Golden Age Comics

The Story of Will Eisner’s The Spirit

by Fabien
Updated on October 3, 2024

Nowadays, Will Eisner (1917-2005) is still one of the most famous comic book creators in the history of the medium–the highly respected Eisner Awards were named after him for a good reason. He did a lot from his beginnings in 1933 doing illustrations and comic strips in his high school newspaper to his famous graphic novels. But his most famous creation is clearly “The Spirit.”

Eisner broke into the comic book industry next to his school friend, Bob Kane, creator of Batman, but their career didn’t follow the same path. Quite the entrepreneur, Eisner formed a partnership with Samuel “Jerry” Iger. They opened their own studio that soon started to work like a factory, putting out comics. This was a financial success, but when Everett Arnold of Quality Comics offered him the possibility to produce a 16-page newspaper supplement for the Des Moines Register-Tribune Syndicate, the offer was too good to say “no.” Eisner loved comics and this was for him a new avenue to prove that this sequential art was not just for kids.

Eisner left Iger, took with him a few employees, and started to work on what is, on paper, the creation of another mystery man. The Weekly Comic Book supplement was composed of three stories per issue–two of them were the backups “Lady Luck” and “Mr. Mystic.” The main feature was of course “The Spirit.”

Doctor Occult, DC’s legendary Ghost Detective

by Carole
Updated on February 23, 2024

John Constantine wasn’t the first occult detective in a trenchcoat at DC Comics. Long before him, there was Doctor Occult, also known as The Ghost Detective—one of the oldest characters in the DC universe. Making his debut during the Golden Age, Doctor Occult paved the way for one of the most iconic superheroes of our time.

Doctor Occult, a prototype for Superman?

Doctor Occult made his first appearance in New Fun Comics #6 in October 1935—the last issue before the title was renamed More Fun Comics. Billed as a Mystic Detective but more often referred to as The Ghost Detective, he was introduced as a trenchcoat-wearing private eye the style of Sam Spade, specializing in cases involving the supernatural.

During the Golden Age, Doctor Occult did not possess particular superpowers, but he was aided by his “mystic symbol”—a powerful magical weapon that allowed him to defend himself and launch attacks against supernatural enemies such as vampires and werewolves. Doctor Occult wasn’t battling alone; he had the help of Rose Psychic.

Batman Comics, Classic Tales from the Golden Age through Bronze Age!

by Carole
Updated on October 25, 2024

Holy Batman! The Cape Crusader is one of the most popular comic book superheroes out there and at Comic Book Treasury, but we – until now – didn’t explore his glorious comics past! And by that, I mean the publication from the Golden Age to the Silver/Bronze Age, before the famous Crisis on Infinite Earths and the start of the modern Batman era.

As you know, Batman made his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 (1939) and became so popular that he soon had his own ongoing series with his name on it. And only one year after his debut, he was joined by the most iconic sidekick, Robin!

From the 1940s to the mid-1980s, there have been many Batman (and Robin) adventures, and DC Comics has reprinted them in different collections. This article is here to help you navigate all those collections (some only available second-hand, very pricey or not), and explore those old colorful times for Batman!

The Story of Claire Voyant: The First Black Widow of Marvel Comics

by Carole
Updated on February 23, 2024

Natasha Romanoff made her first appearance in 1964 as the Black Widow of the modern mainstream Marvel Comics. If she is, without a doubt, the most famous Black Widow, she is not the only Marvel character to have taken on the codename. Yelena Belova also used it.

And before Natasha and Yelena was Claire Voyant. The Black Widow of the Golden Age is also considered the first Marvel’s superheroine. She was created by writer George Kapitan and artist Harry Sahle in the pages of Mystic Comics #4 (August 1940) published by Timely Comics, which will later become Marvel Comics.

She was not a spy, but a small-time medium who was given by Satan the ability to kill with a single touch. Like all Black Widow, Claire Voyant was a mysterious and deadly woman…

Sandman (Wesley Dodds), a pulp hero in the DC Universe

by Fabien
Updated on May 28, 2024

Long before Neil Gaiman introduced his version of the Sandman in the DC Universe, another Sandman haunted the pages of comic books. For a long time, I mean 60 years. The original Sandman was one of the first “superheroes,” a DC Golden Age superhero.

Really, this Sandman was more of a pulp hero. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman for Adventure Comics #40—but he appeared a bit earlier in the New York World’s Fair Comics #1 (April 1939), a book published on the occasion of the 1939 World’s Fair—, The Sandman was one of the one original mystery men, a vigilante wearing a green business suit, a fedora, and a World War I gas mask, who used a gun emitting a sleeping gas to incapacitate criminals.

Alan Scott, the comic origins of DC’s first Green Lantern

by Carole
Updated on February 23, 2024

If Hal Jordan can be considered the most famous Green Lantern, he was not the first human to bear the name. That title belongs to Alan Scott, the Green Lantern of the Golden Age.

