This tale has been told in several venues and even immortalized in fictional form in Michael Chabon's
. It kindles the imagination for a number of reasons, one it speaks to the helter skelter nature of comic book creation in its infant days, how raw energy often substituted for craftsmanship and care. How comics are an art, but they are also a product for sale which are fashioned within the demanding rigors of a deliberate and often unforgiving schedule.
I most recently ran across this legendary yarn in the biography
Jerry Robinson - Ambassador of Comics, in which the story is told from the perspective of one of the men who was there on that prodigious weekend of March seventeenth. The story goes that a gaggle of young energetic artists and writers assembled at a sparsely furnished New York City apartment rented for that very reason. Charles Biro has learned that because of a need to use up their allotment of paper they needed a new comic ready for the presses and they needed it by the following Monday. To that end the talent was assembled and given largely carte blanche to create stories to fill the needed sixty-four pages.
Charles Biro would handle the lead feature Daredevil which accounted for the first thirteen pages. After that it was every man for himself as a ferocious binge of creation ignited. Bernard Klein created "The Whirlwind" about boxing, and other talents such as
George Roussos and Dick Wood contributed "Nightro".
Jerry Robinson himself created "London", a masked hero who was involved with the Blitz. Dick Briefer wrote and drew "Real American". Others did what they could, creating characters, some which would only appear in this single comic, in the mad rush to hit the deadline.
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| New York City under snow in March, 1941 |
The story then takes a dangerous turn when, while the artists are furiously creating in the apartment a heavy winter storm strikes the city, closing down everything save the subways, and forcing stores to close. Getting something to eat was problematic, and
Bernie Klein was sent off into the white wastes to find sustenance. He returned hours later with only some eggs and a can of beans. The artists desperately pried loose ceramic bathroom tiles and created a fire to cook the eggs and heat the beans, which staved off fits until the streets quickened with life once again.
Needless to say, the book was completed and assembled and sent to the printer on time. This story shows not only the ruthless nature of publishing but also the wild bristling energy which informed the earliest days of comics, an art form still in its infancy and eager to please the audience which fondled it with such devotion.
The story is made more poignant in that
Bernie Klein, a talent with much promise was one of those multitude of young men who lost their lives defeating the Axis powers on the battlefields of Europe. His death made all the more tragic, because as the legendary weekend showed he was like so many of his peers a man filled with spirit and life.
Daredevil must break out the boomerang and confront an evil from ancient history when a deadly mummy is revived. Charles Biro presides.
Terry Turner is a powerful boxer, but he might have met his match in Jean Jacques, a savage lumberjack. Dick Wood and Bernie Klein do the honors.
Nightro isa rather nifty version of Dr. Mid-Nite when Hugh Goddard is blinded in a radiation accident. He can see in the dark thanks to special lenses and mops up the criminals who attacked him. Dick Wood writes and George Roussos draws this one.
Dash Dillon at Hale (not Yale I notice) is a sports natural and is recruited by a young woman to join the team and save the season for her school and her dad, the coach. Ed Ashe is both writer and artist.
Pioneer is a naive young man who lives in a remote valley and is lured to civilization by some thugs who see riches. He turns the tables. Bob Woods wrote this one for Jay Gahr.
The Bronze Terror is "Real American #1". He's a denizen of the Indian territory and uses his strengths to save the chief from villains who want to prey on the people. Dick Briefer is man for this one.
London is the hero and London is the place where a brave young man fights against the Nazis for the sake of us all. This one is all Jerry Robinson.
Pat Patriot is born when a brave young woman stands up for her overworked companions and discovers a smuggling ring. Bob Wood likely wrote and Reed Crandall might well have drawn it.
The Claw is in fine malicious form as he steals a train and all the men aboard it. He tries to blackmail the government, but one brave man has an idea which might defeat the towering menace. This one is by
Bob Wood.
To read this epic iconic comic in its glorious totality check
this out. They don't make like that anymore.
I enjoyed this wild yarn in the pages of The Original Daredevil Archives. Tomorrow. we back things up a bit, as the Dojo takes a look at the debut issue of this comic book series.
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