By Sean McQuaid

Not so very long ago, the current editor of this here publica- tion (lamenting its less-than-prodi- pious page count of late) suggested ro me that | write a REALLY long Panelology to help fill out an issue pr two. Like they say, kids, be careful what you wish for. . .

In compliance with that re- quest, and in keeping with my ifelong fascination for Golden Age (1930's-1940's) characters, | de- cided to type up the ultmate com- panion piece to my various Golden Age articles to date. Presenting, for the first time anywhere, a guide to Golden Age comic book characters nd where the heck they're at now n terms of modern, contemporary ontinuity. We'll begin with the ream of the Golden Age crop: the haracters of DC Comics, Quality omics, (which DC bought out)

nd Fawcett (also purchased by

C). Take a deep breath, and dive as.

Note: for simplicity’s sake, "ve omitted the original, Golden e versions of Batman, Robin, uperman, Wonder Woman, quaman, Green Arrow, Speedy, lastic Man, Captain Marvel, The lue Beetle, The Marvel Family and ll related characters since they were all retroactively deleted from DC continuity by the Crisis on nfinite Earths (although modern- day versions of most of the above characters remain in circulation today).

Note the second: quite a few significant Golden-Age characters have yet to appear at all in modern DC comics. Notables include Wildfire, The Sword, # 711, USA (The Spirit of Old Glory), The Mouthpiece, Bozo the Robot, Madame Fatale, Spider Widow, Raven, The Ghost Patrol, Joe

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Hercules, Red, vi Nk Blue, Black X, Blaze Barton, Bulletgirl, Commando Yank, Cyclone, Death Patrol, Devil’s Dagger, Diamond Jack, The Dragon, Elkarim, G-2, Genius Jones, The Ghost of Flan- ders, The Golden Arrow, The Great Defender, Hercules, Just and Right, The King, Lando, Man of Magic, The Marksman, Masterman, Merlin the Magician, Radar, Rusty Ryan, Samar, Tor, The Unknown, Wigns Wendall, Wonder Boy, The Yankee Eagle.

Airwave was killed by vengeful criminals years ago in the pages of Green Lantern (2nd series), where his son made his debut as the new Airwave. Airwave Il has not ap- peared since his cameo role in the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Amazing Man was revealed to be an elderly, terminally ill man, long since retired, in a recent Justice League America appearance. His grandson first appeared in the same story, and soon afterward became the new Amazing Man. Amazing Man II is currently a mem- ber of the extremist vigilante fac- tion of the Justice League and appears monthly in Extreme Justice.

The Atom was killed by Extant during Zero Hour. The modern- day Atom, who bears no relation to the original beyond their shared alias, survived a prominent role in Zero Hour and appeared most recently in the second Atom Spe- cial. A third Atom, who briefly succeeded the current Atom, died in action as a member of the Sui- cide Squad. The original Atom’s godson and protege, Nuklon, ap- pears monthly as a member of Justice League America. The origi- nal Atom’s son, Grant Emerson (alias Damage), has his own on- going series, and is a member of the Justice League Task Force.

“Black Canary aged naturally, retired years ago, and died not long ago of cancer. Her daughter suc- ceeded her as the new Black Ca-

nary.

Black Condor has appeared most recently as the ghostly, un- seen guiding force behind the career of the new Black Condor (whose links to the original hero have yet to be illuminated). The original Black Condor’s precise status remains to be determined. The new Black Condor appears monthly as a member of Primal Force.

Bulletman, now elderly (though still in remarkably good shape), is a minor character in Power of Shazam.

Captain Triumph has yet to make a contemporary comic book appearance, though he did figure prominently in DC+s -Elseworlds+ mini-series The Golden Age.

Captain X, long since retired, was killed by a Russian super-agent in the second DC comic series starring Firestorm (who turned out to be Captain X’s grandson).

The Clock has yet to make a contemporary comic book appear- ance in modern-day DC continuity to date.

Commander Steel (formerly known as Steel) was killed by Eclipso in the pages of the latter's ongoing series. Steel’s grandson and successor, Steel Il, was slain by Professor Ivo during the final storyline in Justice League of America. A third Steel currently appears in his own ongoing series, but has no relation to the other two adventurers apart from their shared alias. ;

Crimson Avenger sacrificed his life to save a city years ago in an issue of DC Comics Presents.

Doctor Fate (originally Kent Nelson but in recent years a com- posite being composed of Kent and Inza Nelson) was stripped of his power by Extant during Zero Hour, and as a result was slain by demons not long afterward in the premiere issue of Fate, at which time the Nelsons passed their talismans and their power on to mercenary Jared Stevens, who now stars in his own ongoing series as the mystical adventurer called Fate. Eric and Linda Strauss, who at one time had merged to become the new Doctor Fate, both died in the pages of the Doctor Fate ongoing series, though they were reincarnated in new identities.

Doctor Mid-Nite was killed by Extant during Zero Hour. His protege, Doctor Midnight, was killed by Eclipso in the latter’s ongoing series.

Doctor Occult remains active, having mystically retained his youth, and continues to fight supernatural evil with his partner, Rose Psychic (who now shares Occult’s corpo- real from -- don’t ask, it’s long story). He recently starred in his own one-shot “Vertigo Visions” special, and appears occasionally in a variety of other DC comics.

Doll Man has made no con- temporary appearances in modern DC continuity to date.

Dyna-Mite has made no con- temporary appearances in modern DC continuity to date, but he did figure prominently in DC's “Elseworlds” mini-series, The Golden Age.

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September 19; 19955