Mikel Midnight's Golden Age Directory

When I started this page, there was a little information about Golden Age comics on the web. I attempted to rectify that as much as possible, with links to the sites I found that offered useful information and also other info that I have compiled myself. Since then, there has been an explosion of reference material of all kinds, and I have been pleased to be a part of it.

Review of my site by Jim Hannah, from the Comics International Website: "Posterity-conscious link-a-rama set out in a raw-text come and have a go if you think you're hard enough manner. This site more or less acts as the a telephone operator for the Internet comics buff, pointing you in the right direction for anything. Not content with telling you what's there, this site tells you what isn't and demands to be told where it is. Its pure addiction. Really unhealthy, but satisfying if ... you can stand the heat."

Here is a Bibliography I have compiled, listing reference books and selected comics which I think provide good guides to the Golden Age. I am also an Amazon.Com affiliate, and many books can be ordered directly through my page.

There were many Saturday morning serials produced during the 40's, some of which featured heroes from the comics. Some of them can be ordered here.

Lev Gleason's Comic House provides a basic introduction to their costumed characters. With early work by Jack Cole, and character development by Charles Biro (also creator of Airboy and Steel Sterling), Lev Gleason published some of the most provocative comics of the 40's and early 50's.

The internet is a valuable means of making contact with others, whether it be through MUSH'es, MUD's and MOO's, bulletin boards, e-mail lists, or just places to exchange fanfic. Here are some Contact Links for places I frequent.

Over the years I and others have done many Timelines for the DC Multiverse and other comic book continuities.

The current dominance of superhero comics in the market was not always the case. Many genres have rivaled their sales in the past, some examples being War, Western, and Romance comics.

 

What's new

  • 7/10/05 - Added a few dozen Earths from Adventures of Luther Arkwright to the Cosmology Compendium. Added a new kid sidekick to my family of heroes, Miriam Midnight.

    • Web pages wanted! The following characters/concepts are woefully unrepresented on the web:

  • The earliest costumed heroes: Phantom Magician, the Phantom, the Clock, Dr. Occult, Superman, Crimson Avenger, and others (with a timeline). There are some individual sites but nobody to tie the concepts together in an historical narrative.
  • Airboy, and Hillman Publications.
  • The All-Winners Squad. There are plenty of pages on the Invaders, but how about a page which gives detailed information on their four published cases, and on the Blonde Phantom, the Patriot and Spirit of '76? nice touch would be additional info on the Fighting Yank, whom the Spirit of '76 was partially inspired by.
  • The Boy Commandos and the Newsboy Legion.
  • The Golden Age Daredevil.
  • The Golden Age Sandman. He recently had his own series, and his heir is in the recent JSA incarnation.

    How to make a web page? I recommend:

  • Cyndi's Guide to How to Write HTML in One Easy Lesson (a good guide to the basics by my girlfriend)
  • A Beginner's Guide to HTML -- An excellent how-to get started writing your own homepage. In 30 minutes, you'll know the basics of HTML
  • Composing Good HTML -- Avoiding basic mistakes and improving formatting style


    Here are some lists I maintain ... please contact me with any additions or corrections you might have.

  • The Golden Age DC Villain's List (thanks to Jess Nevins and David Stepp)
  • The Golden Age Fawcett/Charlton Villain's List
  • The Golden Age Timely/King Features Villain's List (thanks to Ron Byrd for corrections and clarifications)
  • The Freedom Fighters (Quality) Villain's List
  • The Lev Gleason Villain's List
  • Characters from the Centaur Comics Line
  • Other Golden Age heroes from Ace Periodicals, Centaur Publications, Fox Publications, Harvey Comics, and Holyoke Publications.
  • Other Golden Age heroes from Lev Gleason's Comic House, Harry "A" Chesler Publications, and Timely Comics.
  • The International Heroes List (Europe and the Americas)
  • The International Heroes List (Africa, the Middle East, and Asia)
  • The International Villains List
  • Fez-Wearing Supers List
  • The Jewish Supers List
  • The TV/TS Supers List
  • The Canonical List of Super Non-Human Simians
  • Canonical List of Self-Amputating Supers
  • Want list - music
  • Want list - books
  • Want list - comics
  • Want list - stories (Golden Age, p/copies acceptable)

    (Thanks to fellow listmaker Jorge de la Cruz of Jorge's Super List of Lists for his work on the original International Lists, and for donating his Super Non-Human Simians list)

    Here are some Selected Comics Reference Links for (mainly) Golden Age Comics and Characters

