Comic Book Resources

“Presuming they were both dealing with drivers of equal skill, if Reed Richards and Tony Stark were both to design a soapbox derby car, which one would deliver the better car?”

Captain America would use a SHIELD device to disable both of their cars and race to victory. Until Thor smashes his car inches from the finish line.

ALways liked Alan Scott the best — of course, it helps that he had Alfred Bester writing him for awhile.

The Flash cover is an homage to Flash v.2 #48, a very similar cover in which Wally does the bullet-catching.

Oh, and Tony’s racer would go faster, get absurdly good mileage, and contain a jacuzzi and a complete home entertainment system; but Reed’s would be Negative-Zone-worthy and have a switch that instantly defeats Annihilus, Doctor Doom, and Thanos from half a galaxy away.

Or the first issue of FLASH COMICS, shown above, where it’s Jay Garrick catching the bullet..

Indestructible Man beat me to it, but I’ll add that Jay’s my favorite Original JSAer

The Golden Age Atom’s my favorite. His superpower is being short. If you got a power ring or are the omnipotent wrath of God and you beat up a bunch of muggers… I’m not impressed. But if ALL you got is a defective pituitary gland and you’re out there everyday putting yo’ ass on the line… That’s REAL superheroing.

My favorite old fogey is probably Hourman, for the concept and cool name, or Sandman, for the visual. I never really warmed up to Alan Scott or Jay Garrick… I also must give props to the Atom, whose power is simply being short. Or something.

But you totally left out Johnny Thunderbolt, didn’t you?

The SHIELD barbershop is also neat… I remember it showing up in Thunderstrike.

Todd Klein is a terrific letterer, and Desolation Jones is the best-lettered comic in the universe.

Reed’s car would be better, of course, because it would run on a Kirbydot ™ engine and travel through time, whereas Iron Man’s would just have a ridiculous amount of weapon systems.

I’ve always been partial to the Spectre, myself, although those old Doc Fate stories have a certain stiff charm…

I think it’s time they just named the letter Eisner “The Todd Klein Award”, retired him into the Hall of Fame or something, and let somebody else win once in a while! That said, he really is one of the very best, if not the best.

They sent the S.H.I.E.L.D. barbershop up in Not Brand Echh in hilarious fashion; I wish I had my old copies back so I could scan it!

And usually Soapbox Derby races are for kids, and Tony doesn’t have any! Legitimate ones, that is. Winner: Franklin Richards! Assuming they let him compete, of course…

clearly the winner of the soap box derby car would be tony… you see tony would design to win.. reed would get involved in where the car takes his imagination.. reeds car would shoot off for a tour in the negitive zone or where the time varent athority resides.. franklin would get an eduaction but he wouldnt win..

on the other hand.. tony designs things that have a goal from the start.. objects that accomplish a goal… bombs = blows up real good.. need to fly = jet boots need to glide?= roller skates ….
Tony will do what it takes to win and like captin Kirk.. think around the rules to do so….

My cash is on IM every time.. (but reed is still smarter.. his car would have seat belts.. tony’s would have cup holders..).. I also think that cassie lang would drive… tony would ask scott… (assuming that wanda didn’t stop me from reading comic books like she did a while back..)

now the real chalange would be if DOOM and Kristof entered the race…

I have a fondness for the GA Dr. Fate in spite of (or perhaps because of?) his oversized granny panties.

tony would win…why? not because of intelligence..we all know reed is before more smarter.
we all know reed would have every angle calculated..whers tony would make something fast..reed would make a car that had maxium speed trajectory over an uneven surface with a surface tension of 1.25..etc etc.

but reeds married.

sue would nag him to do chores by the time he was done fixing light bulbs and such..tony would all ready be poping the non-alcholic champange cross the finish line.

Also, Tony’s car will run on beer.

S.H.I.E.L.D. BARBER SHOP…!

Right F’ing on!

Check out the second issue of the upcoming AVENGERS: EMH2 for a little visit to that very same barber shop…

Joe Casey

Hmm, I liked all the original JSA, but wasn’t a big fan of Fate or Spectre.

But if I have to go with just one–Sandman.

The Spectre wins for best creepy origin and unique “kill moves” (decades before Mortal Combat even), but the version of Hourman from Allred’s Solo issue may be my favorite superhero ever.

