Appearing in "Review"
Featured Characters:
- Big-Bang Publishing
- Garrison Robillard
- George Edwards
- Chester Gould's assistant
- Ultiman
- Knight Watchman
- Thunder GIrl
- The Badge
- Dr. Weird
Supporting Characters:
- Skip Trace, Bounty Hunter/Skip Tracer
Antagonists:
- None
Other Characters:
- Yellow Kid
- Mutt and Jeff
- Gasoline Alley
- Dick Tracy
- Walt Disney
- Sherlock Holmes
- Nick Carter
- Bulldog Drummond
- Mike Hammer
- The Shadow
- The Spider
- Chester Gould
- Edgar Rice Burroughs
- John Carter of Mars
Races and Species:
Locations:
Synopsis for "Review"
A brief primer on Big Bang Comics' (fictional) history.
Appearing in "Love Comes Calling: For Goddess Sake"
Featured Characters:
- Charlene Marsland
- Petra "P.G." Harris
- Venus/Vanessa DeMille
Supporting Characters:
- Mick
- Thomas
- Big-Bang
- Garrison Robillard
- George Edwards
- Mick Fitzroy
- Vestal Virgins
- Pegasus
Antagonists:
- Nazis
- Crimson Cat
- The Temptress
- The Gorgon
- The Minotaur
- Pandora Jones
- Madame X
- Hannibal
- Hercules
- Atlas
- Attila the Hun
- Genghis Khan
- Commies
Other Characters:
- Ultiman
- Knight Watchman
- Sir Lancelot
- P.G. Harris' brother
- Knights of Justice
- George Edwards' sister
- Jimmy Ziegler
- Jon Schuler
- Thunder Girl
- Brad
- Bob (Mentioned)
- The Badge
- Dr. Weird
Races and Species:
- Humans
Locations:
- Earth
- Mid-Atlantic
- Europe
- Mount Olympus
- France
- Tribune Tower
- Statue of Liberty
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Love Comes Calling: For Goddess Sake"
A fictional history of Venus.
Appearing in "More Stars Than in Hollywood"
Featured Characters:
- Knights of Justice
- The Beacon (Scott Martin)
- The Blitz (Mack Snelling)
- Speed Queen
- Ultiman
- Knight Watchman (Leaves Group)
- Venus
- Thunder Girl
- The Badge
- The Mighty Hummingbird
- Dr. Stellar (Joins Team)
- U.S. Angel/Guardian Angel
- Vita-Man
Supporting Characters:
- Big-Bang
- Garrison Robillard
- Rance Arnold
- Jimmy Ziegler
- Max Morkin
- George Edwards
- Tom Styles (Joins Team) (Leaves Group)
- Mick Fitzroy
- Sam Orvis
- All-American Distribution
- Blake Wolff
- Aloysius "Oily" Boyd
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Winston Churchill
- Alex Starr (Death)
- Peter Starr's mother (Death)
- Dr. Dexter Wheeler
- Goliath
- St. Peter
Antagonists:
- The Blackout
- Nazis
- Heinrich Horn
- Academy Award robot
- Lorelei
- The Mirage Man
- The Conqueror
- The Glow Worm
- The Evil Bard
- Dr. Xavier Xander
- Lemurians
- Rollerbot
- Comedy and Tragedy
- Ertha Quake
- The Puppeteer
- Boss Nero
- Henry Hyde
- Benito Mussolini
- Unholy Alliance
- Super-Nazi
- Golden Dragon
- The Gladiator
- Dr. Hush
- Clock Face
- Minute Men
- Marduk
- Merry Knaves of Evil
- Atom-Smasher
- Gamma-Man
- Atomic Blast
- The Leaping Lizard
- The Radiator
- Professor Panic
- The Maestro
- Anton Black (Death)
- Spitfire
- The Glider
- The Black Bat
- The Queen Bee
- Flying Tiger
Other Characters:
- Dr. Weird
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Kid Galahad
- Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Major Discovery
- Rod Roscoe
- Sunmaid
- Red Cross
- Barney Fox
- Kay Lampert
- Gilgamesh
- Hercules
- Paul Bunyan
- Nick Charles
- Nora Charles
- King Comics
- United States Army
- Zoe Underhill
- Tom King
- The Flying Fish
- Royal Air Force
- U.S. Angel I
- Tailspin Tommy
- Smilin' Jack
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Europe
- United States of America
- Empire City
- Midway City
- Independence City
- Los Angeles
- New York
- White House
- Montana
- Xenon
- Hades
Items:
- Ko-Dan
- Monkey's Paw
- Stellar Police uniform
- Radar-poon
- RadioRay
- Ultrascopic Tube
- Panacea Pills
Vehicles:
- U.S. Angel's P-51 Mustang
- Buzzbomb
Synopsis for "More Stars Than in Hollywood"
A fictional history of Big Bang's crossovers and shared universe.
