All-Star Companion Volume 4 Preview

VOLUM VOLUME E FOUR FOUR

Companion

VOLUME FOUR

★ Edited by Roy Thomas

Edited by Roy Thomas.

$

2795

In The US

52795

ISBN 978-1-60549-004-5

9 781605 490045

Page 1

Unlock the FINAL secrets of the JUSTICE SOCIETY of AMERICA (& friends) !

With rare art by ALEX ROSS, TODD McFARLANE, JERRY ORDWAY, CARMINE INFANTINO, JOE KUBERT, ALEX TOTH, GIL KANE, MURPHY ANDERSON, IRWIN HASEN, MORT MESKIN, GENE COLAN, WAYNE BORING, GEORGE TUSKA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, DON NEWTON, JACK BURNLEY, MIKE MACHLAN, DICK DILLIN, H.G. PETER, SHELLY MOLDOFF, MART NODELL, PAUL REINMAN, HARRY LAMPERT, JOE GALLAGHER, CHESTER KOZLAK, E.E. HIBBARD, BERNARD KRIGSTEIN, LEE ELIAS, ARTHUR PEDDY, FRANK HARRY, MIKE SEKOWSKY, ALAN KUPPERBERG, JIM VALENTINO, RICK HOBERG, MICHAEL BAIR, and many more!

ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-004-5 ISBN-10: 1-60549-004-0

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The ALL★STAR Companion

The epic series of ALLSTAR COMPANIONS goes out with a bang, featuring: Colossal coverage of the Golden Age ALL-STAR COMICS! Sensational secrets of the JUNIOR JUSTICE SOCIETY! An index of the solo adventures of the original JSAers in their own features, from 1939 to 1951! The JSA's earliest imitators (Seven Soldiers of Victory, All Winners Squad, Marvel Family, and International Crime Patrol)! INFINITY, INC. on Earth-Two and after! And the 1980s SECRET ORIGINS series!

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THE

All-Star Comp V4 Cover Final FINAL:Layout 1

[All art on this page ©2009 DC Comics.]

Justice Society of America & Infinity, Inc. TM & © DC Comics.

All Right Reserved. Used with permission.

Edited by

ROY THOMAS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: ALL GOOD STARS MUST COME TO AN END . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Part One: ALL-STAR COMICS IN THE GOLDEN AGE (1940-1951) I. “A BUNCH OF SWELL GUYS” by Jim Harmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 From 1961—the first article ever written exclusively about the Justice Society

II. THE SPAWN OF M.C. GAINES by Ted White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 And from1960—the JSA as part of the 1940s DC/AA publishing empire

III. COVER ME! by Jim Valentino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Re-imagining the iconic cover of All-Star Comics #3 with other super-heroes!

IV. THE FINAL MYSTERY OF ALL-STAR COMICS #3 by Craig Delich & Martin O’Hearn . . . . . . . .24 Did Gardner Fox really write all of that landmark first JSA story?

V. ALL-STAR FUNNY STUFF by Jim Beard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 The Justice Society’s frenetic ’40s forays into humor—plus an addendum by Ye Editor

VI. ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN… A MEMBER OF THE JUNIOR JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA? by Roy Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 The JJSA code messages, decoded by Herb Zornow & David Studham—and a whole lot more!

VII. ANOTHER CLAUSE IN THE “WILL” by Roy Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Would you believe—still more artwork from the long-lost JSA epic!

VIII. THE JUSTICE SOCIETY SOLO SERIES by Kurt Mitchell – annotated by Roy Thomas . . . . . . . .69 An illustrated index of the JSAers’ appearances in their own features

IX. ALL IN COLOR FOR A TIME by Bill Schelly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 When the JSA made a surprise appearance at the 1962 World Science Fiction Convention

X. TITANS OF JSA FANDOM ASSEMBLE! by Mike Phoenix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128 2003: the JSA convenes around its round table in—St. Louis, Missouri

Part Two: THE OTHER 1940s HERO GROUPS XI. THE SEVERAL SOLDIERS OF VICTORY (RE-VISITED) by Pedro Angosto & Roy Thomas . . . . . . .132 DC’s own 1940s challenger to the JSA: the boys from Leading Comics

XII. THE FAMILY WAY by P.C. Hamerlinck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142 Was The Marvel Family Fawcett’s answer to the Justice Society?

XIII. WINNERS ALL! by Roy Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147 The short happy Golden Age life of Timely/Marvel’s All Winners Squad

XIV. THE INTERNATIONAL CRIME PATROL by Roy Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151 How EC’s multi-national heroes sought to become a Justice Society of the World

Part Three: THE JSA, FRIENDS, AND FAMILY IN THE 1980s XV. INFINITY, INC. by Kurt Mitchell & Roy Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 The 1980s careers of the sons, daughters, and heirs of the JSAers

XVI. SECRET ORIGINS by Kurt Mitchell & Roy Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209 An issue-by-issue look at the 1980s series that retold Golden Age classics

Part Four: AFTERWORD ALL-STAR COMICS AND ME by Roy Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245 A personal journey, 1945 to ?

[DC covers © DC Comics; All Winners cover © Marvel Characters, Inc.; International Crime Patrol cover © William M. Gaines Agent, Inc.]

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PART ONE

ALL-STAR COMICS In The Golden Age (1940-1951)

The times, they were a-changing! In All-Star #11 (JuneJuly 1942), there was actually a controversy among readers—or, at least, the editors claimed there was— over whether a female could join the Justice Society (as well as to whether there should be a Junior JSA youngsters could join)! Personally, we suspect the outcome had already been decided, since in #12, just two months later, Wonder Woman’s “slight lead” as the most popular feature in Sensation Comics had turned into her being “far in the lead,” and she was admitted to full JSA membership—though by #13 her status would be changed to that of that of honorary member (and secretary) because she’d already been given her own solo quarterly. (The JJSA was announced at the same time.) [TM & © DC Comics.]

6 | PART ONE

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Chapter I ASCV4 EDITOR’S INTRO: Jim Harmon has been one of the most important of early fans in the twin areas of comic books and the Golden Age of Radio. For the Feb. 1957 issue of the science-fiction fanzine Peon, he wrote a piece titled “I Remember Comic Books”— which comics fandom historian Bill Schelly calls “perhaps the earliest look at comics from a nostalgic point of view.” Roughly half of that article dealt with the 1940-1951 Justice Society of America.

A few years later, in the third issue of Dick and Pat Lupoff’s landmark sf fanzine Xero (Jan. 1961), Jim’s installment of its groundbreaking comics-history series was the first-ever close look at All-Star Comics. That entry was reprinted in the 1970 book All in Color for a Dime, edited by Dick Lupoff and Don Thompson, which collected a number of articles from that iconically-named series; but it was somewhat updated and rewritten therein (and not by Jim), so we felt it was time the text of “A Bunch of Swell Guys” was represented exactly as it appeared in Xero #3—as a seminal artifact in the history of the appreciation of the JSA.

(A quartet of necessary caveats, though: (1) There are a few bits of information and “sics” which we felt a need to insert in the text, all delineated by brackets; (2) The last name of the writer/co-creator of Wonder Woman was spelled “Marston,” not “Marsden” as Jim then believed; (3) we’ve left in one note written by original editor Lupoff, because it appeared in the Xero #3 printing; and (4) besides the to-be-expected use of references more familiar to readers in 1961 than now, such as to a “spirit duplicator” and “Mr. Belvedere”— which we’ll leave you to look up on the Internet—Jim utilized four esoteric terms which were then, and still are, unknown to 99.99% of humanity who didn’t read vintage sf fanzines—unlike the words “prequel” and “fanzine” itself which that fandom gave to the world.

So Jim has newly defined them in actual, honest-to-M.C. Gaines footnotes, which were not a part of the article.)

