Bonus Points!

While reprinting issues of the Defenders, the weekly U.K. magazine Rampage also included back-up content from other superhero comics—and sometimes from anthology series originally published during the Silver Age. Such was the case with Rampage #13 (Jan. 11, 1978), which reprinted Defenders #14 followed by the five-page story "Beware!!! Of the Little Toy Men!!" That suspenseful tale first appeared in Journey into Mystery #58 (May 1960). In writing this blog over the years, I've noticed the frequent use of exclamation points in comic books, but this particular title takes the cake for excessive punctuation!

Reservations about Wertham

I've written several posts over the years about Seduction of the Innocent, Fredric Wertham's scathing attack on the comic book industry. After rereading the book again, I've decided to address a few more of Wertham's arguments, which contributed to the Comics Code of 1954. Wertham held that comic books were anti-educational. Western comics, for example, did not accurately portray the American West. Additionally, placing dialogue in word balloons was just one of many practices that depleted comics of literary merit.

The merits of some of Wertham's claims were themselves suspect, however, such as his contention that superheroes promoted a Fascist ideology. In Chapter II, Wertham remarked that we should be thankful the S on Superman's chest was not an S.S. That comparison was blatantly ahistorical seeing how often comic books had portrayed Superman and other costumed heroes battling Nazis during the Second World War.

Wertham's credibility might be called into question elsewhere as well. In Chapter IV, he recalled a conversation with a boy who suffered from nightmares. The boy said he liked reading Blue Beetle comics, likening the title character to Superman but with the added power of turning into a beetle. Wertham said it was easy to understand why a child would be frightened after reading the adventures of a man who became an insect. The problem with Wertham's analysis, however, was that Blue Beetle did not transform into an insect—exposing Wertham's unfamiliarity with the material he was so prone to condemn.

Right or wrong, Wertham was convinced that comic books interfered with the psychological well-being of children and their ability to identify with positive role models. In Chapter IX, he asked, "Is that the best we can do for children, that we teach them the Green Lantern will help?" Interestingly, though self-reflection was uncommon for characters during the Golden Age of comics, Green Lantern would readily question his impact on society during the Bronze Age.

The original Green Lantern first appearance in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940).

The Hostess Formula

Hostess ads were a mainstay of superhero comic books throughout much of the Bronze Age. Criminals would stop in their tracks at the sight of Twinkies, CupCakes, or fruit pies—gleefully surrendering to authorities while biting into the Hostess snacks. Hostess products could also subdue a rampaging Hulk.

Ads for fruit pies consistently featured both apple and cherry (although a character might favor one flavor over another). Sometimes a third choice would appear from one of the following selections:

blueberry lemon peach

Daredevil defeats the crimelord Peachy Keen in the closing panels of this Hostess ad for peach, apple and cherry fruit pies.

Meditation Practices

The Defenders were no strangers to meditation. Dr. Strange had a Chamber of Meditation within his Sanctum Sanctorum, the original headquarters for the non-team. As one of the New Defenders, Moondragon often meditated as well. For all their differences, both characters were fiercely private and relied on meditation for mental clarity.

Dr. Strange shows Nighthawk and Valkyrie his Chamber of Meditation in Defenders #15; Moondragon meditates (and levitates) in New Defenders #136.

Day of the Druid

The druidic philosophy outlined in early versions of Dungeons & Dragons considered the moral opposites of Law and Chaos as balancing forces of nature. As such, the clerical subclass of Druid adhered to the alignment of Neutral, a worldview with no particular leanings toward good or evil.

About a decade before the creation of the game, Strange Tales #144-145 presented a vastly different take on druids. The leader of a hidden cult combined mystic rites and modern technology to summon the Egg of Satan—a thing of evil designed to seek out Col. Nick Fury and destroy him. Given their diabolical aims, these druids might be a better fit for Lawful Evil, the alignment closely associated with devils in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

The cover of Strange Tales #144 (May 1966) likened the mysticism of Dr. Strange to Nick Fury's nemesis in "The Day of the Druid!" Dr. Strange starred in a different story within the issue.