Post by Adminenkainen on Sept 8, 2015 16:27:06 GMT
One of the unexpected delights I had working on Supplement IV: Captains, Magicians, and Incredible Men was discovering how good some characters were that I might never have tried if not for H&H. I had read some Black Hood before, so I knew that was pretty good. Black Hood had a great nemesis in the Skull, but what really made his stories stand out was the mix of over-the-top gory violence and a light tone plus cartoony art that never allowed you to take the gore very seriously. The Shield surprised me even more for how good his early adventures were. If the Shield had a nemesis as good as the Skull, I think that would have broke him out into super-stardom.
The real big surprise for me, though, was how good Steel Sterling was. Charles Biro's pre-Crimebuster masterpiece, Steel Sterling was MLJ's answer to Superman. Steel started out in that same love triangle between a girl, his true identity, and the superhero he pretended was his twin brother (since it was so obvious they looked and sounded alike). But, while Superman's editors demanded the status quo of this triangle be maintained to a ridiculous degree, Steel realized that this duplicity was just jeopardizing his girlfriend, Dora, and he told his friends the truth about his secret identity.
Steel had a fun supporting cast. Officer Clancy was just another of the bumbling Irish cop stereotype, but Alec Looney was a pickpocket/con man who went straight to help out Steel and was the breakout star of the supporting cast.
And what villains! The Black Knight, Inferno, the Rattler -- all ordinary men in the stories, but displaying superpowers (like flame breath!) on the covers. If only Steel had really fought supervillains of the caliber they appeared to have on those covers!
The real big surprise for me, though, was how good Steel Sterling was. Charles Biro's pre-Crimebuster masterpiece, Steel Sterling was MLJ's answer to Superman. Steel started out in that same love triangle between a girl, his true identity, and the superhero he pretended was his twin brother (since it was so obvious they looked and sounded alike). But, while Superman's editors demanded the status quo of this triangle be maintained to a ridiculous degree, Steel realized that this duplicity was just jeopardizing his girlfriend, Dora, and he told his friends the truth about his secret identity.
Steel had a fun supporting cast. Officer Clancy was just another of the bumbling Irish cop stereotype, but Alec Looney was a pickpocket/con man who went straight to help out Steel and was the breakout star of the supporting cast.
And what villains! The Black Knight, Inferno, the Rattler -- all ordinary men in the stories, but displaying superpowers (like flame breath!) on the covers. If only Steel had really fought supervillains of the caliber they appeared to have on those covers!