Golden age titles?

[Air Wave]

Stealing from myself this is what I wrote on my old blog several years ago, when I tried to trace the path that led to Green Arrow and Aquaman surviving into the 1960s and joining the Justice League:



To trace the journey of Green Arrow and Aquaman, we first have to look at MORE FUN COMICS, which didn’t start out as MORE FUN COMICS.

> 1934, Major Malcolm Wheeler Nicholson gets in on the ground floor of a new medium spun off from the Sunday funnies. His company is called National Allied.

> January ’35, Nicholson launches NEW FUN. A compilation of adventure strips (fantasy heroes, period drama, crime busters, thrill seekers) and funny cartoons–NEW FUN contains all new material, designed to look like Sunday funnies–unlike other early funny books that simply reprinted the Sunday funnies.

> NEW COMICS is launched later that year. I suppose that having two titles both called “NEW” could get confusing, so NEW FUN became MORE FUN.

> Short on funds, the Major gets help from Harry Donenfeld to launch more titles.

> 1937, the next ongoing is DETECTIVE COMICS (thus the intials D.C.–which either stand for “Detective Comics” or “Donenfeld Comics,” take your pick). To bring uniformity to the line MORE FUN becomes MORE FUN COMICS–and all three titles now use the same font for “COMICS” in their logos.

> NEW COMICS, to emphasize its content, adds the word ADVENTURE and becomes NEW ADVENTURE COMICS and soon the NEW was dropped and it simply became ADVENTURE COMICS. Got that?

> National Allied aka DC launches a 4th ongoing anthology in 1938—ACTION COMICS--featuring Superman!

> The popularity of Superman starts the whole trend toward using mystery men in comics (mystery men being another term for what we now call super-heroes). Each of the DC anthology titles needed to have its own mystery man.

> DETECTIVE COMICS adds the Crimson Avenger to its line up in issue 20. Then Batman in issue 27.

> ADVENTURE COMICS gets Sandman.

> MORE FUN COMICS takes a longer time recruiting its mystery man but eventually puts in the Spectre.

> 1940, All-American Comics, Inc., publishes FLASH COMICS with a multitude of mystery men, showing that more than one super-hero can appear in an anthology.

> ADVENTURE COMICS adds Hourman to its roster.

> MORE FUN COMICS gets Doctor Fate.

> The long running Tex Thompson in ACTION becomes a mystery man, Mr. America, with his own costumed sidekick, Fatman.

> Starman (co-created by Jack Schiff with Jack Burnley) comes on board ADVENTURE in issue 61 and the Shining Knight in issue 66.

> The Shining Knight is set in modern day, but has some period elements and might be considered a hybrid hero–knight + mystery man. Hybrids are the new thing. ACTION COMICS soon adds its own hybrid, the Vigilante (cowboy + mystery man), in issue 42.

> 1941, Mort Weisinger is the editor of MORE FUN COMICS (and other DC titles). Doctor Fate remains the cover-featured character, but Weisinger adds his own speedster in issue 71 (cover dated September ’41) on sale July 24 ’41. Competing with the Flash, Johnny Quick is co-created by Mort.

> In issue 73 (November ’41), on sale in September, the same month as the Vigilante’s debut, MORE FUN adds two more heroes, also co-created by Weisinger: Green Arrow (and Speedy)–co-created with artist George Papp; and Aquaman–co-created with artist Paul Norris.

> Green Arrow and Speedy are also lucky enough to get a place in the Seven Soldiers of Victory (along with Shining Knight, Crimson Avenger, Vigilante, Star Spangled Kid and Stripesy) in the first issue of LEADING COMICS (Winter ’41), on sale December 7 ’41 (Pearl Harbor Day).

> The luck runs out for the SSoV pretty quick, but Green Arrow also scores a spot in WORLD’S FINEST COMICS, starting with issue No. 7 (Fall ’42), on sale July 31 ’42.

> By the end of ’42, Mort Weisinger is called up for service in World War II, and Jack Schiff takes over titles that Mort had edited, including ADVENTURE, MORE FUN and WORLD’S FINEST (Green Arrow’s other home).

