SW10/HCC: Powernaut 1962 #1: Powernaut and the Power Patrol!

[Scott Eiler]

It's the next big story.  And it's chock-full of teambuilding - and 
Commies.  Powernaut 1962 is underway!

http://www.eilertech.com/stories/powernaut/1962.htm

But not *everyone* likes it...

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Bonus Section: Talk Back to the Powernaut!

Hello, this is the Powernaut. I'll take all your letters, as soon as 
they come in! I have one here...

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Dear Powernaut,

Why's your comic putting in all these new people?

You and S.O.S. on the Moon last year was great. You don't need those 
others. They're just stupid. It's like you're trying to copy other 
companies' team comics, when you should just be the Powernaut.

Paula Power is stupid because she comes from those PowerTEEN comics. Now 
that she's in a *real* Powernaut comic, it'll be about love interests. 
If this goes on, S.O.S. will fight the Powernaut over her! And speaking 
of fighting over women... Queezl the Saucer Alien is stupid because he's 
from the stupid Dean Martin 3-D movie tie-in, and he wants to steal 
women from Earth anyway. Neither one should be in Powernaut comics, 
especially not together because they come from different stories! 
Shouldn't Queezl want to steal Paula Power and take her to Venus? And 
don't get me going on that new (racial epithet omitted) character.

The Powernaut can always use *one* sidekick. But he doesn't need four! 
If you keep them, especially this bunch, they'll RUIN EVERYTHING in the 
story! I don't know if even the Powernaut can ever recover from this one 
ruined story!

(signed) Andy Cletus (age 15)
Miles City, Montana

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Hello, my ally Andy!

I can see you love my adventures. My new Power Patrol is *good* news for 
you, because now *you* can be my sidekick too! Soon I'll have a Power 
Patrol enlistment package you can see with my adventures! I'm not going 
to comment on *who* can be my sidekick, because *everyone* can!

I know you don't like who's in my Power Patrol now. But they've earned 
the right to be there. They'll all show you, if you keep reading! And 
I've had Paula on my team since 1941, even if she's usually been in the 
background!

I hope to see *you* in my Power Patrol soon!

(signed) the Powernaut

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Author's Notes:

I remembered the Great American Comics Code (GACC) from 1955! It lingers 
on. As do many things from the 1950s, whether they make sense together 
or not. Hence some of the commentary.

Commentary was of course inspired by Rec.Arts.Comics.Collective High 
Concept Challenge #35: RUINED FOREVER!  The Cletus family has appeared 
in Superhuman World and Powernaut stories before; Andy Cletus's son Kent 
wrote in to the Powernaut in 2005! (ref.: 
http://www.eilertech.com/stories2005/powerpatrol1.htm)

I'm being careful with the artwork. For instance, with modern technology 
I could put fifty white stars on a small navy blue background... but 
that's not how they did it in 1962! First, the penciller and inker had 
to make sure the stars and stripes were all there, if they cared. Then 
the colorist made the U.S. flag black on Powernaut blue because it was 
as detailed as he could get. And he got his minimum wage no matter how 
popular the comic was.  It's 1962 all over again!


-- 
(signed) Scott Eiler  8{D> -------- http://www.eilertech.com/ ---------

When you *are* the leader... whatever goes wrong... whether you did it
or not... *you* are held responsible. - Barack Obama

I know. - Archie Andrews

- from Archie #617, March 2011, scripted by Alex Simmons.