Finding the Forgotten Heroes

So, if you've been reading along, you've learned about DC's Forgotten Heroes....




....but, where to find reprints of those characters?




Sadly, Immortal Man and Dolphin haven't been collected anywhere but their original solo appearances in Strange Adventures and Showcase, but here are the rest of the team...

Rip Hunter

Rip Hunter's first appearance from Showcase #20 (May-June, 1959) can be found in World's Finest Comics #225 (September-October, 1974)...


....under the Nick Cardy cover that was the inspiration for the mock-up above.

Rip Hunter, Time Master #6 (January-February, 1962) was collected in the 52: The Companion tradepaperback of 2007, and Rip Hunter, Time Master #11 (November-December, 1962) was reprinted in World's Finest Comics #227 (January-February, 1975)...

...and Rip's four Showcase appearances along with the first 15 issues of Rip Hunter, Time Master...


...are collected in black and white in Showcase Presents: Rip Hunter: Time Master Volume 1, which gets readers about half of Rip's original adventures!




Sadly, we are lacking in reprints of Rip Hunter and his team in their green uniforms, which they didn't adopt until later.




  

Sea Devils

Dane Dorrance and his underwater team found one half of Sea Devils #1 (September-October, 1961) reprinted in Action Comics #437 (July, 1974), along with a few other reprints...


....and a new story with Superman, Green Arrow, Flash and Green Lantern fighting a magical menace all under a Nick Cardy cover!

Half of Sea Devils #3 (January-February, 1962) found it's way into Action Comics #443 (January, 1975), along with a few other reprints, and a new story with Superman and the Justice League (including Flash, Atom, Green Arrow, Black Canary and Red Tornado), facing off against Grodd, Chronos, Merlyn and more, also under a Nick Cardy cover!

The Sea Devils had their 3 Showcase issues and first 16 issues collected in black and white in the Showcase Presents: The Sea Devils Volume 1. 

Congorilla 

Congo Bill will likely get coverage of his own, but his first body switching with Congorilla from Action Comics #248 (January, 1959) was reprinted in the Weird Secret Origins of 2004, which was itself reprinted in DC Universe: Secret Origins HC of 2012, and  DC Universe: Secret Origins tradepaperback of 2013.

Congorilla's story from Action Comics #252 (May, 1959) was reprinted along with the first appearance of Supergirl and Metallo in the DC Silver Age Classics Action Comics #252 of 1992 and the Millennium Edition: Action Comics #252 of 2000.


Congorilla's time in "The One-Ape Circus" of Action Comics #259 (December, 1959) was reprinted in World's Finest Comics #150 (June, 1965), under a wild Superman/Batman cover by Curt Swan and George Klein.

"Congorilla's Last Stand: from Action Comics #261 (February, 1960) made it into World's Finest Comics #151 (August, 1965), with an even odder cover by Curt Swan and George Klein.

Congorilla's story of "The Ninth Wonder" from Adventure Comics #270 (March, 1960) was reprinted in World's Finest Comics #148 (March, 1965), with yet another Curt Swan/George Klein cover.

"The Congorilla In Space" story from Adventure Comics #276 (September, 1960) was reprinted in World's Finest Comics #149 (May, 1965), with an ominous Curt Swan/George Klein cover.

It's also worth noting that Congorilla and Congo Bill's aid with Superman's battle with Brainiac from Action Comics #280 (September, 1961) was reprinted in color in Superman Family #168 (December-January, 1974/1975)...


...also under a Nick Cardy cover!

Animal Man

Buddy Baker's first appearance from Strange Adventures #180 (September, 1965) has been reprinted a few times, once in Adventure Comics #412 (November, 1971) under a Supergirl cover by Bob Oksner, and along with the origin of Congorilla in the Weird Secret Origins of 2004, which was itself reprinted in DC Universe: Secret Origins HC of 2012, and DC Universe: Secret Origins TPB of 2013.

