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:
- 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.
- Black Canary: All-Star Comics #38-57; Comic Cavalcade #25; Flash Comics #86-88, 90-104.
- Doctor Fate: All-Star Comics #3-12, 14-21; More Fun Comics #55-98.
- Doctor Mid-Nite: All-American Comics #25-102; All-Star Comics #6 (text story), 8-57.
- 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)
- 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.
- Hawkman: All-Star Comics #1-57, Big All-American Comic Book, Flash Comics #1-104, Flash Comics miniature (Wheaties).
- Hourman: Adventure Comics #48-83, All-Star Comics #1-7, New York World's Fair Comics [#2].
- 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).
- Mister Terrific: All-Star Comics #24, Big All-American Comic Book, Sensation Comics #1-63.
- 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.
- The Spectre: All-Star Comics #1-23, More Fun Comics #52-101, a single panel in More Fun Comics #51.
- Starman: Adventure Comics #61-102, All-Star Comics #8-23.
- 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!
Replies
And I re-read it. Sorry to repeat so much!
'SUPERMAN' #10
Cover date: May-June 1941
On-sale date: March 5, 1941
Cover: Superman catches falling parachutist, by Fred Ray
See Jeff of Earth-J's Superman from the Beginning.
Untitled by Jerry Siegel and Leo Nowak (13 pages)
Where I read it: Superman from the Thirties to the Eighties (1983)
GCD: "Metropolis is struck first by invisible robbers, then disappearing and reappearing buildings, and finally all water being shut off to residents. Superman discovers that Luthor is behind the scheme, who demands $100 million from the city and that it be delivered by the Man of Tomorrow."
Takeaway: I assume Golden Age Luthor lost his hair in the conventional way, since Superboy didn't exist yet.
Fun fact: GCD says Luthor is bald in this story for the first time in comic books. He had already appeared bald in the comic strip, however.
Superman
Untitled is by Jerry Siegel and Paul Cassidy (13 pages)
Where I read it: Superman Archives Vol. 3 (1991)
GCD: "When Lois Lane announces to members of the Daily Planet staff that she plans to leave her reporter's job for the life of a stage and screen star, Clark smells a rat, and investigates the Grady Talent Agency, and learns that Grady is promising many women the same career, while draining their bank accounts."
Takeaway: Lois would never leave her career of falling off buildings and out of windows!
Superman
Untitled by Jerry Siegel and Wayne Boring (13 pages)
Where I read it: Superman Archives Vol. 3 (1991)
GCD: "Lois and Clark see Jim Gregg, a clerk in the Ordnance Division of the War Department, coming out of an astrologer's office, and find it odd the man would visit such a place. Lois and Clark visit the evil Righam-Bey seperately, trying to learn what he is up to, but it is Superman who discovers that the ordnance clerk knows about a new bomb being tested that responds to the engines of enemy ships, and the astrologer is attempting to learn that secret for himself."
Takeaway: All swamis are up to no good!
Superman
Untitled by Jerry Siegel and Wayne Boring (13 pages)
Where I read it: Superman Archives Vol. 3 (1991)
GCD: "A former Naval officer, discharged for conduct unbecoming to an officer, draws the attention of Karl Wolff, consul for Dukalia, a nation which believes it is superior to America, and desires to take the U.S. over. Superman investigates and discovers that this Naval officer has invented a submarine that can operate in the air, as well as on or below the surface of the ocean, and that he is a double agent being used to facilitate the capture of these spies."
Takeaway: Wonder what happened to that submarine? Might have come in handy in a few months.
