Comments on: Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #81

By: Robert Carnegie

Robert Carnegie — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:19:03 +0000

I don't think the Private Strong cover looks gay. But (1) I'm not gay (but I am British) and (2) he hasn't put on his cute little Robin mask yet. Either probably makes the difference. There's the phrase "dog whistle" which I hope doesn't have a particular negative meaning in this context. Maybe it was Robin's little mask that clinched it for Dr Wertham, whom I believe changed his mind later.

By: Fred

Fred — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:22:18 +0000

"It is on the list I posted."

No offense John but my eyes glazed over before I was halfway through that list you posted. All Caps and a number of repeats.... Not something that will keep people's attention.

By: Julio

Julio — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 23:36:27 +0000

Well, as always i'm too late, but about the Anun's Commentary, I'm gay and I actually felt strangely attracted by that cover of Private Strong! That and the "Double Life" Title....hahaha, It's really homoerotic!

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 10:29:19 +0000

Elaine, you are just to funny. Don’t ever loose your sense of humor. wallmart

By: Ted Watson

Ted Watson — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 20:26:59 +0000

Looking over this board, something occurred to me. I mentioned remembering having had digest reprint books of ARCHIE superhero material, including the Pvt. Strong origin, which, I also said, reeked of being a Supes/Cap hybrid. But if the original was cancelled because DC threatened to sue over alleged Super--plagiarism, why would ARCHIE give any consideration whatsoever to REPRINTING the thing? One theory just popped to mind: There was completely new management who didn't know what had happened, and DC didn't notice the digests when they came out, as only two issues were published (although this was just a couple of years before they put out their own line in that format, and SOMETHING had to have given them the idea).

By: Ted Watson

Ted Watson — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 19:59:40 +0000

Erik: "Thomas Wayne also fought crime in a batlike costume in World's Finest #255...." [Post #23] John McDonagh: "That was in Detective Comics#225, not by Bob Haney...." [sic][Post #30] The GCD shows that in WF #255's Supes/Bats feature, written by Haney, a story entitled "Thou Shalt Have No Other Batman Before Me" and a cover, by Jim Aparo, showing a man in a costume similar to but significantly different from that worn by the regular hero, pushing him aside and saying, "Only the original Batman can save [Superman]!" If the cover is merely symbolic rather than a literal recreation of a scene within the story, then it might well be the late Dr. Wayne behind that mask. Never liked Haney making up all kinds of garbage as he went along with no consideration to what had already been done, myself.

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 17:32:52 +0000

That oneâ€™s not much of an urban legend yo go re. It made a really big splash (for a comic related story anyway) in the news when Marvel announce the â€œDi Another Dayâ€ storyline for X-Statix.

True, but wouldn't it be fun to run it just for the righteous indignation it would bring?

By: John McDonagh

John McDonagh — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 16:07:07 +0000

Thomas Wayne also fought crime in a batlike costume in Worldâ€™s Finest #255. Good olâ€™ Bob Haney. I loved his â€œinstant retconnedâ€ stories he wrote in the 60â€™s and 70â€™sâ€¦

-----------That was in Detective Comics#225, not by Bob Haney.

Superman subconsciously constantly super-hypnotized everyone through his glasses so they wouldnâ€™t make the connection between him and Clark Kent.
-----------------It is on the list I posted.

First revealed as a distinct world in GREEN LANTERN [second series] #32 (Oct., 1964).
-------Named after GL#32.

By: The_Unnamed_One

The_Unnamed_One — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 16:04:50 +0000

That one's not much of an urban legend yo go re. It made a really big splash (for a comic related story anyway) in the news when Marvel announce the "Di Another Day" storyline for X-Statix.

By: yo go re

yo go re — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 05:08:28 +0000

Here's a fun one: "Did Marvel try to use Princess Di in a comic after she died?"

By: RichardW

RichardW — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:21:19 +0000

Private Strong or Tom Strong? "Private Strong was a boy whose fatherâ€™s experiments resulted in Strong gaining super powers, which he used secretly as The Shield!!!" "I saw a digest reprint of that versionâ€™s origin, and, as I recall, it involved the character being rocketed (or something) from a dying civilization, which was an Atlantisâ€“like island (maybe Atlantis itself). " "Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero". He was raised in a high-gravity chamber and given an intensive education by his somewhat eccentric mad scientist father, on the fictional West Indian island of Attabar Teru." Hmmm (OK so everyone else in the world already knew this and it's just me that hadn't noticed . . .)

