In February 1949, Timely (Marvel) debuts Amazing Mysteries comics with issue #32, an odd first issue number. It seems like it picks up numbering from Sub-Mariner, except Sub-Mariner Comics has its final issue (#32) next month. Anyway, in Amazing Mysteries, an anthology of creepy tales, one story features a narrator character named “The Witness” that […]
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In Captain America #71 (December 1948), we see some rare glimpses of Marvel continuity when Bucky Barnes is finally healed up in the hospital after being shot six months prior and returns to active duty. I guess it was too premature to call Timely (Marvel) done with boy sidekicks – Bucky was not written out […]
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Harvey Kurtzman really started to get work in the late 1940s. He had a regular 1-page comic called “Hey Look!” with a distinctive crazy style to it, as evidenced by the above picture from November 1948. I love the stark black backgrounds, they really stand out in the Patsy Walker comic. Harvey would eventually go […]
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As mentioned previously, lots of male superheroes were being given sexy female sidekicks as replacement for their teenage / young boy sidekicks in 1948. Merry, Sylvester Pemberton’s newly adopted sister, becomes Gimmick Girl in Star Spangled Comics #81 (June 1948). On the Timely (Marvel) side, the Human Torch ditches Toro for Sun Girl who even […]
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Timely (Marvel) decided to pay homage to Superman’s tenth anniversary by ripping off one of Supermans’ characters: Mr. Mxyzptlk. Captain America #67 (May 1948) features a short, cartoon-y, imp-ish character named Mr. Zrr from “Dimension Z” who travels through a mirror to Earth and then allows criminals to follow him back and wreak havoc. He […]
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In Captain America #66 (March 1948), Timely Comics, the predecessor to Marvel, creates another seductively-clad female superhero: Golden Girl. Bucky Barnes gets shot, and while he is recovering, Captain America needs a new sidekick! After many years as being a bit-player and minor romantic interest during the war, Betsy Ross is trained by Steve Rogers […]
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The rise of western comics continues, as Timely (Marvel) publishes Wild West #1 in February 1948. It features a Two-Gun Kid story and the debut of two other minor Western characters: Arizona Annie and Tex Taylor.
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The Western comics genre continues to grow in popularity in the late 1940s. Timely (Marvel) Comics debuts the first Two-Gun Kid in Two-Gun Kid #1 (January 1948). Accompanied by his horse Cyclone, Clay Harder roams the wild west, dressed in black and sporting… two guns… And he ain’t afraid of using them neither!
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Batman wasn’t the only superhero to slap his sidekick. In Captain America #65 (October 1947), Steve lashes out at Bucky in order to convince Bucky that their partnership is through. Of course this is just an act on Steve’s part to convince a criminal society, led by a beautiful woman, that Bucky’s life should not […]
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Once again, a Timely (Marvel) superhero comics is completely renamed and has its genre changed: “Sub-Mariner Comics” becomes “Official True Crime Cases” with issue #24 (June 1947). Crime stories, like “teen humor” and “funny animal” comics were increasingly popular in the 1940s. The crime comics genre was started with Lev Gleason’s “Crime Does Not Pay” […]
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