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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 13, 2014 13:49:40 GMT -5
Mr. Terrific
Inventive genius, Olympic athlete, business tycoon: Terry Sloane had everything... except a reason to live. While standing on a bridge considering suicide, he instead saved the life of Wanda Wilson, herself driven to self-destruction by despair over her young brother's hero worship of a local gang boss. Donning a colorful costume that emphasized the virtue of “fair play” (the slogan was written across his belly!), Sloane exposed the hoodlum as an ignorant thug before the neighborhood youngsters and was consequently dubbed “Mr. Terrific” by his young admirers.
No doubt the series' creators, Charles Reizenstein and Hal Sharp, had high hopes for their progeny. Considered objectively, alas, “Mr. Terrific” was one of DC's least interesting offerings, its origin as filler material for the first issue of Sensation Comics obvious. Dubbed the “Man of a Thousand Talents,” Terrific could be counted on to know whatever esoteric knowledge or possess whatever skill was required to resolve that issue's plotline. Yet despite predictable stories, dull and clumsy art, an exceptionally boring supporting cast, and a paucity of interesting villains, the strip ran for four and a half years.
Ultimately, Mr. Terrific enjoyed the last laugh over his detractors as he not only joined the Justice Society (albeit for a single issue) but ― thanks to the very qualities that made him seem so laughable ― endeared himself to a generation of super-hero fans.
First Appearance: Sensation Comics #1 (January 1942)
JSA Appearances: All-Star Comics #24
Solo Appearances: The Big All-American Comic Book, Sensation Comics #1-63
Black Canary
By the end of World War II, DC had introduced over 50 costumed heroes but only four costumed heroines: Hawkgirl, the Red Tornado, Liberty Belle and, of course, Wonder Woman. Of this quartet, only the Amazing Amazon had achieved lasting solo success. It was not until 1947 that another female character captured the imagination of readers.
Introduced in the “Johnny Thunder” strip in Flash Comics #86, the Black Canary was a thief who specialized in robbing other thieves. With her Veronica Lake hairdo and unforgettable costume of black leather, choker, and fishnet stockings, the Canary was comics' answer to film noir: a seductive, masked bad girl. She was just the kind of heroine who would appeal to older readers like servicemen, in those days a substantial portion of the comics-reading audience. Poor naive Johnny immediately fell in love and, like all good noir heroes, paid the price: after four more guest appearances, she took over his spot in Flash Comics and, shortly after, his seat in the Justice Society.
Flash Comics #90 introduced us to Dinah Drake, the brunette beneath the Black Canary's blonde wig. By day, she was a florist, whose shop was the favorite hangout of a slightly seedy private eye named Larry Lance; by night (there was always a full moon), she was the mysterious but no longer criminal (or masked) Canary. Her past continued to haunt her. The police were after her. And yet somehow the “Blonde Bombshell” kept finding herself knee-deep in Lance's cases. He wasn't too bright or too competent but she bailed him out of trouble anyway because, when you got right down to it, she was sort of fond of the big goof.
The creative talent behind the Black Canary were destined to become giants in their respective specialties but the careers of writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino were then just beginning. You'd never know it from the swift sassiness of the scripts or the lushness of the moody artwork. They would produce nearly every appearance of the character.
The Canary's presence in the JSA created a subtle change in tone for that long-running team's series in All-Star Comics. Her deductive abilities and mastery of ju jitsu were a departure from Johnny Thunder's comedy relief antics and she quickly became ‘one of the boys’ in a way that poor Johnny never was. She would remain with the Society until its last bow in 1951. Her own series had already vanished with the cancellation of Flash Comics two years before.
The Blonde Bombshell, alas, had been born too late. The super-hero genre was running on fumes and she was not popular enough to survive DC's downsizing of its costumed repertory company. Her fans did not forget her. Revived alongside her teammates in the Silver Age, she became a breakout star. Though extensively redesigned to suit modern sensibilities, the Black Canary remains a mainstay of the modern DC Universe.
Me, I miss those fishnets.
First Appearance: Flash Comics #86 (August 1947)
JSA Appearances: All-Star Comics #42-57
Solo Appearances: All-Star Comics #38-41, Comic Cavalcade #25, Flash Comics #86-88, 90-104
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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 13, 2014 13:50:35 GMT -5
Robin the Boy Wonder
“Holy fill-in-the-blank, Batman!”
That's most people's immediate reaction to the subject of Robin, the Boy Wonder. Actor Burt Ward's corny caricature of Dick Grayson has become such a familiar icon of pop culture that it is hard to grasp what an important role Robin played in the evolution of the super-hero genre. There had been kid sidekicks before, from Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island to the eponymous star of Milton Caniff's seminal newspaper strip Terry and the Pirates, but there was something about the idea of a kid in a mask that caught the popular imagination. Within a year, costumed kid sidekicks were de riguer for any self-respecting mystery man. There were dozens of them.
The exact details of Robin's creation are in dispute, but the reasoning behind it is not: Batman needed someone to talk to, and a boy was thought most likely to appeal to the strip's young audience. The “laughing young daredevil” was designed to evoke memories of Robin Hood, a character enjoying a renaissance in popularity thanks to the Errol Flynn film released two years before.
