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Entry #35Issue #25January 1942Rating: 5 Joan goes to work for the the war effort. ‘Keep’em Flying’ issue. Buried in this ad for All Star #8 is 'THE NINE PAGE INTRODUCTORY EPISODE OF WONDER WOMAN! Hawkman is called to duty as well. Hawks work best in a flock of 3.

Newsreel: October 22, 1941 Youtube courtesy of HumanHistoryArchive 1) Hitler flying over Minsk - Hitler in a plane and the city of Minsk flying in - Four shots - Minsk - Hitler sitting in the plane on an airfield, welcomed by many soldiers who acclaim - Two Plans - Hitler shaking hands with Marshal Keitel - Hitler oversees operations map, listening to the explanations given to him by General Jodl - Two levels - Different maps showing successively: - The boundary line of 1914 - The front when Armistice 1917 - Frontier 1940 - The current frontline with new attacks on Moscow and the surrounding of Odessa. 2 °) Italian Troops amount online - Italian troops, in a convoy of trucks, on a road in the southern sector - Italian soldiers with their helmets plumes - German soldiers saluting the passing of an Italian towed gun - Passage of an Italian truck carrying an anti-aircraft gun. 3°) General Antonescu visits the Romanian troops - Two shots of General Antonescu visiting Romanian troops - Romanian soldiers, camouflaged helmet, embarking on gunboats going down the Danube River - two shots - Departure of gunboats completely covered foliage, camouflaged - Three plans. 4°) with the Hungarian and Slovak troops - with the Hungarian and Slovak troops - the vehicles are registered WL: - Progression of a half-track vehicle with a light quick-firing gun - the gun shoots - Russian vehicles destroyed in flames - With German troops south of Smolenks: - German Light Artillery shelling a village - Five shots - some farms burn in the village - anti-tank guns in action - distant fire - two German soldiers crossing the embankment of a railroad and approaching intact fuel tanks - Two planes - fuel jets escaping through the bullet holes at the base of one of the tanks - Towed artillery progressing - Howitzer firing - Soldiers firing mortars - Howitzer firing - Soldiers lying flat casting machine gun - Crossing Lake Peipus by the Germans in motor boats - VG burned a Russian patrol on the lake - German soldiers by the excavation of a series of Russian equipment destroyed on a slope - Attack on a farm run by the Russian - Six shots - Russian soldiers leaving the farm and going - Progression of German vehicles on tracks transformed into swamps - Progression of infantry and tanks to Nikolaev - Columns of Russian prisoners - Four prisoners. a woman soldat 5°) Poverty in Ukraine slums and skeletal children in hospital - Ukrainian Population in slums - Two planes - PANO on some lined up in a children's hospital beds - Sick , skeletal babies are lying on filthy mattresses - children on filthy beds - skeletal child on a bed - a bare skeletal child lying across her bed - It is "eaten" by flies.Emission: Les Actualités Mondiales

Entry #34Issue #24December 1941Rating: 5 Fox’s proto-zeta beam. The Flash still is not universally recognized.Les Watts takes a trip into the hearts of darkness.‘Keep’em Flying’ is a catch phrase used not only on the cover, but in every story in the comic for months to come as a rally cry against the axis. We are introduced to the Hawk-Girl.The Hawkman’s relationship with the birds is expanded upon.

Entry #33Issue #23November 1941Rating: 5 I feel the new era of the Flash begins here. The circumstances of his origin are accidental. Perhaps even carelessness leads him to obtain his super speed. Early on, he seemed more interested in getting Joan’s attention rather then contemplate the responsibility that he now must bear. He also finds himself helping old college buddies. Revealing his real name out of pride; ‘See it’s me – I’ve became someone important!’ His adventures are more aloof and preformed out of indifference to any greater social good. The Flash’s early adventures are full of rescues, but we don’t get a sense that he really is conscious of his actions . . . until now. Up until this issue, the stories seem to be straight entertainment for children. Now, in the late summer of 1941, the editorial staff starts to give their characters throughout the title a sense of a unity that is needed to preserve the DC Universe. This issue also is the first to use the term ‘nazi’. Although not united in the common cause yet, the Hawkman learns of his new ability to communicate with birds. This new self-awareness will serve him as his role in the changing world becomes more invaluable.

Entry #32 Issue #22 October 1941 Rating: 5 With the anticipated of the coming war, the Editorial Advisory Board is publicly announced.

Thanks for the kind words. (thumbs u I've got 84 issues completed. At one issue per week, sometime in 2015 I'll have all 104 issues reviewed. It is my hope that someone starts a similar journal with another title.

