Retro Comics are Awesome

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andersonh1
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome

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Fantastic Four #2
January 1962

The Fantastic Four Meet the Skrulls from Outer Space!
Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: George Klein

The Thing trashes an oil derrick, Sue Storm steals a massive diamond, the Human Torch melts a priceless new Civil War monument, and Reed Richards cuts off all power in the city. But it's not really the FF at all, it's the shape-changing Skrulls, who want to discredit the group so their invasion of Earth will be much easier. And it works as first, as the FF are declared public enemies and arrested by the army. They promptly escape, have the Torch impersonate the Skrull impersonating him, and then leads the team right to the Skrulls. The Skrulls are too stupid to figure this out until it's too late, so the entire team pull the same trick to foil the invasion by showing the Skrull leader clippings of monsters from "Strange Tales" and "Journey into Mystery" to scare the Skrulls away. And by capturing the Skrull infiltrators still on Earth, the FF are able to prove their innocence. The threat is ended when the Skrulls shape change into cows and Reed hypnotizes them so they won't understand their true nature.

Okay, that got really strange really fast. I'm on board with discrediting Earth's sole super-hero team so an alien invasion will be easier, but the way the invasion is foiled is just silly. Turning the Skrull impersonators into cows is pretty funny though. I wonder if anyone ever followed up on that? The team are still in civilian clothes, no superhero costumes, and Ben briefly becomes human again when passing through the radiation belt before reverting to the weird early version of the Thing. Entertaining for some off the wall storytelling, but this is a weak second issue for the series.
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome

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Action Comics #35
April 1941

The Guybart Gold Mine
Writer: Jerry Siegel Pencils: Wayne Boring Inks: Leo Nowak?

An older couple comes to the Daily Planet for advice and help. They've hit hard times financially, are close to losing their home, and are trying to decide whether or not to sell some gold mine stock to a man who has offered to buy it at a discount. Lois takes the stock to the financial editor, who says that it's worthless. Lois figures there is a story here if someone wants to buy worthless stock and is proven correct when a man enters her office later and demands it, only to be thrown out, and then when someone tries to snatch her purse while she and Clark are at lunch. As is typical for these stories, there are a number of attempts on Lois's life as she investigates, with Superman saving her each time. There is a slight twist to the ending because rather than the Guybart mine secretly being valuable, it turns out that a local bandit had been stealing gold from others and hiding it in the worthless Guybart mine, and wanted ownership to prevent his secret from being discovered.

All in all, a pretty routine runaround for Superman, with a great character moment for Lois in the last panel. Having earned a hefty reward for helping capture the bandit, she gives it all to the elderly couple who came to her for help. Clark is genuinely impressed, thinking that she's "one in a million." It's a great example of a formula story being elevated by a strong ending.
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome

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Action Comics #36
May 1941

The Enemy Invasion
Writer: Jerry Siegel Art: Wayne Boring, Joe Shuster

I love the cover with Superman punching some very retro-looking robots.However, it has nothing to do with the story in the issue, which features Superman taking on some "fifth columnists", which is defined as "a group of people who undermine a larger group from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or nation." This is clearly another of these pre-WW2 stories where the conflict overseas is on the mind of Jerry Siegel. Lois attends a meeting of the "volunteers for peace" to report on it. This is an ostensibly anti-war group fighting American rearmament, led by a man named Stuart Pemberton. Lois doesn't have the sense to keep her mouth shut around the mob and has to be rescued by Superman, who drops her off and goes back to spy.

Turns out this fifth column organization is paving the way for an actual military attack by planning sabotage, which Superman rushes around madly to prevent, before he stops an actual group of bombers that attack Metropolis. The actual Pearl Harbor sneak attack was six months away, but here we see Siegel depicting a fictional aerial attack on the US mainland, which no doubt tells us something about a certain mindset at the time. Clearly not everyone believed the war would remain in Europe. It's a good example of a story inspired by then-current events, with Superman playing his usual role and dealing out justice to the villains. And the enemy country behind these attacks is never named, and I think would not be until the war actually came to America.
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome

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Fantastic Four #3
March 1962

The Fantastic Four in the Menace of the Miracle Man
Writer: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: Sol Brodsky

I, the Miracle Man, declare war on the whole human race! I intend to conquer the Earth!

Stan Lee's over the top promotion just cracks me up. "The Greatest Comic Magazine in the World!" is on the cover by the logo, while the blurb promises the book is a "collectors'-item". The team gets costumes, a flying "car" and a "skyscraper hideout" (complete with cutaway drawing) in this issue, so we're shifting into more obvious super-hero storytelling conventions.

The team have gone to see a stage magician, the "Miracle Man", who challenges the team and declares himself more powerful than they are. After they've left, the Miracle Man decides that it's time to make the public fear him. He starts by bringing a movie monster model outside a movie theater to life (and it's a great Kirby monster design) which attracts the attention of the newly-costumed Fantastic Four. Sue decided if they were going to be a team, they should look like one. They're all shocked at the Miracle Man's amazing powers and wonder if they can beat him. It turns out that he actually has no powers and is just a "master hypnotist" and just made everyone think he pulled off all those amazing feats. As an explanation, it doesn't really work, but on the other hand I guess it takes some brazen confidence to "declare war" on humanity with nothing but hypnotic powers. The Miracle Man is not the most compelling of villains.