Buddy's second appearance from Strange Adventures #184 (January, 1966) made it into Adventure Comics #414 (January, 1972) under a Supergirl cover by Bob Oksner.

Strange Adventures #190 (July, 1966), with the first appearance of Animal Man in costume appeared in Adventure Comics #415 (February, 1972) under another Bob Oksner Supergirl cover.



Strange Adventures #195 (December, 1966) saw its Animal Man story reprinted in Adventure Comics #420 (June, 1972) under an infamous Supergirl cover by Bob Oksner.

Strange Adventures #201 (June, 1967) took the longest to see the Animal Man story reprinted, being collected in the DC Goes Ape tradepaperback of 2008, along with reprints of other famous gorilla stories, featuring Grodd, Titano and more, all under an Art Adams cover you'll surely go ape over!



These Animal Man stories could all easily fit in a 100 page reprint...

...and even include Dolphin's one and only solo story, and maybe room for a little more, like one of Immortal Man's original stories!

Enchantress

A quick side note, as one of the leaders of the Forgotten Villains, the Enchantress, saw her origin from Strange Adventures #187 (April, 1966) reprinted in the Weird Secret Origins of 2004, which was itself reprinted in DC Universe: Secret Origins hardcover of 2012, and  DC Universe: Secret Origins tradepaperback of 2013, as well as in Adventure Comics #417 (March, 1972) under a Bob Oksner Supergirl cover.

Enchantress' second (of three) solo appearances, from Strange Adventures #191 (August, 1966) was reprinted in Adventure Comics #419 (May, 1972) under a Supergirl cover by Bob Oksner (and maybe these explain why Enchantress was revived in Superman Family to face Supergirl later....), sadly not seeing Strange Adventures #200's Enchantress tale reprinted at all (and Enchantress making the cover, but not the inside of a Supergirl Giant, Adventure Comics #416).

Suicide Squad and Cave Carson

Sadly, DC's fighting forces of the Suicide Squad only saw one issue reprinted so far, that being half of the issue from Brave and the Bold #38 (October-November, 1961), reprinted in the Best of DC #26 (July, 1982) under a Jim Aparo cover, but DC is promising a collection of all six of the Brave and the Bold Suicide Squad issues in 2016 (but, wouldn't it be great if this collection included the 3 solo Enchantress tales from the 1960s as well?). 

Cave Carson's only reprint (from his first appearance in Showcase #31 of August-September, 1960) was also reprinted in the Best of DC #26 (July, 1982).  Wouldn't you dig a collection of his 8 original stories from Brave and the Bold and Showcase?

The nice thing is, the gathering of the Forgotten Heroes (Action Comics #545, #552 and #553) are all reprinted in the Adventures of Superman: Gil Kane hardcover of 2013.

Now, if we could just get a collection of early appearances of the Monitor from the Crisis on Infinite Earths, we could see a collection of DC Comics Presents #77 and #78 (which also features the beginnings of the Forgotten Villains, led by the Enchantress, and including villains from the Sea Devils and Rip Hunter!).

Forgotten Heroes Strange Adventures

If all these columns have done nothing else, it proves that nothing gets totally forgotten...and even old heroes can come back and continue to have adventures....


....no matter how strange they might be.


Concluding our look back at DC Comics' Forgotten Heroes, we end with some of the more recognizable of the lot...

...and those that have stood the test of time.

Congorilla

Congo Bill was a hero from another time....but he got there the old fashioned way.  He lived it.  Congo Bill started as an explorer and hunter in Africa all the way back in More Fun Comics #56 (June, 1940), and stayed there until More Fun Comics #67 (May, 1941), then moved over to Action Comics #37 (June, 1941), that he called home until Action Comics #261 (February, 1960), with his own title, Congo Bill, that had 7 issues from August-September, 1954 to August-September, 1955.  But it was in Action Comics #248 (January, 1959) that we (and Bill) met "The Amazing Congorilla" (story by Robert Bernstein and Howard Sherman).

