| All-American Comics | |
|---|---|
Solomon Grundy's first appearance in All-American Comics #61. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | All-American Publications |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Publication date | April 1939 - October 1948 |
| Number of issues | 102 |
All-American Comics was the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from April 1939 to October 1948, at which time it was renamed All-American Western. In 1952, the title was changed again to All-American Men of War, which lasted until the series was cancelled in 1966. DC would later launch a Men of War title in 1977 and again in 2011.
All-American Comics was purchased by National Periodicals (DC Comics) in 1946. Characters created for All-American, including Green Lantern, the Atom, Red Tornado, Doctor Mid-Nite, and Sargon the Sorcerer, became mainstays of the DC comics line. Other publications included the newspaper comic strip reprints and similar original features Hop Harrigan, Toonerville Folks, Scribbly, Mutt and Jeff, and Ripley's Believe It or Not!.
All-American Western would add the character Johnny Thunder to the DC Universe, and All-American Men of War added Johnny Cloud, a Native American World War II P-51 Mustang pilot.
The "Gunner and Sarge" feature introduced by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru in All-American Men of War #67 (March 1959) was one of the first war comics to feature recurring characters.[1]
Other contributors included writer Hank Chapman and artists Alex Toth, Gene Colan, Mort Drucker, Mike Esposito, Jerry Grandenetti, Sheldon Moldoff, Russ Heath, Bernard Krigstein, Joe Kubert, and Irv Novick.
Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein's famous 1962 work Whaam! is based on a Grandenetti comic-book panel on the cover of All-American Men of War #89 (Feb. 1962).[2][3]
A 1999 one-shot issue was a part of the storyline "Justice Society Returns".
Key issues of All-American include: