Early mention of Computers in Comics? 1 1

[bounty_coder]

Curious if anyone knows of other early references to computers in the Golden Age?  I recently became the owner of a copy of Sensation Comics #63 and it had the following on the cover

It is obviously a reference to a computer / AI (Artificial Intelligence) from 1947.  The first electronic computer was said to have been created in 1943 (to some degree) and developed further through 1945 to be the ENIAC.

I've got to think this is the first time a notion of a computer has referenced in or on a comic book but am curious if anyone has other examples?

 

"Wonder Woman 
Solves Mystery
AMAZING THINKING MACHINE IS SUPERIOR
TO THE HUMAN MIND--IT SOLVES PROBLEMS
WHICH HAVE BAFFLED  THE WORLD'S GREATEST
SCIENTISTS"

(not my copy)

 

Edited January 24, 2020 by bounty_coder

[catman76]

There were computers in Buck Rogers comics in the early 30s. Those were reprinted in Famous Funnies starting in like 1935 so I am sure there was computers in those. Plus there has to be computers in early 40s comics, like Planet Comics and stuff. 

[Electricmastro]

There’s a super-computer in Comic Cavalcade #29 (October, 1948), though it’s referred to as a “thinking machine.”

[porcupine48]

Bronze Age but Legion of Super-Heros number three has a hilarious killer computer.I only bring it up because I JUST re-read an old beater last night Fun.

Edited January 24, 2020 by porcupine48

[Electricmastro]

Superman #60 (September, 1949).

 

World’s Finest Comics #44 (February, 1950).

 

Blackhawk #102 (July, 1956).

[Jayman]

Hey Bounty! I was just going through some new books that came in and I saw this ad page that made me think of this thread. Book is from 1967 but is an early computer ad.

Edited January 24, 2020 by Jayman

[Taylor G]

On 1/23/2020 at 5:07 PM, bounty_coder said:

It is obviously a reference to a computer / AI (Artificial Intelligence) from 1947.  The first electronic computer was said to have been created in 1943 (to some degree) and developed further through 1945 to be the ENIAC.

The first programmable computer would have been the Colossus built at Bletchley Park, there were versions of it running in 1943.

However the British with their penchant for secrecy had all Colossi dismantled (and parts returned to the post office!), and all documents and drawings destroyed.  It was forgotten until historians dug up information about it in the 1970s.

If you read E. E. Doc Smith's Lensman books, which were written in the 1930s, a "computer" is someone who sits at their desk and performs calculations.  People (e.g. Alan Turing) were certainly exploring the theoretical foundations of computing machines in the 1920s and 1930s. 

Robots and automata of course have been around since they were telling stories about Hephaestus.

That Wonder Woman picture is neat, clearly computing machines had caught the popular imagination by 1947.

ETA:

Quote

Although the ENIAC was not the only large-scale computer in operation at the time, ‘it represents a unique marker in the public consciousness due to the dramatic way in which it was unveiled’ at a press conference on Valentine’s Day in 1946. One historian of technology has labelled this launch as ‘The Press Conference That Shook the World’, stating that the headlines that resulted from it ‘were a major factor in the public perception of computers for decades to come’.

 

Edited January 25, 2020 by Taylor G

[Taylor G]

I wonder if the storyline of "Wonder Woman and Professor Calculus" inventing the computer brain takes any inspiration from Hedy Lamarr (yes, that Hedy Lamarr) who invented spread spectrum (now used in your cell phone among other things).

[Jayman]

3 hours ago, Taylor G said:

I wonder if the storyline of "Wonder Woman and Professor Calculus" inventing the computer brain takes any inspiration from Hedy Lamarr (yes, that Hedy Lamarr) who invented spread spectrum (now used in your cell phone among other things).

Very interesting, I did not know this. Thanks for the info!