Action Comics #1 (Non-Superman Stories) - Atop the Fourth Wall

Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. In this Patreon-sponsored episode, Linkara looks at all the stories from Action Comics #1 that didn't involve Superman!
Check out more AT4W shirts at Shark Robot: sharkrobot.com...
Title Card Art by Viga: / vigasartroom
atopthefourthwa...
/ at4w
Originally released May 25th, 2023
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: I've got a good feeling about this Scoop Scanlon guy's future!
#at4w #dc

[@breawycker]

Maybe if Zatara wore fishnet stockings, he'd be more popular too

[@davidker8820]

Hey, who knows what he wears under those trousers?

[@bgvo4373]

Or perhaps he should wear Dr. Fate’s helmet.

[@jordanloux3883]

@@davidker8820 I mean there must be a reason Tong sticks around...

[@princeshadow13]

He would need the heels that go with the fishnets though. Need to complete the look

[@philiprearich3480]

That's why God created Frank N. Furter 😁

[@DawnOfTheOzz]

*After Zatara escapes the burning house* Zatara: You done goofed. Tigress: How in the blood-soaked Protestant hell did you do that?! Zatara: Fuck you, that's how.

[@guilhermehank4938]

"I am magic. I ain't got to explain s S***"

[@SuperWolsey]

Tigress: That's it! I had enough. To hell with all you dirty heathens!!

[@WillKeaton]

Fun Fact: In _Batman: The Animated Series,_ Bruce went to Zatara to learn how to be an escape artist, which explains how Batman was able to get out of so many elaborate deathtraps.

[@jordanloux3883]

Wow, I never realized Zatanna was actually a legacy character. I knew she learned from her dad, but I always assumed he was just a mentor side character.

[@crapshot321]

Actually, back in the eighties, there was an animated cartoon with him, Flash Gorden, the Phantom and their children fighting Ming the Merciless. The eighties were WEIRD!!

[@randomhourglass5687]

@@crapshot321 that wasn't Zatara. It was Mandrake the Magician, a character from newspaper strips that was the very clear inspiration for Zatara (Mandrake is from 1934). I don't know about the US, but around the world Mandrake is a FAR more known character.

[@crapshot321]

@@randomhourglass5687 Apologies. My mistake, I've gotten the two mixed up.

[@randomhourglass5687]

@@crapshot321 They do look almost identical, easy mistake to make.

[@CrisisComics]

@@randomhourglass5687 Wonder why there's never been a Zatanna/Mandrake crossover.

[@dvass7253]

11:15-11:19 - Little did Tigress realize that the joke was on her because getting tied up and set on fire by a drop-dead gorgeous woman with a weird fashion sense was Zatara's kink.

[@Wanderingsage7]

Well he is a stage magician.

[@BronzeBoy520]

Zatara is a character people heard of... but the rest are unknown even by diehard comic fans, so it is funny how Superman just... SO OVERSHADOWED THEM ALL in the grand scheme of history.

[@fremontstreetpresents1415]

idk about unknown "even by diehard comic fans" i'm pretty diehard and i knew who Tex Thompson was.

[@jackwells8107]

@@fremontstreetpresents1415 Tex Thompson actually went on to be Mr. America and was a member of Roy Thomas' All-Star Squadron and other places into the 90s.

[@fremontstreetpresents1415]

@@jackwells8107 i know but i have yet to read all-star squadron.

[@jackwells8107]

@@fremontstreetpresents1415 I read it as it was released.... Then again, I'm old.

[@jeremytung1632]

I wouldn’t be surprised if you already know this but “Chicago Typewriter” is one of the nicknames for the Tommy Gun.

[@alex_-yz9to]

Resident evil 4 moment

[@guilhermehank4938]

​@@alex_-yz9to I was about to say it

[@fallenangelchaos]

I was about to type something about the tommy gun before i checked the comments

[@calumbishop7082]

FUN FACT's: Tex Thompson would later become/be rechristened in the comics as the super-hero Mister America, last appearing (albeit in a flashback) in 2010. Marco Polo would actually reappear a couple of times, last appearing, in a 2008 Madame Xanadu comic... also apparently a silver age tale made Jimmy Olsen a reincarnation of Marco Polo... and Spartacus, the Roman Gladiator... because Silver Age. Other than Superman, Zatara, Tex Thompson and Marco Polo, none of the other characters from Action Comics #1 have been seen since the 1940's.

