Atomic Comics: Cartoonists Confront the Nuclear World

Contents

ix List of Illustrations xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments, Margaret Connell-Szasz xvii Introduction 1 pa r t i  B e f o r e H i r o s H i m a 1 Comic Strips Confront the Subatomic World: The Turn of the Century to the Early 1930s 9 2 The Comics and the Fissioned Atom: The Mid-1930s to August 6, 1945 22 pa r t i i  T H e i N i T i a L r e a C T i o N : 1 9 4 5 – e a r LY 1 9 6 0 s 3 Coming to grips with the Atom: Early Atomic Superheroes 43 4 Atomic Comic Utopias, Espionage, and the Cold War 67 pa r t i i i  aT o m i C C o m i C s C H a N g e d i r e C T i o N : T H e m i d - 1 9 5 0 s T o T H e p r e s e N T d aY 5 American Underground Comix, Political and International Cartoonists, and the Rise of Japanese Manga 89 6 The Never-Ending Appeal of Atomic Adventure Tales 115 Conclusion 133 Notes 137 Bibliography 155 Index 167 C O N T E N T S xi Cover of Remember Pearl Harbor (Street and Smith, 1942) 27 Cover of Science Comics #1 (Humor, January 1946) 48 Cover of True Comics #47 (True Comics, March 1946) 50 Cover of Atomic Comics #1 (Daniels, January 1946) 53 Cover of Headline Comics #19 (Prize, May–June 1946) 54 Cover of Atoman #2 (Spark, April 1946) 55 Cover of Captain Marvel Jr. #53 (Fawcett, September 1947) 57 Cover of Durango Kid #7 (Magazine Enterprise, october–November 1950) 59 Cover of Whiz Comics #150 (Fawcett, october 1952) 61 Cover of Atomic Rabbit #9 (Charlton Comics, 1957) 65 Cover of Atom-Age Combat #3 (Fago, March 1959) 82 Cover of Atomic War! #2 (Junior Books, December 1952) 83 Cover of Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub #3 (Titan, November–December 1954) 84 Cover of Hydrogen Bomb (and Biochemical Warfare) Funnies #1 (Rip off Press, 1970) 91 Cover of Dr. Atomic #1 (Last gasp Eco-Funnies, September 1972) 92 Cover of Doc Schnuke’s Atomic Water Story #1(Waffle Comics, 1975) 93 Cover of Mighty Atom #1 (IW Enterprises, 1963 reprint) 106 Cover of Spider-Man Unlimited #1 (Marvel Comics, May 1993) 120 Cover of Dr. Radium: Man of Science #1 (Slave Labor graphics, october 1992) 128 Cover of The Atomics #1 (AAA Pop Comics, January 2000) 130 I L L U S T R AT I O N S ...