in April 1947, the short-lived “Marvel Magazine” cover blurbs have been removed from all of Timely (Marvel) comic books, though it appears that Stan Lee is still in charge as editor. In Marvel Mystery Comics #82 (April 1947), the character of Namora is introduced – a female version of Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Throughout the 1940s, […]
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Speaking of changing head shapes, I’ve mentioned Namor the Sub-Mariner’s outrageous head shape before, but I feel like Sub-Mariner #21 (September 1946) is peak Namor head dysmorphia. I mean it’s just outrageous and alien: What’s even more interesting is that “Sub-Mariner vs. Green-Out”, the third Sub-Mariner story in the same issue just pages away is […]
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Maybe the reason that Batman had sloppy writing is that Bill Finger was moonlighting for Timely (Marvel) Comics in 1946? Timely introduces their first real superhero team, the All-Winners Squad, in All-Winners Comics #19 (July 1946). The team includes Captain America, Bucky, Miss America, Human Torch, Toro, Namor, and The Whizzer. It’s an interesting mix […]
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By May 1945, Germany had surrendered to the Allies – yet the comic books that came out in July 1945, like Sub-Mariner Comics #17, had been written before that. In this one, Namor takes on the Order of the Blue Flower, a fascist group that looks and talks a lot like the Ku Klux Klan. […]
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Timely Comics continues its trend into gruesome territory. In Marvel Mystery Comics #64 (March 1945), Namor shows his savage side by murdering a random henchman by tossing him into an iron maiden.
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By 1944, the shape of Namor’s head has evolved in an increasingly bizarre triangle-shape direction, as seen by the panel above from Sub-Mariner #13 (April 1944). His body has also gotten considerably more muscular, but his head really makes it hard to take him seriously. Two-and-a-half years is a short time for the look to […]
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The second major hero to be introduce in More Fun Comics #73 (September 1941) was Aquaman, created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris. This first story featured a different origin than in later years, in which Aquaman’s father was a scientist who discovered the underwater ruins of Atlantis, then helped his son learn to live […]
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In Marvel Mystery Comics 317 (January 1941), the Human Torch and Namor appear together again, but this time as allies fighting the Nazis. The two still spar a bit with each other before they learn to cooperate. I had no idea this hallmark of Marvel Comics existed from the Golden Age!
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Is that an anti-aircraft gun or are you just happy to see me? The Sub-Mariner gets suggestive on the cover of Marvel Mystery Comics #14 (October 1940)! By this point in American comics, I’m definitely noticing a trend of showing superheroes battling Nazis or thinly-veiled Nazi-like forces. Superman, Sub-Mariner and Captain Marvel / Shazam all […]
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Timely Comics (aka Marvel) continues its experiment of having its two most popular characters, the Human Torch and Namor, the Sub-Mariner, battle each other in a whopping 22+ page, action-packed story in Marvel Mystery Comics #9 (May 1940). The characters reach a stalemate, resulting in another cliffhanger by the end of the issue.
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