[@KevinSmith-wm8td]

Zatara has received a slight resurgence in public awareness thanks to Batman TAS, who was one of the Dark Knight’s teachers in the art of escaping and more significantly in Young Justice where he is a member of the Justice League. The TAS stuff has seemingly migrated to the comics, as it would explain why Batman and Zatanna are close friends, their shared connection to Zatara. We also get a little nuggets expansion on his character in the latter, with him being an Italian immigrant named Giovanni and being a man of God, most likely Catholic. He does sacrifice himself to save his daughter but in a different sort of way. He even makes an appearance in DC Superhero Girls, so the character has been very active in media appearances this past decade or so.

[@MarioMario-vn3fx]

The Thompson submachine gun was commonly referred to as "The Chicago Typewriter." It was one of the many nicknames the weapon had.

[@TheFlyingJew13]

"As recent as 2009" and 2009 was 14 years ago.... God I feel old

[@benwasserman8223]

You think that's messed up. I had to content with the film Holes turning 20 last month - our shit is becoming nostalgic!!

[@TheFlyingJew13]

@benwasserman8223 bruh, my first horror movie I ever watched, SAW, is turning 20 next year... feels like only 2 or 3 years ago that I went to see the 10th Anniversary re-release in theaters...

[@gracekim25]

I remember holes 😶

[@Gamma_Churchill]

Sometimes it is easy to forget that Action Comics was an anthology and not a primarily superhero comic

[@ShinoSarna]

It was pretty much exclusively a superhero comic by issue 140 in 1950, with other major features being Congo Bill (who you might know as superhero Congorilla), and a sci-fi series Tommy Tomorrow (which lasted until issue 252 in 1959). Tommy Tomorrow was the last non-superhero feature to run in Action Comics.

[@calebmarmon1310]

@@ShinoSarna I’d love to watch a documentary on the history of comics that’s focused on the weird minutia and quirks that disappeared from comics over the years.

[@wanderingstorytellerj7758]

19:46 For those not in the know, the Thompson submachine gun has a bunch of nicknames, one of which is "The Chicago Typewriter" because of the sound it makes while firing. Haven't read any of Zatara's stories, but he was pretty cool in Young Justice.

[@DarkOverlord96]

Ah, yes, the Chicago Typewriter. The gun that goes best with Leon's gangster outfit in RE4.

[@gracekim25]

Yeah

[@thomasraines1396]

Leon Kennedy used it to great effect Resident Evil 4.

[@JohnnyElRed]

11:22 Zatara loosened his bonds... and somehow managed to do it while having 2 left hands. Man, he really hadn't gotten the hold of backwards magic yet, did he?

[@s1mp50n4]

I'd enjoy an Action Comics anniversary special where it's an anthology of Superman meeting and having misadventures with modern reinterpretations of the rest of these characters. And the Superman story would be everyone in one story.

[@leephillips4402]

Oh yeah, didn't they do a similar thing with Captain Marvel once.

[@andremarques4863]

Story starts with an homage to the Superman-Ali boxing match, but with Supes fighting Pep Morgan instead. Then, after that prologue, we cut to Clark watching a history film with Lois about Chuck Dawson, but he has to bail because he spots Sticky-Mitt Stinson trying to steal something from the Metropolis Museum of History, and discovers he was hired by the Tigress to steal a travel log that once belonged to Marco Polo, which apparently describes a route to locating some magical artifact or another. Though he manages to stop Stinson, Tigress' henchmen gets her hands on the log anyway. Fortunately, Superman uses his SUPER-INTELLECT to figure out where they're headed - but so does Scoop Scanlon, Ace Reporter, who thinks this might turn out to be a great, well... scoop. So he convinces captain Bret Coleman (from the text story) to take him along on his ship and follow the Tigress' gang to where they're headed. Also going are Tex Thomson, not having become Mr. America yet, who decides to go just because he's bored, and Zatara, who involves himself because he wants to stop Tigress. When they get there, they find Superman captured by the Tigress, who has already found the aforementioned magical artifact and used it against Superman, who has no defense against magic. Fortunately, Zatara uses his own magic to counter the spell affecting Superman and they all have a big team-up and stop the Tigress. There, I think that's everyone.

