President George Washington Is A Hit

Celebrating the Presidents' Day, with George Washington, the first President of the United States, with this cover of Hit Comics #44 (January, 1947) by Al Bryant, featuring the hero, Kid Eternity, who has the powers to bring back those no longer with us, simply by saying "Eternity" in the presence of his mentor, Mr. Keeper.  

Here, he gets help from Washington against the Shoe (even in the Golden Age, they had begun to run out of names for villains!).

Wanted Dummy Nyarl-Amen Human Fly Bandits Solomon Grundy Master Man

More E. Nelson Bridwell goodness from the past, as shown on these Nick Cardy covers for Wanted: The World's Most Dangerous Villains #3 (November, 1972) and #4 (December, 1972).

This time, it is foes of Vigilante, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Green Lantern and Kid Eternity....all from the Golden Age, with villains of the Dummy, Nyarl-Amen, the Human Fly Bandits, Solomon Grundy and Master Man.

The Little Men Who Were There

First up, the first story reprinted in Wanted #3 is Action Comics #69 (February, 1944) by Joe Samachson, Mort Meskin and Joe Kubert, featuring the western Vigilante and his foe....the Dummy (though the original cover by Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye featured Superman fighting the Prankster!).

The Dummy was a small man, with a big evil intellect, who after finishing a train robbery, sent a message to Vigilante about his next robbery....he was going to heist a flying plane! 

Vigilante (Greg Sanders) and Stuff the Chinatown Kid got aboard that plane to keep it safe, but the Dummy and his men used a shrinking ray at their blacksmith headquarters.  The Dummy and his men were hidden in a crate on the plane, and enlarged to go after the diamonds on the plane, and escaped via parachute.  Vigilante and Stuff followed them back to their HQ, but that was the Dummy's plan....so he could use the shrink ray on them!  After a fight with a chicken (!!!), Vigilante and Stuff turned the tables on the villains and shrunk them, defeating them easily.  Then, they presented the villains to the police...in a parakeet cage!

The Dummy was the only villain from the third issue who appeared outside the tale reprinted, featuring in issues of Leading Comics with the Seven Soldiers of Victory, as well as facing Vigilante in other issues of Action Comics (sadly no other Vigilante/Dummy stories were reprinted).

The Fish-Men Of Nyarl-Amen

Next up is the Doctor Fate reprint from More Fun Comics #65 (March, 1941) by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman (though Bernard Baily's Spectre was on the cover). 

Here, the Doctor faced the ancient foe of Nyarl-Amen!

Nyarl-Amen were fishmen from the sea who ruled over 50,000 years ago, and Dr. Fate saw them attacking a Hawaiian naval base in the here and now!  The fish-men attacked the soldiers with ancient mystic weapons, but Doctor Fate drove them off.  Doctor Fate followed them to their undersea home, where he found that Nyarl-Amen was gathering information on the worlds' armies to plan an attack against mankind.  Using his ancient sorcery, he fought Nyarl-Amen, who perished falling on his own sword, with Dr. Fate destroying the city of the fish-men to end their ancient evil.

The Human Fly Bandits

Last but not least of the first issue of reprints, is a Hawkman/Hawkgirl tale from Flash Comics #100 (October, 1948) by John Broome and Joe Kubert (with a Kubert Hawkman cover no less!). 


The flying duo faced The Human Fly Bandits!

John Rotor was the villain of the story, and he was kidnapping Professor Garvey (an inventor friend of Carter Hall and Shiera Sanders) when the alter egos of Hawkman and Hawkgirl came upon the crime, and stopped Rotor from kidnapping Garvey in their heroic alter egos (though they had to chase a car up a building to do it!).  The professor had invented a way to deny gravity via gyroscope and the Human Fly Gang wanted it.  Rotor and his men were tracked by Hawkman and Hawkgirl, but the gang overpowered them using their new walking on walls gimmick.  Captured, Hawkgirl was placed in a giant thermometer, with Hawkman fighting to get a chemical before being thrown in with her.  The plan was to use a heating plate, and have the mercury suffocate them as it rose from the heat.  But, Hawkman got a chemical that would explode in contact with the mercury, which it did, allowing the Hawks to escape, then capture the villains (though they destroyed the professor's gyroscopic car in the process).

Fighters Never Quit

First up for the fourth issue of Wanted is All-American Comics #61 (October, 1944) by Alfred Bester and Paul Reimman (who also drew the cover), it must have been Monday, featuring the debut of Solomon Grundy and his first battle against Green Lantern Alan Scott!



Cyrus Gold was an old thief who died in Slaughter Swamp 50 years before this story.  Escaping hoods wandering the depths of Slaughter Swamp outside of Gotham found a reanimating corpse...who could articulate enough to say he was born on Monday (which gave them the idea to name him Solomon Grundy). 

