Team-Up Tuesdays: Crusaders VS Invaders

This would be an epic matchup. Consider the following duels between the Crusaders and Invaders:

• The heat-generating android Human Torch versus circus fire-breather Inferno (not show). The latter took on Steel just as Torch does in the picture. Advantage: Human Torch.
• Two elemental men in Blue Diamond (not shown) versus Steel Sterling. Superstrong and invulnerable, each was a paragon of potent power. Advantage: Steel Sterling.
• High-flying Miss America versus the bird-handler Captain Flag, considering the lady had strength as well she'd take out Flag's pet eagle Yank. Advantage: Miss America.
• The Vision aka Aarkus versus Mister Justice: Although Aarkus could control temperature, illusions and teleport... Justice could  do that and more. Advantage: Mister Justice.
• The Whizzer versus Bob Phantom (not shown): A superspeedster versus a master teleporter. Whizzer was quite fast, but Bob was as fast as thought! Advantage: Bob Phantom.
• Sub-Mariner versus the Wizard (not shown): His world's first mutant, the Mariner would meet his match with the mastermind turned man of might. Advantage: the Wizard.
• Union Jack (not shown) versus Black Jack: Two mighty fine fighters, nevertheless the Battling Brit has the edge with his superhuman lighting powers. Advantage: Union Jack.
• Bucky versus Dusty: The supreme sidekicks of the super-soldiers. In the golden age: As the Boy Detective, Dusty takes this. As a retcon secret agent, Bucky. Advantage: Toss Up.
• The Destroyer (not shown) versus the Web: Both the pinnacles of human perfection, matching physical attributes with tactical minds and great courage. Advantage: Toss Up.
• The Patriot (not show) versus the Hangman: Non-powered but superbly talented second-tier mystery men, the former an optimist and the latter a pessimist. Advantage: Patriot.
• Captain America versus the Shield: Here would be the epic battle of ages. Two twin titans. As his superstrong self, Advantage: the Shield. If he is non-powered, Advantage: Captain America.

Sideline Sundays: Two Swell Duos of the 1800's

MLJ's Blaine Whitney aka the Wizard wasn't the first incarnation of this persona. He was preceded by several generations of Whitneys... two in particular from the time of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. It is the latter we focus on today as the first of our pair of dynamic duos during the roaring 1800's, along with sidekick Tommy the 1st Super-Boy!

In this initial outing, Blaine is consulted by the upper crust of American society including President Madison and assumes and alias to board a ship bound for war. And of his first meeting with Tommy, as well as the then Wizard's scientific genius, creating a sophisticated (for its time) glider that aided his cross country journey. This issue laid further ground work on a heroic legacy. Novel for its time and a concept that would return.

A contemporary of Blaines (a few decades removed) over at Charlton was weapons dealer Clay Boone, a master of said armaments that donned a domino mask and shiny costume to become Gunmaster, accompanied eventually by Bob Tellub, who was inspired by his name and his mentor into reversing the last name and become Bullet...his sidekick!

In the following pictures we see Clay and Bob in action, one of their state of the art weapons that seemed ahead of its day (because it was!), Clay's civilian identity and then the subsequent result of his arms-dealer ways as he tracks down a murderer, with the hero being a local!

And so concludes our prelude to the sideline careers of two modern day heroes who would take over these champion's strips, the 1940's Wizard and the 1960's Judomaster (operating himself in the 1940's), heirs to "mastery" of their own form of fighting fiendish foes fearlessly!

A Historical Overview of Comics: MLJ & Charlton

For those history buffs who want a good heaping helping of some heroic hot-stuff of the Archie Comics variety, we have a treat for you! You will find over at E-Dispatches from the Great White North as comprehensive an analysis on the "A Historical Overview of the MLJ Magazines/Archie Comic Publications Superhero Lines" as you'll find anywhere!

Consider, if you would, just a few factoids gleaned from this comprehensive essay on MLJ:

