Green Arrow was in many ways a copycat of Batman. Batman was a millionaire playboy. Green Arrow was a millionaire playboy. Robin was Batman’s adopted sidekick. Speedy was Green Arrow’s. Batman had the Bat-Cave, Bat-Mobile, Bat-Plane, and Bat-Signal. Green Arrow had “Arrow” counterparts for each. Even his signature trick arrows were a mimic of all the gadgets in Batman’s utility belt. … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 10 • Gold
Gold led a quirky band of robots called The Metal Men that exhibited human emotions much to the dismay of their inventor, Dr. Will Magnus. Although they are pretty obscure today, they had a good 8 year run in their own series back in the 60s. Gold and his fellow Metal Men (Iron, Lead, Mercury, Tin, and Platinum, the only “female” robot) all had distinct … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 9 • Hawkgirl
Contrary to what you might think, Hawkgirl wasn’t Hawkman’s sidekick but his wife and equal partner—or equal partner by 60s standards. Their comic was still called Hawkman and when the Justice League asked her hubby to join they pointedly did not invite Hawkgirl. And yes, she did lug around a mace, as a well as other ancient weapons. It seems that in their secret … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 8 • Aqualad
I always liked superhero sidekicks and Aqualad might have been my favorite, even in spite of his dopey name. No wonder Aquaman called him by the nickname “Tadpole”. What was wrong with “Aquaboy”—too obvious? It’s a good thing Aqualad didn’t go to school because I’m sure the other kids would have tormented him over it. His unfortunate handle didn’t seem … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 7 • Wonder Girl
I’m not sure what the original inspiration was, but while I was making sketches for this series I found a drawing in my sketchbook of a dancing girl with a ponytail. It occurred to me I could adapt the drawing into Wonder Girl who also has a ponytail. When I opened up a comic featuring Wonder Girl to find a … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 6 • The Flash
The debut of The Flash in 1956 revived interest in superheroes and marked the beginning of what became known to comic geeks as the Silver Age of comics. After World War II, superheroes declined in popularity and only a few super characters survived into the 50s. However, comic books about crime, horror, and romance, which by that time made up … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 5 • Adam Strange
Adam Strange is an archaeologist who gets zapped by a “zeta beam” and is instantly transported 25 trillion miles away to the planet Rann. There he finds an advanced civilization of earth-like humans and is befriended by one of their scientists who has a beautiful daughter (of course) named Alanna. Before too long, the zeta beam wears off and Adam returns to earth. Every six weeks he rendezvouses with a zeta beam in … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 4 • Elasti-Girl
Elasti-Girl might be the most glamorous superhero ever. She was a gold medal-winning Olympic swimmer who became a movie star before gaining the ability to expand and shrink her body at will. Once she had super powers, she was invited to join Robotman, Negative Man, and The Chief in the dysfunctional super group, The Doom Patrol. The Doom Patrol was an unusual … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 3 • Robby Reed
Robby Reed??? You never heard of Robby Reed? I’m not surprised. He starred in a somewhat obscure feature called “Dial H for Hero” that ran in the comic House of Mystery. A typical teenager who acquired a device that looked like an old rotary phone dial, Robby could dial H-E-R-O and be turned into some kind of super-being. He became a different, … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 2 • Black Canary
Black Canary was a character created in the 1940s with a look based on the actress Veronica Lake. In the late 40s and early 50s superheroes fell out of favor and their stories were no longer published. But like a lot of the old characters, Black Canary was revived in the 1960s. I first discovered her when I was 10 … Read More