Gold Nuggets: A Fallen Comet

The Obscure Adventures of Comics' Greatest Generation!

In the modern age of comics, it's almost become routine for superheroes to fall in the line of duty (many of which are casually resurrected later on).  However, back in the so-called Golden Age of Comics, superhero deaths were nowhere near the over-used gimmick they are today...in fact, back in those early years, superheroes simply didn't die. 

Sure, there were a few ghostly heroes running around (chief among them the Spectre), but in those cases death was just the beginning of their superhero gigs, not the end of them. But were there truly any living heroes who were killed in action?

Which brings us to the Comet, whom I featured in a previous Gold Nuggets post early last year. Little did I know that the Comet may have been the very first superhero to die in the line of duty! Recapping the events of Pep Comics #17, the debut issue of The Hangman (1941) recounts the death of the Comet, a.k.a. John Dickering, who gave his life for his brother Bob (who, like most comic book guys, then became a superhero himself).

(click on the panels for a larger view)

So...am I on to something here?  Could the Comet have been the first superhero death, long before it became a gratuitous gimmick?

Comments

[buttler]

I believe so, yes -- or at least that's Toonopedia's take on the subject.

[Wes C]

Wow!
The Hangman has Buscema legs.

My Golden Age artist knowledge is rather limited, do you know who the artist was on this one? Is the hangman standing on the test tube from the previous panel? That's a pretty cool effect.