An ear -- In the Fireplace!: Reviewing "Ten Miles to Nowhere!"

Title: "Ten Miles To Nowhere"
Issue: Detective Comics No. 327
Date: May 1964
Format: 10-page backup feature.
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Writer: Gardner Fox
Penciller and inker: Carmine Infantino
Main character: Elongated Man (8th appearance, last seen in The Flash #138)
Supporting Characters: Sue Dibny (4th appearance, last seen in The Flash #138)
Cameos: The Flash, Kid Flash, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Captain Boomerang
Villains: Al and other thieves (first and only appearance for all).
Setting: Lake Champlain, Montreal (flashback), Central City (flashback).
Stolen item: 2 million dollars (60s dollars) in diamonds.
Mystery: Who drove the Dibny's car for 10 miles while they were sleeping and why?
Method: Tracking and spying. 
This is the first:

• Elongated Man solo story (before this, he only appeared as a guest star in The Flash).
• Elongated Man appearance in Detective Comics.
• Elongated Man backup feature, which starts a series in Detective Comics.
• Time Ralph is called "the Ductile Detective".
• Time Ralph doesn't wear a mask as the Elongated Man.
• Time Ralph gets obsessive about his fame.

Before this issue we say Ralph's interest in mysteries in Space Boomerang-Trap! (Flash #124) and Kid Flash Meets the Elongated Man! (Flash #130) and do some clever detecting in The Pied Piper's Double Doom! (Flash #138). This story has a stronger focus on him as a detective.

The feature starts with a recap of the Elongated Man. The teaser indicates that he used to be a Flash character, then, we have a cool indication of how his powers work.

The Dr. Jekyll comparison is a bit too much (Ralph changes his physiology with Gingold extract, but he's mind is pretty much the same), however, it is pretty cool and a great pretext for Infantino to go wild. It's also great to know that Jekyll exists in the DC Universe.  
Then the story starts. The Dibnys are returning from eastern Canada and they are stopped at customs in the frontier. The officer explains that there was a robbery of two million dollars in diamonds in Montreal. Gardner goes almost straight to the comic relief aspects of the story:

This sets the tone of the rest of the story and the rest of the series. There is mystery, but there's also humor and the tone is very lighthearted (even more than The Thin Man). 
Right after that, Ralph gets involved in a mystery:

It is important to notice that the third page, which features the last 6 panel that I have shown, define a lot about Ralph; he's a bit of a goof and a very methodical man. He's constantly watching for things out of place, which makes him notice that somebody has been using his car. This, of course, gets him obsessed.

This is the pattern that will be followed by 99% of the rest of the series, just as sending Sue to do some shopping while he investigates. By now, we also got a sense of the kind of woman that Sue is: easy going, witty, and a bit hedonistic and frivolous.
In this story we see one of the most commons methods that Ralph uses to find the culprit, tracking and spying, which is only logic, given the nature of his super powers.

Oddly enough, he arrives just in time to hear the villains recap their crime (this happens a lot in his stories). Which results in one of the most memorable lines of the silver age.

That has to be one of the most surreal panels of the 60s, and it lead to the first of many weird fights that the Elongated Man had with lots of nameless thugs. "An ear -- In the fireplace!" Ha, ha, ha. The first time I read it, it flew under my radar, but I instantly recognized it when I read it as the title of the blogs of a couple of other Elongated Man fans. Great superhero movies tend to make a big deal out of the simplest uses of superpowers. They don't take them for granted. Think of Superbaby lifting Pa Kent's vehicle. Even dodging a punch from local high school bully, Flash Thomson, can be awesome if properly told. I think that, before any of those flicks, this is what Fox and Infantino captured in this panel. We have those thieves, talking about the secret details of their last hit, and they see a freaking ear hanging from the fireplace! Next thing they know, something that seems like a person comes out of it and start throwing punches from everywhere, like some sort of super fast rubber octopus.

With the case solved and the villains out of the picture, the story goes back to Ralph's silly obsession.

This first issue is great for Ralph in that Schwartz finally let him shine. There is a lot of focus on his abilities, the kind that was never seen while he was second fiddle to the Flash.

I also feel that Carmine Infantino was also let shine with this story. He didn't pull that kind of dynamism with Flash. I think it also features the prettiest pics of Sue.

