With the end of the year approaching, I was feeling a bit nostalgic. Having to spend a good portion of this year stuck indoors, this nostalgia reminded me of a time when the world appeared to be filled with adventurers who gained incredible abilities and discovered amazing items throughout the world. It seemed like everyone’s neighbor was going to be admitted into the National Geographic Hall of Fame and it all took place in the pages of one very special title! DC Comics very own Strange Adventures!
While being the title to feature such new and exciting characters as Buddy Baker’s Animal Man and Boston Brand’s Deadman, the title as featured tales featuring lesser know explorers but nevertheless equally important daredevils! Who could forget a name like Cliff Battles who discovered a mystical belt in Strange Adventures #166 that allowed him to split into two beings. One glowing Red, the other blue. Cliff proved popular enough to reappear in issue #203. And if the blue/red glowing split beings sounds familiar, might I direct you to Superman #162 (original series).
What about Professor Ian Carter, whose Bio-Ray changes him into the bizarre Crazy-Quilt Man! Just in time, I might add to save Earth from an alien invasion! As the Crazy-Quilt Man, this character must have driven the colorist insane as the yellows and greens involved in his new form is not pleasant. As is the fact the cover artist depicted the character having both body hair and fish scales! This did not stop the intrepid scientist from halting the alien invasion and curing himself of a deadly virus!
How about Paul Gibson, Astronomer? While Peary discovered the the North Pole in 1909 and Amundsen found the South Pole in 1911, Gibson was forced to discover the West Pole and save the Earth. Gibson did it without mystic gear or Bio-Rays. He was simply an observant adventurer and the best part of his tale is that as he finishes up the narration of his tale, he points out the mad scrabble of others to discover the East Pole.
Although it was over 40+ years ago, the 1960’s were wall to wall ordinary people who did the extraordinary and we had the talented artists and writers of the 1960’s to document them all! Cave Carson and his team, Rip Hunter and his team, the Challengers of the Unknown, the Fantastic 4 made us all want to grow up to explore the world! And as we enter a new year dealing with the events of this one, I hope that everyone gets a chance to stop by your nearest Graham Crackers Comics location or order on line a back issue or two and get inspired. Happy New Year everyone!