Before we get to the original text, however, here’s a brand new introduction written by JH himself especially for ASCV4.

I Remember The Justice Society

by Jim Harmon (2009)

I

was seven years old in 1941 when I saw my first cover of All-Star Comics featuring the Justice Society of America.

It was not the first issue of that magazine ever published (that, of course, was #1), or even the first to feature the legendary super-hero organization (that was #3). It was just my first look.

It was All-Star #5. The cover featured only three members of the classic group—Spectre, Green Lantern, and The Flash. They were depicted as slightly larger than lifesize, towering over a trio of crooks who seemed pygmysize by comparison. It suggested that this was a symbolic scene, a typical cover image, not a “real“ event from the story inside. I was used to this symbolizing from other comics (Uncle Sam standing taller than Naval warships on a cover of National Comics) and pulps (The Shadow peering around a skyscraper no taller than he on his magazine). In the All-Star fantasy image, The Spectre was shooting rays out of his eyes at a crook, mimicking Superman’s X-ray vision, while Green Lantern was hitting the unfortunate fellow with an emerald ray from his power ring. One crook was just trying to get away, while the third one was being grabbed by The Flash, who was leaving a trail of dust behind him. Or was it only symbolic speed lines?

I had never before seen such a diverse trio of heroes working together.

Many comics would have covers with small circles or squares picturing many different heroes (Feature Comics, for instance). I had seen Superman and Batman on a very thick comic, joined by Batman’s kid partner Robin. But Superman and the Batman-and-Robin team didn’t interact inside the covers.

Maybe You Can Go Home Again!

The cover of the mimeographed sf fanzine Xero #3 (Jan. 1961) featured Sylvia White’s skillful swipe of Jack Burnley’s cover for All-Star Comics #13 (Oct.-Nov. 1942), showcasing all the then-members of the JSA except Dr. Fate. A 2004 photo of Jim Harmon has been added in what was, in the original publication, a blank space. [JSA TM & © DC Comics.]

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Chapter II

The Spawn Of M.C. Gaines

by Ted White

Also Starring…

The second installment of Xero’s influential “All in Color for a Dime” series was fronted by the image seen at left. It was devised by Ted White’s then-wife Sylvia, who was a virtuoso at composing on stencils for the mimeograph process by which the early-’60s fanzine was produced. She adapted a Wayne Boring figure from the cover of Superman #59 (July-Aug. 1949) and several Irwin Hasen JSA heads from the “filmstrip” cover of All-Star Comics #44 (Oct.-Nov. 1948)— adding Wonder Woman and Batman from other sources, plus a caricature of her husband. No other illustrations accompanied the article. [Comics heroes TM & © DC Comics; caricature © Sylvia White.]

At center above is F. Whitney Ellsworth with unidentified friend in a 1951 photo—along with head shots of DC co-publishers Harry Donenfeld (top right) and Jack Liebowitz (bottom right). Ellsworth served as National/DC editorial director from 1939-53, including of its subsidiary All-American line after Shelly Mayer’s retirement in 1948… though later JSA editor Julius Schwartz insisted that Ellsworth made no editorial contributions to either covers or contents on comics Julie handled. In the 1950s Ellsworth served as a producer of the Adventures of Superman TV series. Donenfeld was M.C. Gaines’ co-publisher on AA from its beginning in 1939, and Liebowitz reportedly became AA co-publisher, as well, by 1944-45.

The latter two pics are seen in Les Daniels’ 1995 volume DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World’s Favorite Comic Book Heroes. The center photo appears in Jan Alan Henderson’s 1999 biography Speeding Bullet: The Life and Bizarre Death of George Reeves; special thanks to David Siegel. [© the respective copyright holders.]

ASCV4 EDITOR’S INTRO: While the foregoing piece by Jim Harmon from the early-1961 Xero #3 was indeed the first full-scale study of All-Star Comics and the Justice Society of America ever done, the preceding issue of that epochal sf fanzine, dated November 1960, had featured an article by Ted White on DC Comics (then usually referred to as National, its official name during that period).

It had centered on the importance to DC and to the early comic book field in general of Max Charles Gaines (see photo on p. 9); copublisher from 1939-45 of its sister company All-American Comics, Inc.—as well as a credited “co-inventor” of the modern comic book and the man who convinced DC to publish Superman. In the latter part of Xero #2’s nostalgic/ historical essay, White expostulated on his special fondness for All-Star. We have excerpted the article’s relevant paragraphs below, with Ted’s blessings and with a minimum of editorial emendation—but perhaps we should inform you up front that Other Worlds, mentioned in the text, was a professional sciencefiction magazine of the day.

18 | THE SPAWN OF M.C. GAINES

W

hen I was nine years old, I was sent to a summer boys’ camp where one day on the beach of the lake where we swam I found some old comics. They weren’t really old, of course—it only seems so now. Rolled up in some boy’s towel were several National comics, including an issue of All-Star Comics. It was the issue (somewhere around #34) which featured Solomon Grundy pitted against the entire Justice Society of America, and it was a rousing story.

I had never before seen an issue of All-Star Comics, but that issue made me a confirmed fan, although I wasn’t able to start buying copies until #41. There was a magic (sometimes literally, as when a fairy-land was invaded) to the stories, which engrossed me. If there was one comic that I’d use my only dime to get, it would always be All-Star. Even when the stories got shorter, the artwork poorer, I stuck with the comic—it was still The Best.

I was naturally heartbroken when the title turned into a Western,

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Chapter III

Cover Me! Re-Imagining The Iconic Cover Of All-Star Comics #3

by Jim Valentino aithful readers of the All-Star Companion series will remember Frank Brunner’s article “Why I Hate All-Star Comics #3 (or, How Boring Can a Cover Get?)” from Volume 2. With all due respect to my esteemed colleague, I beg to differ with his opinion and request your indulgence for the following rebuttal. You see, I consider the cover to All-Star #3 [seen on p. 89] to be a simply elegant approach to a group shot, primarily because of its compositional simplicity.

F

Homage Sweet Homage Panel homage to both E.E. Hibbard and Alex Ross by Dale Eaglesham (penciler) & Art Thibert (inker) from Justice Society of America [“Vol. 3”] #1 (Feb. 2007). Script by Geoff Johns. See notation at end of article.

[TM & © DC Comics.]

Consider these following points: First and foremost, no one since Leonardo Da Vinci had ever attempted a “group shot” prior to this (and he chose a straight-on shot). There was no gold standard, as the entire concept of a super-team was unprecedented…at least in comics (Jason and his Argonauts clearly claim the honor in literature).

Also, each individual group member is shown clearly, and with the exception of the two closest to camera (The Atom and Hour-Man, whose lower bodies are depicted because of the angle), all are given equal exposure. The young fan or casual browser could easily identify his or her favorite hero, thus increasing the book’s potential marketability by a factor of eight.

Even if a reader didn’t like all of them, he was bound to like at least one of them!

Finally, consider that the story itself was set around what amounts to a dinner table (whose bright idea was that?), so the cover reflects the actual contents of the book—since the JSAers are relating individual exploits in a hotel banquet room—in a

Okay, Axis—Here We Sit! For technical reasons, we haven’t reproduced with Jim’s article many homages to the cover of All-Star Comics #3 that utilize DC-owned characters, whether commissioned by DC or not. (See Jim’s list at end of article.) But that still leaves plenty to go around, starting with— Pro artist Paul Ryan’s tribute, utilizing the heroes of Timely/Marvel’s 1946 All Winners Squad and 1970s (retroactive-continuity) Invaders… as inked by Bob Almond. By sheer coincidence, collector Scott M. Martin had commissioned this piece at the same time that Roy Thomas invited Al Milgrom to draw a Timely group of all-stars as the cover of Alter Ego #20 (Jan. 2003). The Ryan piece appeared on that issue’s contents page. Paul, of course, has illustrated such series as Fantastic Four and Avengers West Coast and currently does The Phantom newspaper comic strip. But—hey, Paul, what happened to Toro? [Invaders TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

20 | COVER ME!

