All-American Comics

(DC, 1939-1948)
™ and © DC Comics

This title, which originally featured strip reprints, humor pieces, and adventure stories, became famous when it shifted to a primarily super-hero focus. Green Lantern made his debut in All-American Comics #16, followed shortly after by Doctor Mid-Nite. Green Lantern gained a comic-relief sidekick a year after his debut with the introduction of Doiby Dickles, a taxi driver with a thick Brooklyn accent. Memorable villains also made their debut in this series, including Solomon Grundy, and Harlequin, a femme fatale who would become something of an arch-nemesis (and romantic interest!) of Green Lantern’s.

Green Lantern’s story began as engineer Alan Scott was working on a railroad bridge when it was blown up by a jealous competitor. When he managed to drag himself out of the wreckage, he came across a strange green lantern which began to speak to him. The lantern told Scott that it had originally been a meteor which fell to Earth. It was later carved into first a Chinese lamp, then into an engineer’s lantern. Its purpose was to imbue its owner with power that would be used to fight against evil. Scott followed the lantern’s instructions to create a ring from the lantern’s material, and to “recharge” the ring every day by touching it against the lantern.

With this ring, Scott became the Green Lantern, one of DC’s first super-heroes, and a founding member of the Justice Society of America. Among his powers were flight, the ability to walk through walls, and invulnerability to virtually any sort of attack. He had one weakness: things that were yellow (including wooden bats, cudgels, etc.) could penetrate his shields. As a result, Green Lantern ended up getting bonked on the head perhaps more than any other hero.

As super-heroes faded following World War II, All-American Comics recast itself once more, becoming All-American Western with issue #103.

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#16 Variation A (2023 Facsimile Edition Cover A by Sheldon Moldoff)

December, 2023
Cover Price: $6.99
5 copies available from $3.25

Bill Finger, Robert Ripley, Bud Fisher, Gene Byrnes, Edwin Alger, Carl Claudy, Sheldon Mayer

Martin Nodell, Jon Elby, Bud Fisher, Gene Byrnes, Edwin Alger, Sheldon Mayer, Don Shelby, Robert Ripley, William Smith, Stan Aschmeier