Superman: The War Years 1938-1945

I've been watching the new World War II docuseries on History Channel hosted by Tom Hanks. Having a history degree, along with my culinary degree, modern pop culture history from 1938-on has been my focus of study for going on 30 years. Thus, being inspired by the show's very holistic approach to the war, I decided it was time to return to Roy Thomas's 3-volume look at DC's trinity and their impact on the war at home and abroad.

I had already read the volume on Batman. So it was up to either reading about Superman or Wonder Woman. With the new Supergirl movie coming out, I used that to break the tie as Superman has a cameo in the film. Don't worry, Princess Diana, your time is coming!

The origins of Superman were basically forged in the furnace of war. His very first story sees the Man of Steel running afoul of war profiteering. Ending with a cliffhanger, the story concludes in Action Comics #2, with Superman forcing the American arms dealer to enlist in the European army that he's been selling weapons to in hopes of achieving an ah-ha moment regarding the error of his ways much like the ghosts do to Ebenezer Scrooge.

Being the world's most powerful man at the time, Superman could easily end the war in a blink of an eye. In fact, there's an imaginary story that poses such a question. But in reality, Superman's might caused a problem for his creative team. Thus, Superman stayed stateside. Having accidentally failed his physical, Clark Kent was tasked to cover the war effort for the Daily Planet, touring military bases and observing maneuvers. Only when mistakes happened did Superman secretly appear to keep up the morale of our fighting forces. If Superman did make a public appearance to the troops it was mostly in an USO-type capacity that showed off his astounding feats of wonder.

There's even a newspaper story included in which a summit between Hitler and Superman is arranged by the State Department. Adolf, along with Himmler, Göring and Goebbels don Superman suits in hopes of swaying the Man of Tomorrow to the Nazi cause. It would be hilarious if not for the fact that those 4 Ratzis were responsible for the death of millions of innocent Jews and gentiles throughout Europe. 

Throughout the book, Roy Thomas offers commentary on how Superman evolved from his inception in 1938, right as Germany is sweeping into Poland through America's entry into the war after the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the arrival of actual G-men when a Superman newspaper script came too close to revealing the secrets of the Manhattan Project. (Deemed classified, we never see the script.) Finally by August of 1945, the conflict came to an end and with it, the last of Superman's contribution to the war effort. 

This is a fantastic book, full of stories and covers that I've never seen before and I have read a ton of Superman stories. I'm not at Mark Waid level, but I have read quite a few Golden and Silver Age Supes tales. I'm eager to see how Wonder Woman helped the allies win the war...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out 10 stars.

Essential Avengers Vol. 3

There's a singular reason to own this book. Sure, if you've got volumes 1-3, you're going to want volume #4. But even if you weren't interested in the material of Essential Avengers Volume 1-3, if you are a fan of the Marvel universe, and you don't mind your reprints in black and white, you will want to own this book because of the Kree-Skrull War!

There have been several cosmic brouhahas in the multitude of pages coming from Marvel Comics. But to truly understand the origin of those conflicts, such as Annihilation, you've got to delve into the adventures of Earth's Mightiest Heroes from 1969-1971. 

Never to be an Avenger Rick Jones finally gets a chance to be a hero. Only because of a strange twist of fate, the one time Hulk sidekick isn't allowed to be his own man. Instead, a pair of cosmically powered bracelets force Rick to become bonded to the Kree warrior Mar-vell. Whenever trouble arrives, Rick activates the bands and he switches places with Earth's newest hero, Captain Marvel- into the Negative Zone!

Jones and Mar-vell's occupation in that inter-dimensional Hell sparks the attention of the Negative Zone's tyrannical leader Annihilus. With the Fantastic Four away, it's up to the Avengers to monitor any disturbances in the Zone. As a result, Jones and Mar-vell's link is severed. Now both can exist on Earth-616 at the same time. This the wheels that will cause an intergalactic war between Kree and Skrull- with Earth in the exact center crosshairs- begin to turn.

