All-Star Comics #20 - "A Movie that Changed a Man's Life"

In the world at the time this issue had hit the stands - Britain's Royal Air Force has suffered major losses during an air raid on Nuremberg, the United Negro College Fund is formed in the United States and the Armed Forces were prepping for what would in just a few months become known as D-Day.

A lot of people look at these old Golden Age tales as lame or corny, but when I read these, I see a burst of creative absurdity hidden beneath the pages. It's as though writers Gardner Fox and Sheldon Mayer just through anything they ever knew out the window and let their imaginations run amok....and I love it.

This particular story, from the Spring 1944 issue of All-Star Comics is no exception to that category. I really think it ranks up there as one of the weirdest adventures of the Justice Society I've read yet.

A noted businessman, Jason L. Rogers, has put an ad in the paper soliciting the help of the Justice Society. They respond by inviting him to their latest meaning to explain his plight, which is that he is being plagued by a criminal known only as "The Monster," robbing banks, dynamiting factories, and more.

The Monster isn't the only problem plaguing Mr. Rogers, though. In his younger days, Rogers had a hobby of photography, and enjoyed splicing together home films. However, after showing the home films to his wife, she suddenly collapsed and died. When he showed the films at his club, he lost all his friends. Life became so bad that Rogers was forced to move to a new city and begin a new life, but was plagued by The Monster, who began plaguing Rogers in his old town and continues to do so today.

When you see the ring, seven days later, you die...

The Monster wreaks havoc wherever he goes. Sometimes it's extortion, threatening to blow up a dam and kill thousands. Other times it's a bit more gruesome and intricate, such as causing a noted surgeon to lose his license, thus making him desperate and susceptible to crime. Together they kidnap wealthy men, disfiguring them and then charging a hefty fee to put them back to normal. 

I'm sure I get the same reaction when I make comic book pitches.

Oddly enough, the only member of the Justice Society who seems to stand a chance against The Monster is Johnny Thunder, or more precisely, Johnny's magical Thunderbolt. Whereas most of the stories in this issue deal with The Monster temporarily taking out the hero, or distracting them long enough to make a getaway, this chapter actually has The Monster getting a severe smackdown from the genie-like Thunderbolt and heading for the hills as fast as he can.

When the JSA reconvenes with Jason Rogers, they admit a sense of defeat. While they may have stopped the Monster's machinations, they've yet to bring in the villain himself. Seemingly unconcerned about the matter, Rogers once again brings up his home movie that seems to result in the loss of his friends and loved ones. When he tries to show the JSA, the film appears blank, causing Rogers to excuse himself to try a chemical treatment in his darkroom.

However, Rogers does not return from the dark room for an hour, rousing the suspicion of the heroes...eventually.

"Hey, this guy who's commissioned us to solve these mysteries has disappeared for an hour. Should we be worried? Nah, let's have some more punch."

When the Justice Society finally realizes that they might want to check out the dark room, they find Rogers gone but none other than the Monster there in his place. One by one, the villain takes out the surprised mystery men, explaining along the way that Rogers had stolen his body. Before he can explain more, The Monster pulls out a small ray gun that is quickly turned on himself.

You can almost here the instrumental 'dun dun dunnn'

As the Monster lie dying, the JSA decide now is a good time to look at the film that Rogers was treating. What they find are images of Rogers transforming into the Monster. It turns out the two shared one body, something, as always, Dr. MidNite condescendingly explains.

Know it all.

As he exhales his last breaths, The Monster begins to transform back to Jason Rogers, who now feels at peace with his soon to be extinguished existence, taking solace in the fact that The Monster will no longer plague the world.

Now, one might wonder how a group of heroes like the JSA might feel about this man, whose life was tragically shared with a villain he could not defeat, dying in their arms...they're not as compassionate as you might think.

"This man is dying in front of us! Meeting adjourned!"

I can't summarize this issue without making note of the one-page Green Lantern story / public service announcement that promotes the conservation of paper during wartime. I'm not quite sure if it's the charm of the period-problem of war rationing, or the effort to try and understand what was being said through Doiby Dickles thick accent, but it's just one of those things that serves as a nice, nostalgic reminder of what was going on in the world when these stories came out.