Entry #31Issue #22October 1941Rating: 5The Cover story of the Flash battling Chinese Tong is a bit confusing and an excellent vehicle at the same time. Flash stories work best when he is helping Joan Williams get out of trouble – this story has that. However, the bad guy is confusing. Why would a successful white doctor want to change his appearance to resemble a Chinese Tong and rule the Chinatown underworld? The pencils and inks are credited to Hal Sharp. Which may explain why Joan looks less glamorous and a little to homely. Having read these first 22 Flash stories, a central theme emerges. A bad conscious that leads one to do wrong will be reprimanded by the greater good. This simple formula helps explain why I’m interested in collecting this series. As the referee of two small boys under the age of five, they submit to my rulings without putting up much of a challenge. I imagine that was the intent of the DC Editorial Board. It acted as a minder for the youth of the '40s.Here is how these early stories can be broken down into genres: Social realism – clearly define bounds of right vs. wrong (Flash and Les Sparks)Whimsical flirtations outside the social norms with hazardous consequences (Thunder)Ambiguous which side of the law is the good guy on (King)2nd rate Lois and Clark adventure stories (Whip)Detective stories (Flash Novelettes)Violent world of supernatural phenomena (Hawkman)I feel the first epoch of Flash Comics ends with #22. In the next issue, the stories start to reflect the political realities of war. In addition the character of the Flash and the Hawkman start to evolve into their next phase of myth building.

Newsreel 07/41 Pre-war U. S. Army /Air Force Newsreel.

Newsreel 07/41 July 4, 1941. Vichy French version of Deutsche Wochenschau No. 564 on the beginning of the German invasion of Russia. Translation by Olivenstein: On the 22 June 1941 on Radio Berlin, Dr. Goebbels, Reich propaganda minister, reads the Fuhrer's proclamation stigmatising Russian bolshevik action which for twenty years with its duplicitous diplomacy, tried to set Europe ablaze. For his part, at six in the morning, Mr Ribbentrop, foreign minister, reveals to German and the international press the note from the government of the Reich to the Soviet government. From the glacial Arctic ocean to the Black Sea, that is to say a front of 3,000 kilometres, German forces have taken position. Finnish and Rumanian divisions march on the side of the Reich. Italy, Hungary, then Slovakia also joined the anti-Bolshevik crusade. On the East Prussian front, camouflage barriers are torn down. A frontier guard rail is struck down. The German attack of Kovno in Lithuania, which along with Vilna, was occupied in two days. The Lithuanian border. Siberian sharpshooters fiercely defend this frontier village. The first prisoners. Soon, in spite of the resistance of 160 Red Army divisions the frontiers are crossed at every point. The San River is reached. The Soviet border. Beams are laid to enable trucks to use the rail bridge. The speed of the German attacks surprised the Russians such that bridges mined well in advance did not explode. In less than seven days, 2,233 trucks and armoured vehicles and 600 artillery pieces have fallen into German hands. Similarly, 60,000 men were taken prisoner. In parallel with the foot soldiers' advance, German aviation attacks Soviet airfields. Equally in less than a week, 4,107 parked aircraft were destroyed. Above Soviet territory, the Luftwaffe destroys communication centres and airfields. The struggle for the defense of the West is on. The biggest offensive that has ever been witnessed in the course of history has started."

No need to apologize. I do appreciate the interactive discussion. (thumbs u

I just read the lyrics. Nothing in them to suggest causality to the '40s comic strip.

Entry #30Issue #21September 1941Rating: 5Johnny Thunder adopts Peachy Pet. A 12 year old girl that will be his side-kick for many years to come in the strip.Once again, the King vs. the Witch formula is in full swing. The Whip has left the wild west for the more sophisticated locale of New York to battle big city racketeers. The Hawkman cover\story is a science fiction classic with much violence. Compared to the themes of the other strips, the Hawkman stands alone in his solitude of embattlement of the truly weird.

Entry #29Issue #20August 1941Rating: 5 It has taken 20 issues to finally have the cover art related to an actual story in the issue. Once again, the Les Watts story corresponds to real world events occurring. While this issue probably was on newsstands in mid-June, the news of the day would be the defenses being put in place around San Francisco. http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwiibayarea/bak.HTMMay 27, 1941Test firing of the 12-inch coastal defense guns at Fort Barry lit up the evening sky.

Entry #28 In Flash Comics #19 the King meets for the only time the Scarlet Mermaid. This six pager must have been an influence on Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino when they first introduced the Black Canary in Flash Comics #86.

Entry #27Issue #19July 1941Rating: 5 After 1 1/2 years of Flash appearing in comics; crooks still didn't know the Flash -- chumps!The Hawkman unleashes on the Hood. There was a time back in the seventies, I became free to ride my bike uptown every Monday after school with $1.05 in my pocket to buy 3 new comic books. It is that freedom that I am connecting with in my present day experience reading these old comics. It is a freedom that is independent of teachers, parents, homework, wife, kids, work. Within the four color process on two dimensional paper is a world beyond the material that is very much real.

