This DC house ad from June 1961 showcases two features that relied on the considerable talents of artist Carmine Infantino.
The Flash 121 gave us a return engagement with the merrily villainous Trickster, who’d been introduced a year before in Flash 113 (Danger in the Air!, June-July 1960).
Believe it or not, he was walking on air — and usually mocking the earthbound speedster. The blond, harlequin-costumed super-criminal drew my brightness-fascinated young eye and therefore my dime. The Trickster was caped, yellow-clad, flying — three things I loved.
Mystery in Space 68 was the first issue of that title I bought. I was fascinated by the Infantino-Murphy Anderson cover scene, which showed a horned alien tiger springing even as a colorful rocket-belted hero with a ray gun was teleported away, leaving behind a damsel in distress.
Much too much to resist.
And inside, even more! The issue introduced Strange’s recurring foes the Dust Devils — sentient, sinister, semi-anthropomorphic whirlwinds perfectly designed to inhabit the dreamlike mental landscape of a child.
Adam Strange was the thinking man’s superhero of the late 1950s, rendered with a sleek, space-age elegance by Infantino and written with a reassuring respect for intelligence by Gardner Fox.
But we were, in fact, approaching the end of an era, and Adam Strange’s loss would be Batman’s gain. In early 1964, Infantino would move on to revamp the flagging Batman titles, leaving Strange behind. By 1967, when Infantino also left the Flash feature, the best years of both characters were clearly behind them.
In June 1961, of course, we readers didn’t know it was the end of an era. But then, one rarely does.
Joel Blashka wrote, "Lee Elias, an excellent artist, was a bad fit for Adam Strange. And the stories were not up to Gardner Fox standards. And don’t get me started on the choice of Andru and Esposito to take over the Flash. Again, they were very good on Metal Men, Wonder Woman and the DC war comics, but a total fail on Flash. By the time they had Irv Novick ( a much better fit) take over the strip, they had lost me."
ReplyDeleteJohnny Williams wrote:
ReplyDeleteDan, it’s funny that you showcased those two particular covers because they both are very strong examples of a thing that was good about the Silver Age. It’s something that the boy me came to call, ‘the predicament cover’. In both instances our two heroes, or in one case his lady fair, are facing imminent peril and you are almost Compelled to buy the book Just to find out what happens. This was especially true if your vendor was of the ‘no browsing through the comics’ type. 😂
I remember both of those covers well for that very reason. To be honest, youthful Johnny was more concerned with Alanna’s fate than Barry’s. I already knew of a super speed trick that Flash could use to save himself, but I didn’t see any holster on her belt and was actually scared for her. Lol.
You are right about Carmine’s leaving signaled the end of an era, and that sadly, we Had seen the titles best days already. Your words evoke a certain nostalgic sadness.
Vincent Mariani wrote:
ReplyDeleteAlthough Adam Strange had the "thinking man's hero" name, all of Editor Julius Scwartz's heroes played the game. So many Green Lantern, Flash, or JLA adventures were resolved with the hero or heroes outthinking an adversary. The obligatory sock in the jaw was usually an anticlimactic finishing touch to a battle of wits. This carried over to the diminutive Atom, the Atomic Knights, and Space Museum tales as well. Even the more physical Hawkman, armed with the most gruesome ancient weapons, would usually outsmart rather than outbrawl villains. And the protagonists in one-shot science-fiction stories in Strange Adventures generally followed the "thinking man's hero" model.
This was a direct reflection of the Kennedy era's "Best and Brightest," facing a "New Frontier"; with handsome, well groomed young (white) men meeting all challenges in a cool and reasoned manner.
I replied:
Vincent Mariani Well observed. And, as others have noted, the stories displayed a considerable respect for intelligent career women. And of course, unlike the others, Adam's ONLY "power" was his reasoning ability.
Bob Doncaster wrote:
ReplyDeleteTrickster was another of my favorite Flash villains. Maybe it was the costume, I also love the GA Green Lantern's.
