Scans_Daily

Before Archie Comics got its current name, it was known as MLJ Comics. Like most other comic book publishers, it published a large number of superhero titles. The company can claim credit for several superhero comics "firsts" - the first patriotic hero, the first time a superhero died in action and the first crossover storyline ever.



"But wait," you may be wondering. "Wasn't Human Torch/Namor fight from Marvel Mystery Comics #8-9 the first crossover?" And you would be close - but you would be wrong. The Human Torch/Namor crossover began in June 1940. This crossover began one month earlier. And while the Human Torch/Namor crossover took place over the course of two months, this storyline took four.

And, since the whole thing is in public domain, I can post the crossover in its entirety.

Since most people reading this have no idea who the characters involved are, here is a quick primer:

( A relatively quick primer )

The following story originally appeared in Top-Notch Comics #5. Writing by Will Harr, art by Edd Ashe.

( The first comics crossover ever starts out with a bang - literally (11 pages under the cut) )

Will the Wizard and the Shield be able to stop the Mosconians master plan? And what about the West Pointer and the Midshipman? Find out in the next installment of the MOSCONIAN INVASION.

( And, as a bonus - the ad for the crossover )

When the U.S. version of Dennis the Menace became popular, many comic companies jumped on the bandwagon. But Toby Press, the publisher that brought you Jon Juan, the Super Lover, decided to take it one step beyond.

Ollie Orwell was a 6-year-old kid from an unnamed Midwestern city. He was a perfectly ordinary kid until he discovered a tattered magical cape in his attic. The cape gave him all of Superman's powers. Now, if he was older and more responsible, Ollie probably would have become a superhero. But Ollie wasn't mature enough to think through on the consequences of his actions, so he became known as the Super-Brat.

That's right - Ollie Orwell was Dennis the Menace - with Superpowers.

He appeared in four issues of Super-Brat comic. Toby Press went under before the 5th issue could be published. Charlton Comics (out of all companies) bought the rights to some of Toby's titles, including Super-Brat. Charlton published the 5th issue as Li'l Genius #1. In the next issue of Li'l Genius, the writers revamped Ollie and took away his magic cape and made him just plain old Dennis the Menace proxy.

But those stories are boring, so I'm going to post scans from the Super-Brat era.

The following story was originally published in Super-Brat #2. Writer unknown, art by Harry Betancourt.
( Ollie tries to get a puppy. That... does not go over well (6 pages under the cut) )

Welcome back to my on-again, off-again series about bizarre patriotically themed superheroes that emerged in the wake of the Shield's debut. We previously covered the super-patriot from the future and a very patriotic ghost entity thing. But nothing, and I do mean nothing is quite as weird as the subject of this post.

Before I posted these scans on the origin scans_daily, almost nobody knew who Yankee Doodle Jones was or just how weird his origin was. But ever since that post, I've seen him mentioned on a number of sites, and those references almost never fail to wonder what the hell were his creators smoking. I admit, it makes me feel oddly... proud.

In any case, the following story originally appeared in Yankee Comics #1. Writer unknown, art by Lou Fine.

( What do you get when you take three World War I veterans, a super-serum and Uncle Sam? (7 pages under the cut) )

Yankee Doodle Jones went on to appear in all subsequent issues of Yankee Comics (all four of them). Dandy appeared in a three-part text-story crossover where he met Yankee Comics' Yankee Boy and Johnny Rebel. And while their stories were reprinted a few times, they haven't been revived by anyone - at least as of this writing.

And, on an unrelated note - is anyone going to C2E2 this year? Since the convention is happening in my neck of the woods, I will be attending on Saturday. It would be nice to see at least some of the people behind the handles. I meant to ask about this weeks ago, but I kept forgetting...

Tune in next time to see a comic where just about everything is a product placement. I am not exaggerating.

Because feyandstrange was the only one who voted for it, consider this post a fulfillment of request.

Spy and Counterspy was published by American Comics Group - publisher you may remember as home to Herbie the Fat Fury and Cowboy Sahib. The title was billed as a combination of intrigue and action (for boys) and romance (for girls), which was a fairly interesting concept. After 2 issues, it was renamed Spy-Hunters. together, the title lasted 24 issues, between 1949 and 1953.



