Wonder Comics

[roxolid]

I was under the impression that the original Wonder Man (pulled for being too similar to Superman - which was nonsense in my opinion. If that was the case most other brick type supers should've been pulled too) only appeared but the once. According to a 'How to Draw Super Heroes' book I have he seems to have had a bit of a run rather than the one issue?

http://s14.postimage.org/er5fmtrzl/IMG.jpg

The costume has changed, and no idea if Brenda or Nora (her name changed mid way through issue 1) is the damsel in distress. Plus the mention of 'cosmic belt' leads me to think it's a different character from:

http://s7.postimage.org/srea6uekb/Image2.jpg

That one. Can anyone shed any light?

[NobbyNobbs]

This is the Nedor/Better/Standard Wonder Man, and Wonder Comics , not the same as Fox's Wonder Man. 

[paw broon]

And not the only one - and I don't mean the Marvel version, either.  In the late '40's and '50's, in France, there was a Wonderman, actually described as, "the superman in the velvet mask".  He had a glider cape and enhanced strength, plus some other powers that seemed to come and go (at least, that's what happens in the 5 or 6 stories I have). Here in the U.K. we had a Wonderman, who, this time, was Captain John Justice, a wealthy good-for-nothing in his public life.  He seemed to have super strength; invulnerability; superhuman atomic powers; flight - well, you name it, he had it! His super suit had a big W on the chest.  This was in 1948 and I'd have to do some more research to find out how long he lasted.

[Roygbiv666]

Yup, there were a bunch:
http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Wonderman

for some of the PD ones.

[John C]

Regarding the Wonder Man lawsuit, remember that "characters" aren't fixed works to sue over.  National won the lawsuit because they found many instances throughout the story that were nearly-identical to scenes in Superman books previously.  Things like Fred Carson opening his shirt to reveal his costume, catching shells in the air, and so forth.

Here's a quick rundown, thanks to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, since the original site is, sadly, gone:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090206123940/http://brittonpayne.com/Marvel/SupermanWonderman.htm

While today, most of these situations and scenes are obviously generic, back in 1939, you'd be hard-pressed to find an alternate source, and the similarity is clear and not likely coincidental.

[paw broon]

A bit off subject again but if anyone is interested, here's the International Hero entry for the French hero which I submitted some years ago (so not really up to date with the info. now available) at a time when I had no computer and had to go to the local shop for photocopies - that's why they are in b&w.  Colour cost too much.
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/w/wondermn.htm
On the same page there is a link to the British Wonderman entry.

[roxolid]

Thanks for clearing it up - so the Fred Carson character appeared only once. I'd thought so until seeing references to other Wonder Men then started the head scratching. I'm surprised that DC (National?) didn't go after every jumping super strong type character seeing as they had success in shutting the first imitation down.

[Roygbiv666]

Thanks for clearing it up - so the Fred Carson character appeared only once. I'd thought so until seeing references to other Wonder Men then started the head scratching. I'm surprised that DC (National?) didn't go after every jumping super strong type character seeing as they had success in shutting the first imitation down.

Bur remember Judge Hand's ruling's key part:
"Perhaps the periodicals of the complainant are foolish rather than comic, but they embody an original arrangement of incidents and a pictorial and literary form which preclude the contention that Bruns was not copying the antics of "Superman" portrayed in "Action Comics". We think it plain that the defendants have used more than general types and ideas and have appropriated the pictorial and literary details embodied in the complainant's copyrights."

It's pretty much the ripping off of the story, rather than what the character necessarily does. I think.

[Ami_GFX]

Here is the whole story in detail with a transcript of Will Eisner's testimony and the exhibit comparing the art of DC's Superman to Fox's Wonderman.

 http://thecomicsdetective.blogspot.com/2010/07/dc-vs-victor-fox-testimony-of-will.html

Victor Fox is a fascinating character and more interesting than his comics to me. I once had to deal with a someone out of his mold. All the same stuff: Ripping off competitors products and ideas, underpaying or not paying employees, bombastic salemanship to sell an inferior product, all of this feeding addictive behavior which sucked all the money his business made. Like Fox, he didn't last all that long in the business he was in.