Roy Thomas does it yet again! With art by Sal Buscema and Neal Adams, this really is a volume not to be missed. That is if you can find it.. Out of print for over a decade and highly sought after by collectors, the Essential Marvel books are increasing difficult to find. Especially for a good price. But if you happen to come across one in decent shape that's affordable, you should grab it without question! Though you might ask why the editors included an issue of The Incredible Hulk in this volume. While you are supposed to read that issue after a crossover of sorts in the pages of The Avengers, the super team don't even appear in the Hulk book except for a cameo in the recap section of the tale. A good story but really could have been avoided if they just included some sort of blurb that the Avengers didn't have any active role in the Hulk's adventure in a pocket universe in the sub- atomic realm.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Essential Avengers, Vol. 3

Volume 3 of Essential Avengers sees yet more roster changes. BIG SHOCK there. The King of Wakanda and the android Vision joins the ranks of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. With that last inclusion, that also means we're introduced to the robotic menace: Ultron!

This volume covers issues that first debuted from 1968-70. I knew that the Vision makes his debut during this period of time. But I thought we were at least 5 years, maybe more, away from Ultron coming into being. So having him pop up was a real surprise. Too bad that Ultron is probably my least favorite Marvel villain of all-time. Here's a character perfectly designed to destroy humanity and yet, Ultron always loses- seemingly destroyed. But no! Ultron keeps coming back in a new, bigger and badder upgraded body. Why won't he just die?! 

The addition of T'Challa adds a touch of royalty along with a heavy hitter to the ranks of the Avengers. Why the Black Panther doesn't use his political clout more during this time period is beyond me. Instead, T'Challa takes on the secret identity of Luke Charles, a inner city school teacher. Towards the end of this volume, we do experience the struggles of the Civil Rights movement through the Panther's eyes when those slimy racist goons of the Serpent Society rear their ugly heads back onto the seen. They're not as scary as the original version of the group seen in the previous volume. Still, it doesn't make their message of hatred and bigotry any less palatable. Beating DC Comics to the punch with relevant comics by almost a full year, I don't know if making the Black Panther the champion of the battle of inner city racism and inequality was Roy Thomas' idea or that of editor Stan Lee. Whomever it was, they were visionaries whose contribution should never be erased from bookshelves!

Another major character undergoes a change; although their metamorphosis is less internal and very much overt! Clint Barton hangs up his purple tights and arrows and takes on Dr. Henry Pym's mantle of Goliath, the giant Avenger. No, Hank hasn't retired from superheroing. But now a married man and operating as the schizophrenic superhero Yellow Jacket, Pym doesn't have time for seeing the sites of the Big Apple from 20 feet in height. After the death of his brother, Barton needs a change. Losing the love of his life, the Black Widow, to her career as a SHIELD operative may have something to do with the change in identity...

Compared to the last volume, there's a lot more of original members Thor and Iron Man as well as Captain America in this book. They're all still on reserve status. But it's nice to see them in action when things look their bleakest like in the alternate reality thriller of Avengers, Annual #2 in which the original Avengers killed off all of the other heroes in order to usher in a Golden Age of Peace and tranquility under the benevolence of the Scarlet Centurion. 

It seems that with the loss of new recruits balanced with the assistance of the Big Three, the more things change for the Avengers, the more things stay the same.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Essential Avengers, Vol. 2

The second volume of Marvel's Essential Avengers sees not just the team but the magazine itself going through a lot of changes. When we begin with issue #25, the team's lineup is seriously under-powered. Thor, Iron Man, Giant Man and the Wasp are gone. Captain America is left to lead mutant siblings, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver as well as the hot-headed sharpshooter, Hawkeye. Arguably this is the weakest incarnation of the Avengers ever!

How the comic book managed to avoid cancellation with such a puny roll call is beyond me. Yet, that was part of the genius of Stan Lee. Love him or hate him, the man knew how to sell a comic book and he managed to keep the World's Mightiest Superheroes relevant without any of Marvel's heaviest hitters. By issue #35, Stan would leave the title in the hands of his most trusted protege, Roy Thomas. Along with Don Heck, some of the weirdest tales ever told this side of Marvel's sci-fi and fantasy books would occur in the pages of the Avengers; including the heroes being abducted by aliens in the Bavarian Alps.

