 (November 1940). In its first incarnation it consists of a whopping nine characters across Detective Comics Inc and All-American Comics (still separate companies at this point): The Flash, the Atom, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Spectre, Doctor Fate, Sandman and Hourman, with Johnny Thunder thrown in […]
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Lois Lane catches Superman changing into Clark Kent for the first time in Action Comics #32 (November 1940). Fortunately for Superman, Lois is under the influence of a fluid that makes her forget everything. Clark learns she will spend her days in a sanitarium so he tries super-hypnotism for the first time, which of course […]
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