Retro Comics are Awesome

[andersonh1]

"Comic book time" didn't exist as a concept in the 1940s, apparently. I've got two examples, both revolving around the Flash.

- I just got volume 11 of the All-Star Archives, and the first story revolves around Jay Garrick's 10th anniversary class reunion from MIdwestern University. He'd been the Flash for 10 years in the fictional and real world.
- In Flash comics 104, published two years earlier, Joan Williams is remembering how he became the Flash "8 years ago". Again, the fictional amount of time matched the real world publication time.

Makes me wonder how comics would have progressed if there was no break in publication, and these characters had continued to be published. Would they have adopted the same sliding timescale as the modern companies have? Or would the characters have begun to age and eventually been joined and then replaced by younger heroes?

[Dominic]

Unlikely. In the 40s, less thought was put in to comics than in the 60s, (which is impressive for sneaking under a low bar).

Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were published consistently, and did not age (even before the stupid back-writes of the 60s).

Captain America and Bucky were published consistently in to the 50s. (Ignore the stupid back-writes of the 60s and 70s about there being multiples Captains and Buckies.) If anything, Bucky de-aged.

The only reason that the original Earth 2 characters aged is that they were off page for long enough that it could have been done without changing an ongoing character that was selling books.

[andersonh1]

Still delving through DC archives, and the most recent is the JSA All-Stars archive, featuring a variety of characters. I like this book, and the variety of seven different characters. It was a good move, because while I'm interested in Hourman or Dr. Mid-Nite or Wildcat, I'm not likely to have bought a solo archive of Johnny Thunder or the Red Tornado. But having read those, I did find them entertaining, and at five stories apiece, they don't outstay their welcome. And I guess DC doesn't have a copy of these comics, because there's a note in the indicia which reads "special thanks to Christine Farrell for loan of source material".

Johnny Thunder
The premise behind this character is that he's not too bright, but he has control of an all-powerful genie for an hour at a time. I'm not a big fan of this guy, but I can see where they were going with the character and he does add some variety to the early days of the DC universe. He's kidnapped as a baby and smuggled out of the country to the island of Bahdnesia. He was picked because he's the seventh son, born on 7 am on the 7th day of the 7th month in 1917. The poor kid goes through a ceremony to bind the genie to him with the intent that he be a weapon of mass destruction for Bahdnesia. But he manages to escape and ends up back in America through dumb luck, a trend that will follow him. At this point, we never see the Thunderbolt. Johnny says "cei-u/say you" and whatever he demands will happen for an hour, without him really understanding why. So he foils an attempt to kidnap him, loses a job, gets mistaken for a boxer and becomes a world champ, then becomes a FBI agent, all through dumb luck, misunderstandings and the Thunderbolt. It's mildly amusing, but I'm still not a big fan of the character. It was nice to read his origin story though.

Hourman
This is the only one of the seven characters in this book to get cover spots originally, so I guess they decided to try and push Hourman as the next big thing. I think he only lasted about three years before being cancelled, so he was one of the early failures. Like so many of these characters, if not for his association with the JSA we'd never have seen him again, most likely. And the full potential of his power isn't really used as imaginatively as it could be. Rex "Tick Tock" Tyler gains super speed, strength and durability for one hour when he takes his Miraclo pill. He solicits his services as a hero by putting ads in the paper. He's a sort of trouble-shooter in these stories, fighting a pretty standard variety of crime. It's never quite clear later on just what he's capable of, but here he easily runs as fast as a car, gets hit by a police car and is unhurt, and jumps off a rooftop without being injured, so while he's not at Superman levels, he's fast and durable. The art is quite crude, and I should scan in the panels where he's attacked by a bear, picks it up over his head and tosses it over a cliff. It's the art that makes it so funny.

The Atom
Yeah, this guy is down there with Johnny Thunder as one of the less interesting characters from this time period, though he'll apparently last until the end of the 1940s, so he was one of the more successful characters of the era. He's a small guy, about five feet tall, and a college sophomore. He gets training from an ex-boxer and becomes the super strong, super-tough Atom. How me becomes supernaturally strong just from weight training isn't explained, but he's clearly got some degree of superhuman strength. But that's not really an interesting gimmick for a super-hero in and of itself, and the Atom's costume is one of the worst. I think it's meant to be a college wrestling uniform with a blue mask and cape. No wonder they changed it later on. And Al seriously needs some shorts or something, because he's definitely getting a wedgie in some panels.

