365 Days of Defiance, Day 224: Silver Nemesis

If you're Ryan Choi, the All New Atom, you need to remember your Survival Guide to Sub-Atomic Hell ABCs:

Always
Be
Continually Punching Jet-Pack Hitler



Panels from The All New Atom #14 (October 2007), script by Gail Simone, pencils by Mike Norton, inks by Trevor Scott, colors by Alex Bleyaert, letters by Travis Lanham
Of course, while Atom's kickin' Hitler's flying ass, Ted "Blue Beetle" Kord has his own target already picked out:

Fun with Comics: 24-Carat Back Issues

MIKE! MIKE! MIKE! MIKE I FOUND SOME OLD COMICS HOW MUCH ARE THEY WORTH? MIKE WILL YOU GIVE ME LOTS OF $$$ FOR THESE? MIKE! MIKE! MIKE! MIKE!

365 Days of Defiance, Day 223: Batman Explains It All for You

Panel from "The Bond Wagon" in Detective Comics (1937 series) #78 (August 1943), script by Joe Greene, pencils by Jack Burnley, inks and letters by George Roussos
Help with identification of this panel came from online pal Comics in the Golden Age. Thanks CGA! Check out his amazing Twitter feed!

365 Days of Defiance, Day 222: The Justice League versus Nazis

from "The Savage Time" on Justice League (November 9, 2002), script by Stan Berkowitz, directed by Butch Lukic and Dan Riba

365 Days of Defiance, Day 221: DC Two-in-One

It's Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman! That is, Diana teaming up with her mom, to take down supervillains selling superweapons to Nazis on, I dunno, 1940s eBay, in a story that could only be called


Cover of Wonder Woman (1987 series) #185 (November 2002); pencils, inks, and colors by Adam Hughes
First, a moment of quiet reflection aboard a airplane with no visible in-flight entertainment and you can't even find the packets of peanuts. By the way, Diana is dressed as obscure 1940s heroine Miss America for Plot Reasons™ (but a mom always knows).


Panels from Wonder Woman (1987 series) #185 (November 2002); script and pencils by Phil Jimenez, inks by Andy Lanning and Lary Stucker, colors by Trish Mulvihill, color separations by WildStorm FX, letters by Comicraft
Enough mutual admiration, goils, let's get this party started*! (*Song not by U2.)


Honestly, I don't know of no better way to make your entrance during the years 1939-1945 than by bustin' in and tearin' up a big-ass Nazi flag! Actually, that same rule applies to 2016-present.


How do you think Hippolyta will disarm supervillain Armageddon?


Whoa! That works. This is just like that song "Harper Valley P.T.A.", except instead of wearing a miniskirt, the mom just lops the guy's whole arm off.

So, the moral of the story is this: When just one princess warrior will do against a buncha Nazis and their collaborators, use the double-Wonder action of new Wonder Woman Squared! It gets Nazis out!


Cover of Wonder Woman (1987 series) #184 (October 2002); pencils, inks, and colors by Adam Hughes

365 Days of Defiance, Day 220: In which Cloris Leachman kicks ass

Na na na na na na
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman

Today's episode of "Let's Kick Some Nazi Butt" highlights one of my favorite retcons of the Modern Comics Age. Trust me, it's much better than "the Beyonder was an Inhuman" or "the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are Inhumans", or "everyone loves reading about the Inhumans." Nope: it's all tied up (with a golden lasso, I assume) in this:


Panels from Wonder Woman (1987 series) #184 (October 2002), script and pencils by Phil Jimenez, inks by Andy Lanning, colors by Trish Mulvihill, color separations by WildStorm FX, letters by Comicraft
To get you up to speed, Wally West-style, on what's happenin' here: Princess Diana (aka Wonder Woman) has (unknowingly) travelled back in time (doncha hate when that happens?) and has stumbled across Nazi soldiers (boo!) working in partnership with...Clea!


Cover of Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #13 (January 1990), pencils and inks by Butch Guice
No, no, not that Clea! This Clea...


Cover of Wonder Woman (1987 series) #182 (January 1990), pencils and inks by Phil Jimenez, colors by José Villarrubia
...who's a classic Golden Age villain created by Marston and Peters as the jerk ruler of Atlantis (sound familiar, Marvel?) and charter member of "Villany, Inc.," which I think is some sort of licensed limited company. She's a go-getter gal in today's World War II's modern age of feminism and she's teaming up with Nazis, so hiss to her. She's in cahoots to trade a mystic Atlantean translation horn (the Rosetta Horn?) for an armored German submarine, presumably so she can finish filming her visionary film "Das U-Boot."


