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Continuing our look back at some of my favourite comics of the past, we now turn our attention to SUPERMAN #198, which I first spied in my local Barber's in 1967 or '68 when my father took me for a haircut one day. (This was before he acquired the 'amazing' RONCO home haircutting device a few years later. This was a small plastic item with a razor blade at each toothed end, which, magically, could make hair fly from your head in all directions at once, merely by being waved anywhere within a two inch vicinity of it. At least, that's how it seemed to operate - it was lethal!)
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As I awaited my turn in the chair (if only it had been electric, some of you are doubtless thinking), I read the comic so thoughtfully provided by the barber for the entertainment of his younger customers. Needless to say, I was entertained. So much so, in fact, that, seeing I didn't want to relinquish it from my grasp, he let me take the comic away with me, nice man that he was (and hopefully still is). The premises remained a 'hairdressing salon' right up to a few short years ago, when someone else acquired the lease and turned the place into a Delicatessen.
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The first story in the mag was drawn by AL PLASTINO doing a pretty fair imitation of CURT SWAN, and the second tale is by the great man himself. Both strips later turned up in the monthly SUPER DC, a British anthology reprint mag that lasted for 14 issues. However, whenever I look at my replacement copy of Superman #198 today, I'm back in that barbershop getting a short back and sides, and thrilling to the amazing adventures of the mighty Man of Steel. If only such establishments were like that today, I'd doubtless get my (luckily luxuriant) hair cut more often. (Sawdust on the floor or not.)
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I received a gift subscription to Superman for my birthday in 1966, so my memories of #189-200 would be of them arriving in the mail, rather than reading them in the barber shop or in the doctor's waiting room, or of buying them at the local drug store. I do remember this issue, sort of. Even when I was eight, I knew that the "real Clark Kent" would turn out to be an impostor, so the only question was how Superman would expose him. IIRC, this was the first story I ever read that involved the Superman Revenge Squad (not to be confused with the Superman Look-a-Like Squad or Superman Emergency Squad, both of which were good guys). In fact, the only other Revenge Squad appearance I remember was a reprint in Jimmy Olsen #140. And the second story seems vaguely familiar. I think "the super-super-Superman" may have turned out to be a dream. But I may be confusing it with a similar Supergirl story in Action Comics, where she was revealed as a robot, but then it turned out to be a nightmare that either she or Superman was having. -TC
ReplyDeleteThat ad at the bottom for Blackhawk also brings back some memories, although even more vague than the ones of Superman. I only recall having two issues of Blackhawk in the 1960's, and this was one of them. That was the period when DC turned the team into both costumed super-heroes and secret agents. It was a disaster, especially since both fads (high-camp super heroes and spy spoofs) were passing by then (1967). "G.E.O.R.G.E." was a secret spy organization, like S.H.I.E.L.D., U.N.C.L.E., and T.H.U.N.D.E.R. I don't recall what the acronym stood for, and don't care, either. I'm not even sure if it was intentionally tongue-in-cheek (like the campy Batman TV show) or if it was just plain bad.
ReplyDeleteThe Superman comic I ever published. Thanks for bringing back some fond memories.
ReplyDeleteHi, TC. The 2nd story wasn't a dream - an alien that Supes had helped increased his powers as a 'thank you' to him. It's always good to see the ads, I think. That's what I miss in the Archive editions. Thanks for your interesting reminiscences.
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I think I get the gist of what you're saying, Anon. Glad you enjoyed seeing it.
According to Wikipedia, G.E.O.R.G.E stands for the Group for Extermination of Organizations of Revenge, Greed, and Evil....whatever PR agency thought that one up for them should have lost the account.
ReplyDeleteB, you're absolutely right, by George!
ReplyDeleteI guess all the good acronyms for spy agencies were already taken. And according to Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics, that "dream" story I remembered was the Supergirl back-up in Action #356.
ReplyDeleteI also loved those Henry Bolenoff cartoon strips in DC comics "Caps Hints" right through to "Super turtle" was amazed at just how much work and how popular these were (especially the " Cap" strip) there's a great gallery of his work in the excellent site "Mikes Amazing world of comics"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dcindexes.com/features/boltinoff.php?site=dc
Oh and yeah Superman was amazing back then as well - McScotty
Thanks, McScotty - I'll take a look at that site.
ReplyDeleteI read those stories in a book called "The Giant Superman Album". I bought this as a kid in 1974. It certainly looked brand new, crisp and clean, but I have read on another site that it was published in 1969, but the price was 25p printed on the front, so at least the cover was obviously printed in the early 1970's. 25p for 250 pages, I remember it took me weeks to read. That is one book that I would like to re-own, digital or in reality.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to find out whether that might've been a bound collection of old Super DC issues with a new cover. Were the stories in colour or black and white?
ReplyDeleteAnd, almost 9 years later, I now own that Giant Superman Album and it is indeed a bound collection of 7 issues of Super DC.
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