Remembering Artist George Perez

Remembering artist George Perez on his birthday (June 9, 1954 - May 6, 2022) with a pair of his Justice League of America covers (#192 and #193, July and August, 1981) where in the JLA faces T. O. Morrow, and learn just a little extra about the Red Tornado (and his ties to the Tornado Tyrant and the Tornado Champion).

Justice League of America #192 (July, 1981)

In "Quest For Genesis" written by Gerry Conway, with art by George Perez and John Beatty, Red Tornado attacks the JLA in their satellite...forcing them to destroy him.  While debating this, Red Tornado attacks again...with the team stopping that Red Tornado as well.  This makes the team think of Reddy's android status, and his creator, T. O. Morrow and Red Tornado's origins.  

Meanwhile, Red Tornado is at home with Kathy Sutton and Traya, until his mind is attacked by....T. O. Morrow, who summons Reddy to his secret mountain base.  Red Tornado had told the JLA that Morrow was dead, but Morrow explains that, after his being thrown out of reality when Red Tornado joined the JLA, one version of him ended up on a planet, while another mutated into the Future Man (who was the one who died).  So, Morrow tried to recreate Red Tornado....but neither worked.  

Why?

Justice League of America #193 (July, 1981)

In "Secret Of Genesis" written by Gerry Conway, with art by George Perez and John Beatty, as T. O. Morrow attempted to deconstruct Red Tornado, he found so much more than he was looking for.  A being called the Tornado Tyrant came out of Red Tornado, and, thanks to the arrival of the JLA team, Firestorm had time to search around, and found the Tornado Champion (two beings from Rann, where faced Adam Strange, but then came to Earth to admire the JLA, and then, on its own created world, had to create a JLA to stop its evil side).  

Still, imitating the JLA wasn't enough for the Tornado Champion, so, ending up on Earth-2, found T. O. Morrow creating his android, and attempted to take control of it...he did, but at the cost of his memory.  So, Tornado Tyrant and Tornado Champion were hold up inside of Red Tornado, without Reddy's knowledge.  To contain the Tornado Tyrant, Firestorm recreated Red Tornado's android body, and with the help of the Tornado Champion, recreated Red Tornado (without memories of his two warring factions, a secret which Firestorm would keep....at least until the Crisis).

Detective Comics Stars Besides Batman JLA

Elongated Man and Green Arrow were two of the longer running JLA members who were featured in Detective Comics who made the cover....

...but, there was one man who lasted even longer, but, because Batman always had the cover, had never had a cover of Detective Comics while he was a back up feature in it.

Martian Manhunter

J'onn J'onnz premiered in Detective Comics #225 (November, 1955) by Joe Samachson and Joe Certa, when Dr. Erdel accidentally beamed the Manhunter from Mars to Earth using his robot brain.  The shock of J'onn's appearance was enough to send the doctor into cardiac arrest, killing the doctor and stranding J'onn on Earth.  Being a manhunter on his world, he felt qualified to become a detective on Earth, and after taking the form of Earthman John Jones, he did.

The Martian Manhunter mostly hid his powers and alien nature for his earliest cases, he eventually did reveal his Martian form as a super-heroic identity in Detective Comics #273 (November, 1959), joining the Justice League of America soon after.

J'onn did have a few foes while running in Detective Comics, like Monty Moran, the Human Flame and Professor Arnold Hugo (who, unlike the Martian Manhunter, made a cover of Detective Comics, #306, as he first faced Batman), as well as a few alien menaces, and even a new friend, Zook.  J'onn's Detective Comics run came to an end with Detective Comics #326 (April, 1964), moving over to House of Mystery, where he finally got some covers.

The Martian Manhunter finally did make a Detective Comics cover, #715 (November, 1997), the second part of when he teamed up with Batman to face Firefly.

Aquaman

Aquaman was already a founding member of the JLA, and finishing a try out four issue run in Showcase as he was losing his home as a back-up in Adventure Comics that he had held for decades.

The Sea King and his young ally, Aqualad, got a temporary home with Batman and the Martian Manhunter, running from Detective Comics #293 (July, 1961) to Detective Comics #300 (February, 1962), after which, he started his own comic for the first time!

Sadly, Aquaman never made the cover of Detective Comics, but the stories were drawn by Nick Cardy, who also did the earlier issues of Aquaman's first series, and so, a representative cover of the era was chosen.