At the end of the story the Human Torch gets mad and quits the team, so we'll see where he goes in the next issue. The costumes were very much needed, though the Thing looks weird in a full shirt and long pants FF costume, but he rips off the shirt when it's time to fight. Sue gets to be damsel in distress this issue when she turns invisible and follows the Miracle Man only to be caught because a dog smelled her and started barking (which is admittedly a nice down to earth weakness in her power). I think it's an improvement on the second issue, but this book is still rough around the edges when it comes to art and storytelling.
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Superman #10
May-June 1941

The Invisible Luthor
Writer: Jerry Siegel Art: Leo Nowak

I don't like the chosen title for this story which gives away the identity of the villain, when the story itself makes that a mystery until near the end. Invisible bandits rob the Metropolis Trust Company, and the entire building fades away right in front of the eyes of a startled Clark Kent. After stopping a truck from crashing into the unseen building, he returns to it to find that it's back. He tags along after Sergeant Casey and learns that over a million dollars was stolen. The next seemingly unrelated event is the cut-off of all water in Metropolis and a ransom demand before it will be turned back on. The plane that delivered the message via loudspeaker turns invisible like the building before Superman can reach it.

The people of Metropolis begin suffering from thirst, and Superman takes the (fake) ransom money to a cave in what looks like a western canyon somewhere (leading me to wonder just where Metropolis is meant to be). He surprises the figure behind all of this... Luthor!! Luthor's men toss a dozen grenades at Superman and collapse the cave on him, temporarily rendering him unconscious, with Luthor happy to have finally disposed of Superman. He's still alive of course and breaks free, with Luthor felling him a second time with a "strange weapon" that looks like some sort of sci-fi pistol before killing all of this hired underlings and leaving for a rendezvous with "the important man." Superman was just playing possum though and follows Luthor as he meets with Bob Dunning, the man who invented the machine that cut off the water supply. Superman destroys the machine and captures Dunning, but Luthor turns his spacecraft invisible and escapes.

Luthor is effective because he's used sparingly, and because he can pull off this type of larger than life super-villain plot. This story makes good use of the character. I think the last time we saw him was Superman #5 where he had gray hair rather than red, so I think this is the first appearance of Luthor where he's fully bald, as we're used to seeing him.
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome

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Fantastic Four #4
May 1962

The Coming of the Sub-Mariner!
Writer: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: Sol Brodsky

Reed Richards insists that he, Sue and Ben need to find the Human Torch. They split up and cause a little havoc while searching for him. These guys need to learn some diplomacy. Meanwhile Johnny is at Swanson's Garage, working on cars, and it's the Thing who finds him and really lays into him for "deserting". Ben seems quite angry and genuinely hostile in these early issues and he threatens to attack Johnny, only to briefly turn human again, at which point Johnny leaves. Johnny ends up hiding out in the Bowery and reading old comics, including one about the Sub-Mariner, who, in the story's most enormous coincidence, just happens to have amnesia and is living in the very homeless shelter Johnny has ended up in. Johnny uses his flame to give the bum a shave and a haircut and reveals that he is in fact Namor. Johnny drops him in the water hoping that will restore his memory and it does... only for Namor to discover that his undersea home has been destroyed by atomic tests, so humanity must pay.

So Johnny has created a major menace by trying to help Namor. Johnny summons the FF, while Namor unleashes "Giganto" on the city, a creature that looks a lot like a whale with four limbs. The army can't stop it, but the Thing straps a nuclear bomb to his back, takes it inside the creature through his mouth, then escapes before the timer goes off, detonating the bomb. Namor's horn that he used to control the monster is briefly stolen by an invisible Sue, but she's caught and Namor takes quite a fancy to her. The FF drive him back into the sea, but he vows to return. And having read quite a bit past this, he comes back a lot, so it's very much a case of the FF having created their own villain.
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Re: Retro Comics are Awesome

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Superman #10 continued

The Talent Agency Fraud
Writer: Jerry Siegel Pencils: Paul Cassidy, Leo Nowak Inks: Shuster Shop

Lois has decided to pursue a career "on the stage and screen" thanks to Grady Talent Enterprises, but none of her coworkers think it's a good idea for her to throw away her newspaper career. Lois takes Clark along with her at Perry White's request. Clark thinks the whole thing is a scam, particularly once he hears Grady in action. Lois gets her money back, but Clark is not satisfied, and returns to investigate as Superman. He's absolutely right of course, Grady is a crook and is scamming people with promises of fame and amazing careers, and then never delivering, promising to ruin their good name and make them a laughing stock if they try to expose him. A high-altitude intimidation of Grady results in a confession of his crimes and an expose by Clark Kent.