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Chapter IV

The Final Mystery Of ALL-STAR COMICS #3 Gardner Fox Co-Created The Justice Society— But Did He Write All Of That Landmark Third Issue?

by Craig Delich & Martin O’ Hearn Below are two short pieces on the first-ever Justice Society of America story, published in 1940—one by Craig Delich, one by Martin O’Hearn—with short postscripts by the former and by this volume’s editor:

Craig Delich Some time back, Craig, writer and editor of the 1976 volume All-Star Comics Revue, one of the honored predecessors of The All-Star Companion [Vol. 1], sent an e-mail about AllStar Comics #3 to the online discussion group of the Grand Comic-Book Database. It is there that additions and changes to the massive amounts of data that appear on the invaluable GCD website are debated between aficionados and comic art experts, before they are potentially added to the Database itself. The following is a reprinting of those paragraphs, edited and expanded for inclusion in this volume of the Companion. Our thanks also to Ray Bottorff, Jr., and to Bob Hughes… and to the late Rich Morrissey… for their contributions in this matter. —Roy.

R

ecently, an article written by Rich Morrissey surfaced with regard to a 1977 Gardner Fox interview, in which the comic book scripter declares that he wrote every story in the first three issues of All-Star Comics, although he admitted elsewhere that his memory might be slipping somewhat. This interview was published in Amazing Heroes #115 (March 1987).

Back in 1962 when [Alter Ego founder] Jerry Bails put together his Authoritative Index to All-Star Comics, and later when I produced The All-Star Comics Revue, we both realized that Fox was not the author of every story in All-Star #1 and #2. In both issues, he wrote only the Flash, Hawkman, and Sandman tales. Period.

As for All-Star #3: I believe DC originally planned for that issue to feature the same format of individual tales, with Doctor Fate (another Three’s Company—Eight’s A Society! hero Fox had co-created and regularly wrote) having been announced In Vol. 2 of this series, we reproduced DC’s house ad for All-Star Comics #3— in #2 as being intended to be added to the roster of features in the while ads for #1-2 are currently on view in the hardcover Superman Archives, third issue. Somewhere along the line, however, the editors [Shelly Vol. 2. But why the house ad here for All-Star #5? Well, if issue #3 was originally intended to be a third anthology issue, as may have been the case, then there’s Mayer and managing editor/co-publisher M.C. Gaines] switched to a good chance that a quite different cover might have already been prepared for the idea of a team format—the Justice Society of America was born—and the book may have been hurriedly slapped together, since that issue—one that didn’t show eight costumed cut-ups sitting around a circular table. And by far the best candidate, among published work, for cover art the deadline was approaching. originally intended for All-Star #3 is the Howard Purcell illustration which became The editors, as they most likely had for issues #1 & #2, probably again picked out already-illustrated tales that would normally have appeared in Flash Comics, All-American Comics, More Fun Comics, or Adventure Comics. Fox admitted that much—yet he goes on to claim that he wrote every story in #3, and that’s where I will disagree, even though writer-detector Martin O’Hearn feels that Fox’s claims are valid.

Back in the late 1940s to early 1950s, Jerry Bails was already in contact with Fox, and he asked him many questions about All-Star #3.

24 | THE FINAL MYSTERY OF ALL-STAR COMICS #3

the cover of #5, since it depicts just three heroes—the very same trio of headliners he’d drawn on that of #2! Other JSA art by E.E. Hibbard. Thanks to Bob Hughes for the scan. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Without a doubt, Fox’s memory at that time was better than when Rich’s interview took place, decades later. Fox replied to Jerry that he had indeed written the entire issue. When I pointed out fallacies in the statement, Jerry stood his ground and said that in his Index, as well as in my Revue, Fox should remain credited as sole writer.

On what do I base my idea of multiple authorship of All-Star #3?

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Chapter VI

Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been… …A Member Of The Junior Justice Society Of America?

Even If You Haven’t, This Chapter Is For You!

by Roy Thomas Decodings by Herb Zornow & David Studham

I

n the first two volumes of this series, writers Craig Delich of Kansas and David Studham of Australia did a thorough job of covering the basics concerning the Junior Justice Society of America. They duly concentrated on: (a) The several types of membership certificates (there turned out to be a surprising variety of minor and even major changes from the first one issued in 1942 through the shortlived 1945 edition to the last one, which was sold during 1947-51); (b) The various “extras,” including letters from Wonder Woman, war stamp albums, the comics-format pamphlet “The Minute Man Answers the Call,” a couple of customized DC/AA envelopes, etc.; (c) The JJSA secret code wheels for the 1942 and 1945 clubs, with their Greek letters, and the easier-to-break, number-based code chart sent out during the 1947 re-launch.

However, this being the final volume of The All-Star Companion, and since the previous three had reprinted all the JSA Laboratory Notes and even dealt in detail with the Johnny Peril feature and the various quasisuper-heroes such as Captain Tootsie who had appeared in paid ads in All-Star, a sense of completeness demanded that we include herein each and every JJSA code message from the 1940s incarnation of the magazine— yes, and decode them, as well! David Studham made a good start on such a project; it was ably finished off by his longtime associate and correspondent Herb Zornow, who was identified in ASCV2 only as “Mr. Z.” This is really their chapter; Ye Editor merely assembled the material and added art and captions, often using information they had provided.

Even so, I seemed to recall there had been occasional JJSA messages in other DC mags besides All-Star (all of which had appeared in comics titles which were originally part of M.C. Gaines’ All-American Publications).

And, with the aid and abetment of collectors Jon Ingersoll, Bruce Mason, et al., we’ve been

32 | ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN...

“Never Before In Our History…”

This ad for the Junior Justice Society appeared, among other places, in Wonder Woman #3 (Feb.-March 1943). Because of the ongoing Second World War, the text in its first paragraph is different from the otherwise identical ad first seen in All-Star #13. Thanks to Jon Ingersoll for the scan. Oh, and by the way, we’re informed that a brass prototype of the JJSA badge has popped up online, as well! [TM & © DC Comics.]

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5-Page Interlude:

When The Whole World Caught A Code Secret codes were all the rage during the World War II era, featuring the stars of comic strips, comic books, and radio. Thanks to Jim Harmon, one of the world’s foremost experts on those media’s “premiums,” as they were called, for these sumptuous specimens:

Before He Had A Two-Way Wrist Radio Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy had been serving and protecting newspaper comics sections since 1931. Shown here are the front and back covers of the 1939 Dick Tracy Secret Service Patrol Secret Code Book and the page inside which contained the code. [Dick Tracy & Junior TM & © Tribune Media Services.]

The Ultimate Re-Mix The pamphlet The Life of Tom Mix contained, among other things, info on the Official Decoder Membership Badge and how to decipher a secret message. This one’s probably from the early ’40s. Although silent movie cowboy star Mix died in an auto accident in 1940, he continued to star on radio for years, played by actor Curley Bradley. [© the respective copyright holders.]

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Chapter VIII

The Justice Society Solo Stories Index Of Single-Character Appearances (1939-1951) Compiled by Kurt Mitchell Annotated (Mostly)

by Roy Thomas

L

isted on the following pages are the solo appearances of Justice Society of America members that were published by National/DC Comics (and/or its 1939-45 affiliate AllAmerican Publications) between the launch of the super-hero genre in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) and the date of the JSA’s final Golden Age adventure in All-Star Comics #57 (Feb.-Mar. 1951). It has been compiled in large part from the online Grand Comic-Book Database at www.comics.org, and supplemented from other sources.

