Mark McDermott 4937 Stanley Ave. Downers Grove, IL 60515
[email protected] These excerpts are intended as “writing samples” for the author of the articles presented. They are not intended for reuse or re-publication without the consent of the publisher or the copyright holder. ©2009 Robert G. Weiner. All rights reserved McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com Mark McDermott 4937 Stanley Ave. Downers Grove, IL 60515
[email protected] The Invaders and the All-Star Squadron Roy Thomas Revisits the Golden Age Mark R. McDermott Introduction By the mid-1970’s, many fans of the “Golden Age” of comic books had grown up to become writers and ultimately editors for the comics publishers, sometimes setting the nar- rative histories for their favorite childhood characters themselves. Many of these fans-turned- pro produced comics series that attempted to recapture the Golden Age’s excitement, patriotic fervor and whiz-bang attitude. The most successful of these titles were produced by Roy Thomas, who fashioned a coherent history of costumed heroes during World War II, and rec- onciled the wildly inconsistent stories of the 1940’s with tightly patrolled continuity initiated with the “Silver Age” of the 1960’s. With The Invaders (1975-1979), Thomas focused on the hitherto unrevealed wartime exploits of Marvel Comics’ early mainstays Captain America, the Human Torch, and Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. In 1980, he moved to DC Comics and launched All-Star Squadron, which juggled the histories of the Justice Society of Amer- ica and nearly a hundred secondary characters.