September 1952: When Earth Hated Humanity
Captain Comet battles global climate change in Doomsday on Earth ( Strange Adventures 24, Sept. 1952). With the planet shaking itself apart, as volcanoes erupt in Manhattan and whirlpools swallow boats in Lake Erie, accumulated knowledge once again proves to be the key to humanity’s salvation. In the science fiction and superhero comics edited by Julius Schwartz, knowledge-based professionals invariably save the day, whether they be physicists, archeologists, pilots, forensic scientists, museum directors, lawyers, writers or — like Captain Comet — librarians. Their breadth of learning and cool level-headedness enable them to sort things out even in the face of worldwide catastrophe. Here, Adam Blake’s perfect mutant memory recalls that these events were predicted in a book in his public library. Tracing the vanished author deep into the Earth, Captain Comet tangles with a griffin, a mythological creature that has the body, tail and legs of a lion and the head, wing...