• "While a great deal has been written over the years about Archie Andrews and his pals the same cannot be said about Archie Comic Publications' superheroes. Few people seem to know that not only Archie Comic get its start-under a different name mind you-in 1939-as a publisher of superhero comics but that it was one of the more innovative comics publishers in the industry...chances are that appeared around the same time as Martin Goodman's "Marvel Comics" #1. "Blue Ribbon Comics" #1 hit the stands late in the summer of 1939. Cover-dated November 1939."
• "Debuting in December, 1939, "Top-Notch Comics" (called "Top-Notch Laugh" from no. 28 on) appeared until cover-date June, 1944, with the last issue being numbered 45. During its run Top-Notch introduced a number of now-classic MLJ heroes including "The Wizard", "The Firefly", "The Black Hood" and "Roy, the Super Boy" (the second costumed boy hero after DC/National's Robin). Top-Notch also featured the work of a number of talented artists Bob Montana, Mort Meskin, Jack Cole and Bob Novick."
• " Cover-dated January 1940 "Pep Comics", MLJ Magazines' third anthology, was the company's most successful and innovative anthology. Not only did Pep run for a total of 411 issues (the final one cover-dated March, 1987) but it was also where comics' first patriotic hero debuted, where the first comics hero died in the line of duty and where the comics character that the publisher eventually renamed itself after first appeared."

You owe yourself this treat to dive into the ups and downs of the publisher known for teen comics who, in fact, gave inspiration for some of their more profitable competitor's own creations. Which we'll begin dissecting in more detail on coming Mondays. As for a companion piece for Charlton Comics history, there are bits and pieces you can find throughout the internet, but perhaps the most comprehensive piece can be found at Comic Book Artist wherein the creative talents that be made the best of a pretty bad situation financially, a diamond in the rough.

Some quotations from this thorough article for your enlightenment and (hopeful) enjoyment:

• "Charlton Publishing Empire's humble beginnings stretch back to the 1930s, when an Italian immigrant named John Santangelo began selling unauthorized printed song lyric sheets in Central Connecticut"
• "In 1956, Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel briefly packaged titles for Charlton, bearing the eclectic names Mr. Muscles, Zaza the Mystic, and Nature Boy. Ditko's impressive work appears in Tales of the Mysterious Traveler, based on a Shadow-like radio show."

And later, the legendary (in these parts) Peter Cannon...Thunderbolt, appeared in Derby, whose origin is reprinted in this article for your entertainment. Good stuff.

Sideline Sundays: Brave Blue Boys Battle

One was the latest in a line of heroes brave,

the other was the first of heroes who save.

The first gained strength from a serum he made,

the second is strong from a serum another gave.

Candidate #1 wore a durable costume of blue,

candidate #2 wore a chain mail costume of blue.

And so we look back on two heroes that, at one time during the golden age of comics, left their mark and then faded into obscurity. They have been resurrected, quite literally and fictionally, but neither are household names. On the surface,both are quite different... deep down their similarities are astoundingly parallel given they were each created in 1939. For the Blue Beetle it was Fox Publishing then Charlton Comics picked up his rights; for the Wizard it was MLJ Comics then Mighty and Archie.

Blaine Whitney was heir-apparent to a legacy as a mental wizard, of sorts, harnessing his amazing cranium capacity to invent stunning inventions that were vital during the critical days of World War II. Deciding to follow the heroic legends of his forefathers, themselves Wizards operating in their own eras for the benefit of humanity, Whitney became the Wizard and invented an invulnerable costume while devising a formula called F22X that granted him super strength. Dan Garrett, however, was a mere beat cop who wanted to do more for his fellow man, and turned to his local pharmacist who himself was a mental genius, Dr. Franz, who developed Vitamin 2X which grants super-strength. Dan also obtained a chain mail garb which granted him a measure of protection, even a level of invulnerability .

Both heroes decided to follow the standard operating protocol of the day. The Wizard adopted a young boy named Roy Rossman and granted him the title of "Super-Boy", although apparently the boy wasn't granted a similar invulnerable suit nor strength formula...so Roy was super on his  own. Blue Beetle was aided by a young boy named Sparky aka Sparkington J. Northrup, although the lad's costumed career was rather brief as he later served as a regular garbed hero and role model for orphans in Europe. Neither were all that memorable themselves.

Later appearances of both blue bombardiers indicated that other powers were either inherent in their formulas or from other means. Included in this was the ability to fly and seemingly know where danger lurks and be ever present to combat it. While Wizard was building upon the successes of his ancestors using the same alias in past decades, upcoming decades would see the appearance of two more Blue Beetles after the original mysteriously vanished in the mid-1950's during a brief revival.

In the early 1980's  Blue Beetle returned with his memories of his former career restored to him by mysterious cosmic entities. No longer a police officer but now and FBI agent, Dan quickly revealed to the world that he hadn't lost a step. The Wizard took a bit longer, as a villainous alleged version denigrated his reputation in the mid 1960's. By the turn of a new century, the Wizard proved instrumental in assisting the Mighty Crusaders, with him he just joined, in a key victory against a cadre of their foes. Now they are sitting on the sidelines awaiting revival once more by the right writer.