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the American Government asked citizens to collect and salvage a myriad of items that could be used toward the war effort. It wasn't just paper. That list also included types of metal that could be used for aircraft production, rubber (since Southeast Asia had been a major supplier of the substance before the war), silk stockings, and cooking fat, which could be used as the base material for soap, candles, paints, artificial rubber, synthetic resin and much more. Not to mention, glycerin in fat was a key ingredient in explosives.

All Star Comics #19 - "Crimes Set to Music"

Winter of 1943. World War II is still going strong. Before the year is out, FDR, Churchill and Stalin will meet at the Tehran Conference and heavy bombing raids will continue in Germany as the war drags on. In the world of the Justice Society of America, however, the war has taken a back-burner as the fight continues on the home front against gangsters, law breakers and the forces of evil.

Before we turn the page and delve into the actual adventure, you've got to admire this cover by Joe Gallagher. The stark black background with only the spotlight illuminating the Justice Society members as they sit around a piano being played by Wonder Woman.

The black background certainly makes the colorful costumes of the Justice Society members pop, and if I was a kid passing the newsstand in 1943, I think it would definitely catch my eye. It's also an interesting choice to have Hawkman visible in an almost silhouette form, as he does not appear in the bulk of the story. One wonders why he wasn't just left out, or if his odd, almost spiritual-inclusion was at the behest of editorial for kids who were used to seeing all of the JSAers on a cover each month.

Hawkman - a better teacher than Rosetta Stone

As Ted Knight dons his Starman costume, a hawk suddenly flies into his window, carrying a note. Unraveling the rolled-up piece of paper, Starman discovers the note to be nothing more than a musical note - a G-Sharp. Curious, he follows the hawk to find out what's behind the message, and soon discovers that other members of the Justice Society are doing the same.

It all leads them to an old, run-down house where Wonder Woman has already arrived. She explains that she checked her note for fingerprints and found them to be from Hawkman. As if the 'talking hawk' hadn't already given that away. This leads the entire team to jump to the conclusion that Hawkman has been kidnapped or in trouble.

The building just happens to have a working piano, so Wonder Woman decides to play all of the musical notes on each message to the JSA members. The musical interlude turns up hidden messages, tied to the inside of the piano. Each message contains a riddle/clue of sorts that the individual Justice Society members take to decipher in the hopes of locating their teammate, Hawkman.

Starman saves a man (and his violin) who is the target of thieves who want to steal his priceless Stradivarius. Johnny Thunder must foil the kidnapping of a man named Charles Norris. He'd be much more successful if he didn't run his mouth on the public bus, telling what turns out to be the kidnappers that he, Johnny Thunder, is a member of the Justice Society and on his way to Norris' house to stop the plot. How do these men overcome Johnny? They distract him...by challenging him to balance a bucket of bees on a broom.

Yes. Balancing a bucket of bees on a broom. Those masterminds!!

Eventually, with the help of his magic Thunderbolt, Johnny rescues Mr. Norris, but not before Thunderbolt lets out a little resentment for having to work for such a dumbbell.

And the next day, Thunderbolt files a union grievance.

Dr. Fate is tasked with stopping some hired goons from stealing a famous singer's voice via a special gas pumped into the man's home. While the gas does its job, Dr Fate makes the man go through with a public performance anyway, lip-synching to a recording of his own voice. It fools the criminals into thinking they failed to remove the man's voice. So, they try again, only to find Dr. Fate waiting.

Once again, the not so magic Dr. Fate.

These three tales (Starman, Johnny Thunder, and Dr. Fate) are all drawn by Stan Aschmeier, who usually is the key artist on Johnny Thunder and Dr. MidNite in these JSA tales. As a side note, Aschmeier co-created Dr. MidNite with writer Charles Reisenstein.