  • Links to DC/Quality/Fawcett/Charlton Sites

  • Links to Timely/Marvel Sites

  • Links to Sites for Other Companies and Characters

  • Heroines of the Golden Age

  • Links to Sites for Independent and Alternative Comics and Creators

  • The Link Controversy Page
  • Link Law
  • The 100 Greatest Comic Artists - informative listing and portfolio of American cartoonists.
  • Robert Beerbohm's Comics Reality - essays on the history of comics. Highly recommended.
  • Ben Samuels' Classic Golden Age Comic Book Cover Gallery - moderate size but nice range and commentary.
  • Camelot in Four Colors - a survey of the Arthurian legend in comics.
  • Censorship in Comics - article on Frederick Werthem et al.
  • Classic Comic Books - useful and detailed articles on characters primarily from the Silver Age.
  • TheComicBooks.Com - brief and not bad superhero-oriented history of the medium.
  • Comic Book Homepage - in Spanish and English, good history of the comics and some alternative stuff.
  • Comic Book Life - a for-pay webzine that is currently serialising Mike Benton's historical books.
  • The Comics Book Page - Good overview on the history of comics GA-present.
  • Crimeboss Home Page - crime comics from the 40's and 50's
  • Cubic Zirconia Reader - links to numerous personal pages on comics history, particularly Good Girl work.
  • Gert & Daisy's Modern Guide to Old Comics - slight but entertaining page with a variety of material
  • Golden Age Greats reprints tales of characters such as Strongman, Red Dragon, Green Turtle, Skyman, the Key, and others.
  • Golden Age Villains Encyclopedia - lists obscure villains from the 1940's.
  • The Golden Age Hero Directory - Jess Nevins' comprensive list of every Golden Age adventure hero.
  • The Golden Years - selection of high-quality reprints, and varied DC cover galleries
  • Gone & Forgotten - slight essays on (justifiably) obscure (mainly Silver Age) characters,
  • Good Guys & Gals of the Golden Age - basic entries on obscure characters, rotated monthly.
  • The History of Superhero Comic Books - brief, but good overview.
  • Hoohah! - quality web magazine with occasional reprints.
  • One Upon A Dime - real and faux articles, quite entertaining.
  • Periodic Table of Comic Books - educational page using comic panels to illustrate the properties of the elements.
  • Portal - varied web magazine in Portugese which typically has an article on Golden Age comics and other topics.
  • Prescription for Excitement! - Comics "house ads", and reprints of obscure Golden Age comics.
  • Silver Age Reviews - the archives of the Yahoo Silver Age Reviews group.
  • Something Awful - relettered (and occasionally rebald) Golden Age comic covers.
  • The Time Trusts's All-In-One Start Page - good articles on DC war heroes, and a nice selection of links.
  • Two Tub Man's Comic Book Cover Gallery HQ - includes many Golden and Silver Age series.
  • Visual Telling of Stories: Comics Lecture - scholarly articles and a timeline dating back to the 16th century.
  • Dr. Hermes Reviews - pulp hero novels and stories. Highly recommended.
  • Hero Pulps Page - Doc Savage, Spider, Operator 5, G-8, Avenger, et al
  • Pulp Magazine Heroes
  • The Secret Headquarters - sadly indexless files on heroes from comics, pulps, and literature.
  • Thrilling Detective: Private Eyes of the Comics - impressive listing
  • Pulp & Adventure Heroes of the Pre-War Years - superlative page on heroes from 1902 to 1939.
  • A Victoriana Page - superlative page on obscure Victorian fictional characters, with extensive links.
  • Wold Newton Universe - P.J. Farmer's pulp family tree; good graphics (slow load), lots of info.

    Here are some good general comics links

  • Alternative Comics: a WWW Guide - excellent resource, highly recommended
  • Le site des editions Casterman - European publisher site
  • The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund - Protecting the comic industry's right to free speech
  • Comicon.Com - virtual comic con w/ pros hawking their stuff, work by major creators unseen elsewhere.
  • iCOMICS - wide-ranging comics webzine.
  • indyworld - superb web magazine on independent publications.
  • Ism Comics - indie comics on the web from established pros, highly recommended.
  • Lemon Custard - comics sampler, some exclusive to the web, some adapted from print (Ditko/Wood/Kane).
  • Fumetti - excellent list of comics links, primarily Euro (in Italian).
  • The Salon - weekly strips by Tom Tomorrow, Carol Lay, Keith Knight, Ruben Bolling, Don Asmussen.
  • Speculators Suck - well they do.
  • Stu's Comics Strip Connection - lots of stuff, I am still sorting through this one.
  • Denise Voskuil's Home Page - An entertaining personal page with (illustrated!) comics reviews

  • What's Your Superpower? - amusing personality test, on a page of such things.

    Some pages of links that I haven't had time to go through and incorporate into the rest of the page:

  • European Comics on the Web
  • 2000 AD Links project
  • The Tintin Webring


    Comics Homepage / Bibliography / Saturday morning serials / Contact Links / Links to DC/Quality/Fawcett/Charlton Sites / Links to Timely/Marvel Sites / Links to Lev Gleason Sites / Links to Sites for Other Companies and Characters / Heroines of the Golden Age / Links to Sites for Independent and Alternative Comics and Creators / Links to the Comic Book Timelines / Links to War, Western, and Romance Comics

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