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| Comic book art, layout and design changed so rapidly. Look at this 1940 comic which has 7 to 11 panels spread over 4 equally-sized rows per page (and these aren't newspaper strip reprints, either), and just a short time later artists were pushing the envelope with large splash pages, odd-shaped panels, etc. |
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| One thing that changed after the 'comic code became the norm was that there have been no more bare-chested male superheroes. Must have been a clause there forbidding that because there were a number of them in the early days of the Golden Age. T was quite surprised by that when I first started to explore the Golden Age. |
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| Good observation about the lack of bare-chested men after the comics code. I'm not sure whether the comics code had anything about that or not (though I tend to doubt it got that specific).
But I have heard horror stories from artists who got changes back from the CCA censors; some of the changes they demanded were not things that were specifically mentioned in the code. It was just that particular censor's interpretation and opinion.
So it might be the result of the censors being inordinately picky, or it might even be that the artists began to play it safe so they wouldn't have to keep revising their work. |
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| I don't know why bare-chested superheroes would have violated the Comics Code. Comic book men were allowed to go bare-chested when they went swimming. Romance comics had plenty of topless guys hanging around the beach. Not one, of course, ever had nipples.
It may simply be changing tastes that account for the Silver Age shortage of bare-chested heroes. Personally I thought costumed heroes looked silly without a shirt. For that matter, so did superheroes wearing short-shorts, another Golden Age trend that faded away. |
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| I still see a lot of bare-chested superheros after the Code! Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Hulk, Ben Grimm...
And then there were the ones with just token straps across their chests but otherwise bare-chested - Hawkman, Martian Manhunter, Marvel's Hercules.And that does not even count the ones with plunging necklines and cut-outs. Or the exhibitionist heros like Sgt Fury or Shang Chi, who had tops but tended to lose them and fight bare-chested at every opportunity. |
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| Additional Information |
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| Publication | May 1940 | Price: 0.10 USD | Pages: 1 | Frequency: monthly |
| Notes | The hero was known as 'Dr. Strange' in his earliest stories. |
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| Content | Genre: Superhero | Characters: Dr. Strange [Professor Thomas Hugo Strange] |
| Notes | The hero was known as 'Dr. Strange' in his earliest stories. |
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| Comic Story | Dr. Strange at Grips with the Giant Electru (12 pages) |
| Content | Genre: Superhero | Characters: Doc Strange [Doctor Thomas Hugo Strange]; Virginia Thompson; Electru (villain, introduction, death) |
| Notes | Richard Hughes was previously credited with colours, but this was a result of a database glitch.
The hero was known as 'Dr. Strange' in his earliest stories. |
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| Comic Story | The Ghost Strikes Again (8 pages) |
| Content | Genre: Superhero | Characters: The Ghost [George Chance]; Professor Fenton (villain, introduction); District Attorney Bob Standish; The Venerable One (vision of a yogi); Prehistoric tribe of Piltdown Men |
| Notes | Richard Hughes was previously credited with colours, but this was a result of a database glitch. |
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| Content | Genre: Adventure | Characters: Tom Niles; Franz Hohenleither (villain, introduction, death); Fraulein Schmidt (villain, introduction, death); Lt. Hein (villain, introduction, death); Nazis (villains); Joan Hawley (British Intelligence agent) |
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| Comic Story | The Spirit Killer (5 pages) |
| Content | Genre: Superhero | Characters: The Woman in Red [Peggy Allen]; The Spirit Killer [Ogden Phillips] (villain, introduction); Gladys Arnold (death); Inspector Daugherty; Breen; Caswell; Myra Loomis |
| Notes | Richard Hughes was previously credited with colours, but this was a result of a database glitch. |
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| Comic Story | The Lone Eagle in Finland (8 pages) |
| Content | Genre: Aviation; War | Characters: The Lone Eagle; Communists (villains); Ensign Torborg (introduction); Col. Garrilowski (introduction) |
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| Text Story | Widow's Might (1 page) |
| Credits | Pencils:? (2 spot illustrations) | Inks:? (2 spot illustrations) | Colors:? (2 spot illustrations) | Letters: typeset |
| Content | Genre: Western-frontier | Characters: The Widow Claarke; Tex Clarke; Ranger Captain George Whittley |
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| Content | Genre: Adventure | Characters: The Three Comrades [Cal Collins; Paul "Books" Stone; Lucky]; Jean Bolton; Pancho Rosario (villain, introduction); Tobasco (henchman); Jim Dawson |
| Notes | Richard Hughes was previously credited with colours, but this was a result of a database glitch. |
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| Comic Story | Arizona Guns (6 pages) |
| Content | Genre: Western-frontier | Characters: The Rio Kid; Robbins (villain, introduction); Powers (rancher); Colonel Dale (rancher); Mike Venton (politician) |
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| Letters Page | Here Are the Cash Prize Winners! (1 page) |
| Synopsis | Promo for the "Thrilling Club".
Coupon for survey of features and registration to "CASH PRIZE CONTEST". |
| Featuring | Chats with the Editor |
| Credits | Letters: typeset |
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| Comic Story | Marco Polo Jones Rides Again (6 pages) |
| Content | Genre: Humor | Characters: Marco Polo Jones; Polly; Snowball; Father Neptune; Sinbad the Sailor |
| Notes | McGill signs at the foot of all six pages. |
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| Featuring | "Snooples" the Sleuth |
| Credits | Pencils:? [as Bord] (signed) | Inks:? [as Bord] (signed) |
| Content | Genre: Humor; Children | Characters: "Snooples" the Sleuth |
| Notes | Signed "Bord" in last panel. |
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| The data in the additional content section is courtesy of the Grand Comics Database under a
Creative Commons Attribution License.
More details about this comic may be available in their page here |