The Atom saves a girl who's been marked for death, blamed for the murder of her father. Following the note in the piano supposedly form the Hawkman, The Atom tries to clear the young woman's name before she is given the electric chair. With her fingerprints on the gun found at the crime scene, it seems an uphill battle, until The Atom discovers a piece of art in the family home - a plaster cast of Claire Murray's hands. The Atom notices that he can even see the fingerprints on the mold, and sets out to see the artist who created them. Learning that the original mold was stolen, The Atom tracks down the thief and discovers the truth.

The Sandman and Sandy make a daring rescue, saving a talented pianist who is the target of a brutal attack. A large razor placed above his piano through a skylight is set to fall and literally, chop off his fingers!! Honestly, pretty dark stuff...

Then it's off for Sandman and Sandy as they learn someone has been paying all these thugs to take out these musicians or target their families.

A piano composer named is putting the finishing touches on his opus when he is kidnapped! Dr MidNite, following the note given to him at the beginning of the tale, attempts to thwart the kidnapping, to no avail, and is knocked unconscious. Before the composer is taken away, however, he pleads with the thugs to allow him to write the last notes of his symphony, and they oblige. When Dr. MidNite awakens, he finds that those last few notes of the composition, left on the piano, are actually clues - "Pizzicato Mano Sinistra Marcato Contra Ponti-Cello"

It sort of has all the logic of an Adam West/Riddler episode of Batman, doesn't it?

As the doctor follows the clues and begins his hunt, the criminals have brought the brilliant composer to a disbarred surgeon, who is being paid to perform an operation on the genius musician.

I don't know if your premium will cover this, but...

Dr. MidNite arrives just in time to take down this twisted medical man and, disguising himself in the surgical scrubs, takes out the rest of the lackeys and rescues the composer before heading out to join his fellow Justice Society members in the hunt for who is behind this rash of crimes against musical talent.

The Spectre saves a musician who uses bells as his instrument of choice after someone takes advantage of the superstitious "curse" surrounding the history of the bells and tries to make the musician think he's haunted. The real-life ghost (is that contradictory?), The Spectre, puts a quick end to it, and once he learns who is behind these targeted assaults, he joins his other JSAers to put a stop to it.

It all is the work of a music-mad man named Hec Bauer, who in his boyhood, was friends with all the other musicians who had been targeted for crippling, assault, etc. You see, each of the young men had dreams of becoming the next Mozart or Beethoven. All of them succeeded in the music world, with the exception of Hec, who, due to his lower financial status, was forced to stay home and work instead of going off to gain higher education. Determined throughout, he withdrew all his savings and went to the big city eventually, but finds that there really is no overnight success story in New York.

After years of failings, even when his former and now famous friends try out one of his symphonies (which fizzles), and Hec Bauer is seen as no-good in the music world. Now, you would think that might be enough anger building in Hec to warrant his revenge, but he apparently does not have it in him until walking home one day and getting a bump on the head at a construction site. It is from that moment on that he plans out his revenge. He's become so obsessed that...

Apparently, that house has been on the market a long time...

Yup. It turns out those notes weren't from Hawkman, but were from Bauer himself, as this mad maestro had dumb luck on his side and overpowered Hawkman during one of his early attempts at revenge and has kept him prisoner ever since, until the JSA arrives, that is.

An interesting tale, yes, but certainly not one of Gardner Fox's best. Hawkman being overpowered, held prisoner in a cell where there just so happens to be ink and leaves where he writes musical notes based on what keys in the old piano Bauer said he hid his revenge notes in, all just seems a bit convoluted, even for Golden Age JSA standards.

The art, however, is good almost all-around. Even Stan Aschmeier seems to have really stepped up his game compared to some of his earlier All-Star work, and it really shows, especially in The Atom's chapter. However, even though his cover was eye-catching, the JSA group chapter illustrated by Joe Gallagher were a little lacking this time around.

All Star Comics #18 - "Insects Turn to Crime"

This issue is cover dated for Fall 1943, so around the time this was actually on the stands, there was quite a lot going on in the world.

The U.S. was still embroiled in World War II, with mainland Italy being invaded by U.S. forces in September, leading to Italy dropping out of the war. Benito Mussolini, who had been earlier ordered captive by the Fascist Council, was be rescued by Adolf Hitler from the mountaintop where he was held and is set up as the head of the Italian Social Republic.