Stéphane Beaumort wrote:
ReplyDeleteAdam Strange was my first DC series and is still arguably one of the very best of the Silver Age. Anderson on his own looked stiff (Atomic Knights, which I nevertheless loved), and Infantino inked by others could look sketchy (Giella, for instance) but Infantino and Anderson were a perfect match for each other, the way Colan and Palmer or Byrne and Austin were later on. To me they epitomize the Silver Age DC better than any other artist, except perhaps the Gil Kane-Sid Greene team on the Atom and Green Lantern books.
Paul Zuckerman wrote:
ReplyDeleteAs Dan notes, Schwartz books had respect for intelligent career women and all of the women in his books were bright and capable, even Sue Dibny, who had no career and was the one who seemed most like the stereotype of an empty-headed heiress but in fact was not. While neither Sue nor Ralph needed to work, all of the other Schwartz women did --- Jean Loring, an attorney, news reporter Iris West Allen, museum curator Sheila Hall, corporate president Carol Ferris! No one really knew what Alanna did though...🙂
Early on, there was seemingly pressure on the women to prove themselves before they got married (except for Hawkgirl, who maintained her real job as a policewoman long after she married Katar) -- Jean Loring wanted to prove herself before she would marry Ray; even Carol had to forego relationships so that she could run Ferris Aircraft. Iris was the only one who never seemed to doubt that she could and would continue working after marriage.
As for the thinking man: heroes that used their heads instead of their fists were still pretty common in those days. Maybe the climax of TV shows would involve an all-out fight, and there was always action, but the endless fist fights that soon became a hallmark of Marvel comics were still in the future. DC's response to the increased violence of Marvel is what led, I believe, to the diminishing of DC's stories in the mid 60s.
One thing about the Trickster and most of the other members of the Rogue's Gallery: while they often tried to kill the Flash using the most outrageous and complicated methods, one never really felt that they meant it. It seemed always a game to them and that they would never really hurt anyone. The more violent and brutal versions of today are sadly a far cry from those earlier ones where it seems that the game was the thing.
Vincent Mariani wrote:
ReplyDeleteI think that when younger Marvel readers took the slugfests as the essence of the product, it led to a formula that replaced the old Schwartz style gamesmanship. More physicality, based on Jack Kirby's drawing. More characterization. But less elegance and apparent subtlety.
Paul Zuckerman wrote:
ReplyDeleteTrickster was one of my favorite Flash foes. Broome infused each of the rogues with different personalities. Here, James Jesse tries to live up to his reverse-namesake, Jesse James!
Bob Ruprecht:
ReplyDeleteTerrific post Dan - couldn’t agree more!! Thx!!
George Blake:
ReplyDeleteFor all my solid leaping, I knew I would not fly; for all my posturing, I knew bullets would not bounce off my chest; with all my effort, I knew I could not run to blurring speed.
I determined to use my noodle to get out of scrapes, my wit to overpower academic bullies. Those things I could achieve. Those are the things I learned from my comic book heroes.
George Blake:
ReplyDeleteI suspect many, including you, learned such from our Comic Book Guides. Those all-color-for-a-dime life-lessons pay off if given their due. Quite frankly, I didn’t know I was learning those things at the time, it was a a “wax on/wax off” experience.
Some years ago I made the connection and I certainly owe those writers and artists a big Tip o’ the Hat at the very least.
Thanks for these fine feature articles.
Bob Bailey:
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dan. I loved the DC house ads.
I replied:
How they sparked the imagination! They taugh us to write stories in our heads.
Harold Starbuck:
ReplyDeleteI did not read any of Adam Strange adventures in the pages of Mystery in Space until recent years. When it premiered I was toddler, and the storylines were way above my 2 year old comprehension. However, as an adult I can appreciate this series so much more.
I replied:
They were just a bit beyond me originally too. It was when I read the 1969 reprints as a teenager that they really grabbed me.
Bruce Kanin:
ReplyDelete"In June 1961, of course, we readers didn’t know it was the end of an era. But then, one rarely does."
It's only well after that era ended that we can look back and analyze what happened. You mention some of it, Dan, e.g., Infantino moving from artist's chores to become editor. When George Klein left the Superman books, that was a radical change, and so on. The whole phenomenon of an era gradually — or abruptly — ending is both fascinating and wistful.
