Category comics

Reasonable Facsimiles

Ten years ago I did a series of posts here looking back at the year 1974, and now that that year is officially a half century in the past, I find myself thinking about it again. In particular, I was…

League of Extraordinary Oddballs: THE DART

The lead feature in Fox Feature Syndicate’s Weird Comics #5 (Aug. 1940) takes us back to the days of ancient Rome, when men and swords were made of sterner stuff. Here we meet one Caius Martius, the “terror of Roman…

League of Extraordinary Oddballs: Headgear Fashion Show

Crime-fighting attire is all about style. You wouldn’t dress in your finest raiments for Derby Day or the Easter parade without including awesome headgear, so neither should you don a brightly-colored spandex super-suit while neglecting a senses-shattering chapeau.  The only…

Superman Saves Christmas, ca. 1947

Jasper Rasper is a mean man! So begins Action Comics #105 (Feb. 1947), and rather accurately, too, since we first glimpse the wealthy sourpuss in the act of firing his long-term, loyal employee “Cartwright” despite the man’s advanced years and…

Requiem for a Website

This week I learned of the passing of Mike Voiles, creator and caretaker of “Mike’s Amazing World of Comics,” an accurately named online resource that catalogs the output of the major American comic book publishers from 1933(!) to today. Along…

League of Extraordinary Oddballs: THE FERRET

In Man of War Comics #2, Cal Dalton finds himself in a tough spot.  He has a burning desire to bring criminals to justice, but he’s stuck in a boring, dead-end government job as…umm…the Police Commissioner. Obviously that’s not going…

League of Extraordinary Oddballs: SUPER BODY-PARTS!

Sure, Superman and Captain Marvel can perform some awesome feats, but let’s face it, it’s sweaty work lifting cars over your head, leaping tall buildings in a single bound, etc.  Wouldn’t it be better if you could achieve the same…

League of Extraordinary Oddballs: KEEP ‘EM FLYING!

Although he started off by merely “leaping tall buildings,” Superman soon evolved the power of flight, inspiring generations of kids across America to break their legs jumping off of roofs with towels tied around their necks and initiating a veritable…