THE COMPETITION
Big Shot Comics #12 (of 33, Columbia)
Blue Bolt #11 (of 101, Novelty/Premium/Curtis)
Blue Ribbon Comics #11 (of 22, Archie)
Captain America Comics #2 (of 73, Marvel)
Crack Comics #12 (of 62, Quality)
Crackajack Funnies #34 (of 43, Western)
Daring Mystery Comics #7 (of 8, Timely)
Fantastic Comics #17 (of 23, Fox)
Feature Comics #43 (of 124, Quality)
Fight Comics #12 (of 86, Fiction House)
The Funnies #54 (of 64, Dell)
Green Hornet #3 (of 6, Temerson/Helnit/Continental)
Hit Comics #10 (of 65, Quality)
Jumbo Comics #26 (of 167, Fiction House)
Jungle Comics #16 (of 163, Fiction House)
Lightning Comics #6 (of 13)
Marvel Mystery Comics #18 (of 92, Timely)
Master Comics #13 (of 133, Fawcett)
Mystery Men Comics #21 (of 31, Fox)
National Comics #10 (of 75, Quality)
Pep Comics #14 (of 136, Archie)
Popular Comics #62 (of 145, Dell)
Samson #4 (of 6)
Silver Streak Comics #9 (of 23, Lev Gleason)
Smash Comics #21 (of 85, Quality)
Startling Comics v2 #3 [#6] (of 53, Pines)
Super Comics #35 (of 65, Western)
Super-Mystery Comics v2 #1 (of 48)
Target Comics v2 #2 [#14] (of 105, Novelty/Premium/Curtis)
Thrilling Comics v5 #3 [#15] (of 80, Pines)
Top Notch Comics #14 (of 27, Archie)
True Comics #1 (of 84, Parents Magazine Press)
Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #7 (of 263, Dell)
Weird Comics #13 (of 20, Fox)
Whiz Comics #16 (of 155, Fawcett)
Wings Comics #8 (of 124, Fiction House)
Wonderworld #24 (of 33, Fox)
Zip Comics #13 (of 47, Archie)
Master Comics is Fawcett, not Quality.
And I did not know that Bulletgirl predated both Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman!
Fixed. I'm reading some Bulletman collections from PS Artbooks, and they're not bad. Well, not as bad as most Golden Age stuff.
We've reached May 1941! Here's my plan for this month:
'FLASH COMICS' #17
Cover date: May 1941
On-sale date: March 14, 1941
Cover: Hawkman battles a plane with a quarterstaff by Sheldon Moldoff
Ther Flash
Untitled by Gardner Fox and Hal Sharp (11 pages)
Where I read it: Golden Age Flash Archives Vol. 1
The introductory panel says Flash's speed "approximates the inconceivable rapidity of light," although he doesn't ever seem to go that fast.
Summary
Jay Garrick plays a game of baseball by himself, as all players on both teams. Seems kinda pointless to me, but I guess it's exercise. Joan is watching, and tells him that the owner of the Redskins baseball team in in cahoots with gamblers. They plot for Jay to join the team and see what he can find out.
Naturally, Jay passes the audition. He's so fast, the coach wonders if he's a ghost. "No, couldn't be that — oh, well — he's on our side, anyhow." Deep thinker, that coach. And apparently he doesn't read the newspapers, where that Flash fellow is often mentioned.
Joan and Jay are out to dinner, and Joan says she's invited Joe Clarke, the Redskins owner. Jealous, Jay spins into invisibility and steals all the tableware. In retaliation, Joan flirts with Clarke. In retaliation for that, Jay steals Clarke's dinner. The silliness comes to an end as Clarke advises Joan to bet on the Beavers, the team playing the Redskins the following day. He says Sam Brady, his star pitcher, is getting drunk.
Jay finds the pitcher, and he isn't getting drunk. He was told to, but he isn't,, because Brady and the boys are angry at Clarke for making them lose. Jay tries to win the game against the Beavers as Jay Garrick, using his speed to catch all balls. So Clarke benches him. The fans are angry, but the Beavers win. The boys threaten a walkout. Clarke goes to his gangster partner, Black Ben Bogue, and pays him to break Garrick's arms.
Garrick is taken for a ride, but plays with the gangsters, appearing as Jay and Flash at the same time (as far as the gangsters can tell). He also intimidates Bogue to get out of the gambling game, and convinces Clarke to go straight. High-speed hi-jinks include driving two men through a door (unharmed, using the straw-in-a-hurricane excuse), and disassembling a gun before it can be fired.
Takeaway
This is another slightly more serious Flash story, with some welcome new uses for super-speed. The story is followed by last month's one-page ad for All-Star Comics #4, but without the announcement of Flash's new quarterly magazine.
Hawkman
Untitled by Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff (9 pages)
Where I read it: Golden Age Hawkman Archives Vol. 1
Summary
Carter Hall and Sheria Sanders are attending the opera when singer Camilla Cordova collapses on stage. Dr. Selkirk, who happens to be there for some reason, says she was asphyxiated, although there was no one around her. At home Shiera gets a note wrapped around a small golden mummy telling her and Hawkman to stay out of the Golden Mummy Case, or else. What Golden Mummy Case? Turns out Carter found a small golden mummy under Cordova's body, which he swiped. (You can't call yourself a Golden Age superhero unless you tamper with evidence.)
