Does karma ever enter into merely choosing a comic book to read? As we reach the fiftieth anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, let’s revisit this ten-year old entry from my “retired” APA and Fanzine column, “The Issue At Hand” (circa 2003), and relive what was for me a rather memorable experience. So, is everyone ready to travel back a decade? Let’s go…
November, 2003 saw the fortieth anniversary of the assassination
of President John F. Kennedy, and
the TV networks and other media were ablaze with commemorative specials and
features. Many of them were quite
interesting, providing me with new or additional perspective on the Kennedy
years, during which I was a very little kid.
It just so happened that, during the fateful anniversary, I
randomly selected (from a batch of recent purchases) and read the particular
comic book discussed here… for the
first time. I was so amazed at
the unexpected twist this story took that I e-mailed any of my friends
that might possibly have this issue in the dark and musty recesses of their
collections and told them to read (…or re-read) it… RIGHT NOW! Let’s take a closer look and see why…
The Issue at Hand
Is: SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #
89 Cover Date: December, 1965. Published
by DC Comics.
“The Infamous Four” 8
pages. Writer: Jerry Siegel (…Co-creator
of Superman). Artist: Kurt Schaffenberger. Lettered by:
Milt Snapinn. Edited by the
legendary Mort Weisinger.
Click on any of the comic images to enlarge.
Though he needs little in the way of introduction, here’s some background information on our title character. From his online writings, cartoonist and comics historian Scott Shaw! offered the following…
“James Bartholomew Olsen (supposedly) first appeared in ACTION COMICS No. 6 (November, 1938) -- referred to only as an
unnamed “office boy”
– but it wasn’t until SUPERMAN Vol. 1,
No. 13 (November – December, 1941) that his name was mentioned. In
September/October, 1954, THE DAILY PLANET’s red-haired eager-beaver
photographer and “cub” reporter finally received his own comic book series. SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN.
 |
| SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN # 1 (1954) |
“Reportedly, this was prompted by the popularity of likable young actor Jack Larson in the role of “Jimmy Olsen” in the syndicated TV series, THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (1951 – 1957). In any event, Jimmy’s series went on to become one of the longest-running “Oddball Comics” of all time, as well as one of the most relentlessly kooky.
 |
| Then, now, and forever: Superman's pal! |
 |
| "The World of Doomed Olsens"...Yes, really! |
[JOE'S NOTE: "Even a WOMAN?!" HORRORS!]
 |
| One of MY favorite covers! Talk about a "Doomed Olsen"! |
“AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR READERS! Every
so often, we get a story which maintains its suspense until the very last
panel. This is such a story… and we
challenge you to guess the surprise finish.
And please, after you have read it, do not reveal the ending to any of
your friends!”
Yes, sir, Mr. Weisinger, sir! You can count on me, sir! I’ll not reveal the ending to anyone… except the readers of this fanzine
[…now BLOG]! Shhh! Don’t tell Mr. Weisinger about this,
folks. He wouldn’t be at all pleased…
Anyway, editor Perry White assigns “cub-reporter” Jimmy Olsen to find a new angle for a story on the following week’s
upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
Determined not to submit a “turkey”, and in order to beat the “stuffing” out of the
competition, Jimmy checks out one of the historical exhibits at the Metropolis
Museum.
“According to this sign, the Indian tribe which celebrated Thanksgiving
with the Pilgrims, had a legendary medicine man…Red Hawk…who claimed that when he puffed his magic pipe inside that
hollow totem pole, spirits would transport him into the future.”
Hmmm… I wouldn’t mind learning what “legendary medicines” that “legendary medicine man” was inhaling into his “legendary lungs”. But, rather than pursue THAT story, Jimmy secretes himself in the totem and puffs a piece of the “peace pipe”. Sure enough, as luck and the conventions of eight-page Silver Age comic book stories would have it, Jimmy is whisked off to the Metropolis of November 22, 2063!
There, he experiences the wonders
of the World of Tomorrow – a contemporary wardrobe from a convenient
“Clothes-O-Mat” machine, automated service at the “Interplanetary Food
Emporium”, and instant dry cleaning while still in his clothes – as if he’d
accidentally wandered into a JETSONS comic.
 |
| Sing with me: "Meet JIM Jetson!" |
“That snooper will recognize us as The
Infamous Four, the notorious space-pirate brothers, who are wanted
on a hundred planets! If he tells the authorities we’re hiding
here with our loot, while repairing our craft, we’re sunk!”
 |
| Jimmy's a great reporter... Look how he gets his subjects to open up and TALK! |
 |
| Say... has BLUTO traveled to the future with Jimmy? |
 |
| Could be! |
Heading for the safety of the totem
pole, and a quick return to 1965,
Jimmy hardly notices that the entire
population of Metropolis is standing silent and at attention – transfixed at
the spectacle of a towering holographic image of a man standing benevolently
over the city.
 |
| Run, Jimmy, run! |
Once again inside the totem pole (…which, thankfully, the authorities of that
era didn’t cart away!), Jimmy fires up the magic peace pipe and, failing
to follow the example of former president Bill Clinton, inhales his way back to
the twentieth century.
