#1 When did Superman start using the exclamation "Great Rao!", or mentioning Rao as a diety, generally?
Related to this - when did we find out that Krypton's sun was called Rao?
#2 I recently picked up John Ostranders 1995 Gotham Nights II 4 issue miniseries, set largely on Paris Island, an amusement park located off the coast of Gotham (or in the Bay, or whatever.)
When was this 'Paris Island' first mentioned?
Replies
No idea about Paris Island, except for the Marine corps station there.
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I'd be curious as to the first appearance of Blackgate Prison. We always saw Arkham Asylum -- which I believe is an early '70s development -- but it stands to reason that there ought to be a garden-variety penitentiary for those Gotham-area crooks who aren't crazy.
"Related to this - when did we find out that Krypton's sun was called Rao?"
I didn't get as far with this one as I would have liked. My chief constraint is time. It's a Bronze-Age question, and while I have all the necessary issues, my inductive memory isn't as precise for the Bronze Age as it is for the Silver.
The specifics I do have are these: The first instance that Rao was established as the name of Krypton's god was in, of all places, Super Friends # 47 (Aug., 1981), when Superman told this to Zan and Jayna. However, that information was validated shortly thereafter in a mainstream title---The Krypton Chronicles # 3 (Nov., 1981)
As to when "Rao" was given as the name of Krypton's sun, or when Superman began uttering "Great Rao!" nearly as much as he did "Great Krypton!", I was unable to pinpoint the earliest instance. My memory says that it occurred sometime in the early '70's, after Julius Schwartz took over as editor of the Superman title. Playing a hunch, I started going through the issues containing "The World of Krypton" short stories---that was the most logical place I expected to find it. Mind you, I'm not sure it was a comprehensive scan---as I said, I don't have the time to-day to sit down and go through all of the Superman and Action Comics issues painstakingly. But in the dozen or so I found, I didn't spot a single mention of "Rao" for Krypton's red sun.
That leads me to suspect that it was later---c. 1975-8---that the name Rao originated. But to-morrow, I should have the time to do a more thorough check.
"# 2 I recently picked up John Ostranders 1995 Gotham Nights II 4 issue mini-series, set largely on Paris Island, an amusement park located off the coast of Gotham (or in the Bay, or whatever.)
"When was this 'Paris Island' first mentioned?"
I suspect CK called it when he said that mini-series was the first mention of Paris Island. The closest thing I was able to find was the story "Peril at Playland Isle", from Detective Comics # 264 (Feb., 1959). "Peril . . . " involves a murder case on Playland Isle---an amusement park located on an island off the coast of Gotham City. It's one of the more refreshing Batman tales of that era. No science-fiction elements or bizarre coïncidences. Just a straightforward murder mystery, with all of the suspects restricted to the island. In other words, just the genre that the Batman and Robin were designed for.
Hope this helps.
Action Comics # 484 was cover-dated June, 1978. So it pre-dates Super Friends # 47 handily.
Thanks for catching that. (And I know why I missed it. Since Action Comics # 484 deals with a strictly Earth-Two Superman adventure, I keep it in a different stack than the rest of my Action Comics run.)
Now I am intrigued with the whole thing. So I know how I am spending Saturday.
Travis Herrick said:
They're not appearing and disappearing; Zatanna is just constantly wiping and unwiping our minds...
ClarkKent_DC said:
I've got no thoughts on Blackgate, but your question reminded me of another prison, in the Chuck Dixon-created Bludhaven -- a prison called, appropriately enough, Lockhaven. Now Chick Dixon lived in PA for a while -- he might still, for all I know -- and there's actually a town a little north of Harrisburg called Lock Haven. The name probably stuck in his head, as it has in mine for all these years.
I will not lie to you. I went to my spanking-new Essential Superman Encyclopedia and looked up "Rao". They gave the earliest mention to Superman #248 (F'72). But if it makes anyone feel better, I pulled out that longbox and read it (again).
It does not occur in the main Superman story, which was a great Luthor tale plus the 1st appearance of the Galactic Golem. It's the back-up, "The World of Krypton" by Marv Wolfman and Dave Cockrum. In a story about Kryptonian mutants, "Rao" is uttered four times, all as an obvious counterpart to God. But Rao is also specified as a sun-god, though I can't remember any other Kryptonian deities.
However, when Superman first mentions Rao, Rao only knows!!
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