Dispatch #389: Nani Darnell: Zatanna's Inspiration?

 

Zatanna as she appeared in the 1960s.

  The popular DC Comics character Zatanna was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson. Zatanna, a magician, was a Silver Age legacy character tied to a Golden Age hero, Zatara (who also happened to be her father).

  In her 1964 debut, Zatanna wore a version of her father's top hat and tails—but substituting fishnet stockings for trousers. Over the years, I've often wondered if Zatanna's Silver Age appearance might have also been inspired by the attire worn by the wife of a popular stage magician.

Mark Wilson and Nani Darnell in the 1960s

  In their stage act, Nani Darnell played the role of magician's assistant to her husband, illusionist Mark Wilson. During the 1950s, the two performed together on a local Texas TV show, Time for Magic. 

  That show's popularity eventually translated into a syndicated series, The Magic Land of Allakazam, which aired nationally from 1960 to 1964, first on the CBS network and then ABC.

  Zatanna made her debut in the pages of Hawkman #4, which went on sale in August of 1964—during the final season of The Magic Land of Allakazam on ABC. Murphy and Helen Anderson were raising three children in their New Jersey home at this same time—making it likely they were familiar with Mark Wilson's TV magic show. 

Zatanna's 1964 debut in Hawkman #4 by Murphy Anderson (left), Nani Darnell drawn by Bob Jenney in a 1962 coloring book (right).

  It's not unheard of for comic book artists to be inspired by TV or films. For instance, many believe Jack Kirby's design for the villainous Mole Man in Fantastic Four #1 was inspired by actor Anthony Quinn's look in the 1961 film, The Savage Innocents.

Anthony Quinn and Jack Kirby's Mole Man, both 1961.

  So, was artist Murphy Anderson inspired by Nani Darnell's stage costume when he designed Zatanna's look back in 1964? In my opinion, you don't need to believe in magic to reach that conclusion.

 There's more to come in the next dispatch.

 ©2024 SummitCityScribe

Dispatch #258: Hulk Smash!

 

Marvel Treasury Edition #5, April 1975

   In the in spring of 1975, my mother gave me a Commemorative Bicentennial Coin Set consisting of one penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar, and dollar coins minted to celebrate the 200th birthday of the United States.

     The sets had been advertised in newspapers and magazines back in December 1974, and my mom had seen one of these adverts and ordered me one, which arrived around St. Patrick's Day, 1975.

The U.S. Bicentennial Coin Set

     "Hang onto these," my mother advised me as she handed me the coin set, "they might be worth something someday."

     

     While I certainly appreciated the gift, I really was not much of a numismatist at that young age. I was, however, a die-hard Marvel maniac, collecting as many of the company's comic books as I could within the constraints of my $5.00 weekly allowance.

     It should come as no surprise, then, that I rather quickly disregarded my mother's advice regarding those shiny commemorative coins. 

     In fact, just a few weeks after Easter, on a Saturday trip to the Scott's Grocery on Decatur Road, I stumbled across an item which meant certain doom for that coin set: Marvel Treasury Edition #5: The Hulk on the Rampage!

     Understand, this was no ordinary comic—it was a tabloid-sized 10'' x 14" full-color reprinting of 6 classic stories featuring Marvel's Jade Giant, the Incredible Hulk, and all for only $1.50! From the moment that I saw it peeking out of a pocket in the magazine section at Scott's, I simply knew that I had to possess it.

     Unfortunately, as I'd already spent the majority of my allowance on other things, I didn't possess the buck-fifty required to purchase the glorious, oversized issue. Or did I?

     Driven to extremes by my desire to clutch that tabloid comic in my hot little hands, barely an hour after I returned home from the store, I took my Bicentennial Coin Set out into the back yard and cracked open its clear plastic protective case with a ball-pein hammer. Not the most subtle tactic, to be sure, but one I imagined Dr. Banner's gamma-ray infused alter ego might approve ("Hulk Smash!").

     With state sales tax included, the purchase price for Marvel Treasury Edition #5 came to a grand total of $1.54. Now that I had $1.91 in gleaming Bicentennial coinage in my sweaty palm, I knew had enough to purchase it, but would the comic still be there when I returned to the store? What if some other Marvel Maniac got there before me and took that Hulk Treasury Edition home? 

     Fortunately, when I returned to the grocery on Sunday afternoon, the Marvel tabloid was still peeking out of that pocket in the magazine section. I wasted no time in taking it up to the nearest checkout and carefully placing it on the rubber conveyor mat before the cashier.

     When I handed the shiny, uncirculated coins (consisting of a silver dollar, half-dollar, and nickel) over to her, she took a moment to inspect them before asking, "honey, are you sure you want to spend these?"

     "Oh, yeah!" I replied, with nearly the same enthusiasm as she'd asked if I wanted some chocolate cake.

     The cashier shrugged and processed the sale, although as I left the cash wrap with the oversized comic book clutched in my hands, I observed her place $1.50 of her own money in the till and claim the Bicentennial dollar & half-dollar for herself. Much like my mother, she seemed certain of those commemorative coins' future value.

     Now, 48 years later, I wondered just how wise my trade of coinage for comic book had been back then. Of course, it's all purely academic now—I sold my entire comic book collection (including Marvel Treasury Edition #5) back in 1991—but I was curious just the same.

     In my online research, I found the Bicentennial Coin Set could be found for anywhere from 6 to 25 dollars, while the incredible Hulk tabloid ranged $35 to as much as $192. 

     As a kid, I did feel a momentary twinge of regret as I hammered open the coin set my mother had given me (a feeling which was forgotten the instant I purchased that over-sized Hulk comic book).

     Now, almost fifty years later, it's comforting to know that—despite my mother's belief those coins might be worth something someday—the Hulk comic that I bought with them is actually worth more. Hulk Smash, indeed!

There's more to come in the next dispatch.

©2023 SummitCityScribe

Dispatch #257: Kryptonite Rocks!

 

     Ever since I was a little kid, I've always loved things that glowed in the dark, an affection likely spawned by drifting off to sleep in my childhood bedroom under the comforting glow of my Aurora Monster Model Kits.

     In 1978, I added a new bit of glow kitsch to my collection with the addition of a pair of green-hued rocks—advertised as pieces of Kryptonite to tie in with the recently released Superman film starring Christopher Reeve.

     In that film, Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor sardonically describes Kryptonite (which is lethal to all Kryptonians) as a "little souvenir from the old hometown" before cruelly wrapping a necklace adorned with a Kryptonite bauble around the Man of Steel's neck.

     Fun Fact: Kryptonite made its first appearance in the Superman radio show before becoming a staple of the hero's comic book lore.

     I must have seen that first Chris Reeve Superman film a half-dozen times over the harsh winter of 1978 (its score by John Williams remains one of my favorites). At some point around that same time, I stopped into the Keltsch Pharmacy at the Rogers Market shopping center in the 5500 block of South Anthony Blvd near Paulding Road in Fort Wayne.

     The items stocked around the drugstore's checkout area are designed to influence impulse purchases, and the display featuring Kryptonite rocks certainly worked its magic on me. I headed home that day with two pieces of phosphorescent Kryptonian rubble, which, during playtime, I would often place in close proximity to my Mego Superman action figure.

    45 years later, I no longer have that Mego Superman, but I do still have those two "little souvenirs" from Kal-El's hometown. They rest on the corner of the nightstand in my bedroom, where each night I sleep under their comforting glow.

     There's more to come in the next dispatch.

     ©2023 SummitCityScribe