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

Captain Comics October 6, 2025 at 2:52pm

Agreed. But still, they persist more than six months from "now" (October 1940). Sandman doesn't make his costume change until the end of 1941, and his strip continues until 1945. Hourman makes it to 1943. That they seem so badly written already is not a good sign!

Captain Comics October 7, 2025 at 11:38am

'SUPERMAN' #7
Cover date: November-December 1940
On-sale date: Sept. 6, 1940
Cover: Superman attacks a warplane, by Joe Shuster (probably) and Wayne Boring
Where I read it: Superman Archives Vol. 2 (1990)

See Jeff of Earth-J's Superman from the Beginning.

Superman
Untitled is by Jerry Siegel and Boring (13 pages).

GCD: "A clever gangster kills the wife of the prosecuting attorney, leaving evidence behind that her husband actually did it, all so that the prosecutor wouldn't be in a position to prosecute the felon and his mobster friends."

Fun fact: First official appearance of Perry White.

Superman
Untitled is by Siegel and Boring (13 pages).

GCD: "The Planet editor sends Clark packing off for Gay City, where the people within the city fall victim to a strange malady that causes them, upon contact, to disintergrate!"

Fun fact: There are no closets in Gay City. (OK, I made that up.)

Superman
Untitled is by Siegel and Boring (13 pages).

GCD: "Believing the public prosecutor to be in league with the underworld, Kent convinces Perry White that the Planet should oppose candidate Red Tyler and back an honest candidate like Bert Runyan."

Superman
"The Black Gang" is by Siegel and Boring (13 pages).

GCD: "Superman faces a ruthless gang of men known as the Black Band, who specialize in brutal robberies of night club patrons in Metropolis, including Clark Kent and Lois Lane, who disguise themselves as wealthy patrons themselves to smoke out members of the gang."

THE COMPETITION

Big Shot Comics #6 (of 33, Columbia)

Blue Bolt #5 (of 101, Novelty/Premium/Curtis)

Champ Comics #11 (of 25, Harvey)

Harvey enters the field, picking up the numbering of Worth Carnahan's Champion Comics.

Crack Comics #6 (of 62, Quality)

Doc Savage Comics #2 (of 20, Street & Smith)

Ajax the Sun Man debuts.

Fantastic Comics #11 (of 23, Fox)

Feature Comics #37 (of 124, Quality)

Fight Comics #9 (of 86, Fiction House)

Hit Comics #4 (of 65, Quality)

Jumbo Comics #20 (of 167, Fiction House)

Jungle Comics #10 (of 163, Fiction House)

Marvel Mystery Comics #12 (of 91, Marvel)

Master Comics #7 (of 133, Fawcett)

Mystery Men Comics #15 (of 31, Fox)

National Comics #4 (of 75, Quality)

O.K. Comics #2 (of 2, Worth Carnahan)

Reg'lar Fellers Heroic Comics #2 (of 15, Eastern)

Smash Comics #15 (of 85, Quality)

Street & Smith's Sport Comics #1 (of 4, Street & Smith)

Becomes True Sport Picture Stories with issue #5.

Startling Comics #3 (of 53, Pines)

Super-Mystery Comics #3 (of 48, Ace)

Black Spider debuts.

Super-Spy #1 (Centaur)

The Sparkler debuts.

Sure-Fire Comics #3b (of 4, Ace)

Target Comics #9 (of 105, Novelty/Premium/Curtis)

Thrilling Comics #9 (of 80, Novelty/Premium/Curtis)

Top Notch Comics #9 (of 27, Archie)

Black Hood debuts. He's been revived multiple times.

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #1 (of 264, Dell)

Whiz Comics #9 (of 155, Fawcett)

Wings Comics #2 (of 124, Fiction House)

Wonderworld Comics #18 (of 31, Fox)

Captain Comics October 8, 2025 at 11:53am

It's November! Not in the real world, but in 1940. Things aren't going so well for Europe and China, but in comics we're chockablock with superheroes.

'FLASH COMICS' #11
Cover date: November 1940
On-sale date: Sept. 18, 1940
Cover: Hawkman fights a big ape, by Sheldon Moldoff

The Flash
Untitled by Gardner Fox and E.E. Hibbard (11 pages)
Where I read it: Golden Age Flash Archives Vol. 1 (1999)

Jay Garrick happens on another case while taking a walk, this time a kidnapping. He follows invisibly ro hear their plan, and invisibly saves the kidnap victim. He tries to find out who the unnamed boss is by his usual tricks: First, he tries to spook them with invisible tricks, then he undresses them. Meanwhile, the boss has figured out the Flash is after him, and uses some glasses he's invented to see the Scarlet Speedster. When Flash finds him, the guy shoots a tommy gun at him. Flash realizes the chief can see him, but it provides no obstacle and he takes the whole gang to the police station.

