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Javaman

(62,590 posts)
Fri Aug 6, 2021, 08:15 AM Aug 2021

The origin of Super Heroes: Kid Eternity

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kid_Eternity

Kid Eternity is a fictional character, a comic book superhero that premiered in Hit Comics #25 written by Otto Binder, drawn by Sheldon Moldoff, and published by American company Quality Comics in December 1942. All of Quality's intellectual properties were sold to DC Comics in 1956, including Kid Eternity. The character has continued to appear (albeit infrequently) in DC comic books since his revival in the 1970s.[1]

In 1956, Everett M. "Busy" Arnold, the owner of Quality Comics decided to leave the comic business entirely for the more profitable arena of men's adventure magazines. He sold the Quality Comics line to his competitor, DC Comics. DC kept a number of Quality's titles running, but not until the 1970s did they look at the long-cancelled superhero characters (with the introduction of the Freedom Fighters). In the 1980s, Kid Eternity was folded into the Shazam series in World's Finest Comics and was revealed to be Christopher Freeman, brother of Freddie Freeman aka Captain Marvel Jr. and shared some adventures with the Marvel Family.

Kid Eternity was rebooted in 1991 by Grant Morrison with a new focus and backstory; the character has appeared sporadically since then.

Prior to issue #25, Hit Comics had a series of rotating cover features, including Hercules, the Red Bee, Stormy Foster and Neon the Unknown. However, December 1942 saw the entire line-up of comics at Quality change their features (if not always the cover feature). Kid Eternity was brought in from the start as the new cover feature for Hit.[2]

The character may have been based on the 1941 movie Here Comes Mr. Jordan, in which a prizefighter dies too soon in a plane crash and is given a new life by a celestial guide.[3]

He proved to be popular enough that when Quality Comics began expanding their post-war line, the Kid got his own self-titled comic book, Kid Eternity, in the spring of 1946.[4] Further illustrating the popularity of the character, his antagonists, Her Highness and Silk were given their own strip in Hit Comics #29 through #57.

By the late 1940s, however, Quality Comics was experiencing the post-war bust that most superhero comics were. In November 1949, Kid Eternity's self-titled magazine was discontinued (with issue #18) and his lead slot in Hit Comics was given over to Jeb Rivers, a riverboat captain (with issue #61).

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