DALE'S PAGE

Customizations of
DC POCKET SUPER-HEROESŪ

I met Dale4767 (not his real name) on the DC Direct Pocket Super-Heroes message board, under a thread called PSH Customs. He posted URLs to photos of his customizations, which are really terrific! I admired them, and got some inspiration from them, and asked him if he had a web-site so that they could be viewed en masse. Since he didn't, I decided to offer him a place here on my web-site. Here, then, are photos of his customizations. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

First, let's check out the Golden Age of DC Comics - 1938-1952.

First up we have The Star Spangled Kid and Stripesy, from the Golden Age of comics, the only example of a kid super-hero with an adult sidekick. The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy were members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also from the Golden Age of Comics, the Sandman and his kid partner, Sandy. These are the Kirby costumes; see below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the original Sandman costume, along with a different version of the costume worn by pint-sized hero the Atom. Both are members of the Justice Society of America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Terrific, the champion of Fair Play, the man who was expert in every aspect of human endeavor, was also a member of the Justice Society of America, although only for a short time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's Wildcat, a boxing champion turned super-hero. Like Mr. Terrific, he was a short-term member of the Justice Society of America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Occult was another Golden Age super-hero, although unaffiliated with any of the groups. This is a magnificent customization, using a Power of the Force Han Solo overcoat, cut down to fit. It was the inspiration for my own John Force, Magic Agent, which will appear in my "second wave".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, here are the Black Condor and the Ray, two more unaffiliated super-heroes. They were originally published by Quality Comics, and disappeared during the "Dark Ages". In the 1980's DC acquired the rights to them, and used them (along with other characters such as Uncle Sam and Phantom Lady) in a group called the Freedom Fighters, located on Earth-X, where the Nazis won WWII. I don't know what happened to these guys after the Crisis or Zero Hour. But remember Conrad's Laws Of Comic Book Mortality: If you ain't got a body, he ain't dead. If you do have a body, the chances are 50/50.

 

 

 

 

 

Now let's check out some of Dale's villains!

First off, the Crime Syndicate of America, the primary team of super-beings from Earth-3. They are twisted versions of five Justice League members. Unfortunately, all died during the horror that was the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

From left to right: Johnny Quick, Superwoman, Ultraman, Power Ring and Owlman. Superwoman has her lasso which can form any shape, while Ultraman has a piece of Green Kryptonite, which will give him a new super-power.

Here is Dale's version of Dr. Light which you can compare with my version if you like. I find it interesting that Dale and I have chosen to customize several instances of the same character. During the Silver Age of Comics, Dr. Light was a "pass-around" villain, menacing the Justice League, the Atom, and Green Lantern. A villain appearing in different comics didn't happen very often, except in JLA, where a group consisting of one villain from each hero might show up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Dale's version of the Riddler, Batman's foe. Dale chose to use the version with many question marks; I used the version from Superfriends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Gentleman Ghost. I recognize him, but I don't know a thing about him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Batman's foe, the Scarecrow. The head is not "authentic" (i.e., Pocket Super-Heroes), but artists must be allowed some leeway, as I explained to the policeman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all the villains Dale has so far. Now let's slide on to the wonderful period known as the 1950's. (I like to refer to it as the "Dark Age of Comics".)

Left to right: the Phantom Stranger, Batwoman, and Captain Comet.

And so to the 1960's, the Silver Age of Comics, although I prefer to call it the "Renaissance".

This is Adam Strange, hero of the planet Rann. He's an Earthman who is transported to that planet periodically by something called Zeta-beams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's Metamorpho, one of the weirdest super-heroes ever conceived. (Well, there was Ultraa the Multi-Alien, but we won't go there.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the latest (9/7/04) from Dale: dastardly villains to harass the greatest super-heroes of the Silver Age ... and Aquaman, too.

From left to right, as usual: Mr. Freeze (Batman), the Weather Wizard (Flash), Ocean Master (Aquaman), Chronos (the Atom), Black Hand (Green Lantern) and the Composite Superman, later called Amalgamax (Superman and Batman).

That's all that Dale has to offer so far, but keep watching this space. Once you start customizing, it becomes an addiction as you see other super-characters hiding inside the ones DC has provided.

You can contact Dale at dale4767@comcast.net.

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