Number 1574: Stuntman doubles down

The origin of Simon and Kirby’s post WWII hero, Stuntman, was presented in Stuntman #1, published in 1946, and as the blog Kirby Museum explains, “. . . Stuntman and Boy Explorers [another S and K title for Harvey Comics] were caught in a post-war comic book glut. With the end of paper rationing, publishers and printers went wild and an over abundance of comic books hit the newsstands.” Stuntman stories showed up in a couple more issues of the title, and then some inventory was released in Green Hornet Comics, but Stuntman himself was done.

The comic has one of those Prince and the Pauper plots, where two people who have never met are so alike they can pass for one another. I have always found this sort of thing even more unbelievable than grown men putting on costumes and masks to fight villains, unless they are identical twins separated at birth. It is because of my “comic book mind,” as Mrs. Pappy calls it. I can suspend disbelief when superheroes do their superheroics, while rejecting other plot devices in comic book stories I consider impossible in real life. In addition, Don Daring, when meeting his lookalike, acrobatic Fred Drake, proclaims, “I’m Don Daring the movie star and amateur detective!” Yeah, Don...sur-r-r-r-r-re you are. Only in this case it turns out to be true.

The dwarf character “Ian Spine” is repulsive. Simon and Kirby, like many other producers of popular culture years ago, used real-life physical defects to create a cruel stereotype of a character who is invariably ugly and abnormal.

I love the classic faux book cover. I also like the header on page one, “Save this first issue of STUNTMAN comics...it will be a valuable souvenir someday...” “Someday” is here, and yes it is valuable.

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Number 1489: Stuntman stunted

After the war Joe Simon and Jack Kirby came up with the character, Stuntman, for Harvey Comics. The problem with introducing a masked crimefighter/superhero at the time was that the fad for those characters had peaked, and many of them introduced before and during World War II simply disappeared. As did Stuntman, who had a short career.

This story, made to hype the Stuntman comic (see the ad that precedes the story), appeared in All-New Comics #13 (1946). The advertised Stuntman #3 did not make it to newsstands, but a “stunted” edition of 24 pages, printed in black line, was mailed to subscribers.

I give Jack and Joe credit for trying. Up until the late fifties they periodically introduced superheroes, including Fighting American, the Fly, and a revival of the Shield, only to find they all had shortened careers. After that, especially for Jack in the sixties, the rest is history.

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Number 588


Third time's not always the charm...the origin of Stuntman


Stuntman was created for Harvey Comics by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in 1946, but had a short run, only two issues. (Two issues sold on the newsstand, one small black and white edition for subscribers; now very rare.) After the war ended superheroes went into doldrums and as in nature, only the strong survived. Even some of the best, like Flash or Green Lantern, were gone before 1950. Stuntman's origin was reprinted in 1948, and then the original two issues again in late '54 as a Harvey science fiction title, Thrills of Tomorrow #19 and #20. Number 19 was published just before the Comics Code was instituted, and it appears that Harvey was gearing up by replacing its horror comics and going for fare that would get less criticism from the public.

As it was, Harvey's bread-and-butter became its line for very young children.

Stuntman is high energy S&K, but the origin is based on coincidence: Stuntman, a circus daredevil, looks just like Don Daring, a "movie star and amateur detective", so does his heavy work for him in front of the camera, while everyone thinks it's Don. This third Stuntman go-round didn't do any better than the first or second, so once again Stuntman stepped off the stage into obscurity.

But at least we had this much, and any time I look at a Simon & Kirby strip I love the action-filled pages.. Whether or not they were successful sellers, Jack's dynamic artwork could breathe life into even the most prosaic of concepts, but, like his characters, jumped off the page with his superhero and crimefighter strips.

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