To me, this is one of the greatest Elongated Man stories. Yes, it has some silly, far too coincidental aspects, but there's a lot of great characterization. I believe that Ralph was one of the earliest heroes to develop a personality (back then, heroes used to be distinguished just by uniform, hair color and powers).

It's a shame that current comic writers think they need to open every mystery with a very graphic and grotesque murder scene. Being the greatest detective doesn't require to solve the darkest mysteries. Sherlock, himself, had some pretty silly cases (look it up). I have nothing against murder cases for detective superheroes, but there's a lot of potential in thefts too; The Pink Panther was all about them.

One of the highlights of the Elongated Man is how entertaining his fights were. Only stretchers can pull that kind of stuff, and it's not like there's many of them.

The Elongated Man and the Silver Age Timeline!, pt. II: Classic

After a drastic change in censorship (courtesy of McCthyism and, specifically, one Fredric Wertham, of Seduction of the Innocent fame), the target audience became younger kids and what they were allowed to see; consequently stories were simpler and threats more unrealistic. 

During the most classic years of the Silver Age, DC merged the concept of urban superheroes with double identities that was popular in the Golden Age with sci-fi themes that were common in the 1950s. The Martian Manhunter is the first and most obvious example of this. This time, instead of magic, fire-weapons and gimmicks, the new characters used powers based on "super science".  
Additionally, some of the most notorious characters were new versions of old golden age characters with different identities: the Flash, Green Lantern, The Atom, Hawkman, Clayface, Robotman, the Turtle, Red Tornado and Zatanna (daughter of Zatara). They lived in a different reality form the originals, so, the new Flash is often considered the starting point. However, a number of characters that appeared before Flash were kept as part of that continuity, like Superman, Batman,Wonder Woman and Aquaman, all of whom kept their series after the golden age, or like Phantom Stranger and the Martian Manhunter, who were created few years before the scarlet speedster.Most of the superheroes of these times were basically the same guy: a tall, classically handsome, square-jawed, white, muscular, single, honest, loyal, hard-working, all-American, God-fearing and law-obeying guy fighting crime with science-based super powers under a secret identity (the few superheroines were their relatives). Their main differences were name, powers, costume color and hair color. The Elongated Man comes exactly from this mold.
Despite coming from it, the Elongated Man was the first to break the mold by getting married and giving away his secret identity. The Metal Men, the Doom Patrol, Zatanna, Metamorpho and Deadman were some of the earliest examples of characters created outside the stereotype and the first to follow tendencies established by Marvel Comics: tragedy, diversity, constant conflict, unique personality, etc.
During most of this era, every issue had a self contained, stand-alone story (althought, there were occasional two-parters as well) and the status quo of the characters was kept intact. Towards the end, DC started doing some story arcs (Zatanna's Search, The Outsider) and there were some tragedies (like the deaths of Alfred and the Doom Patrol or the betrayal of Snapper Carr). These were also trends that Marvel Comics started. 

1956

October:

• The Flash, Turtle Man, Iris West (Showcase #4).

November: Lew Moxon, the reasons for the Wayne murder are changed from the Golden Age version, Chill is a hitman instead of a burglar (Detective Comics #235).

1957

February:

• Challengers of the Unknown (Showcase #6).

June: Captain Cold (Showcase #8).

September: Professor Milo (Detective Comics #247).

1958

February: False-Face (Batman #113).

April:

• Legion of Super-Heroes (Adventure Comics #247), 
• Mr. Element (Showcase #13).

July:

• Brainiac (Action Comics #242),
• Space Ranger (Showcase #15).

September: Calendar Man (Detective Comics #259).
October: Bizarro (Superboy #8).

December:

• Adam Strange (Showcase #17).

1959

February: Mr. Freeze (Batman #121), Titano (Superman #127).
March: Mirror Master (Flash #105).
April:

• Grodd (Flash #106),
• the Easy Company (Our Army ad War #81).

May: Pat Boone (Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane 9).

May:

• Supergirl, Metallo (Action Comics #252),
• the Pied Piper (Flash #106),

• Bat-Mite (Detective Comics #267), 

• Rip Hunter (Showcase #20). 

June: Sgt. Rock (Our Army ad War #83).
August: Suicide Squad, Rick Flag (The Brave and the Bold #25).



October: Green Lantern, Carol Ferris (Showcase #22).