In Action Comics #248, Congo Bill tried to save the life of his friend, Chief Kawolo, but failed, serving only to prolong his life long enough for the chief to give Bill a magic ring, which would allow Bill to change his mind with the legendary golden gorilla, Congorilla, and use his animal strength to help people.  Bill didn't believe the chief, but took the ring.

Then a cave-in trapped Congo Bill with no way out, so he tried the ring, and it worked...

....with Congorilla wandering through a movie set and being pursued by a movie director while heading to the cave to save the body of Congo Bill with Congorilla's mind (though he really needed a publicity agent, as Congorilla didn't make any of his covers other than the first...even in the gorilla crazed Silver Age!).

 

Congo Bill had plenty of body-swapping, gorilla swinging adventures up until Action Comics #261 (February, 1960), after which Supergirl expanded her presence in Action Comics to half the magazine, and Congorilla swung over to Adventure Comics, running from Adventure Comics #270 (March, 1960) to Adventure Comics #283 (April, 1961), even teaming up with Superman and Jimmy Olsen in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #49 (December, 1960, with Jimmy temporarily getting Congo Bill's ring and doing the mind-switch with Congorilla briefly!).

Congo Bill and Congorilla came back to work with Superman to stop Brainiac in Action Comics #280 (September, 1961), and put Jimmy Olsen in the mix again with Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #86 (July, 1965), before a brief feature in the "Whatever Happen To...?" series in DC Comics Presents #27 (November, 1980).  (Congorilla and Congo Bill also showed up in a flashback tale, to right before the Justice League formed, where they worked with Lois Lane, the Challengers of the Unknown, the original Robotman and Vigilante, and almost met Adam Strange, while Rip Hunter fended off the Blackhawks, Plastic Man and Jimmy Olsen in Justice League of America #144 of July, 1977, with a flashback story set around early 1959).

Congorilla found the golden pyramids in Africa, and ended up with the Forgotten Heroes in Action Comics #552 (February, 1984).

Animal Man

Buddy Baker was just a quiet guy, trying to marry the love of his life, Ellen Frazier (but having some problems proposing) in Strange Adventures #180 (September, 1965, by Dave Wood and Carmine Infantino), that is until he went hunting with his friend, Roger Denning, and was able to proclaim "I Was The Man With Animal Powers", which he got from exposure to radiation from a crashed alien ship...

...and Buddy faced off against the alien who escaped from that ship, saved his friends, even after his powers wore off....and proposed to Ellen...all in 16 short pages, where he never even got a costume or super-hero identity.

Buddy returned in Strange Adventures #184 (January, 1966 by Dave Wood and Gil Kane), with "The Return Of The Man With Animal Powers", this time with Buddy and Roger finding another alien ship, and two aliens (Trano and Zaarn), working their way through town, firing a hate ray at everyone, which works on everyone except Buddy (who seems to have his animal powers restored, which he uses to defeat the aliens).  Buddy finally takes a costume and super-hero identity (that of "A-Man") in Strange Adventures #190 (July, 1966), facing off against gang boss, Grabo in the Dave Wood/Carmine Infantino tale of "A-Man -- The Hero With Animal Powers".

Buddy returns, finally taking the Animal Man name in Strange Adventures #195 (December, 1966 by Dave Wood and Jack Sparling), in "Animal Man - Hero Or Freak?", with Buddy and Roger facing off against Grabo again (as well as mapping where animals are nearby, so Buddy can easily draw on their power at all times).  In his last original solo tale, in Strange Adventures #201 (June, 1967, with no established writer, and art by Jack Sparling), Buddy faces off against "The Mod Gorilla Boss" (beating him when he changes back to human!).

Buddy then was mostly forgotten until he met up with Wonder Woman in Wonder Woman #267 and #268 (May and June, 1980) by Gerry Conway and Jose Delbo, where Wonder Woman and Animal Man face off against the Cartel of the Prime Planner, as well as his assassins....Red Fang, the Changling and Lumber Jack, with Wonder Woman finally learning who the Prime Planner was ending a trial in her own life (though soon starting another....).