[@joshuafranklin1399]

Honestly I glad I click on this videos. Zatanna being my favorite DC heroine, learning that her father appeared in Action Comic #1 was a nice little bit of trivia.

[@Stargazer_Ley]

Same. Zatanna has become one of my favorite heroes and honestly she doesen't get enough love from DC and it's kind of sad. They could do so much with her.

[@eamonndeane587]

@@Stargazer_Ley I hope Zatanna gets to be a Part of James Gunn's version of the Justice League.

[@JaelinBezel]

Indeed!

[@omega1397]

It is kind of funny that Zatara was comparatively popular to a degree. He appeared on a few covers front and center, he even had that little badge ad on the cover. You know, "more adventures of Superman and Zatara in this book". Now he is just... Zatanna's Dad. I've read quite a bit of Zatara's golden age stories and I can see why, he's a lil bit different compared to the other magician heroes of the day, his stories were a bit more high concept crazy adventures than others but ultimately his stories are eh, a mixed bag, some are fun, some are not, so it is understandable he became more of a concept rather than something beloved. Just tapering off, the gradual lack of interest for magician characters contributed too, I'm sure. Also there's a lot of racism. More than usual in the other golden age pre-ww2 comics I read. Zatara just went around terrorising indigenous populations with his magic and stealing their shit lol. And the Dalai Lama was a villain bent on world domination at one point. As an aside, I feel confident enough to say that Zatara featured the first lesbian couple in comics. At least in superhero comics.

[@cjhedrick6418]

Now THAT'S a case of early-installment weirdness: Zatara without a mustache.

[@wstine79]

It's interesting to see Linkara talk about some old western comics. Those were the superheroes of the 50s in popularity and over saturation.

[@ShinoSarna]

And a sign that every genre needs to adapt and change, or be forgotten and left behind.

[@bluespaceman7937]

That was what our grandparents and older parents read and saw, yes.

[@mattr75]

If this was Zatara's first appearance, I wonder if we'll see Zatanna's first appearance covered in the future too

[@thomasraines1396]

That would be cool.

[@shino4242]

I think Zatannas first appearance was as a secondary character in someone elses and we technically have seen it reviewed here...I just cant remember who it was or what issue/video

[@joshuaingobo1559]

@@shino4242 Zatanna first appeared in an issue of Hawkman.

[@Hawbitten]

I wonder if Tong will get a reinvention that turns him into a fan-favourite the way the MCU did with Wong.

[@sarafontanini7051]

I could see him in two ways: being pissed at being Zatara's servant and using magic to get his revenge on the world OR see Zatara as a friend who saved him from slavery and treated him as a friend and equal.

[@OverlyPositiveFanboy]

@@sarafontanini7051 I'd prefer the second. Maybe he'd be an uncle figure to Zatanna.

[@jordanloux3883]

@@OverlyPositiveFanboy Plus you could have fun explaining where Tong has been. Maybe he's been serving as a mentor to his own magical pupil, or playing a big role as a lynchpin in the world of magic in the DCU.

[@carloszapata847]

Fun fact: Wong was played by Benedict Wong, who had also played the Mongol emperor to whose court Marco Polo and his father were travelling to in this comic (Kubulai Khan).

[@ssj4jason737]

If Secret Origins Month ever returns I hope he covers Giant Sized X-Men #1 which was the introduction of three notable members being Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus

[@rodimusriderv2368]

And Thunderbird 1

[@legoking6165]

Oh absolutely!

[@FusionFullForce]

My wish is for My Greatest Adevnture #80 for the debut of the DOOM PATROL and Mister Miracle #1 for The World's Greatest Escape Artist and the Escape God himself, Mister Miracle

[@clarktooncrossing3975]

Funny, I was JUST watching the Secret Origins Month episode of Superman last week, wondering if you'd ever get around to those side stories that nobody remembers. Glad to see you eventually got around to that. Also, Zatara vs Linkara in a Magic Gun Duel!