Marko Worden:
ReplyDeleteG.K. Chesterton: "Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed." Life is full of mousetraps, which is to bemoan. the best solution is to make yourself a smarter, more important mouse.
ReplyDeletePhilip Davis:
Great post. Brought me back. Just about the same time I purchased my first Flash comic. 
Michael Learn:
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree with all of your comments. I bought both of the books shown off of the newsstand the day that they were published. In fact, the issue of the Flash that you mention ( No.113 ) was one of the very first books that got me addicted to comics (the other two were Superman No.136 and The Brave and the Bold ( JLA ) No.30. The very first comics I bought and the foundation of my collection.
One of remaining collecting goals is to complete my runs of the Julius Schwartz-edited issues of Mystery in Space and Strange Adventures. Some of the best writing and illustration of the DC Silver Age.
Bob Doncaster:
ReplyDeleteThe Trickster was one of my favorite SA Flash villains even with his questionable fashion choice. Then again I also loved the GA Green lanterns outfit. A colorist nightmare if they ever battled
F-michael Dunne:
ReplyDeleteExcellent article' I like to buy early 60s Schwartz books like Flash and Green Lantern for friend's young children. As I explained to a parent last night, there's education in these stories since Schwartz would incorporate science into the stories. I usually switch kids to Marvel at age 11. Imagine my surprise when I asked 10-year-old Hunter last night which did he prefer, Marvel or DC, (I had started giving Hunter Marvel books last summer and for his September birthday.) His answer, " I like DC better" His favorite character... Green Lantern.
Paul Zuckerman:
ReplyDeletePaul Zuckerman
Dan that erudite Paul Zuckerman somehow always beats me to the punch of what I want to say. Very astute fellow! 🙂
Adam and his fans prided on being the thinking man's hero. How else could he save the entire JLA!!! Comics soon became slam bang, pow and zowie. I blame a lot of that on Marvel. With thin plots, while relying more on human interest, their power came from that in-your-face approach that Kirby was developing and which Lee had everyone follow. Soon, the entire industry was doing the same. At least, with respect to fighting. It took DC a few decades to catch on about consistent soap opera as opposed to the type that some writers, such as Bob Haney or Bob Kanigher, would do, when the hero would suddenly reveal something never before seen, or mentioned again (like the Black Canary/Batman kiss in JLA, or just about anything in the Haneyverse.)
Paul Zuckerman:
ReplyDeletePaul Zuckerman
Dan that erudite Paul Zuckerman somehow always beats me to the punch of what I want to say. Very astute fellow! 🙂
Adam and his fans prided on being the thinking man's hero. How else could he save the entire JLA!!! Comics soon became slam bang, pow and zowie. I blame a lot of that on Marvel. With thin plots, while relying more on human interest, their power came from that in-your-face approach that Kirby was developing and which Lee had everyone follow. Soon, the entire industry was doing the same. At least, with respect to fighting. It took DC a few decades to catch on about consistent soap opera as opposed to the type that some writers, such as Bob Haney or Bob Kanigher, would do, when the hero would suddenly reveal something never before seen, or mentioned again (like the Black Canary/Batman kiss in JLA, or just about anything in the Haneyverse.)
Johnny Williams:
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t agree more with Paul and it’s a real loss for the fans of today in my mind. Of course the conundrum is that never having experienced it, the contemporary fan/reader has no awareness of what they’re missing out on, or indeed that there is such a thing to be missed in the first place. It’s really kinda sad when you think about it.
Those qualities made Adam Strange the perfect hero for we science-loving and -respecting, critically thinking-trained Baby Boomer kids. He embodied traits we admired, embraced and strove to emulate
While over at early Marvel Stan Lee did tap that reservoir at DC, Gardner and Schwartz let it flow freely. They created an endless supply of “thinking man” (sometimes women) protagonists, some who were one-shot deals, across the years of the early to middle Silver Age of Comics.
Gary Brown:
ReplyDeleteThe Flash #121 is special to me because I had a letter printed in it -- a poem -- and won the original cover to The Flash #119, which I sadly sold a number of years ago