Now, some historical background. The first issue of Spy and Counterspy was published in August 1949. The tensions between United States and Soviet Union have been simmering since the end of World War II. In the aftermath of the war, nobody was too keen to fight again, but the risk was always there. Only a few months before the issue was published, the Cold War almost turned hot when Stalin tried to prevent Western powers from delivering supplies to Berlin. And it would only be a few more months before the Soviet-backed Democratic People's Republic of Korea would invade American-backed Republic of Korea, triggering the Korean War. You can't really blame Americans for being paranoid, and boy did the writing in the comic reflect that.

I wasn't old enough to really remember Soviet Union, but I was still old enough to be exposed to its propaganda. I am used to reading stories about brave Soviet agents stopping insidious American spies who sought to sabotage the Soviet Union, steal its defense secrets and pave the way for the invasion. Like Americans, my people lived under constant threat that an evil foreign superpower and its allies would try to conquer us. Reading Spy and Counterspy, I couldn't help but try to imagine what the stories would have looked like if they were written from the Soviet perspective. And, I confess, reading comics with American spies as protagonists was a bit...disconcerting. I imagine American readers would experience similar dissonance if they read translations for Soviet stories I grew up

The first issue of Spy and Counterspy had many interesting stories, but ultimately, I decided to share this one for a simple reason - the name of the protagonist. Because a name like that is just asking for jokes and wild theories. Unfortunately, the credits were lost in time, so I have no idea who wrote or drew that.

With this in mind, on with the story:
( The cowardly, craven agent of the Capitalists kills brave defenders of the people, spreads subversive propaganda and schemes to destroy our ability to protect ourselves(15 pages under the cut) )

Tune in next time to see some letters' pages from various Novelty Press comics.

Ah, Toni Gay and Butch Dykeman. Chances are you've already seen the rather suggestive first page from their story in Popular Teen-Agers #6. It's become something of a meme in comic book fan circles. But few people ever stopped and asked - who was Toni Gay, anyway? And what the heck was the deal with Butch Dykeman?



Toni Gay was originally known as Toni Gayle. She first appeared in 1945 in Novelty Press' Young King Cole #1. She as a model who decided to become a detective after her father, a famous police detective, was wounded by a deranged criminal. After capturing the criminal, she realized that she enjoyed the mystery-solving thing and decided to split her time between modeling and detective work.

Toni was one of Novelty Press' more popular detective characters, and it wasn't hard to see why. In the age when many female protagonists were often dumbed down, she remained smart, resourceful and independent. Letter columns were filled with letters from female fans who praised her as a great role-model.

Then, in 1949, Novelty Press went out of business. Its assets wound up in the hands of artist L. B. Cole, who used them to start his own comic book publisher, Star Publications. He revived all of Novelty Press' most popular characters, including Toni Gayle. But when Toni reappeared in the first issue of School-Day Romances, case, it wasn't quite the Toni Gayle the readers remembered. All the sudden, the detective part was dropped and she was merely an aspiring model who attended a modeling school. She got herself a boyfriend named Butch Dykeman, a struggling actor who attended the Adonis School Of Arts. And she gained a rival in Eve Ardor, a fellow aspiring model who wanted to out-succeed her and steal her boyfriend.

Oh, and, in School-Day Romances #3, her last name was changed to "Toni Gay." Not really sure why.

(In my personal canon, the Star Publications stories took place before Young King Cole #1. Hey - it makes more sense than her sudden chickafication)

Anyways... With that long history lesson out of the way, allow me to show you what you actually asked to see - a story starring Toni Gay and her boyfriend, Butch Dykeman.

The following story originally appeared in School-Day Romances #4. Art and (presumably) writing by Norman Nodel.

( In which Toni and Butch have some totally heteresexual hijinx (7 pages under the cut)  )

Tune in next time to see Archie Comics' attempt to do the female version of their most famous character as we take a look at Ginger Snapp and her many boyfriends.