Heroine Holidays WOW COMICS "Mary Marvel and the Case of the Criminal Kringles"

A Christmas present for our faithful fans...

...a superheroine Christmas tale with not one...not two...but three superhero guest stars!

(And it's the premiere of her own series as well!)

Mr Scarlet and Pinky was one of the ongoing features rotating cover appearances with other characters on Wow Comics when Mary Marvel was given her own feature in Wow as of #9 (1943) after her introduction in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 and 19 (1942).

But, as of this issue, Mary became either the solo cover star or featured star in every cover until the book shifted format to humor strips in #59 (1947)

Writer Otto Binder and illustrator Mark Swyaze were her co-creators in Captain Marvel Adventures, so it was only appropriate they handle her series intro and several stories after that.

Trivia: When the 1970s live-action Shazam! tv series proved to be a ratings success, the studio considered doing a Mary Marvel spin-off!

But, because DC Comics wanted too much money for Mary, it was decided to use a new character, Isis, in the "sister" series instead!

Ironically, DC then had to pay to license Isis for a comic book adaptation (after introducing her in an issue of Shazam! as shown HERE)!

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Shazam Family Giant
Make Mine Mary Marvel

Asian Avengers TAJ OF THE ELEPHANTS

Probably the first Desi heroine in American comic books...

...this one-shot character (and princess, to boot) appeared in Fiction House's Jungle Comics #57 (1944)

For a "frail girl", she kicks serious a$$!

It's a shame she never got another appearance.

Sadly, both the writer and artist are unknown.

(The records for long-defunct publisher Fiction House are lost to history.)
Note: India is a subcontinent of Asia, so she qualifies as Asian even if she doesn't look stereotypically "Oriental"!

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Darna

Adventure Comics SUPERGIRL "Return of the Black Flame" Conclusion

When Last We Left the Girl of Steel...

...Kryptonian villainess Black Flame escapes from Kandor, recruits several other (non-Kryptonian) super villains, and traps Supergirl using (what else?) Green Kryptonite!

A villain from Supergirl's early days returns, but writer/artist/editor Mike Sekowsky gets a lot wrong, as we pointed out yesterday!

Let's add to the goofs...

The "solid kryptonite" bowling balls are not the usual bright green, nor do they glow!

(Non-glowing dark green had been used to show fake or inert Green K in various pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths stories.)

Plus, just hitting Supergirl's feet with them (but not keeping the balls in proximity to her) while painful, wouldn't kill her!

One thing Sekowsky did get right...though Kryptonian, Black Flame is unaffected by the Green K, because Gold Kryptonite took away her powers in the previous battle...which leads us to...

Gold K acts instantly, as shown in several stories, including Black Flame's intro in DC's Action Comics #304!

And, it doesn't weaken or knock-out Kryptonians, as shown here, just de-powers them...permanently!

In future Sekowsky stories, the DC editorial staff does try to keep him on-track about continuity, probably after fan complaints about this tale!

As to the cover-featured mention that this 400th issue of Adventure Comics was the 35th Anniversary of the title...DC fudged the numbers a bit!

While it was Adventure Comics #400, it wasn't the "35th Anniversary of Adventure Comics"!

The comic started out as New Comics in 1935 (35 years earlier than 1970), retitled New Adventure Comics as of #12 early in 1937, and finally became Adventure Comics in late 1938 with #38!

So the actual 35th Anniversary would've been #425 (1973)...ironically, the issue when Supergirl moved to her own title and Adventure once more became an anthology title!

Next Week:

A never-reprinted, multi-issue epic so big it had to be spread over two blogs: this one and "sister" RetroBlog True Love Comics Tales!

The excitement starts here on Monday!

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Supergirl Silver Age Omnibus

Volume 1

(which includes Supergirl's first battle with Black Flame!)

Adventure Comics SUPERGIRL "Return of the Black Flame" Part 1

It was 1970, and Adventure Comics was celebrating a double anniversary...

...it's 400th issue and the 35th Anniversary of #1!
But more about that tomorrow.
Let's jump into the action...

As will you, dear reader...
THURSDAY!
One of the problems with being your own editor is that nobody double-checks your own work!

This never-reprinted tale by writer/penciler/editor Mike Sekowsky from DC's Adventure Comics #400 (1970) is a classic case in point!

1) Kandor is a Kryptonian city sealed in a bottle...inside Superman's Fortress of Solitude!
It's not an installation on a distant planet!
How did Black Flame enlarge herself and get out?
Why didn't the Fortress intruder alarms go off?
2) The Phantom Zone is another dimension.
There's no "dome" around it, nor are guards required!
How did she gain access without a Phantom Zone Projector?
3) Who are the villains?
Obviously they're not Kryptonians!
Yet, at the time, there were no non-Kryptonian prisoners in the Phantom Zone!
(Mon-El was there, but that was to keep him from dying from lead poisoning...and he wasn't a prisoner!)
4) Why would a Kryptonian like Black Flame create such a human...and American...death-trap?
I could think of numerous easily-adapted games from other countries which would be more effective in disposing of an enemy!
BTW, though she's handling Green Kryptonite bowling balls, Black Flame is immune to the radiation, since she lost her powers after being exposed to Gold Kryptonite in her previous appearance (DC's Action Comics #304 [1963})!
At least he got that right!

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Supergirl Silver Age Omnibus

Volume 1

(which includes Supergirl's first battle with Black Flame!)

Adventure Comics SUPERGIRL "Heartbreak Prison!" Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Imprisoned Kryptonian...

An unknown, unseen, alien contacts Supergirl across interstellar space, requesting she stop despotic madman Tyrox from unleashing his "Zenith Weapon" which could destroy the universe!
Though she could easily defeat Tyrox's guards. Kara allows herself to be arrested and imprisoned so the lunatic won't activate his weapon as a last resort against her...

Several points...

1) Green Kryptonite can poison and kill Kryptonians under a red sun.

Most of the population of Kara's home, Argo City, died when the lead shielding under the city was ruptured by meteors, exposing the citizens to the ground below the spacegoing domed city...which had become green kryptonite when Krypton exploded!

(Some, including her parents, escaped to the Phantom Zone, and later moved to the bottled city of Kandor!)

2) Tyrox's technology is remarkably-primitive for a culture that created a device capable of destroying the whole universe!

3) We never heard from the "mysterious, unknown intelligence" again.

He/she/it's identity remains unknown.

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Supergirl Silver Age Omnibus

Volume 2

(which covers the second half of her Action Comics run and ends just before her takeover of Adventure Comics)