Elongated Man

When Martian Manhunter left the title, the book got a new back-up detective with the Stretchable Sleuth, Ralph Dibny and his wife Sue, starting with Detective Comics #327 (May, 1964) by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino.


The Elongated Man moved over from working with the Flash, and stayed in Detective Comics, getting a couple of costume changes, working with Green Lantern, the Atom, Zatanna, Zatara, Commissioner Gordon...

...as well as a couple of full issues team ups with Batman and Robin, as well as facing foes like Mirror Master, Chronos and the Riddler, until his continuous run ended with Detective Comics #383 (January, 1969).

Elongated Man then made occasional appearances as a back-up feature in Detective Comics (and was soon made a member of the Justice League of America as well at this time, which was a more regular home for him, as well as renewing his friendship with the Flash and his wife, Iris), usually with his wife, Sue helping him along.


The pair were traveling the country as Ralph used his Gingold powers to sniff out mysteries, including issues #426, #430, #436, #444, #449, #453, #456, #457, #462, #465, #488 and #500, as well as appearing with others in two issues that will come up!

Hawkman

Katar Hol, the Thanagarian policeman who was also a member of the Justice League of America, became an occasional back up feature in Detective Comics starting with Detective Comics #428 (October, 1972), after losing his own title, and even a title he shared with his friend, the Atom.


Hawkman (and eventually his wife, Hawkgirl), would appear in as back-ups once in a while, including in issues #434, #446, #452, #454, #455, #467, #479, #480 and #500 (as well as in one issue with Elongated Man and more...which more will be said on soon).

To be fair, Hawkgirl even made it into a Roy Raymond feature in Detective Comics #487 (December-January, 1979/1980, one of very few appearances of Hawkgirl without Hawkman) before the pair settled in World's Finest Comics, which eventually led to the Shadow War of the Hawkman, and then a regular comic series for Hawkman right around the time of the Crisis On Infinite Earths.


Hawkman and Hawkgirl didn't make many covers, so instead, here's a few from Brave and the Bold with Batman, including a foe introduced to Hawkman in Detective Comics, the Fadeaway Man.

Atom

The Atom had also been a hero who lost his regular title, and was only appearing in the Justice League of America, but he started up again as a back-up in Action Comics for a while, but first he popped up with his fiancee, Jean Loring and friend, Alpheus Hyatt, for Detective Comics #432 (February, 1973).

The Atom then kicked off a run of back-ups, with the Calculator as the focus with Detective Comics #463 (September, 1976).  Atom defeated him, but then appeared in the Black Canary back up of the next issue, and, along with all the heroes he faced in back ups (including Elongated Man, Green Arrow and Hawkman) in issues leading up to Detective Comics #468 (March-April, 1977)...

...where Batman was finally able to beat the Calculator (Aquaman appeared briefly here as well, as did the head of Metropolis' WGBS, Morgan Edge), which can be seen on this Jim Aparo cover.


Atom also had one last back-up in Detective Comics, facing a foe from the JLA, the Dharlu, in Detective Comics #489 (April, 1980) before settling back in Action Comics (alternating with the second Air Wave and Aquaman, including another battle with the Calculator), then getting into the Sword of the Atom mini-series and specials around the time of the Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Black Canary

Black Canary did have a brief time in Detective Comics with Detective Comics #464 and #468 in the 1970s, but the majority of her appearances in the title were as a part of the Green Arrow back-up features, coming from the feature they shared in World's Finest Comics, though Black Canary didn't show up until Detective Comics #549 (April, 1985), eventually getting her new costume (as she dealt with changes in her life), and faced a foe based on a foe her mother faced, Bonfire.

Green Arrow and Black Canary also faced Steelclaw in Star City (and a team-up with Batman and Catwoman), as their time in Detective Comics wore down, ending Detective Comics #567 (October, 1986), after which, she became part of the Justice League and Justice League International.

Green Arrow

Green Arrow had been a back-up in Action Comics and World's Finest Comics (mostly with Black Canary, and one back-up in Detective Comics #466 with Elongated Man and with the group in #468 facing the Calculator), but when he moved over to Detective Comics with #521 (December, 1982) under a Jim Aparo cover.


Green Arrow spent most of his time concentrating on being a columnist for the Daily Star.

Green Arrow got some odd villains at this time based on simple gimmicks, like Hi-Tek, the Executrix, Ozone, the Detonator, the Printer's Devil, the Death-Dealer, Bad Penny, the Pinball Wizard, and Vengeance...