The only omissions—made, regrettably, purely because of lack of space—are solo stories of honorary members Superman and Batman.

This means there are no entries below for Action Comics, Superman, or Batman—and only listings for the Johnny Thunder and Sandman stories in World’s Fair/Best/Finest Comics, and for a lone Sandman cameo in an issue of Detective Comics. (We hope to print the Superman/Batman part of this Index at some future time, perhaps in an issue of Alter Ego.) Entries for Wonder Woman, the only full-time JSAer whose adventures continued uninterrupted after the end of the run of the Golden Age All-Star, end with issues cover-dated March 1951. All Sandman and Hawkman tales are counted as “solo” entries, even though many of them also feature Sandy and Hawkgirl. Oh, and since we were listing the contents of All-American Comics anyway, we tossed in info on for Sheldon Mayer's party-crashing Red Tornado.

A NOTE ON ART: Images already reproduced in one of the first three volumes of The All-Star Companion are, with a few exceptions, not reprinted below, as it is assumed the reader owns those books… or at least could have access to them. All art is reproduced from scans or photocopies of the comics themselves, rather than from retouched reprintings in DC’s hardcover Archives series, unless otherwise noted.

“America’s Greatest Comics Characters” This half-page plug appeared in numerous DC comics in 1948, showcasing the company’s half dozen best-known costumed heroes—all of whom except Robin were members of the Justice Society—plus Bud Fisher’s Mutt & Jeff, and Brooklyn of Simon & Kirby’s Boy Commandos.

As it happened, Flash, GL, and the Boy Commandos would all be banished to comic book limbo over the course of the next two or three years. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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...And The First Shall Be Last!

(Clockwise from above left:) It all started with Superman in 1938—and he was one of only three JSAers still appearing in his own solo series when All-Star Comics ended its Golden Age run. Above is the interior panel from Action Comics #1 (June 1938) on which its legendary cover was based. The story was pasted up out of dailies of writer Jerry Siegel & artist Joe Shuster’s unsold Superman newspaper comic strip. The retouched art is repro’d from the 1971 black-&-white hardcover Superman from the 30’s to the 70’s. [TM & © DC Comics.]

In May 1939, Wonder Man made his dynamic debut—and, as it would turn out, his farewell appearance—in Fox’s Wonder Comics #1. National/DC claimed that Will Eisner’s red-andyellow-clad creation was a carbon copy of the Man of Tomorrow. Now how could anybody possibly think that? [Wonder Comics cover © the respective copyright holders.]

The next three panels spotlight the trio of JSAers still standing when the 57th and final issue of All-Star went on sale circa the turn of 1950-51 with a cover date of Feb.-March ’51: Superman in Action Comics #154, Batman in Detective Comics #169, and Wonder Woman in Sensation Comics #102. The first two were dated March ’51; the by-then-bimonthly Sensation was for March-April. Of course, issues of Superman, Batman, World’s Finest Comics, Wonder Woman, and Star Spangled Comics (starring not-quite-JSAer Robin), as well as Superboy in Adventure Comics and his own mag, were also on the stands during that period. Thanks to Jim Ludwig. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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Popp Goes The Weasel The Spectre splash panels from More Fun #77 & 84. Scripts by Siegel; art by Baily. Thanks to Jim Ludwig. [TM & © DC Comics.]

#93 – Sept.-Oct. 1943 DF “The Legend of Lucky Lane” (10 pp.)

SP “Crime Cures a Complex!” (8 pp.)

#94 – Nov.-Dec. 1943 DF “The Destiny of Mr. Coffin” (6 pp.)

SP “The Man Who Hated Puppets” (8 pp.)

#95 – Jan.-Feb. 1944 DF “Flame in the Night” (6 pp.)

SP “The Book Bandits” (8 pp.)

#96 – March-April 1944 DF “Forgotten Magic” (6 pp.)

SP “Publicity Hound” (8 pp.)

#97 – May-June 1944

#99 – Sept.-Oct. 1944 SP “The Magician and the Mobsters” (8 pp.)

#100 – Nov.-Dec. 1944 SP “The Woodcarver and the Crooks” (8 pp.)

#101 – Jan.-Feb. 1945 SP “The Unsafe Safe!” (8 pp.)

SP “Nerves Takes a Holiday” (8 pp.)

New York World’s Fair Comics

DF “Pharaoh’s Lamp” (6 pp.)

1939

#98 – July-Aug. 1944

The Sandman (10 pp.) – probably 1st app.

Sandman

SP “Cartoons of Crime!” (10 pp.)

DF “The Bashful King of Crime!” (6 pp.)

1940 HO “Hourman at the World’s Fair” (6 pp.)

SA “The Sandman Goes to the World’s Fair” (10 pp.)

Johnny Thunder

A Famous “First”?

It may never be 100% settled whether The Sandman’s “first” appearance came in Adventure Comics #40 or in the 1939 New York World’s Fair Comics—but at left is the full-page house ad for the original 25¢ version of the latter that ran in Action #14 & #15. When that giant-size one-shot was reissued with a 15¢ price tag, it proved an instant success and soon led to the long-running World’s Finest Comics. Of course, Superman may have had a bit more to do with that than Sandman did. Thanks to Jim Ludwig. [TM & © DC Comics.]

112 | THE JUSTICE SOCIETY SOLO STORIES

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Chapter IX

All In Color For A Time The Justice Society At The 1962 Science-Fiction Convention

by Bruce Pelz New Captions by Bill Schelly ASCV4 EDITOR’S INTRO: The following article by the late Bruce Pelz originally appeared in Alter Ego [Vol. 1] #6 (Winter 1963-64), edited and published by Ronn Foss. It was accompanied at that time by four posed individual photos of Los Angeles sf/comics fans in the guises of Wonder Woman, The Flash, Dr. Fate, and Green Lantern.

Recently, Bill Schelly enlisted his friend Nils Osmar to do “screen grabs” of a number of additional images from that period, taken from Don Glut/Frontline Entertainment’s documentary I Was a Teenage Monster Maker, and Bill has annotated those, adding new information. We have also included, up front, an important—if not quite JSA-related—pic taken a couple of years earlier….

I

Lupoffs at the Pittcon and thought about going as his or her favorite costumed comic character. So, even before the Seacon (Seattle) masquerade had been held, we decided to go to Chicago in 1962 as the Justice Society of America.

Although only a few of the L.A. fans collect comics, almost all of them are comics fans in that they read or have read comics and enjoyed doing so (though a large number would refuse to admit the fact). The idea of going to the 1962 convention as comic characters was bound to come up, as several of the group remembered the

The first Shazam!—Twice Over problem was Dick and Pat Lupoff appeared as Captain and Mary parceling out the Marvel at the World Science Fiction Convention in roles. The little Pittsburgh, PA, over Labor Day weekend, 1960. This group of instiphoto is more rarely seen than the one first printed in Alter Ego [Vol. 1] #5 in 1963, and which is currently gators quickly on view in the TwoMorrows trade paperback Alter grabbed their Ego: The Best of the Legendary Fanzine (covering the favorite heroes magazine’s 1960s-70s incarnation). With thanks to Bill before letting the Schelly. rest of the L.A. crew in on the idea, but even the latecomers were reasonably happy with their roles, and there were even a number of characters left

n September 1960, at the 18th World Science Fiction Convention in Pittsburgh, Dick and Pat Lupoff of New York handed out copies of their new fanzine Xero #1, which featured a long article on Captain Marvel as the first in a series called “And All in Color for a Dime.” With this, sf fandom was launched into a spate of nostalgia— radio programs, comics, old pulps—which has not yet abated. At the Pittcon, too, the Lupoffs appeared in costume at the masquerade (a standard part of SF World Cons) as Captain and Mary Marvel—the Big Red Cheese and Cheesecake, come to life. This also set off a chain reaction in sf fandom, but it took two years to materialize.