The Flying Graysons were a family of trapeze artists headlining Haly's Circus. When the show's owner refused to pay protection money to local gangster “Boss” Zucco and his men, the trapeze equipment was tampered with as a warning. John and Mary Grayson hurtled to their deaths in the middle of the act, orphaning their young son Dick, himself an accomplished acrobat. It was this clay that the mysterious Batman would mold into his Wonder Boy.
Originally armed with a sling, trained by the Masked Manhunter in both fighting techniques and deduction, Robin was a formidable hand-to-hand combatant and a clever detective for a ten-year-old. Though later generations would question the morality of deliberately taking a child into harm's way and even suggest, as child psychologist Frederick Wertham did, that the Bruce Wayne-Dick Grayson relationship represented a homosexual fantasy, the Boy Wonder was in fact nothing but the embodiment of every young boy's dream of adventuring alongside, and earning the respect of, his adult heroes. And it worked: the addition of Robin to the “Batman” strip elevated their adventures to the upper echelons of the comic book marketplace.
Beginning with the February 1947 issue of Star-Spangled Comics, Robin was given a chance to emerge out from under his mentor's pointy-eared shadow as the star of his own solo series (the only kid sidekick at DC to be so honored). The strip ran for almost seven years. It could be confusing: sometimes Dick Grayson seemed to be in high school, at other times in grammar school. In one episode he could handle the toughest cases and criminals; in the next, Batman would need to intervene. Despite this inconsistency, the series was always entertaining, often involving a clever puzzle or ingenious escape that would require a little diagram to explain.
The Boy Wonder's solo escapades ran through the 130th issue of Star-Spangled but its cancellation had little impact on the character's overall popularity. He had good connections, after all.
First Appearance: Detective Comics #38 (April 1940)
Solo Appearances: Batman #1-91 (with Batman), Detective Comics #38-219 (with Batman), New York World's Fair - 1940 (with Batman), Star-Spangled Comics #65-87, 96-111, 113-130, Star-Spangled Comics #88-95, 112 (with Batman), World's Best Comics #1 (with Batman), World's Finest Comics #2-70 (with Batman)
See Batman above for more information about Robin’s Golden Age appearances.
The Red Tornado
“Justice Society of America” editor and co-creator Sheldon Mayer was also one of the most talented humor cartoonists to ever work in comic books. His semi-autobiographical series “Scribbly” debuted prior to the existence of DC but soon found a home in the pages of that company's All-American Comics.
“Scribbly” was the story of twelve-year-old aspiring cartoonist Scribbly Jibbet and his extended family, including Abigail “Ma” Hunkel, the brawny mother of his best friend. Ma may not have been the brightest brick in the pile but she knew the difference between right and wrong and was not afraid to flex her considerable muscles in the name of justice. After overhearing the children speak admiringly about All-American cover feature Green Lantern, Ma decided to assume a masked identity of her own. Donning red flannel longjohns, carpet slippers, a helmet made from a stewpot and the obligatory cape, Mrs. Hunkel became that terror of local thugs, neighborhood Nazis and other assorted lowlifes: the mystery “man” called the Red Tornado.
The Red Tornado (frequently called the Red “Tomato” by friend and foe alike) quickly came to dominate the “Scribbly” series, appearing in nearly every subsequent episode. Her daughter Sisty and Scribbly's little brother Dinky soon donned homemade costumes and battled alongside the Tornado as the Cyclone Kids. Mayer used these characters to broadly lampoon the very genre he was helping create as an editor. Every installment featured hilarious slapstick, pointed satire and enormous charm. The Tornado even managed to make a quick cameo in the first JSA story, though she was never officially a member of the team.
The fun, alas, ended when “Scribbly” was dropped from All-American. Though Scribbly Jibbet himself would receive his own title in the 1950s, Ma Hunkel and her improbable alter-ego were not brought back.
First Appearance: All-American Comics #20 (November 1940)
Solo Appearances: All-American Comics #20-59, All-Star Comics #3, The Big All-American Comic Book, Comic Cavalcade #3, 7
The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy
Nobody bats a thousand. FDR had his court-packing scheme. John Huston had Annie. And Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel had “The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy.”
Heroes clad in red-white-and-blue were the hot trend in the comic book biz in the fall of 1941 thanks to the sales success of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Captain America. DC was a little late climbing aboard the bandwagon (though Wonder Woman was certainly a step in that direction) but they made up for it by introducing not just a hero but an entire title, Star-Spangled Comics, spotlighting the theme of patriotism. To his credit, Siegel and artistic collaborator Hal Sherman gave the tired cliché of a man-and-boy team a novel twist by making the child the leader and the adult the sidekick.
The Star-Spangled Kid was really wealthy young Sylvester Pemberton the Third, who hid his cunning and athleticism behind the facade of an effete bookworm, a juvenile variant of the bored-and-boring playboy. His partner, the improbably named Stripesy, was slow-witted but hard-fisted Pat Dugan, the Pemberton family chauffeur. When crime or sabotage reared their ugly heads, the duo would slip into their flag-inspired costumes and dazzle their opponents with their carefully rehearsed acrobatics, each maneuver carefully catalogued and numbered. Their biggest asset was the “Star Rocket Racer,” a flying car crammed with crimefighting gizmos.