...before re-teaming with Black Canary, helping her with her history, and facing villains Champion, Steelclaw and Barricade, as well as working with Onyx, who came from the monastery Ollie had once taking refuge in (helping her out, and the mysterious Onyx stick around for a bit), as well as teaming with Batman and Catwoman for one full issue story...

 
....all before his back-ups ended with Detective Comics #567 (October, 1986), and Green Arrow would then get a new look and attitude with Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters by Mike Grell.

Red Tornado

Last, but not least, for JLA member Detective Comics back-ups, it's worth mentioning that the android Red Tornado, while only really having a few back-ups in World's Finest Comics, did come around to appear in a back up in Detective Comics #493 (August, 1980) in a tale of Gotham City by J. M. DeMatteis, Jose Delbo and Joe Giella, with Reddy facing drug dealers, all under a Jim Aparo cover...

...which also features back-up characters Human Target, which has already been covered, and Batgirl and Robin....who will be!

Starro JLA First Foe

Starro was the first foe that readers saw the Justice League of America face, in their premiere in Brave and the Bold #28 (February-March, 1960) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, Bernard Sachs, Joe Giella and Murphy Anderson.


So, this is our chance to have Starro in our face....but, the safe way, not the way it was in the comics!

Starro The Conqueror

Brave and the Bold #28 (February-March, 1960) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, Bernard Sachs, Joe Giella and Murphy Anderson premiered the alien invader Starro, as he faced off against the Justice League of America (though this wasn't their origin, that would be explained later).  Aquaman gets warned of the menace of the invading starfish, Starro, by his own finny friends, and he sends out the call to the JLA, with Flash as chairman, sending out the team to take on the 3 duplicates of Starro, with Green Lantern facing one, Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter taking on the second, while Flash goes to Happy Harbor and meets the oddly immune Snapper Carr (whose help on this case leads him to become the Justice League biographer and honorary member), while Aquaman finds the original  (who the team defeats with lime, thanks to Snapper).

T.O. Morrow Kills The Justice League -- Today

Starro's next appearance is just a small one, in Justice League of America #65 (September, 1968) by Gardner Fox, Dick Dillin and Sid Greene, where Starro, along with past JLA foes Amazo, Super-Duper, the Crystal Creature from Appellax, and Dr. Light face the team at the behest of T. O. Morrow...


...who had hatched a plan to kill the Justice Society of America the issue previous, creating the android Red Tornado (but Reddy was a good guy and a little more than just an android, so he helps undo Morrow's plan, and saves the JLA as well), in the last story of the Justice League of America written by Gardner Fox.

The Secret Of The Sinister Abyss

Aquaman faces Starro alone in Adventure Comics #451 (May-June, 1977) by David Michelinie, Jim Aparo and Liz Berube.  The secret is out, as Starro appears on the cover, but that doesn't stop the alien starfish from being a menace to Aquaman right at the worst time, while he was looking for his octopus friend, Topo, who had taken his son, Aquababy.  This Starro regenerated from a piece of the original Starro, growing strong in the polluted part of the ocean he was in, giving Aquaman the opportunity to summon fish to bring fresh water to the area, which stunned Starro, allowing Aquaman to defeat the creature (and have Green Lantern take the alien away)...

...so Arthur could continue his quest for his son in the next issue without alien interference.

The Return Of The Starfish Conqueror

When Starro returned in Justice League of America #189 (April, 1981 cover by Brian Bolland) by Len Wein, Gerry Conway, Rich Buckler and Frank McLaughlin, he was much more in your face (literally!).  Having been found by young Terry Watson following his encounter by Aquaman, the boy was possessed by the alien starfish, who then took his family as well, having them move him to a Central Park lake.  There, Starro accidentally encounters Wonder Woman and Red Tornado, who summon JLAers Black Canary, Firestorm, Green Lantern and Superman to face the alien.  Starro has a new trick this time, creating duplicates of himself which attach to the face of his foes, and dominate their minds.  By the end of this issue, Starro has conquered the JLA, and the island of Manhattan....

...with the other JLAers finding out that "Our Friends, Our Enemies" in Justice League of America #190 (May, 1981) under a cover by Brian Bolland, with story by Len Wein, Gerry Conway, Rich Buckler, Bob Smith and Larry Mahlstedt.  The rest of the Justice League (including Batman, Flash, Aquaman, Hawkman, Elongated Man, Hawkgirl and Zatanna) are called in to deal with the problem, staying safe from Starro by using repellor-discs Hawkman supplied.