Scribbly and the Red Tornado
One of the surprises of the book, this was actually a lot of fun. Because it's a humor strip about a boy cartoonist that starts parodying the super-hero trend of the time. Hefty Ma Hunkel, housewife, dresses up in red long johns, shorts, a cape and a saucepan helmet with eye-holes to fight crime as the Red Tornado. Interestingly enough, she is inspired by Green Lantern, just like Wildcat. The art style is deliberately cartoony, and as such isn't anywhere near as crude as some other examples from the same time period. This is a character and a strip that aren't meant to be serious adventure, they're just like something you might find on the comics page in the newspaper, only with ongoing storylines. It's interesting that they brought Ma Hunkel back in the modern day JSA series as the caretaker of the JSA museum, and then made her grandaughter Maxine was one of the legacy characters. I have to admit I enjoy seeing some of these obscure characters brought into continuity.

Dr. Mid-Nite
I'm just getting started on these, but I enjoy the fact that 20 years before Stan Lee created Daredevil, DC had the first blind superhero. Of course, like Daredevil he has a way to compensate, and in Dr. Mid-Nite's case, he's blind in light, but can see in total darkness. Hence the goggles on his hood to make it dark enough to allow him to function normally, and his blackout bombs that make it dark so that others can't see, but he still can. And that's it for this guy's gimmicks. He has no super powers of any kind, other than his vision. He just makes it dark and starts swinging at the bad guys. I'd love to see a well-written modern day series exploring this visually handicapped character. Daredevil has his radar vision and acrobatic skills to get by, but Mid-Nite has far less to rely on. There's only a pair of goggles between him and blind helplessness. I know we had Pieter Cross in JSA, but as part of that ensemble cast we never really delved a lot into what it meant for him to be blind. There's some potential here, or was anyway.

[andersonh1]

Speaking of also-rans, ever want to read the entire Action Comics #1? The company that graded the $3 million dollar copy has the whole thing in digital format, including the backup features and the ads. Poor Chuck Dawson doesn't even get color... that shows you how low he rates!

http://www.cgccomics.com/1134755001/#features/

[andersonh1]

The Flash #2
Mike Baron/Jackson Guice

My collection of issues from the Wally West era Flash series is fairly small, but I’ve been adding to it recently thanks to the dollar bins at local comic shops. Very few of the early issues have been reprinted, though of course the later Geoff Johns issues have been collected in omnibus format. When most people think of Wally West, they probably associate the character with writer Mark Waid, who really does deserve to have his long run back in print for all the fine work he did. But go all the way back to the beginning, and Mike Baron, a writer I’m completely unfamiliar with, kicked off Wally’s solo series as a former kid sidekick who definitely wasn’t ready to fill the shoes he had stepped into. The series began in 1987 immediately after the “Legends” crossover, only a year or so after Crisis had ended, so that tells you the era we’re going back to.

I don’t have the first issue, but #2 picks up with Wally West returning to his apartment in New York City after a trip to the West Coast to deliver a heart for a heart transplant patient. While on the way out he had witnessed Vandal Savage murder a man. Now Savage is waiting for Wally, having “asked his computer” who the man in the Flash costume could be. This is pre-internet days as far as the public was concerned, so presumably Savage has compiled his own database from various sources. Or perhaps he had access to military or intelligence records. Who knows? In any case, Savage knows that it’s Wally under the mask, and he intends to kill him. Baron’s depiction of Vandal Savage is not one that I’ve seen elsewhere. His speech bubbles suggest he’s speaking differently than everyone else. He also uses magic to put a containment spell around Wally’s apartment so he can’t escape, and he’s physically very strong and difficult to injure. Wally only defeats him by goading him into falling out the apartment door into whatever void Vandal Savage has surrounded the apartment with, causing the spell and Savage to vanish.

A lot of things happen in this issue, which is a very dense read. Wally won the lottery in issue #1 apparently, so this issue sees him collecting his winnings. He tells his girlfriend Francis Kane about it. He starts to enjoy his newfound wealth, indulging the two of them in fine clothes and fancy dining. At the end of the issue he’s bought a huge mansion and invites Francis to live there with him. He’s really hit the big time, taking on the role of an A-list hero and becoming rich at the same time. Wally also has one further encounter with Savage, who attacks him in public while he and Francis are out at dinner. Between the two of them they manage to drive him off yet again, but it’s not a conclusive victory by any means.

