Episode 27: The First Justice Society Dinner

Simon Carver

It is, uh, it is exactly midnight here in London, and if you can hear me through the static, we are pulling off a absolute first tonight for the, for the twenty-seventh episode of Distinguished Comics Radio. It is, uh, Thursday, July 24th, 1941, and we are, we are connecting three distinct points on the globe for the very first time. I am Simon Carver, looking out over a damp, pitch-black London, where the air-raid wardens have just completed their rounds. And, um, joining me from our Chicago studio on KDCR is my, my incredibly cheerful partner, Robert Reed. Robert, how's the connection on your end?

Robert Reed

Holy cow, Simon! I can hear you as clear as a bell, right over the Atlantic! Chicago is absolutely, er, sizzling tonight. We got a bit of a breeze coming off the lake, but the real heat is in these newspapers! Everyone's talking about the draft, and-and-and, well, the whole city's keeping an eye on the clock. But we aren't alone tonight, are we? We've got our old pal George Wilson joining us live from New York! George, you there, fella?

George Wilson

I'm here, Robert. The New York line is, uh, holding up, though the smoke in this booth is thick enough to choke a horse. It's, uh, it's a heavy night in the city. You walk past the newsstands on Times Square and the ink's barely dry on these headlines about the Eastern Front. The Germans are squeezing Smolensk, and-and-and Moscow is signing this new pact with the British. Then you got Washington freezing all these foreign assets left and right. It-it-it feels like the whole world is finally, well, waking up to the fact that you can't fight a massive, organized gang of thugs by yourself. You need a crew. You need to pool your strength.

Simon Carver

A crew. Yes! That is the, the perfect word for it, George. It is, it is the exact spirit of what we are opening up tonight on our desks. We are looking at a milestone that, uh, that changed the entire geometry of this medium. We are talking about All-Star Comics number 3, the winter issue from early this year, which, for the very first time, did not just run a list of separate features. It brought them together. The, the Justice Society of America. Gardner Fox and-and-and a massive, sprawling bullpen of artists creating a single, historic meeting.

Robert Reed

And boy, oh boy, what a meeting! You look at that cover, Simon! You got the Flash, Green Lantern, the Spectre, Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Hour-Man, Sandman, and the Atom, all sitting around this giant, glowing blue table. It's like a lodge meeting for the luckiest fellas in the world! Only, of course, they got one guy who wasn't exactly invited, but, well, he's gonna make his presence known anyway. Johnny Thunder!

George Wilson

Yeah, Johnny. The, the human wrench in the works. Leave it to a kid from the Bronx to crash the most powerful dining room on earth. But before we get into his bumbling, we gotta appreciate what this book actually is. It's sixty-four pages of pure, high-octane pulp. Each hero gets their own chapter, but they're all tied together by this frame story. It's, uh, it's the first time we see these guys acknowledging that they live in the same neighborhood, so to speak.

Simon Carver

It is the, the construction of a-a modern pantheon, George. And yet, it starts in the most domestic way imaginable. A dinner. Let us crack open page three, panel one, and see how this grand alliance actually kicks off.

Robert Reed

Alright, page three! We start with poor Johnny Thunder standing outside a newsstand, looking absolutely, er, sore. He's looking at the covers of Flash Comics and All-Star, and he's grumbling, "Say, you'd think those guys would invite me! But no... nobody thinks about me!" He's so worked up, Simon, that he doesn't even realize he's saying his magic Badhnisian hex words! "Cei-U"! Which, of course, sounds exactly like "Say you"!

Simon Carver

And-and-and the moment those words slip past his teeth, the pink cloud of the Thunderbolt erupts! Wham! Johnny is physically launched through the air, traveling so fast his, well, his hair is standing on end. He gets deposited right outside the hotel where the secret meeting is being held. But when he peeks in, what does he see? The Sandman has apparently been a bit too-too generous with his sleeping gas! The guards are out cold!

George Wilson

The Sandman's always overdoing it with the vapor. But Johnny doesn't care. He starts wandering the halls, and he bumps into Doctor Fate, who's just arriving. Then he turns around and almost runs into the Flash, who's spinning like a top. Johnny tries to say hello, but he says "Say, you ain't so hot!" to the Flash, and boom! The magic word kicks in again. Suddenly the Flash is freezing, shivering, saying "Gee... that power of mine... I-I take it back!" It's a circus, I tell ya.

Robert Reed

It's absolute slapstick! But the best part, the real kicker is on page four, panel four. Johnny starts bragging to the Spectre and the Atom about how he's got this power to do anything he wants. He says, "I ain't got a swelled head... it's a small head... look!" And as he's boasting, his head literally starts inflating! It grows as big as a beach ball! The panel has him clutching his giant noggin, crying, "C'mon Thunderbolt... cut it out... make my head normal again!"