Still, Starro could have won if not for the robotic Red Tornado and young Terry Watson (who got free in a freezer), which Hawkman and Hawkgirl discovered, allowing the JLA to use extreme cold to defeat the alien starfish.

The Pluto Syndrome

A menace to Earth-C (a new Earth Superman found while people on Earth-1 were starting to act like apes a special insert in New Teen Titans #16 of February, 1982 by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Scott Shaw, Ross Andru and Bob Smith), leading to the creation of Captain Carrot (and other super powered "funny animals" that would be called the Zoo Crew.  This led into Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #1 (March, 1982), where Superman and his new animal allies found out that Starro was the menace behind this all!

War Zone

Starro was one of many villains to take part in the attack on the heroes in Crisis On Infinite Earths #9 (December, 1985) by Marv Wolfman, George Perez and Jerry Ordway, but Starro was just one of many villains gathered by Brainiac on his satellite, with the Conqueror not even using his abilities to take over people...and gets a punch in the eye by Superman for all his trouble...


...though Starro seems to have gotten over his cold allergy, as he seems to have no problem with the villains plan to freeze Earth-S, the home of the Marvel Family,  in this issue (or perhaps it was the cold that weakened the giant Starfish so Superman could defeat him alone).

And Beyond

A few of the highlights of Starro after the Crisis on Infinite Earths include a run in Justice League Europe starting with Justice League Europe #24 (March, 1991) (though Starro didn't appear until Justice League Europe #25, and his plan unfolded in Justice League Europe #26 to #28....all by Keith Giffen, Gerard Jones, Bart Sears and Randy Elliott), with Starro approaching the JLE to help him go home or he'll die (but ends up possessing Elongated Man, Flash/Wally West, Power Girl, Bluejay and Silver Sorceress to fight Captain Atom, Rocket Red and Metamorpho...

A slightly different version of Starro faces the Justice League (of Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Flash/Wally West, Green Lantern/Kyle Rayner, Zauriel, Wonder Woman/Hippolyta in JLA #22 (September, 1998) and JLA #23 (October, 1998) by Grant Morrison, Howard Porter and John Dell, which was only defeated by the lord of dreams, Daniel, who was helping a boy named Michael Haney (though this Starro was called "It", "it" was a conqueror, and "it"s coming was foretold in JLA Secret Files #1 (September, 1997).

Starro returns in Teen Titans #51 (November, 2007)  to Teen Titans #54 (February, 2008) by Sean McKeever, Ale Garza, Jamal Igle, Eddy Burrows, Derek Fridolfs, Jesse Delperdang, Rob Hunter, Marlo Alquiza, Julio Ferreira, Olcair Albert and Joe Prado, where a version of the Titans who had become the JLA come back in time, and Starro starts taking over minds to make things worse....

A more classic Starro returns for the 3 issue Captain Carrot and the Final Ark (December, 2007 to February, 2008 by Bill Morrison, Scott Shaw, Al Gordon, Phil Winslade and Scott Koblish), where the Zoo Crew defeat Starro but at a dire cost to them....

Starro ends up on time traveller Rip Hunter in Booster Gold #13 (December, 2008) by Rick Remender, Pat Olliffe and Jerry Ordway, where after a fight with Booster Gold and his sister, Goldstar, ends up on Chronos and Lady Chronos, with Booster ending up in a vat of Starros.  Escaping in Booster Gold #14 (January, 2009) by Remender, Olliffe and Ordway, Booster frees Lady Chronos, and the pair go to stop Rip from being infected, and find Chronos having stopped it even earlier, stopping Starro, but causing timestream anomolies...

Starro underwent his biggest transformation starting in R.E.B.E.L.S. #5 (August, 2009) by Tony Bedard, Claude St. Aubin and Scott Hanna, confronting Vril Dox and his outer space police force (who add Captain Comet, Adam Strange and Kanjar Ro for help), with forces of his own, the High Vanguard, through R.E.B.E.L.S. #9 (December, 2009), with the Conqueror's full origin in R.E.B.E.L.S. Annual #1 of 2009.

Dox finds himself at odds with the L.E.G.I.O.N. facing Starro and his forces, getting help from the Omega Men, Despero and the Dominators as well, defeating Starro for a time in R.E.B.E.L.S. #15 (June, 2010), but Starro returns for a final battle using an army of Lobos in R.E.B.E.L.S. #23 to #28 (February to July, 2011).

