Summer Heat: The Winner (and the answers)!

Earlier this week, my Summer Heat contest challenged readers to identify (quite literally) the hottest characters in comics. Enduring the heat like no other contestant, Thomas Aderholt not only identified a smokin' hot 30 out of 32 characters, but listed most of their secret identities as well!  Sheesh! Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty.

So...mop that sweat from your brow, Thomas, and take a bow! You're the winner of Comic Books 101 by Scott Tipton and Chris Ryall. Now, go get some fluids in you before you keel over from heat exhaustion!

Thanks to everyone who took a crack at the contest...some of whom came very close to edging out our winner. An honorable mention goes out to both Jan Buttler and John Gardner, who each correctly identified 29 characters.  Great job, guys! It was a photo-finish!

As promised, here are the answers alongside the original gallery of characters (click to enlarge):

1.   Human Torch I (Timely/Marvel)
2.   Fire Lad (DC)
3.   Red Devil (formerly "Kid Devil", DC)
4.   Pyro (Marvel)
5.   Firehawk (DC)
6.   Burnout (Wildstorm)
7.   Firestar (Marvel)
8.   Blazing Skull (Marvel)
9.   Human Flame (DC)
10. Firestorm (DC)
11. Firelord (Marvel)
12. Fahrenheit (Wildstorm)
13. Firebrand II (DC)
14. Fever Pitch (Marvel)
15. Heat Wave (DC)
16. Sunfire (Marvel)
17. Liz Sherman (Dark Horse)
18. Fire (DC)
19. Ghost Rider (Marvel)
20. Furnace (Image)
21. Human Torch II (Marvel)
22. Flambe (Marvel)
23. Sun Boy (DC)
24. Match (Marvel)
25. Magma (Marvel)
26, The Flame (Fox)
27. Sun Emperor (DC)
28. Fever (DC)
29. Brimstone (DC)
30. Inferno (MLJ/Archie)
31. Firebrand (Marvel)
32. Firebrand I (Quality/DC)
33. Firebrand IV (DC)