| Issue | #36 |
| Published | August-September 1947 |
| Cover Price | 0.10 |
| Pages | 52 |
| Editing | Sheldon Mayer (Editorial Director); (Julius Schwartz (story editor) |
| Notes | Scripter Gardner Fox reports writing the unpublished JSA tale, "The Men of Magnifica," in November of 1945, he believes for All-Star #38, and was paid for the story. Clearly, the basic structure and other elements of that story are found in the "5 Drowned Men." Thus this issue's story is most likely a drastically revised script by Julius Schwartz, with some re-writing by Robert Kanigher, of "the Men of Magnifica" story by Gardner Fox. The cover was done either by a DC production staffer or one of the artists involved, working at a light table, using character mock-ups by various artists, who then re-drew, drew over or pasted them up to make the cover we see [and I believe him to be Irwin Hasen]. The figures of Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Dr. Mid-Nite seem to be tracings of Hasen figures, the Flash figure seems to be a paste-up of a Lee Elias figure, Hawkman is a photostat or paste-up of a Joe Kubert figure, while Superman and Batman appear to be by Hasen, possibly re-touched by John Belfi to give them the look of those done by Wayne Boring and Win Mortimer, and pasted on the cover by Hasen or the production department. All credits, notes and synopses added by Craig Delich (Jan. 2006). Irwin Hasen confirms that he did the cover in a conversation with Dr. Jeff McLaughlin, 10/20/2006. |
| Characters | Dr. Mid-Nite; Wonder Woman; Superman; Batman; Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Flash [Jay Garrick] (all as the Justice Society of America/JSA) |
| Genre | superhero |
| Pencils | (see notes section) |
| Inks | (see notes section) |
| Notes | Scripter Gardner Fox reports writing the unpublished JSA tale, "The Men of Magnifica," in November of 1945, he believes for All-Star #38, and was paid for the story. Clearly, the basic structure and other elements of that story are found in the "5 Drowned Men." Thus this issue's story is most likely a drastically revised script by Julius Schwartz, with some re-writing by Robert Kanigher, of "the Men of Magnifica" story by Gardner Fox. The cover was done either by a DC production staffer or one of the artists involved, working at a light table, using character mock-ups by various artists, who then re-drew, drew over or pasted them up to make the cover we see [and I believe him to be Irwin Hasen]. The figures of Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Dr. Mid-Nite seem to be tracings of Hasen figures, the Flash figure seems to be a paste-up of a Lee Elias figure, Hawkman is a photostat or paste-up of a Joe Kubert figure, while Superman and Batman appear to be by Hasen, possibly re-touched by John Belfi to give them the look of those done by Wayne Boring and Win Mortimer, and pasted on the cover by Hasen or the production department. All credits, notes and synopses added by Craig Delich (Jan. 2006). Irwin Hasen confirms that he did the cover in a conversation with Dr. Jeff McLaughlin, 10/20/2006. |
| Reprinted | in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |
| Characters | Superman; Batman; Flash [Jay Garrick]; Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Dr. Mid-Nite; Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Wonder Woman (all as the Justice Society of America/JSA, all inset); Calvin Stymes; Ed Findley; Mat Matwell; Saul Philpotts; Archie Erdner; Ben Stanley. |
| Synopsis | The scene is a western ranch where Calvin Stymes is hosting his five college and fraternity brothers around a campfire, and he is telling them a strange story about the dried out river bed they were camping in. According to old Indian legend, the name of the stream that runs through it is called Koehaha, which means stream of ruthlessness, and it only runs once every one hundred years....but when it does, terrible things happen. Calvin goes on to explain that anyone who drowns in the river doesn't really die, but neither does he come back to life, for the water washes away a man's better nature and replaces it with a ruthless nature. He would become a man possessed with evil desires.....much like the bloody men of the old West, who still lived when the stream last ran. Stymes asks each man what they would do in their professional lives if they, in fact, would drown in the river, and each explain in detail what they might do. After their discussion, all get ready to turn in for the night....but Stymes moves out of the bed and onto the bank, telling the others that he would sleep easier. After apologizing to Calvin for the prank they pulled on him twenty years before at college, that caused his hair to turn white and his stuttering speech, they all turn in. A few hours later, a rumbling is heard, and the five awake to see water rushing down the dry river bed at them. But they cannot escape and water soon covers them.....all as Calvin Stymes walks away musing that at last "It's Begun!" |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Gardner F. Fox & Sheldon Mayer (original co-plotters); Julius Schwartz; Robert Kanigher? |