Fun facts:

Jay "easily outdistances the bullets" when shot at with an automatic weapon. Now he's not just matching the speed of bullets to catch them, he's actively outrunning them.
We get two more "Flash Facts," although they are not yet called that, one describing the glasses that can see Flash and the other explaining how Flash can spin a guy in a chair so fast he rises in the air.

Hawkman
Untitled by Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff (9 pages)
Where I read it: Golden Age Hawkman Archives Vol. 1 (2006)

Carter and Shiera go with Tom, a friend, to look at his new house in "Suburbia." But he is shocked when the representative of Real Buys corporation surprises him with a clause in his contract that doubles the price of the house. Carter hits a boy on a bicycle with his car, because (we're told) the kids have no place to play because Real Buys has priced everything too high, and own the whole town. "My lawyers will take care of everything," Carter tells the investigating officer. "There won't be any charges," the cop says. Must be nice to be rich. Anyway, Carter warns Shiera not to do anything about Real Buys, but both independently decide to investigate by breaking and entering the Real Buys office and stealing their files. They both arrive, unaware of the other.

Hawkman is surprised by a thug while safecracking and throws him into the hall, where he accidentally and unknowingly hits (and knocks out) Shiera. The thug wakes up and captures Shiera, as the Big Boss arrives. The thug goes to the safe to check on the files, and runs into Hawkman again. The Big Boss bugs out, and Shiera escapes on her own. Then Hawkman throws the thug into the hall again, knocking out Shiera again. He goes after the Big Boss. She wakes up, gets the files and goes to the police. Hawkman grabs the Big Boss and drops him at the police station. Shiera runs into the boss and IDs him for the cops. She thinks she solved the case without any help from Hawkman, but he winks at the reader.

Lots of panels here that look like swipes, but from what I don't know. Not the greatest story in the world, but the attempt at screwball humor is a nice change of pace.

Fun fact: The Hawkman stamp is a chariot.

Johnny Thunder
Untitled is by John Wentworth and Stan Aschmeier (6 pages).
No reprint (read online)

As of last issue, Johnny knows he's got power, but not how to use it. He tells Daisy, "All I've got to do is command something, or ask for it, or wish for it, and this great big thunderbolt comes and makes sure that I get it." As you see, he immediately starts calling this power "this ... thunderbolt." I can only assume this means that characters in-story see the lightning bolt that usually indicates the thunderbolt is at work. Previously I thought it was just a visual marker for the readers' benefit, but either I was wrong or this is a new development.

In this story, Johnny abuses a random construction worker, who also refers to the thunderbolt, so evidently he can see it, too. Then Johnny goes to a skiing resort owned by Mr. Darling to see why it's failing. Johnny discovers the manager and his henchman are driving customers away, and gives them a dose of their own medicine. The manager, Hubert Angel, also refers to "that thunderbolt" and knows it's the author of his pain.

I think now it's only a matter of time before "the thunderbolt" becomes Thunderbolt, the anthropomorphized, sentient lightning being we modern readers know. Let's keep a watch for him.

Fun fact: The title of the strip changes from "Johnny Thunderbolt" to "Johnny Thunder" with this issue.

Thunderbolt watch:

Johnny and other characters can see a lightning bolt at work.
Thunderbolt appears as a red lightning bolt (twice) and a red anthropomorphized lightning bolt (thrice).

Continuing: The King, Cliff Cornwall, The Whip. Last appearance of Rod Rian of the Sky Police, a comic strip reprint.

Philip Portelli > Captain Comics October 8, 2025 at 2:36pm

The closest thing to a super-villain the Flash gets is some guy with special glasses!

I always thought that the Thunderbolt could switch from being seen and being invisible as he chooses. That would explain a lot.

Captain Comics October 8, 2025 at 2:44pm

The closest thing to a super-villain the Flash gets is some guy with special glasses!

Per your suggestion, I've been watching for cool supervillains to add to our list, but there just aren't many. Or Hawkman kills them. The best villains we've got so far (outside of Superman and Batman) have been in Spectre and Doctor Fate, I think.

I always thought that the Thunderbolt could switch from being seen and being invisible as he chooses. That would explain a lot.

Yes, it would. And likely, given his power set. So I'm going to adopt that assumption going forward. I just read ahead to March 1941, and nobody claims to see the thunderbolt in any of those stories. I'll keep a watch on that aspect, but this issue may be a one-off.

Captain Comics October 9, 2025 at 8:02am

'ALL-AMERICAN COMICS' #20
Cover date: November 1940
On-Sale date: Sept. 20, 1940
Cover: Green Lantern fights crooks on a pier, by Sheldon Moldoff

Green Lantern
Story: Untitled by Bill Finger and Marty Nodell (10 pages)
Where I read it: Golden Age Green Lantern Archives Vol. 1

A number of elements are added to the strip this issue.

