Triumph Of The Spirit

Captain Triumph debuted in 1943, a bit late to capitalize on the initial super-hero boom. Unlike such early birds as the The Arrow and The Clock, the good Captain outlasted the faddish interests of the ’40s audience and hung on until the end of the decade, headlining several issues of Quality’s Crack Comics in the process.

Created by Alfred Andriola, Captain Triumph’s origin was more unique than most of the era. Lance Gallant vowed to fight the forces of tyranny after his twin brother, Michael, was murdered by Nazis. Unknown to the surviving Gallant, however, The Fates decided to aid the grieving brother’s quest.

Lance soon discovered that Michael’s ghost still walked the Earth, and that the two could combine into the super-powered Captain Triumph whenever the surviving brother touched his birthmark.

Despite his mystic background, Captain Triumph mostly fought down-to-earth criminals in well-crafted tales that employed a bit more characterization than most Golden Age slug-fests.  His rather simple costume also probably aided the Captain’s longevity, as he didn’t quite look like your garden variety super-hero.

The following story introduces a femme fatale who claims to be Michael’s widow, a claim that is obviously false but nevertheless leaves the Gallant brothers in an interesting quandary. Reed Crandall’s typically slick art completes the package.

“The Man Who Robbed The Dead” originally appeared in Crack Comics #53 (Quality, March 1948).

April’s Fool

The Jester wasn’t exactly a candidate for longevity when he debuted in 1941, but the colorfully clad crime-fighter made a total of 64 appearances in Smash Comics until the title was canceled eight years later.

Much of the character’s success can be attributed to the solid storytelling endemic to the entire Quality Comics line, with many of The Jester’s adventures illustrated by the hero’s creator – and one of the greatest artists of the Golden Age – Paul Gustavson.

The premise was also original: A police officer learns he is the direct descendant of a medieval court jester and decides to use his comedic talents to further the war against crime.

Perhaps this spark of originality inspired James Robinson and Gene Ha to revive the character decades later in DC’s deservedly lauded Starman series. Unlike many Golden Age characters that are contorted beyond recognition to fulfill the more “realistic” requirements of modern comics, Robinson and Ha treated the hero with the respect and dignity usually reserved  for less obscure properties.

From Smash Comics #23 (Quality Comics, June 1941), here’s “The Hundred Grand Hobo” by Paul Gustavson.

 

America’s Uncle

After the success of MLJ’s The Shield, Will Eisner was assigned the duty of creating a red, white and blue super-patriot for Quality Comics.

His answer: Uncle Sam, the famed – and non-trademarked – personification of the United States. Using the character design created by James Montgomery Flagg for a 1917 recruitment poster, Eisner added the de rigueur youthful sidekick and pushed the strip into the direction of fables or tall tales instead of the paint-by-numbers adventure approach taken by other publishers’ super-patriots.

(Excluding Joe Simon & Jack Kirby’s Captain America, of course.)

Here’s the first appearance of one of Quality’s more popular – and enduring – characters from National Comics #1 (July, 1940). The script and art are by Eisner and Dave Berg (of Mad Magazine’s “The Lighter Side” fame).

Detective Comics

Although Plastic Man arguably ranks as Jack Cole’s greatest creation, he was equally adept at true crime and horror genres.

The few Cole stories scattered over the first 12 issues of Quality Comics’ Web Of Evil easily represent the height of that publisher’s somewhat tentative entry in the burgeoning horror comics market.

Today’s entry in the Time Bullet’s Four-Star Fright Fest isn’t long on gore, but benefits from Cole’s typically breakneck pacing and broad, near big-foot style art, both of which lend the story a nice sense of foreboding that amplifies the tale’s psychological twists and turns.

From Web Of Evil #8 (Quality Comics, November 1953), here’s “Death Prowls The Streets” by Jack Cole.

Eternal Relief

It wouldn’t be the Halloween season without a mad scientist seeking to create a hulking monstrosity out of used body parts. Enter Doctor Pain, a would-be Victor Von Frankenstein who is too impatient to even wait for his patients to die before harvesting their organs.

Kid Eternity answers the bell for the fourth day of Super-Heroes Vs. Super-Horrors Week to face his most macabre foe yet in “A Tale of A Door… A Doctor … and A Dreaded Cat.”

