by Gideon Marcus
The 30s and 40s are remembered as a kind of comics Golden Age. They featured the birth of so many familiar faces including National Comics' iconic line-up: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. We also saw the creation of big names like Captain America, the Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner, the last two of which have been recently resurrected.
In fact, if the prior age be gilded, then our current era of comics resurgence must be some kind of Silver Age. Just look at performance of the successor to Atlas Comics, that titan of the industry that had died back in 1957. Leaping from obscurity just a few short years ago, Marvel Comics has doubled down on its suite of superheroes, launching three new comic books in just the last few months.
The most exciting of them is The X-Men, featuring a team of teenage mutants under the tutelage of Professor Charles Xavier, at once the most powerful telepath in the world, and also the first handicapped superhero (that I know of).
Let's meet the cast, shall we? We've got Slim Summers ("Cyclops"), who projects ruby blasts from his eyes; Bobby Drake ("Ice Man"), the kid of the group, who creates ice at will; Hank McCoy ("Beast"), possessed of tremendous agility and oversized hands and feet; Warren Worthington III ("Angel"), a winged member of the upper crust (financially and evolutionarily); and Jean Grey ("Marvel Girl"), a telekinetic. Why Bobby is a Man and the older Jean is a Girl, I haven't quite figured out.
Of course, they immediately develop a nemesis, the bombastic Magneto, master of magnetism.
The X-Men is a development of two Marvel themes: you've got the quirky, imperfect teenager motif that has proven so successful with Spiderman, and the fun team dynamic of The Fantastic Four. I have to say, this new comic has really bowled me over, and I'm looking forward to more of the same.
Speaking of teams, Marvel has lumped together several of its heavy hitters into a single superhero mag, The Avengers. Another four guys and a gal combo, it features Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Ant-Man, and Wasp. It's an unlikely group — without a father figure like Professor X or the family dynamic of the Fantastic Four, I have to wonder how stable this phenomenon will be.
The third new mag features another team of heroes, neither mutated or otherwise superpowered. But there's nothing mundane about Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes, Marvel's answer to the TV show, Combat!.
As with the television production, Fury depicts a squad fighting on the Western Front on the eve of and after D-Day. Sgt. Nick Fury is a bit more one-note than the nuanced Sgt. Saunders on TV, but this is a comic book, after all…
Here's the gang, and here's what they do:
In other Marvel news, it looks like Spiderman has got a new enemy, The Sandman:
And it's not all expansion for Marvel. Its venerable line of girls' comics lost a member a few months ago. Love Romances ended with its 106th issue.
On the other hand, the two Milly the Model mags continue, as well as Kathy, and the two Patsy books (Patsy and Patsy and Hedy)
I wonder if the superhero mags will ever take a clue from the girl mags and start soliciting for fashion designs. Hulk could use a new pair of pants, after all.
Thanks to this deluge of new comics, my subscription list now includes a half dozen titles. So for the foreseeable future (or, at least until Jason Sacks convinces me that I'm all wet), you can be sure that I'll "Make Mine Marvel!"
I glad you enjoyed much of the new Marvel comics. Of the X-Men, I'm going to like Jean Grey the most, as well as Cyclops.
As for the Avengers, just wait for a few more issues, and you'll see another great Marvel hero come into the fold. But, for now, the Wasp is stealing the spotlight.
As for Nick Fury, come back in a couple of years, and you'll see him as his very best!!!
Who are you magicians who see the future?!
But it's nice to know this isn't a flash in the pan phenomenon…
re " the first handicapped superhero "
No -the Golden Age DC superhero Dr. Mid-Night was blind (in the daylight — though he *could* see in total darkness).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Mid-Nite#Charles_McNider
Half-points for Captain Marvel Jr., who in his mundane identity of newsboy Freddie Freeman was crippled (though as Cap Jr this was not an issue).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Marvel_Jr.
Seems to me there may be others, but that's all that come to mind right now.
Marvel really seems to be hitting it out of the park at the moment. I was very impressed by the X-Men, since the concept has a lot of potential. The Avengers could have potential as well, but so far I just don't find the line-up very interesting. Regarding Sergeant Fury and his Howling Commandos, I don't care for WWII comics, but the Jack Kirby art sure looks dynamic. Also love the paper dolls and fashion designs in the Millie comic. Now that's something for the superhero books to emulate.
Talking of dynamic Jack Kirby art, those three books — THE AVENGERS, THE X-MEN, and THE AVENGERS — added to the FANTASTIC FOUR and THOR monthly titles, mean that Kirby is producing one-hundred-plus pages of art every month.
That's pretty dynamic. The truth is, excepting Ditko's work on SPIDERMAN and DOCTOR STRANGE, all Marvel's major titles are drawn by Kirby. In a sense, Kirby _is_ the Marvel Comics/Silver Age explosion.
But then people in the industry know Kirby as a remarkably creative individual. For example, apropos of romance comics, Kirby — along with his old partner Joe Simon — arguably invented those with the first issue of YOUNG ROMANCE back in September 1947.
With creativity and an imagination like that, it's a pity the guy can't do movies. Maybe one day ….
Kirby is truly a phenomenon and you're not alone in hoping to see his work in the movies one day. Okay, so there was a Captain America movie serial in the 1940s, but I'm sure we could do much better than a cheaply made serial.
I spent a long time thinking about your suggestion that Professor Xavier is the first handicapped superhero. It didn't seem quite right. Captain Marvel, Jr. has a limp in his everyday persona and there's the Specter (not many handicaps greater than being dead). But I was sure I remembered a blind hero back during the War. I finally remembered Doctor Mid-Nite, who is nominally blind, but can see in total darkness.
Marvel is late to party with Sgt. Fury. Sgt. Rock has been around for almost as long as the War lasted and there's also the Haunted Tank (which is admittedly kind of stupid). For that matter the Avengers look like they're following in the old Justice Society of America and the new Justice League.
Batman and Superman may have gotten rather silly since that Fredric Wertham nonsense, but I'm still sticking with National.
National's new Doom Patrol team, which just debuted in My Greatest Adventure, has a wheelchair using leader as well and shares some other similarities with Marvel's X-Men as well. I guess there's just something in the zeitgeist.
Though personally, I'm very happy to see more disabled superheroes and disabled characters in general. I have several disabled people among my friends, family and aquaintances and they deserve to see themselves as heroes as well. Especially considering how many young people there are who are suffering from consequences of polio or the Contergan/Thalidomide scandal (which the US largely escaped thankfully, but it's a big issue here in West Germany).
In general, the various comic book publishers borrow ideas and concepts from each other, so it's not unusual to see similar idea and concepts popping up. I'm just very happy that we have such a bounty of great comic books to choose from.
I'm a little late to the party, but I thought I'd chime in. I agree on the X-Men … great concept. The idea of mutations causing super powers is timely (pun intended) in today's Nuclear Age. I've seen speculation that the X-Men's parents were involved with developing the A-bomb back in the 40s and that's why their children all have mutations; I'm not sure if the comic has actually addressed that yet.
I like the Avengers too; it's always nice to see a group of heroes working together (like the Justice League). I hope the Hulk sticks around; every team needs someone to challenge the status quo.
As for Sgt. Fury … I prefer Sgt. rock and Easy Company over at National … they have (slightly) more personality. And Millie the Model, well I don't think I'm the target audience there!