[@TyasLooksAt]

Love that the writer for the Tex Thomson sets the story in 'england' and then just ignores that completely by having a sherrif as part of the police and then has them armed as well.

[@lancerutt9936]

Okay so i'm the one who requested this episode and I literally did not know that story took place in England until this review

[@BlameThande]

I blame Errol Flynn.

[@MajaBiana]

There are also suddenly a lot of mountains in England...

[@krankarvolund7771]

21:20 The famous sheriffs of the english countryside :p Apparently, England still has sheriffs, but they're high-ranking positions which have mainly ceremonial reasons, not the kind of officers that would be the first to answer a murder accusation ^^'

[@newageprometheus]

NGL, I really enjoy when you cover Golden/Silver Age comics. The plot, dialogue, and narration are so goofy that it lends to more jokes.

[@stonekidman2306]

My only knowledge of Zatara was the animated Young Justice where he’s under control Nabu. Zatanna gets to talk & interact with her father once a year for like fifteen minutes before he has to put the helmet back on and become Dr fate where he has no more autonomy. It’s absolutely heart breaking.

[@rodimusriderv2368]

Same

[@sarafontanini7051]

that's a...odd change. because Dr Fate and Zatara are usually entirely seperate, unrelaed characters.

[@allanolley4874]

@@sarafontanini7051 They were completely separate characters (and Zatara had his own magic, was already a member of the justice league etc.) at the start of the the Young Justice cartoon. There was a whole subplot weaved through several episodes of the first season of Young Justice involved in getting the helmet on Zatara's head and the once a year thing only happens after that. Technically Kent Nelson was Doctor Fate in the show at the start of the first season, but he was old and inactive and never appeared on screen as Fate, some other characters wear the helmet briefly along the way..

[@lonewolf6884]

@21:23 "He punched the Sheriff, but he didn't knockout the deputy!"

[@tamirshimshoni8185]

14:31 Ah yes, Babylonians. Those are people that were around in the 13th Century. Yep. No need to fact check it, Action Comics was well known for its historical accuracy.

[@buchiklop110]

Granted, it was still revolving around Zatanna, but it's amusing hearing Linkara talk about nobody caring about Zatara when his plot was pretty heartbreaking in the Young Justice cartoon. A little surprised they haven't tried to bring him back to take over as Dr. Fate.

[@gregcourtney751]

Eh he was a major part of dark justice league's rebirth story. It was a retread of the sacrifice thing but he was alive. Also while nabu has some control and can take control if he wants but comics fates usually work with him. It's more of a give and take thing. That jl dark story even had nabu and other order lords as villains for an arc. Afterwards Nelson refuses to take the helmet but his apprentice takes it and is fine

[@jamesadamsfl]

I kind of like the trio of Zatara, Tong, and Brady. It’s an interesting setup: a well-dressed white guy magic-user and a mundane minority who can still take the bad guys on hand-to-Hand and seems to have good investigative instincts (as opposed to making the non-white “exotic” guy be the mystical), plus an actual detective to work from the official side of things. I kind of wish this trio had gotten to have more adventures together. Antarctica wouldn’t be the worst place Tex could’ve gone; he could have met the Elder Things!

[@Goatcha_M]

Still wondering why he summoned a First-Aid-Kit rather than just healing the wound.

[@TLAF923]

Ge had detective Brown absorb the first aid kit to restore his health.

[@wanderingstorytellerj7758]

Maybe it's easier to conjure a first-aid kit than cast healing magic? Most series do make that one of the harder branches.

[@ShinoSarna]

7:09 This trope is also origin of Wong from Dr Strange. In fact judging by similarity of the names, I wonder if he was directly inspired by Tong...

[@Pikachu132]

Kind of. Both Tong and Wong are very blatantly inspired/stolen from Mandrake the Magician's assistant Lothar.

