Hello fellow comic lovers, and welcome to a new edition of Into the Bronze Age! In this batch of posts we’ll be covering November 1970. Tomorrow, America is swearing in a new president, and I don’t know about you, but personally I think I’d rather spend my time with heroes and visit a brighter, happier world than ours! Today we’ve got a triple serving of supers, with two Superman stories and one with the current star of Adventure Comics, Supergirl. Let’s see what history had in store for November 1970. With any luck, it will put our current troubles in context.
If you’re new to this little journey, you can check out the first post to learn what it’s all about.
- Genie, a 13 year old feral child was found in Los Angeles, California, having been locked in her bedroom for most of her life (warning, depressing stuff)
- Trial of Seattle 8 anti-war protesters begins
- Luna 17, with unmanned self-propelled Lunokhod 1, is launched and lands on the Moon
- Two men are shot dead by the Irish Republican Army
- Scientists perform 1st artificial synthesis of a live cell
- Lt Gen Hafez al-Assad becomes PM of Syria following military coup
- In Japan, author Yukio Mishima and two compatriots commit ritualistic suicide after an unsuccessful coup attempt
- George Harrison releases 3 album set “All Things Must Pass”
- Pope Paul VI wounded in chest during a visit to Philippines by a dagger-wielding Bolivian painter disguised as a priest
Wow, this was a pretty fascinating month! It features the rescue of Genie, who many of y’all may have learned about in psychology and sociology classes, the trial of the Seattle 8, and even the stabbing of a Pope! What a crazy time. The events related to the Seattle 8, members of the ‘Seattle Liberation Front,’ a radical anti-war movement, are particularly noteworthy for our purposes. They display the unrest, social upheaval, and political turmoil that we’ve been watching creep into these comics. 1970 is considered the beginning of the end for much of the counter-cultural movement, an ending signaled by the tragedy of Altamont, which came at the tail end of 1969, but clearly these things have not run their course quite yet. We see that the Space Race continues, with a craft landing on the Moon itself. Once again, I’m struck by the contrast between humanity’s best qualities, embodied by this generation’s attempt to reach for the stars, and their worst, embodied in…almost everything else on this list. Well, enough of that. Let’s get to the comics!
The chart topper this month was “I think I Love You,” by the Partridge Family, a song whose odd tune seems somehow fitting for the time.
Roll Call (You can see everything published this month HERE)
- Action Comics #394
- Adventure Comics #399
- Batman #226 (the debut of the awe-inspiring Ten-Eyed Man!)
- Brave and Bold #92
- Detective Comics #405
- The Flash #201
- G.I. Combat #144
- Justice League of America #84
- Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #106
- Superman #231
- World’s Finest #197 (reprints, won’t be covered)
- World’s Finest #198
Bolded entries are covered in this post, the others will be covered soon.
Action Comics #394
“Midas of Metropolis!”
Writer: Leo Dorfman
Penciler: Curt Swan
Inker: Murphy Anderson
“Requiem for a Hot Rod!”
Writer: Leo Dorfman
Penciler: Curt Swan
Inker: Murphy Anderson
Urg! This is yet another of the gimmicky, ‘hero is acting like a jerk for a good reason’ stories that the Silver Age loved so much. This trend is, of course, the origin of the Super Dickery trope, and this comic is a prime example of the form. Just look at that cover! Ohh, those pitiful poor people! I imagine the strategy must have worked. Kids must have thought to themselves, ‘well, he can’t REALLY be doing’ whatever monstrously jerkish act was on the cover, and they’d just have to pick up the book to find out. The practice leaves me pretty cold, and this one is no exception.
This particular story just feels rather pointless. It’s all an incredibly, ridiculously, hilariously elaborate plot to catch a master counterfeiter. It begins with Clark Kent interviewing Cyrus Brand, the richest business magnate in the country, who apparently has an unhealthy relationship with the gigantic globe in his office. During the interview, a pair of dim criminals attempts to rob his vault, apparently forgetting that they’re in Metropolis, and a quick change later, Superman smashes through the wall, probably doing more damage than the criminals would have. His efforts are for naught, though, as a sophisticated security system traps the crooks. This prompts Brand to taunt the Man of Steel, saying that his money is better than any superpower. I’m thinking I’d still like to be able to fly or be bulletproof, but sure.
Beautiful two-page spread but…should we…should we leave him alone with that globe?