As amazing as so much of this seems, it was what was happening in the real world, not even near the comic pages of the Justice Society. Pretty incredible, huh?

In a departure from the usual World War II saboteurs and spies, or the machinations of villains such as Brain Wave, the JSA dive into a more science fiction adventure this time around, battling an army of hybrid insect-men that are being used to commit crimes.

Dr MidNite, always looking on the bright side.

Hawkman informs the Justice Society at their latest meeting, that he's received reports from across the country that these insect men are on the prowl, and suggests the Justice Society investigate.

Dr MidNite scares them all just enough to spring them into action and make sure the human race's extinction and the rise of insects as the earth's rulers doesn't happen anytime soon. With that, each of the JSA members are handed envelopes at random with their missions within.

It's not exactly the most efficient way to spread out your team's resources.

It's important to note that just as the team is getting ready to depart, Johnny Thunder arrives late to the meeting, walking on the ceiling and intermittently buzzing as he speaks. Realizing something is a miss, Johnny takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of where he was injected with whatever is turning me into bugs.

Once again, despite being the most powerful member of the team, the boys leave Wonder Woman back at headquarters.

Who knew the Spectre followed sports?

The goes vary, with Hawkman battling weird creatures with mandibles that produce gummy-like substances to keep their prey confined. Sandman takes on some fierce snail-like creatures that bore through the earth, while the supernatural Spectre battles an ex-Olympic swimmer who turned to crime (and leading an army of men turned water beetle).Dr. Fate takes on an army of fly-men who are shooting down planes and robbing the passengers and crew, and Dr. MidNite helps a witness to a crime overcome his fear of spiders enough to take on some bizarre spider-men, twenty years before the name was given a less frightening connotation by a web-slinging hero of the sixties.

Ant-men are robbing banks but brought to a halt thanks to Starman and the pint-sized Atom gets a workout taking on grasshopper men.

The best part of the tale, for once, is Johnny Thunder. I would have never thought I'd say that, just for the record. It seems Johnny just can not figure out why he's taking on the attributes of a fly. So, as he wanders aimlessly through town (on the sides of buildings, mind you), he decides to back to a cafe that left a bad taste in his mouth.

I think the last thing I'd want is to go back for more bad bologna, but hey, that's me.

It turns out, of course, that criminals are creating their fly-like minions by hiding the insect-hybrid formula into food at the cafe. When Johnny decides he's had his fill, he finds out that the staff can be a little demanding.

"Eat the f$%&#n soup!!"

It's only with the help of Johnny's magic Thunderbolt that he's able to overcome the thrall of the insect formula and gain control of his human side, thought it's not until after Thunderbolt puts a stop to both Johnny and the other mind-controlled fly-men with some sticky fly paper.

Thunderbolt - unlimited magical power, respectful of union rules.

It all turns out to be the work of a scientist and exterminator calling himself the King Bee. He claims that he's isolated the hormones in insects and found a way to transfer them to men, creating his hybrid insect-beings, rented out to criminals across the country. 

Unfortunately for the King Bee, despite all his insect-men, he, himself, is still just a man, and no match hand-to-hand with the combined might of the Justice Society.

Although he does his best to shoot himself out of trouble, he is soon overpowered and captured by the heroes.

While I have yet to read it, it appears that King Bee appeared once more against the Justice Society, but it involved a bit of time travel. In All Star Squadron #1 (and its preview insert in Justice League of America #193) in the summer of 1981, legendary JSA writer and fan Roy Thomas tells a story that involves Justice Society villain Per Degaton time traveling with other villains from 1947 to 1941 to attack the heroes. This means the King Bee would attack the JSA alongside other villains two years before his first appearance on the scene in this issue.

Also, it's a reason that time travel some times makes my head hurt.

All-Star Comics #17 - "The Brain Wave Goes Berzerk"

While cover dated for June-July of 1943, as was often the case with comic books (and still is today), the dates on the cover served more as a notice to newsstands as to how long that particular issue should remain on the stand.