Eventually Hank Pym, stuck at the towering height of 25 feet, along with Jan Van Dyne, would return to the team, becoming the de facto leaders in the absence of Cap. A terrifying story of a fascist group of bigots calling themselves the Sons of the Serpent would do their best to infiltrate the ranks of our government as well as the boards of many Fortune 500 companies, declaring America for Americans only, would be an early test of Pym's leadership. Taking place in issues #32-33, you really couldn't tell if this story was set in 1966 or current day 2025. Extremely unsettling how undated that story of political terrorism was.

Heck would eventually leave after issue #49. His replacement was John Buscema. The change in artwork was so striking. Heck was great. Buscema was just a tad bit better. Along with the new artist would soon come a new character to the title, that Prince of Power, the Mighty Hercules. While not an official member of the team, the hero's presence as an exiled guest of the Avengers adds a powerful punch that has been missing since the absence of Thor. 

But don't fret thinking that Thor and Iron Man have completely turned their backs on the Avengers. They'll both make guest starring returns in a pair of stories, one of who's sees the heroes battling against the Mandarin and his team of 5 of the Avenger's most fearsome does.

I have an early print of this volume. The printing was terrible. I don't think any sort of remastering had even been attempted. Multiple panels were in desperate need of ink. Others seemed to have been over-inked. It was rare to find a complete page where there weren't any print flaws.

I had low expectations for this book. While the Sons of the Serpent story was a gut punch of a read, I really enjoyed this seemingly implausible lineup of Marvel heroes. I just wish my print was given the same amount of love and care as the original works were given.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #32

One of my favorite issues of the series thus far. Yes, the Howlers fight Nazis, while strapped to some skis in the Bavarian Alps. But what takes this story to 11 is the main story which sees a Nazi spy infiltrating the Allies' British base and posing as a doctor. This physician hypnotizes the group's lone Jewish commando, Izzy Cohen, turning him into a traitor against the rest of the Howlers.

The irony of a Jew becoming an unwitting weapon of evil of the Nazis isn't lost on me. It's a thrilling story that speaks of the atrocities of the Holocaust without actually mentioning the horrors by name. It was Stan's brilliant way of making readers think without being preached at and dutiful discipline Roy Thomas put this Marvel Way of story writing to masterful use here! But I just got to ask: were Allied military bases just crawling with Nazi saboteurs?

Two issues in a row see Hitler's goons covertly operating within a stone's throw of London. We're 32 issues into the series and I think we've had a least a dozen spies and traitors in our midst. As much as I have praised the stories of this series being original; I mean we had hypnotism and G.I.s on skis in this issue alone. But was it really this bad during World War II to basically have half of all the occupants of your typical European theater military instillation be spies?! 

According to MI5's (British Intelligence Agency) website, 115 Nazi spies were apprehended in The UK alone. Apparently, all of them operated out of the same base as Fury's Able Company...

No wonder it took us over 4 years to win the war against the Germans!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #92

The plans for the Allied invasion of Europe have been finalized. The Howler's C.O., 'Happy' Sam Sawyer, has been kidnapped thanks to a Nazi spy on the base. It's up to Fury and his men to rescue Captain Sawyer before a squadron of allied bombers destroy the instillation in France where the officer is being interrogated. 

It's a thrilling race against time because success of the war effort takes priority over the life of just one man. Even if it's a man as highly regarded as Captain Sam Sawyer.

I knew that Fury and most of the Howlers would survive. Unless Nick, Dum Dum and Gabe are all secretly LMDs in the pages of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD. However, as other members of the team, as well as other operatives and Allied soldiers have lost their lives in the 30 previous issues, I wasn't sure if Sawyer was going to make it. It gets really hairy there and the tension was so palpable that the last 4 pages felt like I was watching a suspenseful action thriller instead of reading a comic book. Great story telling by Roy Thomas!