Dian Girard: GLAMOROUS AMAZON

Fred Patten: FLASHY ORIGINAL

Bruce Pelz: DR. DAREFATE

Ted Johnstone: EMERALD CUSSER

A Four-Color Halloween These four photos, taken a month or so after the Chicago sf World Con, are the only pics which accompanied the article as originally printed in A/E [V1]#6.

They were provided at the time by Bruce Pelz, and were probably captioned by editor Ronn Foss.

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Chapter XI

The Several Soldiers Of Victory (Re-visited) The Golden Age Super-Hero Group That Dared Not Speak Its Name—Or Maybe Just Wasn’t Quite Sure What It Was!

by Roy Thomas

R

ichard Lupoff coined the above title phrase, “The Several Soldiers of Victory,” in 1961, and I hope he won’t mind my echoing it here.

Dick used it as the title of his article about the Seven Soldiers of Victory in the 6th issue of his and wife Pat’s seminal science-fiction/comics/pop culture fanzine Xero (it was reprinted in Alter Ego #18)—and it fit the stars of the 1942-45 Leading Comics to a “T.” For, not only did the super-group most often called by that monicker not have a formal name or a group logo for any of their 14 stories—they could never even quite decide on how many of them there were!

Sometime very early in 1941, somebody at National/DC—co-publishers Harry Donenfeld and/or Jack Liebowitz, or maybe line editor Whitney Ellsworth, or maybe even new staff editor Mort Weisinger—must have taken a look at All-Star Comics. Over at DC’s sister company All-American Comics, Inc., the title starring the 1940-spawned Justice Society of America was already moving up from quarterly to bimonthly status. The JSA, of course, was composed of heroes from four of the monthly anthology titles published by AA and DC—so DC’s powers-that-were clearly decided they would produce a strictly in-house version, limited to DC heroes proper. One feature from each of the five pure-National/ DC titles: Action Comics, Detective Comics, More Fun Comics, Adventure Comics, and Star Spangled Comics.

Superman and Batman were doubtless ruled out right away as prospective members of the new group, just as they had been for regular duty in the JSA. Instead, the editors chose that modern-day cowboy The Vigilante (accompanied by his sidekick Billy Gunn) from Action, and the recently revamped, costumed Crimson Avenger (accompanied by his valet Wing) from Detective.

Since no purely DC heroes besides Superman and Batman had their own solo titles, there was no reason to be so coy about the other three joiners. Green Arrow (with his bow-slinging ward Speedy) had recently been introduced into More Fun; thus, since The Spectre and Dr. Fate were JSAers, he was that mag’s logical candidate... although Aquaman and Johnny Quick were two other equally new possibilities.

Who Are Those (Mostly) Masked Men? This house ad from Leading Comics #4 is half plug for the next issue, and half “Comiquiz,” with the answers given upside down. The art, attributed to George Papp, was taken from the splash page of issue #1. Ironically, though their most-used group name was “the Seven Soldiers of Victory,” there was no truly World War II-oriented tale in the series, and indeed the war was seldom even referred to. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Over in Adventure, The Shining Knight was a likely selection, since its once and current cover stars HourMan, Sandman, and Starman were all JSAers—although the former had just taken a forced “leave of absence,” and would actually have been technically available!

132 | THE SEVERAL SOLDIERS OF VICTORY (RE-VISITED)

And who better to represent the newest DC anthology, Star Spangled Comics, than titular hero The Star-Spangled Kid, a rich youngster whose costumed partner Stripesy was also his chauffeur— probably the first time a comic book sidekick was ever older, and

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The Seven Soldiers Of Victory: Issue By Issue Compiled by Pedro Angosto & Roy Thomas INTRODUCTORY NOTE: The same eight heroes (counting Wing) appear in each of the 14 issues, so no Roll Calls are listed below. The key to their abbreviations can be found on p. 212, except that “SSV” below stands for the Seven Soldiers of Victory operating as a group.

The 14 SSV stories from Leading Comics have been reprinted in The Seven Soldiers of Victory Archives: #1-3 in Vol. 1, #5-8 in Vol. 2, and #9-14 and the retyped script for #15 in Vol. 3. Since those three

volumes are readily available, we haven’t printed any art from them except for small representations of the covers. We’re frankly a bit less than 100% certain of the accuracy of some of the art and writing credits ascribed to the issues, but they’re the best “guess” that knowledgeable comics historians have been able to make to date, and most of them are probably correct. Oh, and incidentally—as well as fittingly—each issue contains precisely seven chapters.

his illness was curable. The stalwarts decide to fight crime in the future as a team.

NOTES: • Even at story’s end, it’s unclear that “The Seven Soldiers of Victory” is the formal name of the new group. In the course of the issue, they are also called “Modern Knights of the Roundtable” and “America’s Foremost Champions of Justice.”

• Wing, Crimson Avenger’s sidekick, would be the unofficial “eighth Soldier” and appears in all 14 issues; Billy Gunn, Vigilante’s companion, also never joined officially, though he did appear in a few chapters with Vig. • In the early issues of Leading, as in More Fun, Green Arrow’s Arrowplane is merely a car, not an airplane.

• The Hand’s “Five Fingers” is the first group of comic book super-villains, predating the JSA’s Injustice Society by six years. [© DC Comics]

• The Dummy, who debuted in #1 as if he were an established bad-guy, went to become The Vigilante’s most-fought nemesis.

LEADING COMICS #1 (Winter 1941-42) COVER: Mort Meskin STORY: (No Title) – 56 pp.

WRITERS: Mort Weisinger, Jerry Siegel (latter on SSK chapter only) ARTISTS: SSV - George Papp, 6 pp.

GA - George Papp, 9 pp.

SS - Hal Sherman, 9 pp.

CA - Jack Lehti, 9 pp.

SK - Creig Flessel, 9 pp.

VG - Mort Meskin, 9 pp.

SSV - George Papp, 5 pp.

SYNOPSIS: The Hand, a dying scientist, frees criminals Red Dragon, Prof. Merlin, Big Caesar, The Needle, and The Dummy from prison to commit crimes that he plans, challenging five heroes to stop them. Foiled, The Hand dies accidentally—though it turns out

134 | THE SEVERAL SOLDIERS OF VICTORY (RE-VISITED)

The Bow And The Bullets These two early-’40s drawings may well be the original “concept sketches” of Green Arrow (by George Papp) and The Vigilante (by Mort Meskin), done at an editor’s behest to show what the newly conceived characters would look like. These pieces of art were sent to us several years back by Tom Horvitz (GA) and Ethan Roberts (Vig), and are reprinted here from Alter Ego, Vol. 2, #2, and A/E #24, respectively. [Green Arrow & Vigilante TM & © DC Comics.]

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Chapter XII

The Family Way Was The Marvel Family Fawcett’s Answer To The JSA?

by P.C. Hamerlinck

A

ttempting to forcibly obvert beyond proper limits any reasonable common bonds between the Golden Age Justice Society of America and Fawcett Publications’ Marvel Family can be a daunting exercise in futility and self-indulgence, even for the most astute dissectors of super-hero history. So run beside us now with the speed of Mercury as we weigh out a few possibly profound, or obtusely unique, observations from JSA headquarters to the Rock of Eternity.

Fawcett’s own (in)famous “Society,” for a while, was The Monster Society of Evil, fronted by that inch-long bully, Mr. Mind, in Captain Marvel Adventures #22 (Mar. 1943) to #46 (Mar. ’45). The serial’s author, Otto Binder, claimed he had never heard of the Justice Society at the time when he created his similarly-named super-villainous group. Otto was far too busy becoming one of comicdom’s most prolific and creative writers of distinctively folksy, consummately whimsical scripts; even if he had wanted to, he didn’t have time to read other people’s comic books.