Buddy then faded away again, but not for long, because he found a golden pyramid while scouting for sites, which led to his joining the Forgotten Heroes in Action Comics #552 (February, 1984).  

Immortal Man

This is the man who helped to bring the Forgotten Heroes together, and he had plenty of time to do it, as he had been around since the days of the cavemen!  The Immortal Man's first recorded adventure happened in Strange Adventures #177 (June, 1965, with no credited writer, but art by Jack Sparling)...

...wherein a man named Mark learned of his earlier lives when he got a jeweled amulet at the orphanage where he was raised, as well as learning of his various super-powers, which he uses to save the town he was in...dying in the process, but knowing in his heart that "I Lived A Hundred Lives"...

...so that he would return.

Return he did, "The Man Who Died 100 Times" in Strange Adventures #185 (February, 1966 by Dave Wood and Jack Sparling), first as Jungle Man, who died fighting the villain, Karat (a jewel thief) in Africa to protect a crown claimed by archaeologists Rodney and Helen Phelps, then as Englishman Mark King, facing Karat again to keep the jewels and the Phelps safe (again at the cost of his own life).  The "Immortal Man" returned again in Strange Adventures #190 (July, 1966, with art by Jack Sparling), helping people as Kirk Jason, using a power to find lost objects during an earthquake caused by a giant creature.  Kirk defeats the creature, saving Helen Phelps as well, but at the cost of his own life.

In his last solo story, in Strange Adventures #198 (March, 1967, with art by Jack Sparling), the Immortal Man returns as Anton Carver, a paleontologist for Pembroke College, where he faces "The Apes With Bizarre Powers", as well as Helen Phelps, who had tracked him down.  Sadly, the Immortal Man dies again, leaving Helen behind....but the Immortal Man returned again, with Action Comics #552 (February, 1984), and detailed his own encounter with a golden pyramid in Action Comics #553 (March, 1985), wherein he also gathered the heroes Rip Hunter, Dane Dorrance, Dolphin, Cave Carson, Rick Flag, Congorilla and Animal Man, who would become the Forgotten Heroes, in a battle with Vandal Savage (an immortal enemy, whom the Immortal Man had been sparring with over the ages, since the days they both got their powers from a meteor crash....Vandal himself usually facing the Justice Society and Barry Allen Flash, but recently had been vexing Superman)...and this team exists, proving that even heroes who have been forgotten still can contribute to the safety of us all!

Forgotten Heroes Short Runs

Even more Forgotten Heroes!  This group of neglected 1960s heroes were mostly forgotten, until dusted off by Marv Wolfman as he got ready for the Crisis On Infinite Earths....


....and, like Dolphin, they didn't have too many appearances back in the day, but were gems in the making (well, some more than others...).

So, let's dig into more Silver Age characters of yesteryear....

Cave Carson

If you talk about digging, Cave Carson is your man.

Calvin "Cave" Carson started his spelunking in Brave and the Bold #31 (August-September, 1960 by France Herron and Bruno Premiani), being contacted to investigate the disappearances of a radio tower and some freight trains and find "The Secret Beneath The Earth".  Cave goes to investigate, while his friends, Bulldozer Smith and Christine Madison, finish work on Cave's Mighty Mole (a machine which would allow the team to tunnel underground).  Getting a message to his team via balloon, Christine and Bulldozer take the Mighty Mole underground to rescue Cave from the magnetic monster responsible for the chaos, starting a series of adventures inside Earth.

Cave and the crew of the Mighty Mole next find "The City 100 Miles Down" in Brave and the Bold #32 (October-November, 1960, by France Herron and Bernard Baily), finding a whole city and civilization beneath the Earth, planning to invade the surface world.  Cave uses the Mighty Mole to overheat their artificial sun, with Cave, Bulldozer and Christine being the only survivors.  The group next face "The Alien Robots From Inner Space" in Brave and the Bold #33 (December-January, 1960/1961 by France Herron and Bernard Baily), with Cave Carson, Bulldozer Smith and Christine Madison facing robots under the Earth, planning to conquer the Earth, whose plans are thwarted by the crew of the Mighty Mole....