All in all, that's a lot of face time with Starro!

Justice Society Christmas

Not to outdone by the Justice League, the original super-team, the Justice Society of America celebrated Christmas in JSA #55 (February, 2004) with the story of "Be Good For Goodness Sake" by Geoff Johns, Leonard Kirk, Keith Champagne and Wade von Grawbadger, and cover by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino.

This tale reunited original JSAers Flash (Jay Garrick), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Hawkman (Carter Hall) and Wildcat (Ted Grant), with the team dealing with a gang of thieves taking out mall Santas, and meeting an old Justice Society member, the original Red Tornado, who helped with the case.

Ma Hunkel (Abigail Mathilda Hunkel), who was the original Red Tornado, had resigned from the costume hero business to keep her kids safe so she could testify against criminals (joining the witness protection program), but had been forgotten in recent years.  The JSAers went to find her, and bring her back to the team, reminding her that the all needed the motherly love she brought to the team...

...and helping the new generation of women on the team like Power Girl and Stargirl as the JSA's museum curator.

Remember to hug your mother for Christmas.

Justice League Christmas

The Justice League of America dealt with Christmas as the world's greatest super-heroes could, with the tale of "The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!" in Justice League of America #110 (March, 1974) by Len Wein, Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano, under a cover by Nick Cardy.

Doesn't sound like a happy tale, does it?  Sadly, bad things still happen even at Christmas, as a mall Santa Claus was found murdered, and this was enough for Superman and Batman to call in the JLA....but Flash (Barry Allen) is with Iris and her parents in the future, Elongated Man, Atom and Aquaman are also busy, and Hal Jordan slips in the tub answering the call, so his back-up, John Stewart, has to take over as Green Lantern for this case.

Things don't go well for the JLA, as Superman and Black Canary appear to die, then Batman and Green Arrow, leaving Red Tornado and the new Green Lantern to face off against the Key (an old JLA foe), who plans on releasing a "doom bomb" on this old, rundown neighborhood....at least until the Phantom Stranger shows up to stop him.  The Phantom Stranger helped the Justice League on occasion, and had saved all the previously thought dead JLAers as well.  But, the Key still manages to blow up the neighborhood! 

Thankfully, Green Lantern John Stewart is there, to rebuild the neighborhood (minus the rats, leaking pipes and other problems faced by it's residents!).   Best of all, Black Canary gives Red Tornado a new costume, allowing an android a chance at a Merry Christmas!  Better still, this issue has the a reprint of the JSA adventure from All-Star Comics #40 (April-May, 1948), with the Justice Society facing the Crimson Claw gang, and Zatanna's first meeting with the JLA (including Elongated Man) from Justice League of America #51 (February, 1967) and Murphy Anderson's drawing of the JSA from Justice League of America #76 (November-December, 1969).  How's that for a Christmas present?

Guide to Golden Age Mr. Terrific, Wildcat and More Reprints

Continuing our look back at how to find the earliest reprints of various JSAers, and we'll look at a few team members that didn't fare so well...folks like Mr. Terrific, Wildcat, Johnny Thunder and the Red Tornado, members who were valuable parts of the JSA, but just haven't been able to get their solo Golden Age adventures out there.

Mr. Terrific

Terry Sloane was the master of fair play, and being smarter than everyone, graduating college at twelve!  He became bored and planned to end it all....but instead helped a young woman and her brother, and became the hero, Mr. Terrific!

All this happened in his first appearance, "Who Is Mr. Terrific?" in Sensation Comics #1 (January, 1942) by Charles Reizenstein and Harold W. Sharp.

This story was reprinted in the Famous First Edition C-30 of 1974 and in the Millennium Edition: Sensation Comics #1 (October, 2000), but more as this was the start of Wonder Woman's first regular series.

Mr. Terrific found a second story of his reprinted, this from the Big All-American Comic Book of 1944, entitled "Models For Crime", with no identified writer, and art by Stan Aschmeier, where Terry faces the criminal, "Money" Lowy.

This story was reprinted in the DC Comics Rarities Archives #1 of 2005, and also features Wildcat, Johnny Thunder, Ma Hunkel and a few other Golden Age characters as well like Hawkman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and the Flash!

