#human bomb

[chernobog13]

POLICE COMICS (vol. 1) #5 (December, 1941). Cover by Gill Fox.

[infinityinc4ever]

The Freedom Fighters by George Perez

[wanderingmind867]

DC should have been forced to write about characters they bought, honestly. To my mind (which, albeit, isn't thinking too hard about it right now) that's the only thing that makes sense. You're going to buy Fawcett and Quality and Charlton? Fine, then you better use their characters! They should have been forced to keep writing Captain Marvel/Shazam, Bulletman, Ibis the Invincible, Plastic Man, Phantom Lady, Human Bomb, Judo Master, The Question, etc. These characters had potential, yet they mostly got relegated to the rank of C or D listers nowadays. Which really tells me DC isn't treating them well! If you don't want to use your characters DC, then you never should have bought them! I'm sure some indie publishers would be dying to do Ibis the Invincible or Bulletman or Spy-Smasher stories! I'm sure they would!

[splooosh]

DREAM

Phil Hester

[comiccoverarchive]

Police Comics #12 (August 5th, 1942)

Art by Gill Fox

[onlylonelylatino]

Where's Stripesy? by Fred Hembeck

[coolcomicbookcovers]

[dcdreamblog]

What are your top 5 favorite mystery men costumes?

Oh this one's a breezy little thing to work on over a Saturday evening. Let's see...

#5. Wesley Dodds, AKA the Sandman

(From the Sandman's original official JSA portrait, 1940) This is an entry that writes itself. Wesley Dodds' original Sandman attire is overwrought in just how cool it is. A kind of pulp chic that makes it look like he stepped right off a yellowed detective novel page, the direct line drawn between the shadowy vigilante he once was and the superhero he became. One can only imagine how much thugs and gangsters back in the bootlegging days pissed their pants at the THOUGHT of him, much less the sight of him. I can appreciate his paternal and wholesome reasons for eventually changing said costume but there's a reason even his young ward echoed this look in the modern day.

#4. Greg Saunders AKA Vigilante

(Vigilante's official All Star Squadron portrait, 1941)

Speaking of heroes who look like they jumped right out of the dime novel page, we can't forget the beloved Rider of the Purple Sage. Like a cowboy off the silver screen with the lasso skills, dead eye aim and cozy accent to match. He's the kind of man who can set a whole room at ease with the pluck of a guitar or silence a bar of lowlifes with the click of a hammer. Simplicity here is the name of the game.

#3. Alan Scott AKA Green Lantern.

(A modern portrait of Scott, donated to this very museum)

If you asked me to sit back, close my eyes and ask me to create an image the exudes power, strength and majesty. Hell, ask 100 renowned artists to do it for a week and they wouldn't conjure the imagery in my mind that I associate with this man. There is a reason his contemporaries referred to him simply as "The Big Guy", the closer, the one who made everyone know it was gonna be alright. The billowing cape, the deep brow of the mask, chunky belt and boots that scream old fashioned tough guy. When the battlefield lit up green, the bad guys dove for cover.

#2. Kent Nelson AKA Dr. Fate

(The museum's modern portrait of Nelson) Talking about majesty, you have a character that between his look and his voice convinces you that he's EXACTLY as powerful as he says he is. While the Helmet of Nabu might be a malicious entity in many respects, the ability that Fate's enemies look THEMSELVES in the eye against its polished surface before he blows them away is priceless. And I've never seen a single cape that looks better billowing in the wind. He's an arch mage, and he carries himself like one.

#1. Roy Lincoln AKA The Human Bomb

(A colorized newsreel image of Lincoln, circa 1943) Where my loves of simplicity and majesty collide. The Human Bomb's outfit was almost mundane when he was actually wearing it back in the Golden Age and it gave the whole world one warning, if you're around me, something bad is about to happen. Heavy boots that make a loud thud with every step, a visor that shows glaring eyes from behind a thick, dark glass. He looks like a man who could flatten a block just from taking this many precautions. Roy Lincoln is one of my favorite mystery men period and his outfit is a big part of why.