When what should appear to their Nazi sights but


WONDER WOMAN IN HER SATIN TIGHTS!

To explain: that's actually Hippolyta, Wondy's mom, who, the Post-Crisis Universe told us, was the Golden Age World War II Wonder Woman! I've always loved this relatively new retcon. (It leads to some neat character stuff over in the JSA comic, too.) I'm pretty sure this retcon doesn't exist in today's comics, which only makes me hate you more, New 52/Rebirth Universe.


Wonder Woman (Diana) needs to aid Wonder Woman (Hippolyta), but rushing into battle in her Wonder Woman (Diana) costume will surely wreck the timeline and confuse Wonder Woman (Hippo). So here's a plan: why not Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) herself into the costume of another, '40s contemporary Wonder Woman (Miss America), Miss America!



Of course, two Wonders make no blunders and easily beat a pack o'Nazis and a Clea. But the adventure isn't over yet! Tune in tomorrow, same Wonder time, same Woman station, to see the continued team-up of Wonder and Wonder in a tale we had to title...ah, but I'll make you wait for that one.

365 Days of Defiance, Day 219: Don't go back to Earth-10

Page from "Forerunner, Part Two: The Origin of the Species" in Countdown to Adventure #2 (November 2007), script by Justin Gray, pencils by Travis Moore, inks by Saleem Crawford, colors by Tanya Horie and Richard Horie, letters by Pat Brosseau
That quote at the bottom is well worth repeating: "The mighty stand upon the shoulders of the weak, and with a change of heart the base of their power can rise to consume them."

Fight. Resist. Defy.

365 Days of Defiance, Day 218: Captain Marvel (Jr.) zapped him right between the eyes

Continuing this week's Nazi-bashin' theme! I wish I had better images from Captain Marvel Jr. #1 than these scans from a microfiche (seriously, DC, let's start publishing Archive Editions for Captain Marvel Adventures, Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., The Marvel Family, and more!). But I can't resist showin' ya Cap Jr. battling Captain Nazi himself as well as leading captives of Hitler in a rebellion and uprising against the Ratzis! Just don't ask him to tell you his name, okay?



Panels from "Wings Over Dazaggar!!" in Captain Marvel Jr. #1 (Fawcett, November 18, 1942), pencils and inks by Al Carreno

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn...: Hey! I can't get pastrami here!

What has opened in the old Zito's Sandwich location on Seventh Ave? Aw, I miss Zito's so much.


2022 update: King's Pharmacy went out of business during the pandemic and was replaced by a Jersey Mike's. Well, that's an improvement, for sandwich-obsessed me, at least.

365 Days of Defiance, Day 217: Beetlemania

Panels from "Peril in the Pacific" in Blue Beetle #31 (Fox, June 1944), pencils by Herman C. Browner (?)

365 Days of Defiance, Day 216: Diamonds Are for Lana

Hey, you're forgiven if you've forgotten Captain Fearless, a Golden Age superhero who headlined his own comic book (wow!) published by that giant of comics, Temerson/Helnit/Continental (who?) and who made all of two appearances before his book was unceremoniously cancelled (aw). Captain Fearless, we're told, "has no superpowers, but his horn can summon up his ancestor for assistance." (Citation.) Why, by those standards of posessing horns, I am twice the superhero he is! Other heroes who took the spotlight in the anthology oriented Captain Fearless include "Alias X," "Rusty Dugan in the French Foreign Legion," "Grit Grady, Adventurer" (what was his mother thinking when she named him that?), and "Citizen Smith: Son of the Unknown Soldier." Well, then, we at least half know who the Unknown Soldier was. There's the ripped-from-the-headlines action-thribble adventures of Sergeant "Dick" Carter of the U.S. Border Patrol, who keeps Mexican banditos out of Texas, Mr. Miracle (no, not that one) and Captain Stone, whose exciting escapades take place...under water.

But for the moment let's tear out all the pages of our copy of Captain Fearless #2 except those that feature Diamond Jim, "adventurous American in the Kimberley region of South Africa." Oh man, there's no way this feature isn't gonna get problematic real fast. So instead let's focus on D.J.'s damsel in distress, Lana, who hires the aforementioned Zircon Zhames to protect her from "Rocky" Stone — geez, doesn't anybody in these comics not have a nickname in quote marks? "Rocky" has threatned to steal "Lana's" diamond "mine" so when "Rocky' "kidnaps" both Lana "and" Diamond "Jim," you'd expect it to be Jim to the rescue by standing up against the "bad guys." Not so:



Panels from the Diamond Jim story in Captain Fearless Comics #2 (Temerson/Helnit/Continental, September 1941), pencils and inks by Saul Rosen
HOLY COW LANA! You go girl! You receive today's ward to defying bad guys and provided the only action that will take place in those comic book! Sisters are doin' it for themselves, baby!