1960 

February:

• Aqualad (Adventure Comics  #269),
• Kid Flash, Weather Wizard (Flash #110).



March:

• JLA, Starro, Snapper Karr (The Brave and the Bold #28),
• Star Hawkins (Strange Adventures #114),
• Captain Atom (Space Adventures #33, Charlton Comics).



May: Elongated Man, he becomes the best buddy of Flash (Flash #112).
June:

• The Trickster (Flash #113),
• Atomic Knights (Strange Adventures #117), 
• Professor Ivo, Amazo (The Brave and the Bold #30).

July: The Puppeteer (Green Lantern #1).
August:

• The Sea Devils (Showcase #27), 
• The Clock King (World's Finest Comics #111).

September:

• Kryptonite man (Superboy #83),
• Cave Carson  (The Brave and the Bold #31).

October:

• Despero (Justice League of America #1),
• Thomas Kalmaku, Weaponers of Qward (Green Lantern #2).

November: Arrowette (World's Finest Comics #113).
December: Captain Boomerang (Flash #117).

1961

January: Faceless Hunters (Space Adventures #124).

February:

• Hawkman & Hawkgirl, Byth (The Brave and the Bold #34),
• Kanjar Ro (Justice League of America #3).



March: 

• Sue Dibny, and Ralph marries her off-panel (Flash #119),
• Hector Hammond (Green Lantern #5),
• the Star Rovers (Mystery in space #66).

April:

• Matter Master (The Brave and the Bold #35),
• Batgirl I (Batman #139).

May:

• Green Arrow joins the JLA (Justice League of America #4),
• Tomar-Re (Green Lantern #6), Haunted Tank (G.I. Combat #87).

April: General Zod (Adventure Comics #283).
June:

• Dr. Destiny (Justice League of America #5), 
• Shadow Thief (The Brave and the Bold #36).

July: Sinestro (Green Lantern #7).
August: The Top (Flash #122).

September:

• Atom, Jean Loring (Showcase #34).
• Flash travels to Earth-2 and meets the Golden Age Flash (Flash #123).

October: Jax-Ur (Adventure Comics #283).
December: Clayface (Detective Comics #298).

1962

January: Qwsp (Aquaman #1).

February:

• G.I. Robot (Star-Spangled War Stories #101),
• Mr. Polka-Dot (Detective Comics #300).

March:

• Metal Men (Showcase #37),
• Felix Faust, Demons Three (Justice League of America #10).

May: Abra Kadabra (Flash #128).
June:

• Floronic Man (Atom #1),
• Dr. Light (Justice League of America #12)..

July:

• Sonar (Green Lantern #14),
• Kru-El (Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #62).

August:

• The Elongated Man meets Kid Flash (Flash #130),
• Antonio Rocca (Superman #155).

September: Atom joins the JLA (Justice League of America #14).
October: Carol becomes Star Sapphire (Green Lantern #16).
November: Chronos (Atom #3).

1963

January: Catman (Detective Comics #311).

March: James Bond, Dr. No, Honey Rider, Three Blind Mice (Showcase #43).
June:

• Doom Patrol: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl, Beast Boy and Chief, General Immortus (My Greatest Adventure #80),
• Simon Hurt (Batman #156),
• Dr. Polaris (Green Lantern #21).

August:

• Crisis on Earths-One: The JLA meets the JSA , debut of Black Canary on Earth-1(Justice League of America #21), 
• Dexter Myles (Flash #138).

September: 

• Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash (Flash #139), 
• Tattooed Man (Green Lantern #23).

October:

• Mera (Aquaman #11), 
• Shark (Green Lantern #24).

November:

• Heat Wave (Flash #140),
• I.Q. (Mystery in Space #87).

December: Eivol Ekdal (Detective Comics #346).

1964

January: The Terrible Trio (Detective Comics #323).

March: Professor T.O. Morrow (Flash #143).

May:

• The Elongated Man gets his feature (Detective Comics #327),
• Chac (Hawkman #1).

June:

• Teen Titans, Wonder Girl (The Brave and the Bold #54), Composite Superman (World's Finest Comics #142).
• Alfred dies, Dick Grayson's aunt Harriet Cooper debuts and replaces him (Detective Comics #328).

July: President John F. Kennedy (Superman  #170).
August: The Crime Syndicate (Justice League of America #29).
September: The Elongated Man meets Batman and Robin (Detective Comics #331).