A selfless and dedicated man, Alan Scott could only become a role model for others and inspired other men to take up the fight. Even though he serves as an inspiration for many Green Lanterns, Alan Scott always holds himself to a higher standard than anyone else.

Though Alan Scott has never been a member of the Green Lantern Corps, he was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. With or without other superheroes, Alan Scott always fought to protect others and choose to make his emerald glow a sign of hope and a source of inspiration for decades…

JSA Reading Order, The Justice Society of America!

by Fabien
Updated on May 28, 2024

The Justice Society of America is the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Launched during the Golden Age of Comic Books, making its first appearance in All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940-41), the JSA was conceived at DC Comics by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox–Everett E. Hibbard was the artist on the title.

The original members of the Justice Society of America were Doctor Fate, Hourman, The Spectre, Sandman, Atom, Flash, Green Lantern (Alan Scott), and Hawkman. For a good decade, they were quite popular, but the team didn’t survive the post-war disinterest in superheroes in comics. Their adventures ceased with All Star Comics issue #57 (March 1951), but it was not the end for the JSA.

During the Silver Age, multiple members of the Justice Society of America were revamped and the team became the Justice League (see our JL reading order for more about that). At one point, the original JSA resurfaced, but this was on what became known as Earth-Two (the JL being on Earth-One). With a multiverse annual team-up with the Justice League, the JSA stayed alive and well for two decades–and even got a spin-off. Then, there was the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths that put an end to the JSA (and Earth-Two) for a time.

This didn’t last as a revival of the JSA happened in 1991. The old characters returned, but not in the past. But that didn’t last, a tragedy (an editorial one) occurred, the JSA disappeared, but was not forgotten.

In fact, the team was constantly present in the new Starman series by James Robinson (following his JSA: The Golden Age Elsewhere miniseries). This title led to another, a new JSA series. The team stayed active until the New 52 era, then disappeared again. The Rebirth era reestablished its place in the continuity though, but it was not until Geoff Johns came back to relaunch the title during the Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC era that the Justice Society regained a bit of staying powers.

Shazam Reading Order (aka DC Comics’ Captain Marvel)

by Fabien
Updated on February 23, 2024
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The history of Shazam/Captain Marvel is a complicated one. The superhero was created by writer Bill Parker and artist C. C. Beck in 1939, in the pages of Whiz Comics #2, published by Fawcett Comics. Back in the 1940s, he was the most popular superhero, even bigger than Superman. The two characters ended up fighting against one another in court. Not them, but Fawcett and DC Comics. DC claimed that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman. As a result, Fawcett stopped publishing anything Captain Marvel-related in 1953. And in 1972, the company licensed the character rights to DC. By 1991, DC Comics had acquired all rights to the characters connected to the Shazam Universe, but the name “Captain Marvel” was owned by Marvel Comics! That’s why DC Comics marketed the Marvel Family under the Shazam! banner since the 1970s.

But what is the story of Shazam? This is about the young Billy Batson, an orphaned 12-year-old boy who, by speaking the name of the ancient wizard Shazam (an acronym derived from the six immortal elders who grant Captain Marvel his superpowers: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury), is struck by a magic lightning bolt and transformed into the adult superhero Captain Marvel. After a while, Billy started to share his powers with his sister Mary and their foster-brother Freddy Freeman—they became the Shazam Family! Together, they fought the Monster Society of Evil, including rogues like Doctor Sivana, Black Adam, and Mister Mind.

Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge by Carl Barks, A Duck Comics Reading Order Guide

by Carole
Updated on February 23, 2024

Carl Barks is one of the most influential American cartoonists. Dubbed The Duck Man or The Good Duck artist by his fans, Barks is known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and the creator of the iconic and rich duck, Scrooge McDuck.

If Scrooge McDuck is his most famous creation, he is not the only one as Barks is the architect of Duckburg, located in the fictional U.S. state of Calisota, and many of its inhabitants such as Gladstone Gander, Donald’s cousin and The Luckiest Person in the World; the Beagle Boys, the family clan of organized criminals who try (and fails) to rob uncle Scrooge; Gyro Gearloose, genius inventor and friend of Donald; Magica De Spell, the Italian sorceress; and more. Let’s simply say that if Disney created the Donald Duck universe, Carl Barks really built it–and for this reason, Don Rosa called it the Barks Universe.

Like many European people, I grew up with the Duck clan (and other classic Disney comics), and those stories were and still are popular in Europe. It was one of those things that most households had, with Asterix and Tintin.

If those comics seem to not have the same iconic status in the US as in Europe, readers can at least now enjoy all of Carl Barks’ amazing Duck work with the ongoing collection The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library by publisher Fantagraphics. It’s an amazing way to read Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s adventures.