Welcome to our re-read of the first and greatest superhero team in comics ... and quite a bit more!
My plan is to re-read and discuss the Golden Age Justice Society of America, which ran from All-Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940) to All-Star Comics #57 (February-March 1951), and is currently being reprinted in DC's "DC Finest" line.
But, as ever, I am consumed by context. What events brought us to All-Star Comics #3? What characters did editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox have available from which to choose? What else was competing in the superhero space? To achieve that context, I plan to start the discussion at the publisher's beginning, when Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson launched National Allied Publications Inc. in 1935. That was the first step toward the Justice Society — and to DC Comics as we know it today.
So before we even get to the JSA, I'll re-read and open for discussion all the solo stories starring JSA members, mostly from DC's Archives and Famous First Edition series. Which is actually quite a lot! (Although not as much as I'd prefer. I want it ALL!) I'll be writing about non-JSA superheroes created by National, Detective Comics Inc. and All-American Comics Inc. too, like Crimson Avenger and Doctor Occult. I'll also be tipping my hat to some non-powered characters, principally those who managed to appear outside their parent title, like Slam Bradley and Hop Harrigan. That means no re-read for the likes of "Bart Regan, Spy" and "Speed Saunders." Sorry, fellas, but I had to draw the line somewhere — before I found myself doing a deep dive into the history of Ginger Snap.
Speaking of drawing lines, I won't be re-reading Superman and Batman. They are peripheral at best to the Golden Age JSA, and would overwhelm the discussion through sheer volume. The volume issue extends to Wonder Woman as well (Sensation Comics, Wonder Woman, Comic Cavalcade), but she was a major player in the JSA, so I haven't decided yet if I'll include her solo stories. (And I have quite a bit of time to decide, since the bulk of DC"s Golden Age Archives books consist of material published before Sensation Comics #1.) Fortunately, Jeff of Earth-J is already doing a re-read of the Golden Age Superman.
I should note that I'm using cover dates instead of ship dates (not all ship dates are available) and assigning specific months to seasonal cover dates. That is to say, I consider "Spring" to mean March-April-May, "Summer" to mean June-July-August, "Fall" to mean September-October-November and "Winter" to mean December-January-February. I know the books with seasonal dates don't always align with the months I've assigned. But I'm organizing by month, so I have to assign months to seasonal cover dates. The cover date for All-Star Comics #3 was Winter 1940, for example, so I'm going to call it "December." (The actual ship date was Nov. 22, 1940, according to the Grand Comics Database, for whatever that's worth.) It's not necessary for Golden Age books to be in specific order very often, but where they need to be (like Detective Comics #38 and Batman #1), I'll order them properly.
I've tried to be comprehensive, relying on a variety of sources, from online to reprints to "companion" books. A tip of the cowl to some of Luke Blanchard's posts in what amounts to almost an outline for this discussion. But I'm sure I've left out tons, especially reprints that I don't have or can't find, which may be at hand in your collection. I hope folks will do re-reads of reprints I've left out, as well as comment on what I've written. So let's hear what I've missed Legionnaires — and what you think!
Replies
That makes sense.
I am willing to entertian the idea that New Comics is the "first" comic book. It is the right size, the right price (one of your criteria) and it contains mostly new material (both humor and adventure). Plus, after a few title changes, it had longevitity (48 years, as you note). The problem is, like you, I have never seen a copy of it. Was it in color? I don't know. I suspect you'll get to my bonifide realio-trulio "first" comic with your next post.
In an eatrlier post, Cap, you mentioned the "Battle of the Ages" round table discussion from CBG #1608. (I can't find that post now, so it must have been part of the post you editied.) In anticipation of your next ("official") post, I would like to quote something you said in that earlier (2005) discussion.
CAPTAIN COMICS: "I see the whole pre-Superman period as one of experimentation and flux: sorta like the universe in the first picoseconds after the Big Bang. In this swirling miasma of unformed potential, the first 'star' that sticks out for me is Famous Funnies #1 (Jul 34). While it was mostly reprints from newspapers, the series did have some original stuff, which mmeans it was the first comic book to combine the three elements I'm looking for: 1) new material, 2) a format we'd recognize today as a comic book, and 3) a price tag. Most earlier books had one of more 'faults,' of being giveaway premiums of having a peculiar format or being all-reprint -- but Famous Funnies had none of those, so it's the first 'real' comic book to me."
I agree with everything you said here, particularly the part about this period being "one of experimentation and flux." The only thing that keeps me from embracing your conclusion wholeheartedly is that I have never actualy seen a copy (or reasonable facsimile) of Famous Funnies #1.(My opinion of New Fun #1 changed completely after I saw the reprint.)
You probably want a physical copy of Famous Funnies #1, but here it is online if that helps.
Maybe they were "Famous" at the time but the only names that are familiar are Mutt & Jeff and Tailspin Tommy. And I only heard of them, I never read them!
Mutt and Jeff ran until 1983. It was in the Boston Globe for years when I was a kid. I don't recall it being uproariously funny.
IIRC, it wasn't in the New York Daily News where I read most of the strips I know!
You probably want a physical copy of Famous Funnies #1, but here it is online if that helps.
Hmm... not quite there yet (in my humble estimation). It could be the case with Famous Funnies (but more likely New Fun* or New Comics**) that it slowly "evolved" into something "genetically" closer to what we think of today as a "comic book" (like something that is not quite a chicken laying an egg that hatches a chicken).
*(Later More Fun)
**(Later Adventure Comics)
British comics go back further than American comics. Examples include Comic Cuts, Illustrated Chips and Film Fun. So defining what a comic book is by the standards of Golden Age or Silver Age US comics seems to me wrong.
Perhaps this is the ethnocentrist in me talking, but I was given to believe that "comic books" is a uniquely American art form.
According to Harlan Ellison, there are only five:
Would those examples you cite (with which I am wholly unfamiliar) be accepted as "comic books" within the context of this discussion?
*Although I myself question the placement of "banjo" (which had its roots in Africa) on this list.
Also questionable is the idea that "banjo" is an art form, like jazz or musical comedy. It's a tool that can be used in a variety of art forms -- bluegrass and country music, sure, but it can be used for other styles too -- but it certainly isn't an art form itself, the way the other four items are.
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