Today in Comics History, August 20: Happy birthday, Element Lad!

Born on this day sometime in the thirtieth century: Jann Arrah, who we know as Element Lad! You know, the giant Legionnaire with the big ears and the long trunk and...sorry, I've made another one of my silly mistakes. That's Elephant Lad.


from Super DC Calendar 1976 (DC, 1975), letters by Ben Oda



E-Lad first appeared in Adventure Comics #307. He's right there on the cover but maybe you didn't recognize him because of the big "?" on his uniform. To be fair, I don't even know what the Interlac for "?" is. Maybe they never ask questions.


cover of Adventure Comics #307 (DC, April 1963), pencils by Curt Swan, inks by George Klein, letter by Ira Schnapp
Jan challenges the Super Friends, I mean Legion, to guess what his mystery power is. Cocky devil, ain't he? Remember: it must not duplicate any current Legionnaire's powers!


from "The Secret Power of the Mystery Super-Hero!" in Adventure Comics #307; script by Edmond Hamilton, pencils and inks by John Forte, letters by Joe Letterese
Twenty-first century? Wash your mouth out with space soap, Edmond Hamilton!

Saturn Girl knows the secret, but she isn't telling. Is it...invulnerability? Well, no, because that would duplicate the power of Superboy and Ultra Boy. Strike one!



Is it...super-strength? No! Again: Superboy, Ultra Boy. Do you guys not pay attention to your own bizarre rulebook? I'm lookin' at you, Brainiac-5, smartest teen in the universe.


Is it...yet another power that Superboy has? NO, YA FUTURE TEEN DUMBASSES.

How about you, Dear Reader? Can you, having read fifty years of Legion adventures, remember what powers Jan Arrah, ELEMENT LAD, has?


Turns out it's element changing! Well, that's convenient. Whip us up some boron, Jan!


"From now on we'll call you Element Lad! But your great power will remain as mystery to everyone!" Well, except for the fact that you named him Element Lad.


Far from being the sensational new character find of 1963, Jan doesn't pop up again in LSH stories until issues 310-311, and even those are just cameos.

He DOES now have an "E" on his uniform, though. Good job keepin' it a secret, guys.



(top) from "The Doom of the Super-Heroes!" Adventure Comics #310 (DC, July 1963), script by Edmond Hamilton, pencils and inks by John Forte, letters by Milt Snapinn;
(bottom) cover of Adventure Comics #311 (DC, August), pencils by Curt Swan, inks by George Klein, letters by Ira Schnapp
Finally! In #316, nine months after his debut, Element Lad actually has a part to play in a story. Maybe the E stands for "exasperated."


from "The Renegade Super-Hero!" in Adventure Comics #316 (DC, January 1964), script by Edmond Hamilton, pencils and inks by John Forte, letters by Milt Snapinn
So, happy birthday, Element Lad! Now whip us up some sodium! Whoa, that's too much.


from Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #2 (DC, June 1988), pencils by Ron Frenz, inks by Colleen Doran


from Legion [of Super-Heroes] Secret Files #1 (DC, January 1998), script by Tom McCraw, pencils and inks by Colleen Doran