> 1944, Superboy is added to the MORE FUN roster with issue 101 (July-August ’44) on sale May 23 ’44. Which turns out to be the last issue for the Spectre–Doctor Fate having already left in issue 98.

> Not long after that, most of the MORE FUN occupants have to go begging for a place to stay. With issue 107 (January-February ’46), the format changes to all humour, leaving Dover and Clover (a Henry Boltinoff comedy feature) as the only remaining feature from the previous issues. Even Schiff himself has to leave MORE FUN.

> Superboy, Johnny Quick, Green Arrow and Aquaman move into ADVENTURE COMICS 103 (April ’46), on sale February 28 ’46–with the Shining Knight, who has always made ADVENTURE his home. Another comedy feature, Genius Jones, which has been a resident of ADVENTURE, moves over to MORE FUN. But the other previous occupants–Sandman, Starman and Mike Gibbs–have no place to go.

> As of ADVENTURE COMICS 152 (May ’50), on sale March 29 ’50, the number of featured spots goes down from five to four. By this time, Superboy has his own title, but he isn’t about to give up ADVENTURE as he is now the star. Green Arrow has his regular spot in WORLD’S FINEST. But Green Arrow, Shining Knight, Aquaman and Johnny Quick have to jockey for position in ADVENTURE.

> This goes on for a whole year, with one of the four being left out in any given issue, until issue 166, which was the last issue for the Shining Knight.

> By the way, this might explain why Ramona Fradon had her long run on Aquaman. She had been the artist on Shining Knight for his last two stories in ADVENTURE, BUT when he lost that spot, Ramona was shifted onto Aquaman. Perhaps Schiff didn’t want to leave Fradon without a job, so he handed her the Sea King.

> 1953, Mort Weisinger resumes as editor on ADVENTURE COMICS (more than a decade after leaving it with Jack Schiff).

> Then with ADVENTURE 205 (October ’54) pages are being cut from DC comics, which leaves only three spots open. Superboy holds his own, but now Green Arrow, Aquaman and Johnny Quick are on a round-robin for placement. Editor Weisinger has to choose between three characters he had created. Given that Green Arrow still has a spot in WORLD’S FINEST (edited by Schiff), Mort could have saved all three by cutting Green Arrow from ADVENTURE. But he didn’t do that, instead Weisinger cut Johnny Quick–issue 207 (December ’54) being the last for Johnny.

> Another sea-change occurs when Congo Bill is pushed out of his long held spot in ACTION COMICS. He comes over to ADVENTURE COMICS with issue 270 (March ’60) on sale January 28 ’60. And that cuts Green Arrow out of ADVENTURE.

> By this time, Aquaman is being featured with the Justice League, who got their first try-out the month before, in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD 28 (February-March 1960) on sale December 29 ’59.

> Aquaman goes on to get his own try-out in 1960 which led to the ongoing AQUAMAN title. Green Arrow had been left out of the Justice League but at least he still had his spot in WORLD’S FINEST, thanks to Jack Schiff.

Julius Schwartz said that it was simply a mistake that he omitted Green Arrow from the Justice League and he soon corrected the error when it was brought to his attention by the fanmail. However, I think that Schwartz was being politic. The group featured seven characters (odd numbers are always better for team books)–two belonged to Schwartz (Flash and Green Lantern). Two belonged to Schiff (Batman and Martian Manhunter). Two belonged to Weisinger (Superman and Aquaman). And one belonged to Kanigher (Wonder Woman). Schwartz was just maintaining an editorial balance.

Months later, Green Arrow got his spot on the Justice League. And a few years later, Green Arrow lost his feature in WORLD’S FINEST, when Jack Schiff left that title. Without the Justice League to keep him in the public eye, Green Arrow might’ve gone the way of other second banana heroes. He was kept on life support by the guy who had ignored him–Julie Schwartz.

This is why I always place them in the #6 & 7 spots. Golden Age origins and continuous publishing. Interestingly Green Arrow seemed to be more popular in the Golden Age but Aquaman in the Silver.

[Air Wave]

Action Comics (1938)

ZATARA made a couple covers early on but obviously...SUPERMAN.