The last panel of the story threatens promises "further adventures of Diamond Jim in next months' issue of Captain Fearless," in which I'm certain he will have his ass saved by a tortoise. Unfortunately, this was the last-ever issue of Cap Fearless, and nobody ever saw Diamond Jim, ever again. But I'd sure give Lana her own comic book feature.

365 Days of Defiance, Day 215: Under the sea, under the sea / The Master Race gets a punch in the face / Take it from me

Look, I will hear no taunts or jeers against Aquaman, Superhero of the Seven Seas. Sure, he talks to fish — I mean, who doesn't? — but he's one of the most powerful beings on earth and especially under the sea, so take a seat, Jack, if you intend to mock the Aque. How tough is he? Why, in his very first appearance, he's fighting Nazis. Were you fighting Nazis in your very first appearance? I think not.


Panels from "The Submarine Strikes" in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941), script by Mort Weisinger, pencils and inks by Paul Norris
Wondering what happens to those Nazis in this here very story? Well, let's check it out over at the Grand Comicbook Database, huh?


Don't. Threaten. Aquaman.

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn... Fall of the Super-Sons

365 Days of Defiance, Day 214: Let's All Spit on the Nazis

Gabriel Jones (he of the Howling Commandos) and Peggy Carter (she of the late lamented cancelled-too-soon Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show) have been captured by the Red Skull! Who always looks so very villainous when he's portrayed by one of my favorite artists, Frank Robbins!


Panels from Captain America (1968 series) #175 (May 1975), script by Steve Englehart, pencils by Frank Robbins, inks by Frank Giacoia, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Tom Orzechowski
All tied up (and no place to go), how will Gabe and Peggy resist the Red Skull? Well, by the ancient art of gobbing:


Hah! Nice one, Gabe! And a scene or two later, no sooner has the Red Numbskull washed the spit off his rubber fetish mask than Peggy adds her personal touch to the situation:


The moral, and this story does have one: spit at Nazis. As often as possible. Yeah, it's as simple as that.

Bully and His Pals: Happy birthday to my kid sister Marshall!

For her 4th birthday I let my sister Marshall play with my stuffed cat Orson. Here she is pushing him in a supermarket cart.

365 Days of Defiance, Day 213: Batman kicks Nazis*

Batman teaming up with Sgt. Rock may seem like one of those crazy stories from Earth-Haney, but for The Brave and the Bold it's just another ordinary day in the pre-Crisis Age. Yeah, this story probably took place on Earth-2, but what does it matter? Their Nazis deserved kicking too.




Panels from The Brave and the Bold #162 (May 1980), script by Bill Kelley, pencils and inks by Jim Aparo, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Jim Aparo
* Exactly what it says on the tin.

365 Days of Defiance, Day 212: The Line Is Drawn

Panels from 52 #32 (February 2007); script by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid; breakdowns by Keith Giffen; pencils by Patrick Olliffe; inks by Drew Geraci; colors by David Baron; letters by Travis Lanham

365 Days of Defiance, Day 211: The Rocket's Red Glare

Not only has the New Hate-Monger — I dunno, Rush Limbaugh this time, prob'bly — stolen Cap's shield and painted a nasty swastika on it, he's also plotting to destroy everything we love and hold close top our hearts with anthrax missiles! That didn't work when Zemo plotted it and it won't work now, Hatey!



Panels from Captain America (1998 series) #27 (March 2000), script by Dan Jurgens, pencils by Andy Kubert, inks by Dan Green, colors by Gregory Wright, letters by Todd Klein
Whoops, that's not good. But while the Monger (Hate) taunts Cap and Nick Fury face-palms, Steve Rogers reveals that, like Batman, he has had prep time and he always had a scheme to take down the missiles. With righteousness.



With good aim of his shield and the aid of the Falcon, Captain America does exactly that. Wrap it up for us, Cap 'n' Nick!

365 Days of Defiance, Day 210: Oh the humanitree

I try not to normally reprint...(counting carefully)...a full four pages from a single comic book in this feature, but the build-up and the pay-off are just so good I couldn't edit it down without feeling like I was doing injustice to the pacing. Okay, Star-Lord is facing off against ultravillain and glamour ab model Black Swan, armed with nothing more than his wits, his sarcasm, and...is that a toothpick?





Panels from Secret Wars (2015 series) #7 (January 2016), script by Jonathan Hickman, pencils and inks by Esad Ribic, colors by Ive Svorcina, letters by Clayton Cowles