Challengers of the Unknown Part II

The first Challengers of the Unknown stories by Jack Kirby have been reprinted a number of times in the last decade in collected editions. The earliest reprints of these stories is six issues of the original comic - numbers 75 through 80.

75 August-September 1970
76 October-November 1970
77 December 1970-January 1971
78 February 1973
79 March-April 1973
80 June-July 1973

Here we'll look at the first two. 

Issue 75 reprints the second COTU story from Showcase 7 (March-April 1957). The COTU logo has been changed to the modern one and the last panel's reference to Showcase has been changed. The cover has not been reproduced. Rather the splash page is framed by art from George Tuska, who has also drawn a one page introduction.

Issue 76 reprints "The Traitorous Challenger" from Challengers of the Unknown 2 (June-July 1958). and "Secret of the Sorcerer's Mirror" from Challengers of the Unknown 3 (August-September 1958). The COTU logo has again been changed to the modern version and there is a new cover from Joe Kubert.

COTU 75 - August-September 1975

COTU 76 October-November 1979

COTU Archives Volume 1 - 2003

Batman Part VII

A new volume of my favourite DC Archives series is out - Batman Archives Volume 8. The comics collected here are the Batman and Robin stories from Detective Comics 150 - 175 (January 1950 - April 1951) - right in the middle of the first (and best) 25 years of Batman and Robin.

Eleven of the stories are seen for the first time since they were published. The five stories that have been reprinted are:

*The Batmobile of 1950! issue 156
The Thousand and One Trophies of Batman! issue 158
Untold Tales of the Bat-Signal! issue 164
The Strange Costumes of Batman! issue 165
*The Man Behind the Red Hood! issue 168

The two with an * were published in Batman in the Fifties (New York: DC Comics, 2002). The Man Behind the Red Hood is the origin on the Joker and is one of the most reprinted Batman stories, the first time in Batman 213 (July-August 1969).

Batman Archives Volume 8

Batman Archives Volume 8 back

Batman in the Fifties 

Batman in the Fifties back

Batman 213

Gorillas Part II

Part I introduced the gorilla theme in DC Comics and one of the seventies comics with gorilla reprints. Here's another - DC Special 16 (Spring 1975). Four stories are reprinted:

Batman Battles the Living Beast-Bomb! - Detective Comics 339 (May 1965)
Wonder Woman -- Gorilla! - Wonder Woman 170 (May 1967)
The Reign of the Super-Gorilla! - Flash 127 (March 1962)
Titano the Super-Ape! - Superman 138 (July 1960)

None were reprinted in other comics of the sixties and seventies although two, the Batman and Flash stories, are reprinted in the Archives series.

The best gorilla comic artist was Carmine Infantino, viz. the original cover for the Flash story.

DC Special 16 - Spring 1975

Flash 127 - March 1962

Viking Prince Part II

In part I of this blog I introduced Joe Kubert's Viking Prince and six of the eight stories reprinted in the seventies. Here are the remaining two. DC Special 24 reprints The Brave and the Bold 15 (December 1957-January 1958) and DC Special 25 issue 8 (October-November 1956).

All 27 Viking Prince stories can be found in the 2010 hardcover The Viking Prince.

DC Special 24 - October-November 1976

DC Special 25 - December 1976-Janaury 1977

The Viking Prince - 2010

The Viking Prince back

Most Reprinted DC Comics Story Part II

Part I of this series discussed the origin story of The Flash from Showcase 4 (October 1956). Here is a second contender for most reprinted story from DC Comics.

The Bat-Man was introduced in Detective Comics 27 (May 1939) without an origin. The origin was finally seen as two page introduction to the story in Detective 33 (November 1939)- "The Batman Wars Against the Dirigible of Doom". The two pages were reprinted in Batman 1 (Spring 1940) with an illustration from the first page of the story in Detective 34 replacing the dirigible. The first panel's caption has been slightly changed. This is the version usually reprinted.

Great Comic Book Heroes, (The Dial Press) 1965
Batman from the Thirties to the Seventies (Crown Publishers) 1971
Famous First Edition (DC) #F-5 February-March 1975
Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes (Crown Publishers)
Batman: The Dark Knight Archives Volume 1 (DC) 1992
Millennium Edition: Batman 1 (DC) February 2001
Batman Chronicles, The 1 (DC) 2005

The original origin story is reprinted in

Batman (Signet Books) #D2939  1966
Secret Origins 1 (DC) February-March 1973
Batman Archives Volume 1 (DC) June 1990
Batman in the Forties (DC) 2004
Batman Chronicles, The 1 (DC) 2005


The original version below is followed by the version in Batman 1.

Batman Archives Volume 1 page 66

Batman Archives Volume 1 page 67

Batman from the Thirties to the Seventies page 26

Batman from the Thirties to the Seventies page 27

Tommy Tomorrow

One character I remember with fondness is Tommy Tomorrow, first seen in Real Fact Comics 6 (January-February 1947). After four appearances there Tommy spent the 1950s as back up to Superman in 125 issues of Action Comics then back up to Superman and Batman in 23 issues of World's Finest Comics until finally ending in 5 issues of Showcase in 1963. The stories are rarely reprinted but the first story is available in the 1999 collection Pulp Fiction Library: Mystery in Space. A later story from Action Comics 186 (November 1953) is also reprinted here. Another Tommy story from World's Finest Comics 116 (November 1960) is reprinted in DC Super Stars 6.

Tommy has a new story in another of DC Comics odd 1970s reprint series - DC Special. Issues 1 through 26 were reprints but the final three issues were new stories. Tommy is the blond gentleman on the cover below. There is an interesting text piece in this issue about the history of Tommy.

Pulp Fiction Library: Mystery in Space - 1999

DC Special 27 - April-May 1977

DC Super Stars 6 - August 1976

Viking Prince Part I

The Viking Prince series ran in 23 issues of The Brave and the Bold from number 1 through 24, skipping 6, a total of 25 stories. Its standout feature is the artwork by Joe Kubert which earned it a hardcover reprint volume in 2010. Included in this volume were two stories from 1966 issues of Our Army at War that had the Viking Prince meet Sgt. Rock of Easy Co., another Joe Kubert drawn series.

Eight stories were first reprinted in the 1970s. Three from issues 1, 3 and 5 in DC Special 12 and three from issues 23(2) and 24 in three of The Brave and the Bold 100 page Spectaculars. The remaining will follow in part II.

DC Special 12 - May-June 1971

The Brave and the Bold 113 - June-July 1974

The Brave and the Bold 115 - October-November 1974

The Brave and the Bold 117 - February-March 1975