Reprinting the main story from Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #31.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #29

Fury and Baron Von Strucker battle with the fate of of a tiny French village literally in their hands. The Sgt. has the detonator in his mitts while his Nazi foe has the overriding kill switch within his grasp. 

Roy Thomas takes over the writing responsibilities from Stan Lee in this issue and the toe-headed wunderkind does a heck of a job. Artist Dick Ayers does one fine job as well and that thrilling cover by him- Amazing! Why isn't it considered one of the best of the Marvel Age of Comics?!

I had mentioned in my review of the last issue that I was surprised how wavering the Baron was feeling towards the final solution of Hitler. This issue, which may or may not, be the future leader of Hydra's last appearance in the World War II adventures of Nick Fury. If it is, then I have a sufficient explanation as to how Von Strucker becomes such a heartless would-be world leader of the Marvel Universe's most evil organizations!

An underrated classic!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Impossible Man Summer Vacation Spectacular

Way back in issue #175 of the Fantastic Four (October, 1976, to be exact), Galactus devoured Poppup, the home planet of that interplanetary pest, the Impossible Man. As a result, after a really bad case of indigestion, the life essence of Galactus was transferred to the Impossible Man who cloned himself a wife and a whole slew of kids. They then choose to wander the stars as refugees about the world devourer's ship.

In this summer special from 1990, the Impossible Man and the fam are rather bored. So they take leave of Galactus' spacecraft to have a fun-filled vacation on planet Earth! That means none of the superheroes OR super-villains of the Marvel Universe are safe from inter-dimensional hijinks, pranks and overall tomfoolery. Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Quasar and even Doctor Doom will rue the day they meet the first (and only) family of Poppup. 

This overall Summer special was a fun read crafted by a number of talents such as Roy Thomas, Jackson 'Bruce' Guice and Ron Marz. The Doctor Strange segment, which co-starring one of my favorite characters from that part of the Marvel Universe, Rintrah, was probably my favorite section of the book. Though the extremely unexpected pairing of the Impossible Man with the Punisher, complete with an entry from his war journal was a hoot. It was written and illustrated by Jim Valentino, who is such a master at skewering the superhero dynamic. I would pay good money if Marvel ever came up with an Impossible Man/Punisher special. Especially would love it in Valentino crafted that one-shot as well.

The Impossible Man Summer Vacation Spectacular might be almost 35-years old. But it's not something that will break the bank either. I got it a couple of years ago out of a bargain bin and I'm seeing it for less than $12 bucks online at several online retailers. Lots of laughs and a very fun way to beat the summer heat.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #39

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos ran from 1963-1981 for a grand total of 167 issues. However, if you want to read about every mission Nick Fury and his troops conducted during the Second World War, you only have to purchase about half of those issues! Starting with issue #80, new material alternated every other issue with reprints. The series switched to reprints only with issue #120 after sales reports showed that those 2nd chance stories sold as well as the originals did. Some later issues reprinted material that members of the Howling Commandos interacting with members of the Leathernecks lead by former Naval commander Captain Savage who spun off earlier in the pages of Sgt. Fury. 

The first 23 issues of the series were collected in the pages of Essential Marvel Sgt. Fury, Vol. 1, along with material from the debut annual. While ownership of the black and white omnibus is rather pricey, as the book is out of print, it beats trying to pay thousands of dollars for those first few books. Sgt. Fury #167, the last issue of the series, is like a snake biting its own tale, reprinting issue #1. If you wish to go the color route, there's the premium priced Marvel Masterworks, although the House of Ideas hasn't produced an edition past Volume 4, reprinting issues 33-43, released in 2012.

As for this collector, I bit the bullet on the Essential Marvel collection. Then I found a mix of first run and reprint issues in order to have a copy of each story printed from the original run. Sgt. Fury #39 is a first run issue. It introduces readers to Colonel Fritz Klaue, a Nazi officer with an iron hand- literally. Over the years, his son Ulysses Klaue will grow to become an internal thorn on the side of the nation of Wakanda.

