Digital Comic Museum
General Category => Comic Related Discussion => Topic started by: bradwebb66 on November 05, 2020, 11:22:48 PM
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I'm currently building a pop culture web site dedicated to the mythology and folklore surrounding Ned Kelly and have started an illustrative text section (see: https://www.folk2super.com/comics/ (https://www.folk2super.com/comics/)) to chart actual and perceived comic books, strips, story papers, graphic novels, etc. that either utilise the story of Ned Kelly or co-opt parts of his tale (such as his armour). As this is a work-in-progress I am looking for any leads that may help shed light on this project. They might be wild-west stories that show men riding horses and holding up stage coaches dressed as medieval knights or simply bullet-proof corsets. The more I can investigate the more I can draw in influences and comparisons. All feedback welcome! Cheers, Brad (from Australia).
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Early Batman stories had him wearing a "bullet-proof vest." See, especially Batman #1. He later discarded it as too bulky/heavy.
Marvel's Kid Colt Outlaw title basically had him fight a blacksmith who built Ned Kelly style armour, circa 1960.
Dynamite's Green Hornet - The Sting of Justice, featuring the original 1930's radio version of the character, used body armor made of 30 layers of silk.
Novelty Comics published the apex of body-armor characters in the 1940's: The Target and the Targeteers. Niles Reed created a lightweight super-metal armor that Batman would have gladly stolen. The three suits protected the full torso, with bright bullseyes at the center of mass. Try to hit anywhere else! The Target was the only Mystery Man I can remember who had two adult sidekicks. The three were costumed alike, except for colors. The Target wore the yellow suit, unless the colorist screwed up. The Targeteers wore red and blue respectively. The good news is that virtually the whole series is here on DCM! ( https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/index.php?cid=204 ) The series starts in Target Comics vol 1 #10 and lasts till vol 9 #5. Plus The Target strip appears in the first two issues of 4-Most Comics.
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Very interesting...
I'm looking more specifically at influences based on Ned and his Gang's iron armour. The first American comic book to touch on the story was Gangster's Can't Win #1 which can be seen here: https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#gangsters-cant-win-1 (https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#gangsters-cant-win-1) although they get the armour completely wrong. The best early example is Dead-Eye Western #11 which can be seen here: https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#dead-eye-western-11 (https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#dead-eye-western-11) and the artist did an amazing job in drawing the suits. While the story isn't about Ned Kelly the armour the bandits wore is extremely close. The front cover is a great illustration and still holds up 70 years later.
Ned's iron helmet featured in a number of wild west stories like Monte Hale Western #58 from 1951 which can be seen here: https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#monte-hale-western-58 (https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#monte-hale-western-58) and no doubt Kid Colt's nemesis Iron Mask is heavily influenced by the Kelly Gang armour, in particular Kid Colt Outlaw #114 which can be seen here: https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#kid-colt-outlaw-114 (https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#kid-colt-outlaw-114) which leads me into the question of how much influence the concept of bulletproof armour had over Iron Man's original concept.
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Iron Man's armor was probably based on armored medieval knights rather than Ned Kelly. In the US, Ned Kelly is more of a curiosity that most people haven't heard of.
Tales of King Arthur and his knights would probably be a more likely origin for most US-based armored characters (and probably Ned Kelly's inspiration for his armor, as well).
Although I seem to recall reading an article, which I can't find unfortunately, that Roy Thomas did use Ned Kelly as an inspiration for an armored villain in a 1970s western comic at Marvel.
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in 1933, Rover, the British story paper, featured an illustrated serial of The Flaming Avenger.
Way before that, The Iron Man dressed in chain mail and sported a domino mask to fight crime. This tale appeared in a Newnes' Library.
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Rover #522 featured the cover and main story Ned Kelly: Outlaw from the Outback. In fact a number of British boys weeklies had Kelly Gang stories like Look and Learn #462 (1970), The Victor #367 (1968), Lion (29 January 1966), Valiant and Knockout (7 September 1963), so he's story in the Commonwealth is pretty muted covered with interest.
As for the armour, Ned and the Gang actually came up with the idea not from medieval knights but from the book Lorna Doone and seeing a travelling display that showed Chinese armour in the town of Beechworth during the late 1970s.
While the Kelly Gang story may not be general knowledge to most Americans, for those in the creative field they would very much be aware of his significance dating back to at least 1906 when the world's first feature-length movie The Story Of The Kelly Gang was produced and distributed.
But my focus is on comic books such as The Kelly Gang Rides #1 (1945), Gangster's Can't Win #1 (1948), The Westerner Comics #25 (1950), Dead-Eye Western #11 (1950), The Authentic Story of the Kelly Gang #1 (1956), etc. all the way up to the Swagman in Batman R.I.P. #676 – 681 (2009) where there's a direct link back to Ned Kelly, his story, and/or his armour...
(https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#comic-batman-rip-009)(https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#Western%20Hero%20#101)(https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#Monte%20Hale%20Western%20#58)(https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#Dead%20Eye%20Western%20#11)(https://www.folk2super.com/gallery/#The%20Kelly%20Gang%20Rides%20#1)