Shortly thereafter, Superman begins acting like Super-Capitalist, charging for all of his super-feats. He rescues a sinking ship, a crashing plane, and a derailed train, all belonging to Brand, and he charges for each deed, quickly amassing a fortune and even building his own bank to hold it! The altruistic Man of Tomorrow has turned into a libertarian champion of his own self-interest, and, of course, he is condemned by Lois and his friends. Who is John Gault? Apparently, Superman is. He begins a business war with Brand, rapidly squeezing him out of many industries. Finally, he sells an oil field to the tycoon, throwing in a golden trophy he created to commemorate the sale. When Brand returns to his secret counterfeiting ring, hidden in a lead mine of course, the trophy takes off through the ceiling, revealing its location.
Superman bursts in and captures the crooks, revealing that he had noticed the almost perfect forgeries when he had examined Brand’s vault with X-Ray vision, but he had to go through this ridiculous ruse in order to reveal the guy’s funny money source. He had to gather up all the bogus bucks in secret to avoid a panic, and the job done, he torched it all, giving his remaining holdings to charity.
The whole thing is goofy, but the execution is not terrible. It’s a silly, Silver Age-y plot (I’m going to use that phrase so often, people are going to think I hate the Silver Age, which isn’t the case!) that just feels unnecessary. This is an extreme length to go to in order to catch a counterfeiter. It seems like Superman could have simply spied on the guy with telescopic vision, and sooner or later he’d have led him to his source. Dorfman does make an effort to explain the necessity of the Man of Steel’s business bluff, citing the possible panic caused by a flood of funny money, and I appreciate the effort to cover that angle, even if it is still a bit much. In the end, this is a by the numbers tale, with some fun images of Superman doing some slightly unusual things, like drilling for oil or building his own bank, but it’s pretty forgettable. I’ll give it 2.5 Minutement. It’s silly but not offensive.
I’m not sure why, but something about the ‘Superman National Bank’ strikes me as terribly dystopian…
“Requiem for a Hot Rod”
This is a story that, strangely enough, gains from the predominant absence of Superman. It’s very rare in these old stories that poor, pitiful Clark gets a chance to shine. Usually, he’s just brought in for a quick joke at his expense, and the charm of his secret identity, the quiet strength of the character, is rarely explored. We get a glimpse of something better in this short little backup.
It begins with Clark and Lois riding in an antique car (better motorheads than I can probably identify it) as part of a parade of classic vehicles, when suddenly they are driven off the road by a rampaging drag racer in a modified hearse! Shades of Twisted Metal! Well, Clark is thrown clear of the car and switches to Superman to save the run-off roadsters before switching back. They continue on their way and stumble upon a drag strip and their automotive antagonist. The suped-up hearse is in the midst of a game of chicken, and the driver, “Coffin” Crowley, wins, but the disguised Man of Steel notices a pattern. He calls the racer out, and the crowd force him into his roadster and into a new game of chicken with the supposedly fearless ‘Coffin’ fellow.
Clark holds steady, and the dragster turns away, crashing into bales of hay on the sidelines. After the race, the reporter reveals that Crowley’s undefeated record was the product of cheating, as he had a device in his car that would momentarily blind opposing drivers, causing them to turn away in a predictable pattern. Crowley is humiliated, and the racers learn a lesson about the stupidity of the game of chicken. The best part is the mild mannered one gets to succeed on his own, having used sunglasses to block his opponent’s secret weapon. Kent is given a hero’s welcome after the race and enjoys a rare moment of triumph. Of course, the story ends with poor Clark getting a ticket for holding up traffic as he heads home in his antique auto.
This is a fun little story, and it’s great to see Clark Kent take an inning rather than just be the butt of a joke to protect his secret identity. I haven’t encountered many stories like this in this year of reading, but I’m pleased to see that they are still around. I’m hoping that Clark’s part of the Superman mythos will see some development after the “Kryptonite Nevermore” storyline. In any case, this is a simple but original (in my experience) tale, and the resolution is clever. I’ll give this enjoyable little backup a solid 3.5 Minutemen, brief as it is.
Adventure Comics #399
“Johnny Dee…Hero/Bum”
Writer: Mike Sekowsky
Penciler: Mike Sekowsky
Inker: Frank Giacoia
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Mike Sekowsky
“Television Told the Tale!”
Writer: Robert Kanigher
Penciler: Carmine Infantino
Inker: Bernard Sachs
The Black Canary backup is a never printed story that was written back in the Golden Age, so I won’t be covering it. It isn’t current continuity and it doesn’t really fit into the scope of this project. Instead, I’ll just focus on the headline tale.
I have to say that this cover didn’t exactly instill me with confidence, but I am pleased to say that the story inside, though odd, is actually a fun adventure with some surprising moments of personality. That cover made me wary, as I really don’t care anything for football, but the game is not really the focus, serving instead as the background for the tale. The plot is at once conventional and unusual It’s a standard idea, an athlete is threatened into throwing important games so that the ne’re-do-well villains of the piece can clean up on unlikely bets. The unusual angle is all of this is happening around college football, which just seems incongruous.
