As can be seen from the cover of this ‘Back Issue’, there is a selection of doctors from American comicbooks. Editor Roger Ash points out the main doctors have been covered in earlier issues but that leaves many others. I have a feeling he could probably do another issue of them.
Here, writer Brian Martin looks at Doctor Light, who has a somewhat spurious career. Initially taking on the JLA, he later has problems even taking on the likes of the Atom. It’s explained later that his mind had been interfered with, but it has still been an odd career.
Writer Jonathan Brown looks at Thor’s alter-ego Donald Blake, who turned up in the 1960s and was gone by the 1980s. Originally, he was a construct by Odin to teach Thor some humility. Oddly, he already had that when he found his cane. Thinking about it, none of his earlier writers ever thought of exploring this too much but then it was an earlier time period. He was just an identity a tap of a cane away.
Writer Marc Buxton looks at the life of DC character Doctor Mid-Nite both in the Justice Society and when he was brought over to Earth-1. Uniquely, he never had a counterpart here which made it easier to settle post-Crisis. Considering that he could only see in the dark must have made his alter-ego Dr. Charles McNider’s career as a surgeon a bit difficult. Although it’s not noted here, I remember a gag, I think done by Mike Golden, where he captions ‘Have I found the organ yet?’ as being priceless. It looks like his later incarnations worked around that. It’s like driving a car, there are some professions where blindness or limited sight would be a disadvantage.
Some doctors I’ve never heard of. Writer Ed Lutt interviews Scott Saavedra about ‘It’s Science with Doctor Radium’, a comedy created when he first started. He no longer owns it as Fox bought it outright rather than under licence but never took it beyond that. Oh, if you’re planning to buy the three volumes of his tales, read them in reverse because the oldest stories are in volume 3.
Writer Brian D. Stroud has a look at the tragi-villain Doctor Phosphorus, as created by Steve Englehart and Walt Simonson. I’m less sure about his creation, as turning silicon into phosphorus would be more explosive than metamorphosis. Equally, adding phosphorus to water will just set it alight not turn it into a poison. The phosphorus oxides are toxic but based on the water and how diluted it would become probably not too dangerous.
Probably the most complicated named character has to be Dr. Druid. Writer Paul Burns goes over his history. He was in comicbooks before the Fantastic Four and even Stan Lee had largely forgotten him when creating Dr. Strange with Steve Ditko. He was originally called Dr. Droom but when he got reprinted, it was realised that sounded like Dr. Doom, hence the Dr. Druid moniker, and was reintroduced into the Marvel Universe. He also had major revisions over the years. Not only a new costume but also his hair grew back. A convoluted career followed.
Writer Ed Catto looks at Gold Key’s Doctor Spektor as created by Don Glut and Jesse Santos. Another occult doctor I knew very little about. Glut was surprised how much he got away with but when you consider his editors had no interest in their own product, I’m not that surprised.
Until now, I haven’t heard of Bruce Wayne’s foster mother after his parents had been killed. Leslie Thompkins did that as related by writer Robert Jeschonek and, he in turn, financed her medical centre off Crime Alley and helped administer care when he or any of the Robins were injured. From the looks of things she was created after I moved out of reading comicbooks but probably filled a much needed gap in Wayne’s childhood, although we’re not shown here how she got along with Alfred.
Writer Adam Philips looks at the major villain from Howard the Duck’s own title, Doctor Bong, probably one of creator Steve Gerber’s most unusual villains who must have a very unusual psyche considering he bashed the bell over his head to use his powers. I knew him there but didn’t realise how many times he has appeared since.
The doctors here are numerous and not all medical. You do have to wonder where magicians go to get qualified, let alone have a passing out ceremony. Nevertheless, gaps in my comicbook education have been filled here.
GF Willmetts
October 2026
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: $10.95 (US). ISSN: 1932-6904. Direct from them, you can get it for $10.95 (US))
check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1884
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