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:02:02 +0000

I wonder if a couple of the other "What were they drinking?" DC superhero stories belong on Earth-32 (or Earth-B, or wherever):

* Superman subconsciously constantly super-hypnotized everyone through his glasses so they wouldn't make the connection between him and Clark Kent.

* The 70s Legionnaires were really much older than teens, but 30th century youth serums (or something like that) kept them artificially young.

By: DaveB

DaveB — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:50:52 +0000

Mark Gruenwald (and maybe his dad) came up with the idea of Earth-B several decades ago, wherein all the non-canonical DC stories occurred, such as the Thomas Wayne Jr. story (the "B" not only stood for the B in Boltinoff, but also the B in Bob Haney, as these two gentlemen were largely responsible for coming up with plotlines that a) proved to be popular with the kids and b) maddeningly inconsistent with the fans. Murray and Bob also came up with the Super-Sons saga, possibly the goofiest of all plotlines in the 1970s (and there is plenty of competition for that honor).

I dunno why John Wells went to the trouble of trying to rename Earth-B as "Earth-32" ... unless of course there's some money in it

By: David

David — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 16:27:12 +0000

To Bob D, about the origin of Crisis on Infinite Earths - False. Marv Wolfman has discussed at length the genesis of this story. It was his creation from the beginning as original tale.

By: Erik

Erik — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 05:43:27 +0000

Thomas Wayne also fought crime in a batlike costume in World's Finest #255. Good ol' Bob Haney. I loved his "instant retconned" stories he wrote in the 60's and 70's...

By: Ditko Hands

Ditko Hands — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 22:10:36 +0000

Herkimer Jerkimer, a Vertigo one-shot by Ed Brubaker from 1995 comes very close to your Brother Power idea. A Gen-X guy somewhat similar to the media image of Kurt Cobain thinks he's the son of Prez. It's called "Smells Like Teen President."

By: John McDonagh

John McDonagh — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 21:01:05 +0000

UPERMAN AT BLOOMINGDALES was a newspaper ad in the March 17, 1988 edition = of the New York Times and took up three full pages. Joe Orlando & Dick ...

John Wells sent me this e-mail detailling where he got all those comics fro=
m.

Yep, the SUPER POWERS COLLECTION is the series of mini-comics. I don't own =
these myself (or some of the others, like the VIEWMASTER MINI-COMICS) but Mi=
ke Tiefenbacher has 'em and gave me the info. Yeah, it would be fun to see s=
ome of those comics reprinted (though I'd imagine some are pretty awful).

THE AQUATEERS MEET THE SUPER FRIENDS was a twenty-page giveaway comic with =
an eight-page Giordano framing sequence around a Fradon Aquaman reprint. Thi=
s may have been a promotion for Florida's Seaworld but I can't find my descr=
iption.

BATMAN: THE LAST ANGEL was the Eric von Lustbader graphic novel. Although i=
t was officially an Elseworlds, I thought it read like a fractured version o=
f Earth-One â€¦ and thus a perfect fit for Earth-32!

BATMAN: THE PERIL OF THE PENGUIN, SUPER HEROES: PRISONERS OF THE STARS, SUP=
ERMAN: LUTHOR'S IMPOSSIBLE CRIME and WONDER WOMAN: THE CHEETAH'S JEWEL CAPER=
were mini-comics premiums from Fruity & Cocoa Pebbles in 1979. I have all t=
hese and the 1980 quartet from Super Sugar Crisps:

BATMAN: THE JOKER'S LAST LAUGH, SUPER HEROES: THE SECRET OF THE SINISTER LI=
GHTHOUSE, SUPERMAN: TERRA-MAN'S SKYWAY ROBBERY and WONDER WOMAN: THE ANGLE M=
ENACE. There was also a 1994 quartet from Cinnamon Honey Buns: THE FLASH VS.=
DR. POLARIS, JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA VS. AMAZO, SUPERMAN VS. METALLO and WON=
DER WOMAN AND THE STAR RIDERS VS. PURRSIA. I have all of these but the Flash=
comic.