...the group return, with Brave and the Bold #40 (February-March, 1962 by France Herron and Joe Kubert) to face the "Three Caverns of Doom", facing off against Zenod, an evil collector, bent on finding three magical crystals.  In Brave and the Bold #41 (April-May, 1962 by Jack Miller and Mort Meskin), Cave and crew stop alien thieves (with the help of authorities from their world, after being taken to their world, then returned) in "The Raiders From The Secret World".

Still digging for a permanent home, Cave and his Mighty Mole crew show up in Showcase #48 (January-February, 1964 by Bob Haney and Lee Elias), facing off against "Killers Of The Dead-End Maze" (a fellow named Emile Basto, a old foe of Cave's).  Cave and crew get new red uniforms in this issue, as well as getting a bit of the team's past (learning of Christine's past boyfriend, Johnny Blake, presumed lost while investigating a French cavern), and that Bulldozer has a pet lemur, named Lena, and that he had a history as an ex-con.  This story continues in part in Showcase #49 (March-April, 1964, by Bob Haney and Lee Elias), with the Mighty Mole team going to face a fire giant in South America, with Christine being kidnapped by it, and Cave and Bulldozer finding the missing Johnny Blake, Bulldozer finding an ancient sceptre which releases a fire bird, then rescuing Christine and Johnny while destroying the fire bird!

The team have one final adventure, in Showcase #52 (September-October, 1964 by Bob Haney and Lee Elias), as they nearly become "Prisoners Of The Lost World", while testing a saucer-shaped aircraft, they are taken to an underground city, where a scientist named Dr. Damion wants Cave to take over protection of the city from an energy creature, all while Johnny is turned to stone and the rest of the team faces the energy creature, with Cave defeating it, Bulldozer deciding to stay, and Johnny being restored as Cave and Christine leave the city (Bulldozer decides to leave with them as well).

The team had been fracturing, and when we next see Cave Carson, in Action Comics #536 (October, 1982, by Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton), Cave has become a recluse, grown a beard, and doesn't want to use the Mighty Mole to help people (but Lois Lane and the Omega Men convince him to help Superman against the Mole).

Cave then shows up in Action Comics #545 (July, 1983), meeting with Rip Hunter and Dane Dorrance, and then in Action Comics #552 (February, 1984), wherein he explains a little of the break up of the Mighty Mole team, and prepares to help Superman and other heroes in a battle against Superman.      

Suicide Squad

The next recruit for the Forgotten Heroes comes from the government, specifically Task Force X, also known as the Suicide Squad.  The team of troubleshooters first recorded mission happened in "The Three Waves of Doom" in Brave and the Bold #25 (August-September, 1959, by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru), with Air Force Colonel Rick Flag leading space medicine specialist Karin Grace, and civilian scientists Jess Bright and Dr. Hugh Evans against a red wave of fire sweeping across the sea.  While the team stopped the red wave, they then unleashed a mutant creature, which they then lured to a space rocket, and left the mutant in space.  The team would have more menaces to fight (both inside and outside the team, as these heroes who had survived life threatening menaces alone came together again to defeat the odd....all before the Justice League of America had formed!).

Next up for the government team, was "The Sun Curse" in Brave and the Bold #26 (October-November, 1959 by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru), where the team returns to Earth and is shrunk to small size, and fights enemy agents to prevent an atomic attack (and to get home and returned to normal size!).  Then, when they get home, the team also faces the "Serpent in the Subway" as they take a quick vacation in Paris (also a story by Kanigher and Andru).  The team then faces "The Creature Of Ghost Lake" in Brave and the Bold #27 (December-January, 1959/1960, by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru), which came from experiments of a Professor Duane and his Formula X.