The Golden Age Spectre had the most gloriously whacked-out stories. His first JSA adventure had him battling a bronze monster from the dark side of the moon who came to Earth just to kill people at random, and racing the monster through space (space filled with clouds) and across dimensions to find some lost gem with an unpronounceable name. Beautiful stuff.

the guy in the FLASH115 cover missed a bullet rocketing towards Flash’s crotch.

“Presuming they were both dealing with drivers of equal skill, if Reed Richards and Tony Stark were both to design a soapbox derby car, which one would deliver the better car?”

Stark would win because he’d BRIBE a supervillain to DESTROY Reed’s car midway through the race just to prove a POINT.

I’ve got a soft spot for four of the classic JSA’ers you listed: Doctor Fate (primarily for the DeMatteis era stories), the Sandman (primarily from his guest appearance in James Robinson’s Starman series), and both the Flash and Green Lantern because they’re so cool as the “elder statesmen” of the post-Crisis DC Universe. (Interesting thought, there, and I don’t know if it’s been addressed…since post-Crisis Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman’s origins have all been moved up into the post-WWII era, who was the “first” hero in current DC continuity? Was it, in fact, Flash or Green Lantern?) If push came to shove, though, I’d have to say Alan Scott gets my nod. But really, I love ‘em all, even the Spectre.

Tony would win in a soapbox derby race, because his intellectual bent has always tended towards the practical, while Reed’s has tended towards the abstract. Reed would more than likely never bother to build his racer, having proven on paper that the design he created is theoretically sound and would work if he ever got around to it…but he’s just found a dimension that exists within a frequency of light, and he’s got to use the soapbox-derby-racer parts to build a prismatic dimensional viewer.

(The interesting corollary to that is, “If Reed Richards ever decided to sit down and make a suit of combat armor like Tony’s, it’d wind up being much better than the Iron Man armor–after all, he built exo-suits that duplicated his own stretching ability and Ben’s strength, without any seeming effort. But he just never bothered.”)

I’m going to disagree with everyone here and say that Reed would win. Tony’s car would be better designed, but (as long as it wasn’t explicitly against the rules) Reed would incorporate something like a time-dilation device or a teleporter or an advanced AI that would not only let his car win the race, it would also defeat the supervillains who showed up to disrupt the whole event (probably by transforming into a giant soap-box robot or something). Tony wouldn’t necessarily follow the rules, but he’d never think to incorporate a Negative-Zone Tunneler or a Quantum-Temporal Projector into his car “just in case” he needed it.

What about opening this up to other uber-scientists? Doom would lose, but it would be a particularly spectacular loss where he’d take out all of the other drivers EXCEPT for Richards. Luthor would lose, but he’d rig the race so he’d get the prize money anyway. Ant-man would lose, because he’s Hank Pym, and if both Reed and Tony were in the race with him, there’s no way he could hope to win anyway.

Oh, and Bruce Banner’s car would be Gamma-Ray powered, suffer a minor setback early in the race enraging him, and the Hulk would smash the car into bits then ride what’s left like a unicycle across the finish line while being chased by US Army tanks.

That SHIELD secret entrance reminds me of the secret location of the military headquarters in Larry Hama’s G.I. Joe comic book. It was (if I remember correctly) hidden under a motor garage of a Chaplain’s Assitant School on a base in Staten Island. Yep, all of those high-tech training rooms and expensive military hardware stashed under a place of religious training. And the chaplain’s assitants never seemed to notice. I think Hama poked fun at this convention (which he created) but it’s been so long since I read any of those comics I don’t remember.

“Interesting thought, there, and I don’t know if it’s been addressed…since post-Crisis Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman’s origins have all been moved up into the post-WWII era, who was the “first” hero in current DC continuity? Was it, in fact, Flash or Green Lantern?”

It’d be a shame if it wasn’t the Crimson Avenger. He’s never been the greatest superhero; they might as well let him keep being the first.

When Robinson wrote the Starman storyline with Wesley Dodds (Sandman), he included narration from Jack Knight that designated Dodds as the first hero in the DC Universe.

Subsequently, Grant Morrison put together a JLA story in which Aztek (?) gets inducted into the League by swearing an oath on the costume of the Crimson Avenger–and is told that the Avenger was first.

