The Massive, Extravagant, Over-the-top Golden Age JSA Re-read

[Captain Comics]

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. 

But I will be re-reading reprints, or availing myself of online information where reprints don't exist, of 14 of the 17 Golden Age characters who launched or appeared in All-Star Comics #3-57. Those characters include:

1. The Atom: All-American Comics #19-46, 48-61, 70-72; All-Star Comics #3-26, 28-35, 37-57; Big All-American Comic Book; Flash Comics #80, 82-85, 87 89-95, 97-100, 102-104; Comic Cavalcade #22-23, 28; Sensation Comics #86.
2. Black Canary: All-Star Comics #38-57; Comic Cavalcade #25; Flash Comics #86-88, 90-104.
3. Doctor Fate: All-Star Comics #3-12, 14-21; More Fun Comics #55-98.
4. Doctor Mid-Nite: All-American Comics #25-102; All-Star Comics #6 (text story), 8-57.
5. The Flash: All-Flash #1-32; All-Star Comics #1-7, 10, 24-57; Big All-American Comic Book; Comic Cavalcade #1-29; Flash Comics #1-104, Flash Comics miniature (Wheaties)
6. Green Lantern: All-American Comics #16-102; All-Flash #14; All-Star Comics #2-8, 10, 24-57; Big All-American Comic Book; Comic Cavalcade #1-29; Green Lantern #1-38.
7. Hawkman: All-Star Comics #1-57, Big All-American Comic Book, Flash Comics #1-104, Flash Comics miniature (Wheaties).
8. Hourman: Adventure Comics #48-83, All-Star Comics #1-7, New York World's Fair Comics [#2].
9. Johnny Thunder: All-Star Comics #2-4, 6-35, 37-39; Big All-American Comic Book; Flash Comics #1-91; New York World's Fair Comics [#2]; World's Best Comics #1; World's Fair Comics #2-3; Flash Comics miniature (Wheaties).
10. Mister Terrific: All-Star Comics #24, Big All-American Comic Book, Sensation Comics #1-63.
11. Sandman: Adventure Comics #40-102, All-Star Comics #1-21, Boy Commandos #1, Detective Comics #76, New York World's Fair Comics [#1-2], World's Finest Comics #3-7.
12. The Spectre: All-Star Comics #1-23, More Fun Comics #52-101, a single panel in More Fun Comics #51.
13. Starman: Adventure Comics #61-102, All-Star Comics #8-23.
14. Wildcat: All-Star Comics #24, 27; Big All-American Comic Book; Comic Cavalcade #1-2; Sensation Comics #1-90.

The obvious exceptions here are Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. Superman and Batman, called "honorary members" in the text, appeared twice in All-Star Comics, but I don't plan to re-read all their adventures from 1938 to 1951. They are peripheral at best to the Golden Age JSA, and would overwhelm the discussion through sheer volume. This problem extends to Wonder Woman as well, who appears in four titles in the Golden Age (Sensation Comics, Wonder Woman, Comic Cavalcade, All-Star Comics). I'll re-read and report on her JSA adventures, but like Batman and Superman, I'll just note her solo stories in passing with a summary that I'll grab somewhere online. That will keep the discussion abreast of any major developments, like new supervillains, in Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman stories.

Here are their Golden Age adventures:

• Batman: All-Star Comics # 7 (cameo), 36; Batman #1-63 (February-March 1951); Batman 3-D #1; Detective Comics #1-169 (March 1951); New York World’s Fair Comics [#2]; World’s Best Comics #1, World’s Fair Comics #2-50 (February-March 1951). 
• Superman: Action Comics #1-154 (March 1951); All-Star Comics #7 (cameo), 36; New York World’s Fair [#1-2]; Superman #1-69 (March-April 1951); Superman 3-D #1; Superman at the Gilbert Hall of Science; Superman Miniature; World’s Best Comics #1; World’s Fair Comics #2-50 (February-March 1951).
• Wonder Woman: All-Star Comics #8, 11-22, 24-57; Big All-American Comic Book; Comic Cavalcade #1-29; Sensation Comics #1-102; Wonder Woman #1-46 (March-April 1951).

Fortunately, Jeff of Earth-J is already doing a re-read of the Golden Age Superman. Jeff isn't doing a re-read of all Batman books, but he is compiling "The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told," by which he means "all of them." Recently he's begun re-reading other major Bat-villains, which he discusses in Riddler - Prinze of Puzzles, The Crimes of Two-Face and Catwoman: Nine Lives of a Feline Fatale.

I should note that my methodology changed over time, as realities required. For instance, I initially lumped books together by cover date, but complications ensued for books without them, like quarterlies and specials. As the number of quarterlies and their importance increased, I ended up going by on-sale dates as the primary organizational tool. (Which aren't available for all books, but that's a lesser devil than chronologically misplacing Batman or All-Star Comics). Initially I only included mention of others strips in anthology books if they were of some importance, like Slam Bradley, but eventually I started including all of them. Here and there I would try to improve the format. And so forth. In some imaginary "someday" I'll go back through and make them all consistent.