With that said, lets estimate this as actually coming out a few months prior. That would mean the Allied forces of World War II were working on squeezing the Germans out of Tunisia at the time, Japanese aircraft were bombing Darwin, Australia, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was addressing a joint session of the United States Congress.

While the tone of what was going on in the world was present amid heroes, villains, and citizens, this 1943 tale stays on American soil, keeping the heroes battling for safety on the home front.

They do so against their first-ever recurring villain, The Brain Wave. As I've mentioned before, up to this point, the Justice Society fought spies, saboteurs and crime syndicates in every issue. The Brain Wave's appearance two issues prior marked what has now become expected of any super-hero team, super villains to challenge their heroic abilities.

This adventure starts out with what just feels like one of the most mundane crimes of the century, as blurted out by Wonder Woman in the very first panel.

the crime of the century?

This one just really makes me chuckle, but it emphasizes just how much the 1940s era of the Justice Society was like a club or social group. I once belonged to an organization that had been in existence since the 1920s, and being as they were very big on keeping up their routines and procedures the same way as they had since their inception, I could totally see someone running into a meeting with that much urgency and screaming "the past minutes have been stolen!"

It turns out the minutes have been stolen by Henry King, the criminal known as "The Brain Wave" as a way to read up on the heroes that left him to his death several months prior. While it appeared Brain Wave had fallen to his death from the tower of his hideout, he, in a very Harold Lloyd-esque manner, snagged his robe on a wooden beam, saving his life. Naturally, like any super-villain, he's out for revenge, and in this case, well, he explains it best...

Just throw science out the window and go with it, folks.

It works, and before long, Brain Wave has managed to shrink the JSA members (except for Wonder Woman who ran home to make sure she didn't leave the minutes there) to eight inches. He then places each of the heroes inside little bird cages, and puts them on display in his hideout. Rather than killing them right off the bat, though, Brain Wave sends out his minions to each pull off a different crime, one that he is sure will be pulled off with the JSA under his nose. What he doesn't count on, though, is Hawkman calling about an army of birds to carry the cages away, the Justice Society intent on stopping this series of crimes, even at only eight inches tall.

Hawkman's adventure is first up and he finds himself falling into the hands of a young boy, who is playing outside when he comes across the now pint-sized hero. Immediately recognizing him as Hawkman, but mistaking him for a toy, the by takes the winged warrior home. It turns out to be a good move because, the boy's father is rich, you see, and like some twisted Babes in Toyland, some of the boy's other toys seemingly come to life in an effort to rob the family. Those other toys, it turns out, are henchmen of Brain Wave and upon enlarging themselves to regular size, find that even a tiny Hawkman is a force to be reckoned with. Defeating the terrible toymen, Hawkman is then quickly swept up by Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt and whisked away to parts unknown.

 

You have to read this with an Irish brogue. There is no other way. Begorah!

The Sandman, meanwhile, has been deposited by the birds into a forest with trees covered in dollar bills. As if that weren't weird enough, Sandman discovers each of the bills has instructions of some sort written on them. It appears this is the way Brain Wave communicates some of his plans to a particular group of lackeys who will be attempting to rob a jewelry store this evening. Well, even a pint-sized Sandman is a force to be reckoned with. The miniature hero commandeers a vehicle and follows the crooks, where he puts an end to their heist, just before being swept up by the Thunderbolt as well.

Universal power but can't enlarge himself.

Oh, Spectre. I will never understand how you are the "vengeful hand of God," an all-powerful supernatural being, yet too often are susceptible to the machinations of earthly supervillains and their devices. In this case, Spectre, who has time after time again, changed his size to massive proportions at will and flown to the ends of the universe on a whim, has somehow been affected by Brain Wave's device and also shrunken down to eight inches tall. It does not stop him, though, from stopping a crime before being swept up by the Thunderbolt like the other JSAers. Honestly, nothing quite exciting here.

