Atlas / Marvel Comics introduced a new comic book in March 1961: Amazing Adventures. It’s just another fantasy book, but what’s there are a couple interesting things about this book. First, the creators decided to introduce its first ongoing character since Jimmy Woo and the Yellow Claw: Dr. Droom and this character sticks around in […]
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In Green Lantern #2 (July 1960), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) gets a confidante just like Roy Thomas suggested he should in an Inuit mechanic friend, Thomas Kalmaku aka “Pieface”. I’m pretty sure “Pieface” is referring to the round-ness of the face. Despite that racist nickname, the character is not depicted as a racist caricature, but […]
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Although Atlas/Marvel had largely given up on superheroes by 1956, there was an attempt at a super-villain-like character in The Yellow Claw (June 1956). The Yellow Claw was 150 years old, as well as a genius with supernatural powers allowing him to see into the past and future. He was opposed by Jimmy Woo, an […]
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In EC’s Weird Fantasy #18 (January 1953), the now-infamous story of “Judgment Day!” appears. This tells the story of an astronaut from Earth who lands on a planet populated by sentient robots to see if the planet is ready to enter the great Galactic Republic. After being taken through the orange robot’s society, the astronaut […]
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As with Twilight Zone and Star Trek, the best EC stories had social consciousness as an under-pinning. Shock SuspenStories #5 (July 1952) features just such a tale, titled simply “Hate!”. Written (of course) by William Gaines Jr and Al Feldstein, it features a jew-hating neighborhood in America and focuses on John Smith, the “protagonist”. John […]
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The war was still going strong in January 1945 when “Johnny Everyman” stories began to show up in DC’s World’s Finest Comics. In Worlds’ Finest #17, the installment describes the story of Ralph, an African American soldier and a friend of Johnny Everyman, as he returns to the United States a decorated war hero. Johnny […]
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Detective Comics brought not only lengthier stories, but also stories of a more graphic nature. April 1937 featured the continuation of “The Claws of the Red Dragon” by Tom Hickey. This series followed Bruce Nelson through a “Yellow Peril” story. Like other forms of period racism, reading these stories can make one uncomfortable. We are […]
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