Zatanna is the daughter of Zatarra, a character that debuted in Action Comics #1 (1938), the same issue that featured the first appearance of Superman. Like her father, Zatanna was a stage magician who also cast magic spells by talking backwards. Introduced in a 1964 Hawkman story about her search for her missing father, Zatanna popped up from time to time over the … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 41 • Superman
If you’d never read a Superman story from the late 50s to early 60s, you’d probably think they dealt with Superman fighting crime or fending off some threat to humanity. But you’d be wrong. Back in those days, Superman spent a lot of time protecting his secret identity, being pulled into romantic dramas, and investigating situations more perplexing than menacing … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 40 • Element Girl
Urania Blackwell was a US secret agent who purposefully exposed herself to the same radioactive meteorite that turned Rex Mason into Metamorpho. Like him, she gained the ability to totally control the elements in her body, and likewise turned into a monstrous-looking freak in the process. No one in her right mind would “volunteer to change herself into a walking chemistry set” (as Rex put it), and like her namesake element, Urania … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 39 • Metamorpho
Rex Mason was a handsome and famous soldier of fortune (only in comic books, right?), employed by super wealthy scientific genius Simon Stagg. Not a fan of Stagg’s power-hungry ways, Mason agreed to one last job for (wait for it) ONE MILLION DOLLARS so he could quit and marry Stagg’s beautiful daughter Sapphire. While on his mission to retrieve … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 38 • Tin
Like all the Metal Men robots created by Doc Magnus, timid and stuttering Tin had a unique personality. Unsure of his abilities, Tin suffered from an inferiority complex, thinking he didn’t measure up to the rest of the team. But brave Tin was harder than Lead and always did his best to prove himself worthy, even when he thought it was hopeless. He never hesitated to sacrifice … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 37 • Bat-Girl
If you’re familiar with Batgirl at all, you probably know the red-haired Barbara Gordon—daughter of Police Commissioner Gordon. But there was another Bat-Girl before her, and for some reason there was a hyphen in her name. Long story short, Batwoman was introduced in 1956 to quell any uncertainty about Batman’s sexuality, and 5 years later Bat-Girl showed up as a love interest for Robin. And if you think Batman was uncomfortable … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 36 • Aquaman
I’m not really sure why, but Aquaman has always been my favorite superhero. Maybe it’s because I was always predisposed to underdogs and stuff out of the mainstream, or it could be—as a blonde kid—I identified with the blonde character. It’s also possible that I was attracted to him because at the time I was discovering superhero comics, I loved swimming and the beach. Who knows? But enough about me. Aquaman debuted … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 35 • Alanna
Alanna lived on the planet Rann, 25 trillion miles from earth, the home planet of her boyfriend Adam Strange. The distress of their long distance relationship was lessened by her father’s invention of a “zeta beam” which instantly transported Adam to Alanna every six weeks until the effect wore off and he was returned back to earth. Each time Adam would … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 34 • Mento
Steve Dayton was the world’s fifth richest man and also an adventurer, financier, and professor of psychology. Possessing a huge ego and used to getting what he wanted, he set out to wed Elasti-Girl of the Doom Patrol. Dayton created a helmet to harness his brain’s telekinetic powers, which allowed him to move objects with his mind. He designed a costume and called himself Mento, … Read More
Comic Cards Project: Day 33 • Lead
Doc Magnus invented the Metal Men, a team of robots that possessed the unique strengths and weaknesses of their namesake element. The eccentric scientist also inadvertently bestowed individual personalities on the six mechanical heroes, and as a result they were sometimes too human. The heaviest member of the group, Lead was stammering and slow-witted but always willing to take on the job at hand. As a non-conducting metal, Lead could act as a … Read More