All Star Comics Archives Vol. 4 HC
All Star Comics Archives Vol. 4 HC
Cover Credits
Penciller: Joe Staton
Inker: Rick Burchett

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Title: "The Man Who Created Images"
Pages: 56

Feature(s):
Justice Society of America (of Earth-2)

Writer: Gardner F. Fox
Artist: Joe Gallagher
Artist: Sheldon Moldoff
Artist: Stan Aschmeier
Penciller: Jack Kirby
Inker: Joe Simon
Artist: Ed Dobrotka
Artist: Bernard Baily
Artist: Howard Sherman

Reprinted From:
All-Star Comics #15 (1943)

Feature Character(s)

Villain(s)

  • Brain Wave (Henry King; first appearance; last appearance in All-Star Squadron #20; next appearance in All-Star Comics #17)
  • Homer Nelson, Tiny Norman, and his men (no further appearances)
  • Hunky Pollak and his men (no further appearances)
  • Hedda Shannon and Charles (wife of Jason Shannon and her son; no further appearances)
  • Horatio Morrison and Sticker (a museum owner and his henchman; no further appearances)
  • Runty Becker, Big John Timberlake, and his men (no further appearances)
  • Baldy and his men (no further appearances)
  • Big Turk Thompson and his men (no further appearances)

Guest Appearance(s)

Other Character(s)

  • Mark Nevil and Rubber Man Nevil (a murder victim and his father; both die in this story; no further appearances)
  • Jason Shannon (a millionaire and sculptor; no further appearances)
  • Johnny Spartan (a baseball player; no further appearances)
  • Stanley Cord (a wealthy man; no further appearances)
  • Ed and Lucy Ackerman (childhood friends of Brain Wave; no further appearances)
  • Fan Gregory and his sister (no further appearances)

Flashback Appearance(s)

Comments:
This is the first appearance of the Brain Wave, though as recorded in All-Star Squadron #19 and All-Star Squadron #20, he battled the combined JSA and All-Star Squadron prior to the events in this story. The JSA was unaware of the man behind the attacks in those stories, making them believe that this is their first encounter with him. As revealed in that story, Brain Wave also was responsible for Professor Elba’s attack on the JSA in the first story of All-Star Comics #8.

The girlfriends of the JSA dress in their boyfriends’ costumes. The girlfriends of Atom and Spectre are not named, but presumedly they are Mary James and Clarice Winston. Sandman’s girlfriend is also not named and since Dian Belmont is dead by this time, the identity of this woman is unknown. Strangely, none of these women nor Doris Lee and Myra Mason, know the secret identities of their boyfriends. How they came to learn them for this story and presumedly forgot them again has not been revealed.

Sandman drives a car called the Sandmobile in this story.

Synopsis:
Each member of the Justice Society writes Wonder Woman a letter explaining that they will be absent from the regular meeting because they are working on separate cases. Each case involves racketeers who are using mentally projected images in their crimes. The members learn that the man responsible for the images lives in a tower by Sharktooth Bay.

Before the JSA members converge on the tower, Wonder Woman rallies the girlfriends of the JSAers together. They dress in costumes based on their boyfriends’ and attack the tower. Brain Wave, the man responsible for the images, tricks the girls with images of the JSA men. The real JSA arrives and rescues the girls. Brain Wave appears to plummet to his death in the battle.

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