[@benwasserman8223]

Gotta wonder how many of these anthology characters DC retconned into its superhero lore. Or at least made them a world erased by Crisis on Infinite Earths.

[@B.-T.]

And in Action Comics #2, Pep Morgan is a baseball player and Tex Thomson takes on a Yellow Peril Cyclops. And later on, Tex'd grow a mustache, don a domino mask and become Mr. America.

[@Pikachu132]

Yeah. Pep Morgan wasn't a boxing series, it was a series about an all-star athlete that was doing boxing in this particular story, but different sports in others. He was a baseball player in his original debut story too.

[@jeremy1860]

I never read this comic myself, but I do vividly remember being introduced to it on the news way back in the 90s. This, along with a bunch of other classics, were sold for thousands or even millions by people who'd held onto them since childhood, and that basically kicked the door down and cemented the idea of old comics being seen as valuable collectors items 😊

[@thephantomproductions]

Yeah, I remember Johnny West. What I didn't know was that Zatanna had a superhero dad.

[@digitaltailsmon4096]

It’s funny how you mentioned blue beetle but never mentioned how all the heroes here besides supes was incapacitated the same way. “Knock to the head!” It’s super effective to anyone from a police officer /superhero to a cowboy.

[@DigiRangerScott]

I did love the Young Justice iteration of Zatara, having to take up the mantle of Doctor Fate to save her, and Zatanna, after all the time jumps the series did, trying to free him so he can live the rest of his life as himself.

[@skyslasher2297]

8:46 Only now I’m asking why the first aid kit can’t he just use magic to heal him? Or are bullets just immune to magic and I just didn’t know.

[@sarafontanini7051]

acccoring to One More Day they are! : D only the devil can fix a bullet wound!

[@EmperorSeth]

Him using magic to summon a first aid kit is so hilarious to me. Imagine a magician who does that sort of thing for every problem. "You're starving? I shall use my miraculous abilities to create out of thin air ... a Jewel Gift Card with $30 on it!"

[@CasualKing21]

ALGORITHM ENGAGEMENT SQUAD... ENGAGE!!!

[@zumby101]

AYE CAPTAIN! MAXIMUM ENGAGMENT

[@HeirofAzaran]

Yo ho! Yo ho! I am being engaging for the algorithm!

[@joshuarichmond2688]

Engaged

[@johnhodson3433]

Engaged!!

[@RaccoonRevolution]

It's really interesting to go back to this period. None of the 'rules' really existed yet so you're basically watching these guys throwing everything they can think of at the wall and seeing what sticks.

[@SSecularScholar]

The Thompson Submachine-gun (The Tommy gun) was called colloquially as the Chicago Typewriter as well. Don’t know if that may have been a period play on words at that point.

[@tunafour-shoes4618]

for the Zatara has a Gun bit, I thought you were gonna use the "It's got One spell! BANG!" clip from Stephanie Sterling. :D

[@bobbuethe1477]

In Action Comics #33, Tex Thomson became the superhero "Mr. America" (aka "The Americommando"). He was a major figure in James Robinson's 1993 Elseworlds miniseries, "The Golden Age."

[@arthroku-juroku8481]

wow i love learning about old school obscure style comic book stories like these!

[@Flintandsteel1625]

It's interesting to hear that Zatara is dead in the comics and has stayed dead. My only exposure to him is in the Young Justice animated show, where he is not only still alive but is also the host body for Doctor Fate.

[@thomasraines1396]

That’s my main exposure to him as well.

[@eamonndeane587]

He also briefly appeared in a Flashback in Zatanna's debut episode in Batman: The Animated Series.

[@Rat-Baby]

Linkara, I just re-discovered your channel after many years. I loved your show when I was in college and I'm glad you're still making great videos. Keep up the good work!

[@Rixec2]

I just love how well your humor works with golden and silver age writing. XD Additionally, I think more fans these days are familiar with Zatara as a character thanks to being a supporting character in both the Young Justice cartoon and in the webcomic Zatanna & the Ripper. Also, what do you think Chuck's bounty is by now? Twelve dollars?

[@gregcourtney751]

Yeah I think it fits linkara's point. When Zatara does show up it's usually to be support for zantanna and/or given death or a similar fate Ala young justice to make her sad. He's seen as a part of zantanna's lore more than his own character.