Despite passable art and a roster of recurring villains, notably the hunchbacked mad scientist Dr. Weerd and the slender crook known as the Needle, the duo never really caught on. Within a year, they'd been bumped off the covers of their own book in favor of the more dynamic super-hero/kid gang hybrid, “The Newsboy Legion,” another Simon and Kirby creation.
The Star-Spangled Kid never belonged to the Justice Society during the Golden Age but he and Stripesy were members of a second, less prestigious team: the Seven Soldiers of Victory a.k.a. the Law's Legionnaires. Created by the DC side of the house in the hope of duplicating the magic of the AA-owned JSA, this team of second stringers included the Crimson Avenger, the Shining Knight, the Vigilante, the Green Arrow and his kid sidekick Speedy. The results were uneven. None of the Soldiers were true super-heroes, for one thing, and their adventures consequently lacked the scope and excitement of the Society's tales. “The Seven Soldiers of Victory” appeared in the first fourteen issues of Leading Comics before calling it quits.
Sylvester and Pat soldiered on manfully for 81 issues of Star-Spangled before, in what must have been an act of desperation on someone's part, Stripesy was replaced by the Kid's newly-adopted sister Merry, a.k.a. “the Gimmick Girl,” who carried dozens of bizarre but useful novelties in her cape(!). It didn't help. Patriotic heroes had run their course. It was time to lower the flag.
First Appearance: Action Comics #40 (September 1941)
Seven Soldiers Appearances: Leading Comics #1-14
Solo Appearances: Action Comics #40, Star-Spangled Comics #1-86 (#83-86 without Stripesy), World’s Finest Comics #6-18
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Post by Prince Hal on Sept 13, 2014 14:53:23 GMT -5
Wow! this is great, Kurt. Love the pinning down of the line between Golden and Silver Ages. What a ton of research you must have done, however enjoyable it was.
I'm pleased to see your note about the Robin solo series. I always have thought those were well done, like the best B movies of the time.
Thanks for sharing, Kurt.
And glad you're on the mend, too.
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Post by hondobrode on Sept 13, 2014 16:36:38 GMT -5
A Word or Two About My Methodology Several stories and series that are either explicitly set on Earth-One or do not identify themselves as occuring in a particular universe are regarded as canonical because later stories in the canon retroactively identify the characters as indigenous to Earth-Two, including ● All team and solo appearances of the Freedom Fighters So, the Freedom Fighters were considered to have been on Earth-2, or there are Earth-2 doppelgangers ? Great write ups Kurt ! Very, very impressive and no telling how many hours of work you have in this. Dozens Hundreds I'm sure, if not more. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 13, 2014 20:13:25 GMT -5
A Key to the Guide EntriesComics are listed in order of publication. If more than one comic shares the same release date, they are listed in alphabetical order by title. If a comic contains multiple Earth-Two stories, each is listed separately within the entry. If a comic contains other stories not related to Earth-Two, the irrelevant content is neither examined nor noted. Comics mentioned in the entries that give a cover date in the citation are not covered by this guide. The following is an outline of the format with explanatory notes: Title Issue Number The title and issue number of each series is listed as it appears in the indicia, the legally required publication information appearing on the inside front cover or first interior page of most American comic books. Cover Date (Release Date) Cover PriceThe cover date is the date listed in the indicia (as a rule, only the month appears in the cover copy). Because of certain practices of the comics publishing industry of the time, the cover date is approximately two months (three months after March 1973) ahead of the actual release date for that issue. Thus, a comic cover dated September actually appeared on sale in July (June after '73). Release dates were obtained from Mike's Amazing World of DC ComicsCover price is the publisher's suggested retail price of the book at the time of publication, as printed on the front cover. Cover ArtCover art credits are given only for pencilling and inking. Signed art is so noted. “Story Title” Page CountPage Count is listed for the individual story, not for the comic as a whole. Half and third pages of art are counted as complete pages. Double-page spreads are counted as two pages. CreditsCredits are listed in the order of Editor, Writer, Plotter (when different from Editor or Writer), Penciller, Inker (or Art when the same artist fills both roles), Letterer (when credited), Colorist (when credited), Other (as needed). When multiple art credits occur, the con¬tribution of each artist is cited by page number. Some credit information was obtained from The Grand Comics Database. CharactersFollowing the credits is a list of major characters appearing in the indexed story. This list is organized into eight categories: ● Feature Character(s) [FC]: The star or stars of the indexed story. If feature characters are formally teamed, the name of the team is cited (e.g., Hero 1, Hero 2, Hero 3, teamed as the Three Heroes). ● Guest Star(s) [GS]: Any super-hero other than the feature character(s). If guest stars are formally teamed, the name of the team is cited (formatted as above). ● Supporting Character(s) [SC]: A member or members of a feature character's supporting cast. Groups of background characters may sometimes be cited collectively (e.g., Amazons of Paradise Island). ● Special Appearance(s) [SA]: A figure or figures from history, mythology or legend (e.g., Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hercules, Robin Hood). Those individuals who are part of a