In 1956, National Periodical Publications, a.k.a. DC Comics, acquired the rights to Quality Comics’ Blackhawk. The adventures of the “Magnificent 7” were still popular with the fans, even though more than ten years had passed since their heyday as World War II Nazi-fighters. So, while N.P.P. allowed most of the other Quality titles it had purchased to die quietly, keeping the Blackhawks in the air seemed to be a bankable proposition.



However, almost…

It began in a London air-raid shelter . . . .



“Lord Ha-Ha’s Last Laugh”, from Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos # 4 (Nov., 1963), is best known for being the story in which Howler Junior Juniper was killed in action. The death of a regular featured character stunned the readers and signified a shift in the attitude of the series. Awash in the shock of that development, most fans probably paid little attention to another milestone of that…

Last week, I talked about the introduction of the Black Widow and her recurring rôle as an Iron Man foe in Tales of Suspense. She started out as an exotically beautiful seductress who used her feminine wiles as a spy for the Godless Commies. But after only four appearances in the traditional femme-fatale mould, she was “upgraded” to a costumed villainess. Instead of manipulating behind the scenes, Madame Natasha was in the midst of the action and…

Outside of the old serials from the '40's, I'm not what you'd call a connoisseur of super-hero movies. I've seen a few, mostly under protest, like Superman: the Movie, and, most recently, Iron Man (because, believe it or not, the Good Mrs. Benson wanted to see it). But I've given a pass to nearly all the others. But I don't live on the dark side of the moon, either, so I know that the upcoming sequel Iron Man 2 includes a large…