After Shiera leaves, Hawkman goes to the theater to investigate Cordova's death. He finds a welt on the body caused by a blowdart needle — poison! Meanwhile, Shiera returns to Carter's house and is kidnapped by a big, gold goon from the Golden Mummy cult. He arranges a trap with a gun, rigged to fire when Hawkman walks in the door. She is taken by car to a a secret enclosure in a cave where the Golden Mummy is.
Back at the theater, Hawkman is also attacked by a big, gold goon. He defeats his opponent, flies him to the top of the Empire State Building, and threatens to throw him off if he won't talk. He won't, so Hawkman throws him off. Caught at the last minute, the goon agrees to take Hawkman to the Golden Mummy. At the enclosure, Hawkman hears Shiera being whipped and goes to her rescue. He brutally beats her assailant, and defeats the rest of the Golden Mummy's crew with fists and the bow of Genghis Khan.
The Golden Mummy has his last goon take him to Carter Hall's house, but when he goes in he sets off the trap. Hawkman and Shiera arrive, take care of the last goon, and listen to the Mummy's exposition dump before he dies. I'm sure you'll be shocked to learn the Mummy is Selkirk, the only possible suspect. He says he helped Camilla's father get rich in Egypt, but when he died and Camilla inherited, she dumped him. So he came up with the mummy idea, hired gangsters and painted them gold, and killed Camilla.
Takeaway
Nice, but why all the mummy business just to kill Camilla? He did that with a blowdart. He didn't need the tiny gold mummies, the gangsters, the mummy wrappings, or the hidden lair in a mountain. But it did look cool, I'll give him that.
Fun facts
Johnny Thunder
Untitled is John Wentworth and Stan Aschmeier (6 pages).
Where I read it: Online
Summary
Herman Darling starts a baseball league among the real estate offices of Long Island, and hires Johnny as an office boy so he can play shortstop on Herman's Real Estate Wrens. Johnny's thunderbolt antics force a J. Horace Twirpingham to buy a development he doesn't want (while turning Herman into an ox), and in revenge, Twirpingham steals the signals for the Wrens and talks Harry Betts, a gangster, into gambling $100,000 on the next game, against the Real Estate Jackals. Which seems like a lot for an amateur baseball game. But OK, it's a comic book. By cheating, the Jackals are up 19-0 by the ninth inning. However, Johnny accidentally activates the thunderbolt, and when it forces the cheater to tell him about the signals, he knows the thunderbolt is there. When Betts collapses the dugout on the Wrens, Johnny wins the game all by himself, scoring 23 runs single-handedly in the ninth.
Fun facts:
Continuing: Les Sparks, The Whip, The King. Last appearance of Cliff Cornwall.
Now that Thanksgiving weekend is over and we have some time before All-Star Comics #5, here's my thoughts on....
STARMAN: as I have said before, DC wanted him to be a success, having Superman's best artist, Jack Burnley on the feature. It was newspaper strip good! Someone even said that they gave him Superman's boots, albeit in green. The Astral Avenger took the cover of Adventure Comics from Hourman and seven months later replaced him in the Justice Society.
I'm almost positive that they were expecting a Starman Quarterly in the near future.
So what happened? The war. Paper shortages. Sales of Adventure didn't improve most likely.
Perhaps the artwork was too realistic, without the exaggerations that comic book readers were used to.
Perhaps the gravity rod wasn't appealing to young readers. A device that you had to hold on to to fly might have seemed too complicated as opposed to wings, a magic ring or "Up, Up and Away"!
Perhaps they liked Green Lantern better. The ring was less likely to be lost than the rod and GL was more relatable than another playboy who was mimicking the Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne persona.
I do know that after his mid-60s revival things went downhill for Starman as he never seemed to be in held in high regard:
Justice League of America #73 (Au'69): the living star Aquarius steals his cosmic rod which results in Larry Lance's death! (Hey, wait a minute!)
JLA #83 (S'70): easily defeated by invading aliens, though most of the JSA were too.
JLA #101 (S'72): Batman instructs him how to use his own cosmic rod! And his last JLA/JSA teamup appearance until 1982!
All-Star Comics #58 (F'76): broke his leg, gives the cosmic rod to the Star-Spangled Kid so he won't feel useless!