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 a Luke Blanchard post in what amounts to an outline for this discussion. But I'm sure I've left out tons, especially stories I don't have or can't find, which may be at hand in your collection. I hope folks will do re-reads of stories 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!

[Philip Portelli]

That was how they explained the "Earth-One" Wildcat since he read about Green Lantern in a comic book, thus it was the Earth-Two Wildcat who shouldn't exist!

[Luis Olavo de Moura Dantas]

Odd. I was once told (in an Youtube video from a comics channel) that the Earth-One Ted Grant met Batman but never became Wildcat.

A quick search reveals otherwise, although there are only a half dozen appearances of E1 Wildcat (five issues of the ever so continuity-flexible "The Brave and the Bold" and one issue of Super Team Family).

[Captain Comics]

All those Brave and Bolds took place on Earth-Haney, a strange world where the laws of physics were mere suggestions, strange doppelgangers of familiar characters lived, teenagers spoke an incomprehensible patois, the word "Yes" was replaced with "Check!" and "Blue Blazes" was a common expression.

[Philip Portelli]

I've always called Haney's Batman his "Protean Hero". He fills any role that his story needs to be told: scoffs the supernatural one issue then contacts Deadman the next, that sort of thing.

It's even odder for his Ted (Wildcat) Grant, though still the heavyweight boxing champion who retired undefeated, had his situation very different in each of his five B&B appearances, from struggling to wealthy, hired by whatever company makes the plot go smoother and either guilty about killing someone in the ring or feeling his age!

[Captain Comics]

There was one B&B where Batman found Wonder Woman's invisible jet because, while he couldn't see the jet, he could see the fuel. Which wasn't possible in any of the hundreds of other Wonder Woman stories in existence. 

Yes, Earth-Haney was a strange place.

But the Wildcat thing became moot after Crisis. Now, supposedly, all those Wildcats -- happy and sad, rich and poor, spry and old -- are the same guy.

Blue Blazes!

[Philip Portelli]

Also, that B&B with Wonder Woman had Catwoman kill someone! Which was a big no-no in the Bat-books!

[Captain Comics]

I hate Haney's whiny Plastic Man! 

[Philip Portelli]

I give my personal theory on Plastic Man and Blackhawk as well HERE!

[Captain Comics]

 'MORE FUN COMICS' #61
Cover date: November 1940
On-sale date: Sept. 27, 1940
Cover: Doctor Fate gets his second cover, but his strip is still just six pages long. Art by Howard Sherman.

The Spectre
Untitled by Siegel and Baily (10 pages)
Where I read it: Golden Age Spectre Archives Vol. 1

This is not a very good story. It's basically a sequence of weird events that aren't explained, with ham-handed writer intrusions to delay The Spectre's inevitable victory. To wit:

• The police chief insists Corrigan arrest The Spectre, something that is unlikely, and where incarceration is impossible. It isn't characterization, as the chief isn't even given a name. It's just a trope, like George Taylor putting Clark Kent on the Superman beat (also written by Siegel).
• Someone pretends to be The Spectre (for no apparent reason) and threatens people with "The Golden Curse" by mail. This doesn't make a lot of sense, since ghosts don't generally rely on the U.S. Postal Service.
• A wealthy man who has been threatened turns to gold. It is explained at the end why this guy was targeted, but the mechanism remains unclear.
• Then a man comes in the police station with information, but immediately turns to gold. The explanation offered at the end doesn't explain this or how the bad guy knew about him.
• Jim Corrigan is offered free samples of chewing gum outside the police station, which he suspects is how the curse is being spread (despite his two eyewitness examples of that not being the case). If this really is the mechanism for turning people to gold, there's no reason the bad guys would offer Corrigan the gum, as they mention "the list," which wouldn't include a random police detective.
• Spectre tries to follow a conversation through the phone lines (again), and the guy on the other end hangs up too soon (again). This is just a delaying tactic by the writer to eat up a few panels. It doesn't make The Spectre look very good either, as his mighty powers are stymied once again by the simple expedient of a man hanging up a phone.
• Two more men turn to gold without explanation. They are not chewing gum at the time.
• Jim goes to pick up Clarice, despite story after story of Jim insisting they can't date because he's dead. But the plot requires Jim to go to Clarice's so he can meet Gustaf Gilroy, a friend of Clarice's father, who says he knows a scientist who might be responsible for The Golden Curse. 
• While at Clarice's the chief calls and tellls Corrigan to stop having fun and go get The Spectre. One wonders how the chief knew where Corrigan was, and how he can tell his subordinate what to do on his own time.
• Gilroy gives Corrigan an address for the scientist, but it turns out to be a trap. So the eventual reveal of Gilroy as the man behind The Golden Curse is no surprise, as he's tipped his hand to anyone with basic reading comprehension. Also, he's the only surviving person who's been given a name, which, in a Golden Age story, means he's the secret bad guy.
• The fake Spectre tells Clarice she must meet him at the docks or he will kill her father. There are a lot of ways Gilroy could kidnap Clarice, but this one gives Spectre a way to find him, by following Clarice.
• When Spectre confronts Gilroy, the Ghostly Guardian "vanishes in a burst of energy" with no explanation. "I've been flung into space by an occult occurrence," he says. Again, writer's fiat to eat up a few panels, since we're never told what this occult occurrence was, or why it would affect The Spectre. And it's the third time Siegel has relied on this lame trick.
• When Spectre returns as Corrigan, he bumps into Wayne, which is handy, since the chief told Wayne that if Corrigan didn't bring The Spectre in within an hour, he's fired. It's a ridiculous ultimatum, made more ridiculous by the fact the chief told Wayne and not Corrigan. It's writer's fiat that Corrigan found out about this at all.
• Despite the fact that Clarice is in danger, Corrigan takes time to prank his boss, by creating a fake Spectre to "arrest." The chief plans to take credit for the arrest, but Corrigan makes the fake Spectre vanish. Ha ha! Now the chief looks bad.
• Spectre then races to the docks where Clarice has been struggling with Gilroy (anonymous in a green robe and hood) for a couple of pages now. He is revealed as the bad guy, to the surprise of only the people in the story, and arrested. Gilroy says he turns people into gold "merely by rearranging the atomic structure of my victims! You see, I had discovered the Midas touch! I can change anything I want into gold! The reason I turned those men to gold — even tho' I possessed such wealth — was for revenge! Those men cheated me out of profits of early discoveries!"
• This explains precisely nothing. For example, how exactly did he rearrange atomic structures at a distance? What did the gum have to do with it? Why did he pretend to be Spectre? How did he turn the informer into gold, and how did he know about him? Why did his gang target Corrigan? Why did he target Corrigan, revealing his own involvement? Why did he kidnap Clarice?
• Then Gilroy commits suicide by swallowing something that turns him into gold. Maybe it's fake gum, because it sure isn't a Midas touch. 
• Even though the frame job on The Spectre has been exposed, the chief stills wants Corrigan to arrest the Ghostly Guardian. It doesn't make sense, which is why I call it a trope.