| Pencils | Irwin Hasen [as Hasen] (signed) |
| Inks | Irwin Hasen [as Hasen] (signed) |
| Notes | This is the second JSA story featuring Superman and Batman together since issue #7, where they had minor roles. The inset heads of the JSAers on page 1 are paste-ups by the hero's solo artists (the same head shots of Flash, Hawkman, Green Lantern and Dr. Mid-Nite will be used on the Junior JSA certificate advertised beginning in All-Star #37). The prologue was probably re-written from the Fox script by Schwartz from what was intended to be an interlude found later in the issue, which accounts for it having no title, and displacing the real opening to the book, now found as the introduction, with the usual JSA meeting. |
| Reprinted | in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (DC, 1980 series) #3 (July-August 1980); in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |
| Characters | Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Wonder Woman; Flash [Jay Garrick]; Dr. Mid-Nite; Superman; Batman(all as the Justice Society of America/JSA) |
| Synopsis | Due to a rash of strange and explosive new crimes, the JSA calls an emergency meeting, only to discover that two of its members, the Atom and Johnny Thunder, can't participate. Johnny has been so bold as to ask JSA honorary member, Superman, to take his place....and the members are literally shocked when the Man of Steel shows up! In the midst of that surprise, into the room walks one Bruce Wayne, who has just come from the bedside of injured Al Pratt. When questioned, Wayne tells the members that he has a replacement for the Atom....if they are interested. Skeptical, the memberss are in for another shock when the JSA's other honorary member, the Batman, walks in! Hawkman begins talking of the unusual crimes that fostered this emergency meeting, and Superman even suggests that, if the JSA has a clue or two, that he'd like to work with Batman on the case. Wonder Woman shows the members a letter she has received from "a well-wisher" stating that the crimess committed are not the work of master criminal, but of five respected professional men that are listed in the letter. This fact, coupled with a newspaper clipping of five men drowning and coming back to life....the same five men mentioned in the letter, spur the JSA members to split up and head for the cities where the crimes have been committed. Green Lantern decides to try and locate one Calvin Stymes, who was a member of the hunting party the five otherss were a part of, but before any of the members leave, Wonder Woman gives each one minature mental radios from Paradise Island, incase she needs to make contact. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Gardner F. Fox & Sheldon Mayer (original co-plotters); Julius Schwartz; Robert Kanigher |
| Pencils | Irwin Hasen |
| Inks | Irwin Hasen |
| Notes | Bruce Wayne must obviously know the Atom's secret ID if Al Pratt couldn't attend the meeting, a fact confirmed by Green Lantern's dialogue, and an anomaly. The roll call found on the splash page was obviously photostated from that found in All-Star #35, which featured Johnny Thunder and Atom. Clearly the introduction is a re-write and was perhaps drawn later than the prologue, possibly after it was decided to insert Superman and Batman. |
| Reprinted | in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (DC, 1980 series) #3 (July-August 1980); in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |
| Characters | Batman; The Grim Marauder |