SUPERMAN AT BLOOMINGDALES was a newspaper ad in the March 17, 1988 edition =
of the New York Times and took up three full pages. Joe Orlando & Dick Giord=
ano did the art.

SUPERMAN: THIS ISLAND BRADMAN was, believe it or not, a new eight-page stor=
y commissioned by Godfrey Bradman as a birthday present for his son, Daniel,=
in 1988. The story (by David Levin, Curt Swan and Angelo Torres) featured t=
he entire Bradman family. The comic also reprinted Byrne's SUPERMAN # 2.

WONDER WOMAN (Power Records) # 35 was like the other comics-and-records of =
the era with a 20-page story and accompanying 45 record. It was "The Secret =
of the Magic Tiara" and not canonical. WONDER WOMAN [first series] # 167/1 f=
eatured the whereabouts of the original Diana Prince, still unmarried, unlik=
e her Earth-Two and Earth-One counterparts. The WW of the not-quite-Earth-Tw=
o world (a.k.a. Earth-40) had fought Dr. Psycho in WW # 160 and 165. The sto=
ry in WW # 170 featured Psycho in battle with Earth-One's WW â€¦ or so it seem=
ed until Roy Thomas revealed that they hadn't met until WW # 288-290. Conseq=
uently, WW # 170/1 had to be moved to Earth-32.

WORLD'S FINEST COMICS # 223 and 227 were the two issues dealing with Bruce =
Wayne's institutionalized brother, Thomas, Jr. This was unofficially regarde=
d as non-canon. There's also a sequence where Deadman possesses Superman's b=
ody, an experience that was ignored and contradicted in DC COMICS PRESENTS #=
24.

Ah, the wonders of Earth-32!
Take it easy,
John

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BATMAN: THE PERIL OF THE PENGUIN, SUPER HEROES: PRISONERS OF THE STARS, SUP=
ERMAN: LUTHOR'S IMPOSSIBLE CRIME and WONDER WOMAN: THE CHEETAH'S JEWEL CAPER=
were mini-comics premiums from Fruity & Cocoa Pebbles in 1979. I have a=
ll these and the 1980 quartet from Super Sugar Crisps:

SUPERMAN AT BLOOMINGDALES was a newspaper ad in the March 17, 1988 edition =
of the New York Times and took up three full pages. Joe Orlando & Dick G=
iordano did the art.

Ah, the wonders of Earth-32!

Take it easy,

John

By: Jef Hamlin

Jef Hamlin — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 19:12:48 +0000

Interesting that John Wells put those WFC stories on Earth-32. I would have thought they were on Earth-B, the place where the Batman-Wildcat stories and Super-Sons (before their being explained away) stories were thought to take place by fandom. (B for Boltinoff.)

Brian, you might find some info on the Steve Gerber Wonder Woman relaunch in the first or second Amazing Heroes preview specials (the ones part of the regular series) to get you started.

By: Tricia

Tricia — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 07:21:15 +0000

Jeff Albertson- Pre-Crisis Wonder Woman had two sisters, Nubia and, of course, adopted sister Donna Troy. Nubia appeared in Wonder Woman Vol. 1 #s 204-206, then she appeared in Supergirl Vol. 1 # 9, and then in Super Friends! #25. She was not in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Nubia as "Nu'Bia" has appeared a few times Post-Crisis, but no longer as Wonder Woman's sister. Though she didn't appear much, Mego still produced an action figure/doll of Nubia for the Wonder Woman TV Show figure line (which she never appeared on, no matter what the packaging says). I did want to ask about something I read on Wikipedia, which I know can have false or mistaken information on it. In the Wonder Woman entry it says that mid-way through the 1980s there was going to be a revamp done by Steve Gerber, but it ended up not getting published and they ended the series. Is the information about Steve Gerber's revamp true, and if so, what would it have been like?

By: Bully

Bully — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 06:45:22 +0000

"SUPERMAN AT BLOOMINGDALES"

???

Man, I so wanna read that!