All-American Comics

All-American Comics

Solomon Grundy's first appearance in All-American Comics #61 (Oct. 1944).
Art by Paul Reinman.
Publication information
Publisher All-American Publications
Schedule Monthly:
#1-49, #71-102
8 Times a Year:
#50-66
Bi-monthly
#67-70
Format Ongoing series
Genre
    Publication date April 1939 - October 1948
    Number of issues 102
    Creative team
    Writer(s) Alfred Bester, Bill Finger, Sheldon Mayer, Bill O'Connor
    Artist(s) Ben Flinton, Sheldon Mayer, Martin Nodell, Paul Reinman

    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 1939 to 1948. Characters created for the title, including Green Lantern, the Atom, the Red Tornado, Doctor Mid-Nite, and Sargon the Sorcerer, later became mainstays of the DC comics line.

    Publication history

    All-American Comics published 102 issues from April 1939 to October 1948.[1] The series was an anthology which included a mixture of new material and reprints of newspaper strips. Editor Sheldon Mayer's Scribbly was introduced in the first issue as was Hop Harrigan.[2] The Golden Age Green Lantern was introduced by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in issue #16 (July 1940).[3] The Golden Age Atom debuted in #19 (October 1940)[4] and Mayer created the original Red Tornado in #20 (November 1940).[5] Doctor Mid-Nite first appeared in #25 (April 1941).[6] Alfred Bester and Paul Reinman created the monstrous super villain Solomon Grundy in #61 (October 1944).[7] Other features included "Toonerville Folks", "Mutt and Jeff", and "Ripley's Believe It or Not!".

    All-American Publications and all its titles were purchased by National Periodicals (DC Comics) in 1946. Responding to the demand for Western comics, All-American Comics changed title and format with #103 (November 1948) to All-American Western. The retitled series had Johnny Thunder as the lead feature.[8][9] It changed title and format again to All-American Men of War as of #127 (August–September 1952).[10]

    A 1999 one-shot issue was a part of the storyline "Justice Society Returns."[11]

    References

    1. ↑ All-American Comics at the Grand Comics Database
    2. ↑ Wallace, Daniel; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1930s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Edited by Sheldon Mayer, the title contained newspaper reprints and puzzle pages alongside original material such as Mayer's own 'Scribbly'...The features 'Hop Harrigan' and 'Red, White, and Blue' also debuted in this issue.
    3. ↑ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 32: "Alan Scott underwent an unexpected career change into the costumed hero Green Lantern in a story by artist Martin Nodell (using the pseudonym 'Mart Dellon') and writer Bill Finger."
    4. ↑ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 33: "Writer Bill O'Connor and artist Ben Flinton revealed the Atom in a short, six-page story, though the non-superpowered character soon went on to bigger things."
    5. ↑ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 33: "The Red Tornado was the first outright super hero parody at DC, and she was also one of the company's first prominent female characters."
    6. ↑ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 37: "April's All-American Comics #25 saw the costumed hero Doctor Mid-Nite make his first appearance."
    7. ↑ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 47: "Green Lantern faced a monstrous foe in All-American Comics #61. Solomon Grundy was a zombielike strongman...His origin, recounted in a story by writer Alfred Bester and artist Paul Reinman, involved the corpse of a murdered man."
    8. ↑ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 59: "All-American Comics became All-American Western with this issue [#103], and Johnny Thunder leaped out from a backdrop of comic pages on the cover to announce the radical transition."
    9. ↑ All-American Western at the Grand Comics Database
    10. ↑ All-American Men of War at the Grand Comics Database
    11. ↑ All-American Comics one-shot at the Grand Comics Database

    External links