Number 414


Miss America and the Shocker


Miss America, as the blurb on page one of this story tells us, is 16-year-old Madeline Joyce. In the best comic book tradition, Madeline had an accident in her scientist uncle's lab and got super powers. This particular story is from Miss America #2, 1944, a different format from issue #1, which was a standard comic book. In #2 Miss America, the super-heroine, was featured in this one story, while the magazine was filled out with other features that would appeal to girls. "Comics. Movies. Stories. Charm."

Speaking of charm, the cover girl, according to the Grand Comics Database, is Dolores Conlon. She looks several years older than Madeline's 16. The use of the photo is to give it a non-comics look, a technique Timely used in the 1940s on several of their titles. The toothsome Dolores was sure to draw attention on a crowded newsstand. I'm sure a lot of girls bought this issue, but I wouldn't doubt quite a few boys bought it also.

The artwork on the story is credited by Grand Comics Database to Ken Bald.

I took these scans from the Internet. According to the "properties" of this jpeg file, I originally downloaded it in 2003, from a site devoted to just this heroine. I am unable to find the site now, nor do I know who did the scans. If you know, please tell us so we can give proper credit.

The only thing I did was enlarge the pages from 500 pixels to 650 pixels, which is easier for me to read. I also posted another story from the aforementioned website, from Miss America Comics #1. You can see it here.

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Number 413


The cross-dressing killer


I'm A Cop was a series from Magazine Enterprises (ME) that went three issues in 1954. This is issue #3, entirely illustrated by Bob Powell.

Powell's art looks a little different to me than in either Harvey Comics or ME of the era, where his work appeared frequently. He might have been using different assistants, or at least he approached the job differently. It looks like tracings of photos were used for some of the backgrounds, and each story has silhouetted figures in some of the panels, which is stylistically different than other Powell artwork I've seen.

I like the gritty look of the artwork. The story is more a cop procedural than the usual type of crime comic book. The killer is a cross-dresser; the word "transvestite" isn't used in the story, and the killer, Denim, does make a date with the policewoman. Maybe he's just confused about his identity...?

Feminists will love the panel on page 2 where the caption reads: "She was a policewoman--with a big, fat yearning to play detective, and in my book woman's place is in the home." That reminds me of the Lady Danger stories I've shown. As is typical with those stories, the male chauvinist is shown up by the gal he thinks belongs "in the home."

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Review: Justice League of America: The Injustice League collected hardcover (DC Comics)

Much as I was looking forward to Dwayne McDuffie's post Justice League Unlimited work on the main comic book series, I unfortunately found myself disappointed. There are certainly some bright spots to Justice League of America: The Injustice League, but for the most part I found it lacking in depth and even much characterization beyond the surface level. Some might argue that Brad Meltzer spent too much time exploring the emotions and history of the Justice League, but I found McDuffie's first arc in contrast to be too much story and not enough meaning.

McDuffie offers a plot here that's not terribly different from Justice League stories past, in which the DC Universe villains form a counterpart Injustice League to take revenge on the heroes. McDuffie does a nice riff on Meltzer's "trading cards" membership drive from Justice League of America #0--with Lex Luthor, the Joker, and Cheetah in the roles of the Big Three--and there's a cheap thrill in the villains calling themselves "Injustice League Unlimited" and meeting in the Hall of Doom--ultimately McDuffie's plot comes off as uninspired.

The similarities between the Justice and Injustice Leagues--which is always a fun element, as in Grant Morrison's JLA: Rock of Ages--end here with the Big Three. In addition, though many scenes and cover images promise a near veritable army of villains to take on the League, the climactic scene offers only a handful, and of these few real powerhouses or headliners--they fight Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze, for instance, while Circe, Bizarro, Zoom and others never show up.

Moreover, Injustice League lacked a real sense of DC Comics history. Black Lightning makes reference to having worked for Lex Luthor, but the two never actually have a meaningful confrontation; similarly, John Stewart makes a passing reference to Fatality having a Sinestro Corps ring, though McDuffie hardly differentiates her otherwise from any of the other generic villains present. Wonder Woman faces off against Giganta and Cheetah, but makes no mention of their long histories; neither does Hawkgirl show any recognition of Shadow Thief. In the end, it seems less like DC heroes versus DC villains than a cookie cutter superhero showdown, and I expect more from Justice League of America.

Probably the best chapter of Injustice League is the first, where McDuffie weaves the Injustice League's initial attack in and around the events of Green Arrow/Black Canary: The Wedding Album. Like The Wedding Album, the story offers an interesting take on the logistics of how hospitals handle injured superheroes; as well, I'm pleased to see McDuffie folding that injured hero, Firestorm, into the Justice League.

