Manic Monday Triple Overtime--Two Men In Catsuits Fighting!

A medicine show has come to the sleepy town of Silverton--including a leopard!!

But of course, trouble crops up!

Well, the hunt for the cat is fruitless...and the bodies start piling up!

Fortunately, Wildcat is passing through, and has figured everything out!

Really, the entire reason I chose this story was so I could show Joe Gallagher drawing the hell out of Wildcat beating the crap out of a fake leopard.

And, and what the hell was going on here? Total Scooby Doo plot:

See, it wasn't the real leopard at all!

Well, I don't know if that's true or not, but we'll take your word for it, Wildcat!!

Now, should we ask why Jack Benz just happened to have a leopard suit (complete with steel claws) laying around?

Nah...just look at the pretty pictures!!

From Sensation Comics #44 (1944)

It's Hard To Find Good Help!

Thanks to Doctor Fate, Scooby Doo and the gang have been sent to the 1940s to help the Justice Society stop a bunch of Nazi saboteurs hired by Vandal Savage, because GODDAMN I LOVE COMIC BOOKS!!

Look, here's some of the bad guys!

Well, they're really no match for the team of Daphne and Wildcat!

If you've read enough Golden Age comics, you know this was a real problem for Axis agents!! Just another reason the bad guys lost: poor accent control!!

BONUS: You know how on all the JLA/JSA team-ups, we got those "everybody splits into teams" stories, and each chapter heading was the logos of the heroes involved?

Well, here you go!

You're welcome.

From Scooby Doo Team-Up #77-78 (20018)

Why Batman And Spider-Man Never Show Up For Bail Hearings!!

You know, we all think that we're so clever and post-modern, with our "deconstructing" super-heroes, and questioning how they could ever operate in the real world, etc.

Well, guys, I hate to burst your granfalloon bubbles, byt comics were actually there long, long before you were born.

Take, for example, Wildcat:

He's just beat the crap out of some thugs who were trying to destroy his pals' restaurant.

And, get this, he actually shows up for the bail hearing!!

But lawyers--and the real world--rear their ugly heads!

D'oh!!

Double d'oh!!

So, yeah, Golden Age comics were asking those "Oh, look at me I'm so clever because I can point out  that super-heroes wouldn't work in the world" questions 75 years ago.

So deconstruct that, why don't you.

(Still, did you have to shatter that window, Wildcat? That's our tax dollars at work, there...)

From Comic Cavalcade #2 (1943)

Manic Monday Bonus--Golden Age DC Had The Best Restaurants!

Ted Grant has gone to watch his pal Sock Smith defend his boxing title:

But afterwards, Smith has a shocking announcement:

What?!?

Fair point.

And so, within a couple of months, A beautiful new restaurant graced the environs of Madison Square Garden Oval:

OMG, that is the best restaurant EVER!! I would eat there all the time!!

And so would a lot of others, it seems:

Well, of course a rival restaurateur (who is also a gangster!) can't stand seeing his joint lose business to Sock, which results in nasty sabotage schemes, which results in Wildcat becoming involved.

And, because this is DC Comics and because they gave us a brilliantly daffy building, the final beat-down between Wildcat and our villain takes place on the roof of boxing-glove shaped eatery:

Good gravy, I love the Golden Age!!

From Comic Cavalcade #2 (1943)

April Madness Round III--No, Seriously!!

It's time to continue our meaningless contest, The Seven Justice Soldiers of The Victory League Society!! Heroes fighting for no reason than my childish whim!! Bwahahahaha!!!

Ahem.

Anyway, this morning features the "__Man" group...

vs.

Seriously. They put Hal Jordan and Aquaman in the same group...against Batman?

This isn't much of a contest. Batman sits reading the Gotham Gazette while Hal trips and hits his head on a rock. Oh, Hal...

Meanwhile, while Aquaman desperately looks around for a fish to command, Starman zaps him with his Cosmic Rod. And as tough as Wildcat is, he can't take both Batman and Hourman. Battle's over.

Tune in later this morning for a much more interesting battle...

Friday Night Fights--KKRUNCHH Style!!

No clever intro for this week's Friday Night Fights--just the world's greatest fighter doing what he does best--fighting!!