Simon Carver

It is, wonderful visual comedy by Sheldon Mayer. The absolute literalism of the Thunderbolt's magic is Johnny's undoing every single time. But then, once Johnny's head is back to its, er, its oatmeal-like proportions, the JSA members decide to be hospitable. They invite him to sit down for dinner. They have this massive, covered silver platter in the center of the table. But when they lift the lid... the food is completely gone! Empty plates!

George Wilson

Some meeting of the minds. They can touch the moon but they can't keep track of a roast chicken. So Johnny, trying to play the big shot, wishes for "turkey an' cranberry sauce and all the trimmings right here!" And poof, there's a giant, steaming turkey on the table. But before they can even pick up a fork, we get this bizarre, hilarious interruption from the window frame.

Robert Reed

Oh, Ma Hunkel! The Red Tornado herself! She tries to climb in through the fire escape window, wearing her red flannels and that upside-down pot on her head! She starts lecturing them, saying, "Why, we meant to invite you... but we heard you were busy!" But then she gets stuck in the sash. She tries to back out, there's a loud slam, and she runs off into the night... but she leaves her red pants caught in the window! The Flash is holding them up, laughing his head off! It's just priceless!

Simon Carver

It is the ultimate neighborhood cameo, Robert. Ma Hunkel is the very definition of working-class Bronx grit, and seeing her leave her trousers behind at the most elite gathering of mystery men is just... it's sublime. But this lighthearted dinner conversation serves a purpose. To pass the time, the heroes agree that each of them will relate their most exciting recent adventure. And they decide the Flash should lead the way.

Robert Reed

Yes, sir! Jay Garrick takes the floor, and Everett Hibbard's art just takes off! The Flash's story starts in Panama, with the wreck of the Sancta Joanna, a Spanish galleon from 1567 that was absolutely loaded with Aztec gold. Now, Jay's down there helping this fella named Rogers find the wreck, but this cutthroat, "Burly Billy," and his gang are trying to muscle in on the treasure. Jay has to swim down to the sea bottom to locate the ship, and holy cow, he runs right into a giant tiger shark!

Simon Carver

The shark panel is incredibly dynamic, Robert. Hibbard draws Jay swimming in these tight, concentric loops, creating a-a localized whirlpool that spins the shark around until its eyes are rolling. Jay waves at it, saying "So long, Sharkie, old kid... see you in the aquarium!" But then he has to deal with Burly Billy's boat, the Nancy K. He runs so fast on the water that he literally spins their rudder around, and then... he starts dismantling their diving equipment under their noses!

George Wilson

The guy's a one-man wrecking crew. He's spinning so fast he looks like a pink-and-blue top. He grabs their guns, takes 'em to pieces, and then he dives back down to Rogers' ship. But Rogers is stuck because his engine's dead. So what does Jay do? He literally swims under the boat, grabs the propeller shaft with his bare hands, and starts spinning it like a outboard motor! He runs Rogers' ship all the way to some arctic icebergs just to cool off the bad guys! It's completely nuts, but Hibbard's clean lines make it look like a breeze.

Simon Carver

It is the absolute triumph of kinetic energy over geography, George. But when the Flash finishes his yarn, Carter Hall -- Hawkman -- steps up, and the visual style shifts instantly. We go from Hibbard's sleek, speed-lined panels to Sheldon Moldoff's heavy, textured, incredibly atmospheric inks. Hawkman's story takes us to the volcanic slopes of Mount Krakatoa, where Shiera Sanders has gone to study some "fire ghosts."

Robert Reed

Oh, Moldoff's wings! I've said it before, but the way Shelly draws those feathers, it looks like real weight, real muscle. Carter flies into this volcanic crater, and he finds these "fire ghosts" are actually men coated in some asbestos-like glowing substance, ruled by a mad scientist named Mazda! This fella's got a "force generator" that's harnessing the steam from the volcano to, get this, destroy the earth! Mazda catches Carter and Shiera and throws them over a cliff inside the volcano, right toward the boiling lava!

George Wilson

Talk about a cliffhanger. But Carter snaps the ropes on his wings just in time, catches Shiera, and then he goes after the generator with his giant hammer. He smashes the machinery to pieces, and Mazda, in a panic, throws himself over the cliff into his own lava. It's dark, it's brutal, and Moldoff's shadows make the volcano look like a gateway to the underworld. It's a hell of a contrast to Jay Garrick's sunny Panama swim.

Simon Carver

It is the difference between the modern, machine-age speed of the Flash and the ancient, gothic mythology of the Hawk. Moldoff's work has this physical texture that makes you feel the heat of the lava. But if you think Krakatoa was wild, the Spectre's tale takes us completely out of this dimension.