The post-Crisis/modern age style of writing is in full effect here. Mike Baron succeeds in creating an atmosphere that feels more like a crime drama than a typical super-hero comic. The dialogue is not entirely natural, but the overly dramatic “comic book” style of speech is nowhere to be seen, thankfully. And we don’t see Wally engaging in a lot of super-speed tricks to win the day. He uses his speed, but it’s not the whimsical application we might expect from Barry Allen’s early days. There’s a definite attempt to keep the series much more grounded, despite the fact that it’s about a man who can run at the speed of sound. And that’s Wally’s limit at this point, making him much slower than Jay Garrick and Barry Allen had been. Wally engages in some fairly brutal hand to hand grappling with Savage. And he’s a far cry from the old paragons of virtue that DC’s characters had been in the Silver Age, where he originated. Jackson Guice’s art is not exaggerated or cartoony at all, but rather fairly straightforward and realistic, giving the whole book a very down to earth feel. This book is utterly unlike anything DC is currently publishing. This appears to be the Flash at his least powerful, as DC scaled back from the Silver Age power levels, but before Mark Waid would boost them again six or seven years down the road. It’s an interesting approach to take, and I definitely want to read more. Sadly, the next issue I own is #6, so some story questions will remain unanswered until I track down what I’m missing.

[andersonh1]

The Flash #6
Mike Baron/Jackson Guice

As much as I like the art of Jackson Guice, the visuals in this story badly need some more punch. Guice is a good solid illustrator, but his layouts lack energy, even the action sequences. And there’s one part in particular where I’m not sure I’d have known quite what was going on from the images alone. The dialogue is necessary to make things clear.

So Wally continues to be much less of a virtuous person than DC heroes past. At some point between this issue and the last one I read, issue 2, he’s and Francis have broken up, and Wally has fallen in love with a married woman, Tina McGee, who he is attempting to steal from her husband Jerry. Pretty sleazy there, Wally. Tina is apparently open to the whole idea because her husband has gone a little nuts lately and through experiments has turned himself into the Speed Demon, a monster with amplified speed and strength. The plot consists of Wally trying to keep Tina out of harm’s way (since her husband is a little angry about the whole situation) and hunt Jerry down. In the end, Wally manages to do both, only narrowly escaping serious injury himself. Jerry’s former co-workers and Tina herself would like him cured, but the only doctors who might be able to help are in the Soviet Union. The last page of the book shows a trio of Russians with enhanced speed, who a Soviet scientist insists will rival that of the Titan, the Flash.

Speaking of the Titans, Donna Troy and Garth both make an appearance in this story as Wally initially takes Tina to Titans tower to hide her from Jerry. I’m so used to thinking of Wally as a member of the Justice League that it feels odd to see him back in his days as a Titan, especially since he’s wearing the Flash costume rather than his Kid Flash costume, which is the one I usually associate with his time as a Titan.

So, thoughts on this issue: Wally is a very fallible character. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. In fact, given his situation in life it’s probably realistic. He’s a superhero, he’s famous, he’s young, and he’s suddenly wealthy. And his one decent role model is dead. It’s not surprising to see Wally often just doing what he wants and what feels good whether it’s right or not, just because he can. I don’t know how consistent his characterization is with previous appearances, but I think a case can be made that he’s had enough changes in his life to make any character changes believable. Maybe that’s why Francis left. If I’m ever able to track down the other issues I’m missing, I’m sure that question will be answered. In any case, had I been reading this series when it was first published, I’m not sure I’d have been happy with Wally’s characterization (and a number of writers in the letters column were not happy about it). But it’s more interesting than annoying given where Wally will end up down the road.

[andersonh1]

The Flash #1
Mike Baron/Jackson Guice

As the column at the end of this issue points out, this is technically the first “Flash” #1 ever. Jay Garrick headlined Flash Comics and All-Flash, and then Barry Allen’s Flash series picked up numbering where Flash Comics left off with issue 105. And it’s the first time a kid sidekick assumed the name and role of his deceased mentor. Wally would go on to be THE Flash for about another 25 years. And for once there’s a valid reason for a new #1 issue, since we have an entirely new character headlining the series.

The issue begins with a firm time and place: its 1987, New York City, and its Wally West’s 20th birthday. He buys a candy bar and six lottery tickets. He’s no longer a teenager. His girlfriend Francis Kane and the Titans throw him a “surprise” birthday party. And then there’s a phone call from a local hospital. They have to get a heart to the west coast for an organ transplant, but snowstorms are blocking air flights and they’re hoping the Flash can handle it for them.

Wally agrees to the delivery, but wants to be paid for it, which surprises the hospital staff (and possibly readers at the time). They expect him to hit light speed and cross the country in a matter of seconds, but Wally’s limit is 700 mph at this point, so it’s a three hour run. And I have to guess that one of the new approaches to DC’s characters at this point in the company’s history was to generally scale them back and put limits on them. The same thing had happened to Superman the year before. Wally heads out across country and has to work at it since he’s not used to hours of sustained speed. And as he’s nearing the Rockies, he sees Vandal Savage kill a man. He goes back to check it out, informs the police, then completes his delivery. The transplant operation is a success. Wally ends up sleeping for 17 hours after his cross-country run, another limitation that’s new to the character.