Entry #26Issue #18June 1941Rating: 5 The Flash story uses the Three Stoogies gags to full effect. What appears as an editorial decision to change ‘German’ to ‘Some Foreign’ troops is evident in the Les Watts Story. Also interesting is how the boy’s trip to the Caribbean for a treasure hunt on an island inadvertently discovers the treasure island is inhabited by foreign troops. This fantastic story most likely was dreamed up by the real life fortification under construction at Treasure Island in the SF bay in defense of a foreign invasion. April 1, 1941: Navy took over Treasure Island for use as a military base. What is lost to the present generation reader of the Johnny Thunder stories, until now, is how one of the running themes within the series is how Johnny can’t hold a job. This must have resonated with a youth culture coming of age in the tail end of the Great Depression. Another entertaining 'Minute Movie' strip.Once again,themes are well represented. Crusader of good during the day (Flash), silly playfulness with family (Johnny Thunder), crafty and master of disguise by way of internet avators (King Standish), navigator of dark mysteries (Hawkman).

Johnny Thunder went on to have a 91 issue run. He led a pretty ordinary life, when he wasn't evoking his magical thunderbolt. In 1940, he struggled finding a job during the depression. He even tried being a superhero -- and failed. During the war, he joined the navy -- to the aggravation of his superior officers. Things didn't get much easier for him after the war. The Black Canary was introduced in his strip (#86). Carmine Infantino made here instantly popular with her blonde hair and black fishnet stockings. Johnny and the Black Canary sort of passed by each other for a few issues until she would replace him in issue #92 and continue until the last issue #104.

Entry #25Issue #17May 1941Rating: 5 The cover on #17 has its story told in issue #11. The Hawkman must battle the Golden Mummy – rather routine storyline. This is the last appearance of Cliff Cornwall. Rather than add a new strip, the next issue ran more ads then before, an affirmation that the series was very popular. Baseball is the vehicle for not one but two stories – the Flash and Johnny Thunder. It has occurred to me that the Flash\Hawkman balance is similar to the Superman\Batman combo. The Flash\Superman characters are daylight fighters for the community. The Batman\Hawkman personas work best in the night fighting macabre evil villain and the supernatural. Unlike the Superman\Batman team of writers, the Flash\Hawkman themes are left in the capable hands of Gardner Fox for the first 80 issues.

Music Entry 03/41 "In The Hush Of The Night" by Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra, vocals by Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell, recorded March 19, 1941 Provided by curiosity of MusicProf78 youtube channel.Newsreel 03/41Lend Lease Act is signed into law.

Entry #24Issue #16April 1941Rating: 5 The story that accompanies the iconic cover of #19 is told in this issue. Shiera is kidnapped while on expedition to Northern Mongolia and Hawkman is accepted by the local pagans as their ancient god resurrected. The Hawkman gets to apply his sword to good use. Harry Lampbert uses a variation of his Flash Comics #1 cover for the splash page of the King story. Gangsters learn that Joan knows the Flash. They kidnap her in order to draw the Flash out in the open to kill him. Without evil super-powers to confront him, their plan fizzles out quickly.Minute Movie features start to hit their stride for content.

Entry #23 #15 March 1941 Rating: 5 The Circus is used yet again as the vehicle for this superhero yarn. The Flash clowns around with the bad guys. This is the last we see of the King vs. the Witch match up for a while. The Hawkman meets the Hand. A supernatural spirit conjured up by a jealous brother. Early stories such as this would add to the pathos of the Hawkman’s darker nature.

New Orleans Carnival Week, February 22, 1941 German Newsreel from February 12, 1941 Partial translation of the scenes. Solemn burial of the Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Czaky in Budapest. Receipt of the outgoing Japanese ambassador Kurosu by the guide. Reichsjugendfuehrer Arthur Axmann take you to a visit of several days in Norway, wreath on the German military cemetery in Oslo. Winter Sports in Oslo. Winter Aid concert in Lucerne Hall in Prague, conducted by Herms Niel. The district of Silesia is divided into the two provinces of Lower and Upper Silesia, Karl Hanke as new Gauleiter of Lower Silesia, the appointment of Fritz Bracht Gauleiter of Upper Silesia. Presentation of certificates of appointment and talk of Reich Minister Rudolf Hess. Request concert donations will be distributed to mothers in the kingdom. Kapitaenleutnant Schepke and his crew are invited to Ruhpolding in Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria. Kapitaenleutnant Schepke speaks in the Berlin Sports Palace on German youth about his experiences as a submarine commander.

Entry #22 The following comparison shows the similarities between the Hawkman story from Flash Comics #14 with Hawkman #7 that was published over 24 years later.

Entry #21 Issue #14 February 1941 Rating: 5 War themes begin to take shape within this issue . . . Another King vs. the Witch match of wits . . . Les Watts . . . Gardner Fox looks to the construction of the Midtown Tunnel, completed on November 15, 1940, for inspiration of this Flash story. Playing on the anxiety of cave-ins during construction of the tunnel, the Flash uncovers two competing mayoral candidates in a battle to win public support for their leadership in the public works project. The Hawkman meets the Mighty Scorio. Scorio’s mystery religion is resurrected with malevolent intentions. The encounter foreshadows the Silver Age Hawkman #7 in “Attack of the Crocodile-Men!”