While there are still great moments of creativity yet to come, 1941 is the last of the massively impressive years in the Golden Age. It's got a little bit of everything; the final piece of the trinity AND the first real female super hero, the rest of the roster of the Justice Society, Timely (Marvel) additions to the super hero landscape and the introduction of a very different type of comic book hero.
The DC Comics trinity that we take for granted these days was not on anyone's radar in 1941. National Publications was just trying to make a buck and a star spangled female super heroine caught them the right kind of attention. She was controversial, but she sold books and that was the only consideration that mattered.
My plans for Wonder Woman are definite and I'm going to make some unexpected changes to both the character and the lore. She won't be Lynda Carter, Gal Gadot or any version of the character you've ever imagined, but she's going to be spectacular!
House of Justice? Yes. A thousand times yes!
House of Crom? Absolutely. My Wonder Woman wields a sword and no doubt!
House of Entropy? Wonder Woman in space. I can see it.
House of Dread? It'll be a strange tale, indeed, but a great one!
Green Arrow is a rarity in the super hero genre, in that like Captain America, he debuted with a sidekick, Speedy, already in tow. I have a neat idea for Green Arrow and I think it'll take the character somewhere no version of Green Arrow has ever been.
House of Justice? You bet.
House of Crom? A hero who wields a bow and arrow fits here, for certain.
House of Entropy? Rocket Robin Hood...er...Green Arrow in space? Yes, please!
House of Dread? No plans, but you can never say never.
Aquaman. Now this one is tricky. I'm laying down a very specific set of rules for how heroes and villains gain their powers and I'm happy to say, that Aquaman's powerset has already got it's seeds sowed. I think I can give the world a new take on the character that both honours his history and takes him in a new direction.
House of Justice? Yep.
House of Crom? Aquaman is a King. He wields a trident. I'd say he's a good fit.
House of Entropy? Not a current plan, but you never know.
House of Dread? The dread of the deep. So fun.
There are a number of lesser known DC Comics heroes who debuted this year as well. These characters excite me as much, if not more, than big names like Wonder Woman and Aquaman.
Dr. Mid-Nite is recognized as the first hero with a disability. Charles McNider is blind, but he becomes a costumed adventurer and crime fighter. He is an integral part of the Justice Society. I cannot wait to put him into some adventures!
House of Justice? Yep.
House of Crom? Unlikely.
House of Entropy? He's a gadgeteer type, so its possible.
House of Dread? His name is "Dr. Mid-Nite" so I'd say yeah, that's a good bet.
Starman is one of those characters who have been reinvented and transmuted over the years. The recent CW series, Stargirl was based on a revision that conflated Starman with the Star-Spangled Kid. I'll be going back to first principles. Starman will be his (or her?) own hero, gravity rod and all.
House of Justice? Absolutely.
House of Crom? Unlikely.
House of Entropy? Two words: Gravity Rod.
House of Dread? No plans, but as always, never say never.
The Star-Spangled Kid and his sidekick, Stripesy turned the super hero sidekick trope upside down. Stripesy was the elder, Pat Dugan, chauffeur to the Pemberton family, while the Star-Spangled Kid was the actual kid, Sylvester Pemberton. Once again, this is one of those characters that I'll be taking back to first blush and rebuilding. No firm plans yet, but there's fun stuff in that pairing.
House of Justice? Yes.
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Not something I have in mind.
House of Dread? I can see it.
Hawkgirl. Oh, I so cannot wait for this one. Like Hawkman, Hawkgirl has a convoluted, confused and often retold origin story that includes reincarnation, Egyptian priests and princesses, alien ancestry and police service and a lot of other baggage. I have figured ALL of that out into one clean, simple origin and the two of them are gonna be stars. There's great ideas and then there's this.
House of Justice? Yes.
House of Crom? So much mace wielding, ass-kicking, winged fury!
House of Entropy? Oh, yes.
House of Dread? Oh, my, yes.
The Vigilante is another hero who has undergone a radical redo over the decades. The original and the one who will enter the public domain in 2037 is a motorcycle riding, singing cowboy. Seriously.
If I can't find something fun to do with that, I'll eat my hat.
House of Justice? Oh, most definitely.
House of Crom? Unlikely.
House of Entropy? Singing cowboys in space? Somebody call Nathan Fillion.
House of Dread? Terrible fit. Gotta do it.
Another personal favourite in the DC Comics stable is a series called All-Star Squadron. Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway created it in the mid-80s, using C-list heroes from the DC stable, along with a bunch of cast offs from other companies like Quality and Fawcett that had never got much traction beyond the early years of super heroes in the 1940s. They set it during the years of World War II and brought us 67 issues and 3 Annuals of the finest graphic storytelling I've had the pleasure of in my lifetime.
In that heady mix was a guy by the name of Johnny Quick, who has one of the best speedster uniforms ever. Once again, this is a character I'm dying to get my hands on.
House of Justice? Yes.
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Absolutely.
House of Dread? A good bet.
Another All-Star Squadron alumni, Firebrand, had a sister created just for that comic, but the original will be a pleasure to add to my growing roster.
House of Justice? Yes.
House of Crom? Unlikely.
House of Entropy? Yes. I have found a way to 'explain' my various heroes and villains having strange and wonderful powers. You'll be meeting the first 'fire' powered hero I'm using, the Flame, in The Marine Moon of Mongo in February. Firebrand will have a similar backstory, though fitted to his DC roots.
House of Dread? A firestarter. That's all I'm saying.
And then there's the Shining Knight. DC's addition to King Arthur's Round Table. Winged Victory, his pegasus mount and wielding an enchanted sword and wearing enchanted armour, he's truly formidable.
I have plans.
House of Justice? Yep.
