Wowie, wow, wow, wow! Creating videos is hard work! This one took longer than I hoped, and it was aided by the fact that I started to do a little bit more writing for Anititcool.com. You can swing by there and read some of my, “This Week in Comics” articles. That, plus preschools being closed just makes my spare time disappear before I know I have it!
Anyway, this video is about DC Comics- my first comicbook love. DC’s, and comics in general’s best decades were the 40’s, 60’s and 80’s. So this video is about the Top Ten stuff DC published in the 1980’s. I gotta say, it was pretty hard coming up with the list. DC just put out so much good stuff that decade. It probably didn’t help that, that was also the time I started reading comics! I got a few subscriptions for Christmas gifts (FF and Marvel Team-Up), started using my allowance on buying Justice League of America and others at the grocery store, and eventually convinced by parents and older brother and sister to drive me to a comicbook store once a month! That turned weekly once I was able to drive. To date myself, one of my first comics bought at the comicbook store was Blue Devil #1 (I somehow thought that series was going to follow me all the way up today! Little did I know back then how fast things would get canceled!). But still 80’s was a great time, beyond my personal connection. Aside from the top ten list, I have 24 items in the Honor Mentions section! So I tell you honestly, I can’t wait to hear your complaints about this list. Because just about everything DC was doing at this time was so good! So have at it and enjoy, and I’ll see ya next time.
First a word of warning: This is some serious insider baseball here. That said, every comicbook reader knows DC’s continuity is a complete mess, with too many reboots and non-reboots (whatever that is!). I think, the great comicbook genius, Julius Schwartz, is the only one who can save them now!
Here’s my second Golden Age Hero: Ted Grant, aka Wildcat! This is pretty much how Wildcat first appeared to the world in Sensational comics #1, back in 1942. Ted was a professional boxer turned superhero after being framed for murder and hearing about Green Lantern’s crime fighting career.
Wildcat was one of the longest running characters at DC, until the New 52, where he doesn’t exist anymore. Ah well.
I’ve been trying to think of a cool art project for myself. Aside from trying to create comic books and cartoons! Like I really need one. Anyway, I hit upon the idea of drawing all my favorite DC Golden Age heroes- I’m a big fan of 1940’s heroes. The thing I thought of to make it a little more interesting, as to try and draw their first appearance pose! You know Superman from Action Comics #1, Batman from Detective Comics #27, etc. Then I’ll collage them all together! It will probably take me years!
To start off with I have Rex Tyler here, AKA The Hourman. For whatever reasons I always loved his costume. Good old Rex discovered the mother of all steroids in 1940, Miraclo. Specifically designed to work his metabolism (of course!), each pill gives him superhuman abilities for 60 minutes. Making him the man of the hour- Hourman! Here is the first pose anyone ever saw of Hourman on the cover of Adventure Comics #48. He would go on to being a founding member of the Justice Society, before slipping into obscurity.
One finally interesting note about the Hourman, since the start of the war on drugs, writers and editors have been trying to get Rex (and later his son Rick) off the pill. We don’t want kids popping random pills thinking their Hourman or even Underdog, do we?
The Offical blog of Toonocity
http://www.toonocity.com/