The Howling Commandos are sent behind enemy lines to discover the secret of the Fortress of Fear! G-2 has received word that the Nazis are developing a top secret weapon code-named 'Thunderer.' Once the soldiers learn what the Thunderer is, they are to neutralize it by any means possible. Seeing that the super weapon is a jet propelled plane and the Howling Commandos have no way out of the Bavarian Alps, it looks like the Thunderer is going to be taxing some Americans back into Allied territory!

Written by Roy Thomas and Dick Ayers, who also pencils this issue. Inks by John Tartaglione.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Premiere #35 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Having just escaped Communist spies, test pilot Chuck Chandler thinks it will be smooth sailing from now on. Jumping into an experimental rocket plane, Chandler is hoping to break some world records. Unfortunately, lady luck is not on Chuck's side. His plane is captured by a Skrull scout skip. 

The story of Chuck Chandler is set during the 1950s. With mankind on the verge of space flight, the Skrulls are interested in determining if the planet Earth is a threat to their empire. Chuck is to be interrogated before being returned to terra firma with his mind wiped. However, the pilot finds a way to escape in his test plane while sabotaging the UFO. 

On his way back home, the energy waves of the exploding Skrull saucer flood Chandler's plane. Upon his crash landing, Chandler emerges from the wreckage unscaved. Everything looks like it's going right for a young man who's had a very eventful 24-hours. And then Chuck Chandler disappeared.

The only person to witness Chuck Chandler's disappearance is his brother Hal. After the funeral, Hal discovers that an image of Chuck is embedded in his eyeglasses. In one lens, Chuck is green. The other, red. Hal's eyewear has turned into a macabre sort of 3-D glasses!

One night, Hal falls into a trance. During his slumber, Chuck emerges from Hal's glasses with new and fantastic powers. Now with the power of 3 men, Chuck can leap great heights, perform amazing feats of strength and outrun the fastest cars 1950s Detroit has to offer. Only there's a catch- Chuck Chandler can only exist outside of his brothers eyeglasses for only 3 hours at a time!

Created in 1977 by Roy Thomas (Aargh!) and Jim Craig (What If...), the 3-D Man was created as a tribute to Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's niche superhero Captain 3-D. Thomas wanted to create an entire series based on 3-D Man in a 3-D format. However, production costs just weren't feasible. So a 3-issue try-out in the pages of Marvel Premiere was the best Roy Thomas had to settle for. 

Ultimately, only the most ardent of comic book fans remember the 3-D Man. After appearing in Marvel Premiere #35-37, the character only popped up in a scattered number of books. A pair of Incredible Hulk issues, a brief appearance in Contest of Champions and a spot on Jimmy Woo's 50s era Avengers in What If... #9 would be 3-D Man's sole contributions to the Marvel Universe until a return almost 2 decades later as black man named Delroy Garrett (first known as Triathlon.)

Unfortunately for the Chuck Chandler 3-D Man, when Marvel made the events of that What If... issue a part of mainstream continuity in the 2006 miniseries, Agents of Atlas, the character was left off of the roster. Agents of Atlas writer Jeff Parker claimed it was because he only wanted to use characters from 1950s Atlas lineup. Since 3-D Man was created in the 70s as a retcon, Parker didn't make the nearly-forgotten character a part of that team. However, it may also have something to do with the fact that Kurt Busiek along with George Perez who created the Delroy Garrett 3-D Man, wanted to leave the character alone for other projects. As the contemporary 3-D Man did join a modern version of the Agents of Atlas, that theory holds a bit more water.

Since it's been over a decade since the original 3-D Man's last official appearance in a book, the Roy Thomas creation sadly looks to become nothing more than a small entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Though who knows? Maybe the time will come for minor 70s characters to make a return to Marvel Comics for a nostalgic mini-series much like 2007's The Twelve. But until then, it's a safe bet that we won't be seeing Chuck Chandler any time soon.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #12 (Published the Year You Were Born) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Arrgh! #3

 It's getting rare for me to find a Marvel or DC Comic book that I have never heard of. But it still happens from time to time. Case in point, Arrgh! From 1974-75. I just happened upon this issue in a dollar box not even a month ago. I thought this would make a great Halloween read and for the most part, I was right.

