Written by C. Sesselego Art by A. G. Ceglia, L. Livi Designed by C. Sesselego, E. Civiletti Public Domain Encyclopedia Vol. I: Nedor Superheroes © 2015 Blue Monkey Studio 1st edition 2013 New revised edition 2015 Blue Monkey Studio di Sesselego, Livi, Civiletti Via XX Settembre 23/b - 16121 Genova IT www.bemystudio.com All illustrations in this book © Blue Monkey Studio. The covers of previously published Better/Nedor/Standard comics © by their respective copyright holders. All characters TM and ® 2015 by their respective trademark holders. This is an academic work. These and other ©, ® and TM appear as historic examples for scholarly purposes. All rights reserved. Blue Monkey Studio makes no representation of any rights to said ©, ® and TM. Any omission or incorrect information should be transmitted to the author or publisher so it can be rectified in future editions of this book. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
public domain encyclopedia Vol. I:
nedor superheroes
Intro to the public domain encyclopedia The Public Domain Encyclopedia (or PDE) is dedicated to the lost treasures of the comic book industry that are freely available to all. No cost, no charge. It is aimed at readers, writers and artists that are looking for something different, be it totally unknown or fully recognizable to all. We want PDE to be like a magic box whose content will change every time you take it in your hands to pull out something you haven’t thought about. Something that will amaze and entertain everybody, bringing long nights of creativity. We do not dare to think that we will disclose secrets you don’t know about, rather than provide a tool to improve the mindscape we all share, thanks to the creations of people that came before us and left characters and concepts we now can use as we please. It will be an ever-improving work to which everybody can contribute with suggestions, comments and criticism. Most of all, it is something we would like to share.
The golden age of comics PDE’s issues dedicated to superheroes will cover a chronological period between June 1938 and October 1956. Defining the beginning of the Golden Age of Comics is always a tricky business. Experts and scholars differ in their opinions. Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide’s regular publication “The Golden Age Quarterly” lists comic books from 1933 onwards, as 1933 is the year of publication of the first book in a size that would later define the comics standard format. Several comic book historians, including Roger Sabin (Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels: a History of Comic Art - new ed. 2009), date the beginning of the Golden Age to the publication of the first comics featuring original stories rather than re-prints of newspaper strips (New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 - Feb. 1935, New Comics #1 - Dec. 1935, with a slightly larger size than today’s comic book format, both published by National Allied Publications). Since in this issues we are dealing with superheroes, we will consider June 1938 (Action Comics #1 featuring Superman) the beginning of the Golden Age. Defining the end of the Golden Age is also a difficult issue. While it is true that the definition of the superhero archetype is probably the most significant Golden Age contribution to pop culture, it is also true that many superpowered characters created in the WWII era did not survive the end of the war, forcing the publishers to die or diversify. Between 1949 and 1951, western, adventure, science fiction, romance and horror stories took the upper hand and ousted many superheroes. Only popular characters such as Superman and Batman went on, regardless of the crisis of the Golden Age. This transitional period (often referred to as the Atomic Era) that would end in October 1956 (first new Flash story - Showcase #4, DC Comics, setting the beginning of the Silver Age), is also included in the current chronology, since it describes the struggle of the comics creative minds to cope with what the future was going to be. The characters created in this span of time blink back at their Golden Age ancestors while trying to keep up with the new world order (e.g. the Atomic Thunderbolt, Atoman).
The characters
american crusader Archibald “Archie� Masters
Created by: Max Plaisted (1902-1956)
HISTORY & BIO Archie Masters is a timid astronomy professor, teaching at the Grand University in the eastern United States. Lost in his thoughts, he accidentally accesses a lab in which an experimental atom smasher is being tested. Bathed by atomic radiations, he is endowed with superpowers. He uses his newly acquired abilities to fight crime as the patriotic American Crusader. In his civilian identity, he keeps pretending to be the geek he was before the accident to the frustration of his secretary, Jane Peters, who would have loved to be his girlfriend. Later on, Archie resigns from the University to fight the Nazis on the European front (Thrilling comics #34 - Mar. 1943). Jane Peters joins the army as a war nurse (Thrilling Comics #35 - May 1943). In Europe, Archie meets Mickey Martin, an American teenager who was in France when the Nazi forces invaded it (Thrilling Comics #39 - Dec. 1943). Mickey becomes his sidekick.