[@furonguy42]

I really liked this as a format - a bit like a Comic Book Quickies episode but on a theme. It would be interesting to see "Golden Age Anthology comics" like Action or Detective comics become a recurring feature on AT4W.

[@joeblaster8770]

19:46 funny joke but Tommy guns were called typewriters back then because of the sound they made.

[@ignoranceandcrisps]

Fun fact: while the title of sheriff does still exist in England, it refers to a ceremonial civic official, not a law enforcement officer. That guy should have been a Chief Constable.

[@bmlgordon]

I was also amused by all the guns, since British police at the time were not armed, and handguns were really rare in the UK. Most likely firearms would have been for hunting birds or rabbits.

[@jeremyborder6794]

Sheriff is actually derived from Shire Reeve. Reeves were tax collectors in England & had the power to gather a posse to chase after tax dodgers

[@peggyliepmann5248]

I recently read Madame Xanadu volume 1 (thank you local library!), where Zatara was a supporting character and Madame Xanadu's fling in the 1940's, and he seemed like an interesting character.

[@VerdantRange]

Based on what I know about the unified rules of boxing established by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combat Sports (Which is watching Bumbles McFumbles' Punch-Out videos), the only liquids allowed to be applied to boxers are an adrenaline solution, thrombin, and avitene. However, to my knowledge, that's meant to be applied only to the boxers' bodies and not their gloves.

[@ShinyGaara65]

Scoop Scanlon made me think we'd get a few Legend of Vox Machina jokes involving Scanlan Shorthalt, bard magician extraordinaire. :p

[@faishiro5009]

A REVIEW FOR MY BIRTHDAY, Lewis I know you read these so thank you so much for working so hard and getting me such a good cherry on the top of my day.

[@faishiro5009]

also it is always good to see the trans and pride cybermatts, like good to see your support up front and in the form of Doctor Who.

[@krystlvines]

I remember johnny west. but then again, I recently did a complete rewatch of the show

[@TerminalSports45]

8:27 Not only that but that train's hauled by a steam engine, he'd be getting smoke in their eyes if it were going fast enough. 9:44 Fun fact, chalk marks are an actual thing in railroading. The yard workers would use the chalk to make little pictures or stylized words to communicate with workers in other yards. Now what the messages say are never really clear but I will decipher this one... It seems that this guy wanted to tell his buddy in Schenectady, NY where he could find his missing stash of porn magazines

[@Xecryo]

It's always kinda weird to me how some older characters still crop up or get adapted into the superhero universes of Marvel/DC. Like "Here's a man from Krypton how has other worldly powers." alongside "Here's a guy guy dresses as a cowboy and wields two six shooters." both in present day metropolis. And it's still happening with Conan the Barbarian have just left Marvel's control and it wasn't just a Conan title, he was on the Avengers.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

0:52 thanks for the headstart and warning and tease of upcoming content 5:52 the other hero introduced in this story. People who watched the show Young Justice might recognizce him 12:21 this made me laugh for a reason 17:02 "1930's Casual racism!"

[@ChristyAbbey]

Gotta say, having read Action from 1 to (so far) 311 (thank you to The Microfiche Project of the 1980s!), going back to the early ones is... interesting(?). I'd forgotten the boxer dude, though it's interesting to have two Fred Guardineer stories. Also, how you missed that Tex Thomson became Mister America and then the wonderfully named Americommando; why it's almost like that's a silly remnant of the Golden Age! He got to be the villain in the Elseworlds "The Golden Age" (sort of; no spoilers), and got killed off in the first issue of JSA 2007... and I just looked at the Wikipedia page after typing all that, and it looks like I'm imitating the same beats, so I'll hush now. (I do remember Chuck Dawson having a satisfying ending some issues down the line, but I don't remember what it was, so I was satisfied to forget, I guess.)