Getting non-prison attire on Tuesday, the new gang went to rob a jewelry story on Wednesday, facing Alan Scott (at least until the gang pulled out guns, at which point Alan left to become Green Lantern).  Solomon Grundy proved invulnerable to Green Lantern's mystic ring (which was only vulnerable to wood), and with his tremendous strength beat Green Lantern.  Going over the battle with his pal, Doiby Dickles, Alan found out that Solomon Grundy dropped the silver ring of Cyrus Gold in a robbery (Gold having died 50 years ago, escaping police in Slaughter Swamp...his body was the basis of Solomon Grundy).  After Solomon Grundy had a looting spree on Thursday, Green Lantern confronted him again, where the giant nearly killed Green Lantern!  Dazed, Doiby tried to confront Solomon Grundy on his own on Friday (with Alan eventually recovering and going to help on Saturday....but he forgot his Power Ring!).  Fighting Grundy in a trainyard, Green Lantern was able to trick Grundy in front of a train, perhaps spelling an end to Solomon Grundy as the sun rose on a Sunday.....

Only this and Grundy's JSA appearance from the Golden Age have been reprinted, but his Silver Age appearances (against Dr. Fate and Hourman, and two battles against the JLA and JSA have been).  Grundy would soon become very popular, facing Superman in his title and becoming a member of the Legion of Doom on the Super Friends cartoon.

Master Man

The last story of the fourth issue is from Kid Eternity #15 (May, 1949) by William Woolfolk and Al Bryant (with an original cover by Al Bryant)...

....featuring the debut of Master Man, evil foe of Kid Eternity and his helper, Mr. Keeper!



As Kid Eternity could summon dead heroes to help him by saying "Eternity", Master Man was empowered by the devil to bring up dead villains for more dastardly deeds by saying "Stygia". 

Outside a prison, Master Man first summoned evil Russian Rasputin to break into a prison (where Kid Eternity and Mr. Keeper brought up coach Knute Rockne for help).  Foiling Master Man's plans, the devil bid him to kidnap Kid Eternity, and use the Spanish Inquisition's main torturer, Torquemada, against the kid.  Fighting free after being found by Mr. Keeper, Kid Eternity summoned Will Rogers for help....then Master Man summoned Mongol Batu Khan, whom Kid Eternity had face European Charles Martel...with Kid Eternity eventually beating Master Man...who was dragged to hell via a fissure because of his failure.

Master Man would later return with other Satanically influenced villains to face the Marvel Family and Kid Eternity in two digest issues of Adventure Comics (the Marvel Family's last solo tales before the Crisis On Infinite Earths).

E. Nelson Bridwell seemed to be picking favorites here, as both Vigilante and Kid Eternity would have their Secret Origins featured in a soon to debut new reprint title that he edited, and the Hawkman and Dr. Fate stories were more for the heroes (though Green Lantern was a big thing).  The letters' pages promised if there was enough demand, new stories would be possible, but later issues didn't prove that out (but, unlike the first two issues, these were all Golden Age stories!).

Secret Origins 4 and 5 of 1973

This time, it is a few weird Secret Origins for you...

...with tales of revenge, and the dead.  These dead didn't stay that way, instead returning to life to mete out justice, with the origins of the western Vigilante, Kid Eternity and the Spectre, all under covers by Nick Cardy, from the fourth and fifth issues from September-October and November-Decemeber of the 1973 Secret Origins series edited by E. Nelson Bridwell.

Vigilante

"The Origin Of The Vigilante" was the first story in issue #4, which was originally presented in Action Comics #42 (November, 1941) by Mort Weisinger and Mort Meskin, but that really wasn't the focus of the first tale of the prairie troubadour.  Greg Sanders was the son of a sheriff, who took to the ways of the law, becoming a masked Vigilante who used old western tricks to beat modern criminals, while hiding behind a mask, allowing him to make money as a country singer by day.

The origin was only a few panels, but the majority of the story started with Vigilante already established as hero, witnessing the execution of Killer Kelly, a noted notorious criminal, in prison (except that Kelly planned ahead, and faked his death, so he could  go on a crime spree).  Killer Kelly took blues singer (and friend of Greg's), Betty Stuart, and even captured Vigilante, but old fashioned horse sense and cowboy ways got him free.

Vigilante continued on as a back up feature in Action Comics until #198 (though he only made one cover), opened the first few issues of Western Comics, and even joined the Seven Soldiers of Victory in Leading Comics...and at the time of the issue of Secret Origins, had just completed being a backup feature in Adventure Comics (which would soon feature an untold tale from the Golden Age, featuring the Seven Soldiers, including Vigilante).