The same goes for Dr. Fate, whose sorcerer abilities seem to have been forgotten by the writers once again in favor of putting him in the same trouble as any other hero. Comic historians claim that Fate (and I'm guessing the Spectre) had their other-worldly, supernatural and magical elements toned down (or in some cases wiped out) during this period in order to avoid being seen as promoting black magic and the macabre. Here, Dr. Fate does little more than any other interchangeable hero by foiling a bank robbery.

Brain Wave must have really been pretty loose with talking about every detail of his plans in front of the miniaturized JSA, because it seems each member picked up specifically where, when and what this plethora of schemes were happening.

how much spent printing newspapers for this scheme?!

Dr. MidNite gets dropped off (man these birds listen well to these tiny beings in a cage) at a wealthy person's house just at the same time a rough looking figure is stealing the man's newspaper and swapping out for a fake.

The scheme here is planting fake newspapers with stories about people being threatened by a particular gang and how police advise victims to pay up to the gang.

Naturally, MidNite exposes the scheme for what it is, foiling the Brain Wave once again before begin snatched up by the Thunderbolt.

It's hard not to wonder how much time and money was spent on equipment, materials, and manpower to create complete fake newspapers, with fully-written articles within. Brain Wave probably spent as much on publishing as they were stealing from these folks to begin with. Not to mention the money spent on this next scheme.

Brain Wave even spent money on a circus

Tiny Starman goes to the circus. Or at least he tries. The scheme Starman has stumbled onto has the Brain Wave's men bringing a circus to town, and in this Depression-era, what better way to draw people form their homes and businesses than with a free day at the circus. With most of the population abandoning the town, it's ripe for the picking, and the Brain Wave's lackeys give it their best shot, only to be stopped by the miniature man of the stars.


The Atom gets dropped off in Keystone City (which will become the future home of Jay Garrick, The Flash) where he finds men purposely getting injured in a variety of ways, whether it be throwing themselves in front of a bus or off of ladders. It all seems quite bizarre, until The tiny Atom finds out all the men brought to the hospital are criminals. It is all part of Brain Wave's scheme to rob the hospital of radium inside the safe. His men already past security and inside, they pick up firearms that were planted earlier and get to work. But, the Atom gets to work too, and used to being smaller than his average foe, puts a stop to the scheme, even at eight inches tall.  Of course, he too, ends up scooped up by the Thunderbolt in an effort to aid Johnny Thunder.

A majority of the JSA's missions had to do with robberies or break-ins. It's sort of surprising that it's goofball Johnny Thunder's mission that is the darkest and most dire. The Brain Wave has a lackey who has been training for months to learn the attributes, inflection and life of one Senator Graves, as well as taking on his appearance. Now, the Brain Wave plans on substituting the Senator with his double and take over the Senator's wealth, power and influence. What to do with the Senator? The men plan to drown him in his own bath tub!! Like I say, a little dark for a Johnny Thunder adventure.

crime does not pay...enough to afford pants.

Miniature Johnny seems even less effectual than normal with his diminutive size, even being placed in an icebox by the criminals at one point. It seems hopeless, until Johnny realizes he has the power of the magic Thunderbolt on his side, and saying those magic words (Cei U!) returns to normal size, summons the rest of the JSA, and puts an end to the kidnapping/death/impersonation plot.

As the JSA marches onward to Shark Tooth Bay to bring the Brain Wave to justice, the criminal mastermind doesn't plan on coming along easily, and actually wants the JSA to come, as he has lined the outside of his compound with explosives, ready to detonate.

However, the sudden appearance of the genie-like Thunderbolt inside the Brain Wave's headquarters throws the evil genius for a stammering loop, sending him into a tizzy and frantically setting off the detonator.

Little does Brain Wave suspect, however, that Thunderbolt moved all the explosives under the tower at Shark Tooth Bay, sending the criminal's hideout (and supposedly the genius himself) up into a blast of fiery debris.

The story itself was nothing groundbreaking. The Justice Society has certainly been through adventures with a little more depth, but lets not forget the audience this was aimed at - young children under the age of 14 back in the 1940s. "Too absurd" wasn't really in the vernacular, and some of Gardner Fox's scripts certainly pushed that to the limit.