Rather than run back, he catches a plane back to New York, stopping a hijacking along the way. He returns to his empty apartment, and while watching television, discovers that he has the winning lotto numbers. He’s a millionaire instantly. And then he’s confronted by Vandal Savage, who tells him to put on the Flash uniform. “Live as the Flash, die as the Flash.”

So at the time this would have to have been a fairly innovative approach to a DC character like the Flash. Slow him down, make it so that he has to eat a lot to compensate for his very high metabolism, and have him crash and sleep after long periods of exertion. It’s a decent set of limitations, and it’s a lot less artificial than a vulnerability to kryptonite or a yellow weakness. Wally’s speed and endurance may far exceed most people, but so do his need for rest and nutrition. It’s very human, and it helps to create drama by making Wally a lot more vulnerable. And rather than simply being altruistic, Wally wants to be compensated for his services. It’s entirely reasonable to want to be paid, but in a world of heroes who risk life and limb for free, Wally’s request gets him some grumbling, though ultimately he does get paid what he asks.

We do get a few references to Barry Allen in order to remind us that Wally used to be his sidekick. A few people still call Wally “Kid Flash” and he corrects them. He wears Barry’s costume and it feels “like a second skin”. Wally is still very much in the shadow of his predecessor here.

[BWprowl]

The issue begins with a firm time and place: its 1987, New York City, and its Wally West’s 20th birthday. He buys a candy bar and six lottery tickets. He’s no longer a teenager. His girlfriend Francis Kane and the Titans throw him a “surprise” birthday party. And then there’s a phone call from a local hospital. They have to get a heart to the west coast for an organ transplant, but snowstorms are blocking air flights and they’re hoping the Flash can handle it for them.

Wally agrees to the delivery, but wants to be paid for it, which surprises the hospital staff (and possibly readers at the time). They expect him to hit light speed and cross the country in a matter of seconds, but Wally’s limit is 700 mph at this point, so it’s a three hour run. And I have to guess that one of the new approaches to DC’s characters at this point in the company’s history was to generally scale them back and put limits on them. The same thing had happened to Superman the year before. Wally heads out across country and has to work at it since he’s not used to hours of sustained speed. And as he’s nearing the Rockies, he sees Vandal Savage kill a man. He goes back to check it out, informs the police, then completes his delivery. The transplant operation is a success. Wally ends up sleeping for 17 hours after his cross-country run, another limitation that’s new to the character.

Oh wow, this is interesting. See, I've never read these comics (I did grow up with Wally being THE Flash though), but a LOT of elements of this story were adapted into an episode of Young Justice, though with Wally still being Kid Flash there (I think it was his sixteenth birthday in the episode). Clearly the writers were fans of Wally at least going all the way back to his first run (heh, run, he's the Flash, heh, heh) as the Flash.

anderson, I forget, have you watched Young Justice?

[andersonh1]

Oh wow, this is interesting. See, I've never read these comics (I did grow up with Wally being THE Flash though), but a LOT of elements of this story were adapted into an episode of Young Justice, though with Wally still being Kid Flash there (I think it was his sixteenth birthday in the episode). Clearly the writers were fans of Wally at least going all the way back to his first run (heh, run, he's the Flash, heh, heh) as the Flash.

That's cool, I always enjoy a fun animated adaption of a storyline. The only part of the Wally West run I'd really read up until recently was from The Return of Barry Allen through Terminal Velocity and a few issues after that, so 75-102 or so. All of these early Mike Baron issues are new to me. I see where the animated Justice League series got their version of Wally from, with the hitting on the ladies and hawking products on tv, though they tone that down a lot compared to the comic.

anderson, I forget, have you watched Young Justice?

I've seen most of it. I've seen the first half of season one and all of season 2. I don't remember the Wally birthday episode though, so I'll have to go back and watch that episode again. Still need to track down the second half of season 1 on dvd. I wasn't happy that they killed Wally off in the last episode, apparently, and then the series ended. And that's after he'd been sidelined for a lot of the season!

I do remember there's one episode where all four Flashes are on screen together (even though Bart's not the Flash in that continuity). Wally and Bart are joined by Barry Allen and even Jay Garrick. I was disappointed when Jay didn't show up to help them in the final episode.

Did you see that season 2 is coming out on blu-ray?

[Dominic]

Wally eating huge amounts (to sustain his metabolism) was a thing up in to the 90s.