[@Pikachu2Ash]

1:02 Guess this makes up for a lack of Secret Origins month this year and last. I was really excited for this review when I saw it being shown on "The State of the Wall" schedule and was curious about some of the other super heroes being showcased in the book. Funny you mention someone saying you would eventually come back and look at the other story as you kinda alluded to doing so in the original review. 6:33 Didn't stop Young Justice from using him as a main character for a while before they gave him the same fate. 7:00 Also funny enough the name Tigress would be used as a alter ego for Artemis in later seasons of Young Justice. 27:19 I'm guessing your saving the "South Sea Strategy", "Stardust" and "Odds 'N Ends". mini stories for a comic book quickie episode? You could really tell by that end card that Lewis was really struggling to make any jokes about these pretty average golden age stories. 🤷‍♂

[@CsBTransition]

Feels like the first time I’ve heard about these stories!

[@mitchellalexander9162]

Honestly I'd kind of Want a Retrospective Tracing the Action Comics Stars they weren't Superman and how Action Comics phased the other Stars out to the point that it became Superman's Exclusive Book. Might be a Fascinating thing to trace the Runs and Disappearances of Chuck Dawson, Tex Thomson, Zatara, Pep Morgan and others and how they evolved and then went away over time.

[@Mario_Angel_Medina]

He-he-he... "Texan Nerve Pitch"

[@TheInkPitOx]

If you ever revive Secret Origins Month, I hope you include She-Hulk

[@wanderingstorytellerj7758]

It'll be back next year. He didn't do it last year because he got swamped by all the Halloween/Longbox videos and this year because it's the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who.

[@legoking6165]

Yeah!

[@jagger2313]

This is pretty cool, I hope he does the same for the other anthology comics he looked at over secret origins month

[@DigiRangerScott]

Oh I totally had that attitude with music albums as a kid. Don’t familiarize yourself with any of the OTHER songs on the album, just keep listening to the popular ones you know!

[@lorddrayvon1426]

Two things about Tex Thomson’s story. Firstly, it may seem odd for English police to have guns but they didn’t stop carrying them as standard issue until the 60’s. Also, given this is the 30’s, the killers will likely hang for the murder since England had the death penalty until 1969. That guy running despite knowing he’d be shot suddenly makes more sense, doesn’t it?

[@Dangeresque300]

19:46-19:50 I get that you're just joking, but there is a historical explanation for this odd bit of dialogue. One of the many nicknames given to the Thompson Submachine Gun (mostly known by its nickname of "Tommy Gun") was "the Chicago Typewriter", so named for its association with the Chicago Mafia during Prohibition and the rapid, rattling noise the gun made when firing.

[@crithon]

oh wow, I love these retro comics. They may age badly, but still charming. Good stuff.

[@pistaalkohol]

I didn't realise that Zatara debuted with Superman.

[@zexalbrony4799]

22:28-22:37: I remember a lot of things about Comic Book Quickies, there fun. Like that other shoe-wearing hero who danced and kicked someone all the way to another planet or outer space. Can't wait for the next one.

[@ellnats]

i know about zatara because he appears in Young Justice (the cartoon not the comic) and is a current host of Dr Fate also i think The Tigress is actually artemes' mother in that same show and basically artemes becomes the new tigress

[@LORDOFDORKNESS42]

Hey~, the Adventures of Marco Polo comic! Neat. Haven't seen that one mentioned... ever. Ran as a backup for a while in the Swedish *The Phantom* comic book. My mom had/has a ton of old issues, I used to read as a kid, and it would be used as page filler every now and then. Was pretty OK for a semi-history based comic! But yeah, rather dry and straightforward a retelling of the travelogue, as Linkara said. Not surprised it's mostly forgotten. Did have some good art now and then, though, at least for the time. Like a page with these... silver tomb towers, something, that stuck in my memory.

[@jamesoblivion]

I actually really like this. The debut stories of characters like Superman and Batman have been reprinted so many times, but the other contents of anthology issues like Action Comics #1 or Detective Comics #27 are largely overlooked. Hell, The Case of the Chemical Syndicate, Batman's debut, took up only six pages of the latter.

[@kaicreech7336]

12:28 The Harry Dresden school of magic.

[@ninjaconsultantsixshot]

Tex Thompson to me will always be the guy in James Robinson’s The Golden Age who got his body taken over by the Ultrahumanite .