It's one of those JLA/JSA crossover thingies, as they have to split up into teams and search through time and space to find the missing members of the Seven Soldiers Of Victory! Green Lantern (Earth-1), Aquaman and Wildcat have gone back to prehistoric times to grab the Star-Spangled Kid.

Conveniently, the area is saturated with a "yellow fog," so Hal's ring is useless. And they're on dry land, so we know how useful Aquaman is.

Don't worry, though. When a tribe of Cro-Magnons attack our boys, all you need is Ted Grant:

KKRUNCHH!!

Spacebooger is pretty sure that Wildcat just changed history there...

Heavyweight boxer vs caveman from Justice League Of America #102 (1972), by Len Wein, Dick Dillon, and Joe Giella & Dick Giordano

Now is the time for you to go and vote for my fight! Why? Because what could be better than Ted Grant taking down a giant caveman? So go and vote!!

Friday Night Fights--Clawed Crime-Cracker Style!!

It's time for another bout of Friday Night Fights!

This week I uncovered a new favorite comic in the history of ever, and as a celebration, I'm going to present a tiny little fight from that issue.

You know one of the great things about the Golden Age? You could try out any goddmaned nickname you like for your hero without worrying about sounding silly:

The Clawed Crime-Cracker. Good gosh, that's beautiful.

Anyway, Wildcat is about to make swift work out of a gang of jewel thieves:

HALLLPP!!

Spacebooger wonders why it wasn't Wildcat Vs. Muhammad Ali...

Feline fury from All-Star Comics #27 (1945), by Gardner Fox and John Chester Kozlak

Now is the time for you to go and vote for my fight. Why? Because Ted Grant could f$%^ up you s*&(, and it's about time we remembered that. So go vote!!

A Place In The World!

No snark today about an important comic book:

In late 1945, as injured veterans were coming home from the war and trying to fit back into civilian life, the National Institute for the Handicapped asked DC to do a special comic. They rushed the story into print--apparently the stories for issues #28 and #29 were already done, but everyone wanted this issue out as soon as possible.

We start with Fred Monday, big time athlete:

Fred's younger brother, Jimmy, is confined to a wheelchair (no reason was given).

Fred is, well, kind of a jerk in his feeling towards Jimmy:

Well, after a little trip to the European Theater...

...Fred finds himself with a handicap. And he starts to see things from the other side:

Well, when the Justice Society of America comes to visit Fred's hospital, he secures a meeting with them:

The JSAers have a particularly super-heroic plan:

So Hawkman flies out to Louisiana, where some thieves are using the swamps to escape during some daring robberies.

Ed Laviere suffers from polio, but his knowledge of the swamps and his strong swimming ability help Hawkman bust the goons.

Meanwhile, in "the Northwest," a scumbag is trying to buy up timber land, and using arson to punish those who won't sell.

Young Hal Poroski may be blind...

...but with Dr. Mid-Nite's help, he saves his father's land, captures the crooks, and...

In New Mexico, Sven Lundquist is having a bad time:

In a Scooby Doo plot, extortionists are posing as a Zuni god to demand tribute. With Green Lantern's help, Sven uses his knowledge of local customs and history to nip that in the bud, and...

In "Big City," Anthony Cellini is going deaf, but is too ashamed to let his teachers and classmates know:

His courage (and lip-reading ability) help Wildcat bust up a gang of jewel thieves!

"Out West," Tommy O'Leary isn't taken seriously because of his stutter:

He helps Johnny Thunder thwart a gang of rustlers, and...

Meanwhile, in Hollywood...

Billy Yancy can't get anyone to take his writing seriously. The only agent he could find is actually using the mysteries he writes as blueprints for real-life crimes!!

That ends quickly, with the Flash's help:

And the JSA members return home to tell Frank and Jimmy of their successes:

So:

A worthy lesson and reminder for all of us.

From All-Star Comics #27 (1945). Script by Gardner Fox. Art by Martin Naydel (framing sequences and Flash story), Joe Kubert (Hawkman), Stan Aschmeier (Dr. Mid-Nite and Johnny Thunder), Paul Reinman (Green Lantern) and Jon Chester Kozlak (Wildcat).

The issue is available on Comixology, for less than the price of your coffee this morning, if you wish to read the whole thing.