{"id":428,"date":"2009-01-22T23:33:11","date_gmt":"2009-01-23T04:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goldenagecomics.org\/wordpress\/?p=428"},"modified":"2009-01-23T15:56:52","modified_gmt":"2009-01-23T20:56:52","slug":"the-strange-case-of-the-pink-eyebrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/goldenagecomics.org\/wordpress\/2009\/01\/22\/the-strange-case-of-the-pink-eyebrow\/","title":{"rendered":"The Strange Case of “The Pink Eyebrow”"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s a lot of wacky stuff out there in Golden Age comics books if you know where to look.\u00a0 One of the strangest I’ve come across in a while is the case of “The Pink Eyebrow”, from DC’s All Funny Comics<\/em> #16 (March-April, 1947).\u00a0 All Funny<\/em> was a anthology humor book that got its start in 1943 and ran for 23 issues until June, 1948.\u00a0 All Funny<\/em> features such characters as Genius Jones, Tinkerman Tad, Dover and Clover, Cave-Man Curly, Sillie Willie, Two-Gun Percy and Penniless Palmer, to name a few.\u00a0 It’s the Penniless Palmer story from All Funny Comics<\/em> #16 that caught my “eye”, with an amazing adventure of none other than “The Pink Eyebrow”.\u00a0\u00a0 A superhero called “The Pink Eyebrow” is strange enough, but the story is made even more bizzare by the appearances of Superman, Batman, Robin and some other well known DC Comics superheroes.<\/p>\n

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All Funny Comics #16 (1947)<\/p><\/div>\n

As it turns out, the Pink Eyebrow was a superhero created by O. Howe Tragic for his popular comic book, Tragic Comics<\/em>.\u00a0 Not only was Mr. Tragic the creator of this colorful superhero, he was also a collector and avid comic book reader, having bound volumes of every comic book published, including those with Superman and Batman.\u00a0 Sound strange?\u00a0 Listen to the rest of the story…<\/p>\n

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All Funny Comics #16 (1947) - Penniless Palmer<\/p><\/div>\n

The story begins with Penniless Palmer and his friends, Beauteous Bunny and Omnivorous Oxie\u00a0being visted by Mr. Tragic at Penniless’ detective agency.\u00a0 He claims that the superheroes from his bound volumes of comic books are coming to life and running around his apartment!\u00a0 Penniless and the gang hardly believe this story, but Tragic offers to drive them there to look around while he completes a business transaction.\u00a0 When they arrive, Tragic shows them the huge library of bound Golden Age comics and tells them that “Superman and the others step right out of them”, to which Penniless replies, “Mr. Mxyztplk, maybe–but not Superman!”\u00a0 As if on cue, Superman and Batman in miniature form emerge from the books and become lifesize.\u00a0 For a moment it appears that these heroes may have come to life (along with Robin, Green Arrow and Vigilante), but the crew soon realizes that something is wrong when the heroes start fighting them and \u00a0Beauteous is able to knock Superman out with a blow to his head with a large book.\u00a0 That’s when Tragic’s creation, The Pink Eyebrow appears on the scene!<\/p>\n

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All Funny Comics #16 (1947) - Penniless Palmer<\/p><\/div>\n

The Pink Eyebrow uses his powers to subdue Penniless and the gang.\u00a0 He first sprays Omnivorous with his “burning tears” and subdues Penniless with his “artificial eyelashes” around his wrists like handcuffs.\u00a0 Tragic explains to Penniless that the Pink Eyebrow is “a terror” and absolutuely uncontrolable and “That’s why I’m selling him”.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Pink Eyebrow ties up Penniless and his friends and tells Tragic to go about his business and that the heroes will “wander around before returning to our books”.<\/p>\n

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All Funny Comics #16 (1947) - Penniless Palmer<\/p><\/div>\n

The scene shifts to Penniless discovering that the miniature images they first saw of the heroes\u00a0are nothing more than a projection and that the “heroes” were really men in costumes who came from a hidden room to terrorize Tragic.\u00a0 It seems that it was all a plot to cause Tragic to sell his famous “Pink Eyebrow” creation\u00a0to an unscrupulous competitor, Taymer Comics.\u00a0 Penniless and his gang free themselves, subdue the “heroes” and stop Tragic in the nick of time before he signs away his character to Tryamer.\u00a0 As a reward, Tragic gives them a bound volume of Tragic Comics<\/em> with every appearance of the Pink Eyebrow.<\/p>\n

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All Funny Comics #16 (1947) - Penniless Palmer<\/p><\/div>\n

Whew!\u00a0 What a crazy story.\u00a0 If not for the appearance of the main DC heroes of the day, this story would hardly be worth mentioning.\u00a0 As it turns out (even though they were imposters in costumes), this is one of the earliest DC stories where Superman, Batman and Robin are seen fighting side by side, and several years before the real team ups began first in Superman<\/em> #76 (May-June 1952)\u00a0and later in World’s Finest<\/em> #71 (July-August 1954).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Real or not, and as bizzare as this story is, it’s fun to see this early “team up” of Superman and Batman.<\/p>\n

But what of the Pink Eyebrow?\u00a0 As far as I know, this was his one and only appearance in the Golden Age of comics books.\u00a0 Maybe it’s time for a revival!<\/p>\n