1st Issue Special #12 (Ma'76): a new Starman debuts though only appears once!
ASC #64 (F'77): the Star-Spangled Kid improves the cosmic rod into the cosmic converter belt. Whatever was said in Starman, initially it was the Kid who did it on his own.
ASC #69 (D'77): makes his only major appearance in the revived ASC and Adventure run.
Adventure Comics #467 (Ja'80): debut of another new Starman, lasts a little longer!
All-Star Squadron #1 (S'81): as the series go on seems to be one of Roy Thomas' least favorite JSA members.
Brave and the Bold #182 (Ja'82); injured and loses the cosmic rod to Hugo Strange which must recovered by Batman (E-1), Robin (E-2) and Batwoman (E-2) (???)
AStSq Annual #3 (S'84): flashback how he met the JSA, comes off as pushy, entitled and unsymathetic.
Infinity Inc #9 (D'84): easily defeated by "ruthless" Green Lantern.
AStSq #41 (Ja'85): given an unsatsifactory origin, not the creator of the gravity rod and no real reason to become a superhero other than looking for thrills and glory! Plus, he lets things happen to him.
Last Days of the Justice Society Special (Jl'86): revealed that he had other people augment the gravity rod into the cosmic rod!
Young All-Stars #3-4 (Au-S'87): shows anti-Japanese prejudice, the only adult JSAer to do so.
Perhaps the gravity rod wasn't appealing to young readers. A device that you had to hold on to to fly might have seemed too complicated as opposed to wings, a magic ring or "Up, Up and Away"!
I know this is decried in many Silver-Age and post-Silver-Age stories (especially given the times when Starman had his cosmic rod wrested from him from an opponent), but I believe, as far back as the Golden Age, many Starman stories depicted him with a leather strap attaching his rod to his wrist. Thus, if he lost grip of it, he could recover it easily. Whenever I saw the artist include that detail, I always thought it was a sensible precaution.
It's too late for me to check it right now, but I believe Gardner Fox omitted this detail in the two JLA/JSA cross-overs he wrote including the Astral Avenger. Which is odd, because it wasn't like Mr. Fox to forget such things.
Here's my plan for this month...
I appreciate that.
So what happened? The war. Paper shortages. Sales of Adventure didn't improve most likely.
Perhaps the artwork was too realistic, without the exaggerations that comic book readers were used to.
Burnley says as much in his foreword to Golden Age Starman Archives Vol. 1. Starman launched with expectations of being the next Batman or Superman. He was given a big push in house ads, took the cover of Adventure immediately, and took poor ol’ Hourman’s place in the JSA at the first opportunity. But, Burnley says, sales on Adventure didn’t change. And he suspected that his serious art turned the kids off – he said both Batman and Superman were a bit cartoonish in the beginning. And he asked for more serious, comic-strip-level stories. Fox said this was a mistake, as their audience was 7-year-olds, and Burnley eventually came around to believe Fox was right.
I do know that after his mid-‘60s revival things went downhill for Starman as he never seemed to be in held in high regard.
I have always felt that way about Sandman, whose gas-gun creation was given to Crimson Avenger, who was targeted for bad health (heart attack, strokes), whose treatment of the Sandy Monster was reprehensible, whose girlfriend was killed (in All-Star Squadron, and again later) and whose appearances in the JLA/JSA crossovers weren’t as robust as, say, Doctor Fate.
But now that you mention it, it appears Starman was regarded as expendable as well.
… but I believe, as far back as the Golden Age, many Starman stories depicted him with a leather strap attaching his rod to his wrist.
I was reading a Starman story the other day where he said something to the effect of “it’s a good thing I have the Gravity Rod strapped to my wrist …” But even in the panel he said it, I didn’t see a strap of any kind. Nor anywhere else in the story. So my attitude is that he always has the strap, but it’s just not always visible. I mean, what kind of idiot WOULDN’T strap the thing to his wrist, especially in flight?
I work ahead, so I don’t remember which story it was where this happened. It could have even been in a modern story, as I’m reading some of those, too. When we catch up to it, I’ll point it out (if I remember).
But I’m sticking to my head canon that Ted always straps the thing to his wrist.
Burnley drew "Starman" nicely, but it was a dully-written, formula strip. The reverse of "Batman" or "Wonder Woman", which elaborated their worlds, and without the character comedy and zestful action of "Superman".
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