feature character's supporting cast (e.g., Wonder Woman's mother Hippolyte) or are the story's main villain (e.g., Adolf Hitler) are cited as such and do not receive SA citations. ● Villain(s): The major antagonist or antagonists of the indexed story. If villains are formally teamed, the name of the team is cited (formatted like FC and GS). ● Reintro: The first appearance of a Golden Age character or team in Earth-Two continuity. ● Intro: The first appearance of a character or team. ● Cameo(s): A visual depiction of a character (e.g., a photograph, a flashback to a previous story, an appearance in the mind's eye of another character) who does not physically appear or otherwise participate in the indexed story. Characters given a Reintro or Intro citation do not receive FC, GS, SC or Villain citations for that story. SynopsisA summary of the indexed story's plot follows the character citations. In cases where the Earth-Two content of a story is irrelevant to its main plotline, the synopsis may treat only the relevant portions in detail. Words, phrases and sentences appearing in quotation marks (“ ”) are direct quotes from the source material. Continuity NotesFollowing the synopsis in most entries are the author's continuity notes on that issue. These notes are organ-ized into eight categories: ● Behind the Scenes looks at the publication history of the title or series, including the influence of contemporary political, technological, sociological or cultural factors on the story. ● Cosmology concerns the organization and evolution of Earth-Two as a fictional reality and its relationship to the other realities its inhabitants encounter. ● Continuity examines the inclusion and chronology of individual stories within the Earth-Two canon. Unless specified otherwise, stories are presumed to occur on or near the release date of the issue in which they appear. ● Meeting Minutes presents facts, statistics and commentary about the Justice Society of America and other Earth-Two super-teams as collective entities. Topics include the team's membership roster, bylaws, headquarters, vehicles and equipment, as well as revisions of and additions to its established history. ● The Good Guys presents facts, statistics and commentary about the individual members of the Justice Society of America and other Earth-Two super-teams, as well as those heroes with no team affiliation. Topics include the hero's personal life, powers, modus operandi, base of operations, vehicles, weapons, equipment and supporting cast, as well as revisions of and additions to his or her established history. ● The Bad Guys presents facts, statistics and commentary about the villains and teams of villains opposing the Justice Society of America and other Earth-Two teams and heroes. Topics covered are the same as those in the Good Guys category. ● Fashion Watch tracks changes, both deliberate and accidental, in the costumes, hairstyles and overall appearance of the JSA and other Earth-Two teams and heroes, their supporting casts and their villains. ● Points to Ponder are comments, questions and criticisms concerning the content and execution of the story as a whole and its overall effect on Earth-Two continuity. As even a casual glance through the Boomers' Guide makes clear, inconsistencies and contradictions are rife throughout the canon. While all such continuity problems are noted, I do not feel it is my place as a historian to reconcile these discrepancies or to declare one version of a fact or event valid over another.
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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 13, 2014 20:18:49 GMT -5
Setting the Stage: The DC Universe in 1961
The super-hero genre was just getting back on its feet at the time the first Earth-Two story was published. Of all the comics companies then in existence, only DC had managed to keep its super-characters in continuous publication since the end of the Golden Age. Superman (appearing in Action Comics, Superman, World's Finest Comics, and, as Superboy, in Adventure Comics and Superboy), Batman and Robin (appearing in Batman, Detective Comics and World's Finest) and Wonder Woman (in her eponymous solo title) remained headliners throughout the lean years. The Green Arrow and Speedy, cruelly but accurately described as ‘Batman and Robin with bows,’ and Aquaman, the “King of the Seas” who could communicate telepathically with sea life, also survived as back-up features in Adventure and World's Finest.
Under the editorial supervision of Mort Weisinger, the Superman franchise began to expand in the mid-1950s, notably with the launch of solo titles for his supporting cast: Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen and Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane. New characters related either literally or figuratively to the Man of Steel began to appear. Krypto the Superdog, Superman's childhood pet on Krypton, was reunited with his master in the ‘Superboy’ story in Adventure #210 (March 1955). The Legion of Super-Heroes, a 30th Century team of exotically powered teenagers to which Superman belonged during his Superboy years, first appeared in Adventure #247 (April 1958) and would eventually usurp the Boy of Steel's role as that title's lead feature. Supergirl, the 15-year-old cousin of the Metropolis Marvel, debuted in the ‘Superman’ story in Action #252 (May 1959). It was an innovative second wind for DC's flagship super-star.
Similar characters — Batwoman, Bat-Hound, The Batmen of Other Nations — began to appear in the Jack Schiff-edited ‘Batman and Robin’ stories of the era. The late '50s/early '60s were a notoriously fallow period for the Dynamic Duo, with ill-fitting stories about aliens and monsters appearing with monotonous regularity. Schiff had better luck with World's Finest Comics, which began featuring a series teaming Superman and Batman where these elements felt less out of place.
