The Powernaut
Superhuman World:
Startup Escalation 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 .
Powernaut: 1941 1944 1948 1954 1955 1962 1966 1968 (with Stories) 1969 2005 (with Stories) 2009 (with Stories) 2011 (with Stories) Awards .
Powernaut 1962: 1 2 .

POWERNAUT 1962!

PART 1

POWERNAUT AND THE POWER PATROL!

Greeting

Hello, my Power Patrol! Welcome to my 1962 adventures - which if I might say, rival the Fantastic Four and the Justice League of America of that same year for Americanality!

(signed) The Powernaut!

Search the Powernaut Archives!

Strip #1

Bonus Section: Talk Back to the Powernaut!

Hello, this is the Powernaut. I'll take all your letters, as soon as they come in! I have one here...

Dear Powernaut,

Why's your comic putting in all these new people?

You and S.O.S. on the Moon last year was great. You don't need those others. They're just stupid. It's like you're trying to copy other companies' team comics, when you should just be the Powernaut.

Paula Power is stupid because she comes from those PowerTEEN comics. Now that she's in a real Powernaut comic, it'll be about love interests. If this goes on, S.O.S. will fight the Powernaut for her! And speaking of fighting over women... Queezl the Saucer Alien is stupid because he's from the stupid Dean Martin 3-D movie tie-in, and he wants to steal women from Earth anyway. Neither one should be in Powernaut comics, especially not together because they come from different stories! Shouldn't Queezl want to steal Paula Power and take her to Venus? And don't get me going on that new (racial epithet omitted) character.

The Powernaut can always use one sidekick. But he doesn't need four! If you keep them, especially this bunch, they'll RUIN EVERYTHING in the story! I don't know if even the Powernaut can ever recover from this one ruined story!

(signed) Andy Cletus (age 15)
Miles City, Montana

Hello, my ally Andy!

I can see you love my adventures. My new Power Patrol is good news for you, because now you can be my sidekick too! Soon I'll have a Power Patrol enlistment package you can see with my adventures! I'm not going to comment on who can be my sidekick, because everyone can!

I know you don't like who's in my Power Patrol now. But they've earned the right to be there. They'll all show you, if you keep reading! And I've had Paula on my team since 1941, even if she's usually been in the background!

I hope to see you in my Power Patrol soon!

(signed) the Powernaut

Strip #2

Bonus Section: Talk Back to the Powernaut!

Dear Powernaut,

Why are you still here? There's not really any need for some half-rate hero who comes around and fights useless crap. Communists, really? Way to not be original at all. I bet you fought the Nazis too, and the Taliban. Pfft. Someday I'm going to be a way bigger hero than you could ever be. With, you know, actual superpowers and not fake comic book ones.

(signed) Lydia Devin, Age 8

Hi, Lydia! I'm glad to hear you have big plans to fight evil! There's enough evil for all of us to fight, even the half-rate unoriginal evil like Communists! Yes, I did fight the Nazis when they were full-rate and it mattered. Others must have fought this Taliban then!

Thanks for writing in to the Power Patrol!

(signed) the Powernaut

Strip #3

Bonus Section: Talk Back to the Powernaut!

Dear Powernaut,

Why does your hair point left sometimes and right sometimes? Do you change where you part it in between panels?

(signed) Jeremy Smith, Age 12

Hi, Jeremy! I actually part my hair on both sides! That's why you sometimes see it point forward too!

Thanks for writing in!

(signed) the Powernaut

Strip #4

Bonus Section: Talk Back to the Powernaut!

Dear Powernaut,

I happen to know, when spaceships really fly to Mars, their trajectories will be rigidly calculated to optimize the path among the planetary orbits. It is therefore extremely improbable that your spaceship could accelerate in the middle of a space race and win.

(signed) Quincy Nocaro, Age 15

Hello, Quincy! My brainy teammate S.O.S. handled the inter-orbital trajectories on this mission. He assures me, his trajectory change was just a course adjustment and he'd planned for it.

Thank you for writing to the Power Patrol!

(signed) the Powernaut

Strip #5

Bonus Section: Talk Back to the Powernaut!

Dear Powernaut,

I hear your writer likes to go to lady wrestling matches and that explains the Powernaut 1954 comic. Heh heh. What other weird stuff does he do?

(signed) Peter Blacksen, Age 10

Uh, hello, Piotr. Here in this free country of America, our writers are free to do anything they like in their spare time. My writer saw your letter and wanted me to tell you, he likes to read Archie comics and that explains Powernaut 1955. And that's the last thing I'm going to tell you about him. America will never care what people do in their spare time, as long as they can do the job of protecting the world's freedom. Long Live America!

But thanks for writing. Now tell your Commie masters we didn't fall for it.

(signed) the Powernaut

Strip #6

To Be Continued - in Part 2!


Author's Notes:

I remembered the Great American Comics Code (GACC) from 1955! It lingers on. As do many things from the 1950s, whether they make sense together or not. Hence some of the commentary.

Commentary was inspired by Rec.Arts.Comics.Collective High Concept Challenge #35: RUINED FOREVER! The Cletus family has appeared in Superhuman World and Powernaut stories before; Andy Cletus's son Kent wrote in to the Powernaut in 2005! (ref.: 2005/powerpatrol1.htm)

As I did in 2011, I've dividing this series into parts so nobody has to wait for thirteen strips to download. And I'm being careful with the artwork. For instance, with modern technology I could put fifty white stars on a small navy blue background... but that's not how they did it in 1962! First, the penciller and inker had to make sure the stars and stripes were all there, if they cared. Then the colorist made the U.S. flag black on Powernaut blue because it was as detailed as he could get. And he got his minimum wage no matter how popular the comic was. It's 1962 all over again!

(signed) Scott Eiler, 9 March 2013.


Superhuman World:
Startup Escalation 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 .
Powernaut: 1941 1944 1948 1954 1955 1962 1966 1968 (with Stories) 1969 2005 (with Stories) 2009 (with Stories) 2011 (with Stories) Awards .
Powernaut 1962: 1 2 .

Andrew Foltz (creator and correspondent for Lydia Devin) gets the credit for "Red Planet Must Be Red!", because someone had to demand a joke that obvious. All other characters and artwork in this fiction are copyright © 2013 by Eiler Technical Enterprises.