October:

• Zatanna (Hawkman #4, Zatanna's Search, pt. 1: "The Girl Who Split in Two"), probably the first crossover.
• Sue does the first 'birthday mystery' for Ralph (Detective Comics #332).

November:

• Mento (Doom Patrol #91),
• Hawkman joins JLA (Justice League of America #31).

December:

• Aquaman marries Mera (Aquaman #18).
• The Outsider (Detective Comics #334),
• Martin Beene (Detective Comics #334).

1965

January:

• Metamorpho, Simon Stagg, Java, Sapphire Stagg (The Brave and the Bold #57),
• Billy Warner, Elongated Man's #1 fan (Detective Comics #335).

February:

• Enemy Ace (Our Army at War # 151),
• Zatanna meets Batman (Detective Comics #336, Zatanna's Search, pt. 3: "Batman's Bewitched Nightmare").

March: Getaway Genius (Batman #170).
May: The Riddler of Earth-1 (Batman #171).

June:

• Immortal Man (Strange Adventures #177), 
• Evil Star of Earth-1 (Green Lantern #37),
• Amos Hurd, the Millionaire Cowboy, and wife (Detective Comics #340),
• Zatanna meets the Atom (Atom #19, Zatanna's Search, pt. 2: "World of the Magic Atom").

July: Goldface (Green Lantern #38).
August: Johnny Thunder of Earth-1 (Justice League of America #37).
September:

• Animal Man (Strange Adventures #180),
• the Phantom General (Detective Comics #343).

October:

• Aquababy (Aquaman #23),
• Krona (Green Lantern #40),
• Egg Fu (Wonder Woman #157),
• Johnny Witts (Detective Comics #344).
• Lana Lang becomes the Insect Queen (Superboy #124).

November:

• Judomaster (Special War Series #4, Charlton Comics),
• Blockbuster (Detective Comics #345).

December: The Key of Earth-1 (Justice League of America #41).

1966

January:

• Major Disaster (Green Lantern #43),
• Dial H For Hero (House of Mystery #156),
• Stanley and his Monster (The Fox and the Crow #95),
• Zatanna meets Green Lantern (Green Lantern #42, Zatanna's Search, pt. 4: "The Other Side of the World").

April:

• Enchantress (Strange Adventures #187),
• The Elongated Man meets Green Lantern, the Elongated Man's red uniform, the Monarch of Menace (Detective Comics #350).

May: Cluemaster (Detective Comics #351).

June: Inferior Five (Showcase #62, they reside on Earth-12), Poison Ivy (Batman #181).

July: Dial H calls Plastic Man (House of Mystery #160, first time in a DC publication).
August:

• Chief Miles O'Hara (of the 60s Batman show fame) is introduced to Earth-1 (World's Finest Comics #159) 
• Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt (Peter Cannon... Thunderbolt #1, Charlton Comics),
• Parasite (Action Comics #340),
• Bug-Eyed Bandit (Atom #26),
• Dr. Tzin Tzin (Detective Comics #354).

September:

• Ocean Master (Aquaman #29),
• Nightshade (Captain Atom #82, Charlton Comics),
• The Elongated Man meets Zatanna (Detective Comics #355, Zatanna's Search, pt. 5: "The Tantalizing Troubles of the Tripod Thieves"). 

October:

• It is revealed that Alfred is alive and that he's actually the Outsider, he resumes his dutties as the butler of the Wayne Manor (Detective Comics #356).
• Amalak (Superman #190).

November:

• Blue Beetle II (Captain Atom #83, Charlton Comics),
• Peacemaker (Fightin' 5 #40, Charlton Comics),
• Ultra, the Multi-Alien (Mystery in Space #103),
• Barry marries Iris West (Flash #165).

December: Son of the Plastic Man (Plastic Man, vol. 2 #1, the character resides on Earth-12).

1967

January: Batgirl (Detective Comics #359), B'wana Beast (Showcase #66), Allen Funt (Action Comics #345).

February: , Zatanna's Search ends: The Elongated Man teams up with the JLA (Batman, Hawkman, Atom and Green Lantern) to help Zatanna finally find Zatara (Justice League of America #51, "Z - as in Zatanna - and Zero Hour"), Scarecrow of Earth-1 (Batman #189).
May: The Maniaks (they are a rock band like Josie and the Pussycats, Showcase #68).