The first super-hero of the nascent Silver Age not related to DC's surviving Golden Age characters debuted in Detective #225 (November 1955). ‘J'onn J'onzz, Manhunter from Mars’ starred a green-skinned shapeshifting alien stranded on Earth and posing as police detective John Jones. The big breakthrough, however, would come a year later.
In Showcase #4 (September-October 1956), editor Julius Schwartz introduced readers to ‘The Flash,’ not Jay Garrick but a brand new character built around the same core premise of a man with super-speed. This Flash was crew-cut Barry Allen, a forensic scientist for the police department of “Central City,” who gained his powers when simultaneously struck by lightning and bathed in chemicals. Clever stories pitted the new Scarlet Speedster against a series of colorful, eccentric super-villains. It took a while to find its audience but the strip caught on. Flash Comics, now called simply The Flash, was revived with issue #105 (February-March 1959).
Schwartz repeated the success of the new Flash when he oversaw the creation of a similarly modernized ‘Green Lantern’ series. This power ring wearer, debuting in Showcase #22 (September-October 1959), was top test pilot Hal Jordan, chosen for his honesty and fearlessness by the immortal Guardians of the Universe to join the ranks of their interstellar police force, the Green Lantern Corps. The new Emerald Crusader soon graduated into his own title, this time beginning fresh with Green Lantern #1 (July-August 1960).
It was inevitable that this new interest in super-heroes would produce a team, an updated version of the JSA. Sure enough, in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February-March 1960) Schwartz presented excited fans with ‘Justice League of America,’ a team comprised of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Martian Manhunter and the new Flash and Green Lantern. The League quickly became one of DC's best selling strips and gained its own title. Justice League of America #1 bore a cover date of October-November 1960. In its fourth issue (April-May 1961), the JLA added Green Arrow to their roster.
Schwartz next tried out a new Hawkman and Hawkgirl. They debuted in The Brave and the Bold #36 (February-March 1961). Retaining the costumes and much of the m.o. of their Golden Age counterparts, these Winged Wonders were really Katar and Shayera Hol, married police officers from the planet “Thanagar” visiting Earth to study our law-enforcement methods. Adopting the identities of curators Carter and Shiera Hall, they operated out of the “Midway City” Museum.
The same month that saw the introduction of Earth-Two also saw the debut of another Schwartz reworking of a Golden Age hero. A physicist named Ray Palmer in his civilian identity, the new Atom could actually shrink in size, even become microscopic, thanks to a costume made of “white dwarf star material.” He premiered in Showcase #34 (September-October 1961).
And that's how things stood in the DC Universe on the day the new Flash first crossed the dimensional barriers into the world we would come to know as Earth-Two.
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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 13, 2014 20:21:22 GMT -5
The Flash #123
September 1961 (July 20, 1961) $.10
Cover Art: Carmine Infantino (Penciller), Murphy Anderson (Inker)
“Flash of Two Worlds!” 25 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gardner Fox (Writer), Carmine Infantino (Penciller), Joe Giella (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits
FC: The Flash [of Earth-One]
SC: Iris West
Reintro: The Flash (Jay Garrick)
Reintro: Joan Williams Garrick
Reintro: The Fiddler (Isaac Bowin)
Reintro: The Shade (true name unknown)
Reintro: The Thinker (Clifford DeVore)
Reintro: Professor Hughes (first name unknown), in flashback to Flash Comics #1
Synopsis
While using his superhuman speed to entertain at an orphanage benefit, The Flash accidentally vibrates himself into a parallel reality. A little detective work tells him he is in Keystone City, the home of Jay Garrick a.k.a. The Flash, the ‘fictional’ comic book hero whose name he borrowed for his own costumed identity. Looking up Garrick's address in a phone directory, the Crimson Comet changes to his civilian alter-ego of Barry Allen and introduces himself to Jay and his wife Joan, revealing detailed knowledge of the research chemist and business executive's other life. Convinced the young stranger truly is the Flash of another universe, Jay confesses he has been tempted to resume his costumed identity to investigate a recent series of strange crimes. When Barry volunteers to assist, the die is cast. The Flash is reborn. Elsewhere in Keystone, three of Jay's old foes ― The Fiddler, The Shade and The Thinker ― plan the next phase of the crime wave they hope will draw their nemesis out of retirement. Patrolling the streets at super-speed, the elder Flash encounters Thinker and is defeated. Simultaneously, Shade bests an opponent he assumes is Jay in a new costume. Realizing there are two Flashes, Thinker and Shade hurry to warn The Fiddler but their partner in crime has overcome the duo. The heroes escape from Fiddler's musical enchantment and make short work of the villains. Barry returns to his own dimension and Jay decides to make his comeback as The Flash permanent.
Behind the Scenes
Although not credited as such, Julius Schwartz is the co-plotter of virtually all stories produced under his editorial supervision during the 1960s.
At no time in this story are the terms “Earth-One” or “Earth-Two” used. Use of these terms in the continuity notes is for the reader's convenience.
Cosmology
This is the first appearance of Earth-Two as a distinct reality.