As I've mentioned earlier, though, the issue is significant in and of itself in comic lore for having the first recurring villain for the Justice Society (who were, themselves history's first team of super heroes), even if that villain was a bald man in a robe and slippers.

All Star Comics #16 - "The Justice Society Fights for a United America"

It's Spring 1943 and Hitler is at it again. Feeling the pinch from American forces (and the Justice Society), he sets out on a plan to attack America from the inside - by having Nazi spies infiltrate the United States and start convincing people that those they've trusted are taking advantage of them.

It starts at a steel factory not far from Hawkman's territory, where a German bloke named Buehler has managed to get a job at the factory so that he can persuade the workers that the steel factory owner, who has always been kind to them, is making a fortune off of their sweat, and must be taking more than a fair share. An uprising seems evident, until Hawkman, with the aid of two young men (one the steel factory owner's son, the other one of the employees' sons, both best friends since youth) put a squash to it and expose the Nazis plan to bring a halt to steel (and thus armament) production during the war.

The Dr. MidNite tale is a bit more somber than has been customary for the Doc in past issues. The reader is greeted by what looks almost like a spectral version of an old-school gangster named "Tough Tony Scarlotti," who talks about what a terrible youth he was and how he strives for his son, Tony Jr, to be a better person.

What could have quickly devolved into a typical punch-em-up caper is a heartfelt tale about racism in America. Tony Jr has been getting into fights and even taking a black eye or two, but not because he's starting trouble. No, it's because he's been standing up for kids who have been picked on because of their ethnic background.

The prejudiced ideas are being planted into the children's heads by members of the Axis powers, who are working covertly in American to spread hate. That's when Dr. MidNite gets involved (also because Tony Jr is a member of the Junior Justice Society of America, which any kid could join back in the 40s, for a few cents and mailing in the certificate found in the comics The membership materials, including the Junior Justice Society badge are worth hundreds of dollars today).

When the spreaders of hate-filled racism find that young Tony is trying to teach the neighborhood kids better, they decide it's time to get the little squirt out of the way, kidnapping him. While he's eventually rescued by Dr. MidNite, rats kidnapping his son does not set well with Tough Tony, who pulls out his old "chatterbox" and drops in as Dr. MidNite tangles with the enemy.

Of course, Tony ends up a bit in over his head, and finds himself on the other end of the gun for a change. He dies, but as he tells both Dr MidNite and the reader, he's dying happy, knowing the boy he raised is a better man than he.

Written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Stan Asch (the same guy who handles art chores on Johnny Thunder), this short tale really holds up today, delivering compassionate thoughts on where the country stands with its melting pot status, and how words of hate can quickly turn to violence and death. Definitely a stand out.

The Atom finds himself also at odds with those who wish to spread messages of hate and intolerance across America (noticing a theme yet?), only he is dealing with the workers of a coal mine.

In fact, the story opens with the Atom single-handedly propping a mine shaft on the verge of collapse. As the miners rush to safety, the mine gives way and The Atom, tapped beneath the rubble, recalls how he got into this mess.

The son of one of the miners (also a member of the Junior Justice Society) informs the Atom that his father and other workers are being told that the mine's owners, because they are foreigners, don't care at all about the workers and that the mine's are a dangerous place for them to be working. They want the workers to turn against the owners, solely on the base of what country they were born.

While the workers, at first, don't buy into the propaganda, once The Atom addresses the crowd about the safe conditions and not judging people by their birthplace, the propaganda artists decide to set off explosions in the mine and prove their point.

Bringing us to the present, The Atom is thought to be dead by the miners, who are starting to believe the hate-message about the mine's owners. That is, until The Atom, who managed to survive, comes forth and lets the workers know who was really behind the explosion.

Dr. Fate's got a mystical foe on his hands, or so that foe would like the public to believe. A so-called prophet calling himself "Mr. Fortune" blows into town in a nice suit and turban, reading fortunes and giving residents a glimpse of what's to come. When the incidents start to actually happen, the town goes into a panic, and is ready to do anything Mr. Fortune tells them.

