Comic Cards Project: Day 10 • Gold

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Gold led a quirky band of robots called The Metal Men that exhibited human emotions much to the dismay of their inventor, Dr. Will Magnus. Although they are pretty obscure today, they had a good 8 year run in their own series back in the 60s.

Gold and his fellow Metal Men (Iron, Lead, Mercury, Tin, and Platinum, the only “female” robot) all had distinct personalities and were usually in conflict with Doc Magnus and each other. Their stories offer a mixture of oddball adventure and goofy fun.

I bet a Metal Men animated movie or series could be a huge hit if they kept the character designs and tone of the original. I’m sure Gold would keep his irrepressible cohorts in line for the inevitable sequels or subsequent seasons.

VACATION NEXT WEEK! Posts resume Monday, April 2 with Green Arrow!

Comic Cards Project: Day 9 • Hawkgirl

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Contrary to what you might think, Hawkgirl wasn’t Hawkman’s sidekick but his wife and equal partner—or equal partner by 60s standards. Their comic was still called Hawkman and when the Justice League asked her hubby to join they pointedly did not invite Hawkgirl.

And yes, she did lug around a mace, as a well as other ancient weapons. It seems that in their secret identities as co-curators of a museum they didn’t have any ethical conflicts with using items from the collection to bash the bad guys in the head. Maybe she should have used her mace on the writers that kept her flying under a glass ceiling.

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Another post tomorrow!

Comic Cards Project: Day 8 • Aqualad

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I always liked superhero sidekicks and Aqualad might have been my favorite, even in spite of his dopey name. No wonder Aquaman called him by the nickname “Tadpole”. What was wrong with “Aquaboy”—too obvious? It’s a good thing Aqualad didn’t go to school because I’m sure the other kids would have tormented him over it.

His unfortunate handle didn’t seem to hold him back though. In the 60s he was featured in every issue of Aquaman as well as The Teen Titans, the sidekicks’ version of the Justice League. He even co-starred with Aquaman in their own Saturday morning cartoon in 1967. Being able to overcome obstacles like that is the kind of thing you want in a junior partner, don’t you think?

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Another post tomorrow!

Comic Cards Project: Day 7 • Wonder Girl

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I’m not sure what the original inspiration was, but while I was making sketches for this series I found a drawing in my sketchbook of a dancing girl with a ponytail. It occurred to me I could adapt the drawing into Wonder Girl who also has a ponytail.

When I opened up a comic featuring Wonder Girl to find a reference for her costume, the first panel I saw pictured her dancing in a pose very similar to my drawing! Looking through my comics, I found more instances of her grooving to the radio. I guess Wonder Chick was just like any other teen in the sixties when she wasn’t saving the world.

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Another post tomorrow!

Comic Cards Project: Day 6 • The Flash

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The debut of The Flash in 1956 revived interest in superheroes and marked the beginning of what became known to comic geeks as the Silver Age of comics. After World War II, superheroes declined in popularity and only a few super characters survived into the 50s.

However, comic books about crime, horror, and romance, which by that time made up a larger share of the market, came under scrutiny because government types said that they inspired juvenile delinquency. In 1954 publishers implemented the Comics Code Authority to regulate content and many of the controversial titles folded.

In an effort to come up with new material, DC comics, publisher of Superman and Batman, decided to reboot an old character that had been popular in the 40s. Keeping the old name and the power of super speed, the new Flash had a new costume, a new power source, and a new secret identity. The character was an instant success and led to the revival of additional old favorites like Green Lantern, Hawkman, and The Atom, ensuring my childhood would be filled with buff guys in skintight outfits.

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Tomorrow: Wonder Girl!

Comic Cards Project: Day 5 • Adam Strange

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Adam Strange is an archaeologist who gets zapped by a “zeta beam” and is instantly transported 25 trillion miles away to the planet Rann. There he finds an advanced civilization of earth-like humans and is befriended by one of their scientists who has a beautiful daughter (of course) named Alanna. Before too long, the zeta beam wears off and Adam returns to earth.

Every six weeks he rendezvouses with a zeta beam in order to return to Rann (and his beloved Alanna) and every time he finds the planet in the midst of some crisis. Every. Single. Time. They are ALWAYS being attacked by aliens, robots, or monsters. And every time, this ordinary schmuck from Earth is the only one who can pull it together and save the planet from certain doom.

If you ask me, it’s incredibly far-fetched, even by comic book standards. Beyond all of this, Alanna and Adam are supposed to be deeply in love, even though they only see each other every six weeks, never go out to dinner, and never spend a moment alone. Doesn’t that all seem a little”¦ strange?

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Another post on Monday!

Comic Cards Project: Day 4 • Elasti-Girl

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Elasti-Girl might be the most glamorous superhero ever. She was a gold medal-winning Olympic swimmer who became a movie star before gaining the ability to expand and shrink her body at will. Once she had super powers, she was invited to join Robotman, Negative Man, and The Chief in the dysfunctional super group, The Doom Patrol. The Doom Patrol was an unusual series for the time, with a quirky tone featuring elements of humor and a team that quarreled amongst themselves. Originally, The Doom Patrol had dull green and brown uniforms but Elasti-Girl got credit for designing the hipper red, purple, and white ones. Maybe she should try out for Project Runway.

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Another post tomorrow!

Comic Cards Project: Day 3 • Robby Reed

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Robby Reed??? You never heard of Robby Reed? I’m not surprised. He starred in a somewhat obscure feature called “Dial H for Hero” that ran in the comic House of Mystery. A typical teenager who acquired a device that looked like an old rotary phone dial, Robby could dial H-E-R-O and be turned into some kind of super-being. He became a different, delightfully ridiculous hero every time—like Balloon Boy, King Kandy, or Mr. Echo. Or Baron Buzz-Saw. Or Sphinx-Man. You get the idea. These changes often caused him to use his catch-phrase exclamation “Sockamagee!” and I can’t say I blame him. Maybe I’ll start saying Sockamagee from now on.

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Another post tomorrow!

Comic Cards Project: Day 2 • Black Canary

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Black Canary was a character created in the 1940s with a look based on the actress Veronica Lake. In the late 40s and early 50s superheroes fell out of favor and their stories were no longer published. But like a lot of the old characters, Black Canary was revived in the 1960s. I first discovered her when I was 10 in the first DC comic I ever read which reprinted one of her 1940s adventures. I liked her right away—which probably says more about what kind of 10-year-old I was than anything else. (Did I mention that in her secret identity she was a florist?) Trivia: the character was designed by future DC Comics publisher Carmine Infantino when he was 20 years old!

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Another post tomorrow!

Comic Cards Project: Day 1 • Batman

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I’m working on a personal project, illustrating a deck of playing cards using characters found in DC comics between 1957-1967 — the height of the kitschy Silver Age of comics. I’ll be posting one illustration every weekday for 11 weeks, which will take us just about until the end of May. 55 posts = 52 regular cards, 2 jokers, and the design for the back of the cards. It’s an ambitious project for sure and I welcome any feedback and constructive criticism.

For the first post I’ll start with Batman. This is my husband’s favorite of the one’s I’ve completed so far.