The team took a little hiatus, until Brave and the Bold #37 (August-September, 1961), with two adventures, first facing the "Raid of the Dinosaurs" (by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru), with Karin drawing pictures of dinosaurs destroying the Earth and the rest of the team working to stop it from really happening, and then Task Force X facing the "Threat Of The Giant Eye" (also by Kanigher and Andru), with the team fighting the giant cyclops, Polyphemus.  The team also faced two menaces in their next issue, Brave and the Bold #38 (October-November, 1961, both by Kanigher and Andru), first with the Suicide Squad facing a pterodactyl (and chasing it to find a hidden alien spaceship in a cloud above New York City) and defeating the aliens in the "Master Of The Dinosaurs", then facing the invading alien Mirage Master, and repelling his attack.

The last of the original Suicide Squad's death-defying adventures happen when the team finds themselves "Prisoners of The Dinosaur Zoo" in Brave and the Bold #39 (December-January, 1961/1962, both by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru), thinking they were transported back to the time of the dinosaurs (but really were on a spaceship that had been on Earth collecting specimens millions of years ago)...

...and then facing a "Rain of Fire", with a sculptor who uses a golden metal to turn people into statues.

 

Then the team wasn't seen again until their final mission, facing off against yetis to find a golden pyramid (a mission that did not go well for Karin, Jess or Hugh), as related in Action Comics #552 (February, 1984), which led to Rick joining the Forgotten Heroes for a time, and later in Secret Origins #14 (May, 1987)  and in Suicide Squad #50 (February, 1991)  (with the more familiar idea of Task Force X using super-villains as their forces, thanks to Amanda Waller; but more on that later....). 

Enchantress

June Moone started as a heroine back in Strange Adventures #187 (April, 1966) as "The Enchantress of Terror Castle" (by Bob Haney and Howard Purcell), changing after her boyfriend, importer Alan Dale, brought her to a costume party at Terror Castle...


...and June encountered the Dzamor, who told her to state the name, "Enchantress", which allowed June to become the supernatural super-heroine and defeat the evil of the castle (and then change back to June, to leave the party with Alan, who had no idea of the Enchantress' true identity...).

June returned in Strange Adventures #191 (August, 1966 by Bob Haney and Howard Purcell) pulling her switcheroo-witcheroo by becoming Enchantress and saving Alan Dale and the Earth from an underground monster that emerges from the Earth by tricking it to board a space probe into space, then while at a museum with Alan, June becomes the Enchantress to stop thieves from stealing "The Guardian Eye" in Strange Adventures #200 (May, 1967, by Bob Haney and Howard Purcell).  Sadly, even with all this attention, the Enchantress couldn't even get a full cover in her three original solo appearances!

Maybe it was the lack of attention that turned Enchantress evil, because she was evil when next she showed up, in Superman Family #204 (November-December, 1980 by Jack C. Harris and Win Mortimer), making "The Earthquake Enchantment" as she faced off against Supergirl.  The Enchantress still held a grudge against Supergirl, facing her again in Superman Family #205 (also by Harris and Mortimer), unleashing her "Magic Over Miami", where the Enchantress made Supergirl forget her dual nature as the Enchantress and June Moone.

After facing Supergirl, the Enchantress returned again, but this time with help.  The Enchantress wasn't a hero at the time the Forgotten Heroes were formed, so she instead changed her look a little, and formed her own "Triad Of Terror", with magic users Kraklow and Yggardis in DC Comics Presents #77 and #78 (January and February, 1985 by Marv Wolfman and Curt Swan), and along with Rip Hunter's foe, worked with Sea Devils' villain, Mr. Poseidon (formerly known as Mr. Neptune), Challengers of the Unknown foe ULTIVAC, the Faceless Hunter From Saturn and obscure Superman/Batman foe, the Atom-Master (and don't worry more info on the Forgotten Villains will not be forgotten to come soon...).