Appearing in "Hits & Misses: Good Girls, Bad Girls, Great Art"
Featured Characters:
- Shadow Lady
- Blue Bird
- Masker
- Zhantika
Supporting Characters:
- Big Bang Comics
- Garrison Robillard
- George Edwards
- Jimmy Ziegler
- Jon Schuler
- Rudolph Hapsburgh (Joins Team)
- Terry Pavlet
- Milton Caniff
- Tom King
- Alan Rogers
- Aloysius Prescott
- Hank Quillup
- Mazie Day
- Lady Knight
- Masai
- Rura, the Tiger Girl
- Astra, the Rocket Girl
- Garrison Robillard's Venus
Antagonists:
- Dr. Reizenscheine
- Nazis
- Maurice Dvorak
- Silent Butler
- Dumb Waiter
- Queen of the Star-Maidens
- Moon-Man-Mullins
- Witch Queen of Wakambi
- The Jaws of Darkness
- Poachers
- Super-soldiers
- Mercenaries
Other Characters:
- Ultiman
- Knight Watchman
- Lil' Baxter
- Donna Reed
- Lucille Ball/Lucy
- Osgood B. Wentworth
- Universal Pictures
- H.G. Wells
- Timeless Publications
- Myron Guptmann
- Chiseler Studio
- Harvey Chiseler
- Nicholas Spain
- Joseph McCarthy
- Robo-Hood
- The Snow-Man
- Mike Hammer
- Gorilla Cop
- Tarzan
- Dr. Weird
- Amelia Earhart
- Sigmund Freud
- Flying Monkey
- Harriet Nelson
- June Cleaver
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Hits & Misses: Good Girls, Bad Girls, Great Art"
History of Shadow Lady and other female characters.
Appearing in "Back to the Drawing Board"
Featured Characters:
- The Human Sub/The Atomic Sub
- Robo-Hood
- Mr. Martian/"Chuck Cox"
- Hummingbird/Red Roc/The Microbe
- The Beacon (Julia Gardner)
- The Blitz (Jimmy Travis)
Supporting Characters:
- Big Bang Comics
- Garrison Robillard (Leaves Group)
- Jimmy Ziegler
- Jon Schuler
- David Watkins
- Martin "Sieggy" Siegenthaller
- Tom Styles (Leaves Group) (Joins Team)
- Bubbles the Sea Monkey
- Moira's scientist husband
- Blue Blaze
- Moray
- Dr. Metallius
- Round Table of America
- Knight Watchman
- Mike Merlin
- Venus/Vanessa DeMille
- The Badge
- Element Men
- Neon
- Helium
- Titanium
- Nickel
- Granite
- Margaret Silver
- Mayor Leonard Hughes
- Pellinore
- Regina Oliver
- George Gardner
- Captain Jordan Stuart
- Jimmy Travis' mother
- Max Mahoney
- The Blitz (Mack Snelling)
- Speed Queen
- Dino Barnelli
- Gina Barnelli
- Cyclone/Overdrive
Antagonists:
- Nazis
- Imperial Japan
- Ancient Mariner
- Atlantean troops
- Killer King Kole
- Mother Goose-Stepper
- Jackson Jillian
- Hey Diddle Dillinger
- Black Bird
- Simple Simon's Revenge Squad
- Hickory Dickery Doc
- Glax'xons
- Giant lobster
- Kr'Wallians
- Dr. Gulliver
- The Ghoul
- The White Dwarf
- The Red Giant
- Dr. Dart
- Cloud King
- Garlon
- The Menace from the Meteor
- Luminos
- Spektra
- Soundwave
- HyperApe
- Synestroms
- Mar'korr
- Captain Quicksand
- Boom-Boom
- Ursa-Major
- Pain Glass
- Roman Candle
- Doc Darkness
- Weight Wizard
- Mr. Nimbus
- Lady Lightning
Other Characters:
- Ultiman (Mentioned)
- All-American Distribution
- National News Distribution
- Big Comics
- Bang Magazine
- Neptune (Mentioned)
- Captain Cook (Mentioned)
- Moira
- New York Natural Gas Co.