Alan Scott's origin is recapped on the splash page ... but with no mention of him being a construction engineer. Then, when he reads in the newspaper in his "sanctum" that an Apex radio announcer has been killed, he talks to the widow as the Green Lantern. But she is assassinated by a sniper, muttering the word "Tops" as she dies. Scott thinks, "I'm a radio engineer! If I could get a job at Apex, I might be able to get some helpful clues on this case ... and come to think of it, working for a radio broadcasting system would be a great help to me in all my activities as the Green Lantern ... I'd get all the news reports first hand ..."

Scott applies to Apex, where he runs into Irene Miller from issue #18, who works there. They banter about how she likes the Green Lantern so much, and then the Tellum case. Miller suspects "Tops" might refer to the sponsor of a radio program, Tops toothpaste. They decide to visit Tops together to investigate, but upon arriving are taken captive. They are held separately, so Scott slips out of his bonds with the ring and captures the gang as Green Lantern, who are using the radio program to send orders in code. Green Lantern discovers the big boss is the man he spoke to when applying for a job, Mr. Gates. He goads Gates into confirming his involvement, which he surreptitiously records on dictaphone. He leaves Gates tied up and rescues Irene as Alan Scott. They return and find Gates and the recording, and Scott is given a job for the risk he took. (No word on if Irene got any sort of reward.)

Takeaways:

This is the first mention of Scott being a radio engineer. Previously he had been a construction engineer. I guess that was too esoteric a job for kids.
Sending orders in code via radio commercials seems like a really complicated way to tell crooks to go rob something.
Irene Miller is added to the cast. There is one panel with her expressing her admiration for Green Lantern in issue #18, where Scott expresses his interest in seeing more of her. Evidently that didn't happen until this issue, but the seed was planted. Her expressed admiration for Green Lantern, and Scott's faux jealousy, will be a regular occurrence.
This is the second time Green Lantern's ring leaves an impression on someone's jaw, a la The Phantom. I don't feel the need to keep mentioning this, so I won't.
Green Lantern uses newfangled technology, a "dictaphone," to implicate the villain. High tech!

The Atom
Untitled by Bill O'Connor and Ben Flinton (6 pages)
Where I read it: JSA All-Stars Archives Vol. 1

The narrator gives us more information on Atom's physical prowess, saying he's "deveoped a perfect body — he now has a tremendous strength that is unbelievable in one so small."

Weirdly, we don't get any sort of origin for Al Pratt's superhero guise. When he returns to Calvin College, the narrator tells us "Al decides to keep his mighty strength a secret so that he can carry on his dual role as The Atom." And lo, we see a panel of Pratt in costume. This is the first we've heard of a "dual role," and the first time we've seen the costume. But I guess origins in the Golden Age are light on detail. I'll just assume Al Pratt's costume came from the same place Jay Garrick's did.

Anyway, there's another college dance, and Joe Morgan makes up a story about the possibility of someone stealing a necklace from Mary James, so the reluctant Pratt will go. Then Morgan thinks, "Should I tell the li'l mass of muscles about those glands he's developed? He gets stronger every day and I'm afraid of what he might do unwittingly."

As it happens, someone does try to steal Mary's necklace at the dance, conveniently (for the story) while Pratt is dancing with her. He plays the coward (of course) and returns in his super-suit, which ... should I even ask where he kept it? Or the "Atom" card that he leaves? Naw, I'll just roll with it.

Atom beats up the crooks, and Mary gets her necklace back. No thanks to Al Pratt!

Super-strength watch:

Nothing overt, but glands? What th-!? Where did that come from? And are they ever mentioned again?
Morgan really should tell Pratt if something like super-strength is happening to his body. H
ow is it a blue-collar guy like Morgan uses the word "unwittingly"?

Red Tornado
Real name: Abigail Mathilda "Ma" Hunkel
Created by: Sheldon Mayer
Debut story: Untitled by Mayer (4 pages)
Where I read it: JSA All-Stars Archives Vol. 1
Significance: Crashed the first JSA meeting

"Scribbly the Boy Cartoonist" was a semi-autobiographical strip by Shelly Mayer he'd been writing and drawing since Dell's Popular Comics #6 (July 1936). When editor M.C. Gaines left Dell to launch All-American Publications Inc. in 1939, Mayer went with him — as did "Scribbly," which began immediately in All-American Comics #1. "Ma" Hunkel, a huge, brassy, blue-collar woman with a heart of gold, was introduced in All-American Comics #3, and was a regular, although not continuous, part of the ensemble.

