Happy 4th Of July 250

A happy 4th Of July to everyone, and a happy 250th to the United States of America.  

Here, to celebrate....Superman, from the Limited Collectors' Edition #C-47 (August-September, 1976; though the book features Tomahawk) and Captain America, from the Marvel Treasury Special Featuring Captain America's Bicentennial Battles #1 (September, 1976).

 

Happy 4th Of July With Miss America

A happy 4th of July to all...and to celebrate, here is Madeline Joyce (otherwise known as Miss America) from the one and only Miss America Comics from 1944 (the later issues where Miss America Magazine), with a cover by Ken Bald.

Miss America later joined the Liberty Legion, the Invaders and the All-Winners Squad, and was involved with the Whizzer!

Happy 4th Of July With The Marvel Family

Celebrate the 4th of July with family...the Marvel Family, that is, as Freddy, Billy and Mary play the fife and drum on this cover to Marvel Family #23 (May, 1948) (likely by Pete Costanza) in their super identities of Captain Marvel Jr, Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel. 

Inside the issue, the Marvel Family deals with the Sivana Family, Captain Marvel deals with a distant relative of Thor, and more stories with Junior and Mary!

Happy Fourth Of July With Captain America

Saluting the 4th of July with this John Romita, Sr. drawn July entry from the 1976 Marvel Bicentennial Calendar, with Captain America front and center, standing strong to uphold the United States Declaration Of Independence.

Happy 4th Of July With Superman And Tomahawk

A happy Fourth of July to everyone, celebrating with this Superman cover to Limited Collectors' Edition #C-47 (August-September, 1976) by Fred Ray....

...but, Superman really isn't a part of the treasury edition, as Superman just hosts 6 tales of frontiersman Tomahawk with tales from the American Revolution from Star-Spangled Comics #73, #121, #126, #127 and Tomahawk #45 and a few special features. 

Happy 4th Of July With Captain America

Celebrate the Fourth of July with Captain America and Jack Kirby, as they did in 1976, with the Marvel Treasury Special Featuring Captain America's Bicentennial Battles #1 (September, 1976).

One of the things this special Marvel Treasury did was celebrate the 200th Birthday of the United States, which was celebrated heavily on July 4th, 1976.

Due to events in the story, Jack Kirby had a few pin up pages, where he explored the idea of Captain America, that, Cap was an institution, supporting America from colonial days, well into space and the future!

Best of all, in line with July being Western Comics Month, Cap even was ready to be part of the drive to expand the USA, heading out west to spread our country across North America!

These Captain America redesigns a wonderful "What If?" to the Captain America legend....

 

Happy 4th Of July With Captain Marvel Jr

A happy Fourth of July to you and and yours, with a reminder to be careful when playing with your fireworks.

Here's a classic Mac Raboy cover to Captain Marvel Jr. #4 (February 19, 1943), with Cap Junior standing in the middle of the explosions (which he could do, because he had super powers; plus, that was artillery, not fireworks!).

Happy 4th Of July With the Justice League

Salute the flag and celebrate the Fourth of July with the Justice League of America, as shown in this patriotic scene by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, from the 1976 Super DC Calendar.

Happy 4th of July with Wonder Woman

Celebrating the Fourth of July with Wonder Woman this year, looking at this patriotic cover by Dave Cockrum and Dick Giordano from Wonder Woman #272 (October, 1980).


The story inside features Wonder Woman's return to Washington, DC, by Gerry Conway, Jose Delbo and Dave Hunt, and a battle with Angle Man, while featuring a back-up with the Huntress, and her battle with Solomon Grundy (by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Steve Mitchell).


You think your holiday is busy!

Happy 4th Of July With Sgt. Rock

Saluting our war heroes on this July 4th, with this cover from Our Army At War #295 (August, 1976) by Joe Kubert.


This cover featured World War II hero, Sgt. Rock and Easy Company, and also celebrated America's Bicentennial (1776 to 1976).

Have A Fantastic Fourth!

Here's the Fantastic Four, working on the Fourth of July, helping George Washington and his army!

Art by Joe Sinnott, from the Mighty Marvel Bicentennial Calendar of 1976!

Have a happy 4th of July!

Have A Super 4th of July

Have a super Fourth of July with this cover, of Superman #24 from September-October, 1943 by Jack Burnley.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!

Salute the flag with Captain America!

Steel, A Patriotic Comic Book Hero!

“The lights are going out…and a great darkness is descending on the world.  America will soon be the last bastion of freedom.  That’s why I’ll go on fighting the forces of fascist tyranny until the day I die!  That’s why I became Steel!”  – Hank Heywood.

That’s the mission statement of the hero who premiered in Steel, the Indestructible Man #1 (March, 1978, by writer Gerry Conway and artist Don Heck).  Hank Heywood was just a Princeton biology student, on tour in Europe in 1939 with his mentor, Dr. Gilbert Giles, discussing their bio-retardant formula that would allow surgical replacement of damaged limbs and organs….and the pair were witness to Nazi brutality.  This so shook young Hank, that after returning home, he informed his fiance, Gloria Giles (the doctor’s daughter) of his need to enlist in the Marines and help convince America to prepare to fight the coming war in Europe.  While training, Private Heywood stumbled onto some Nazi saboteurs, and while he tried to stop them, they blew themselves up and severely injured Hank.