POWERS American Crusader posseses super strength, invulnerability and the power of flight.
AMERICAN CRUSADER golden age appearances
First Appearance: Thrilling Comics #19 (Aug. 1941)
Last Appearance: Thrilling Comics #41 (Apr. 1944)
America’s Best Comics #6 Thrilling Comics #19-35, 37-39, 41
9 8
1
7 6 5 4
8
3
7
5
2 1
1
0 1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
Thrilling Comics
1944
1945
1946
1947
America's Best Comics
1948
1949
AMERICAN CRUSADER modern appearances AC Comics FemForce V1 (1-163, 1985-2013) #29-31, 34-36, 59, 60, 67, 127, 156-158 Femforce: Out of the Asylum Special V1 (oneshot, 1987) Fighting Yank V1 (1-5, 2001-2002) #5 Fighting Yank and the Sentinels of America V1 (oneshot, 2003) N.E.D.O.R. Agent V1 #0 (flipbook FF#158, Feb. 2012) Official Golden-Age Hero and Heroine Directory V1 (oneshot, 1997) American Crusader (Matt Masters) is one of the Vault Heroes, put in suspended animation and released decades later to fight the forces of evil. He is a member of the Sentinels of America along with other Nedor heroes. He fights alongside Fighting Yank in his own series. He also appears in the N.E.D.O.R. Agents, an alternate reality in which classic heroes of the 40s band together alongside their inheritors and proteges such as Pyrogirl, Fighting Yank jr. and Candi Future. America’s Best Comics ABC A-Z: Terra Obscura & Splash Brannigan (oneshot, 2006) Terra Obscura V1 (1-6, 2003-2004) #1, 3, 4 Terra Obscura V2 (1-6, 2004-2005) #4, 6 Tom Strong V1 (1-36, 1999-2006) #12 Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril V1 (ongoing, 2013) #1, 4, 5 Captured by aliens in 1969 and left in suspended animation American Crusader is released in 2000. He has problems adapting to the changes around him and becomes an alcoholist. He is a member of S.M.A.S.H. Dynamite Entertainment Black Terror V1 (1-14, 2008-2011) #1-3, 5-8 Project Superpowers V2 (preview(p), 0-12, 2009-2010) #9-12 Project Superpowers: Meet the Bad Guys... V1 (1-4, 2009) #1 Codename Action V1 (ongoing, 2013) #1 After the heroes of Golden Age are trapped by the Fighting Yank in the Urn of Pandora, the original American Crusader, Archie Masters, accepts to be cloned by the Government to create an army of American superheroes. The strain of the cloning process put him in a coma. Black Terror investigates the disappearance of American Crusader and manages to free him from the clone factory. However, he is not able to save his life. Archies’s powers are passed to Marcus Chamberlain who
becomes the new American Crusader.
Heroes Inc. web-comics (2009-2011) American Crusader is the lead scientist of the project throught which the heroes of WWII are created. Present day, he collects blood samples from the Golden Age super-humans to develop the next generation of heroes. He is married to Miss Masque. Metahuman Press Living Legends web-tales (1-25, 2008) Tales of the Living Legends web-comics (2009) American Crusader appears as his original Golden Age self.
