[boox909]

Hey gang!

Earlier this week I read The Spectre hardcover (secured from my local library) and found it fascinating...in fact, these early stories of the Golden Age Spectre fascinated me so much that I decided to dig out my MLJ disc (yup, the $100 disc) and pull out all of the Mr. Justice stories from Blue Ribbon Comics and Jackpot Comics to read.

I just finished the story from Blue Ribbon #13 and let me tell you, I found it most disconcerting -- #9-#12 was general lighthearted spookdom, then #13 a Satan is Hitler theme comes out of no where! ...And that got me thinking -- What order should I read the Blue Ribbons and Jackpots in?

I do not remember if it was on this forum or on another, but I remember reading that someone actually read all of the MLJ comics in the order of their appearance and reported their thoughts after having done so. Perhaps that person is here at GA-UK? Maybe someone has a record of the chronological order of the MLJ comics?

It is not the end of the world if I do not follow the order exactly, but it might be a bit more fun as I get a feel for The Spectre's cousin, Mr. Justice! 

B.

[Mr. Izaj]

  A good idea would be to read all of Mr. Justice's Blue Ribbon stories first then read all 9 of his Jackpot stories. The reason is that there was a thread of continuity that went through the stories in Blue Ribbon #s 13-19 which delt with Mr. Justice's running battle with Satan and his minions. This is just my opinion.

[boox909]

  A good idea would be to read all of Mr. Justice's Blue Ribbon stories first then read all 9 of his Jackpot stories. The reason is that there was a thread of continuity that went through the stories in Blue Ribbon #s 13-19 which delt with Mr. Justice's running battle with Satan and his minions. This is just my opinion.

Hi!

Thanks for your idea -- and you are correct actually! I looked up some dates on the GCD and glanced at the stories in Jackpot and decided that I should follow your very suggestion. 

B.

[boox909]

I finished reading all of the Golden Age adventures of Mr. Justice yesterday...it took me a bit longer to finish everything due to real world obligations and general distractions along with the random joys of watching the Boston Red Sox get their butts handed to them...ahem...back to Mr. Justice -- While the Blue Ribbon stories were indeed interesting pieces, I found that a the run in Jackpot was just as strong.

Clearly Mr. Justice borrowed a few visual bits from DC's Spectre, and both features laid groundwork for Marvel's Dr. Strange.

Is anyone aware of any other Golden Age characters in a similar vein that might already be represented in a book or two on the download site? If so, let me know.

I give Mr. Justice a B+ for sheer fun.

B. 

[darkmark]

The Duke of Darkness was a similar character.

[boox909]

The Duke of Darkness was a similar character.

Thanks so much Darkmark! The moment I read your note I realized that you were correct about this little known Gerona Pubs character. Using the handy dandy Keltner's Golden Age Index (linked in my siggy for you newbies), I located the three adventures of this obscure character. One is on the download site in Ko Comics (thank you REZ). The story from Triple Threat Comics is on Bill Nolan's site (Thank you Bill). The next is in Top Spot Comics, which I have never seen, but hopefully it will appear onsite one day.

The two stories should be enough to give me a feel for where DoD fits into this vein of supernatural heroes.

Thanks again!

B. 

[boox909]

RE: The Duke of Darkness


A character full of so much potential -- the stories are unimaginable, possessing the continuity confusion of current offerings from DC, and silly in a bad way. I would not say pass on this character, but do not expect it to be on par with even the weaker adventures of Mr. Justice. Consider The Duke of Darkness, the distant nephew of The Spectre that no one talks about at family reunions.

What a waste. 

I give The Duke of Darkness a "D+" for visual appeal.

B.