Sorry for the rant. I was annoyed at how bad this was, just as I was enjoying Siegel's sense of play! Some new Spectre tricks in this story:

• Spectre turns a stick of fake gum into a worm to prevent someone from chewing it.
• Corrigan turns two-dimensional to get out of a noose.
• At one point Jim thinks, "Something terrible is going to occur! My occult senses detect the gathering of sinister elements forecasting Impending doom!" I'm not sure that counts as a super-power. It might just be depression.

Fun facts:

• Spectre's town is identified as "Center City," when previously, and in future stories, it is Cliffland.
• The last panel instructs the reader to go to the inside front cover for instructions on how to get a "Superman Krypto-Raygun."

Doctor Fate
Untitled by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman (6 pages)
Where I read it: Golden Age Doctor Fate Archives Vol. 1 (2007)

 Doctor Fate investigates a strange "nebula" that comes between the Earth and the Sun. Inside he finds a ball of pure energy, which he determines is alive. And it's interfering with Earth's gravitic connection to the Sun. Fate blasts it with his internal power, called "elemental force" here and is depicted by lightning bolts. He is thrown back, and races to Earth to tell Inza to warn Earth's leaders and scientists. 

Fate races back to his Tower and gets ... a gun. OK, it's an "atom-shatterer" from "distant Uranus," but still, not very imaginative. Fate uses the gun to blow up the globe. He returns to Earth, where Inza says a bunch of scientists are waiting to see him. (Evidently Fate is well known.) They say a lot more of the globes are coming. Fate races into space and blows them all up with his Uranian gun. He traces them back to a "Pirate Planet" that isn't tied to a star, that is producing them with a big cannon. Fate blows the cannon up with his internal energy, now called "electrical force" and still depicted with lightning bolts. Then Fate uses his internal power to push the Pirate Planet into the Sun! Pretty powerful (and lethal)!

Fate returns to Earth, and Inza tells him the whole thing was caused by a scientist in the Andes who attracted the Pirate Planet. Fate goes to the Andes and kills the scientist with some more lightning bolts and blows up his lab.

Fate demonstrates Spectre-level power here, with his Uranian gun the same sort of story crutch as the Ring of Life.

Continuing: Detective Sergeant Carey, Congo Bill, Captain Desmo, Radio Squad, Lieutenant Bob Neal, Biff Bronson, Sergeant O'Malley of the Red Coat Patrol.

'DETECTIVE COMICS' #45
Cover date: November 1940
On-sale date: Sept. 27, 1940
Cover: Batman stops a criminal from killing a tied-up Robin, by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson and George Roussos

Batman and Robin
“The Case of the Laughing Death!” is by Bill Finger, Kane, Robinson and Roussos (13 pages).
Where I read it: Batman Archives Vol. 1.

GCD: "The Joker returns to polish off his enemies, starting with the D.A., then sets his sights on a $500,000 green jade Buddha."

See Jeff of Earth-J's The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told.

Continuing: Spy, Larry Steele, Crimson Avenger, Speed Saunders, Steve Malone, Cliff Crosby, Slam Bradley.

[The Baron]

George Taylor putting Clark Kent on the Superman beat 

"Get me pictures of Superman!"

My occult senses detect the gathering of sinister elements forecasting Impending doom!

"My Spectre-Sense - tingling!"