Two men in blue, with a will that was true.
Their strength was in their might, they never let evil out of their sight.
They may be forgotten at this time, but they are remembered in this rhyme! :)

Sideline Sundays: Sidekicks Assemble!

When last we considered the colorful crusaders of World War II, the Shield and Judomaster, we briefly touched on their junior sidekicks. Dusty and Tiger had motivated the two senior members of their duets to continue their careers despite some adversities that came along the way. How did these two lads themselves become embroiled in costumed conflicts, and what became of them decades later? Let's briefly review their histories:

As happened surprisingly often in the golden age of comics, a young boy loses his parents due to tragic circumstances, arranged by a criminal, and inevitably run into a superhero! This occurred in Pep Comics #11. And the hero in question was the first patriotic clad hero in comics.

Sweet! Shield quickly stitched up a handy-dandy new costume for his little buddy. In an odd twist, he felt it necessary to saddle the kid with a cape which the Shield himself never bothered to wear. Anyway, in yet another coinkydink, Dusty already had full Olympic-level training in judo and acrobatics. Apparently the physical education program in schools back then was exceptional! Oh, and fear not, the gaudy yellow on red-and-blue suit was quickly swapped out for something more aesthetically pleasing.

Dusty quickly made friends with the Wizard's own sidekick, Roy the Super-Boy (yep that was is name!). Now the Boy Detective could swap notes with a fellow lad taken under the wing of a major hero, in Roy's case the Wizard. They had an eleven issue run in Special/Hangman/Black Hood Comics #1-11. And met the Hangman along the way, at least on covers.

When the Shield's lengthy run of appearances petered out in December 1945, so had Dusty's. He next appeared in Mighty Crusaders #4, in the oft quoted (here) tale "Too Many Super-Heroes", which reintroduced several heroes. Dusty was brought back to the future by Zambini's powers for some unspecified reason (Jerry Siegel's wacky plotting, perhaps).Then...

Bye bye, old chum. The perpetual-pup was zapped back to his own time where, according to the Original Shield #2, he "mysteriously disappeared". The operating theory around here is that he was kidnapped by a master criminal named the Keeper, a foe of Thunder Bunny, who had a propensity to keep just upright nuisances of gangland in suspended animation for decades. Dusty reappeared in Archie's Weird Mysteries #14 in April 2001, unaffected by the ravages of time alongside other World War II mystery men turned Mighty Crusaders who (aside for the Shield) inexplicably retained their youthful vigor. Until anexplanation is provided, we'll take it.

Tiger's first appearance was a bit more...unorthodox. While himself an orphan, he resided in a Japanese internment camp...in Wyoming! Even more bizarre, he was the secret servant of the sword wielding assassin know as the Cat who himself was attempting to cause a revolt within the camp. Cat lived right under the noses of the soldiers, and rather than lock him in solitary confinement the military brass send their star agent, Judomaster, to challenge his Oriental opponent in a definitive duel.

Despite some initial reservation of Judomaster's valor and worthiness, Tiger is soon swayed to the Allied side during these turbulent war years. And as seen in the last panel (originally on a later page), Tiger stowed away on board the plane of Rip Jagger (Judomaster), and ends up donning his costumed! The cat is out of the bag (well actually he was thrown off a cliff, but we digress). What next will become of this curious cub?

In the aforementioned adversity that had struck Rip, a blindness keeping him temporarily disoriented, the General devised as scheme whereby Tiger would assume Judomaster's role as a secret agent with the judo skill set. This motivated Rip to resume his alias, and the two decided to join forces in the last panel  that would give the Japs a one-two-punch.

Judomaster's team of Bushiri, Suzikawa and Tiger continued to assist him on several cases, including the last recorded in Judomaster #89.  The kid quickly earned his street cred using his mind as well as his physical attributes. While his training was extensive he had something more, something intrinsic in his nature that could be harnessed...perhaps..to train others. In fact, he did just that decades later with surprising results...

That lass that a much older Tiger is training is wealthy Senatorial daughter Eve Eden, wishing to train herself with the necessary skills to save her brother from another dimension. She would become Nightshade, and whether or not Tiger later became aware of her own dual identity, he would no doubt have been pleased with the good she accomplished thanks in-part to his own mentoring of her. As would his own mentor.

Two adventurous boys added to the long list of superhero sidekicks, using their wits and abilities, each only standing on the sidelines for a short time before jumping into their own legends.

