Tuesday, January 5, 2016

A Place In The World!

No snark today about an important comic book:

In late 1945, as injured veterans were coming home from the war and trying to fit back into civilian life, the National Institute for the Handicapped asked DC to do a special comic. They rushed the story into print--apparently the stories for issues #28 and #29 were already done, but everyone wanted this issue out as soon as possible.

We start with Fred Monday, big time athlete:

Fred's younger brother, Jimmy, is confined to a wheelchair (no reason was given).

Fred is, well, kind of a jerk in his feeling towards Jimmy:



Well, after a little trip to the European Theater...

...Fred finds himself with a handicap. And he starts to see things from the other side:





Well, when the Justice Society of America comes to visit Fred's hospital, he secures a meeting with them:




The JSAers have a particularly super-heroic plan:



So Hawkman flies out to Louisiana, where some thieves are using the swamps to escape during some daring robberies.
Ed Laviere suffers from polio, but his knowledge of the swamps and his strong swimming ability help Hawkman bust the goons.


Meanwhile, in "the Northwest," a scumbag is trying to buy up timber land, and using arson to punish those who won't sell.

Young Hal Poroski may be blind...

...but with Dr. Mid-Nite's help, he saves his father's land, captures the crooks, and...

In New Mexico, Sven Lundquist is having a bad time:



In a Scooby Doo plot, extortionists are posing as a Zuni god to demand tribute. With Green Lantern's help, Sven uses his knowledge of local customs and history to nip that in the bud, and...


In "Big City," Anthony Cellini is going deaf, but is too ashamed to let his teachers and classmates know:



His courage (and lip-reading ability) help Wildcat bust up a gang of jewel thieves!


"Out West," Tommy O'Leary isn't taken seriously because of his stutter:


He helps Johnny Thunder thwart a gang of rustlers, and...


Meanwhile, in Hollywood...

Billy Yancy can't get anyone to take his writing seriously. The only agent he could find is actually using the mysteries he writes as blueprints for real-life crimes!!

That ends quickly, with the Flash's help:



And the JSA members return home to tell Frank and Jimmy of their successes:




So:

A worthy lesson and reminder for all of us.

From All-Star Comics #27 (1945). Script by Gardner Fox. Art by Martin Naydel (framing sequences and Flash story), Joe Kubert (Hawkman), Stan Aschmeier (Dr. Mid-Nite and Johnny Thunder), Paul Reinman (Green Lantern) and Jon Chester Kozlak (Wildcat).

The issue is available on Comixology, for less than the price of your coffee this morning, if you wish to read the whole thing.

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