Bronze Age Babies: Who's the Best... WWII-era Super Group?

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Who's the Best... WWII-era Super Group?

17 comments:

david_b said...: I personally never cared much for any of these, but I suppose Invaders would be my pick because they had Cap.. I did like the FF Annual with the Invaders drawn by Big John, that was s huge step up over Robbins art.

Hmmm, if you include 'super-FUNNY' today, I'd go with 'Hogans Heroes'.; July 6, 2013 at 7:12 AM
Rip Jagger said...: Who is the best? Justice Society of America most likely.

But I have to say my absolute favorite is the wonky sounding All-Winners Squad.

I first met the Squad in the reprint pages of Marvel Super-Heroes when their second (and last adventure) was reprinted. Later I'd get hold of the first one too, already reprinted in an issue of Fantasy Masterpieces I'd missed.

The Squad was picked up by Roy "The Boy" and from those elements he ret-conned The Invaders and embedded the saga of the All-Winners into the Marvel tapestry.

Love' em in all their goofy glory!

Rip Off; July 6, 2013 at 7:15 AM
Edo Bosnar said...: I think I like the idea of the Invaders best, but I have to admit that All Star Squadron was the WW2-era group whose book I enjoyed reading the most.; July 6, 2013 at 7:48 AM
Fred W. Hill said...: The Invaders for me. I mostly enjoyed, even with Frank Robbins' art, which I really disliked in Captain America & the Falcon. The stories themselves weren't particularly memorable, by any means, but fun, light reads anyhow.; July 6, 2013 at 9:39 AM
Karen said...: Do the Freedom Fighters count? Or were their adventures only post-WWII?

I'd have to say Invaders, although it was always a love-hate relationship for me with that title. Loved the concept and the WWII setting (came out at the same time that I became interested in WWII, largely due to a TV show called the World at War), but I hated, I mean rally hated, the Frank Robbins artwork. It killed me to see a nice looking Kirby cover only to open it up and see the frenetic, sweaty looking Robbins work inside. Yet I soldiered on with the book for several years.; July 6, 2013 at 11:52 AM
Graham said...: I really enjoyed the Invaders series because I was really into the Golden Age-era super heroes at the time (thanks to those wonderful 100 Page Super Spectaculars from DC). Odd, but while I hated Robbins on Cap's own comic book, I sort of enjoyed him on the Invaders...he still wasn't my first choice to draw it (and I disliked his art on everything else he drew), but it just seemed to be a better fit here.

However, when the All Star Squadron came to be, that was the one I really loved, because I was more into the DC Golden Age heroes and I really liked the Buckler/Gonzales/Ordway artwork (What if THEY had been drawing the Invaders back in the mid 70's...the mind wobbles).

I really think Roy Thomas was at his best on both of these series, probably because it was what he grew up reading and the characters were so dear to him.; July 6, 2013 at 12:24 PM
William said...: I'd have to go with the Invaders because that is the only one I can remember reading on a regular basis. They had some pretty good stories, but I never cared much for the art.; July 6, 2013 at 1:51 PM
Anonymous said...: I agree with Graham...the JSA/All-Star Squadron were pretty cool. Too bad Crisis screwed things up by removing Supes, Batman, WW, etc. from continuity. I actually don't mind the "one earth" idea, but it makes re-reading classic stories kind of pointless, since half the characters never existed.

Mike W.; July 6, 2013 at 2:14 PM
david_b said...: I describe Robbins art like I describe my wife occasionally.

"He makes coffee look relaxed.."; July 6, 2013 at 3:06 PM
Edo Bosnar said...: Graham pretty much hit the nail on the head with the Invaders - the stories were generally pretty good, but it was not served well by the art. Whereas All Star Squadron had the whole package: Roy Thomas getting his Golden Age geek off and Buckler and then Gonzales on pencils, with Ordway's inks providing a solid, consistent yet distinct look.; July 6, 2013 at 4:18 PM
Ace Frehley Jr said...: Invaders = Good!
Frank Robbins = Bad. : (; July 6, 2013 at 8:52 PM
Anonymous said...: Frank Robbins was one of those old-school illustrators, like Milt Caniff...You know, Terry and the Pirates, like that. He was definitely out of his element with superheroes, but the guy had to make a buck some way. But I myself was disappointed with the Invaders, where the covers promised one thing and you got something else. Talk about a bait-and-switch.
I kinda feel bad for the guy, he was was a technically capable illustrator, but I think drawing comic books is a different animal. It even drove John Boscema crazy sometimes, from what I've read.
But yeah, I keep those old Invader comics for the covers. They should've given that mag to Kirby...; July 6, 2013 at 10:31 PM
Fantastic Four Fan 4ever said...: I have to agree on the Robbins issue. He tried to duplicate the look of Milton Caniff of Terry and the Pirates. All of Robbins figures looked like rubber. Hands, feet and arms all in unnatural poses. I agree with the reader that said that Kirby should have been the artist on this title. It would be such a huge disappointment to see a Kirby cover and the Robbins interior art. It was just such a let down! It's too bad because the stories were so good. Roy Thomas would have had a great book if it wasn't for Robbins retro-art. I just couldn't get past the unnatural look of the figures.; July 7, 2013 at 9:32 AM
Anonymous said...: Has to be the JSA for meas they are a fantastic group and a set of core characters - but I loved the Invaders book as a kid in the 70s. Although as a Scot is used to annoy me so much that US writers regularly referred to Britain as England (arghhh!!! not the same lol) Stunned so many folk still seem to dislike Frank Robbins art, I admit when I originally read his work I was not impressed (his Cap America especially) but over the years Isee what he was getting at and think he is one of the greats (his Shadow comic at DC was amazing) must just be me then lol - McScotty; July 7, 2013 at 5:04 PM
dbutler16 said...: I know I'm way late on posting (this site gives my Internet Explorer big problems, for some reason) but I'd have to say that I enjoyed reading the All-Star Squadron the most of all of the WWII era comics. The JSA is probably the "best" WWII group, though.; July 10, 2013 at 10:43 AM
Doc Savage said...: I enjoy Frank Robbins' art and find it especially suitable for the Invaders as it almost looks like a comic book from the '40s. He was also a great writer.

He doesn't ape Neal Adams so he is often underappreciated by readers under the Adams spell, as they seem to believe photorealism = good, cartoony = bad.; July 30, 2013 at 8:56 AM
Doc Savage said...: Oh, and the best team from the subject era is undoubtedly the Marvel Family. Best art, best stories, more fun than a barrel of monkeys!; July 30, 2013 at 8:58 AM

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