When Hank awoke, he convinced Dr. Giles to use the formula, in combination with steel alloy tubing to replace his crushed bones, micro-motors in his damaged joints and a new artificial lung to replace his burned one, all under regrown skin thanks to the formula.  The doctor wanted to keep the success of the operation a secret and Hank agreed, being rebuilt better than before, and didn’t tell Gloria.  Private Heywood was reassigned duty in the Marines as a desk jockey, but Hank wanted to do more for his country.  Hank fashioned a flexible steel alloy suit for added protection, and labeled himself Steel, the Indestructible Man.  With his new strength, speed, endurance and toughness, he then decided to arm himself (sadly, breaking the law to get advanced weapons from the Westchester Federal Armory), where Steel faced more saboteurs directed by Baron Death…but, this time, Hank, in his costume identity was victorious against them.

Soldiering On

Over his next four issues, Steel faced the Mineral Master (a Dr. Moag, who stumbled onto the “Omega” field, which he was immersed in, and changed the doctor, and allowed him a mastery of minerals), Sledgehammer (Emil Sledgeski, a Chicago mobster with half-ton hands that allowed him to toss Steel around), the Gadgeteer (Col. Roger Romaine, an army engineer who thought the army needed more inventions but struck out on his own as a thief and fought Steel with an ultra-sonic stunner, a prototype laser, and an auto gyro), and the Marsh Monster (and his brother, hiding out in the swamp with a few deadly secrets with the Hawk brothers).

Steel fought these menaces with a modified flare gun (his flash gun, to blind his foes), an anesthetic dart rifle (which fired mercy bullets to stun his foes) and a modified mountain climbing pike to allow him to cross long distances (by grappling between buildings)…all with his other enhanced abilities, to keep fighting for his country.

A Bitter Ending...Almost

It wasn’t easy for Hank, as Dr. Giles collapsed from a heart attack (brought on by stress, and the realization that Hank had gone against the doctor’s wishes becoming Steel), and Gloria grew more distant from Hank as his fervor to fight the forces aligning against America grew.  Though, with the last published issue, (#5), Steel had retrieved more of the bio-retardant formula (needed by himself because of injuries he suffered in an explosion caused by the Gadgeteer and to aid Dr. Giles recovery), Steel faced the worst doom of all, cancellation!  This, thanks to the DC Implosion…a collapse in the comic market that doomed many titles.

Still, even that couldn’t hold Steel down, as DC published what would have been Steel, the Indestructible Man #6 in the second issue of the Cancelled Comics Cavalcade (though only in photocopied black and white), and Roy Thomas used most of the story (with slight redrawings by Jerry Ordway, and a few changed words and missing pages) in All-Star Squadron #8 and 9 in 1982.  Here, we learned Dr. Giles recovered and told Hank he knew that Hank was Steel…and issued an ultimatum, that he should give up being Steel or leave his fiance, as the doctor wouldn’t have her engaged to an “overzealous, patriotic fool”.  Hank then left Gloria, and ended up in London, and got an assignment from Prime Minister Winston Churchill to kidnap Adolf Hitler!  Steel went behind enemy lines in January, 1940, realized he may have taken this suicide mission a little too easily (perhaps because he did not want to live without the love of Gloria) and ended up being captured and tortured in a Nazi concentration camp (where he  inadvertently allowed the Nazi super-menace of Baron Blitzkrieg to be created).

I Shall Return

In the updated parts of All-Star Squadron #8 and 9, we found Steel in Canada, saving Churchill again (this time after Pearl Harbor and the USA getting involved in what would be World War II), and how Baron Blitzkrieg planned to use Steel to kill Churchill and then President Franklin D. Roosevelt!  The All-Stars helped save the Allied leaders, and FDR even rechristened Hank as Commander Steel, and Hank joined the All-Star Squadron soon after in January, 1942.  Sadly, Steel found his mentor has passed away and Gloria had blamed Steel for his death, and moved on, marrying soldier Brad Farley, who was shipping out to Europe.  Commander Steel had a few adventures with the All-Star Squadron (included a team-up through time, meeting the Justice League and Justice Society in Justice League of America #207-209 and All-Star Squadron #14-15, where they faced time-foe Per Degaton and the evil Crime Syndicate of America…and this reunited Commander Steel with his original creative team of Gerry Conway and Don Heck, at least for the JLA issues, wherein he teamed with other Conway creations Firestorm and Power Girl!).  Gloria even returned into Hank’s life, telling him of how her husband disappeared on a mission in Europe, and Hank, still in love with her, did the right thing and headed to Europe to save Brad Farley.

But, in another twist, in All-Star Squadron #50, Commander Steel did free Brad Farley in April, 1942, but thanks to dimensional stresses caused by the Crisis on Infinite Earths, ended up on Earth-1 (from his home on Earth-2), in April, 1942, where there were no super-heroes yet (as the Justice League of America had yet to be), so he retired for a time, concentrating on making a new life for himself without Gloria, and saving his country by beating the Nazi menace.  Commander Steel lost his mentor, his girl, and even his world, and he soldiered on…for his country!  That’s a super-patriot!

Commander Steel had a legacy, and that…can be looked at on a future date!

Quality's Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam was a known figure (being based on New York meat packer Samuel Wilson), was referred to in the lyrics of Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1775, was a literary character in 1816, and was an image as he was usually known by in J. M. Flagg's recruitment poster of 1917 (for World War I).

He's even made it into a few other comic book companys...like Marvel's Captain America and Fawcett's Captain Marvel...

A Quality Uncle Sam

The spirit of America was made into an official comic book character at Quality Comics, with National Comics #1 (July, 1940, thus before Captain America even existed), and this Uncle Sam was created by Will Eisner (who also created and retained ownership of the Spirit), and the cover was drawn by Lou Fine (and interior story drawn by Dave Berg).

Uncle Sam was joining the fight for World War II to save us all!

Uncle Sam's origin appeared in National Comics #5 (November, 1940), with story by Will Eisner, and cover and interior art by Lou Fine (this issue also introduced Quality's speed hero, Quicksilver....).

Uncle Sam stayed to fight for America from National Comics #1-45 (that last issue in December, 1944, and Uncle Sam was on the covers up to #41 before being replaced by the Barker...).

During this time, Uncle Sam proved popular enough to even get his own book as well!

Uncle Sam Breaks Loose

Uncle Sam Quarterly #1 came out in Autumn, 1941, and the title wasn't quite quarterly...#2 was Winter of 1941 cover by Lou Fine, #3 was Summer of 1942 cover by George Tuska, #4 was Autumn of 1942 cover by Gill Fox, #5 was Winter of 1942 cover by Al Gabriele, #6 was Spring of 1943 cover by Ruben Moreira, #7 was Summer of 1943 cover by Al Bryant, and the last issue of the series, #8, was in Fall of 1943, and cover by Alex Kotzky.

The title then became Blackhawk, which is why Blackhawk started with issue #9 at Quality Comics!

Sam's last Quality appearance was in National Comics #45 (December, 1944)...but that wasn't the last appearance of Uncle Sam.  DC Comics had purchased the Quality characters, and kept the Blackhawks, G.I. Combat, Heart Throbs and Robin Hood Tales titles going under the DC banner (or is that checker?)...and even revived Plastic Man in the 1960s...but as for the rest...their freedom came in the 1970s...

Freedom for the Quality Heroes

Len Wein and Dick Dillin brought back 6 of these unused Quality characters as a team in Justice League of America #107-108 (September-December, 1973) as the Freedom Fighters.  Uncle Sam had recruited Phantom Lady, the Human Bomb, the Black Condor, Doll Man and the Ray to help him fight the Nazis who had won World War II on their Earth (Earth-X)...and with this story, also got the help of Earth-1's Justice League and Earth-2's Justice Society.

The Freedom Fighters then graduated to their own book, entitled Freedom Fighters, that lasted for 15 issues from 1976 to 1978, by writers Gerry Conway, Marty Pasko and Bob Rozakis and artists Ric Estrada, Pablo Marcus, Ramona Fradon, and Dick Ayers, facing a foe from Earth-X, the Silver Ghost!

While the JLA stories are reprinted in Crisis On Multiple Earths 3 under an Alex Ross cover, the Freedom Fighters tales have yet to be collected (and are wanted....)

The World War II origins of the Freedom Fighters got covered in All-Star Squadron #31-35 (March-July, 1984, by Roy Thomas and Rick Hoberg), and told how these (and other) Quality heroes (like Miss America, Magno and Neon the Unknown) had originally started on Earth-2, and left to help Earth-X, and unintentionally allowed the Nazis to win World War II!

Sadly, these Freedom Fighters saw their modern adventure together end soon after their appearance in DC Comics Presents #62 (October, 1983 by Bob Rozakis, Dan Mishkin and Irv Novick with a text piece resolving the Firebrand/Silver Ghost battle left from the original Freedom Fighters series) in Crisis On Infinite Earths (though others continue to pick up their legacy...

...most recently in two 8 issue mini-series of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters by writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmioti, and artists Daniel Acuna on the first series, and Renato Arlem on the second series, and a Freedom Fighters series with the same writing team and with art by Travis Moore for 9 issues before it ended...reviving even more Quality characters under the DC banner).

More Uncle Sam History

Uncle Sam himself got a more recent origin with Secret Origins #19 (November, 1987, by Len Wein and Murphy Anderson, which is pretty faithful to Uncle Sam's stories from National Comics #1 and 5, and Uncle Sam Quarterly #1, and has a cover by Anderson for Sam, and Captain America co-creator Jack Kirby drawing DC's shield-slinger, the Guardian!), and if you still want more Quality and Uncle Sam comic history, check out the wonderful Quality Companion from TwoMorrows, by Mike Kooiman and Jim Amash with a cover by Dick Giordano!

Uncle Sam, we salute you!