- Blue Blazes' brother
- Whiz Kids
- Vita-Man (Mentioned)
- Dr. Stellar (Mentioned)
- Mickey Spillane (Mentioned)
- Walt Disney (Mentioned)
- Merlin
- Buck Rogers (Mentioned)
- Robin Hood (Mentioned)
- Dick Tracy (Mentioned)
- Chicago Tribune
- Cary Orr
- Three Musketeers (Mentioned)
- Prince Valiant (Mentioned)
- Leon Schlesinger (Mentioned)
- Errol Flynn (Mentioned)
- Laurel and Hardy (Mentioned)
- Tik-Tok of Oz (Mentioned)
- King Arthur
- Knights of the Round Table (Mentioned)
- Garrison Robillard's Venus (Mentioned)
- Hercules
- Mars (Mentioned)
- Dr. Weird (Mentioned)
- Tars Tarkas (Mentioned)
- Edgar Rice Burroughs (Mentioned)
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Bobby
- Trooper
- Jackie Gleason
- The Mighty Hummingbird (Mentioned)
- Jane Goodall
- Henry Hoggarth
- The Beacon (Scott Martin (Mentioned)
- "Oily" Boyd (Mentioned)
- U.S. Angel (Mentioned)
- Hermes (Mentioned)
- Whiz Kids
- Kid Galahad
- Thunder Girl
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Martians
- Dextrons
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- Washington, D.C.
- New York City
- Statue of Liberty
- New York Natural Gas Co. HQ
- Gateway City
- Hall of Heroes
- Daytona Beach
- Motor City
- Chicago (Mentioned)
- Chicago Tribune Tower
- Indianapolis
- Bonneville Salt Flats
- Arizona (Mentioned)
- Circle City (Mentioned)
- Camelot
- Le Mans
- Pacific Ocean
- Fire Island
- United States of America
- Rio de Janeiro
- Viet Nam (Mentioned)
- Mars (Mentioned)
Items:
- Multi-Ray Gun
- Kr'wallian battlesuit
- Dextron Power Gem
Vehicles:
- Nautilus (Mentioned)
- Dextron spaceship
- Jimmy Travis' race car
Synopsis for "Back to the Drawing Board"
A fictional history about the end of Big Bang Comics' Golden Age.