I believe when Lois refers to White as "Perry" on page 2 that it's the first time we've seen his first name given since he was introduced. Lois comes across as more than a little gullible in this story, though she does have the good grace to admit Clark was right after they've interviewed one of Grady's victims. Counting the text stories in two of the earlier issues, this is the 75th Superman comic book story to date.
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Superman #10 concluded

The Spy Ring of Righab Bey
Writer: Jerry Siegel Pencils: Wayne Boring Inks: Shuster Shop

I've a hunch - and a powerful one, at that, that Lois is about to engage in her favorite sport... getting into trouble!

As so often happens in these stories, Clark and Lois encounter a problem that kicks off the plot. In this case, they see Jim Gregg, a clerk in the ordinance division of the war department, leaving astrologer Righab Bey's shop. Lois decides to investigate why he was there, while Clark returns to the office, only to look in on her, sure she'll get into trouble. And of course she does. Without running through all the plot mechanics, she nearly gets killed, gains a job at Bey's establishment via a poor disguise and is recognized, and gets hypnotized as well, attempting to shoot Clark while under hypnosis. As you probably guessed from his earlier war department visitor, Bey and his accomplices are intent on stealing secret plans from the war department. Bey nearly stops Superman with his hypnosis, but his will is no match for Superman's of course.

The Dukalia Spy Ring
Writer: Jerry Siegel Pencils: Wayne Boring Inks: Shuster Shop

At a Dukalia-American sports festival which Lois and Clark have been sent to cover, the two reporters discover what looks more like an anti-American demonstration (complete with Nazi salutes by the athletes and brown-shirted speakers) than a sports exhibit. Superman shows up and roughhouses the athletes, embarrassing them and their leader, Karl Wolff. When Lois goes to investigate disgraced Navy officer Lang, she is captured and threatened with death. Lang is indeed working with Wolff to turn over a new submarine to his country. Even Superman can't find it once it's gone to sea. He searches the Dukalian embassy and survives a gas attack and being shot. The guards threaten to shoot him and he just answers "That's fine! You see, I collect bullets! A sort of hobby!" I love Superman's wisecracks in these old stories.

The ultimate goal is to destroy the Panama Canal, with the new submarine that can travel above or below the surface of the water. And the story reveals that Lang is secretly still working for the Navy and trying to catch the saboteurs. Wolff's plan would have succeeded if not for Superman's intervention. The Panama Canal is saved, and once again Lois lives through an investigation that would have gotten her killed if not for Superman.
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Action Comics #37
June 1941

Commissioner Kent
Writer: Jerry Siegel Art: Paul Cassidy

You know, Lois, that I'm not the type for a job like this. Everyone knows I have a reputation for being -er- cautious.

Saboteurs attempt to bomb a munitions plant while Superman moves in to stop them on the cover of Action #37 as the war overseas continues to influence content. The cover has nothing to do with the story however, as crime runs rampant in Metropolis, which an angry Clark Kent blames on "crooked politicians" working with the criminals. The newspapers in Metropolis including the Planet, the Morning Pictorial (who we've seen before, multiple times) and the Evening Standard all publish editorials demanding action, and they get it as police commissioner Kennedy is fired by the mayor and a new one hired. The new guy is promptly gunned down outside his home, and HIS replacement is killed with a car bomb. As you can imagine, candidates for the job become hard to find, and the man that finally does take it is killed by an explosive in his briefcase. That's three police commissioners murdered in very short order. During a discussion with the mayor, Lois nominates Clark as fill-in commissioner since he's been leading the crusade for a replacement, and he's pressured into accepting the job.

So Clark has to keep up his timid persona as best he can while busting crime, and of course Superman does his part, though there's more Clark than Superman in this story. The culprit is, to no one's surprise, the original police commissioner, Kennedy. Once Superman catches him, the crime wave dies down and Clark is very happy to go back to reporting. I'm still not sure I buy Clark Kent as police commissioner, but the story sets up the situation as plausibly as it could have been. Superman does not appear until 8 pages into the story, and it's nice to see Clark get so much page time.
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World's Finest Comics #2
Summer 1941

The Unknown X
Writer: Jerry Siegel Pencils: Paul Cassidy Inks: Leo Nowak?

I love the covers for this series with a smiling Superman, Batman and Robin. Superman takes on "the Unknown X", a new crime boss in Metropolis whose gang all wear distinctive armbands. This makes them easy for Superman to identify and capture, or perform high-altitude interrogations of them, including one guy who he just leaves on top of an airplane when he's done. "You can't leave me here!" the crook protests. "That's your problem!" replies Superman. So is that guy going to freeze to death or suffocate when that plane gets to high? Yikes. Superman listens in to one of the men contact "Jameson", and a man by that name is head of the citizen's committee to stop the crime wave. When Clark Kent confronts Jameson, he says he's pretending to cooperate in order to trap them, but Jameson leaves town when threatened and advises Clark to do the same. It's no surprise to learn that Jameson really is the Unknown X, though there was always a chance that he was on the up and up and that making him so obviously the prime suspect was an attempt at a twist ending (like the naval officer Lang appearing to be a traitor a few stories ago, when he was acting undercover and still loyal), but no, he's guilty. Superman easily takes him out.
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