George Wilson

Yeah, Bernard Baily takes over the art for the Spectre, and things get weird real fast. Jim Corrigan's investigating these "moon murders" where people are getting choked to death under a full moon. He walks past this museum, and this giant bronze statue, Oom the Mighty, starts climbing down from its pedestal! It's got hands of metal, and it grabs Jim by the throat and hurls him through a wall. But of course, Jim's already dead, so he just dematerializes and comes back as the Spectre.

Robert Reed

And then they go to outer space! I mean, literally! They're flying past Saturn, past these glowing stars, and they're fighting over this "Red Moon Stone of Yzgartyl"! Oom tells the Spectre they have to go to this distant, ephemeral planet to settle their bet. So the Spectre takes a short cut through the "Z Dimension" to get there first! It's like Gardner Fox was reading some astronomy textbook and decided to turn it into a wrestling match!

Simon Carver

The Z Dimension! It is pure cosmic fantasy, Robert. Baily's art is so blocky and solid, which makes the sight of the Spectre wrestling a fire-breathing dragon on Yzgartyl look incredibly heavy. He grabs the dragon's tail and swings it "up-down-up and down again" until it is defeated. And then, he uses his mind to make the Red Moon Stone turn hot, burning Oom's hands, before he traps Oom's spirit inside the stone itself and hurls it into deep space!

George Wilson

And then, boom, we drop right back to earth for Rex Tyler's story. Hour-Man. Bernard Baily draws this one too, but the tone is completely different. We go from interstellar space to a high-society costume ball at the Durant estate. Rex's boss makes him go as his niece's escort, and because Rex doesn't have a costume, he decides to go dressed as... Hour-Man! Which is a pretty lousy secret identity move if you ask me.

Robert Reed

Oh, it's a terrible idea! But it gets worse. Rex gets to the party, and he sees there are other guys dressed as Hour-Man too! And one of them approaches him and whispers, "Ditch the girl before we start to work!" Rex realizes these guys are crooks planning to steal the Durant diamond collection and frame him! He swallows his Miraclo pill, gets his sixty minutes of "chained lightning," and tries to stop them, but one of the thugs slugs him from behind with a gun and knocks him cold!

Simon Carver

It is the classic vulnerability of the clock, Simon. When Rex wakes up, the diamonds are gone, and the police are pointing their guns at him. He has to escape through a window, climb down an ivy vine, and do some actual, old-fashioned detective work. He slips into the study, finds a photostatic map of the house and some broker's letters, and realizes the host, Durant himself, framed the robbery to cover his market losses and collect the insurance! Baily's shadows in that study, with the single light fixture, are just beautiful. It looks like a Warner Brothers crime film.

George Wilson

It's got that grit. Rex tracks the gang to Melba Island, swims over, gets shot in the temple, but still manages to knock out Durant and his hoods with some solid right crosses before his hour runs out. It's a great, grounded, street-level contrast to Doctor Fate's ancient magic. And speaking of the Doctor, his story has some serious monsters.

Robert Reed

But wait, before Fate, we got the Sandman! Wesley Dodds takes the floor, and boy, does this story start with a scare! Wesley and Dian Belmont are driving in the country, and they see this giant, twenty-foot-tall man staggering across a field! He collapses and dies right in front of them. Wesley searches him and finds a broken hypodermic needle. He realizes this is connected to a Dr. Faversham, a fella who was banished from the medical profession for doing daring experiments on pituitary glands!

Simon Carver

The giant man is only the beginning, Robert. Wesley and Dian drive down the West Shore Road, and suddenly they are confronted by a giant rat! It is the size of a carriage! And right behind it is a house-cat that is just as monstrous! Creig Flessel's art here is wonderfully spooky. The giant beasts are drawn with these heavy, scratching lines under the full moon. Wesley has to shoot them with his gas gun, then he tracks Faversham to a large county house.

George Wilson

He finds Faversham's laboratory, and there's this poor guy on a table whose skin is stretched out like a sack. Faversham's been using his formula to make giants so he can insure them and then kill them for the money. It's a real sick racket. Wesley leaps at Faversham, punches him with a "glass jaw, huh?" remark, and wraps him up for the cops. But then, Johnny Thunder starts shivering, saying "You're creating such a breeze... you're making me cold!" And Doctor Fate just looks at him and says, "Yes... come to think of it... I have an adventure."

Robert Reed

Oh, Doctor Fate's story is a doozy! Howard Sherman's art is so clean and spooky here. It starts in an antique shop, where Inza Cramer is looking at a lamp. This mysterious, beautiful woman hands Inza a box and then vanishes into thin air. Inza takes the box home, but when she opens it, this sleepy mist comes out, and she falls into a trance, dreaming she's an ancient Egyptian priestess! She wanders out to Fate's tower in Salem, crying for help!

