This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the early stories about Jack of Hearts. DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Vol 1 #22 (March 1976) Title: Who is the White Tiger? Villains: The Corporation NOTE: In his first appearance, Jack of Hearts was a supporting character. Synopsis: Jonathan Hart, the son of scientist Phillip Hart, saw his father killed by agents of the Corporation (a lesser version of Marvel’s Hydra and A.I.M.). The Corporation agents wanted the secret of Jonathan’s father’s Zero Fluid, a liquid energy source. While fleeing those villains ..read more

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at the short-lived revival of the Captain America series during the 1950s.  YOUNG MEN Vol 1 #24 (December 1953) NOTE: For people unfamiliar with these topics, the initial boom of superhero comic books which thrived beginning in the late 1930s started to sag after World War Two ended and by 1949 many series – and even comic book companies – were gone completely. Marvel Comics was called Timely Comics in the 1940s but was going by Atlas Comics by this point in the 1950s. They briefly experimented with revi ..read more

This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at the early adventures of the DC character Black Lightning. BLACK LIGHTNING Vol 1 #1 (April 1977) Title: Black Lightning Villains: The 100 Synopsis:  This first appearance of Black Lightning does things the way I like – it shows the hero in action for a while, and THEN reveals his origin through a flashback. After his latest victory over the drug dealers of Suicide Slums, the ghetto section of Metropolis, Black Lightning switches to his secret identity and recalls his origin. Jefferson Pierce was a ..read more

This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog is a Double Feature. The main event is a look at the early adventures of Marvel’s neglected hero El Aguila (the Eagle). The opening act is a link to the YT channel Justice League Abridged which features HILARIOUS joking dialogue over scenes from some of the animated Justice League cartoons. It’s made recently enough to feature several jokes about the disastrous video game with the Suicide Squad killing the Justice League. CLICK HERE. EL AGUILA Secret Identity: Alejandro Montoya Before I examine his first several app ..read more

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at Brazil’s home-made characters. CAPITAO SEVEN (Captain Seven)  Secret Identity: Carlos (last name unknown) Debut Year: Early 1950s Origin: Teenage science nerd Carlos was abducted by aliens and taken to their homeworld, the 7th planet from their sun. The extraterrestrials granted the young man superpowers, a costume and a ray-gun which Carlos used to battle the forces of evil. Powers: Capitao Seven possessed massive strength, the power of flight and near invulnerability. He also wielded a powerful r ..read more

This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the first twelve adventures of Superman. Previously I looked at Batman stories from 1939-1940 HERE, but these early Superman tales are often hilariously weird. ACTION COMICS Vol 1 #1 (June 1938) NOTE: Though many regard this as the start of the Golden Age for superhero comics I personally go with November 1936 when the Clock debuted. Click HERE. Title: Superman, Champion of the Oppressed Villains: Assorted criminals  Synopsis: Just before a far-off planet (not yet called Krypton) is destroyed ..read more

This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at the earliest adventures of Spider-Man. AMAZING FANTASY Vol 1 #15 (August 1962) Title: Spider-Man! Villain: The Burglar Synopsis: This hero’s origin is well-known by now. Student Peter Parker gets bitten by a spider that was exposed to radiation and, in typical comic book nonsense, he gains the proportionate strength of a spider, wall-crawling ability, spider-sense and more. Peter, nerdy and bullied at school, lets himself become an obnoxious jerk in his Spider-Man identity as he cashes in on his powers ..read more

This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at the early stories about the Fantastic Four in the 1960s. THE FANTASTIC FOUR – There can be no over-stating the importance of the Fantastic Four to Marvel Comics and by extension to much of pop culture the last several years regarding superhero movies and television programs. Though the Fantastic Four are now considered as dull as any b&w sitcom family of long ago, the team’s success convinced Marvel the market was right to recommit to superhero comic books.           As Time ..read more

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero blog post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at several consecutive issues of The Incredible Hulk. Previously I examined his first twenty stories in the 1960s. HULK Vol 1 #150 (April 1972) Title: Cry Hulk, Cry Havok Villains: Havok and Polaris Synopsis: Hulk once again escapes from Hulkbuster Base despite the efforts of General “Thunderbolt” Ross and his troops to prevent it. Ross gets summoned to Washington D.C. to face a Senate committee regarding continued funding of his base. In Ross’s absence, Major Glenn Talbot is left in charge. Betty Ross ..read more

This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at the Marvel Comics run in which Hercules and Thor fought side by side against assorted menaces. Previously I examined the first encounter between Thor and Hercules as well as Hercules’ first period as a member of the Avengers. THOR Vol 1 #221 (March 1974) Title: Hercules Enraged Villains: Ares and Pluto/ Hades Synopsis: In Asgard, the Valkyrie named Hildegarde tells Thor that via Odin’s magic implements she saw her missing sister Krista trapped in the Greek pantheon’s Netherworld being used as a slave by Plu ..read more