| Synopsis | Batman heads for the town of Zeneith, where one of the five men, Ed Findley, detective lives. At a fashionable party that Findley is attending, he talks with a Mr. Ardman about the Masked Marauder that has been terrorizing the city with his bank robberies. He states that if the Marauder attempts to strike at the party, he will be ready for him. Just then, he bumps into old friend Bruce Wayne, and they strike up a brief conversation....and Wayne is puzzled by the rather cold touch of Findley's hand. A few moments later, Findley changes to the Masked Marauder in an upstair bedroom and returns to the party to rob the guests. Secretly, Bruce changes to Batman and rushes at the robber, who gives the Cowled Crusader a vicious kick, then darts out a window, making good his escape. Batman heads directly for the offices of the detective, and finds him at his desk looking over his ill-gotten gain. Advancing on Findley, Batman suddenly falls through a trap door and is knocked out. When he awakens, he is tied to a post in the basement with a wet rawhide noose around his neck, with a nearby furnace raging full blast. After Findley leaves, a stuttering man enters the room and throws a knife into the post near Batman's hands, which allows him to escape. Rushing upstairs, Batman catches Findley at his desk and captures him, only to get a mental radio message from Wonder Woman to bring Findley with him back to JSA HQ. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Gardner F. Fox & Sheldon Mayer (original co-plotters); Julius Schwartz; Robert Kanigher |
| Pencils | Irwin Hasen |
| Inks | Irwin Hasen; John Belfi? (see notes) |
| Notes | Batman substitutes for the Atom, suggesting that this chapter must have been originally written by Fox for the Atom, as Batman does nothing usually associated with him in his own adventures: bat rope, gas capsules, etc.. The opening dialogue box ends with "The Mighty Batman," would could have very well been re-written from "The Mighty Atom!" Hasen did NOT entirely ink this chapter --- either a production staffer or another artist [probably John Belfi] touched up some of the Batman and Bruce Wayne figures to give them the look of the Batman artist of the time: Win Mortimer. |
| Reprinted | in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (DC, 1980 series) #3 (July-August 1980); in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |
| Characters | Flash [Jay Garrick]; Mr. X |
| Synopsis | At a political rally in Snow City, home of reporter Mat Matwell, pictures are being shown of Governor-candidate Rex Gardin when suddenly a picture comes up, showing Gardin posing with a notorious person. The lights go out and someone smashes the slide projector. Later, Gardin receives a phone call from Mr. X, telling him to go to Snow Mountain on the eve of the election...or else! The Flash, upon hearing the news, heads to Snow Mountain in time to see a masked man meeting with Gardin, accepting a briefcase of money from the candidate, then knocking out Gardin. The Flash races up and the momentum of his knocking Mr. X into a tree causes the crook to bounce back and knock out the Flash. When he recovers, both he and Gardin are tied and left in a toboggan slide, with a tobaggan bearing down on them. The Scarlet Speedster vibrates and melts the snow enough that the two men sink into the ground and the tobaggan passes over them without harming them. The Crimson Comet then follows the ski tracks of Mr. X, which end suddenly before a tree. Flash looks up to see the criminal with a gun aimed at him....but suddenly, a shot rings out from a stuttering man with a rifle some distance away, that knocks Mr. X out of the tree and into Flash's arms. Just then, Flash receives a mental message from Wonder Woman, explaining how the situation has changed and to bring Mr. X, Mat Matwell, back to JSA HQ. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Gardner F. Fox & Sheldon Mayer (original co-plotters); Bob Kanigher |
| Pencils | Lee Elias |
| Inks | Lee Elias |
| Notes | Story editor Julius Schwartz recalls asking Bob Kanigher to re-write this chapter as it just didn't sit right with him, a fact confirmed by Jerry Bails (April, 30, 2004) and by Julius Schwartz in a letter sent to Bails. It is strongly believed that this chapter was to be the lead-in for the prologue, as Mayer and Fox would have arranged it that way, but Schwartz decided to do the book differently, with the prologue coming first---so the Flash chapter HAD to be re-written. |
| Reprinted | in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (DC, 1980 series) #3 (July-August 1980); in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |
| Characters | Hawkman [Carter Hall]; The Black Rider; Wonder Woman(cameo) |