Sadly, only the first five of Mr. Terrific's Golden Age tales from Sensation Comics #1 to Sensation Comics #5 (May, 1942, all by Charles Reizenstein and Hal Sharp) were reprinted in the JSA All-Stars Archives #1 of 2007, but he was in good company (but they still had many stories to reprint, as Mr. Terrific had a series until Sensation Comics #63 of March, 1947).

Mr. Terrific's one and only other Golden Age appearance was in All-Star Comics #24 (Spring, 1945), which was reprinted in All-Star Comics Archives #6 of 2000, and you can read more about him joining the JSA here!

Wildcat

Ted Grant was a boxer framed for a murder, but he refused to give up the fight, becoming Wildcat to clear his name (and continuing the fight even after, as Ted just refused to stop fighting for us all!).  This happened in Sensation Comics #1 (January, 1942) by Bill Finger and Irwin Hasen, in "This Is The Story Of Wildcat".

This story was reprinted in the Famous First Edition C-30 of 1974 and in the Millennium Edition: Sensation Comics #1 (October, 2000) all along with Mr. Terrific's tale, as well as in Secret Origins #3 (July-August, 1973) with a cover by Nick Cardy and in the Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told hardcover of 1990 with a Jerry Ordway cover.

Wildcat found another story reprinted from Sensation Comics #4 (April, 1942) with "Stretch Skinner, Dee-teca-tif" by Bill Finger and Irwin Hasen.  Stretch (whose first name was Hiram), made his first appearance here, and continued to help Wildcat during his career as a detective (and sometimes as Ted Grant's manager).

This story was reprinted in 100-Page Super-Spectacular DC-14 of February, 1973 and includes Golden Age reprints of Batman, Wonder Woman, Blackhawk and Doll Man all under a wraparound cover by Nick Cardy!

Wildcat and Stretch later found two more appearances reprinted, stories from Comic Cavalcade #1 (Winter, 1942) of "Crime Takes A Count" by Bill Finger and Irwin Hasen, and Comic Cavalcade #2 (Spring, 1943) of "The Story Behind The Bellyache" also by Finger and Hasen, with the two taking a swing at criminals, putting them down for the count!


Both these stories were reprinted in Comic Cavalcade Archives #1 of 2005, along with the rest of the contents of those issues (and Comic Cavalcade #3 of Summer, 1943, which didn't include Wildcat), including Golden Age stories of Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Flash, and even the Black Pirate, Hop Harrigan and Scribbly.


Wildcat was also in the Big All-American Comic Book of 1944, where "Wildcat Met The Kidder", with no identified writer, and art by Joe Gallagher; along with Mr. Terrific and more, and it was still reprinted in the DC Comics Rarities Archives #1 of 2005.

Wildcat faced trouble in "The Wasp's Nest" with no identified writer, but art by Joe Kubert in Sensation Comics #66 (June, 1947), where he and Stretch Skinner faced the Yellow Wasp (who had appeared before, in the Wildcat stories in Sensation Comics #20 and #25, both not reprinted).


This story was reprinted in Wanted: The World's Most Dangerous Villains #6 (February, 1973), with a cover by Nick Cardy (and the villain being called the Golden Wasp, which led to some confusion over the years).  The issue also featured Starman and Sargon!

Wildcat's next reprinted appearance was from Sensation Comics #71 (November, 1947) with "The Count That Never Ended" by Robert Kanigher and Gil Kane, where Wildcat faced his foe, the original Huntress (who appeared in Sensation Comics #68 and #69, both not reprinted).  This was the original Huntress, not Helena Wayne, daughter of Batman (though she faced her as well).


This story was reprinted in 100-Page Super-Spectacular DC-20 of September, 1973 along with a Black Canary tale (and a few other Golden Age stories), and Black Canary and Starman faced off against the original Huntress as well in Brave and the Bold #62 (October-November, 1965), and Black Canary was there when Huntress was part of the Injustice Society of the World returned to fight the JSA in All-Star Comics #41 (June-July, 1948).

Sensation Comics #84 (December, 1948) with "The Monkey's Circle" has the last of Wildcat's original run to be reprinted, with no identified writer and art by Bernie Krigstein, and has Wildcat and Stretch facing off against an evil organ grinder and his pet monkeys!


This tale found its way into Justice League of America #96 (February, 1972), along with a Golden Age Hourman reprint and under a cover drawn by Neal Adams; Wildcat still was featured in Sensation Comics all the way up until Sensation Comics #90 (June, 1949).


But, there was one more Golden Age Wildcat story to be told!