The Enchantress returned to her usual outfit, and worked with DC magic users like the Wizard in Crisis On Infinite Earths #12 (March, 1986, by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and also featured many of the Forgotten Heroes, like Rip Hunter and Dolphin, along with Animal Man and more in space fighting Brainiac), and was soon after recruited by Amanda Waller to work for her Task Force X along side Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and Bronze Tiger during the Legends six issue mini-series of 1986 and 1987 (making her and Rick Flag teammates, after being on opposite sides before....).

Still have a few more Forgotten Heroes to cover, so don't forget to come back!

Forgotten Heroes Showcase

It's rough to be forgotten, and sometimes that even happens to heroes.  Thankfully, while researching DC Comics history, writer Marv Wolfman decided to revive a few of those forgotten heroes with Action Comics #552 (February, 1984, with artist Gil Kane)....

...and here's an opportunity to look into the past of some of these heroes!

Rip Hunter, Time Master

Since time is what usually makes one forgotten, let's start with Rip Hunter, Time Master!  Rip Hunter made his first recorded time trip in Showcase #20 (May-June, 1959) by writer Jack Miller and artist Ruben Moreira, where the inventory of the Time Sphere (Ripley Hunter), and his friend, Jeff Smith, went back to the age of the dinosaurs...

...followed by thieves who used Rip's original Time Sphere and brought along Rip's girlfriend, Bonnie Baxter and her brother, Corky Baxter, and the four almost became "Prisoners of 100 Million B.C.".

Rip and his crew continued their adventures in Showcase #21 (July-August, 1959, written by Jack Miller and art by Mike Sekowsky), facing Circe and Alexander the Great in the search for the origins of Atlantis, Showcase #25 (March-April, 1960, by Jack Miller and Joe Kubert), with Jeff Smith taking the trip off, and Rip, Bonnie, Corky and a Dr. Senn facing the sorcerer, Cholorus, 1000 years ago (and again facing dinosaurs).  With Showcase #26 (May-June, 1960 by Jack Miller and Joe Kubert), Rip and his companions faced "The Aliens From 2,000 B.C.", as aliens had invaded ancient Egypt!  A formula for success seemed to have been formed with the issues, and Rip and his crew graduated to a regular series with Rip Hunter, Time Master #1 (March-April, 1961, by Jack Miller and Ross Andru), with Rip tracking a friend's history through the 17th, 14th and 10th centuries, while facing a 10th Century sorcerer, Karatan's evil.

Rip and his crew continued their trips through time, mostly into the past, fighting dinosaurs, aliens, and ignorance, along with meeting a few historical figures along the way...

...like Kublai Khan, Cesare Borgia, Leonardo Da Vinci, Cleopatra, Adolf Hitler, Helen of Troy, Robin Hood, King Richard, George Washington, Queen Elizabeth and  Galileo.

The team updated from casual clothes to green uniforms in Rip Hunter, Time Master #16 (September-October, 1963, by Jack Miller and John William Ely), as well as making an enemy of Kraklow, an 18th Century Polish sorcerer in Rip Hunter, Time Master #28 (September-October, 1965, by writer George Kashdan and artist John William Ely).
 
Kraklow would return later as well, as he wouldn't be forgotten...

Sadly, Rip's time traveling title ended with Rip Hunter, Time Master #29 (November-December, 1965), but Rip's adventures continued, coming back in Challengers of the Unknown #85 to #87 (in 1978), helping the Justice League and Teen Titans (among others) in Showcase #100 (May, 1978), getting a few more facts of his early tests with Jeff Smith in Justice League of America #144 (July, 1977), finding out that Rip and his crew might have supplied the Time Sphere's original power unit to themselves in DC Comics Presents #37 (September, 1981, by writer Mike Tiefenbacher and artist Alex Sauvik, as part of the "Whatever Happened To...?" series), before popping up in Action Comics #540 (February, 1983, by Marv Wolfman and Gil Kane), setting the stage for the Forgotten Heroes, where most of the rest of Rip's appearances took place (except for a brief spot on the witness stand in Flash #342 of February, 1985) until the Crisis On Infinite Earths.   