The story opens with an awkward attempt at an in media res beginning that doesn’t quite work, as we’re thrown into the middle of a conversation between Supergirl and star athlete Johnny Dee. The boy is refusing to play in a game, and, for some reason, Supergirl has decided to talk to him about it. Why the Maid of Might is involved in the career of a college athlete Sekowsky doesn’t bother to explain. We’re then told, in a fairly nice collage page, the story of Dee’s rise to stardom.
Not willing to let sleeping dogs lie, Supergirl decides to investigate the football star’s sudden case of stagefright. She vibrates through the wall of his girlfriend uninvited after spying on the young lady’s private tears. I think Clark might need to teach his cousin what ‘invasion of privacy’ means! After being scared to death by the sudden materialization of a super-powered alien in her room, the girl, Roxie, says that her beau has sworn her to secrecy. So, Supergirl respects her decision and heads home…err…wait, no, that’s not quite it; she kidnaps the young lady and flies her to Dee’s room to confront him.
This finally elicits the story of his woes, which seem rather out of proportion to the usual lot of a college athlete. Apparently, Johnny and Roxie were recently ambushed by hooded figures who beat them both and told the star in no uncertain terms that if he didn’t follow their instructions to throw certain games, they’d kill his girl. The ambush scene is really pretty effective, dark, moody, and the pain of these two poor, innocent kids is rather touching.
Well, as a result, Johnny feels like he has no choice, and he refuses to go to the police…for some reason. He also refuses Supergirl’s help…for some reason. Sekowsky is having to play logical leap-frog to tell the story he wants, it seems. Nonetheless, the Girl of Steel is not so easily deterred, as we’ve already seen. She spies on the boy until he gets a call from the villains, who tell him that he’d better sit out the next game. To ensure his cooperation, they’ll have three (!) snipers there to kill Roxie if he doesn’t comply. That also feels a tad excessive to keep a college football player in line, but apparently this gambling syndicate is super serious, despite being involved in college athletics.
Supergirl determines to aid the athlete one way or the other, so she watches the next day as the game begins, and in there fun sequences, she captures three hidden or disguised gunmen (one dressed as an old lady!), freeing Johnny Dee from their threat and allowing him to turn the tide of the game. Yet, this syndicate has more guts than gray-matter, and they decide that they want yet MORE trouble with the flying, indestructible sun goddess, so they kidnap Roxie.
The Maid of Might, being a bit more enthusiastic than wise, traps them on a bridge by bending the steel supports into a cage. Yay for the destruction of millions of dollars of public property! It’s also a pretty cool sequence, but while reading it, I kept thinking, ‘geez, there has to be a less destructive way to do this!’ It’s possible I’m getting too old for comics! Anyway, the girl rescued, the heroine drops her back off at the stadium just in time for the winning field goal, kicked by none other than Johnny Dee! Their reunion is sweet, but I enjoyed the coda even more, as Supergirl suddenly remembers her caged crooks and rushes back to capture them, only to be met by an unsympathetic policeman and given a pile of citations! Ha! That’s a surprising and unusual touch, and I quite enjoyed it.
This is a fun story with more personality and charm than I expected. The silliness of some ruthless criminal syndicate being super invested in college athletics, let alone having enough resources to dedicate multiple killers to keeping one particular athlete in check, is a bit much. Still, Sekowsky keeps everything moving and injects enough tension and entertainment into the story to make up for it. I found it particularly interesting that the two supporting characters in this comic were both Black.
That’s still unusual for this time, and I was even more surprised when their race didn’t feature into the story at all. Good for Sekowsky, giving his comic some diversity and treating the move naturally. I’d call that a positive. Nevertheless, there’s a subtext to a pair of African Americans being harassed by hooded whites that should make us all at least a little uncomfortable. I can’t imagine that the imagery was unintentional, and hopefully the injustice of the moment, outside of the context of race, stuck in the minds of readers at the time and made it easier to recognize it in other contexts as well.
On the art front, this book is like most of the Sekowsky pieces we’ve seen lately, varying greatly in quality from page to page. There’s tons of personality in the art, as well as some very striking panels, but there is also plenty of wonky anatomy and awkward composition. Sekowsky art is never boring, at least. Well, I’ll give this unusual little yarn 3.5 Minutemen, held back from 4 by the silly elements, but earning extra for its charm and uniqueness.
That’s it for these books, and fun reads they were. Assuming we all survive inauguration day, I hope you’ll join me soon for the next edition of Into the Bronze Age!
The Greylands 