Appearing in "The Best and the Brightest"
Featured Characters:
- Round Table of America
- Ultiman (Earth-A) (Joins Team) (Leaves Group)
- Knight Watchman (Joins Team) (Leaves Group)
- The Blitz (Joins Team) (Death)
- The Beacon (Joins Team) (Leaves Group)
- The Atomic Sub (Joins Team)
- The Hummingbird (Joins Team) (Leaves Group)
- Robo-Hood (Joins Team)
- Mike Merlin/Ms. Merlin (Joins Team) (Leaves Group)
- Mr. Martian (Joins Team) (Leaves Group)
- Venus (Joins Team) (Leaves Group)
- The Badge (Joins Team)
- Galahad (Joins Team)
- Cyclone (Joins Team)
- Fusillade (Death)
- The Sphinx (Peter Chefren) (Joins Team) (Leaves Group)
- The Sphinx (Allison Kane)
Supporting Characters:
- Big Bang Comics
- Mighty Joe Kingler
- Jack Simmons
- John F. Kennedy
- Dr. Metallius
- Knights of Justice
- Ultiman (Earth-B)
- Whiz Kids/Whizzards
- Thunder Girl (Joins Team)
- Dr. Weird
- Cupid
- Jupiter
Antagonists:
- Glax'xons
- World Rogues Guild
- Prof. Pandora
- K'zandar
- The Living Archetype
- The Elemental 4
- Dr. Deflecto
- Myryddin
- Cerebrax
- Memphian Science Corps
- Dr. Binana
- Oblivia
Other Characters:
- Walter Cronkite
- Huntley & Brinkley
- Merlin (Mentioned)
- Albert Schweitzer (Mentioned)
- Margaret Lloyd (Death)
- Jason Proudhawk (Mentioned)
- Zhantika the Jungle Girl (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-A
- Earth
- United States of America
- Empire City
- Midway City
- Capitol City
- Hall of Heroes
- Justice Pavilion
- Hall of Heroes
- Jefferson City
- Canada (Mentioned)
- Great Britain (Mentioned)
- France (Mentioned)
- Mount Olympus
- Soviet Union (Mentioned)
- China (Mentioned)
- Vietnam (Mentioned)
- United States of America
- Old World (Mentioned)
- Mars
- Earth
- Peter Chefren's Earth (Mentioned)
- Earth-B (Mentioned)
- Korea (Mentioned)
Items:
- Dextron Power Gem
- Hi-Fi Energy Box
- Memphian Science Corps uniform
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Best and the Brightest"
A fictional history of the Silver Age of Big Bang Comics.
Trivia
- Skip Trace, Bounty Hunter first appeared in Deductive Comics #13 and was a thinly-veiled imitation of Dick Tracy.
- Ultiman was a thinly-veiled reworking of John Carter of Mars.
- Venus first appeared in Imagination Comics #1 in August 1939 and was created by Charlene Marsland, a sociologist and the author of "What Every Young Wife Needs to Know" and "What Every Young Widow Needs to Know."
- Madame X is confirmed to be the archenemy of Venus.
- The Vestal Virgins had their own back-up series from October, 1942 to 1948.
- Venus soon later appeared in titles like Comic Cornucopia and World's Best Friends.
- Marsland and Harris were responsible for every single one of Venus' appearances until 1947 (including the solo chapters in the early issues of the "Knights of Justice" strip) before they cited creative differences with editor Mick Fitzroy.
- Thunder Girl soon surpassed Venus in popularity.
- Imagination Comics was canceled in 1949.
- When romance comics became popular with other companies, "Venus, Goddess of Love and Laughter" was changed to "Venus' Tales of Love and War."
- Ultiman proposed to Venus in Hi-Octane Comics #165.
- The Blitz and the Beacon both debuted in Fair-Play Comics #1.
- Scott Martin's final solo appearance was in issue 41, called "Lights Out for the Beacon!" before appearing for another year in World Class Comics, as a member of the Knights of Justice.
- Fair-Play Comics also featured Major Discovery, Rod Roscoe, and Sunmaid.
- The Blitz went from being a back-up slot in Fair-Play Comics to being the headliner of Jolt Comics, with issues 4 and 5 having "All-Blitz Issue" above the logo and his secret identity was revealed in issue 1.
- Speed Queen retired after discovering her pregnancy in 1948 and the "All" in All-Blitz was dropped in issue #50.
- The Blitz and Speed Queen both starred in Jolt Comics, Fair-Play Comics, All-Blitz Comics, Red-Hot Comics, Dynamic Adventures, and World Class Comics (where they appeared as members of the Knights of Justice).
- Hummingbird appeared in the first issue of World-Class Comics, but disappeared for two years, the Badge was dropped when his powers were deemed to similar to Knight Watchman's, but was later brought back, and Knight Watchman was dropped after the fourth issue when it was discovered that his creator Tom King could profit from any comic book that featured the character.
- The first four Dr. Stellar stories were written by Jimmy Ziegler with art by Max Morkin.
