Blackhawk And Red Kryptonite

You know what's really nuts??

Silver Age Blackhawk, that's what's really nuts!!

When DC took over Blackhawk from Quality in 1957, they didn't want to go back and tell WWII stories. They didn't want to tell Cold War stories, or military stories. So what, exactly, was left?

DC Silver Age insanity, that's what.

Oh, there were still some rollicking adventure tales, Blackhawk treasure hunting tales, Blackhawk fighting crime stories, Blackhawk occasionally flying planes, even.

But those stories are never the ones that made the covers, though. The more insane and fantastical the story, the more likely it was to be the one selling the issue on the newsstands. Aliens, dinosaurs, undersea creatures, genies, super-villains, time travel, you name it.

Oh, they weren't deceptive covers--every scene from the covers I'm showing you actually appeared in the issue...and was usually even more insane. On some level they were even more insane than the covers of DC's still-young superhero line--which is crazy, because these were the Blackhawks!! I mean, you wouldn't take this approach with Sgt Rock, would you? But while DC kept him firmly rooted in WWII, war heroes the Blackhawks became Silver Age heroes-lite.

Oh, and there was one other major theme of Blackhawk covers of the day:

Blackhawk himself getting superpowers and undergoing radical transformations.

I swear, in that era Bart Hawk went through more transformations that Superman in a room full of red kryptonite.

Oh, and in this story, he not only turned into an actual alien, he turned into a GIANT alien.

And, most importantly, these Blackhawk stories operated under the magic of...DC SCIENCE:

Gorillas afraid of toy reptiles is just...perfect.

Happy 2011, everyone!