| Synopsis | Terror has come to the archaeological digs in New Mexico in the form of the masked Black Rider. Professor Alvin Doty, sitting in his tent at the site, writes his wife that he has just uncovered the fabulous Temple of Tlaloc of the ancient Aztecs, but has only told one person, fearing that the Black Rider would learn of it. As he is writing this letter, the Black Rider ssuddenly appears in his tent with his gang, and takes the map showing the loaction of the temple. Not long after, the Hawkman shows up at the tent of Doty, and discovers the man's bad way. Flying the professor to the site of the temple, they both see the Black Rider and his men looting the temple of artifacts. After a brief battle, Hawkman is knocked out by the Rider, and he and the professor are tied to a sacrifice table in the temple, and are forced to watch the arms of a temple idol slowly lowering, bearing sacrificial daggers at their chests! Hawkman is able to smash the mechanism of the idol, thus allowing the two to escape their bonds. When the professor tells the Feathered Fury the identity of the person he told of the temple's location, Hawkman races off to the main tent in the excavating site, and spots the Rider inside. As he rushes in, Hawkman discovers a dummy instead, then out steps Archie Erdner with a gun. As Hawkman tries to figure out what to do, a group of men rush in and overwhelm Erdner, stating that a stuttering man had sent them to do just that. Just then, Hawkman receives a mental message from Wonder Woman, asking him to bring Erdner back to HQ with him. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Gardner F. Fox & Sheldon Mayer (original co-plotters); Julius Schwartz; Robert Kanigher |
| Pencils | Joe Kubert [as J. Kubert] (signed) |
| Inks | Joe Kubert [as J. Kubert] (signed) |
| Notes | The Wonder Woman figure on the last page is a paste-up drawn by Irwin Hasen. |
| Reprinted | in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (DC, 1980 series) #3 (July-August 1980); in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |
| Characters | Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Professor Saul Philpotts |
| Synopsis | In an eastern bank, a bank teller is amazed to see bags of gold floating out of the vault and out the window! Later that evening, Dr. Mid-Nite is informed of the strange event and two others like it by the bank officials, who think an invisiable gang is at work. The Man of Night thinks otherwise and asks to borrow a gold coin to use as bait for a future crime. As he walks along the street with the coin in his hand, the coin suddenly begins to fly away, but Mid-Nite holds on for dear life and follows the trail. The trail ends at Philpott's lab, and the scientist throws liquid gold at Dr. Mid-nite, coating him with the precious metal, and Philpotts turns on a gold magnet that threatens to pull the good doctor into its blades. Suddenly, a stuttering man pours turpentine on the Wonder of the Witching Hour, dissolving the gold and allowing him to capture Philpotts. As he grabs the renegade scientist, Dr. Mid-Nite receives a mental message from Wonder Woman, and takes Philpotts back to JSA HQ. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Gardner F. Fox & Sheldon Mayer (original co-plotters); Julius Schwartz; Robert Kanigher |
| Pencils | Frank Harry |
| Inks | Frank Harry |
| Notes | The numbering on page 4 is totally different than found on the first three pages, which may indicate that this chapter was originally five pages long and was cut down during the re-writing. The final tier on page four appears to be a crude re-inking and has different lettering than the top two tiers. |
| Reprinted | in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (DC, 1980 series) #3 (July-August 1980); in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |
| Characters | Superman; The Wrecker |
| Synopsis | Superman heads to Centropolis to try and stop the mysterious Wrecker from blowing up one of Stanley's famous skyscrapers. A few moments before the explosion, however, several of the Wrecker's men exit the front door and tell people trying to enter to scram because the place has been condemned. Superman arrives as the explosion occurs, but, using his super speed, he quickly repairs the building as it was before. Landing and wondering what sort of person could have an ego to do such a thing, a stuttering man walks up to the Man of Steel and hands him a note, telling Superman to look up the architect of the building. He first heads to the local newspaper morgue of the Daily Record and looks up the architect's name, then heads toward the Merton Trust Building, which Superman thinks will be the next target. Using his X-ray vision, the Man of Tomoorw sees a man inside the building getting ready to light fuses to dynamite. He rushes in and the man grabs a stick of dynamite and throws it at Superman, who calmly grabs it and muffles the explosion with his hands. The Wrecker and his thugs then attack the Man of Steel, before Superman subdues them.....then gets a mental message from Wonder Woman to report back to JSA HQ with his captive. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Gardner F. Fox & Sheldon Mayer (original co-plotters); Julius Schwartz; Robert Kanigher |