He returns to the
Daily Planet, sans story, bracing himself to face Perry White’s wrath. The Infamous Four fare even worse, as the
next panel shows them being taken into custody by the laser-toting Metropolis
Police of 2063.
 |
| Nice touch that they addressed the matter of Jimmy's CLOTHES! It would have be easy (but annoying) to ignore. |
We’ll let the story’s dialogue will take us
the rest of the way…
Metropolis Cop:
“The Infamous Four. If you hadn’t been moving, when everyone
else in America was standing motionless, we wouldn’t have noticed you and
captured you!”
Infamous Four Gang
Member: “Okay! But explain one thing to us aliens! Why did
all those Earthlings stand still?
Metropolis Cop:
“The answer is up there in the sky! That is
a TRI-DIMENSIONAL SKY PICTURE… of JOHN F. KENNEDY, ONE OF OUR
GREATEST PRESIDENTS! Today, exactly 100 years since he was assassinated on November 22 1963, the citizens of the United States paid respect to
his memory… by standing still and silent for five minutes!”
Editorial Caption: “Jimmy
will never know exactly what happened… but YOU do!”
We close with an inspiring image of JFK standing majestically over the skyline of Metropolis, 2063 -- and all I can say is WOW!
Ah, the way things work out, sometimes! I’d say that Ol’ Editor Mort Weisinger lived up to his hype, this issue and for several decades hence!
2 comments:
Joe:
Well done! I may have read this ten years ago in your earlier forum, but it was wonderful to read it again. You did a masterful job of providing JB Olsen's background. Big LOL re: your comparisons to The Jetsons and Popeye!
As for Jimmy's adventure, how many times has he or Lois taken a whiff or sip of something that seemingly propelled them through time?! If only it was so easy, why — why — I'd do that and go back to either buy ACTION COMICS #1 or Microsoft stock in the 80s!
November 22, 2063. I'll be 110 and hopefully still enjoying your blog, although by then it will be mentally beamed into people's minds.
Yes, what a surprise for you to select this particular comic book and find that story – with its poignant ending. You realize that Ye Editor (Mort Weisinger) was perhaps breaking an unspoken rule in comic books in that There Shalt Be No Political Comments. Saying that JFK was one of the "greatest presidents" could be argued by others (not by me – I thought he was one of the best).
However, perhaps even as late as December 1965 (the cover date of this issue), the nation was still somewhat in mourning, or at the tail end, at least, so Ye Editor was reflecting that somber sentiment and not politics. Or maybe it was a story written a year or so prior to that but it just didn't make it to print because Jimmy had more important time traveling, transformations and Superman-related adventures to partake in.
Side note: this is one of those issues that reflects the times, what with U.N.C.L.E. on the cover – the "spy craze" was perhaps at its peak and about to slowly fade…
Cheers,
Bruce
PS- The "please prove you're not a robot" is like an eye exam !!!!
Bruce:
I very likely DID see that you saw this in its original form. And, certainly, you must have been one of the folks I e-mailed about it at the time.
Aside from it being such a completely unexpected tribute to President Kennedy, imagine that, even as an avid Silver Age comic book reader, I hadn’t managed to purchase that issue until 2003 – and that I chose it, completely at random, to read at that particular time – attracted to it by the U.N.C.L.E. reference and tie-in.
As for JFK being one of the “greatest presidents”… First of all, he WAS! And, beyond that, the idea of expressing that opinion in a comics magazine, was the product of an entirely different era from the one in which we now live. That was an era in which we still looked up to our presidents, respected the individual as well as the office, and every word and / or deed was not politicized to the advantage of one side or the other. There was a reverence that transcended the partisan pettiness that exists today.
If, in that time, Ronald Reagan was the president – and his life and time in office were tragically cut short, as was Kennedy’s, a similar sentiment would have been shared by all.
I'm afraid that wouldn't necessarily be the case today. And, how sad for ALL of us as a nation, if true!
The December 1965 cover date (indicating a fall release) would also be the result of comics publishers working much further ahead that they do today. This story may have taken shape shortly after the events of November 1963 and, with lead times being what they were, may have taken that long to get into print, because to get it out for the fall of 1964 may not have been possible.
I can’t imagine what that might have been like to read it new off the newsstand!
Post a Comment