american eagle Tom Standish
Created by: Richard E. Hughes (1909-1974) Kin Platt (1911-2003)
HISTORY & BIO In a remote mountain lab, young scientist Tom Standish is assisting Dr. Wolfe in developing a serum that mimicks the abilities of the eagles. While carrying a batch of the serum, Tom accidentally spills it onto a cathode-tube, causing a strange black glow. Curious as to how the tube has been changed, Tom inserts it into a projector and is suddenly bombarded by a black light, developing superpowers. As Tom goes to Dr. Wolfe to inform him about the serum reaction, he discovers that Wolfe is conspiring with Nazis to poison America’s water supply. Caught by the Nazis, he is thrown off a cliff, but miraculously survives the fall, thanks to his newly aquired super abilities. Attempting to stop the conspiracy against America, Tom destroys the lab and kills the Nazis. Only Dr. Wolfe manages to survive. Returning to the city to look for work, Tom is saved from being struck by a car by Bud Pierce, the son of a circus strong-man, also looking for a job. Impressed by the youngster’s own strength and bravery, Tom offers Bud to join forces and look for work together. Tom applies for a lab assistantship, only to discover that Dr. Wolfe is alive and still pursuing his criminal plots. To fight against the Nazis, Tom dons the costume of the American Eagle. In his
heroic deeds he is supported by Bud, as American Eagle’s sidekick, the Eaglet.
POWERS American Eagle posseses near invulnerability, super-strenght and the power to leap large distances. He also dons a cape that grants him the ability to glide through the air. Eaglet relies on a superior physical strenght and wears the same cape American Eagle uses to fly.
american Eagle golden age appearances
First Appearance: America’s Best Comics #2 (Sept. 1942)
Last Appearance: The Fighting Yank #18 (Nov. 1946)
America’s Best Comics #2, 6-7, 10-12, 14 Exciting Comics #22-27, 29-38, 40-47, 49-50 The Fighting Yank #18 9 8 7
2
1
2
6
2
5 4 3
1
2 1
6
6
1943
1944
7 5
2
0 1939
1940
1941
Exiting Comics
1942
1945
America's Best Comics
1946
1947
1948
The Fighting Yank
1949
american eagle modern appearances AC Comics FemForce V1 (1-163, 1985-2013) #156-158 Fighting Yank V1 (1-5, 2001-2002) #5 Fighting Yank and the Sentinels of America V1 (oneshot, 2003) N.E.D.O.R. Agent V1 #0 (flipbook FF#158, Feb. 2012) American Eagle is a member of the Sentinels of America along with other Nedor heroes. He fights alongside Fighting Yank in his own series. He appears in the N.E.D.O.R. Agents, an alternate reality in which classic heroes of the 40s band together alongside their inheritors and proteges such as Pyrogirl, Fighting Yank jr. and Candi Future. America’s Best Comics Terra Obscura V1 (1-6, 2003-2004) #1, 3, 4 Tom Strong V1 (1-36, 1999-2006) #12 American Eagle is found dead along with his sidekick Eaglet by fellow S.M.A.S.H. members Liberator and Scarab. Dynamite Entertainment Black Terror V1 (1-14, 2008-2011) #2-4 Project Superpowers V2 (preview(p), 0-12, 2009-2010) #p, 0, 1, 6-9 American Eagle is among the heroes trapped by Fighting Yank in the Urn of Pandora. Once released, he joins a taskforce of patriotic heroes at the service of President West, to defend the U.S. against subversive meta-humans like the Black Terror and Green Lama.
Copyright & trademark The copyright of America’s Best Comics #2 was renewed by Popular Library in 1969. The copyright of Exciting Comics #22-23 was renewed by Popular Library between 1969-70. All renewed copyrights were still in force on Jan. 1, 1978. The actual copyright owner of the Popular Library materials may also own them. No living “American Eagle” trademark can be related to the Better/ Nedor/Standard character, to comic books or their likeliness. For inactive “American Eagle” trademark registrations check the Copyright & Trademark section - Trademark Table.
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Public Domain Encyclopedia The Public Domain Encyclopedia (or PDE) is a book series dedicated to the lost treasures of the Golden Age comics industry, that are now freely available to all. No cost, no charge.
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Vol. I: Nedor Superheroes
Vol. II: Black Terror!
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