That's him at the top of the ladder. More to the point is the chap at the bottom of the ladder. That's Little Archie, aka, Archie Andrews, the character who sold more comic books in the Silver Age than anybody. And what is he doing? Well, it looks like he's rather cleverly painted the ladder so that Little Ambrose can't come down.
From this you might assume that Little Ambrose was some hate-worthy villain like Reggie or Lex Luthor or even Gladstone Gander.
But no. Little Ambrose was the youngster in Archie Andrews' neighborhood that Little Archie bullied. And I am not kidding about that. Consider these scenes from that first issue:
And:
And:
And incredibly:
Little Archie made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Horrific characterization for one of the most important comic book characters of all time. Little Archie and Archie himself were always good characters; when they joined the Superhero craze, Archie became Pureheart the Powerful, but in Little Ambrose, Archie should be Brutus the Bully.
Fortunately Little Ambrose did not survive past his inaugural issue; I assume that he had appeared in the Little Archie mags as well. I'm pretty sure he did not appear in any of the teenage Archie mags in the Silver Age. There is nothing particularly wrong with the character of Little Ambrose; he's the underdog who comes out on top. That's admirable.
Amazing Fantasy was a comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It is best known as the title that introduced the popular character Spider Man which was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.
I decided to try something different this week. I've combined bits and pieces from several different covers from the Superman family of comics. Can you identify all the covers. Some of the covers may give you a clue. For example, note the super tots frolicking in #1; is there something unusual about the Superman uniforms they're wearing?
The always-recommended Dial B for Blog has a terrific series on what would have happened if Bazooka Joe had joined up with the Justice League of America.
Both Beaucoup Kevin and Mark Engblom take on the recent announcement that the Superman movie series is going to be rebooted, with a darker take on the character, thanks to the success of Dark Knight.
Most comic fans probably agree that Superman Returns was a mess, but I agree with Kevin and Mark; Superman is not a dark character.
Booksteve has a post dedicated to Lost In Space, the other 1960s Trek through Space show.
The Fortress of Fortitude celebrates the return to continuity of a couple "Batman and the Aliens" stories. Although these stories were largely a plague on Batman prior to the New Look, it is hard to eliminate them completely; after all, the sci-fi elements may mostly have been jettisoned from Batman and Detective, but he still encountered them often in the pages of the Justice League.
Match these villains with the person who either created them, or augmented their powers in some way:
1. The Destroyer 2. The Absorbing Man 3. The Wrecker
A. Queen of the Narns B. Odin C. Loki
1. B. 2. C. 3. A.
Answered correctly by Joe Bloke, Thelonius Nick and Kryp44
4. Who was the comic relief character in the Tales of Asgard series? Upon which famous literary character was he based?
The Voluminous Volstagg was the comic relief character in Tales of Asgard. He was clearly based on the character of Falstaff, who appeared in several Shakespearean plays, including the Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry V.
5. What villain (villainess) appeared first in JIM/Thor and then subsequently appeared the most often in other Silver Age Marvel mags of any of Thor's opponents?
Among villains and villainesses appearing first in JIM/Thor, the Enchantress had by far the most appearances in other Marvel mags in the Silver Age. She made her initial appearance in Journey into Mystery #103, then appeared in a startling number of early Avengers issues, including Avengers #7, #9, #10, 15, 16, 21, 22, as well as Hulk #102 and several other issues. This is beyond her significant appearances in Journey into Mystery. She's on the short list for female villain of the 1960s; indeed she's the favorite.
One of the nice things about having a Sitemeter is that you can see where people are coming from. I saw a couple referrals from SupermanFan.net in my logs, surfed over thee and was very impressed with what I saw. It appears to be a group blog, with lots of Silver Age Superman posts, solid writing, and just the right wry detachment about the sillier aspects of that era while maintaining a solid affection for Supes. About the only criticism I have to offer is that there aren't more frequent posts. But what there is, is choice.
Match these villains with the person who either created them, or augmented their powers in some way:
1. The Destroyer 2. The Absorbing Man 3. The Wrecker
A. Queen of the Narns B. Odin C. Loki
4. Who was the comic relief character in the Tales of Asgard series? Upon which famous literary character was he based?
5. What villain (villainess) appeared first in JIM/Thor and then subsequently appeared the most often in other Silver Age Marvel mags of any of Thor's opponents?
Undeniably the Holy Grail for DC Silver Age fanatics (no, I don't have it either), Showcase #4 is generally credited with kick-starting the superhero revival of the Silver Age. That it was the first comic to succeed in reintroducing a superhero from the 1940s is undeniable, although one thing that I have been surprised to note is that there were several other attempts by other publishers right around the same time.
For example, Marvel attempted to reintroduce the Human Torch, Submariner and Captain America in Young Men Comics #24 (December 1953). The effort lasted through #28 (June 1954). And Charlton attempted a relaunch of the Blue Beetle for four issues from February 1955 to August 1955. So Showcase #4's (Sept-Oct 1956) was actually at best the fifth attempt at a relaunch of a Golden Age character in the 1950s.