| Pencils | Irwin Hasen |
| Inks | Irwin Hasen |
| Notes | Superman substitutes for Johnny Thunder, and, again, the story was most likely written for Johnny, whose Thunderbolt could have easily done the feats Superman did. |
| Reprinted | in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (DC, 1980 series) #3 (July-August 1980); in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |
| Characters | Superman; Wonder Woman; Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Dr. Mid-Nite (cameo); Hawkman [Carter Hall] (cameo); Flash [Jay Garrick](all as the Justice Society of America/JSA); Ben Stanley; Ed Findley; Mat Matwell; Arch Erdner; Saul Philpotts. |
| Synopsis | Superman brings in Stanley, at Wonder Woman's request, and he is ushered together with the other four men brought in by the other JSA members. Locking them into a room, Wonder Woman announces that all five of them are in terrible danger due to what Green Lantern discovered, that discovery leading the Amazon Princess to change the plans the JSA had originally made. So, as the members sit around their meeting table, G.L. begins to tell the story of his search for the sixth man of the hunting party, whose body was never recovered: Calvin Stymes! |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Gardner F. Fox & Sheldon Mayer (original co-plotters); Julius Schwartz; Robert Kanigher |
| Pencils | Irwin Hasen |
| Inks | Irwin Hasen; John Belfi? |
| Notes | During the time period that Fox may have written this story, the use of interludes in JSA tales was not all that uncommon. Even though this page is numbered "5," I believe the page was actually an interlude page to bridge the preceeding chapters and Green Lantern's chapter. The page also features several unusual situations, one of which is that Wonder Woman does not cast a shadow on the wall, nor the table between her and Hawkman. In addition, Hawkman's right wing has no shadow and the left wing's shape does not match the shadow on the wall, nor does Hawkman's helmet and wings. It is apparent that the Hawkman figure [most like Joe Kubert's] was pasted onto the last panel over Hasen's original figure, even though the touch-up artist, whom I believe to be Joh Belfi, did not touch-up the helmeted head of Hawkman on the wall, which clearly shows Hasen's art. The wings on Hawkman have been re-touched, and are cut off by lots of black ink, which I believe blot out the shadows of Atom and Johnny Thunder on the wall, allowing easy insertion of Superman and Batman's figures. For all these reasons, I believe that the last panel was part of the original story's art that was re-touched and figures added, and the page numbered from a lettered page. |
| Reprinted | in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (DC, 1980 series) #3 (July-August 1980); in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |
| Genre | adventure |
| Script | Charles King (signed) |
| Pencils | ? (spot illos) |
| Inks | ? (spot illos) |
| Letters | typeset |
| Notes | This text story was NOT reprinted in the Archive. |
| Genre | humor |
| Script | Harry Lampert (signed) |
| Pencils | Harry Lampert (signed) |
| Inks | Harry Lampert (signed) |
| Notes | This filler was NOT reprinted in the Archive. |
| Characters | Rockhead McWizzard |
| Genre | humor |
| Script | Jack Farr |
| Pencils | Jack Farr |
| Inks | Jack Farr |
| Letters | Jack Farr |
| Notes | Credits by Craig Delich (Jan. 2006). |
| Characters | Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Hawkman [Carter Hall](cameo); The Stuttering Man (Calvin Stymes) |
