Knowledge Waits is a feature where I just share some bit of comic book history that interests me.
As the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade kicks into high gear, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some other notable parades that are specific to the world of superhero comic books!
The first parade on our route occurred in Wonder Woman #64 (by Robert Kanigher and HG Peter), where a group of criminals trick Wonder Woman into believing that they are actually members of her fan club who want to honor her with a Wonder Woman Day Parade...
Dang, you know things are looking bad when the criminals are saying stuff like "Ho ho ho!"
Luckily, Wonder Woman quickly turns things around...
Precisely 50 issues later, Kanigher and then-new Wonder Woman artists (well, they had been there for a couple of years, but that's still relatively new in the grand scheme of things) Ross Andru and Mike Esposito show the Tracy Day Parade, which I guess is supposed to be the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade mushed into one thing? I have no real idea.
That is some dynamite artwork from Andru and Esposito on the shot of Wonder Woman juggling the cars. Awesome stuff.
In Action Comics #328 (by Leo Dorfman and Al Plastino), the villainous Mister Gimmick has come up with one twisted gimmick. He had Superman's hands coated with an explosive material so that when Superman claps at the Superman Day Parade, it will set off an explosion that will wipe out most of Metropolis and make everyone hate Superman and also make Superman feel too much guilt to carry on.
They achieve their first goal of coating his hands, but he keeps avoiding clapping...
Finally, though....
What a great drawing by Plastino of Superman's distraught face!
However, of course, this is all a trick...
I like how Superman even added in a little, "Dang, dudes, this was a particularly messed up scheme."
Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Marvel Comics gets in on the act!']
As part of a plotline involving a Captain America movie (leftover from a comic book that Marvel was originally going to do to tie-in with the Cap TV movies of the late 1970s), J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck show Captain America getting a Captain America Day Parade...
In DC Comics Presents #52 (by Paul Kupperberg, Keith Giffen and Sal Trapani), we see Metropolis Day Parade, where Ambush Bug interrupts to MURDER A DUDE! The cool thing about the Metropolis Day Parade is that the balloons are all independent comic book characters...
The "Panic in the Sky" crossover saw the Earth's superheroes defending the planet from an invasion from Warworld. Once they succeeded, Lex Luthor Jr. (secretly the real Lex Luthor in a cloned body) throws the heroes a parade in Adventures of Superman #489 (by Jerry Ordway, Tom Grummett and Doug Hazlewood)...
Finally, in an early Stan Lee/Don Heck Avengers story, New York City turns on the Avengers via some flimsy evidence created by the Enchantress. Once the heroes proved the falseness of the charges, the city feels so bad that they decided to give the Avengers their own day. No one really did anything with the concept until Kurt Busiek used it to celebrate the Avengers' 35th anniversary in Avengers #10 (by Busiek, George Perez and Al Vey). Busiek is so good at creating verisimilitude with his superhero work (it's the hallmark of Astro City) and it works particularly well here, as he really nails what a superhero parade would look like in a comic book universe, right down to the reactions of other superheroes watching the festivities...
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Enjoy the parade!