      This short-lived series devoted to horror with a comedic twist, only lasted a handful of issues but it's brief run is actually steeped in controversy. At about the exact same time, DC published a series called Plop! readers debated often in the letters page as to which book came first.

    Though Plop! hit newsstands a couple of months before Arrgh!, most comic book experts agree that Arrgh! came first. Why even series creator Roy Thomas writes in the letters section of this book to a fan explaining how he came up with this series in 1972 or ‘73, but production delays put Arrgh!'s release date after the first issue of Plop!

      This sort of thing happens all the time in comic books. Some fans think this sort of coincidence is a conspiracy to attract readership. I think it has to do with morphic fields.

     Sorry, I'm going to go off topic for a moment.

     The theory behind the morphic field had to do with how cultures in one side of the world were able to develop a technology at the same time another does without any way of communicating. The field is some sort of energy that affects how cells develop. I think it also affects creativity and can explain why Marvel and DC keeps coming up with the same ideas. (Either that or there's some serious industrial espionage going on.)

   Now back to the book…

   There were 3 stories in this issue. The first scenario is the classic monster falls in love with a beautiful woman. Here, Bigfoot develops a crush on a country gal whose hubby isn't to happy to be the third leg of a love triangle.

   Our next escapade involved a small time hood who gets turned into a giant rat. Every time he's hit by a bolt of lightning, the rodent grows in size until eventually he's the Big Cheese of the Big Apple.

   Last is an adventure involving Russian spies and the mummy of King Tut. This tale is supposed to be a reprint from the 1950s. But I don't know if this was part of the joke or not as no information as to which comic this was originally published is mentioned anywhere. With apologies made to certain Russian leaders by the editor, I’m inclined to think it’s a parody of EC’s horror books from the early 50s.

    Arrgh! was surely different than most horror titles from the 70s. For one thing, everything is tongue-in-cheek. DC was clearly better at horror, even funny horror than Marvel with titles like House of Mystery and Weird War Tales that featured great little yarns by Sergio Aragones and Don Martin. Horror was one of Marvel's big failures during this time period.

    Even with a couple of notable exceptions like Ghost Rider, Dracula's Tomb, and Man-Thing, the majority of Marvel horror comics didn’t last more than a dozen issues. Arrgh! didn’t survive past issue #5. I guess Marvelites just were ready for Abbott and Costello type horror.

  Worth Consuming.

  Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Batman: The War Years (1939-1945)

   This collection of early Batman stories is the first of 3 volumes devoted to the World War II exploits of the DC Trinity. These books are edited by legend Roy Thomas, who also provides his unique take on the source material as a comics insider and devoted historian of the medium. Under Thomas' watch, 'The War Years' is divided into chapters focusing on each phase of the war effort such as life in the United States prior to Pearl Harbor, fifth column espionage, war bonds, and the spoils of war itself, as it pertains to the evolution of the Batman. 

    Most of these stories are pretty crude in regards to the art, dialogue, and plot. But I wouldn't change a single page. During World War II, every American was expected to make sacrifices. With rationing, shortages of able-bodied men drafted into the Armed Forces, and constant fear of an Axis invasion, if a mistake was made in a comic book it was nearly impossible to see it fixed in a timely manner if at all. 

   Comics were considered a vital tool to providing morale, instruction, and patriotism to American's youth and our fighting men, so it was of the utmost importance that publication deadlines were met no matter what. That level of dedication to seeing our world kept free from tyranny allowed me to overlook any and all errors contained within this book.

    This volume contains about 20 stories and numerous covers that highlight the Batman's role in the second world war. As you witness Batman go from a brooding solo act to an optimistic duo with the addition of Robin, and finally merge into an icon of justice, you'll encounter fellow heroes such as Superman, George Washington, and President Roosevelt. Featuring villains such as the Joker and the Scarecrow, the truly evil guest stars of this book are Hitler, Emperor Hirohito and Mussolini and their enemy agents. All this and more comes to you from the deft hands of Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger, and many more artists and writers who helped craft the Dark Knight into the legend he is today.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.
    