Despite innumerable similarities between them, Earth-Two is not the universe in which the DC super-hero series of the 1930s and '40s took place. It cannot be. Too many events depicted in Earth-Two stories, particularly those featuring Superman and Wonder Woman, are clearly irreconcilable with Golden Age continuity. Nonetheless, the parallels between the two universes are so strong that this guide will regard all Golden Age DC super-hero stories part of Earth-Two continuity unless directly contradicted by the stories indexed here.
The Flash of Earth-One theorizes that the two Earths can “occupy the same space and time” because “they vibrate at different speeds! … Both Earths were created at the same time in two quite similar universes! … Life, customs - even languages evolved on [Earth-Two] almost exactly as they did on [Earth-One]!” He entered Earth-Two when “I vibrated so fast—I tore a gap in the vibratory shields separating our worlds!”
Barry Allen explains to the Garricks that they are comic book characters in his reality, as first seen in the ‘Flash’ story in Showcase #4 (September-October 1956). He speculates that Gardner Fox, the Earth-One dopplegänger of the Flash Comics writer, “tapped in” to the Earth-Two universe while dreaming. Barry later considers looking Fox up and telling him of his encounter with Jay so “he can write the whole thing up in a comic book!”
Central City on Earth-One and Keystone City on Earth-Two occupy the same relative geographic location and share similar layouts and skylines. Some buildings exist in both cities but are occupied by different tenants (e.g., the building where Picture News, Iris West's employer, has its offices on Earth-One is occupied by the Keystone City Herald on Earth-Two).
When the Flash enters the Earth-Two universe for the first time, he materializes outside Keystone City instead of in the Earth-Two version of the Central City Community Center, which exists in both worlds (see preceding note). To return to Earth-One, he starts from the Earth-Two meadow where he materialized and reappears in the Community Center. It is not clear why this spatial shift occurs.
Continuity
The events of this story occur on the same date, June 14, 1961, on both Earth-One and Earth-Two.
Meeting Minutes
No mention is made of the Justice Society of America or of Flash's membership in it in this story.
The Good Guys
The origin of the Flash of Earth-Two, first presented in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940), is recapped in this story.
The Flash of Earth-Two was last seen in the ‘Justice Society of America’ story in All-Star Comics #57 (February-March 1951), though he gives 1949 as his year of retirement in this story.
Jay Garrick and Joan Williams marry sometime between Joan's last appearance in the ‘Flash’ story in Flash Comics #104 (February 1949) and this story. They live in a brownstone at 5252 78th Street in Keystone City.
The Bad Guys
The Fiddler, introduced in the ‘Flash’ story in All-Flash #32 (December 1947-January 1948), was last seen in the ‘Flash’story in Comic Cavalcade #28 (August-September 1948). He should not be confused with the other Earth-Two villain of that name introduced in the ‘Vigilante’ story in Action Comics #59 (April 1943).
The Fiddler's custom automobile, the Fiddle Car, makes its first appearance in Earth-Two continuity.
Both the Fiddler and the Shade claim to have improved their weapons of choice — a magic Stradivarius and a “unique cane … which makes absolute darkness,” respectively — since their last appearances.
The Shade was first and last seen in the ‘Flash’ story in Flash Comics #33 (September 1942). He should not be confused with the other Earth-Two villains of that name, introduced in the ‘Vigilante’ story in Action Comics #43 (December 1941) and the ‘Dr. Mid-Nite’ story in All-American Comics #57 (April 1944).
The Shade notes that he wears special contact lenses allowing him to see through the darkness his cane generates.
The Thinker, introduced in the ‘Flash’ story in All-Flash #12 (Fall 1943), was last seen in the ‘Justice Society of America’ story in All-Star Comics #37 (October-November 1947). He should not be confused with the other Earth-Two villain of that name introduced in Batman #52 (April-May 1949) nor with the Earth-One villain of the same name introduced in Superman #93 (November 1954).
This is the first appearance of the Thinker's “Thinking Cap,” which “can cause anything I think of to happen within fifty yards of me.” According to the entry for the Thinker in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #23 (January 1987), this is the same technology invented by Hartford Jackson, as seen in the ‘Flash’ story in Flash Comics #65 (June 1945).
Fashion Watch
The Flash of Earth-Two has gone gray at the temples since his last Golden Age appearance.
The Flash of Earth-Two wears a small diagonal lightning bolt emblem on his chest rather than the larger, vertical, ‘tucked-in’ version he wore through most of his Golden Age career (although the latter look does appear in a handful of panels).
The wings on the Earth-Two Flash’s boots are omitted in some panels of this story. Because this was a common error seen throughout the character's Golden Age career, it will be treated as an honored tradition and further occurrences will not be noted.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Sept 13, 2014 22:01:14 GMT -5
Wow. Talk about an education. I'm a long-time fan and half of that was new to me; though it could have just been the delivery. 
Utterly engrossing reading, Kurt. JSA in The Silver Age is a subject dear to my heart and I can't think of a better tour guide for those stories. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 14, 2014 8:23:42 GMT -5
Mystery in Space #73
February 1962 (December 7, 1961) $.12
Cover Art: Carmine Infantino (Penciller), Murphy Anderson (Inker)
“The Answer Man of Space” 10 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gardner Fox (Writer), Sid Greene (Art), no lettering or coloring credits
Intro: The Krull, all in flashback
Synopsis
Evan Wright, a.k.a. “The Answer Man,” is one of the most popular television stars of the 22nd Century. His claim to fame is the ability to recall everything he has ever read. Evan's biggest fan is young Jon Drew, who regularly asks him to tell the story of the Krull. An extraterrestrial people obliterated in a planetary disaster a million years ago, their civilization has entered folklore as the “Space Atlantis.” What Jon doesn't know is that his idol's tales of the lost race — supposedly taken from the fabled “Book of the Krull” which Wright claims to have read before the only existing copy was destroyed — are lies made up to impress the boy.
In deep space, a manned Earth ship is forced to land on a strange metal planetoid to make repairs. There they encounter a pair of copper robots, one possessing an arm made of zinc, standing guard over a vat of acid. The automatons explain that they were placed on this artificial satellite by the Krull in the distant past as a safeguard against a species of enormous and powerful metal-eating space dragons. A single dragon nearly devastated their homeworld before they found a way to destroy it. Though their creators died eons ago, the robots maintain their lonely vigil. Drawn by the metal of the satellite and the damaged spaceship, a dragon appears in the star system. The robots, their ancient mechanisms deteriorating at the first attempt at movement, grind to a halt. With the robots now silenced, the desperate castaways contact Earth in the hope that scientists there can deduce how to activate the Krullian weapon before it's too late.
Earth's greatest minds are stumped. Jon Drew tells his father to ask the Answer Man, the only human with knowledge of the lost race. Wright is about to confess to his lie when he realizes the robots and acid are the constituent parts of a dry cell battery, a primitive technology long forgotten in the scientific wonderland of the 22nd Century. Following Evan's directions, the stranded astronauts link the parts together, activating the satellite. It emits a ray that disintegrates the dragon. Evan Wright is proclaimed a hero. Privately, he vows to tell Jon the truth about the Krull “some day, when [he]'s older.”
Continuity
Although not identified as such within the story itself, the events depicted here occur in the Earth-Two universe. In the “Wonder Woman” story in World's Finest Comics #248-49, the Amazing Amazon of Earth-Two encounters aliens claiming descent from the Krull race.
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Post by paulie on Sept 14, 2014 8:34:41 GMT -5
Wow! Great stuff.
Is there any better way to start off a Sunday morning reading about how a backup feature in Mystery In Space fits into Earth-2 continuity?
No... No there is not.
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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 14, 2014 14:23:02 GMT -5
The Flash #129
June 1962 (April 19, 1962) $.12
Cover Art: Carmine Infantino (Penciller), Murphy Anderson (Inker)
“Double Danger on Earth!” 25 pages
Julius Schwartz (Editor), Gardner Fox (Writer), Carmine Infantino (Penciller), Joe Giella (Inker), no lettering or coloring credits.
FC: The Flash [of Earth-One]
GS: The Flash
SC: Joan Garrick, Iris West
Villains: Captain Cold, The Trickster
Reintro: The Justice Society of America, all but The Flash in flashback to All-Star Comics #57
Reintro: The Atom (Al Pratt)
Reintro: Black Canary (Dinah Drake Lance; marriage revealed in The Brave and the Bold #61)
Reintro: Dr. Mid-Nite (Dr. Charles McNider)
Reintro: Green Lantern (Alan Scott)
Reintro: Hawkman (Carter Hall)
Reintro: Wonder Woman (Princess Diana, also uses the alias Diana Prince Trevor; marriage revealed in Wonder Woman #300)
Reintro: The Key (true name unknown), in flashback to All-Star #57
Synopsis
A comet crashes into Earth-Two's sun on April 1, 1962, unleashing a wave of “epsilon radioactivity” that will destroy all life on Earth within 72 hours. The President appoints Jay Garrick, as one of the nation's foremost chemists, to investigate possible countermeasures. Scientists at the Flagstaff, Arizona, branch office of Garrick Laboratories discover that certain chemical properties of the meteor buried in nearby Meteor Crater neutralize the radioactivity. By the time Garrick arrives in Flagstaff, the meteor has inexplicably vanished. Theorizing that Earth-One may also have such a meteor, Jay changes into his Flash identity and uses his speed powers to breach the dimensional barrier between the Earths.
In Central City, Jay tracks Barry Allen to a charity costume ball. There he encounters the Earth-One Flash's enemies, Captain Cold and The Trickster, separately attempting to steal the proceeds. The two thieves interrupt their battle over the loot long enough to get the better of the middle-aged mystery man and escape. When they subsequently overcome both Flashes, the felons decide to work together. Conferring with the other Flash, Jay learns that Earth-One does indeed have its own Meteor Crater. While Barry attempts to track down his foes, Jay travels to Arizona, excavates the meteor and slices it up into manageable ingots. Shipped back to Central City, the ingots become the centerpiece of the Flashes' trap for the fugitive villains. Cold and Trickster snap at the bait and, after a harrowing battle, are captured.
Barry accompanies the elder Flash back to Earth-Two. Rockets shoot the meteor fragments, ground to a fine dust, into space, where they absorb the epsilon radiation. Based on his observations, Jay theorizes that this absorption changes the meteor's molecular structure, evaporating within 24 hours as had the Earth-Two meteor. A few days later in the Earth-One dimension, a comet crashes into its sun. Thanks to Jay Garrick's chemical analysis of the meteorite, however, Earth-One is prepared for the resultant radioactivity.
Behind the Scenes
The terms “Earth-One” and “Earth-Two” are not used in this story. Use of these terms in the plot summary and continuity notes is for the convenience of the reader.
Cosmology
The general populace of Earth-One is made aware of Earth-Two's existence in this story. (Although Jay Garrick informs his fellow scientists of Earth-One's existence, it is not clear if the knowledge is shared with Earth-Two's general public.) Apparently, the metaphysical and theological implications of this discovery are taken in stride.
The Flash of Earth-Two departs his home dimension from the same spot outside Keystone City where his Earth-One counterpart first materialized in The Flash #123 but it is not clear if he emerges at the Central City Community Center. When the two Flashes travel to Earth-Two at story's end, they depart from a location outside Central City. Their point of arrival is not depicted.
The Flash of Earth-Two invents an interdimensional matter transporter in this story to facilitate moving the Earth-One Flagstaff meteor to Earth-Two. Although never seen again, this device is the earliest known use of what will come to be known as “transmatter” technology, so named in Justice League of America #107.
Meeting Minutes
This is the first mention of the Justice Society of America ― and of the six super-heroes who, together with the Flash, made up that team's final roster ― in Earth-Two continuity. The team is seen only in a flashback to the “Justice Society of America” story in All-Star Comics #57 (February-March 1951), which Jay Garrick refers to here as the JSA's last case.
The Good Guys
The origin of The Flash of Earth-Two is briefly recapped in this story.
The Flash of Earth-Two notes that he has not appeared in costume since the events of The Flash #123 nine months before.
Details concerning the last appearances of those Justice Society of America members seen only in flashback in this story will be listed when the characters make their first physical appearances in continuity.
The Bad Guys
The Key seen in the flashback to the JSA story in All-Star #57 should not be confused with the Earth-One villain of the same name introduced in Justice League of America #41 (December 1965). The keyhole-shaped headpiece he wears here appeared only in the cover art of All-Star #57; the character appeared in plainclothes in the story proper.
Fashion Watch
The costumes of The Atom, Black Canary and Dr. Mid-Nite are miscolored in the flashback to All-Star #57: Canary's dark blue boots and Atom's brown wristbands are colored red; Mid-Nite's cape and cowl are dark blue instead of green.
Green Lantern’s cape is colored a light purple in one panel and a dark violet-blue in another.
The eagle is left off of Wonder Woman's bustier in one panel.
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Post by foxley on Sept 14, 2014 17:25:13 GMT -5
I have always thought that Mr Terrific was a character idea that had tremendous potential, but which was never realised.
In particular, the origin story fascinates me. The character was planning to commit suicide because he had no more worlds to conquer. This is not idle speculation on the hero's part: he was standing on the bridge preparing to jump. That is some pretty dark stuff for a Golden Age hero, and lays the groundwork for some potentially intriguing characterisation. But, as far as I know no writer ever decided to do anything with this self=destructive personality, and instead we were left some of the blandest, most generic superhero stories ever.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 14, 2014 19:55:05 GMT -5
This thread is an absolute delight! Thank you so much for all your efforts, Kurt!
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 14, 2014 20:11:17 GMT -5
An excellent,informative thread. Count me in for reading all your updates. Kurt and I disagree as to when the transitions from Earths 2 to Earth 1 took place, or even the notion there was an in-between iteration of Superman and Batman. I particularly can't buy into the notion of a clean transition for Supes and Bats, that everything after a certain issue was the Earth 1 version. But getting past that I'm going to really enjoy these recaps. These are the stories I grew up on, at least just a few more months from where you are now. Its going to be a great ride
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Post by benday-dot on Sept 14, 2014 20:11:40 GMT -5
This makes for the most colourful reading Kurt. You've without a doubt established yourself as one of the world's leading authorities on this wonderful circus of esoterica. I first encountered the DC tradition of the multiverse in the summer of 1974 when I read the 46 page epic "Crisis on Earth Three" as reprinted in the 100 page giant JLA# 114. It both fascinated and disturbed me that were apparently about duplicates of our familiar heroes wandering the far reaches of the universe. Except they weren't duplicates, they were just what our heroes might have become if they instead chose the cause of villainy. I loved the set up of each hero facing off against his /her darker self.
And that was just the tip of the iceberg as you've shown here Kurt. The best thing about DC to this mere dabbler of a reader is its insane breadth and depth, the obscurity of its vision... being at once both ridiculous and sublime, iconic and incoherent.
Reading the above paragraphs is like looking through the microscope into the motes of an infinite universe. And that is a pretty cool thing.
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