Of course, this turns out to be nothing but a ruse. Once Mr. Fortune builds the public's confidence in himself, he can spread the hate of the Axis Powers, his true intention after all. When Dr. Fate tries to intervene, the public turns on the hero, taking Mr. Fortune for his word that Dr. Fate is "un-American."

Naturally, all goes well in the end and Mr. Fortune is exposed as a fraud, but I can't help but mention how much I dug the name of "Mr. Fortune" as a villain. Sure, his look was typical 1940s villain (a suit), with the addition of the turban, but something about it just worked for the Golden Age.

I also have to wonder if his look helped inspire the character of "Sir Swami" from the Justice League animated series (by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, James Tucker, Dwayne McDuffie and company), in an episode that put the League in an alternate dimension with clean-cut heroes and villains that slightly resembled the heroes and rogues of the Justice Society stories of the 40s. In this case, Sir Swami was a stand-in for JSA villain, "the Wizard," but his look certainly seems to come heavily from Mr. Fortune.

Alas, as interesting as he is in a very simplistic way, I've yet to find reference to any other appearances by Mr. Fortune with the JSA or Dr. Fate.

The Sandman, meanwhile, is haunting the dreams of Henry Overman, the publisher of a newspaper called "The New Way," meaning a confrontation between the two will soon come to pass. Once again, beautiful art by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

Using his newspaper, Overman, working for Hitler and the Third Reich, is publishing false articles, supposedly by "experts" that state the American forces are in pretty bad shape when it comes to the war, and are facing a losing battle.

Overman hopes this will raise doubt in American citizens and stop them from buying war bonds to support the forces.

With the help of the newsies who didn't realize they were on the street peddling a Nazi paper, The Sandman brings the publication to a halt.In the end, the newsies realize they all come from different ethnic backgrounds and get along fine, so why should it make any difference in other parts of life?

Starman finds himself in a similar boat, racing to the midwest to get to the bottom of a near-revolt by America's farmers. It seems some strangers have blown into town and planted the bug into their ears that they should be getting paid more for their crops, and that the middlemen and the shops are taking far more than they deserve.

 

Just to be clear, this is a very real problem, even in today's world, where farmer's receive far too little for the necessary crops they grow and provide our dinner tables with. I have a great admiration for the work farmers too, but also a great sympathy for the way they are treated or poorly compensated for such a necessity.

On the night of a vote by the farmers to decide whether or not to stop growing, Starman intervenes and reveals the new men in town as nothing more than Nazi propaganda artists. Seeing that they were being duped by Nazis who hoped to damage the American crops, and morale at home and on the front lines, the farmers decide it's best during the course of WWII to keep things running as-is for the greater good.

In another factory, elsewhere in the country, another troublemaker has broken into the company safe to steal secret documents with the sole intention of planting them on someone of an ethnic background to create friction. Posing as a factory worker and befriending a man name Jan Seybowsy, the Axis spy has found his target. Planting the stolen documents on Jan, the rest of the factory workers quickly turn against him and open their ears to what this stranger has to say. When The Spectre gets word of this, he spirits the evildoers away to the far reaches of space, and a fiery planet where the Nazi is convinced he's burning in hell. The Spectre even take on the frightening form of Satan to push the villain over the edge.

When the man is returned to earth, he has been so frightened that he tries to contact the mother country by radio. When he does, it's before an audience of factory workers and townspeople brought over by The Spectre, who quickly realize they've made a mistake, running the Nazi muckraker out of town, and apologize to Jan for their quick emotional reaction without thinking.

Johnny Thunder (still wearing his Naval uniform) is on the lookout for the Nazi propaganda culprits when he stumbles into a meeting where he unwittingly (is there ever a time that Johnny does something wittingly?) gets caught up in the discussion and ends up making the propaganda speech himself. When he realizes what he's done and the people who led him down this not-so-rosy path, he and his magic Thunderbolt quickly go to work exposing the truth.

The story wraps with the entire Justice Society making an appearance at a War Bond rally at a theatre, where they introduce the audience to the various hard-working Americans across the country, from the miners, the farmers, the women in the factories, the mothers at home, and more.