Sea Devils

The Sea Devils first swam into comics with Showcase #27 (July-August, 1960, by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Russ Heath), with Dane Dorrance (son of John Payton Dorrance, a wartime frogman), diving on a ship looking for treasure, and meeting aspiring actress, Judy Walton, who was looking to be in a movie called Sea Devils.  The two get into trouble with an octopus, and are rescued by Biff Bailey, another diver.  After that, they encounter a sea monster, and are saved by Judy's younger brother, Nicky, and the team stops the monster with a mine explosion (but also sinks the treasure).

They decide to become a team of undersea explorers and heroes, calling themselves the Sea Devils.

In Showcase #28 (September-October, 1960), Dane's father awards him a pair of prize flippers, and Dane decides to test the rest of his team, giving the most spectacular diver the fins as a prize.  Showcase #29 (November-December, 1960) has two stories, one facing an alien, Horro, whom the team faces in the ocean, and the second tale has them facing off against the Black Mantas (a diving team, no known relation to Aquaman foe, Black Manta).  This series proved popular enough (likely due to the beautiful Russ Heath art) to get its own series, starting with Sea Devils #1 (September-October, 1961), which had them face off with the Octopus Man, Captain Shark and the Emerald Whale.

In Sea Devils #2 (November-December, 1961, by Bob Haney and Russ Heath), the team meet Mr. Neptune, a spy with a miniaturization ray, but even small, they are able to defeat him (and he returns later, in DC Comics Presents #77 as Mr. Poseidon), along with their trained seal, Pappy.  The team continues on, fighting various underwater menaces, including aliens like Hroodo and K'Poora, mermen and mermaids, pirates (like Black Shark and Sea Wolf) and mad scientists (like Dr. Deep and Dr. Quad), and even a sentient computer, the Manchine.

The Sea Devils even have a few regular foes...

...like Captain X and Man-Fish (in Sea Devils #22, #24, #26, #28 and #30)...

...and a few teams that are inspired by them, like the International Sea Devils (running from Sea Devils #22 to #30), and the Sea Angels in Sea Devils #34 (March-April, 1967).

Sadly, sinking sales led to the end of the Sea Devils' title, with Sea Devils #35 (May-June, 1967), but it didn't end the adventures of the Sea Devils.  The team popped up in Showcase #100 (May, 1978) with a bevy of other past Showcase stars (including the Challengers of the Unknown, with whom the Sea Devils guest-starred in issue #51 of the Challengers of the Unknown mag in August-September, 1966, between issues #30 and #31 of their own mag, fighting Challs foe, the Sponge Man), and Judy (now Mrs. Dorrance) hired Christopher Chance (the Human Target) to protect Dane in Detective Comics #486 (October-November, 1979). Dane pops up next in Action Comics #545 (July, 1983, by Marv Wolfman and Gil Kane), where he meets with Rip Hunter and explorer Cave Carson (while Superman fights Brainiac)....which leads to the formation of the Forgotten Heroes.

Dolphin

Dolphin was a bit of mystery, starting in Showcase #79 (December, 1968, by writer/artist Jay Scott Pike), where Chief Petty Officer Chris Landau and Seaman First Class Ben Harkey find "The Fantasy at 14 Fathoms", a girl, surviving on a sunken Navy ship.

The divers bring her to the surface, where the girl begins to die...because she has trouble breathing in the air for any length of time because she has gills!

Chris teaches the girl English, and now known as Dolphin, retrieves the paperwork from the wreck and brings it back to the ship, but then leaves for the ocean, not being able to live in Chris' world.

Then, Dolphin had a brief appearance in Showcase #100 (May, 1978, by Paul Kupperberg and Joe Staton), where it was revealed that Aquaman knew of Dolphin, but the Sea Devils didn't (though Aquaman didn't let the readers know what he knew, which wasn't much we later found out)...and Dolphin would have been forgotten, until she was recruited to Rip Hunter's team in Action Comics #552.

Other heroes were recruited to the Forgotten Heroes, so don't forget to check back as we delve into their history soon....