As DC did before with its teen heroes Superboy and Robin in the 1940s, Marvel attempted to spin the Human Torch out into solo adventures in Strange Tales #101 (July 1962). The story itself is pretty forgettable, but they do establish a few facts: Johnny Storm is still in high school and is (somehow) still […]
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Spider-Man wasn’t the only Marvel hero getting started this month. In fact June 1962 was a big month for Marvel on the newsstand with The Mighty Thor debuting in Journey into Mystery #83. I can’t call this one a great origin story, it’s on the lame side (heh heh). Frail, handicapped Doctor Donald Blake is […]
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The blog post title contains the spoiler, but Ultra-Boy is a pretty well-known character in Legion lore these days that it’s hardly that much of a spoiler. A mysterious super-powered teen shows up in Smallville to uncover Superboy’s secret identity, accompanied by a stern, elderly man dressed in similar clothes. We get some cat-and-mouse where […]
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Speaking of teamups and crossovers, DC decided to feature a crossover event of sorts between the Silver Age Green Lantern and The Flash in Green Lantern #13 (April 1962). Iris West needs to go interview that famous test pilot Hal Jordan on the west coast, so off Barry Allen goes to vacation with her. At […]
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The second outing of Pete Ross happens in “Pete Ross’ Super-Secret!”, a story in Superboy #90 (May 1961). In it, Pete Ross continues to be a stand-up guy against bullies picking on “that drip” Clark Kent and then happens to discover that Clark is actually Superboy. This is a bit of clever planning on the […]
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In Superboy #68 (Nov 1960), “The Boy Who Betrayed Clark Kent!” introduces the character of Pete Ross, expanding Superboy’s supporting cast. Newly moved to Smallville, Pete Ross stands up to bullies for Clark Kent and Clark decides to befriend him, learning that Pete’s hobbies include acting and detective work. Later, Clark becomes suspicious of his […]
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In Superman #142 (Nov 1960), Superman encounters a “flame-dragon from Krypton”. The beast appears and breathes fire at Clark, incinerating his clothes in front of Lois. It’s mostly a cutesy-but-tired-and-unrealistic story about how Superman manages to yet again disprove her “Clark-is-Superman” theory (with the help of Batman and Supergirl this time). Superman wraps up the […]
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The cover of Action Comics #258 (Sept 1959) shows Superman dramatically exiling Supergirl from Earth. Supergirl meets Krypto for the first time, so she harmlessly plays with him – but woops, this is still early in her career when Superman has told her to keep her existence a secret – and that includes Krypto. When […]
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Action Comics #256 (July 1959) sets up Supergirl’s “Lana Lang” with a new character, Dick Wilson. He accidentally snaps a picture of Supergirl flying and starts to suspect fellow orphan Linda Lee is actually Supergirl. Superman bails her out by providing a Supergirl robot that Linda can use in such emergencies.
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Lois Lane’s solo comic is providing many more instances of Superman being petty and using his abilities frivolously. In Lois Lane #8 (Feb 1959), for her birthday – but really just to “teach her a lesson” – Superman decides to give Lois Lane his super-powers. Clark then proceeds to put her into a series of […]
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