Kid Eternity

Next up was "The Kid Who Died Too Soon" from Hit Comics #25 (December, 1942) by Otto Binder and Sheldon Moldoff, with a real origin, that of Kid Eternity.  The kid was on a boat with his grandpa, which was sunk by a Nazi torpedo, and survivors shot in the water.  Mr. Keeper took the boy to the heavenly gates, but the bearded man at the door said it was not yet the boy's time.  So, Mr. Keeper took the kid's spirit back, to reunite it with his body, and using the word "Eternity" the lad would be able to call upon the greatest figures in history, possessing them to fight evil in their forms (which later changed to just being able to summon them to help), as well as being able to become invisible and intangible....all of which, as long as Mr. Keeper was around.

Kid Eternity (and Mr. Keeper) fought evil through Hit Comics #60, including foes such as Master Man, Silk and Her Highness, as well as 18 issues of his own magazine, before disappearing for a while, even after this issue of Secret Origins came out, until E. Nelson Bridwell revived him in the Shazam! series in the 1970s, finally giving the lad a name and a tie to the Marvel Family in World's Finest Comics #280.

The letters' page of the issue was mostly praise for issue #1, as well as requests for other characters, including villains, which never really showed up here, but instead were in the nine issues of Wanted: The World's Most Dangerous Villains, which included Master Man and the Vigilante's foe, the Dummy, as the series was also edited by E. Nelson Bridwell.

One other request was for the following issue's hero....

Spectre

The fifth issue of Secret Origins was unique, as it featured the origin of only one hero, the Spectre (which fell over two issues from the Golden Age), starting with More Fun Comics #52 (February, 1940) by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily with police detective Jim Corrigan planning to attend a ball with his girlfriend, Clarice Winston, but instead, being late as he followed a tip from stoolie Louis Snipe, so Corrigan could chase mobster "Gat" Benson's men...eventually, Jim caught up with Clarice, but so did Benson, who took Corrigan, put him in a cement filled barrel, and dumped him off the dock into the water.

This wasn't the end of the story, as a voice revived Corrigan and sent him back to Earth to battle evil, as he planned to do after rising out of the water...using his powers as a ghost (to become invisible, intangible and fly).

Then, to end his battle with "Gat" Benson, Jim Corrigan had his second story in More Fun Comics #53 (March, 1940) by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily, taking on his thugs, and even showing off some additional supernatural powers, torturing the thugs with eerie visions and changes, even saving Clarice from a fatal bullet wound (as they shot her as he came into the warehouse).  But, Jim realized he had to end his relationship with her (as while she came back to life, he was still dead).  Jim fashioned a cape and costume, and planned to continue to fight evil as...the Spectre, with this origin being timed to lead into his new series in Adventure Comics, that lasted in the 430s to 440.  Spectre's original run went to issue #101 of More Fun Comics (many, but not all reprinted), then after 3 issues in Showcase in the 1960s, he had a ten issue run of his own, until this 1970s Adventure Comics run, which was reprinted in the Wrath Of The Spectre.

The issue also had a letters' page, with requests, including hope for a Wildcat series after seeing his origin here, by letter writer and future Answer Man, Bob Rozakis, and for more origins, including Blackhawk and the Legion of Super-Heroes...who would feature in the next issue.


This issue also featured a page long article on the Legion of Super-Heroes by Paul Levitz (who would take the LSH to new heights!).


More on the Legion of Super-Heroes (and Secret Origins) to come....

Giant Superboy 100 Page Super Spectacular

Technically, it is the 100 Page Super-Spectacular #DC-21 of October, 1973, with a cover by Nick Cardy, featuring Superboy as the larger than life lead, with friends like the Teen Titans, Kid Eternity, Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes as features of the issue.
 
Here's a look at the special stories contained within the pages of this volume....

Superboy #94

First up is the story of "The Superboy Revenge Squad" from Superboy #94 (January, 1962), which originally had a cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye, and original story by Robert Bernstein and George Papp.

Aliens planned on finding Superboy's home planet, so they can destroy it.  So, to protect Ma and Pa Kent (and all of Earth), Superboy hypnotized himself to forget his Superboy identity for 24 hours, living as just Clark Kent (so the aliens couldn't home in on him).  But, what of all the problems Superboy usually dealt with?  Well, Clark's friend, Pete Ross (who had secretly found out Clark's Kryptonian identity, but Clark doesn't know Pete knows), takes action, tricking Clark to accidentally use his powers to save people (but Clark then thinks Pete is Superboy while under the influence!).  The ploy worked, the aliens left, and Superboy's memories returned, none the wiser that of the help Pete performed!

Action Comics #313

Next up is the Supergirl back up story from Action Comics #313 (June, 1964), with "Lena Thorul, Jungle Princess", by Leo Dorfman and Jim Mooney (though the cover is for the lead story of the issue, which is by Curt Swan and George Klein).

