Comics History

A Comics History of Doc Stalwart

Doc Stalwart first appeared in a comic series during the 1930s called The Astounding Adventures of Doc Stalwart. This clunky title lasted only 17 issues, as Doc mostly battled normal burglars and petty warlords. Notably, Simian Prime made his first appearance here, although he appeared as "The Simian Overlord" of an unnamed city of gorillas. He proved so popular that battling gorillas (and gorilla-like creatures, gorilla-shaped robots, giant gorillas, and other-planetary gorillas) has become a recurring schtick in his comics since. This was published by The Stalwart Publishing Company, which folded soon after the 17th issue was released. It teased "A new direction" starting in issue 18, but that never appeared. Rumors persist that it was actually completed, and the original creative team of Lee Stanford (writer) and Kirby Jackson (artist) still argue over where the pages went.  

Doc Stalwart's modern adventures started in The Mighty Doc Stalwart, published in April of 1964, released by New Stalwart Press. The comic has continued publication monthly since, although it has had several title (and theme) changes in the interim. It survived a few reboots, but continues on even today (in 1984). Since it's been published monthly for over 20 years, it recently celebrated its landmark 250th issue. Kirby Jackson came out of retirement to draw the cover for the landmark issue. Lee Stanford has been more involved, acting alternately as the writer and the editor of the series at various times over its run.

The first 50 issues centered on Doc Stalwart as the hero of the city of Midvale. At first, it was a 'villain of the month' series, with Doc facing off against a wide range of costumed bad guys that became his rogue's gallery. 

Issues 51 to 150 centered on Doc's adventures in the city of Meridian. Starting at issue 51, the 24-page Doc adventures were supplemented by "From the World of Doc Stalwart", 8-page featurettes of secondary characters and other heroes in Doc's world. Sometimes, these would also include stories of Doc's childhood, or even of normal characters in Doc's world who were notable in the main storyline. 

After the first 150 issues, the comic was rebranded as "Doc Stalwart and the Victory Legion" on the splash page (although the title remained unchanged) starting at issue 151, in March, 1978. Doc formed a team with several secondary characters who had appeared in the back pages of his book. Over dozens of issues, Doc continually met new heroes, often recruiting them for the Victory Legion. However, he continued to take part in solo adventures as well, but the nature and scope of his adventures expanded considerably. Starting around issue 179, with the arrival of new writer Byron Johns (who had been the artist for some time), the series took a decidedly cosmic turn, as Doc went on several adventures including visitations to other dimensions, planets, and realities. He engaged in time travel, met future descendants of himself, and even visited the beginning and end of the world. 

Issue 200 featured "the Wedding of the Century", as Doc Stalwart married another member of the Victory Legion, Augury.

As an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Doc Stalwart (some say just to increase sales that were starting to slump), the first half of 1983 marked "the Death of Doc Stalwart!" After Doc's return from the dead in issue, the Victory Legion was again relegated to the background. The fans had expressed some concern that the story was becoming 'not enough about Doc'. 

The 250th issue of Doc Stalwart had a return of the Victory Legion, and featured a massive battle with cosmic forces. The tone of the series took a notable shift, as several long-time characters died in the battle. The Citadel of Tomorrow, Doc's new base of operations, was revealed in the epilogue to this issue.

The fans (and editors) agreed that it was time to bring Doc back to his roots, and to unify some of the inconsistencies in Doc's story, with a 'soft reboot'. Starting at issue 251, Splintered Realms Publishing has secured exclusive rights to release prose adaptations of the series starting at issue 251, and these are released concurrently with new issues.