Welcome back! We’ve been talking about unusual deviations that appeared in Silver-Age comics without an explanation---at least, not from an authoritative source. Last time out, we discussed the curious case of the adult Robin’s first costume, which
Red Ryan, loyal buddy of a million adventures, is dead! Sacrificed for a world that will not long remember him!
Challengers of the Unknown editor Murray Boltinoff and writer Arnold Drake had delivered a stunning blow to their readers. They killed o
Read more…Murray Boltinoff was going to kill off one of the Challengers of the Unknown. And Red Ryan was the Chall who had drawn the short straw.
As Boltinoff would discuss in subsequent letter columns, killing off one of the Challengers had been discussed fo
Read more…It’d only been five months and already it was the ugliest war in history to that point.
Soldiers hunkered down in trenches a football field apart from each other. Between them was open ground where men were chopped to bits by machine guns, repeating
Read more…What’s out there? Places we cannot see! Things we fear to touch! Sounds that do not belong to this world! Riddles of the ages lurking beyond the bridge without a name! Only men living on borrowed time would dare cross that bridge! Here are such
“Why does Hulk’s head hurt when Hulk tries to think?”
“Hulk smash!”
That was the Hulk I encountered every time I looked at an issue of Tales to Astonish in the mid-1960's. Whenever physicist Bruce Banner felt intense stress, he transformed into the
Read more…When it comes to television specials during the traditional holiday season, Thanksgiving gets the short shrift. How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with Boris Karloff’s mellifluous narration; Rankin-Bass’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; and A Charlie
As I mentioned once, a while back, I got into Marvel Comics late in the game. Outside of glancing at an odd issue or two on the coffee table at my barber shop, I didn’t start reading Marvel in earnest until 1965. One of the first things that struck
Sometimes, it’s not so hard to come up with ideas for my column. You guys bring them to me.
Case in point, last’s month’s entry, when Dave Elyea posted:
I’d love to see someone figure out when most of the Superboy stories were set---up until the off
Read more…"At present, we consider Superman to be about 32. Lois Lane and Lana Lang are a year or two younger."
In my last entry, I showed that, during the Silver Age, Superman editor Mort Weisinger established the ages of the Man of Steel and most of his su
Read more…Pencils down!
This is exactly the way I like one of my quizzes to play out. Everyone who took a shot at it did respectably well, either by getting the right answers to most of the list, or by being the first to nail one of the trickier posers. Betw
Read more…It always goes this way. I get an idea for a Silver-Age quiz because a couple of good questions pop into my head.
Now you might be thinking that I like it when that happens because doing a quiz is an easy way to knock out a Deck Log Entry.
Yeah,
Read more…Hey, they can’t all be gems, folks.
In 1938, National Comics (that which would become DC Comics) launched Superman in Action Comics # 1. In a phenomenally short period, he would become an icon of popular culture, not just in America, but around the
Read more…I’m not really an idea man, so when the notion of Lex Luthor taking Superboy to civil court occurred to me, I got excited. While I have my own opinion on it, I tried mightily to be fair in the proceedings. Any comics fan with a law degree, no doubt
“Mr. Aldrich, you may proceed with your closing argument.”
hank you, your honour. Members of the jury, fellow citizens of Smallville, this case isn’t about blame; it’s about responsibility. A police officer takes responsibility for the
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“Mr. Barton, is the defence ready to proceed?”
“We are, your honour.”
“In that case, before we begin, the court wishes to issue a word of warning to the plaintiff. Young Luthor, in my thirty years on the bench, I’ve seen more than my sha
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“Owwwww! Let go of me, you flatfoots! That caped creep is lying through his teeth! What kind of kangaroo court is this?”
“I told you to keep a civil tongue in your head, Luthor, and warned you of what would happen if you didn’t. Bali
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, your honour.”
“Good morning, judge.”
“First, as to the matter of the plaintiff’s pre-trial motion requesting that the defendant disclose his civilian identity and make known to the court his foster-parents
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“Good morning, all. Baliff, are all of the parties present?”
“They are, your honour.”
“Very well. Mr. Aldrich, your client may re-take the stand.”
“Yes, your honour.”
“I remind the witness that he is still under oath. You may begin y
Read more…When you think of Thanksgiving, you think of turkey, of course. And the Macy’s parade. And football. But Thanksgiving is not associated with gift giving. Not usually, anyway. This, however, will be a story of a most remarkable Thanksgiving gift.