| Synopsis | In Midville, where Calvin Stymes once lived, Green Lantern asked a former neighbor what had happened to him, but he said that he had not seen Stymes since the accident. Just then, the Emerald Crusader sees someone taking mail from Styme's mailbox, and decides to follow him. The trail leads to an isolated log cabin, and as G.L. enters through a window, the mysterious figure hits him over the head with a club. As Green Lantern recovers, he finds himself tied in front of a fireplace, with a shotgun aimed at him by Stymes, who tells him the story of why he hates the other five so much. It begins some twenty years earlier at college, when the five find a dog poisoned by Stymes. They decide to get even by taking a similar dog and coating it with luminous paint [so it would glow in the dark], and allow it to jump into Styme's room that night to scare him. It did---so much so that Styme's hair turned white and he began to stutter. That night on, Stymes swore he would never forget that gag and he begins to plot revenge on them. It wasn't until twenty years later that he got his chance, after he had met with an old Indian, who told him of a "stream of ruthlessness' that ran once every hundred years and was due to run again in ten days. Stymes believed the legend, so he invited his former college fratermity chums out on a hunting trip near that stream's dry bed, and when it ran that night, all of his pals were sleeping in that bed....and drowned, and were destined to commit terrible crimes due to the effects of that water. After patiently listening to the story, G.L. uses his ring to melt the shotgun and free himself, but not before Stymes made his escape.....so he reports to Hawkman, who now knows the identity of the stuttering man. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Gardner F. Fox & Sheldon Mayer (original co-plotters); Julius Schwartz; Robert Kanigher |
| Pencils | Irwin Hasen |
| Inks | Irwin Hasen |
| Notes | Another anomaly has this chapter beginning: "Who is the stuttering man...."? The reader has known all along as he was introduced in the prologue, which indicates that this opening panel of this chapter HAD to come later than the original placement of the prologue. It is believed that the prologue, latter part of the GL chapter and page 5 of the Superman story were ALL part of the original long interlude Fox wrote, and Schwartz cut it up, pasted here and there and re-wrote panels of both the prologue and this chapter featuring Green Lantern to accomodate this change. The name of the college in Fox's original tale was Magnifica. |
| Reprinted | in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (DC, 1980 series) #3 (July-August 1980); in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |
| Characters | Batman; Dr. Mid-Nite; Flash [Jay Garrick]; Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Superman; Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Wonder Woman (all as the Justice Society of America/JSA); The Stuttering Man (Calvin Stymes) (villain) |
| Synopsis | After listening to the story, the JSA enters the locked room in which Wonder Woman had locked the five friends of Stymes, only to discover they had escaped through a window. Knowing that Stymes is loose and is out to kill them, Wonder Woman vows that the JSA must find them before Stymes does. Using his power ring, G.L. brings out faint footprints for the members to follow, and they speed after them. Meanwhile, in a cave in the Midwest, Calvin Stymes sits, with a plunger wired to dynamite, next to Koehaha, musing that the JSA does not know the secret of this stream of ruthlessness: that anyone drowning in the river will have an urge to re-visit the river to have another drink, and when they do, he will detonate the explosives and kill them all. Just then, the five show up along the river bank like wild animals, all wanting a drink, and down goes the plunger. As the JSA arrives, each member grabs one of the men and takes them to a place of safety as the explosion reaches its climax. Unfortunately, the explosion undermines the walls of the cavern, and collapses on Stymes, killing him. The Flash analyzes the water in the stream and determines that it contains an amazing amount of free oxygen, and that anyone "drowning" in the stream really couldn't! He also states that there is the presence of a rare drug, Habis Indica, which Dr. Mid-Nite recognizes as being able to deaden a man's conscious so that he loses the sense of right and wrong. Flash concocts an antidote which will allow the five men to recover their sanity before they must face trial for their crimes. Still, the JSA promises to testify at their trials, and hope for a verdict of not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. Then Superman uses his strength to push a giant mountain of rock into the stream so that it will never run again. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Gardner F. Fox & Sheldon Mayer (original co-plotters); Julius Schwartz; Robert Kanigher |
| Pencils | Irwin Hasen |
| Inks | Irwin Hasen |
| Reprinted | in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (DC, 1980 series) #3 (July-August 1980); in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 |