Summer Blogathon BLACKHAWK "D-Day for the Blackhawks" Part 1: Origin of the Blackhawks

We've covered the Blackhawks' unfortunate dabbling in 1960s superhero antics...

..but even before that, DC was tinkering with the team, changing them from wartime aviators to a team of scientific adventurers handling all sort of weird threats!

(You'll note as the tale begins, the team are in their red and green "adventurer" uniforms instead of their WWII leather outfits!

Also note that, in the final panel of the page directly below, Blackhawk and Stan are speaking each other's dialogue!)

To Be Continued...
TOMORROW!

Writer Arnold Drake, penciler Dick Dillin and inker Chuck Cuidera update the vague origin Blackhawk was given (in his first appearance in Quality's Military Comics #1 (1941) and a somewhat more detailed tale from Blackhawk #50 (1952) in this never-reprinted story from DC's Blackhawk #198 (1964).
Note: This is part of our annual Summer RetroBlog Blogathon, this year covering how various comics characters participated in D-Day!
You can see the Normandy invasion activities of Sgt Rock HERE and Sgt Fury HERE!

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Blackhawk: the Movie Serial

starring Kirk (Superman) Alyn

Valentines Day Special NOT BRAND ECHH "Best Side Story"

What if the Silver Age Doctor Strange and Wonder Woman fell in love?

We'd probably have ended up with a serious version of this titanic tale!

Written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Tom Sutton, this titanic tale was included in Marvel's Not Brand Echh! #6 (1968)...

...a romance-oriented issue that also included a look at how a Human Scorch (Human Torch)/Gristle (Crystal) marriage would work out, and Spidey-Man (do I haveta tell you?) marrying the unlikeliest character of all!

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Marvel Masterworks

Not Brand Echh!

The Coming of...the Purple Claw!

PURPLE CLAW!

The name that strikes terror into the hearts of evildoers...at least to the minds of an impressionable 9-14 year old audience!
Technically, it's the name of the metal glove that imparts mystic powers to it's wearer, but some refer to the user himself (or herself) by the name, much the way they do Green Lantern...
The user in this 1950s series, which mixed horror with heroics, was Dr. Johnathan Weir, a former US Army doctor who acquired it when he crashed his plane in Africa.

The Claw's origin and history, which Dr. Weir tried to trace, is somewhat cloudy, since it was all word-of-mouth. (The damn thing didn't come with a user's manual.)
What is known is that it's an ancient mystic artifact of Great Power When Used For Good. (Those who attempt to use it for Evil usually come to a Bad End!)
The bearer becomes a Defender of Humanity Against Occult Evil...whether they want the job or not!
The Claw's exact abilities and limitations are unknown, and Weir had to experiment to see what would and wouldn't work, always stumbling upon the right way to use it before being killed/dismembered/disintegrated by a foe. (Talk about "on the job training"!)

The series ran for only three issues, but Weir continued to fight evil as a reprint in Tales of Horror, until the Great Comics WitchHunt of the 1950s killed almost all horror/occult-themed comics titles.

As you might have guessed, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ found it to be a perfect fit for our Horror Comics of the 1950s™ collection, even giving The Claw it's own section!

We think any of the collectibles we offer with The Purple Claw on them would make a kool Halloween-themed (or birthday) gift for the horror/occult pop culture kitch aficionado in your life!
But, remember...Use Them For Good...not Evil! ;-)

The Mystery of the 40-Year Old Missing X-Men Art

One of the Variant Covers of Marvel's Uncanny X-Men #1 (2018)...

...features the opening art from this text feature in Marvel's Rampaging Hulk #2 (1977)

Now, note the last page of the feature has NightCrawler, who BAMFed from the opening group shot!

The original art for the piece can currently be seen HERE, in the amazing collection of David Mandell!

So where is the accompanying NightCrawler illustration?

And why wasn't it incorporated into the Variant Cover?

We May Never Know the Answer...

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Dave Cockrum Treasury

MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL "Epilogue: Mr Mind LIVES!"

The saga of the Monster Society of Evil didn't end with Mr Mind's death...

...because, like almost all great comic book villains, the little SOB had an ace in the hole...

When DC revived the Marvel Family (after putting them out of business almost 20 years earlier), instead of rebooting the series, the creatives had arch-villain Sivana freeze them (and himself, accidentally) in "suspendium" to explain why they hadn't aged!

After an earthquake hits the museum, Billy/Captain Marvel digs out the museum-goers...

I'm including the next page just because it's a classic example of the kid-friendly "violence" the original series specialized in...

Though Cap stops Mr Mind's plan, the cunning worm escapes...

Despite writer Denny O'Neil and artist CC Beck (Cap's original Golden Age artist who was still going strong) promise in DC's SHAZAM! #2 (1973), the explanation became a running gag as Mr. Mind would escape just before telling how he survived certain death, until SHAZAM! #31 (1977)...

...where writer E Nelson Bridwell (who was DC's resident "continuity fanatic" counterpart to Marvel's Roy Thomas) and penciler Kurt Schaffenberger (who had worked on Fawcett's Marvel Family titles from the mid-1940s until they were cancelled in 1954) finally told the story!
Note: there are no footnotes in these SHAZAM! tales referencing Captain Marvel Adventures #46 (1945), where Mr Mind met his (supposed) demise!
Why?
1) when SHAZAM! #2 was published in 1973, there were no reprints of the Monster Society of Evil serial...nor any Captain Marvel stories in print due to the terms of the DC/Fawcett lawsuit!
2) When SHAZAM! #31 was published in 1977, DC had reprinted some of the Fawcett Marvel Family stories, but had already perceived reprinting MSoE would be problematic due to the racist content of several of the chapters!
(Of course, this was before the Direct Market and comic book stores in almost every city/town/village!)

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Showcase Presents

SHAZAM!

(which reprints the complete stories we've excerpted...but in b/w!)