Years before The Marvel Family were side by side smashing evil everywhere, Fawcett would first adopt the “team” concept (and at the same time attempt to duplicate the success of their top hero) with “Captain Marvel’s Squadron of Justice”—a.k.a. the Lieutenant Marvels, who debuted in Whiz Comics #21 (Sept. 1941). But the three Lieutenants were basically just clones of Cap—not distinct, individual heroes like the JSA. And even though a subsequent Whiz cover claimed that the squad was “Together Again by Popular Demand,” the Lt. Marvels only managed to show up in a half dozen more adventures over the next five years.

[Continued on p. 146]

Cover Stories All art images but one accompanying this article have been taken from the 1977 Crown volume Shazam! from the 40’s to the 70’s. In this long out-of-print collection, DC editor E. Nelson Bridwell masterfully assembled a spectrum of important stories starring Fawcett’s Shazamers, behind a new cover by Kurt Schaffenberger based on C.C. Beck’s cover of Captain Marvel Adventures #18 (Dec. 1942). [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Worm’s Turn This book’s editor has long felt that the structure of the name “Monster Society of Evil” was just too similar to that of the “Justice Society of America” for the resemblance to be a complete coincidence—but stranger things have happened. In the first chapter of the two-year serial, in Captain Marvel Adventures #22 (March 1943), the mysterious Mr. Mind—as of yet only a disembodied voice—sent Cap’s foes Captain Nazi, Dr. Sivana, Ibac, Nippo, and Mr. Banjo (plus various unnamed rogues) against him—while in Chapter 25, in CMA #46 (May ’45), the World’s Mightiest Mortal defeated Mr. Mind, who’d turned out to be “an evil worm mastermind” from another planet.

For his various murders, the insidious invertebrate got the electric chair. Script by Otto Binder; art by the C.C. Beck/Pete Costanza art shop. [TM & © DC Comics.]

142 | THE FAMILY WAY

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Chapter XIII

Winners All! The Short Happy Golden Age Life Of The All Winners Squad

by Roy Thomas arvel Mystery Comics had one of Timely’s most inventive names—but there’s one pair of four-color issues from back in the mid-1940s that would’ve fit its moniker even better than the original Torch-and-Namor-starring magazine did.

M

I’m talking, of course, about All Winners Comics #19 and #21, both of which hit the nation’s newsstands in 1946.

All Winners had begun life (after a last-minute name change from All-Aces Comics) as publisher Martin Goodman’s entry in the superomnibus sweepstakes—i.e., taking several of a company’s most popular characters and tossing them into solo stories in an additional mag that showcased several of them on its covers, along the lines of DC’s World’s Finest Comics, Comic Cavalcade, and the first two issues of All-Star. As a 10¢ comic, All Winners more closely followed the pattern of All-Star, since the other two DC mags cost a fast triple-nickel each.

When I asked Stan about that super-hero team concept in 1999 for Marvel’s facsimile reprint edition of All Winners #19, I was unsurprised to learn that the co-creator of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, et al., had no memory of the short-lived series at all. “I suspect,” he told me, “that Martin Goodman was the guy behind the All Winners Squad. It’s not the type of title I’d have made up. I think he simply must have said to me one day, ‘I wanna do a book featuring the Torch, Toro, C.A., etc.—and let’s call it The All Winners Squad.’ In which case I woulda just gotten the stuff together and sent it out. But honestly, although I remember the title, I can remember nothing else about it. If I had ever suspected there’d one day be a Roy Thomas who delved into the past this way, I swear I’d have kept notes!”

While All-Star switched with its third issue to an entirely new concept and format, introducing the Justice Society of America, All Winners didn’t follow its lead—though surely there were readers back in 1941 who wished it had! After all, Timely had already pioneered the crossover story by having The Human Torch and Sub-Mariner slug it out in issues of Marvel Mystery and the Torch’s own title. Instead, its covers spotlighted the company’s “Big Three”—the Torch, Prince Namor, and the even more popular Captain America—with The Destroyer and the mongoosespeedy Whizzer added for good measure.

For reasons we’ll probably never know, however, in 1946 Timely editor Stan Lee, recently returned from stateside Army duty during World War II, put together two issues of All Winners starring the very, very JSA-like All Winners Squad.

Splish Splash The cover of All Winners Comics #19 was seen in ASCV1, so here’s the splash page, which was probably at least partly the work of Timely mainstay Syd Shores (photo at top left).

The script was by Bill Finger (center); Stan Lee (bottom) was the editor. Repro’d from the 1999 facsimile reprint, which was shot directly from the comic book itself as opposed to having the art and lettering retouched. [© Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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claim (and there’s no reason not to believe him) to seminal comics researcher Jerry Bails in the 1960s, when the latter was prepping what soon became the original print edition of The Who’s Who of American Comic Books.

The artist or, more likely, artists of that first 43-page All Winners Squad story have proved a lot harder to pin down, for purposes of giving credit where credit is due. Various folks I’ve spoken with over the years—from the late great artist Gil Kane to such experts as Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, et al.—concur in feeling that regular Captain America Comics illustrator Syd Shores had a hand in the art. So perhaps, Gil felt, did Charles Nicholas, though he was less certain about that. The chances are that a number of artists worked on the issue, both as pencilers and as inkers.

The story itself is the true star, however. In 1946 AllStar was still riding high as one of DC’s better-selling titles, but few stories Gardner Fox had written for the JSA were better than “The Crime of the Ages!” The “Ages” in question were those of mankind itself—Ice, Stone, Bronze, Iron, and Steel—though their order in the comic book was somewhat random. The mystery villain called himself “Isbisa,” an acronym utilizing the first letters of the names of those five ages—plus the “Atomic” Age. There’s no need to go into detail here about the plot, since the 1999 reprint edition can easily be acquired— except to say that, right off the bat, Bill Finger set out to be a bit different from his confreres over at DC. Instead of the Torch and Toro being a team, as per usual, Toro stomped It’s Not Only Politics… off with Sub-Mariner after the sea prince was accused by Namor and Toro made a relatively unusual team—not unlike some of the matchings in his fellow Squadders of being the secret super-villain DC’s Leading Comics #10 a few years earlier. [© Marvel Characters, Inc.] “Isbisa.” (Subby wuz framed, by the planting of a note signed “romaN”—pretty subtle, huh? It’s “Namor” spelled (Quoted in Marvel’s Timely Presents: All Winners [Dec. 1999].) backward—but then, creator Bill Everett always said he came up with his hero’s name by writing the word “Roman” backward.) This I truly wish you had, Stan—but then, I have quite a few holes in falling-out among friends turned Namor and Toro into a temporary my own memories of my professional work, and with far less reason team—and the adult Torch into a solo act—till the avenging group reand accomplishment. assembled at the end to defeat and unmask Isbisa.

The format of those two All Winners issues was basically the same as that in All-Star #3-57: a number of Timely’s best-known super-heroes had formed a team, which worked as a group at the beginning and end of each issue, and broke into smaller units in the magazine-length story’s middle chapters. Like the JSA, the Squad had no origin or backstory. When All Winners Comics #19 (Fall 1946) went on sale in the summer of that year, this “gang of seven” was already operating: The Human Torch and his young ally Toro… Captain America and kid sidekick Bucky… Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner… the super-powered Miss America (no relation to any beauty contest champ)… and The Whizzer.

The writer of All Winners #19 was Bill Finger, co-creator of Batman, Green Lantern, and Wildcat for DC/AA. Finger himself was the source of that information, having made the

148 | WINNERS ALL!

No Round Table Here!

