Here we are at issue # 100. Unlike in later years, there was no special celebration. Just more of teh same we've had recently. A weird Sandman cover, though!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Adventure Comics # 99, August/September, 1945
Most likely this issue was on the stands in early June of 1945. The war in Europe was technically over but the struggle against the Japanese continued. The birth of the atomic age was just around the corner at Hiroshima. Big changes were coming. Big changes were coming for ADVENTURE COMICS, also. In fact, only two of these strips would survive past the next couple of issues and then only one of them would remain in this title...and I'd bet it's NOT one you'd suspect!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Adventure Comics # 98, June/July, 1945
Perhaps the worst issue yet as far as art and story entertainment value go. SANDMAN in particular is not easy to navigate this time around.
GENIUS JONES again comes up with the best art but that's not saying much in this crowd.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Adventure Comics # 97, April-May, 1945
A fairly exciting cover but another less than exciting issue. The lack of backgrounds seems to be spreading to other strips from STARMAN.
A few days from Valentines Day, however, here's Pen Shumaker's version of the Simon and Kirby Sandman and Sandy in NO CURTAINS FOR CUPID which would have been on the stands for Valentines Day in 1945.
VOLTO ads, seen above, were often better drawn (here by Al Plastino channeling Caniff I believe) than the comics they graced for years.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Adventure Comics # 96, February/March, 1945
VE Day was just around the corner and the sales bonanza that all comic books were having with the soldiers would soon be a casualty of the war. If DC wasn't already looking at revitalizing ADVENTURE, they would soon. Certainly they continued to coast with some lackluster stories and art here--along with lots of wartime propaganda including the plug for the 6th War Loan right atop the cover!
Someone at DC may have sensed that superheroes were on their way out. Why else would BUZZY come along? Maybe DC had watched MLJ throw all their support behind ARCHIE and drop their superhero comics but DC had Superman and Batman, not second stringers like The Shield and Black Hood. So obviously, they weren't about to drop their cash cows...but why not have something in place for afterwards. Just in case.
STARMAN still featured some exquisite Gershwin character art but very sparse backgrounds.
Even Daisy had adopted war tie-ins for its ever-popular gun toys.
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