I raised a smile on my face, even on a stay-at-home pandemic day. (I am writing this in September, 2020.) Mrs Pappy and I watched the filmed Broadway musical Hamilton, and a few days later I found the above panel. That coincidence was enough reason to show the whole story. It is from a Boy Commandos tale, and beyond the Alexander Hamilton reference, the story seems a not uncommon gimmick story for DC Comics. A bad guy has collected weapons tied to famous people and events, and wants to use a machine gun to wipe out Rip Carter to give himself, and the weapon, notoriety.
The Boy Commandos were nearing the end of their run in 1940’s comic books. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in 1942 as a group of boys fighting in World War II, it ended as a postwar boy gang having adventures with the sole adult in the group, Rip Carter, carrying on from the war years as their leader. Boy Commandos stories were published from 1942 until 1949. They appeared in their own comic book for 36 issues, as a backup feature for Detective Comics (86 issues) and World’s Finest Comics (33 issues) before they were bumped. It was a time of transition in comic books. The old costumed, super and urban heroes were giving way to other types of heroes, like cowboys and Wild West stories.
From Detective Comics #143 (1949). Illustrated by Curt Swan and Steve Brodie.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Number 1002
When Hitler came back!
Adolf Hitler was a caricature: the Chaplin-style mustache, the distinctive hair, made him easily recognizable, perfect for editorial cartoonists, animated cartoons, comic strips and comic books. His image still has a lot of villainous appeal, even after his real-life villainy had ended with a bullet in 1945.
"When Hitler Came Back," a Boy Commandos story, is from Detective Comics #125, 1947, and features a fake Hitler. Credits from the Grand Comics Database tell us it's drawn by Curt Swan and Steve Brodie. The story is written by George Kashdan.
Good grief! It's Christmas again already! Didn't we just have one of these about 365 days ago? Time doesn't just fly, it puts on the afterburners and goes supersonic.
Last year around this time I showed you a Boy Commandos story with a character named J. Smytherton Malone, who helped the Commandos on Mount Everest. You can read the story in Pappy's #648. In this Boy Commandos story, from Detective Comics #132, 1948, the Commandos revisit some of their past friends, including J. Smytherton on Everest, in order to leave him a Christmas gift. Awwwww. That's the ol' Christmas spirit, boys.
Unfortunately, the bad guy, rotund Rollo, believes it's better to receive than to give. He does plenty of taking, and what he does give is trouble.
The artwork is credited by the Grand Comics Database to Curt Swan and Steve Brodie.
I hope you and yours are having a great Christmas.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Number 813
The "First" Batman
Tattered, worn, battered, torn...Detective Comics #235 rests in a comic book bag in a box in my basement. I lost the cover eons ago. This comic is one I bought in the summer of 1956, just after my ninth birthday, when I took my 50¢ allowance to the drugstore for my weekly ration of comics and a candy bar. I was knocked on my keister by this story, written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane's ghost, Shelly Moldoff. I didn't know about Finger or Moldoff at the time, obviously. It was the first time I'd seen Batman's origin, and I was impressed. Detective Comics #235 is one of those comics I treated shabbily as a kid with repeated re-readings and mishandling until it ended up like this.
Batman was a favorite character of mine. In 1956 I was considered the neighborhood expert. "Does the Batman fly?" asked my neighbor, Bobby. "No," I said, "Not unless Superman carries him." That was what passed for expert.
This is one of the books I'll keep until they pry it from my cold, dead fingers. Not that anyone else would really want it, being in the poor-minus condition it is. Just so you can see how bad it is, I've scanned it without cleaning it up.
I haven't read any Batman comics in a long time, and no recent stories. When I quit reading I felt that too many hands were working over the character, writing and rewriting the legends.
This beat-up old comic book is a sentimental favorite of mine, as you can probably tell.
"The First Batman" has been reprinted several times. According to the GCD, it's been reprinted in these places:
Batman (DC, 1940 series) #255 (March-April 1974)
Batman Annual (DC, 1961 series) #4 (Winter 1963)
Best of DC, The (DC, 1979 series) #2
Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, The (DC, 1988 series) #nn [1]
Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, The (DC, 1989 series) #nn [1]
Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, The (Warner Books, 1989 series) #nn
My additions to the list:
Batman: Secrets Of The Batcave (2007)
Batman: The Black Casebook (2009)
Batman Annual 1968 (UK)
Friday, May 30, 2008
Number 317
Robotbody Meets a Body!
This Robotman story is from Detective Comics #152, October 1949. It's drawn by Jimmy Thompson, who I understand was an old timer, an artist who went back to pre-comic book days, working for newspapers. His drawing style is excellent and well-suited for DC Comics of the 1940s, so he adapted well to then-current art styles. I love the panels where Robotman wears different bodies: a midget body, a glass body, a helicopter body…
The story shows me again what I've said before: backup features in DC Comics could be as good as the lead features. DC's B-list characters were often better than other companies' A-list. I wish I had more of these to show you, but this is my sole comic with Robotman.
******
The Hairy Green Eyeball posts a rare 1990s fanzine, It's Melvin, devoted to the EC days of the late Will Elder. It includes an index of Elder reprints up to the date of publication.
