Readers got a triple dose of the Legion of Superheroes in comics on newsstands in April…
Dan Hagen
Dan Hagen is a retired newspaper journalist and editor, a former journalism professor, and a mighty comics presence in print and on the web. You can find Dan's work at... danhagengreatcaesar.blogspot.com, justimaginedanhagen.blogspot.com and captaincommentdanhagen.blogspot.com
JUST IMAGINE! September 1955: The Mouse That Poured on the Speed
What Mighty Mouse was to Superman, Speedy Gonzales was to the Flash. “Possessing the speed of…
JUST IMAGINE! October 1978: The Monster in the Funny Pages
He was as much a 1940s Universal Pictures monster as he was a 1960s Marvel Comics…
JUST IMAGINE! September 1960: Adam Strange, Space Angel
A red-suited, rocket-belted spaceman firing his ray gun at some kind of twin-headed plesiosaur that’s attacking…
JUST IMAGINE! January 1947: Cat in a Hot Pursuit
In the late 1940s, Marvel’s Human Torch battled DC’s Wildcat. Well, okay, not really, but it…
JUST IMAGINE! August 1948: The Postwar Power of the Atom
By 1948, the bantam champion Al Pratt could out-muscle a steam shovel. I really should look…
JUST IMAGINE! October 1966: The Man with the Midas Touch
Because of the lines around the block to see the movie, Goldfinger references were ubiquitous in…
JUST IMAGINE! January 1947: Marvel’s First Wall-Crawler
He might have been Marvel’s first wall-crawler. The postwar Captain America, out of the Army and…
JUST IMAGINE! September 1941: The World’s Mightiest Mortal, Nothing More
The creative forces behind Fawcett’s million-selling Captain Marvel had their own explanations for his considerable success.…
JUST IMAGINE! December 1962: Fire in the Fifth Dimension
As long as Jack Kirby was drawing the Human Torch feature in Strange Tales, reading the…
JUST IMAGINE! September 1958: The Sword that Stabbed Superman
For one, brief shining moment, DC Comics had something of an Arthurian ambience. Even Superman ran…
JUST IMAGINE! October 1960: The Style of Things to Come
The first time I saw Captain Atom, I was at my grandparents’ home in bed with…
JUST IMAGINE! July 1939: The Green Hornet in Four Colors
When we later Baby Boomers, first met the Justice Society of America in Flash 123 (Sept.…
JUST IMAGINE! September 1963: Marvel Was Crawling With ’Em
Some ideas in the Marvel Bullpen found expression on more than one cover simultaneously. For example,…
JUST IMAGINE! November 1963: The Amazing Snake-Man
In Journey Into Mystery 98 (Nov. 1963), the Mighty Thor faced a reptilian replica of Spider-Man.…
May 1962: The Strangest Man of All Time
The company that would become Marvel Comics was a small, tight-knit affair without editorial fiefdoms, and…
JUST IMAGINE! October 1962: The Batwoman of the 1940s
We had the Huntress in the 1970s, Batgirl in the 1960s, and Batwoman in the 1950s.…
JUST IMAGINE! February 1950: Superman Proves Invulnerable
Superhero comic books were on the decline in 1950, but Superman was not, thanks to a…
JUST IMAGINE! April 1975: Who Stalks the Night?
Accustomed to goofy sitcoms like The Munsters and The Addams Family, the gothic trappings of dated…
JUST IMAGINE! January 1954: Tanks for the Memories
Though not armed to the teeth, the Human Tank prided himself on being as tough as…
JUST IMAGINE! January 1966: Wonder Wheels
The one-two punch of James Bond’s Aston Martin DB-5 (with modifications) on the big screen and…
JUST IMAGINE! November 1964: The Contents of an Attaché Case
James Bond’s attaché case, in the novel and film of From Russia With Love, was a…
JUST IMAGINE! June 1960: Thrills Times Three
The first time I saw Batman — at least I think so — I was 5…
JUST IMAGINE! May 1974: Legacy and the Living Weapon
Iron Fist, a superhero created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane for Marvel Premiere 15 (May…
JUST IMAGINE! December 1939: The Name is Phantom, Bob Phantom
I always suspected that Bob Phantom, an early MLJ superhero, added the friendly, aw-shucks “Bob” just…
JUST IMAGINE! November 1962: The Zenith of Superman
DC Comics offered 29 titles for sale during the month of November 1962, a dozen of…
JUST IMAGINE! January 1942: The Cat Who Followed Green Lantern
You might call DC’s Golden Age character Wildcat an elemental superhero, verging on the generic. Created…
September 1965: The Astral Avenger and the Blonde Bombshell
In 1965, Murphy Anderson’s resplendent renderings turned a pair of pairs into a winning hand. Although…
JUST IMAGINE! August 1960: Hercules in the 20th Century
I particularly enjoyed the Superman stories that featured Lex Luthor’s time- and space-hopping super-science. They presented…
JUST IMAGINE! January 1950: Tarzan of the Dells
Dell Comics specialized in heroes made famous in other media — characters like the Lone Ranger,…
JUST IMAGINE! October 1941: Wish Upon a Starman
Starman came late to the party. Although DC’s Man of Night didn’t show up until three years…
JUST IMAGINE! July 1962: The Boy With Ultra Powers
Ultra Boy, the Super-Legionnaire introduced in Superboy 98 (July 1962), had the right pedigree, anyway. He…
JUST IMAGINE! January 1961: Showcasing the Sea King
By 1960, the Flash and Green Lantern had already been revised and revamped in DC Comics’s…