The Classics - Showcase #55

There are certain comics I remember seeing as a kid that almost seemed to jump off the shelf and demand that I buy it.

This is just such a comic.

It didn't hurt that I was already a fan of the Justice Society of America, and devoted to that team's annual appearances in Justice League of America.

I was in the process of becoming a Marvel fan, but I still had room in my fannish heart for Earth-2. But perhaps I should explain that concept for those who weren't around in those long-ago days!

As the Flash (Barry Allen) discovered, the Silver Age DC heroes lived on Earth-1, while the heroes of the Golden Age lived in a parallel dimension on Earth-2. Heroes would cross over occasionally (mostly Flash, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and the JLA) and share adventures with members of the JSA.

Over the years other Earths were added, then subtracted after Crisis on Infinite Earths, then 52 of 'em were added back in recent years. I have to admit, things were much easier when there were just two Earths to think about.

Anyway, back to this issue (cover dated March-April 1965), which features three of my favorite JSAers, including Dr. Fate, Hourman and Green Lantern (Alan Scott). They faced the monstrous Solomon Grundy, who was making (I believe) his first Silver Age appearance.

Grundy was an unusual villain for DC - he was Hulk-like, powerful, brutal and violent - completely unlike the usual DC bad guys, who usually didn't have that physical menace about them.

The story by Gardner Fox is pretty straightforward - it's pretty much along the lines of his JLA work - but the art really shines. Murphy Anderson, in my opinion, was one of the best artists DC had at the time, and one of the few artists whose work I would seek out.

His figures were dynamic, his drawing realistic and detailed, and his heroes were... well, more heroic than most of the more static art DC featured at the time. He really brought these "old time" characters up to modern times.

I had hoped that this would just be the beginning of an ongoing series of adventures based on Earth-2 heroes, but it didn't happen. I think there were four Showcase issues using those heroes (including two issues with Starman and the Black Canary), but it would be many more years before the JSA finally got its own comic.

I assume DC was afraid the fans would be confused, with two Flashes and two Green Lanterns (among others), but I think they underestimated the fans. It seems like a missed opportunity, though I suppose if the sales had been stronger, we would have seen more stories like this one.

At a time when I was moving away from DC, I would have bought them! Instead, I had more money for those upstart Marvel Comics.

But this comic - what a gem!

Grade: A-