tabcom Posted May 20, 2013 Author Share Posted May 20, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryw7 Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 I'm loving this thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted May 20, 2013 Author Share Posted May 20, 2013 (edited) I'm loving this thread! Edited May 20, 2013 by tabcom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vision75 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Entry #5 Splash Page from Flash Comics #22 Johnny Thunder John L. Thunder was born in the Bronx on July 7, 1917, a Saturday – the seventh day of the seventh month in a year ending in a seven, on the seventh day of the week. This coincided with the Seventh Circle of the Moon Lashseen in the calendar of the small Asian country of Badhnisia. Knowing that this would give such a child great potential, the High Priest of Aissor sent agents to kidnap a child born at that time. Disguised by having his hair and skin darkened, Johnny was spirited away to Badhnisia. There was a ceremony in which a belt bearing the Eternal Zone of the Zodiac was placed on him and the secret words "Cei-U" (pronounced "Say You") spoken seven times. The spell thus cast would take effect on the child’s seventh birthday. But the neighboring nation of Agolea learned of the child who would one day have the power to conquer the world and launched a war to capture him. The High Priest had Johnny taken by a nurse to a hiding place in a fishing village north of Brunei, Borneo. One day he slipped away and was playing in a small boat when the tides and winds took him out to sea. He was picked up by an American freighter that brought him to New York. There he was identified by a strawberry mark on his left shoulder and returned to his parents (who by now had two younger children). During the week of his seventh birthday, torrential rains fell all over the world – except on the Thunder home. The High Priest knew this meant that Johnny (who still wore the Zodiac Belt), now had the power. He sent agents to abduct him, but by then Simon Thunder had moved and changed jobs. They didn’t find Johnny until 1939, when he was 22. Though he didn’t yet know it, he could command a magic Thunderbolt. With his power, Johnny became Heavyweight Champ, but vacated the title to please his girl, Daisy Darling. His one-day career as a rodeo rider was at Madison Square Garden, when he saved the life of a little blond orphan girl who fell in the path of a rampaging steer. Soon after, he adopted the girl, named Peachy Pet. Johnny was present at the first meeting of the Justice Society of America and became a sort of mascot – until the Flash resigned his active membership and Johnny was chosen to replace him. During World War II, Johnny joined the U.S. Navy. When the conflict ended, Johnny was 28 (4 x 7) – a power high. Thus the High Priest waited a year, then cast a spell that gradually reduced the hero’s power over the Thunderbolt, till he was only answering about one call in four. This caused Johnny to resign from the JSA, to be replaced by his friend the Black Canary, whom he had a crush on. Finally, Johnny’s power vanished entirely. By this time, the King of Badhnisia was dying. The High Priest had Johnny abducted again and cast a spell that forced him to obey the priest’s commands and forbade him to use the Thunderbolt against him. Only then did he restore the power. And when the King died, Johnny was placed on the throne, and the High Priest announced his plans for world conquest. But Johnny found an out. He sent the Thunderbolt for Superman, who, with the aid of his wife, Lois, overcame the priest. Johnny remained in Badnisia to teach the people about democracy. When their first President was elected, he returned home. What happened to the Zodiac Belt has not been determined. POWERS AND WEAPONS When he speaks the words "Say You" (Cei-U), Johnny has absolute power over the genie-like Thunderbolt (who is smarter than Johnny) for one hour. Wow, that Johnny Thunder! I had know idea the backstory was so rich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted June 1, 2013 Author Share Posted June 1, 2013 (edited) 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). Edited June 8, 2013 by tabcom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 I'm falling behind with the thread… Today I’ve been to an italian conventions & started to re-focus on my golden age period italian research – hopefully this will prompt me to get back on track and start writing something to find elements of interest to compare the countries output within the same time-frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share Posted June 8, 2013 (edited) 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. Edited June 8, 2013 by tabcom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 (edited) 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. Edited June 22, 2013 by tabcom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) 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. Edited June 29, 2013 by tabcom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 It just occurred to me there is a 1968 Kinks song titled "Johnny Thunder". Do you know if it is dedicated to the character (I did not check the lyrics)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 I just read the lyrics. Nothing in them to suggest causality to the '40s comic strip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I guess the Shamen’s "Adam Strange" may have a little to do with the character as well… Sorry for the interference… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted June 30, 2013 Author Share Posted June 30, 2013 No need to apologize. I do appreciate the interactive discussion. (thumbs u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 The Kinks, in "The Village Green Preservation Society" state that they are "preserving the old ways from being abused" and "protecting the new ways for me and for you", so I thought the song would have fit in that… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted July 4, 2013 Author Share Posted July 4, 2013 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." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabcom Posted July 4, 2013 Author Share Posted July 4, 2013 Newsreel 07/41 Pre-war U. S. Army /Air Force Newsreel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