But unlike the others the Flash took hold, and so I thought I would take a look at some of the reasons why:
1. The Flash was not the old Flash, it was a new, modern version. This of course became the template for almost all relaunches afterwards, with only a few exceptions (notably the Silver Age Captain America). When Marvel came up with the Fantastic Four, they completely changed the Human Torch; made him a kid into fast cars and faster women.
2. The Flash specifically acknowledged the prior Flash and his comic book adventures in the 1940s. Indeed, the first time we see Barry Allen, he's reading an old issue of Flash Comics:
Now that is an interesting concept; a kind of breaking of the fourth wall if you will. It was the beginning of the idea that the comics of the Golden Age were what the characters of the Silver Age grew up reading, but that the heroes never existed in reality in their world. Of course, we would later learn that they did exist in reality on another Earth. (Incidentally, that cover is completely made up and looks like none of the actual 104 issues of Flash Comics, and certainly not #13, which actually featured Hawkman on the cover).
We learn that Barry is a police scientist. This aspect of the character almost never mattered in a story in the Silver Age, except of course for the origin sequence:
The lightning and the chemicals combine to turn Barry into the Flash. He discovers his tremendous speed when he sees the last taxi disappearing in the darkness and suddenly runs past it. Then, in a diner, the waitress drops a tray and:
If that looks familiar, think of the cafeteria scene in Spiderman. This ability to see things in slow-motion becomes important when Barry encounters his impatient fiancee, Iris West. He spots a bullet headed directly towards her and shoves her away at the last minute. Passing cops explain that it was a bullet from the Turtle, who bills himself as the Slowest Man On Earth.
This incident, combined with the comics that influenced him, results in Barry taking on the double identity of the Flash. At first, the Turtle uses his speed against him, but eventually Barry figures out how to capture the crook.
We see the Flash do several of the interesting stunts that defined him during the Silver Age, such as running down the sides of buildings, running across water, and the bit with the costume coming out of the ring.
Comments: Excellent origin story with many entertaining sequences. However, the villain is mediocre at best, and given that the Silver Age Flash would have one of the greatest Rogues' Galleries of all time, it's especially surprising.
The text story features the tale of two girls on their way to a dance who are upset that their parents have a curfew, until they learn that the boyfriend of one of them, who's two years older and named Muggsie (no kidding) also has a curfew. So it's no big deal, and they decide to enjoy the dance.
There are a couple of factoid pages entitled Fastest Creatures on Earth and Wonders of Speed. At some point I should do a post on the factoids in DC comics; most of the DC Silver Age Comics had one or two every issue, and they added up to a lot of information. Maybe call it the Encyclopedia DCicca?
The second Flash story is The Man Who Broke the Time Barrier. The Flash fights a villain from the future (as he would often do in his own mag, with the Reverse Flash and Abra Kadabra). Mazdan, the villain from sometime in the future, had been sentenced to the 50th century, when Earth is (was?) supposedly a "desolate place". But there was a malfunction (jeez, how many times did DC use that as a plot device), and he was sent back to the 20th century instead.
Mazdan is trying to get back to his own time, but he needs materials to propel the time capsule he arrived in back to the future. When the Flash finally apprehends him, he points out that since he can escape any jail, the Flash should simply help him get back to his own time. But Barry notices that the capsule would kill lots of people and so he decides to try breaking the time barrier himself, carrying the crimimal. He runs very fast and eventually breaks through into Mazdan's time, where he hands the crook over to the authorities.
Comments: Interesting story over all. It's not the first time-travel story, by any means, but it's an important one. DC's use of time travel became much more common in the Silver Age of Comics than it had been in the Golden Age.
Text Story: 100-Yard Dash. Considering the current Olympics, in which a (Thunder)Bolt became the fastest man alive, it's worth posting this text page in its entirety. Like most kids I read few of the text stories, and I don't read a lot more of them now. But this is terrific:
Overall evaluation: This is as good as it gets. My only criticism, that it lacks one of the classic Flash villains, is really just a comment from the benefit of hindsight. Viewed in isolation, and for its time, this comic must have come like a bolt (sorry) from the blue.
I once read a book by PG Wodehouse on writing, where he mentioned that as he plotted a new story, he would always track his characters with little notations; +Psmith means that Psmith would enter the scene, while -Jeeves indicates that worthy has exited stage left.
One of the things that always confused me about Thor when I started reading him around 1969 was the difference between the old Thor of the reprints and the new Thor issues on the stands, particularly with regard to the love interest. In the old stories, Thor was enamored of nurse Jane Foster, while in the modern books it was the senses-shattering Sif who held his affections. What had happened to Jane? It was especially puzzling since Stan loved to talk about what happened in issue soandso, and yet here was a change that had occurred quite suddenly that never seemed to get mentioned again. I didn't realize quite how suddenly back then.
As I have discussed in the past, Jane mostly functioned in the series as a convenient hostage. Starting around #130, she became something of a catalyst for stories. She gets a roommate named Tana Nile, who turns out to be the vanguard of an alien colonizing force. That story lasted from Thor #130 to #134.
Then, when Nile hypnotizes her and sends her away, she takes a job with a man she meets on the bus, who turns out to work for the High Evolutionary, creating human-animal hybrids, which becomes the plotline for Thor #134-135.
And then in Thor #136, Jane gets a rare appearance on the cover (she had previously appeared on the covers of Journey into Mystery #99, #100 and #112). This is, of course, the story that I looked for many years ago. Jane is to be turned into an immortal, by order of Odin so that she may be wed to Thor. She gets her transformation:
But she finds it all a little frightening, and Odin, who isn't exactly the kindly father-in-law type decides to really test her mettle, against a horrifying beast called the Unknown:
Well, by this point they've pretty well telegraphed that Jane's not exactly the superheroine type, so she does the "Help me, Thor!" bit. Odin, ticked off, sends her back to Earth, stripped of her powers. This happens on page 11 of the story. By page 14 she's got a new doctor boyfriend. And Thor, who has previously pledged undying love to Jane? He makes it to the bottom of page 16 before he's madly in love again:
That's pretty cold. Although considering what Marvel did to some other inconvenient girlfriends (like Karen Page and Gwen Stacy), perhaps Jane got off rather well.
Go check out Diversions of the Groovy Kind, a new blog covering what is called "The Groovy Age of Comics" (defined as 1967-1980). The Groovy Agent, your host over there, has a solid writing style, an amusing shtick (the Groovy bit), and similar tastes to mine in terms of pulp fiction characters like Conan, John Carter of Mars, Tarzan, Doc Savage, etc. Well-worth reading!
1. Who was the first villain to return for a second battle against Spidey?
The Vulture, who first appeared in Amazing Spiderman #2, returned in Amazing Spiderman #7. Michael Rebain, Kyle, Thelonius Nick and Kryp44 all got this one correct.
2. Name the first villain(s) to appear in three different stories (not issues) in Spiderman.
The first villains to appear in three different stories in Spiderman were The Enforcers: Fancy Dan, Montana, and The Ox. They were henchmen for the Big Man (Fredrick Foswell) in ASM #10, assisted the Green Goblin in ASM #14, and collaborated with the Sandman in ASM #19. For the first time, my commenters were stumped by this question. (Note: You can make an argument for several characters appearing in ASM #18--Goblin, Doc Ock, Vulture, etc., but these were cameos, one-panel appearances). Ironically, ASM 19 was also the last appearance of the three Enforcers with the exception of a cameo flashback in ASM #40.
Clay points out AMS Annual #1 features third appearances of Doc Ock and the Vulture. It is clear that ASM Annual #1 is intended to take place sometime before ASM #18 from a panel in the latter mag. This would also put the Sandman's third appearance in Spiderman ASM #18, or is it in ASM Annual #1, because there was a Sandman appearance in Strange Tales where Spidey helped out.
But I specified in Spiderman, and I meant ASM, not the Annuals. But yeah, this question is pretty slippery.
3. It is well-known that Dr Doom was the first crossover villain in Spiderman. What team was the second?
The Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime originally appeared in the Incredible Hulk #3, and crossed over into ASM #16. Michael Rebain, Kyle, Thelonius Nick and Kryp 44 all got this one correct.
4. Uncle Ben Parker was the first character to die in a Spiderman story. Who was the second?
Bennett Brant, Betty's older brother, bites it in this scene from ASM #11:
Kyle and Kryp44 got this one correct.
5. What guest character appeared the most often in the first 20 issues of Spiderman?
Michael Rebain, Kyle, Thelonius Nick and Kryp 44 all correctly guessed the Human Torch, who appeared in ASM #1, 8, 17, 18 and 19.
Korak is the ape name of Jack Clayton, the son of Tarzan and Jane.
Jack first appeared in the original Tarzan novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He was introduced as an infant in the non-Tarzan novel The Eternal Lover (later retitled The Eternal Savage), in which the Ape Man and his family played supporting roles. His next appearance (still as an infant) was in The Beasts of Tarzan, the third Tarzan novel, in which he was kidnapped and taken to Africa. The story of his youth and growth to manhood was told in the fourth novel, The Son of Tarzan, in which he returned to Africa and lived in the jungle, taking for the first time the name Korak ("Killer" in the language of the Great Apes). Most references to him were as "Korak the Killer."
Half of the book relates to Meriem, the Arab girl he rescues from a beating. The two of then run wild in the forest for years before being separated. After many adventures they are re-united and eventually marry. The story of the boy's sadness at losing her and her emerging character is conveyed very vividly.
Korak was later used as a supporting character in the eighth through the tenth entries in the series, Tarzan the Terrible, Tarzan and the Golden Lion, and Tarzan and the Ant Men.
Comic Books
Gold Key Comics published Korak, Son of Tarzan #1-45 from January, 1964 to January, 1972. It featured work by Russ Manning, Warren Tufts, Dan Spiegle, and others.
DC Comics continued the series from #46-59 (June, 1972 to Sept-Oct, 1974), then it was renamed Tarzan Family #60-66 (Nov-Dec 1975 to Nov-Dec 1976). Both series also included other Burrough's characters.
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