This unpublished Golden Age tale of Wildcat, "Crime Wore A Costume" by Robert Kanigher and Jon C. Kozlak found its way into DC 100 Page Super Spectacular #6 (1971) with a stunning Neal Adams cover that included Wildcat facing the Huntress, as well as a few other reprints including Johnny Quick and Vigilante (and the issue had Golden Age reprints of theirs as well).

This reprint also found itself reprinted, as the DC 100 Page Super Spectacular #6 Replica Edition in May, 2004.

Wildcat's Golden Age JSA adventures including how he joined the team are recapped here!

Wildcat, like many other JSAers, found his first five stories (from Sensation Comics #1 to Sensation Comics #5 of May, 1942) reprinted in the JSA All-Stars Archives #1 of 2007.

Johnny Thunder

Say, you'd think we'd be happy to see Johnny Thunder, and his magic Thunderbolt (called Cei-U, pronounced "say, you") and his first appearance in Flash Comics #1 (January, 1940) from the story "The Kidnapping of Johnny Thunder" by John B. Wentworth and Stan Aschmeier?

Well, we are, and this story has his origins.

This story has been reprinted a few times, in Famous First Edition F-8 (August-September, 1975) and in the Millennium Edition: Flash Comics #1 (September, 2000), but likely more because the book is also the first appearance of the Golden Age Hawkman and Flash....but, hey, Johnny was there too!

Unfortunately, most of Johnny's reprints came because he was in a book where others had stories reprinted.  Johnny was in the New York World's Fair Comics #2 (1940) with the story "At The World's Fair" by John B. Wentworth and Stan Aschmeier, where Johnny tries to impress his girlfriend, Daisy Darling, but ends up getting his wallet stolen (and later found by the Thunderbolt).  Johnny was also in the the Big All-American Comic Book (1944) in a story by Julius Schwartz and Stan Aschmeier, where Johnny and his adopted daughter, "Peachy Pet Met the Big Bad Wolf".  Both of these tales were reprinted in the DC Comics Rarities Archives #1 of 2005 along with many other Golden Age tales, including stories from Wildcat, Mr. Terrific, Hourman and the Atom.

Johnny also had a solo tale in in All-Star Comics #2 (Fall, 1940) with "The Darling Apartment" by John B. Wentworth and Stan Aschmeier, with Johnny, Daisy and her dad dealing with a crooked political boss.

This story was reprinted in All-Star Comics Archives #0 from 2006, and Johnny was popular enough to stay as a regular guest of the Justice Society in their earliest appearances, and even had solo tales in All-Star Comics #4 (March-April, 1941) and in All-Star Comics #5 (June-July, 1941), although Johnny didn't become a member until All-Star Comics #6 (August-September, 1941) (and All-Star Comics #3 to #6 are reprinted in All-Star Comics Archives #1 from 1992, where you can read more about Johnny, and you can read how he joined the JSA here).

Johnny's first five stories from Flash Comics (Flash Comics #1 to Flash Comics #5 of May, 1940) were reprinted in the JSA All-Stars Archives #1 of 2007, and oddly (and thankfully), his last six Golden Age solo appearances were also collected...


...as in Flash Comics #86 (August, 1947), Black Canary premiered in Johnny's strip, and his tales from Flash Comics #86 to Flash Comics #91 (January, 1948) were reprinted in The Black Canary Archives #1 along with the rest of her Golden Age tales and more!


So, Johnny was helped out by his friends!

Red Tornado

Last, but never least is the stories of Ma Hunkel, who first appeared in All-American Comics #3 (June, 1939), as a neighbor of Scribbly (a boy cartoonist, based on Sheldon Mayer, who wrote and drew the Scribbly feature).



With All-American Comics #20 (November, 1940) by Sheldon Mayer, Ma realized she needed to adopt a super-heroic identity to help her kids, and put on longjohns and a pot, and became...the Red Tornado!

Ma's first five tales as the Red Tornado were reprinted (along with Golden Age Superman, Batman and Plastic Man tales) in "A Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Comics" in 1981.

Ma's first five tales as the Red Tornado, from All-American Comics #20 to All-American Comics #24 (March, 1941) were also reprinted in the JSA All-Stars Archives #1 of 2007 along with those of Dr. Mid-Nite, Hourman, the Atom, Mr. Terrific, Wildcat and Johnny Thunder.

Would that there be more Archives of these delightful tales!