- Dr. Stellar disappeared from the pages of Red-Hot Comics in 1946, but remained a member of the Knights of Justice until the team disbanded.
- Vita-Man appeared in Red-Hot Comics until 1949.
- George Edwards hired Tom Styles from King Comics to write Mighty Hummingbird stories before the latter returned to his former employer and created the Flying Fish.
- The U.S. Angel's strip ran as one of the secondary features in Really Kean Comics, in support of Dr. Weird.
- Timeless Publications is a pastiche of Timely Comics and Myron Guptmann is a pastiche of Martin Goodman.
- The concept of Shadow Lady originated with Osgood B. Wentworth.
- Shadow Lady's final adventure was in the October 1955 issue of Red-Hot Comics.
- Masker and Gorilla Cop held the backup slots in Deductive Comics.
- Lorin Taylor portrayed Masker in the Knights of Justice serial.
- Astra, the Rocket Girl was loosely based on Amelia Earhart.
- Ziegler and Schuler sued Robillard over the lattermost's use of Venus in Stag Party, a magazine designed to attract Playboy readers.
- The Golden Age of Big-Bang Comics ended when Robillard transferred ownership of the company to Ziegler and Schuler.
- The Human Sub debuted in 1939 as a backup feature in Hi-Octane Comics #8.
- The Blue Blazes debuted in his own series in Red-Hot Comics by David Watkins, one issue after the Human Sub's first appearance, but only ran for three installments.
- The Blue Blazes met the Human Sub in Human Sub #2.
- In Showplace #1, it was revealed that the Human Sub hadn't been killed by the Ancient Mariner's Atlantean troops, but was badly wounded and was rebuilding his metal body before changing his name to the Atomic Sub.
- When the Silver Age of Big Bang Comics had begun, the Atomic Sub had become a rotating headliner in Double-Barreled Action.
- Robo-Hood was created by Martin Siegenthaller, "combining the magic of Merlin, the technology of Buck Rogers, the fairy tale setting of Babes in Toyland, and equal parts of Robin Hood and Dick Tracy."
- Robo-Hood ran in Red-Hot Comics for three years before Siegenthaller retired to Arizona.
- Robo-Hood spoke like a street thug from New York before 1946. Afterwards, he began speaking in "Olde English."
- Mr. Martian first appeared in Showplace #8/"The Miraculous Marooned Man from Mars", which was based on Ziegler's story, "Stranded on Earth."
- Mr. Martian replaced Lady Knight in a back-up slot in Deductive Comics.
- The Element Men first appeared in Showplace #14.
- Due to a lack of interest in superheroes at the time, Showplace #9 featured Bozo the Clown, issue #15 was an adaptation of Rebel Without a Cause, issue #16 starred Jackie Gleason's Honeymooners.
- Tom Styles quit drawing comic books by 1948, but after Showplace #17 was a nationwide sellout, Tom Style was rehired.
- Garlon first appeared in Hummingbird #9.
- Ziegler and Schuler sold Big Bang to the Gulf & Western Corporation.
- Tom Styles created Julia Gardner, the second Beacon.
- Julia retired from super-heroing after being unable to completely control the Power Gem.
- Jimmy Travis was killed in an explosion set up by his enemies.
- Marty Eastman is referred to as "Dave Eastman" on the last page of the fifth story.
- The RTA's two-part debut in Showplace, "Martian Invasion" spawned a successful bubble gum card set and their ongoing monthly title.
- Robo-Hood initially refused the invitation into the RTA, but joined in RTA #4 and joined full-time in issue #88.
- The sixth story recaps "The Criss-Cross Crisis" from Big Bang Comics #6.
- "The Criss-Cross Crisis" was written to introduce Big Bang readers at the time to Thunder Girl and Venus after the rights to the blonde reverted to the company after her creator Margaret Lloyd died in 1964.
- After Venus had fallen in love with Ultiman, Jupiter "demoted" her from goddess to human stature before Mighty Joe Kingler returned for the Fourth Dimensional War.
- Venus joined the RTA in RTA #12.