Team-Up Tuesdays: Bad Boys & Blonde Babes

Mix in two guys in clown suits whipping ropes around, and two gals sporting alien jewelry to dassle friends and foes alike, and you have today's entry. From Charlton Comics, the larcenist pair, Punch and Jewelee:

 

So Punch uses his flight to maneuver above his intended victims, then zap them with his electrical strings to turn them into living puppets? Got it. And Jewelee uses her jewelry (get it?) to mesmerize and stun her adversaries? Yep. Seems their latest ploy is kidnapping poor Alec Rios (whom we met this time last week) while he's entertaining his frienemies Captain Adam and debutante Eve Eden, whom we'll next see in their spandex clad alter egos confronting the diabolic duo of devious deviltry. Lest we forget, let's meet our other...far nobler pair of power players, Hangman and Fly Girl.

So Hangman and his miraculous multi-purpose rope seems to demonstrate their usefulness to the Mighty Crusaders, and along with the Wizard  both seemed to endear themselves to ctress Kimberly Brand, she of the Fly-Girl brand granted insect abilities like the Fly's thanks to a gem ring she wore from another dimension. Decades earlier, Hangman was originally Bob Dickering, kid brother of the Comet who adopted his costumed alias shortly after watching his brother seemingly perish (don't worry, he was revived). How he claimed this rope is a mystery left unexplained.

And what of the origin of Punch and Jewelee with there wonderful gadgets? The devices originated from  the  Sunurians and then landed on Earth:

Returning to the tale, the comedic criminals soon face their stiffest opposition from the Agent of the Atom and the Darling of the Darkness:

 

That sneaky Ghost, snatching away the ill gotten gains of his criminal cronies right from under their nose. And with Punch...that's saying something! Both pairs seem evenly matched thus far.

And all is not peachy keen even in the campyverse of 1960's Mighty Comics, as we soon learn that the temptation of ill gotten gains is to powerful a lure for the newest Crusaders:

Hangman's cancelite was potent indeed! Shortly thereafter he cancelled the entire Mighty Comics line! By we digress, as Hangman and Wizard quarrel amongst themselves (over riches, or perhaps Fly Girls kisses...me thinks?) mustached Comet follows the mustached Rios' lead  by causing things to disappear in mid battle. much to the chagrin of our resident bad guys. This results in recently revived rotten rogues reeking revengence!!!

Back over at Charlton, things are heating up towards a climax as the plundering puppeteers get all they could ask from Capt and Shady:

In another go around with the heroes-turned-villians, Hangman attempts to rope the affections of that fly...girl and take his chief competition out. To bad the Black Hood has a different thought on the matter leading to the painful realization that this is NOT the way to pick up our heroine.

Hangman eventually reformed, and Fly Girl eventually ditched the Fly, yet they never made it back into each other's arms. Punch and Jewelee eventually reunited when their world was figuratively, and quite literally, falling apart. An adventure for another day, perhaps...

Colorful Crusaders of World War II

The Shield was introduced in Pep Comics #1 in 1940, while his counterpart was introduced in 1965 yet existing fictionally in the 1940's. One was G-Man Joe Higgins, an aspiring scientist seeking to avenge the death of his father and discovering a process that gave him super-strength and an invulnerable costume. The other was G.I Rip Jagger, an aspiring ninja seeking to avenge his comrades whom he saw die and discovering a secret society of ninjas on a Pacific Island, gaining super-human skills and a special costume. While looking like walking posters for America and Japan, their costumes gained their color scheme due to a special chemical process (in the Shield's case) and the style-sense of the ninja society (in the Judomaster's case). Both picked up kids sidekicks, Dusty and Tiger.

Due to sabotage on the part of an adversary,  Shield lost his powers for the duration of the war yet continued to fight against evil agents from overseas, while Judomaster himself had to struggle to overcome a handicap of his own imposed on him by a foe, blindness. Both persisted in their heroic careers, thanks to proddings from the boys' own courage.

They faced rogues galleries which challenged their physical dexterity.  The Hun, the Strangler and the Fang plagued Shield; while the Smiling Skull, the Acrobat, and Mountain Storm. None matched the heroes in battle!

 

Each also had other assisting them. For Judomaster, it was Sensei, Bushiri, and his beloved Suzikawa. For the Shield, it was the Wizard, Steel Sterling, Hangman, Black Hood, Captain Flag, Sgt Boyle and Shield's wife Ellie.

Both of our red-haired heroes found themselves lost in time during the 40's, arriving in the 1980's to find individuals clad like them. Both obviously had different reactions given how they were reintroduced into the modern age. Each man stands as a paragon of power in comics.