Download Weird War Tales #34
Illustrated by Jack Sparling, the prolific Arnold Drake scripted this excellent science fiction tale set in the Pacific theater during WWII. Drake, who started at DC Comics writing scripts for Batman, Showcase-Tommy Tomorrow, and My Greatest Adventure, went on to co-create the Doom Patrol.
The first appearance of the Doom Patrol pre-dated that of the X-Men by a scant three months. The vague similarity in concept (group of misfits led by a mysterious wheel-chair bound genius, and similarly named enemies (Brotherhood of Evil and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants)) has led to speculation as to the relation between them, if any.
According to Comic Coverage: Which Came First: The Mutant or The Freak?, creator Arnold Drake felt:
- "...I’ve become more and more convinced that (Stan Lee) knowingly stole The X-Men from The Doom Patrol. Over the years I learned that an awful lot of writers and artists were working surreptitiously between (Marvel and DC). Therefore from when I first brought the idea into (DC editor) Murray Boltinoff’s office, it would’ve been easy for someone to walk over and hear that (I was) working on a story about a bunch of reluctant superheroes who are led by a man in a wheelchair. So over the years I began to feel that Stan had more lead time than I realized. He may well have had four, five or even six months."
Note: my apologies for the above copy-and-paste job, folks, but I am battling an awful cold and I'll try to be original tomorrow.
Credits
Cover: Luis Dominguez
Script: George Kashdan
Pencils: Jack Sparling
Inks: Jack Sparling
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