House of Crom? A knight. In King Arthur's court. Blessed and equipped by Merlin himself. Literally, swords & sorcery.
House of Entropy? Unlikely.
House of Dread? Sure!
A couple of great DC villains will enter the public domain in 2037. Created in 1941, the Penguin will waddle into Gotham's underworld to menace Batman and others.
House of Justice? Yep.
House of Crom? Unlikely.
House of Entropy? That's interesting...
House of Dread? Make Penguin truly terrifying? It can be done...
And speaking of terrifying! Scarecrow debuted in 1941. Not the friendly, 'if I only had a brain' scarecrow, but the 'wields fear as a weapon' Scarecrow.
House of Justice? Naturally.
House of Crom? He does have possibilities here.
House of Entropy? I've never seen it done...
House of Dread? Um...
And now we come to some really interesting characters you've probably never heard of.
Timely Comics might have started strong with Captain America, but their follow-up offerings have largely been lost to history. And they're a fun lot, with plenty of potential!
My very favourite is The Whizzer. He's a speedster, like the Flash or Johnny Quick. He got his powers from a transfusion of mongoose blood. Yeah, that's an everyday thing, apparently. Believe it or not, I have a plan for him. I'm even going to let him keep the mongoose backstory. Seriously.
House of Justice? For sure.
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Possibly.
House of Dread? I'm gonna scare the mongoose out of him.
The Thunderer is another largely forgotten Timely/Marvel character who debuted in 1941, along with the Black Marvel and the Destroyer. All three are going to find a home in Public Domain Super Heroes, one way or another.
House of Justice? Yes.
House of Crom? Possible.
House of Entropy? Yes.
House of Dread? You bet.
And 1941 gave us something entirely different as well. MLJ Comics would one day become Archie Comics and this was the year that their namesake debuted. Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper all debuted in '41 and I have plans for them too. Really.
House of Justice? Could be.
House of Crom? No. Just no.
House of Entropy? Archie in space. Not the worst idea I've heard.
House of Dread? A bunch of randy teenagers in a horror story. Say it ain't so!
But the stuff that will hit the public domain in 2037 is only part of the story. There are a whole bunch of characters who are ALREADY in the public domain that were created in 1941!
We start with a few of Fawcett Comics characters who got lost in the shuffle after the publisher went belly up. DC Comics would eventually pick these characters up and there are some issues around copyright with some, since there are some recorded copyright renewals of some of the early appearances. It's a bit of a hazy area, but my best information tells me that Captain Marvel Jr. is indeed a public domain character, thanks to some missing renewals of his early appearances.
House of Justice? Freddy Freeman appears in Say the Magic Word! His super powered counterpart hasn't arrived, yet.
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Unlikely.
House of Dread? Absolutely.
Minute Man, Fawcett's answer to Captain America, will appear in February in a new short story, The Sizzling Spider and the Sinister Skull. Supporting my new line of classic reprints, the story will also be available to read free for the month of February at Public Domain Super Heroes. +
House of Justice? Coming right up!
House of Crom? Not likely.
House of Entropy? Unlikely.
House of Dread? Sure.
My first published novella in the Public Domain Super Heroes family was Dr. Satan and the Element of Evil. It features my first big re-imagining. Captain Midnight started on radio and made his debut in Fawcett Comics in 1941. My Captain Midnight is Jamie "Jim" Albright, and she's VERY different from the original!
House of Justice? Already there!
House of Crom? Unlikely.
House of Entropy? She made a came in The Mongo Machine and could easily show up again!
House of Dread? Absolutely!
Fawcett also created some memorable villains and most of them are in the public domain for the same reasons. Captain Nazi will figure prominently in some of my upcoming adventures as certain other high powered heroes enter the public domain to punch him.
House of Justice? Absolutely.
House of Crom? Could happen.
House of Entropy? Definitely.
House of Dread? Yes. Unquestionable.
Quality Comics, a little known publishing house, gave us three really interesting properties in 1941, all of which have fallen into the public domain.
The most familiar is Plastic Man. Thanks to there being no record of a copyright renewal of Police Comics #1 from that year, he is in the public domain and I fully intend to use him.
House of Justice? Not a stretch.
House of Crom? I don't see that one.
House of Entropy? Definitely a possibility.
House of Dread? A goofy rubber guy. In a horror story. How could I not?
Police Comics #1 also debuted a classic beauty, Phantom Lady. She's a fun character who will pair nicely with some of the other femme fatales I'm cooking up.
House of Justice? Sure.
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? She's another gadgeteer type, so yes.
House of Dread? Her name has 'phantom' in it and she uses a blackout gun. I'd say that's a safe bet.
Another Quality character from 1941 is Blackhawk. He was big enough to get a serial in the 40s and it's an interesting concept.
House of Justice? Heck yeah.
House of Crom? You could make it fit.
House of Entropy. Yes.
House of Dread? Yes.
And then there's Miss America from Quality. She shares a moniker with a Timely/Marvel character, but the Quality version is 100% public domain. Joan Dale will definitely make an appearance in my Patriot Corps, though she didn't make the cut for the first adventure.
House of Justice? Yes.
House of Crom? No.
House of Entropy? Yes.
House of Dread? Yes.
MLJ didn't just debut Archie this year. they also gave us The Hangman, Mr. Justice, Blackjack and Captain Flag, all heroes I will find a home for one day.
Nyoka, the jungle girl also debuted on the silver screen this year. Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Jungle Girl, she's another fun character I will get around to using one day! Her serial is already up at my YouTube page!
As I said earlier, this was the last great peak of super hero creation for some time. Oh, there are still some great characters yet to come, but between 1941 and the end of the Golden Age, there would never again be quite so many great characters created in a single year.
1942 was still a good year for heroes though! Tune in next week for more!
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