I have never read any of those strips (I doubt very many have been reprinted), but when we get to All-American Comics #20, Sisty Hunkel (Ma's daughter) and Dinky Jibbet (Scribbly's little brother) have been kidnapped by gangster Tubb Torponi. When the police prove useless ("Mr. Torponi's a pretty powerful man in politics"), Scribbly and some unidentified buddy tell Ma about the Green Lantern, and how if he was in this situation he'd don his costume and go to the rescue. "Well ... whaddaya know," Ma mutters. "He puts on a costume and goes to town, eh? Hmm ..."

We all know where this is going. Meanwhile, at Torponi's place, the rambunctious (and dangerous) Sisty and Dinky are making the gang regret kidnapping them. And just as Torponi is getting the upper hand on the feisty kids, what should appear, but a huge person in a homemade costume! "Ya wanna wrassle?" It's not "Ja think I'm a cowboy?" but it's close.

This story is only four pages long, but Red Tornado is already better written than the Hourman or Atom strips. And the art is leagues better.

Golden Age appearances: As Ma Hunkel: All-American Comics #3-4, 6, 11, 13, 15, 17-19. As Red Tornado: All-American Comics #20-25, 32-55, 57-59; Big All-American Comic Book; Comic Cavalcade #4, 7.
Current status: Still the custodian of JSA headquarters, as far as I know.
Current versions: The Red Tornado android, introduced in the '60s, is now the AI of the JLA Watchtower. Ma's granddaughter Maxine Hunkel is the superhero Cyclone, with the JSA.

Continuing: Hop Harrigan, Ben Webster, Adventures in the Unknown, Red White and Blue.

'ACTION COMICS' #30
Cover date: November 1940
On-sale date: Sept. 25, 1940
Cover: Superman lifts a car into the air, probably by Joe Shuster

Superman
Untitled by Jerry Siegel and Jack Burnley (13 pages).
Where I read it: Superman: The Action Comics Archives Vol. 2 (1998).

GCD: "In midsummer, the city of Metropolis is caught in the midst of a bitter snowstorm. As Clark investigates, a message from Laura Vogel comes over the radio, telling Superman to meet her in Park Ferry since she can explain the snowstorm. Before Superman arrives, some foreigners use a glowing globe to disintegrate a girl and a policeman. Superman gets there in time to save Lois from the same fate, but the Arabs get away."

See Jeff of Earth-J's Superman from the Beginning.

Continuing: Pep Morgan, Black Pirate, Three Aces, Tex Thomson, Clip Carson, Zatara.

Jeff of Earth-J > Captain Comics October 9, 2025 at 8:04am

Not to get ahead of the discussion, but All Star Comics #3 did a great disservice to Red Tornado by presenting her as roughly equivalent to Johnny Thunder in her one-page appearance, namely as unfunny comic relief. I labored under that misrepresentation for many years. It wasn't until the spring of 1981, on my junior/senior trip to New York City and Washington, DC, that I learned better. At that time, the only way to obtain authentic Smithsonian Institution merchandise was to 1) be a memeber, or 2) buy it in person. It was in the museum's gift shop that I purchased my copy of A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics.* It reprints the Red Tornado stories from All-American Comics #20-24 and I knew at a glance that I had been misled. Stan Aschmeier was a mere comic book artist, but Sheldon Mayer was a cartoonist!** Not only does Red Tornado outshine Johnny Thunder, the feature outshines most of the other JSA heroes' solo strips as well if I'm being honest.

*A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics is not as indispensible as Jules Feiffer's The Great Comic Book Heroes, but it nevertheless belongs on the shelf of every serious student of the Comic Book Art. The Red Tornado stories from All-American Comics #20-24 are also available in The JSA All Stars Archives v1 (and only).

**As Bob Kane once said in his introduction to a collection of Batman comic strip reprints: "I personally felt then, as I do now, that with all due respect to comic books, they are the bush leagues, while syndicated newspaper strips, and their creators, are the major leagues."
Philip Portelli > Captain Comics October 9, 2025 at 12:06pm

The change of Alan Scott becoming a radio engineer from a train engineer was probably because in 1940, radio was cooler than trains. And while not every kid rode a train, they all listened to the radio.

Instead of not telling Al about his glands, he shouldhave talked to him about that costume! Makes me think that Al had certain...tendancies!

I'll talk more about the Red Tornado when we get to All Star Comics #3 but I will say this: I like the idea of a neighborhood superhero, taking care of a small area of a larger city. I live in Queens and most of the heroes are in Manhattan. Yes, I know Spider-Man lived in Forest Hills but he worked in the city!
Luis Olavo de Moura Dantas > Captain Comics October 9, 2025 at 3:25pm

So Green Lantern is canonically the inspiration for both Wildcat and Red Tornado?

He must have left quite the impression in the early Golden Age. It is not hard to guess why. His visual was surely striking, as were his powers.

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

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