The seven soldiers of Stan Lee reconvened for the final chapter of All Winners #19, with Cap definitely in charge. [© Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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Chapter XV

Infinity, Inc. The 1980s Career Of The Sons, Daughters, And Heirs Of The Justice Society

by Kurt Mitchell & Roy Thomas

RT’s Introductory Note:

I

wish I could say I was the first person to come up with the notion of creating a super-hero group made up of the offspring of the original JSA. But that honor probably goes to comics fan (and later pro artist/writer) Larry Ivie, who has written that he proposed it to DC editor Julius Schwartz in the late 1950s, at a time when the Silver Age Flash was just receiving his own title and a second Green Lantern had only begun to wave around a new kind of Power Ring.

Larry called his concept “The Justice Legion of the World.”

What little is known of the Justice Legion was related in Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #1 (Summer 1999), in my article on “The Secret Origins of Infinity, Inc.” That and a follow-up piece in A/E #44 (Jan. 2005) related the story of how, in the fall of 1982, my wife Dann and I independently birthed our own concept of an assemblage of the sons and daughters (and a few other heirs) of the Golden Age/Earth-Two JSAers. I immediately christened it “The Centurions,” only to learn

ere long that that title had been preempted by an upcoming animated TV series. Dann soon suggested the name “Infinity, Inc.”—and a new DC Comics title was born (although the comma never quite made it onto either logo or indicia).

Sadly, there is no space in this volume to retell that process of creation, which of course to some extent built upon what had been done with prior characters Power Girl (cousin of the Earth-Two Superman) and The Huntress (daughter of E2’s Batman), both of whom had debuted in the late-1970s revival of All-Star Comics—and who themselves became charter members of Infinity. Sadder still, there’s no room to reproduce the wonderful conceptual sketches done

by Mike Machlan and Jerry Ordway after they were piped aboard as artists and de facto co-creators of the new series. For all of that, you’ll have to order from TwoMorrows Publishing copies of A/E #44 and/or the trade paperback The Alter Ego Collection, Vol. 1, which reprints the out-of-print A/E V3#1-2.

One point needs to be made up front, however. As originally conceived, Infinity, Inc. was a series set on Earth-Two, that parallel

Ninepins—Or Tenpins?

This 1983 pinup/panel by Mike Machlan (pencils) & Jerry Ordway (inks) was prepared for an Annual, but saw print in All-Star Squadron #28. Included are the nine charter members of Infinity, Inc., plus one, and minus future team leader The Star-Spangled Kid. (Left to right, flying at top:) Fury, Obsidian, Northwind.

(L. to r., on ground:) Power Girl, La Garra (the projected motorcycle-riding heroine destined to morph into the second-generation Wildcat), Silver Scarab, Nuklon, Brainwave Jr., Huntress. Jade is seen swooping in front of Nuklon. Thanks to Jerry O. for the black-&-white photocopy. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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world where the 1940s-born Justice Society of America, rather than the Justice League of America, held sway. When a corporate decision was made at DC to do away with Earth-Two and other parallel worlds in the mid-1980s, the Infinitors (as we called them for short), like the

JSA itself, became a part of Earth-One continuity… which forced a bit of retroactive continuity alteration on one or two of the younger super-heroes. But you’ll learn all about that as we rocket along.

There follows the key to abbreviations used in the listings to come:

KEY: AT = Atom; BC = Black Canary; BM = Batman; BW = Brainwave, Jr.; CA = Crimson Avenger; CS = Commander Steel; DD = Dan the DynaMite; DF = Dr. Fate; DM = Dr. Mid-Nite; DM/F = Dr. Midnight; FB = Firebrand; FF = Flying Fox; FL = Flash; FY = Fury (Lyta Trevor); FY/1 = Fury (Helena Kosmatos); GA = Green Arrow; GL = Green Lantern; HG = Hawkgirl; HM = Hawkman; HO = Hourman (Rex Tyler); HO/2 = Hourman (Rick Tyler); HU = Huntress; IM = “Iron” Munro; JA = Jade; JQ = Johnny Quick; JT = Johnny Thunder; JT/F = Jonni Thunder; LB = Liberty Belle; MB = Mr. Bones; MH = Manhunter (Paul Kirk); MH/Q = Manhunter (Dan Richards); MI = Miss America; NO = Northwind; NU = Nuklon; OB = Obsidian; PG = Power Girl; RM = Robotman; RO = Robin; SA = Sandman (Wes Dodds); SC = Silver Scarab/Sandman III; SK = Shining Knight; SM = Starman; SN = Sandy the Golden Boy; SP = Spectre; SS = Star-Spangled Kid (from #31 on, he’s called Skyman, but we’ve kept the “SS” designation);ST = Stripesy; SU = Superman; TA = Tarantula; TB = Thunderbolt; VG = Vigilante; WC = Wildcat (Ted Grant); WC/F = Wildcat (Yolanda Montez); WI = Wing; WW = Wonder Woman. Other abbreviations: (w) = writer; (pl) = plot; (d) = script (dialogue & captions); (a) = art; (p) = penciler; (i) = inker.

Infinity, Inc.—Issue By Issue The heroes of Infinity, Inc., were introduced over the course of four issues of All-Star Squadron, in which the youths time-traveled back to early 1942 to foil the plans of The Brain Wave: #24 (Aug. 1983, which featured only Brainwave Jr.); #25 (Sept. 1983, with the first appearances of Silver Scarab, Fury, Nuklon, Northwind, Jade, and Obsidian, and the first use of the name “Infinity, Inc.”); #26 (Oct. 1983); and All-Star Squadron Annual #2 (1983, at the end of which the Infinitors returned to that year). Since those four comics were discussed in detail in ASCV2, they are not covered here. Instead, we

start with the first issue of the Infinity, Inc. title itself.

[CREDITS NOTE: Roy and Dann Thomas are listed as co-plotters on all issues of Infinity, Inc. through #21, and as co-writers on all subsequent issues, so there’s no reason to list them 56 times. In point of fact, however, Dann, uncredited for same for technical reasons, also scripted a first draft of the dialogue and captions on most if not all of the first 21 issues, even though Roy is officially credited as "writer" on those stories. A minor point: Each issue’s splash page sports a quotation of film dialogue related to something in the story to come.]

INFINITY, INC. #1 (March 1984) COVER: Mike Machlan (p) & Jerry Ordway (i), Infinity figures; Ordway (a) JSA art in bkgd. “photo,” reprinted from a pinup in AllStar Squadron Annual #2 STORY: “Generations!” – 24 pp.

ARTISTS: Jerry Ordway (p) & Mike Machlan (i) STARRING: BW (disguised as his father), FY, JA, NW, NU, OB, SC GUEST-STARRING: AT, DF, DM, FL, GL, HM, HO, HU, JT, PG, RO, SM, SS, WC, WW (Cameos: FB as Danette Reilly, HG, MT, SA, SP)

164 | INFINITY, INC.

Hippolyta (Lyta) Trevor had made her debut a year earlier, in Wonder Woman #300. In that multi-chapter special, she begs the newly arrived Wonder Woman of Earth-One to help her train for super-herodom, as her mother—the Golden Age/Earth-Two Wonder Woman—has already been doing. Script by Roy & Danette (later Dann) Thomas; pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Dick Giordano. Thanks to Frode Dreir for the scan. [TM & © DC Comics.]

[© DC Comics]

SYNOPSIS: Four tyro super-heroes—Silver Scarab, Fury, Northwind, and Nuklon, each a son, daughter, or protégé of a Justice Society member—crash a JSA emergency meeting on Christmas Eve and demand admission to the team. The youths hold their own during a skirmish, and their origins are largely made known. Two more youngsters, calling themselves Jade and Obsidian, arrive and claim to be the offspring of the (bachelor) Green Lantern. A vote of the JSAers on the question of membership goes against the newcomers. The dejected applicants leave, and a sympathetic Power Girl and Huntress walk out in protest—moments before JSAHQ is attacked by The Brain Wave.

