GEE WHIZ! PART TWO Of SHAZAM! WITH ONE MAGIC WORD...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Cop a gander at WHIZ COMICS #9, below - "Captain Marvel on the job!" it says - and feeling a little 'horny' too, by the look of things.  Okay, cheap (and obvious) joke out of the way, CM looks remarkably like SUPERMAN in this cover illustration, which could be what prompted NATIONAL to sue FAWCETT for copyright infringement.

However, it's interesting to speculate as to whether they'd have bothered if CAPTAIN MARVEL wasn't outselling Superman at the time.  Was the lawsuit born more out of resentment that ol' Supes was coming in second in the circulation stakes than a genuine belief that young BILLY BATSON's other (adult) self was nothing more than a blatant rip-off of CLARK KENT's alter-ego?

Who can say for sure?  Perhaps we'll never know, but at least we can enjoy these covers from a time when Captain Marvel was indeed "The World's Mightiest Mortal!"

So, who do you prefer - the Big Red Cheese or the Last Son of Krypton?  Get those fingers typing, frantic ones - and vote now!

A NOBEL CAUSE...

You'll no doubt recall me reminiscing recently about the NOBEL 200 car that my parents had back in the 1960s.  Well, I miss it so much that I decided to buy one - so here it is.

(Okay, so it's only a 1.43 scale model, but it's all I could get.)

SHAZAM! WITH ONE MAGIC WORD - PART ONE...

Images copyright DC COMICS

CAPTAIN THUNDER was his original name, but by the time he appeared in WHIZZ COMICS #2 (there was no #1), this had been changed to CAPTAIN MARVEL.  A couple of ashcan editions were produced to secure copyright, but similarly-titled periodicals by rival publishers meant a change of name for the good Captain's premiere issue in 1939/'40.

Captain Marvel outsold SUPERMAN for a while, prompting NATIONAL (DC) to launch a plagiarism suit against FAWCETT, but the initial decision fell in Fawcett's favour.  National appealed and won - and although Captain Marvel himself wasn't found to be a copyright infringement, it was felt that certain storylines and situations might be, requiring a re-trial to determine the facts.

However, because of the preceding twelve years of litigation - plus a decline in circulation of CM titles over that time - Fawcett decided it wasn't worth prolonging the battle and threw in the towel.  They discontinued their comics line and paid National $400,000 in damages - which indicates that their legal costs must have been enormous if paying such an astronomical sum to their rival was considered the least expensive option.

National licensed the character from Fawcett for a revival in 1972, and finally acquired the rights to the Marvel Family line in 1991.  Of course, there's still the MARVELMAN/MIRACLE-MAN situation to consider, but I'll leave that for somebody else to explore as, frankly, I can't generate either the energy or the enthusiasm to go into it.

Let's just look at the pictures, okay?

    

THUNDERBIRDS 2 & 4...

Not the best quality photo admittedly, but I took it in fading light and didn't want to use the flash.  It is, of course, toy company VIVID's new THUNDERBIRD 2 (along with TB4) from the new programme based on GERRY ANDERSON's cult 1960s TV show. I've only seen the first episode and was uncertain as to whether I'd be buying the latest toy range, but the vehicles are enough like the originals not to be too jarring, so I bought TB1 & TB2.  I'll be getting TB3 pretty soon as well.

Not too shabby, is it?

PLAYMATES From FAR-AWAY PLACES - PART THREE...

Image copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Relax, only 9 more to go before we've worked  our way through these back cover LITTLE STAR pages.  I paid for 'em and I'm gonna use 'em!  (Did nobody else ever buy Little Star when they were a kid?  Okay, so I was a teenager when I first bought them back in 1972, but hey - it was a new comic - with free gifts - and I just couldn't resist!)

GREEN LANTERN COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright DC COMICS

The original incarnation of GREEN LANTERN appeared back in 1940 in the pages of ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #16, and his 'civilian' (and secret) identity was railroad engineer ALAN SCOTT.  However, he's not the Green Lantern we're interested in today, that particular accolade belonging to test pilot HAL JORDAN, who made his debut appearance in SHOWCASE #22 in 1959 as part of NPP/DC COMICS editor (and writer) JULIUS SCHWARTZ's SILVER AGE attempt to revive superheroes.  Over the decades, the history and continuity of GL and the GREEN LANTERN CORPS has become increasingly convoluted (to say nothing of boring - to me at least), so I won't attempt to explain it all here.

Instead, let's just look at some fantastic covers from a time when comicbooks were a lot less complicated - and far more interesting and entertaining.  Hey, here's a novel notion - do you think there might be a connection there?  So, who's your favourite Green Lantern?  Let the world know in our controversial comments section!  All together now:

"In brightest day... in blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight!

Let those who worship evil's might

Beware my power - -

Green Lantern's Light!"