I like everyone on the JSA, but I’d pick Sandman if I had to designate a favorite: Sandman Mystery Theatre, the romance comic that masqueraded as a noirish superhero book, is probably my top series of all time.

My favorite JSAer would probably be either Hourman or the Sandman. But honestly, they’re all pretty cool.

John Ostrander wrote a Golden Age Secret Files story that reestablished the Crimson Avenger as the first super hero. He also added a retcon that had the Avenger being inspired by getting a glimpse of the future and seeing Superman’s death. So the Crimson Avenger was “avenging” a man who hadn’t been born yet.

And secret entrance on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was through a tailor shop, not a laundromat.

The Alan Scott Green Lantern usually tops my list of favorite original JSA’ers simply on the basis that he’s left handed, something you don’t really see alot of. His adventures weren’t always as out there and interesting as Dr.Fate or Hawkman’s were though so there were times when they tended to be more fun (heh) to read.

OK, I’m going to reveal ignorance here, because I was all prepared to vote for the kick-ass Doctor Mid-nite. (Yes, despite the wacky spelling.) But I guess he wasn’t a founding member? Anyway, love me some Dr. McNider, and some Dr. Cross too. He should still be kicking it with Dinah, btw.

Of the guys who qualify, well, Green Lantern in (almost) any form is always a fave. (Guy Gardner’s the exception.) (And G’nort, of course. Talk about spoiling your brand!) Alan’s got the advantage of the blond hair and poofy sleeves, which really make him stand out. I’m also a huge fan of Hourman, for the costume primarily, which I think is one of the best ever, and also the concept, which led so easily to the later notion that Miraclo was dangerously addictive. Good stuff, that.

Mid-Nite joined in All-Star #8, alongside Starman. It’s the same issue with the backup story that introduced Wonder Woman, and was reprinted as a DC Millennium Edition, so you might be able to find it cheap without shelling out 50 bucks for a DC Archives volume.

favorite WWII-era JSAer of all is Mr. Terrific, for being the modern Batman before the modern Batman. But of the originals, Hourman. Like everyone else said, he’s got a great gimmick and a costume that doesn’t make you want to pluck your eyes out.

The Soap Box Derby would be a great story for an annual, if they still did them. Reed and Tony both bust their humps building these things, trying to top each other, but some kid with a simple wooden racer wins. Why? Because the Big Brains’ cars were too heavily laden with technology to actually get a swift start.

I could see the soapbox plot turning up in a “Son of a Genius” strip.

The Crimson Avenger as the first Superhero is a staple of DC continuity going back to after the crisis (I think History of the DC Universe establishes it, if not Roy Thomas’ Secret Origins or the Crimson Avenger mini. And so he should be as Crimson pre-dates even Batman (though he first appeared four months after Superman in 1938). I really liked using the Crimson Avenger’s hat and cloak for the swearing in of new JLA members– I hope they retain that in the new JLA.

Favourite JSA member…I’d probably go with the Flash because, all these years later, I still love that costume! (I love the thrown together nature of it– it’s not spandex but a guy with a red sweater, blue trousers, boots and mining helmet. Same thing is true of the Sandman and Green Lantern– there’s a homemade quality to it that makes it work). That said, the Atom would get a close second vote.

Favorite JSA member would probably be a tossup between Hawkman and Dr. Fate. Always loved Hawkman for reasons I still can’t explain, but Dr. Fate has the Coolest Helmet Ever.

re: Lettering Eisner. In all those years, Dave Sim really seriously never won one?

James: “That SHIELD secret entrance reminds me of the secret location of the military headquarters in Larry Hama’s G.I. Joe comic book. It was (if I remember correctly) hidden under a motor garage of a Chaplain’s Assitant School on a base in Staten Island.”

Yup, though I don’t remember the Staten Island part. There was one story where they had to send the Chaplain’s assistants on a field trip because COBRA was coming to attack them. The first issue after the battle (which left the Pit in ruins) was a splash of the CA’s returning to a smoking pile of rubble and asking what happened.

Answer? “A boiler exploded.” “There’s nothing left!” “All the boilers exploded.” Got a laugh out of me as a juvenile.