Night Nurse (Reprints Night Nurse #1-4, 1972)

I rarely buy a book new, especially if it is a comic book. But a few years ago at a lecture on the History of Comic Books, an image of Night Nurse #1 popped up on the screen and my wife exclaimed that she would actually be willing to read that. For years, I searched for an affordable copy to no avail. But with the new Daredevil series coming to Netflix, fate finally intervened.   

 See Night Nurse is apparently a character on the show. (Rosario Dawson plays nurse Claire Temple- and was intended to be Night Nurse, but Marvel Studios won't allow her real name to be used as the company has plans to use the character in a Marvel Cinematic Universe project in the near future.) So in order to both inform new viewers to what the character was supposed to be and make some money off of the property, Marvel re-released the entire run of the groundbreaking publication from the early 1970s.

      Created by Jean Thomas in 1972, Night Nurse is actually Wonder Woman. I kid, but her real name is Linda Carter and she is a student nurse operating during the evening shift at Metro General in New York. The Night Nurse was originally a candy striper in Atlas Comics’ ‘Linda Carter-Student Nurse’ which was more of a romantic-comedy series along the lines of Archie or Millie the Model.  Along with fellow up-and-coming nurses, roommates Georgia and Christine, this Linda is more dramatic, saving lives, fighting injustice and falling in love ( usually with the wrong guy.). Whether the two Linda Carters are the same character is up for debate. But it's a common practice in the comics industry, still used today, to reuse character names in order to maintain the copyright.

     The original idea behind Night Nurse was to introduce girls to comic books. Marvel's Roy Thomas was behind the effort along with the release of ‘Shanna the She-Devil'’ and ‘Black Cat’. Thomas was ahead of his time as the experiment though fondly remembered, was a failure, with Night Nurse being cancelled after only 4 issues.

  

   But like I said, Night Nurse struck a chord with readers as fans, who grew up reading the title, would usher Linda, Christine, and the rest into the modern age of comics in the pages of Nightcrawler and Daredevil.

    

 That brings us to the final reprinted tale in this edition- the first modern appearance of the Night Nurse. It's of Daredevil #80 (2004) and has Linda running a private clinic for superheroes. In this story by some guy named Bendis, Daredevil had been shot and the Night Nurse must save him while a slew of nasties is kept at bay outside by Luke Cage and friends.

   This is a very good collection of rare comic gems. The books from the 70s show their age in terms of the dialogue. The black characters speak in ‘jive’ and everyone under the age of 75 says “right on” when trying to appeal to the younger generation. Also, with all of the unrequited love going around, I thought I was reading a copy of 'Young Romance' instead of a 'superhero' title. Still, this is a great time capsule of Marvel's earliest attempts at relevant comics and the amount of care and quality in them shows.  

Worth Consuming

  Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC Retroactive- Wonder Woman 80's

 

    In this special, a lost tale of Wonder Woman’s has her pitted against a ‘clone’ of herself. Meanwhile, paramour Steve Trevor commandeers a jet in hopes of tracking the Amazonian down in order to determine once and for all if the Princess of Themyscira loves him or not! A great use of American tax dollars and resources, folks!

   As an added bonus, there’s a reprint from 1982 that explains some of the origin and backgrounds of the villains who are trying to defeat Wonder Woman.

   Unlike in the 1970s volume, both stories have either a conclusion or a caption explaining that the tale is to be continued. The 80s story is a little confusing as Trevor is from Earth-2 and Wonder Woman doesn’t know anything about multiple earths despite decades of teaming up or fighting visitors from Earth’s-2 and 3. There’s obviously some retconning prior to this reprint that I didn’t know about and it makes for a difficult read at those plot points. Otherwise, both stories have great art and a reasonable overall storyline.

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.