Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine

Number 790

Un-Super Heroes Week: The bravest and the boldest

August is theme month, and here we are in week three with the first entry in the Un-Super Heroes Week. Un-Super heroes would be those who have no powers bestowed by accident, birth, being a mutant, coming from another planet, magic, etc. They're the heroes who are heroes in the old-fashioned way. They're human. They've earned it.

First up, all three origin stories from DC Comics' great title, The Brave And the Bold #1, 1955. Most of us know B&B from its long run of Batman and guest star team-up issues, but it started out in 1955 with brand new characters, and a brand new restrictive Comics Code to live with. In this first issue, Golden Gladiator (who was a short-lived character, being soon replaced by Robin Hood) is written by France Herron and drawn by Russ Heath; Viking Prince, one of my all-time favorite Joe Kubert series, and Silent Knight, drawn by the excellent Irv Novick, are both scripted by Robert Kanigher.

I loved B&B when I was a kid, but missed these first few issues. I picked up on it a couple of years later, in '57 and '58. By that time the series had dropped the third character, Robin Hood, and had longer stories featuring Silent Knight and Viking Prince. Silent Knight couldn't talk lest his voice be recognized. Viking Prince is an amnesiac who doesn't know who he is. He's just called Jon. His girlfriend's name is Gunnda. I'd never seen a name like that. Still haven't except in these comics.

Three good characters in good stories set in interesting times and locales, drawn by three top comic artists. In my opinion those things make The Brave And the Bold #1 one of DC's finest first issues.