Lena Thorul was trying to join the FBI, with the government agency sending her to interview Lex Luthor (unknown to them and her, her brother).  With her ESP powers, she finally finds out the truth, which sends the girl into amnesia-like state, eventually wandering to Africa, where she uses her mental powers to work with animals, then returns to the USA when her memories start to come back.  Lex breaks out of jail to invent a formula to remove bad memories, exposes Lena to it so she can forget he is her brother, then is returned to jail by Supergirl.

Adventure Comics #117

Time for an early tale of the young Superman, Superboy, from Adventure Comics #117 (June, 1947) called "The Miracle Plane" by Bill Finger, John Sikela and George Roussos, under a cover by Jack Burnley and George Roussos.


Superboy helps an inventor, who is also the father of Clark Kent's classmate, Gene Dekker, who has invented a VTOL aircraft (which Gene makes a model of and enters in a class contest).  Superboy stops thieves who try to steal the model, with Gene then winning the contest, and Superboy builds a full-size model of the plan, that also works, delighting both the boy and his dad!

Kid Eternity #9

Next up is a lively story from Kid Eternity #9 (Spring, 1948) by William Woolfolk and Al Bryant, featuring Kid Eternity, hero called to heaven too soon and his pal, Mr. Keeper (who originally made the mistake, and now oversees him to help his heroic efforts).

Kid Eternity uses his powers to temporarily revive the dead to help a dying newspaper reporter make a story against local criminal, the Beagle, so that Joe Hodges has a chance to have his name remembered for cleaning up crime in his hometown.  The Kid calls on Mercury (how odd, as the god shouldn't be dead), reporter Richard Harding Davis, and even Cyrano de Bergerac to stop the Beagle (though the Beagle kills Hodges to stop the story, but the Kid revives him, allowing him to finish his last story).

Adventure Comics #332

It's an epic adventure from Adventure Comics #332 (May, 1965) from Edmond Hamilton, John Forte and George Klein, all under a cover by Curt Swan and George Klein, where Superboy and his 30th Century friends, the Legion of Super-Heroes, face off against "The Super-Moby Dick Of Space".

Lightning Lad answers an emergency call from a freighter being attacked by a space creature, and response to save lives as a Legionnaire would, but the beast is able to reflect the boy's lightning powers back at him (poisoning the lighting before it goes  back to Lightning Lad, infecting his arm).  Lightning Lad awakes to find Dr. Lanphier saved his live, but had to amputate his arm.  This causes Lightning Lad to want to hunt down the monster to kill it.  Superboy, Ultra Boy (who got his powers being swallowed by a space creature), Colossal Boy, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy and Brainiac 5 all try to capture the creature, but fail, until Lightning Lad hits it with beams from the robotic arm the doctor gave him.  The creature reduces in size, and Lightning Lad explains Lanphier had enlarged the creature, and gave Lightning Lad the way to defeat him (and the madness Lightning Lad had passed, though the boy hoped to have a real arm again some day....). 

Brave and the Bold #54

Technically called the first appearance of the Teen Titans, Brave and the Bold #54 (June-July, 1964) features Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad in their first meeting, facing off against "The Thousand-and-one Dooms Of Mr. Twister" in a story by Bob Haney, Bruno Premiani and Sheldon Moldoff (with a cover by Bruno Premiani).

The sidekicks of Batman, Flash and Aquaman gathered together to help the kids of Hatton Corners, who are at odds with their parents, as Mr. Twister has kidnapped all the kids, and uses his mystic stick to control the weather, but the super-kids work together to stop the menacing man, with Robin delivering the villain's end, and the children are freed to reunite with their parents.

Superboy #50

Last but not least is "The Super Giant Of Smallville" from Superboy #50 (July, 1956) by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Stan Kaye, which was originally under a cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye.

Superboy saves Professor Tinker, an odd scientist living near Smallville, who wants to test his Titanic Tonic formula on the Boy of Steel.  It doesn't work, but Superboy uses optical illusions and a giant puppet to fool the professor into thinking it did.  The supposed giant-sized Superboy still tries to rescue people as the professor tries to make a cure, but ends up causing more damage due to his "enlarged size".  Eventually, the professor comes up with an "antidote", and Superboy hides his giant tools, but was really using his giant self to show the professor that some of his inventions could be dangerous, and to concentrate on safer endeavors (would that other professors Superboy knows would follow his example!).

The back cover of the issue features a cover gallery of four of the stories above (the Adventure Comics, Kid Eternity and the Brave and the Bold), as well as a letters' page, which featured letters on a previous Superboy Super Spectacular (and, of course, Superboy also had an 80-Page Giant in the past, both of which will be looked at in the future!).