[@quantamdefender]

That was an interesting little collection of stories. It'll be a shame to miss out on Secret Origins month again as I've tended to particularly look forward to that, but as a Doctor Who fan almost on par with you a month dedicated to that sounds even better!

[@JepMasta]

If I remember correctly “Chicago typewriter” is an old Timey nickname for a Tommy gun

[@shino4242]

I never knew that Zatara was tied for "oldest comic book super hero" with Supes. Wow.

[@thewalrusclown]

22:35: yeah, I do remember him, I've been watching you almost as long as your show has existed, I think I discovered your show around the time you put up your Newmen #1 review.

[@umabomber]

Judo was super popular as a catch all for a guy who knows how to fight back then. Everyone knew Judo. It's why the Austin Powers Judo Chop joke exists. Cause Judo was mysterious and exotic so therefore cooler than boxing or similar. It's the everyman hero starting kit. Smarts enough to think of a "clever" solution, a gimmick, and Judo. They even had Dr. Strange doing Judo.... You know the car accident victim whose hands were constantly in pain. Hank Pym famously used Judo on ants. Captain America used it on a Vietnamese sumo wrestler who was also an evil warlord. I'm pretty sure Batman and Robin have lots of panels specifically stating they are using Judo to defeat various criminals. etc etc... It's really funny that it was clearly trend chasing and just forgot the setting Judo would be extremely rare outside Japan at the time. If he said Kung Fu, or another primarily Chinese style, I would buy that he learned it off a Chinese railroad worker or the like, but Kung Fu was old and busted and Judo was the new hotness of the time.

[@MadisonCarter]

I dare someone to Patreon him to do an episode JUST on the prose story from the issue.

[@amyvillanueva3442]

He probably do it on a comic book quickies

[@Spatu10]

WHADDYA MEAN ZATARA PREDATES BATMAN?

[@legogodzilla]

"Turn Gun Into Banana" - I see that Giorno Giovanna wasn't the first to pull this trick, though his stint had a far different outcome.

[@kylebrown5101]

The Tommy gun had many nickname one them is called Chicago typewriter. The others are Chicago piano, trench boom, and trench sweeper.

[@JLT0087]

Thought the 1897 model shotgun was the trench broom.

[@kylebrown5101]

@@JLT0087close but it is called trench gun though.

[@sebastiangreenan1774]

I remember Johnny West and was waiting for you to mention him, well done sir.

[@StepperBox]

19:21 holy heck, is that a Buster Keten pose? I swear that is an exact pose the commedian did fod a shot!

[@BlackScarabFilmZ]

2:34 Well, Nazi Germany was *over there*, and we all know Superman's thoughts on *over there*.

[@nathanplante4570]

Getting caught up on these videos while discovering the utter glorious masterpiece that is the song "Herald of Darkness" from Alan Wake II is....Quite the experience.

[@Aliraldd992]

Maybe the story in Sandman about Marco Polo is an image to action comic #1

[@leephillips4402]

Super progressive of Zatara having a female Archenemy he dosen't have sexual tension with.

[@sarafontanini7051]

Scoop Scanlon is the most confused of the lot, his reporter nature feels super tacked on and unrelated to him busting down criminalss. Feels more like he shoud've been a cop or something. honestly I think ironically Pep Morgan is the msot interesting of these guys since his story had some small (if rushed) mystery and a unique spin to it about uncovering the methods of a crooked doctor cheating his way though figths for...reasons.

[@mesektet5776]

Maybe Zatara *did* summon Tong from the bathroom - that's why he's never wearing a short - he just got out of the shower.

[@chengarqordath]

That Marco Polo comic was like a ridiculous history mad-libs of completely unrelated things from different millennia. Khazars and Babylonians, and Marco apparently being Aremenian instead of Venetian, and the Pope is in Acre instead of Rome...

[@bigslim7777]

Action comics #1000 should have had a run on these stories too.

[@ellnats]

19:43 so THAT'S why its called the Chicago Typewriter in RE4

[@danielbrant6740]

"Ecin gnitoohs, xet."