Gorilla Daze

Interesting ad here from early 1968. Mainly because there really wasn’t a “new” Superman in 1968 — that didn’t happen for another 2-3 years and the arrival of Jack Kirby, or, if you prefer, when Julie Schwartz and Denny O’Neil assumed the reigns of the Man of Steel. For the remainder of the 60s and much of 1970, Mort Weisinger remained firmly in charge, just as he had for the whole of the previous decade.His talents were in decline by this time though and he apparently threatened to resign every year like clockwork, only to be persuaded to stay with a healthy pay rise.

True, there were a few changes in style, a nod to the changing times, and the stories became book-length rather than shorter tales, but hardly anything major. So I dunno what the “new” thing is all about — perhaps just a bit of clever marketing, eh?

Image ©2010 DC Comics

Was there ever anything more embarrassing than a relative pulling out photos of your baby pictures to show the world? Here, Superman discovers just what that feels like as his cousin excitedly shares “a whole issue devoted to our adventures as super babies!” Crumbs! — you’ve gotta feel for the poor guy!

This is an ad for Superman #212 (Dec 1968), which was an 80-Page Giant  chock full of the super cousins’ toddling days. Because Superbaby was already well established as the little Superman, the nappy-clad Supergirl was saddled with the descriptive, but somewhat clumsy, “girl Superbaby” appellation.

Jerry Siegel’s original notion for Superboy was Superman as a very young, and very naughty toddler in tales of mischief, mayhem and mirth. I suspect it’s just as well that these ideas never came to full fruition — what we did get was daft enough! That said, these stories are a lot of fun and make for a charming read.

Image ©2010 DC Comics

Late-60s ad for the Action Hero line, featuring most of Charlton’s super-heroes. Four of these guys went on to be used as the basis for Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen series twenty years later. Captain Atom became Dr Manhattan; Peacemaker (he loves peace so much, he’s willing to fight for it) became the Comedian; Blue Beetle became Night Owl; and Thunderbolt became Ozymandias. Poor old Judo Master, eh — always the last to be invited to a party. Other Action Heroes not included here were the Question (Rorshach) and the sole distaff member, Nightshade (Silk Spectre).

The Action Heroes line was the brainchild of Charlton editor-in-chief Dick Giordano, and saw the Connecticut publisher giving a mighty push to try and challenge the super-hero dominance of DC and Marvel. Most memorably Steve Ditko worked on Captain Atom and completely overhauled the moribund Blue Beetle, as well as creating the Question. All those are worth a look, the others perhaps not so much. Poor distribution, and Giordano’s move to DC Comics put an end to the experiment.

Image ©2010 Charlton/the respective copyright holder

A simple, yet effective, full page ad for DC’s Flash #184 (December 1968). Ross Andru provided the stark layout of the featured cover, which is certainly an eye-grabber.  I was never much of a fan of the Flash, so I can’t tell you why it’s the most tragic day in the Scarlet Speedster’s life — but this image makes me want to go and read the issue! You can’t ask more of a cover — or ad — than that.

Image ©2010 DC Comics

Sgt Rock somehow finds himself the centre of attention as the bullseye in this ad. Surely those combat-happy joes of Easy Company wouldn’t really be found throwing darts at their beloved leader? Our Army at War was, of course, the long-term home of DC’s premier soldier, only changing its title to reflect the name of its star in the late-1970s. This ad comes from OAAW #220, the period when the book, under the firm editorial control of Joe Kubert, was probably at its strongest. Kubert often provided the art himself, though Russ Heath provided a lot of the work too, with Sam Glanzman ably supporting. Remember: Make War No More!

Image ©2010 DC Comics

Lightning Comics was a short-lived outfit from the mid-1960s. In addition to the equally daft Fatman, the Human Flying Saucer, they also published this oddity: the adventures of one Tod Holton aka the Super Green Beret. Young Tod gains amazing super-powers when he puts on a magic hat given to him by a mysterious monk. Really. “Action like no action ever before”.

Indeed.

Yes, it is as silly as it sounds. Naturally enough, it lasted just two issues (one more than you might’ve suspected, eh?), and we’ll be taking a closer look at them in the near future. Fatman too.

Image ©2010 the copyright holder

Following a couple of years in the wilderness (ie. Charlton) Steve Ditko returned to the big time at DC in 1968. His new concepts for the company included The Hawk and the Dove (a none too subtle comment on the anti-Vietnam war feelings then sweeping the nation), and the subject of this ad: The Creeper. Given a debut outing in Showcase, the somewhat madcap character quickly gained his own series, Beware the Creeper. It ran for six issues, all of which benefited from Ditko’s magical art. Most issues were scripted by Denny O’Neil, a Charlton alumnus himself, and former Charlton editor in chief Dick Giordano wielded the blue pencil, a job for which he was specifically recommended by Ditko.

Subsequent to the book’s cancellation, DC didn’t really know what to do with the Creeper, so he generally pops up in guest slots and backups — if he appears at all. But those initial outings are worth a look. Handily, they have recently been collected.

Image ©2010 DC Comics

Though it ran but 5 issues in 1968, Captain Action was a damn fine comic. It was based on a rather obscure, but in some quarters fondly remembered, doll (or perhaps that ought to be “action figure” in these more sensitive times) manufactured by Ideal. The doll’s big selling point — or not, as it was only in production for a couple of years — was that he could be dressed up as a variety of characters. Captain America, the Lone Ranger, Batman and Flash Gordon were just a few of the groovy alternate guises of ol’ Action.

In the comics things were a bit different as obvious trademark issues meant that the Captain was unable to pull the changing routine, and so a new origin was devised. Here, Action could choose between the powers of various gods of mythology bestowed upon him by mystical coinage. Might not sound too great, but the comic was blessed by a spectacular trio of creators. Jim Shooter, then just in his mid-teens, wrote the first couple of issues, while Wally Wood provided the art. Both were succeeded by a brilliantly on-form Gil Kane — occasionally inked by Wood — who acted as writer-artist for the remainder of the run.

A beautiful comic, well worth seeking out.

Not only did DC try the large-size tabloid format in the early 70s, they also went to the other extreme and gave tiny comics a go. While the Laurel and Hardy digest never appeared, this Tarzan one did. At a 164 pages, it packed an entertainment wallop well above its size. Behind the Joe Kubert cover — Kubert was then well and truly in his element as the editor, writer, and artist of the regular Tarzan comic — is a selection of Russ Manning Sunday pages from the newspaper strip. Later, in an effort to save money, and get ahead of deadlines, Kubert used further Manning and Hal Foster strips as fill-in issues.

All great stuff, but the format was apparently ahead of its time: this was the only issue. It seems a lot of the run never even made it out of the warehouse. Much later in the decade DC would return to the digest format with far greater success.

Tarzan ©2010 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc