OL' DR. BILL MOULTON MARSTON: He Had No Choice But To Pen The Truth

[Source]

DC, Service Me: The Perks & Quirks Of Summertime Works

The Public Service Ads or PSA's we've come across in the pages of modern comic books have really changed in both appearance and content over the years, yet they continue to provide valuable insight into the behavior, culture, and important issues facing youth of the time. A quick flip of any comic from the last ten to fifteen years would indicate that young people today are faced with many serious choices, like whether or not they should smoke marijuana while judging the merits of a Nintendo Game Boy over a Sony PSP. That's rough stuff. Woo. (You can't see it, but we're shuddering.)

It's comforting to know that kids didn't have it much easier fifty, even sixty years ago. Comic book PSA's of yesteryear were every bit as serious as today's, and surprisingly, many of them are just as relevant now as they were then.  From the 1940's through the 1970's, DC Comics often ran single-page comic strips that contained social and health-related messages directed to young readers; 'Earn While You Learn' being just one of many terrific examples.

Our DC, Service Me PSA of the Day appeared way back in August of 1957, in Issue #39 of the popular science fiction title, Mystery in Space.  Although the ad contains implied substance use by a minor, and the kinds of drugs young guys  deliver today may no longer be prescription, the argument it presents for seeking summertime work is laudable and far outweighs any risks in our opinion.  Job descriptions come and go, but the benefits of gainful employment have, quite thankfully, endured for decades.

(Right click to enlarge)

Special thanks to Mike and his amazing research of DC Comics Indexes [link], as without either today's blog would not have been possible.

QuoteA: Real American Hero LARRY HAMA (1/3) plus All The News on COBRA-Con 2010

    Photo by Seth Kushner, 2010 [via]

Larry Hama turns 61 in June, and it's a birthday we're sure he'll long associate with the next chapter of his storied career. A writer, artist, actor, editor, musician and veteran, Hama simply considers himself a 'drawer' -- to him, even the writing that's occupied so much of his time for the last thirty years is simply 'drawing with words.' [source]
 
The words Hama's drawn  have literally shaped an enormous part of the pop cultural landscape, not to mention the imaginations of countless boys who grew up reading or playing with GI JOE: A Real American Hero.  Hasbro relaunched their GI JOE toys with A Real American Hero in 1982 as well as a comic book of the same name published by Marvel Comics to support the new line.  Needing work at the time, Hama agreed to write the toy-inspired series, accepting a job other writers had turned down, considering GI JOE  to be a 'dead-end'. 

But Hama treated the series and its characters with respect,  and the result is now comics history: Marvel's GI JOE: A Real American Hero continued for fourteen consecutive years, with 155 issues of the core title published between 1982 and 1994. During his long run, Hama became GI JOE's virtual commander-in-chief; aside from his comics duties, Hama is responsible for writing the dossiers Hasbro included with every one of their 3 3/4" action figures.

GI JOE's been in the hands of four different publishers since its Marvel days, and, to one degree or another, Hama's been on-scene for each one; the producers of 2009's GI JOE: The Rise of COBRA even brought him aboard as a consultant.  This year, after nearly three decades of forging the fate of GI JOE and their serpentine COBRA foes, Hama's coming back to the JOES in a big way -- and we'll show you just HOW big in next week's Larry Hama, Part II! 

While he's been quoted on GI JOE numerous times, we especially enjoyed the personal anecdotes Larry Hama shared with Christopher Irving, when he interviewed Hama back in January. You'll find Irving's incredible hour with Larry Hama [here]; while quotA has our favorite insight from the comics writer below...

[Source]

GI JOE fandom is a phenomenon that spreads across three generations and encompasses over forty years. But GI JOE's truly phenomenal trait is its appeal to comic book collectors, toy collectors, military enthusiasts, animation fans, and movie fans alike. While some pull double-duty as enthusiasts of all things GI JOE, many do not; but once a year, those separate units converge as one army to attend Hasbro's G.I. JOE Collectors’ Convention.

Known as GI JOE Con, the annual event draws thousands of fans and collectors of all ages, while inspiring other smaller, regional conventions across the country and even a Canadian counterpart. This year's JOE Con is just days away --the rallying cry "Yo, JOE!" will be heard throughout the city of Providence, Rhode Island  from 29 April - 02 May.  Wanna Go? Check out the official GI JOE Con website [here] and download a Registration Form [here].

Official announcements of Convention guests - including comics scribe Larry Hama - and of  several awesome and exclusive GI JOE toys and comics available only on-site have been pumping up JOE fandom for months. Even COBRA, the world terrorist organization bent on global domination, jumped in to the fray in February, releasing both a promotional video and a public statement to encourage fans to attend their own convention, COBRA-Con, to be held concurrently with GI JOE Con! Outrageous! Plus, we hear that Cobra Commander himself  has promised an even better time than the competition. 

Dabblers, what to do?  Our end-of-the-month plans have become quite a toss-up now. Do you have the same problem? To help us all decide, we've got everything COBRA has to say below. Hope it helps!

Cobra announces CobraCon 2010 in Providence, Rhode Island

Cobra Island – February 26, 2010 – Today, Cobra Commander has announced that Cobracon 2010 will be held at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island from April 29th to May 2nd. Cobra wants to make sure that the fans of Cobra do not confuse this show with GIJoecon 2010, also being held in Providence, Rhode Island from April 29th to May 2nd. No, CobraCon will be FAR more exciting!!!

Unlike last year's convention (apologies again for the unexpected exposure of mind control gas at the Saturday Night Dinner event), this year's CobraCon promises a smooth and relatively danger-free show, complete with a special appearance by Black Major and his trusty comrades, the Red Shadows. Along with special guests, art contests, an invasion of Hasbro's headquarters, panels and seminars featuring Hasbro and other Cobra loyalists and supporters, this year's convention is THE show to attend!

So what are you waiting for! Just head on over to our convention site now - www.CobraCon.com - and sign up for the Cobra event of a lifetime. NOW! Cobraaaaaaaaaaa!

 

About COBRA

For over 25 years, Cobra has been the leading international criminal organization, offering the whole of humanity the finest in criminal espionage, homicidal clones, doomsday scenarios and an alternative to the decadent and foolish governance of so-called 'democracy.' Located on Cobra Island and any number of small towns near you, Cobra reaches more people than any rival organization; with attacks on G.I. Joe and the many countries they help defend such as Japan, United States, Great Britain, Brazil, Australia and Canada. For more information visit our convention site. To view our competitors site (which we recently "acquired") visit www.gijoeclub.com. Comments? Please direct email to Tomax.

 

No1 Comics: Green Lantern in ALL AMERICAN COMICS History

If there's one thing comic book people love, it's comic books with a big #1 on their covers.   A 'Number 1' of anything has always been magical (except when it comes to potty-training, of course) - and where comics are concerned, everyone knows that initial numeral can mean big bucks.   Take for instance Action Comics #1: published back in 1938, this was the comic book that invented superheroes and introduced the world to Superman for the first time.  Given its age, it's also understandably quite scarce - and of the 100 remaining copies of the comic known to exist, 80% of them have been restored to some degree. Those that haven't, well, are valued over $400,000.  In fact, a nearly-perfect copy of Action #1 -- the ultimate rarity and Holy Grail to all collectors -- found in 1966 is now going up on the auction block. If you've got the cash, then we give you full permission to leave -- go right now! - and place your bid.  [For the full scoop and all the Action, go HERE...then spend your half-million HERE.]

Aside from how the fortunate part with their fortunes, Action's value speaks volumes about the mythology* of comic book first issues.  They're (a) worth a lot (b) old and of historical value (c) scarce (d) introduce a major character. Of course, not every major character comes on stage for the first time in a 'Number One' comic book. In fact, today's hero, the very first Green Lantern, is a perfect example of which we speak, but more on him in a second.

'Number One' comic books no longer have the value of their distant ancestors, but they're great places to begin a story,  as most stories usually begin at the beginning. They make great prizes (as every dabbler who played our Winder One-derland last Christmas knows), and they're sweet inspirations for abbracadabbling's latest recurring blog, too. 

*As for why we call it a mythology, the crash of the comics bubble in the late 1980's and early 1990's explains it better than we ever could - more HERE and in a future blog of No.1 Comics!

DC Comics' Golden Age heroes - the oldest and the first of the super men and women, most of whom have modern day successors of the same name - are back in action and as popular  today as they were seventy years ago. While many of these early characters never fully disappeared,  their fifteen minutes of fame had long since been over - until just recently. What's long been true in politics and presidential campaigns now holds for superheroes (and the sales of the comic books they star in): experience - being on the front lines - counts.  Interestingly, the experience and longevity of old superheroes has become meaningful not just in the story lines of younger generation comic book heroes or their titles like Teen Titans and Justice Society of America, but to comics readers as well.  Beyond their worth within DC's fictional-world, the company's first Golden cache of characters are new to younger readers, nostalgia to older ones. For creators, these elder heroes come with enough history to be written well and with enough holes for new stories to now fill.

None of this could be truer than for Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern.  Initially created by Martin Nodell, a young artist who found inspiration in the sight of a New York Subway employee waving a red lantern and a green lantern to conduct train traffic,. Taking that vision and borrowing heavily from the tale of Aladdin, Nodell created a mystical crime-fighter who got his powers from the flame of a strange lamp. Along with his writing partner Bill Finger, Nodell gave Green Lantern his first appearance in All-American Comics #16.

Alan Scott's Green Lantern persona has been much-manipulated over the years, especially as his later-day successor, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, has gained popularity and mythos.  But the modern day Lantern's fame has worked  both ways, too -- with Green Lantern ranking among today's best-selling comic books and a Green Lantern major motion picture due in 2011, renewed interest in the original ring wielder is on the rise.

Reclaimed fame has also been found by Alan Scott Green Lantern's many team-mates of The Justice Society of America, the very first superhero team to be portrayed in comic books.

No better example of the team's current stature could be given than last Friday's two-hour Smallville movie 'Absolute Justice', in which young Clark Kent meets several of the Society members. While mentioned by name, only Green Lantern's ring makes an actual appearance in the episode -- either an Easter-egg or foreshadowing, yet all-together appropriate and nonetheless validating.

The Comic Book Bin has drafted an excellent summary of Alan Scott, The Golden Age Green Lantern's history, which can be found HERE. For fans needing a more detailed biography, we've got that for you HERE. And more information on All-American Comics, which later became part of today's DC Comics, is located HERE. Below, a page from All-American Comics Issue #17 and Green Lantern's second adventure. (Hint: Right-click to make readable!)

Super History: From Underwood to Outer Space

In 2005, The William Breman Jewish Heritage & Holocaust Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, was home to an exhibit of comic art and memorabilia from the formative period of comic books, the early 'Golden Age'. Among their most prominent displays, Jerry Siegel's desk and Underwood typewriter, the simple machine he used to give life to the Man of Tomorrow. Photo via [link]

Jerome - Jerry - Siegel (Oct. 17, 1914 – Jan. 28, 1996) is one of the most important figures in the development and creation of costumed comic heroes. As co-creator of the most famous of these mythical beings, the immortal Superman, he along with artist Joe Shuster propelled the superhero into the public consciousness, injecting popular American culture with one of the most enduring icons of the twentieth century. [source]

His Story: Batman No.1 (National Comics House Ad, 1940)

We had to dig through ten long boxes of old DC Comics to find one advertising the May 1940 issue of Batman #1. Kidding! (We can dream, can't we?) The ad's legit, though. DC -- which at the time wasn't yet known as DC, but as National Comics -- began running their in-house advertisement for the Caped Crusader's solo series in April, just a month before the ten-cent Batman hit newsstands across the nation in a country not yet on the verge of a Great War.

Chances are Bill Finger and Bob Kane's Batman wouldn't have received his own book if not for the overwhelming popularity of his teen-aged sidekick, Robin, The Boy Wonder. Robin was first introduced in Detective Comics #38 , which had only been published one month prior to the ad's circulation. That's not to say Batman, the second superhero, wasn't popular. On the contrary, Bruce Wayne's alter ego has been big business since Day One; indeed, Batman himself had appeared in just thirteen issues of Detective Comics before Batman's debut.

Both Batman and Detective Comics have consistently been published by DC Comics since their very first issues. Today, Batman #1's estimated value stands at over $100,000; Batman #693, the November 2009 issue, carries a price tag $2.99, and can be found at the local comics retailer nearest you.