I did appreciate that McDuffie picks up on Meltzer's trailing plotlines, offering a nice scene between Vixen and Superman about her missing powers, and also acknowledging Red Tornado's troubles. At the same time, McDuffie's seems hardly to know what to do with Geo-Force, knocking the character out early on and giving him barely a line the rest of the time. As well, though I like having John Stewart in the League, it robs us of the Hal Jordan/Red Arrow relationship that was at the center of Meltzer's initial League. And I also felt new chairman Black Canary got short shrift in the story, with her decisions often superseded by Superman, Batman, and John Stewart among others.

McDuffie's still going strong on the League as of this review, so there's plenty of time for me to warm up to his writing. Here's hoping I like the next one better than this!

[Contains full covers.]

On back now to Countdown, I think, and we'll see where we go from there.

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Number 412


II from WWII


The second bananas filled up the comics during World War II, and like the main superheroes they fought the enemies of America. They took their lumps and doled out plenty of punishment, but never made it to the lead spot. This pair, the Vision and the Patriot, are a good example of those back-of-the-book types: "They also serve who don't make the cover spot." At the time in Marvel Mystery Comics, where these stories are from, Alex Schomburg was doing the covers, which usually featured Human Torch melting through a wall and about to fry some Japanese or Nazis.

I scanned these two backup stories from a reprint, Captain George's Comic World #23 & #24, a double issue from 1969. George was a Canadian store owner and publisher of old comics material. These are from Marvel Mystery Comics #41, March 1943. The artwork, according to the Grand Comics Database, is credited to Syd Shores. The Sub-Mariner story from that issue is here.

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Review: Green Arrow/Black Canary: The Wedding Album collected hardcover (DC Comics)

[Contains spoilers for Green Arrow/Black Canary: The Wedding Album.]

I admit, I wondered if the DC Universe really needed a Green Arrow/Black Canary series, and Road to the Altar, while enjoyable overall, really didn't put the value of this series over the top for me. In Green Arrow/Black Canary: The Wedding Album, however, regular writer Judd Winick returns, and he writes a story that's so sharp, so easily moving, that this series is now on my must-buy list.

Winick writes a Green Arrow/Black Canary story here that, with it's exotic locales and daring escapes, seems almost more suited for the bride's family, Birds of Prey, than the groom's. The main story is helped tremendously by Cliff Chiang's art, with wide open lines that give equal majesty to urban rooftops and tropical islands. The Arrow family must free the kidnapped Oliver Queen in a heist operation that's far more Indiana Jones than Ocean's Eleven, but just the big-screen nature of it is a joy to behold.

This story also contains an amazing amount of emotion, perhaps far more crying and bemoaning of past bad choices than the Green Arrow title's ever seen before. It's to Winick's credit that he makes this work, in part by portraying Ollie as the next step in his evolution as a fighting liberal hippie; as tough as Ollie is, he's not afraid to express his emotions (even, as his family teases, to the annoyance of the people around him). This makes for a story that gets surprisingly sappy quickly, but also that contains far more depth than just a smart-talking slugfest.

I was additionally impressed with how Winick used the rest of the DC Universe in this story. The Green Arrow/Black Canary wedding featured a who's who of heroes, of course (though at times Amanda Conner's art became so cartoony I had trouble telling some heroes from others), but Winick also remained aware throughout the issues of Green Arrow's long history as a hero, and Black Canary's place in the Justice League. Hal Jordan appears to be a regular fixture in this title, as well he should be, along with Batman; it was also quite moving when, in a fit of desperation late in the story, Ollie cries out to Superman for help.

Oliver decides to retire his Green Arrow persona toward the end of this story, a move that I doubt any reader believes will actually remain the case. Having Ollie retire, however, opens Winick to hold a real wedding in the end, that of Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance rather than Green Arrow and Black Canary. I felt at the beginning of this book that the wedding ceremony passed too quick; we learn at the end that it's because Winick saves the best for last. It's not just the first chapter, but this entire book that's a wedding album, and Winick exceeded my expectations for this tale.

[Contains full covers.]

The Green Arrow/Black Canary wedding action doesn't stop, as we check in next with the Justice League ... or, that is, the Injustice League. See you soon!

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Number 411


See some evil, hear some evil, speak some evil...


Al Williamson drew this curious fable for Boris Karloff Tales Of Mystery #11, September 1965. I say curious because it wants to be a cautionary tale using the familiar "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," but strains credulity for a moral. Despite that, Williamson's artwork is always worth a look.

This is for reader Juan, from Spain, who wrote me recently with some requests. I find requests hard to do because I don't have a lot of what people are requesting. But Juan said he really likes Williamson, so here you are, my friend.

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