When we later Baby Boomers first met the Justice Society of America in Flash 123 (Sept. 1961), Flash 129 (June 1962) and Flash 137 (June 1963), and then again in Justice League of America 21 and 22 (Aug.-Sept 1963), we undoubtedly thought we’d hit the jackpot.
Our roster of superheroes had doubled instantly!
We swiftly sorted these intriguing “older newcomers” into the variations-on-a-theme heroes (Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Atom, Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman) and the unique heroes (Hourman, Dr. Fate, the Spectre, Dr. Mid-Nite, the Sandman, and others).
Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman for Adventure Comics 40 (July 1939), the Sandman drew on inspirations that predated the smash-hit heroes Superman and Batman. Wealthy Wesley Dodds wore a gas mask, fedora and stylized, caped business suit, wielded a gas gun to kayo criminals and was pursued by police as a criminal. One ancestor was obvious: the dramatic radio hero Green Hornet, who had premiered in 1936 (who was himself inspired by his great-uncle, the Lone Ranger, a radio hero who’d bowed in 1933).
“Wes Dodd (later the name was usually written as ‘Dodds’) and his gas-masked secret identity were introduced in Adventure Comics 40, July 1939 — only one month after Bob Kane's Batman,” Roy Thomas noted. “He became a charter member of the Justice Society of America when it debuted in All-Star Comics 3, 1940.”
“But his primacy was short-lived. For with the advent of Superman —and later Batman, et al — a hero needed a whole costume, as per Hourman, the guy who pushed: Sandman off the Adventure covers within a year.”
The Sandman was “Batmaned-up” with yellow-and-purple tights and a boy sidekick in Adventure Comics 69 (Dec. 1941). But his distinctive pulp hero look was restored, thankfully, during his 1960s JLA revival.
Vincent Mariani:
ReplyDeleteThe "Big Six" in the ad would fairly soon be a "Big Eight" with the addition of monthly anthology publications Sensation and Star Spangled Comics.
Sandman Mystery Theater, recounting a retcon of the hero's early days, was an excellent series published many years later.
Vincent Mariani:
ReplyDeleteThe costumed Sandman and Sandy had their heyday when the series was handled by Simon & Kirby, with an accent on the world of dreams.
S&K, fresh from their groundbreaking Captain America at Timely, came over to DC and introduced Manhunter, the social realism series Guardian & The Newsboy Legion, and the major hit Boy Commandos.
Don Christian:
ReplyDeleteUltra Man I have no knowledge of at all. His reign must have been very short.
I replied:
He was a strange bird, more Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon than
Superman. He was repalced by Green Lantern.
George Blake:
ReplyDeleteThe original garb really grabbed me because it harkened back to the days of gangsters.
The latter clownish, garish outfit and millstone sidekick that attempted to update Sandman were snoozers.
Michael Fraley:
ReplyDeleteThe great thing about the reintroduction of the JSA in the 1960s is that most of the characters were brought back near their peak. Rock 'em sock 'em half-helmet Dr. Fate and the Spectre as a mere poltergeist were mercifully forgotten about, as was Sandman's time in tights. Hawkman and the Atom wore the costumes we had last seen them in. All of the cringe worthy sidekicks -- Percival Popp, Doiby Dickles, et al -- went unmentioned. It was a good, fresh start.
Tom Harrington:
ReplyDeleteFunny to see the almost forgotten Ultra Man given equal billing with Superman.
Johnny Williams:
ReplyDeleteOne of the draws for me of the original version of the Golden Age Sandman actually was the fact that he was a masked (gas instead of domino) business suit wearing crime fighter/adventurer. That was a trope I was fond of from the pulps and serials - a man in a suit or tuxedo who solved mysteries and - or fought evil, the Masked Marvel, the Continental Op, Eisner’s the Spirit, etc.
Theodore Relic:
ReplyDeleteI remember reading about Bert Christman. He was also a pilot who soon joined the American Volunteer Group (The Flying Tigers) and had his plane shot down. Sadly, he was machine-gunned while in his chute and killed.
Michael Fraley:
ReplyDeleteBert Christman was also known as the artist on the Scorchy Smith aviation strip from 1936 - 1938. In doing so he was stepping into the enormous boots of the legendary Noel Sickles, who had left Scorchy to begin a long career in illustration. Christman did a fine job on the strip. He joined the Navy in 1938 as an aviation cadet, which means that his Sandman work was done during that time.