The Wonder Years

NOTES: • Infinity, Inc., does not yet exist as a group in this story and is referenced only in the comic’s title.

• Fury, daughter of Wonder Woman and General Steve Trevor, was introduced as Lyta Trevor in Wonder Woman #300 (Feb. 1983), also written by Roy & Dann Thomas.

• Hector Hall (The Silver Scarab) is the son of Carter and Shiera Hall. His armor is made of ninth metal, the same substance that allows his parents to fly as Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

• Albert Rothstein (Nuklon) is the son of Terri Rothstein (nee Kurtzberger), the daughter of the WWII-era super-villain Cyclotron, and goddaughter of The Atom

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Addendum

by Ye Editor

The Secreted Origins In addition to five of the last seven stories in All-Star Squadron which had once been slated to appear in Secret Origins (see p. 211)— and of course the Starman origin in Squadron #41, which probably helped inspire the series in the first place—there were several other stories plotted by Ye Editor and penciled by various artists for future issues of SO. These were unceremoniously shelved when the decision

was made not to feature any more Golden Age stories (except for The Gay/Grim Ghost) in the magazine. Detailed synopses and photocopies of the pencils still exist for five of these—and there may be a synopsis or two lurking somewhere in Ye Editor’s drawers that were never illustrated.

Following is a brief panorama of what might have been:

Hawkgirl In All-Star Comics #5 (Summer ’41), Shiera Sanders dressed up in a spare Hawkman outfit (plus halter top) just long enough to get herself shot—but in Flash Comics #24 (Dec. ’41) she became Hawkgirl in earnest, as seen in the panels above, repro’d from the giant-size, all-reprint Superman #252 (June 1972). Well, actually, she christened herself Hawkwoman—but it would take several decades for that appellation to catch on, and then it would be applied only to her Earth-One counterpart. Script by Gardner Fox, art by Sheldon Moldoff, both of whom can be seen elsewhere in this volume.

The plots of those two stories were combined in the late 1980s for a “Secret Origin of Hawkgirl” story (as per panel at right), but it was never published. Pencils by Howard Simpson. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Ray Next up would’ve been The Ray, who’d first appeared in Quality’s Smash Comics #14 (Sept. 1940), drawn by Lou Fine. Seen at left is a Ray panel from an unidentified issue of Smash, probably by Fine. Writer unknown. [The Ray TM & © DC Comics.]

Gil Kane, who was almost as great a Lou Fine fan as Murphy Anderson, redrew The Ray’s origin (above) for another “lost” half-issue of Secret Origins, from a synopsis by RT. These are only pencil breakdowns, because Gil would have inked the final product, as he had the Midnight tale in #28. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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Firebrand (No, Not The Danette Reilly Version) Firebrand never set much of a blaze in Quality’s Police Comics after he began there with the first issue, cover-dated August 1941, even with art by Reed Crandall (photo at right)—nor did he have anything resembling an origin. Thanks to Michael Norwitz for the scan from Police #1. The photo of Reed Crandall appeared in the Catholic comic book Treasure Chest, Vol. 18, #1 (1963). [Firebrand TM & © DC Comics.]

Gil Kane and RT set out to give Firebrand a backstory, which was set partly in the Shanghai of the late 1930s, when China had been invaded by Imperial Japan. Gil’s layout panels directly below show the hero going into action for the first time back in the United States. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Sandman & Sandy Team Yeah, we know we’d done a Sandman origin already, back in SO #7—but that didn’t cover the origin of Sandy the Golden Boy, or tell how Sandman gained both a spiffy new costume and a kid partner all in the same issue of Adventure Comics (#69, Dec. 1941), as seen at left. Bob Kane-style art credited to Paul Norris (pencils—seen in photo) & Chad Grothkopf (inks); scripter unknown.

Howard Simpson, who had also drawn the Dr. Occult origin earlier, penciled an “Origin of the Sandman & Sandy Team” that was never published. Seen below is a panel in which the new twosome battle the giant bees seen in Adventure #69.

[Panels © DC Comics; photo © Charlie Roberts.]

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PART FOUR – Afterword

ALL-STAR COMICS And Me A Personal Journey, 1945 to ?

After putting together—though not without considerable assistance—four volumes, well over 900 pages, devoted to the Justice Society of America and their friends and relations between 1940 and 1989, it occurred to me that there was one particular yarn related to All-Star that I still wanted to spin. Namely, my own. Thus, I hope the reader will indulge me— and perhaps even recognize a moment or three of shared experience—as I tell, as briefly as I can manage it, the story of how I felt about All-Star, issue by issue, as I first encountered them between 1945 and 1951—and how they impacted me even after the title had ceased publication, culminating, of course, in All-Star Squadron and other series I developed at DC in the 1980s.

M

by Roy Thomas

Young Love

ost JSA fans my age, or slightly older or younger, vividly remember which was the first issue of All-Star Comics they ever saw. My late friend Jerry Bails, for instance, recalled that his first glimpse of the Justice Society was issue #6, in which Johnny Thunder was initiated as the

Ad Hoc (Above:) A photo of the Thomas family: Leona & Roy (Sr.), Roy (Jr.) and Katy. It was taken Feb. 17, 1946, when this book’s editor was five, his sister 1½ .

The AA house ad at left, taken from All-American Comics #65 (MarchApril 1945), may be where young Roy first glimpsed the cover of AllStar Comics #24, rather than seeing the actual mag.

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, CLICK THE LINK The ad at right, from All-American #67 (July-Aug. 1945), shows part of BELOW TO ORDER THIS BOOK! the cover of All-Star #25, as well as

ALL-STAR COMPANION VOL. 4

those of Green Lantern #16, Wonder Woman #13, and other comics he remembers having in the summer of that year. [TM & © DC Comics.]

replacement for The Flash. On p. 7 of this volume, Jim Harmon says his Colossal coverage of the Golden Age ALL-STAR first issue was #5—while Ted White reported in 1960’s Xero #2 that #33 COMICS! Sensational secrets of the JUNIOR was his first close encounter of the All-Star kind. (See p. 10.)

JUSTICE SOCIETY! An index of the complete solo Myself, I’ve never been 100% positive which All-Star I encountered adventures of all 18 original JSAers in their own first.

It was probably #25, “The Mystery of the Forgotten Crime,” with its features, from 1940 to 1951! The JSA’s earliest vivid cover showing all seven JSAers attacking a symbolically gigantic redimitators (Seven Soldiers of Victory, All Winners hooded figure. Certainly I recall poring over that issue at age 4½ , in what Squad, Marvel Family, and International Crime would’ve been the spring of 1945… even if at that stage I had to have my Patrol)! INFINITY, INC. on Earth-Two and after!

And the 1980s SECRET ORIGINS series! With rare mother read the story to me. I remember talking with someone—another art by ALEX ROSS, TODD McFARLANE, JERRY kid, I think—and explaining that what I liked about it was that all these ORDWAY, CARMINE INFANTINO, JOE KUBERT, heroes were together in one big group.

ALEX TOTH, GIL KANE, MURPHY ANDERSON, IRWIN HASEN, MORT MESKIN, GENE COLAN, WAYNE BORING, GEORGE TUSKA, And DONyet… and yet…

NEWTON, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, GEORGE FREEMAN, JACK BURNLEY, MIKE MACHLAN, When, during the first spurt of super-hero comics fandom in the early HOWARD CHAYKIN, DICK DILLIN, and others. With a new JERRY ORDWAY cover!

1960s, I finally renewed my acquaintance with many of the long-lost comics of my extreme youth and saw a copy of All-Star #24, which had come out (240-page trade paperback) $27.95 three months before #25, I found its cover, which depicted the JSA watching http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=95_71&products_id=778

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