July: Lion-Mane (Hawkman #20).
August: Enigma of the Elongated Evildoer! (Detective Comics #367).

September: Black Manta (Aquaman #35).

October: Deadman (Strange Adventures #205), The Elongated Man teams up with the Atom (Detective Comics #368).
November: Woody Allen (Showcase #71), the Awesome Threesome (Aquaman #36).

Notes: I used cover dates for this list (wich means you have to substract a couple of months).

Font types are modified according to the character.

• Important character,
• Character with an equivalent on Earth-2,
• Character with an Earth-2 double,
• Might have Earth-2 double, but their debut date makes it abiguous,
• Crossed-over descendant of an Earth-2 character,
• Created in other media first.
• Not tied to the DCU yet,
• Related to the Elongated Man.  

Continue to:

• The Elongated Man and the Silver Age Timeline!, Part III: Post-Classic (1969 - 1973).  
• The Elongated Man and the Bronze Age Timeline! (1973 - 1985).

Go back to:

• The Elongated Man and the Silver Age Timeline!, Part I: Pre-Classic (1947 - 1956).

Related articles:

• Survivors of the Golden Age! - This article will help you identify character counterparts between Earth-One and Earth-Two.

The Pied Piper's Double Doom!

Title: "The Pied Piper's Double Doom!"

Issue: The Flash No. 138
Date: August 1963

Format: 14-page main feature.
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Writer: Gardner Fox
Penciller:Carmine Infantino

Inker: Joe Giella (Murphy Anderson did the cover).

Main characters: The Flash, the Elongated Man (7th appearance, last seen in The Flash #134).
Supporting Characters: Sue Dibny (3rd appearance, last seen in The Flash #124), Iris West, Miss Twist.

Villains: The Pied Piper (3rd appearance, last seen in Justice League of America #14).

Setting: Tower City, Central City.

Stolen Item: The Star of India.

Mystery: What is making Lical, the super computer of the Central City University, give the wrong answers? and later, what is making the Elongated Man act against his will?

Method: Coincidence and association of ideas.

This is the first time:

• We see the Elongated Man's detective method.
• Ralph uses a magnifying glass.
• The Dibnys have a double date with the Allens.

Other notes: The Pied Piper has the ability of making people forget events; just like Zatanna in identity crisis. Barry drinks gingold, this makes him one of the rare people who is not allergic to it.

It's the first time we see Ralph method as a detective and the first time we see him with a magnifying glass and his first mystery story - a howdunnit or howcatchem which would become the trademark of  the Columbo plots. The reason for this might be that it's also the first Flash/Elongated Man story Gardner Fox, who might have taken the idea from Ralph's curiosity in most of the previous stories by John Broome.

This story is also the first to present the friendship between the Dibny and the Allen couples is established (they all know who Ralph is, but nobody knows that Barry is the Flash).
This is the second time that Ralph declares that his hobby is solving mysteries and the last time Ralph teams up with Flash and appears in his title before his Detective Comics run. It's also the last of the four consecutive stories featuring Ralph against a Flash rogue.

Plot: Without any witness, the Pied Piper uses the Elongated Man as his plundering puppet to steal the Royal Jewels of an European Kingdom, located at the colonial tower fortress of Tower City during its tricentennial.

 

When Flash goes to the crime scene to investigate, the Pied Piper subdues his mind to steal from the Tower City Bank. Then, each hero deduces that each other was the author of the crimes, so they resolve to put invisible ink in their shoe soles and Flash drinks gingold.

Right away they deduce that they just committed another crime, and they follow their footprints to the Pied Piper's hideout, who uses a double flute to make each other fight.

Flash defeats him by using the gingold effect to stretch his arm to reach and break the flute.

Review: This story is a lot of fun. They don't make a mystery out of the villain, which makes sense since it's hard to make mysteries with supervillain culprits, but out of the way Ralph and the Flash deduced that they were used by him. And then, the way they set him a trap was quite clever.

Here's a fun fact: this story, published in August 1963, starts with the theft of the Star of India, the "World largest emerald", and The Pink Panther the movie about the theft of the eponymous diamond, also meant to be the World's largest, was released in early 1964. I think it's very unlikely that this story inspired the movie; however, I think both might have been inspired by a common source. By the way, there is an actual real-life "Star of India", only it is a sapphire not an emerald.