The story originally appeared in Hit Comics # 26 (Quality, February 1943). The art is by Ruben Moreira.

Keep an eye out for a surprise appearance by one of the Time Bullet’s favorite Golden Age characters …

Remember Time Bulleteers …. if you need someone skilled in the art of Golden Age justice, Blackhawk is your man! Coming tomorrow: The original Mr. Monster!!

Skull And Crossbones

I’m a bit too staid when it comes to spending an entire day talking like a pirate, but I’ll take any excuse for posting a wild and wooly tale of piracy on the seven seas illustrated by the one and only Reed Crandall.

So here’s the swashbuckling Captain Daring vs. “The Alliance Of Evil” by Crandall and inker Les Zakarin. The story originally appeared in Buccaneers #27 (Quality Comics, May 1951).

ParaNorma

Norma Shearer conquers comic books! From Feature Funnies #2 (Quality, November 1937). Text and art by Bernard Bailey, best remembered today as the co-creator of The Spectre and Hourman!!

Lou Fine’s Spirit

When Will Eisner went off to war, he left The Spirit in the hands of perhaps the greatest selection of “ghosts” to ever grace a studio.

The Spirit newspaper strips were written by such luminaries as Manly Wade Wellman (great name) and Bill Woolfolk while penciling duties fell to the likes of Jack Cole and Lou Fine. Inking was handled by Alex Kotzky, Joe Kubert and others.

Not bad, eh?

The following story was pencilled by Fine and inked by the Eisner studio. Eisner considered Fine “the epitome of he honest draftsman. No fakery, no razzle-dazzle – very direct, very honest in his approach.” Joe Simon said both he and Jack Kirby rated Fine as their favorite artist.

Others influenced by Fine’s work include Alex Toth, Jim Steranko and Gil Kane.

When you consider how crude much of the art looked in many Golden Age comics, the simplicity and sophistication of Fine’s work is even more astonishing. He truly stood with the greatest the medium had to offer.

“Thirteen O’Clock” originally appeared in the Dec. 3, 1944 edition of The Spirit Section. However, these pages were scanned from a reprint published in The Spirit #11 (Quality Comics, Spring 1948). GCD guesses the story was written by Manly Wade Wellman.

Monster Mash

Plastic Man was 100 percent Jack Cole’s baby. No other creator has ever come close to equaling the brilliance of Cole’s take on Eel O’Brien’s heroic alter ego.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped people from trying. Over the past 46 years, a who’s-who of talent (Arnold Drake, Phil Foglio, Steve Skeates, Ramona Fradon, Kyle Baker, Frank Miller, etc. etc.) has attempted – and failed – to successfully integrate Plastic Man into DC’s fictional universe, and by extension the modern comics marketplace.

Interestingly enough, the Golden Age Plastic Man enjoyed a phenomenally long run (1941-1956) under the Quality Comics banner and Cole didn’t write and/or draw every single appearance of his most famous creation.

(Although Cole’s output was formidable …)

So what did the writers and artists who ghosted on Plas do differently from the modern creators who tried to reignite the character’s popularity? In my opinion, they stuck to Cole’s basic formula of portraying Plastic Man as the lone voice of reason in an insane world.

It’s an approach that works wonderfully when Plas is allowed to exist in his own, quirky universe, a condition that unfortunately cannot be met in an era where super-hero comics are ruled by serious, tightly integrated continuities that weave stories out of Batman’s or Wolverine’s every hiccup.

(Kyle Baker’s take on Plas’ universe probably came closest to Cole’s, but his Plastic Man was just as crazy as everyone else – which ultimately left no “sane” character to provide an entryway for readers.)

The following story is a good example of how the Golden Age Plastic Man fared without Jack Cole. The adventure is nowhere near as inventive or enthralling as Cole’s efforts, but it’s still fun and does a nice job of addressing the “horror comics” fad of the early 1950s without losing Plas’ unique style of humor.

From Plastic Man #40 (Quality Comics, March 1953), here’s “The Maker Of Monsters.” The writer and artist are unknown.

For Those About To Die…

This tale of wartime sacrifice originally appeared in G.I. Combat #2 (Quality Comics, December 1952). The artist was Robert Q. Sale.