Simon Carver

And Fate realizes she is being targeted by the ancient sorcerer Chevergris! Fate flies Inza to the coastal moors, but they are immediately attacked by "dead phantoms" risen from their graves! Fate's physical power is useless against them, so he has to use his mind to banish them. But then, he goes to the deserted antique shop, and this giant, purple Nile octopus comes crawling out of the floorboards, breathing fire!

George Wilson

A fire-breathing octopus in a dusty antique shop. That's, uh, that's Gardner Fox for you. Fate shoots a stream of energy from his hand, but the thing keeps coming. So Fate has to locate Chevergris himself. He finds him in a secret room filled with human bones and talismans. Chevergris throws these "maddened unicorns" at him, and then these three witches throw "smoke arrows." But Fate just dodges, grabs Chevergris, pitches him across the room, and then... he literally dissolves the guy! He says, "I dissolve you... ad infinitum!" The guy just turns into a cloud of dust. Talk about a tough sentence.

Robert Reed

Holy cow, he just vaporized him! But we got one more story before the big finale. Al Pratt, the Mighty Atom! Al's up in the hills on a college geology expedition, and he sees this plane landing. He peeks through the brush and sees this gang, the "Brooklyn Murder Trust," planning to hijack a U.S. Government gold shipment! They're gonna let the armored car pass, but they're gonna jump the canvas-topped decoy truck that's actually carrying twenty million dollars in gold!

Simon Carver

The scale of the heist is incredible, Robert. Twenty million dollars! Al doesn't have super powers, of course, but he's got that Charles Atlas training. He leaps onto the speeding truck, climbs inside, and starts throwing punches. He knocks out the driver, and then when the boss of the gang is waiting at the plane, Al jumps out and decks him too! He leaves his calling card, "The Atom," and Mary James finds him asleep on the grass afterward, thinking he's just a-a "weak sister" who slept through the whole thing!

George Wilson

The classic gag. She's swooning over the Atom while Al's standing right there getting insulted. But just as Al finishes his story, the door to the JSA dining room bursts open. It's a messenger boy with an urgent telegram for the Flash. It's from the F.B.I. Chief in Washington! He wants a representative of the Justice Society to come down to the capital immediately to discuss something of "vital importance" to the entire country!

Simon Carver

It is the call to service, George. The Flash points his finger, says "I'm on my way... I'll be back in a dash like the Flash!" and spins out of the room. And the rest of the team sits back to wait, with Green Lantern offering to tell the next story while they wait. It sets up the next issue beautifully, showing how these heroes are being drafted into the national defense effort, just like the young men in our own cities this July.

Robert Reed

You know, Simon, looking at this whole book, it is just a masterpiece of coordination. I mean, you got Everett Hibbard, Sheldon Moldoff, Bernard Baily, Howard Sherman, Chad Grothkopf, Mart Nodell... all these different fellas drawing their own characters, but somehow, under Sheldon Mayer's editorial eye, the whole thing just fits! It's like a big band where everyone's playing a different instrument, but they're all playing the same tune!

George Wilson

Yeah, but you can still tell who's got the best horn, Robert. For my money, Moldoff's Hawkman and Baily's Hour-Man are the standouts. They got that, that street-level weight, that ink-stained shadow that makes the world feel real. Sherman's Fate is nice and clean, but it's a bit too, uh, antiseptic for my taste. I like a little dirt on the canvas.

Simon Carver

I think the contrast is what makes the anthology work, George. If every story looked like a shadow, the reader would get tired. But going from the bright, sunny speed-lines of the Flash to the gothic feathery wings of Hawkman, and then to the cosmic star-fields of the Spectre... it is a sensory feast. It shows how wide the boundaries of this medium are becoming.

Robert Reed

It's a real treasure chest, Simon! Well, fellas, our shortwave signals are starting to get a little fuzzy, so we better let the listeners know what's coming next. For our next shortband broadcast, we are going back to All-American Comics to cover the early adventures of Ultra-Man from issues 8 through 19, plus his appearance in All-Star number 1!

George Wilson

And for the next standard show, we're finally going back to the dark streets of Gotham for Batman 1940 Part 3, covering Detective Comics numbers 40 through 42, the 1940 World's Fair book, and Batman number 2. If you want to send us a line, write to us at distinguishedcomicsradio@gmail.com. That's, uh, distinguishedcomicsradio@gmail.com.

Simon Carver

And we must acknowledge our mysterious patron, Mr. Moore, who sent us another letter claiming that in his time, people can buy these ancient All-Star issues for thousands of dollars! Imagine that... ten cents in 1941, and a fortune in the future. What a wild world. Well, the blackouts are still in effect here in London, so I must extinguish my desk lamp.

Robert Reed

Keep your chin up, Simon! And to all our listeners, keep supporting the boys in uniform, keep your eyes on the funny pages, and we'll see you on the next program!

George Wilson

Good night, folks. Watch the shadows, and keep your dials locked.