Wonder Man (Rover)

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matrix
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Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by matrix »

I only have one issue of 'Rover' with Wonder man in it. He is on the cover of the scan below. I have searched a wee bit and found that he appeared in about 61 issues between 1946-1950, first appearing in issue 1132?
Can anyone add any details on him for me? For example his Origin and how he got his acute senses? Is he a British hero? I know he was adopted by two scientists, also is the motorcycle appearance a one off?

Thanks!

I really like this 'Rover' cover the way the bike is shown melting away at the back as Wonder man speeds across the bridge and the faces of the sheep, great stuff!
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Rover wonder man.jpg

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colcool007
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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by colcool007 »

H K Rodd also had a couple of stories adapted for print in the Victor. His first serial runs from issue 1 for about 12 issues. I will try and give some more info later unless someone beats me to it!
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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by paw broon »

Can't help at the moment re. Wonder Man but there was a French comic, a short series, featuring a motor cyclist called Le Bolide Fantome - The Phantom Meteor - who built a wonder machine and used it to fight crime, rescue people etc. This was c.1942. You can read an example here:-
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=25634
and, interestingly, the censor's number can be seen on the back page.

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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by Phoenix »

There were four series in The Rover about The Wonder Man aka H. K. Rodd. The first, second and fourth were called The Wonder Man, the third had the title Return Of The Wonder Man. The serials ran as follows:-
1. 1132 (Mar. 30 1946) - 1144 (Sep. 14 1946) [13 instalments]
2. 1145 (Sep. 28 1946) - 1171 (Jul. 5 1947) [27 instalments]
3. 1227 (Dec. 4 1948) - 1238 (Mar. 19 1949) [12 instalments]
4. 1286 (Feb. 18 1950) - 1294 (Apr. 15 1950) [9 instalments]

The basic idea underpinning these serials was the desire of scientists Professor William Graves, and Dr Codrington of Cambridge to produce a kind of superman by means of a carefully controlled diet with outstanding physical development (Professor Graves) and an equally impressive mental development (Dr Codrington). They have been engaged in this work on Scarra in the Outer Hebrides for twenty years at the point the first instalment of the serial opens, and are now looking for an opportunity to test the lad that they refer to as their 'subject'. They settle on cricket, despite their subject not knowing the game or the rules, as the England Test team are getting a working over against the Australians, who eventually win by an innings and 542 runs with hours to spare. When it was pointed out to the pair that you didn't just walk into any international team, Rodd is given an outing with Buffshire, a Minor Counties side. Their opponents, Leamshire, are shot out for 6 runs in half an hour, all their batsmen being clean bowled by Rodd in three overs. The selectors, embarrassed by the Test annihilation, grasp at straws and select H. K. for the next Test. All four innings are completed on the first day but because the sun eventually creates a sticky wicket Rodd bowls spinners in the Aussies' second innings with the same devastating effect.

It isn't until the third instalment that H. K's twin brother Dennis is introduced. It transpires that at birth the two scientists adopted the twins as their legal wards for the subject of an experiment and a comparison. Dennis has therefore been brought up in a perfectly normal way. A somewhat similar approach to a child's upbringing, using football rather than cricket, is the basis for the success of Rory Grant in The Strange Story Of A Red-Haired Halfback in The Wizard in 1950.

matrix
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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by matrix »

colcool007 wrote:H K Rodd also had a couple of stories adapted for print in the Victor. His first serial runs from issue 1 for about 12 issues. I will try and give some more info later unless someone beats me to it!
I wonder if they are reprints?
Last edited by matrix on 07 Jan 2017, 04:17, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by matrix »

matrix wrote:
colcool007 wrote:H K Rodd also had a couple of stories adapted for print in the Victor. His first serial runs from issue 1 for about 12 issues. I will try and give some more info later unless someone beats me to it!
I wonder if they are reprints?
paw broon wrote:Can't help at the moment re. Wonder Man but there was a French comic, a short series, featuring a motor cyclist called Le Bolide Fantome - The Phantom Meteor - who built a wonder machine and used it to fight crime, rescue people etc. This was c.1942. You can read an example here:-
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=25634
and, interestingly, the censor's number can be seen on the back page.
Thanks for the link Paw. That must be a large bike seating four people!

Thank you for the detailed reply Phoenix.
It sounds as if he is an undercover superhero, as he has no cape or costume?
But secretly he could be classed as a cheater in sports?
The hero, as in the issue after my scan, where he is the only one who can save three towns from total destruction.
A Jekyll and Hyde hero!

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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by Phoenix »

matrix wrote:I wonder if they are reprints?
The text serials in The Rover are originals. I can't currently get at my collection of The Victor to check but I suspect that the early serials will be repeats in picture form of those stories in The Rover. If there are more than four in The Victor then the fifth onwards will be new stories.

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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by philcom55 »

Sounds a bit like a British version of Doc Savage.

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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

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Who is Doc Savage, Phil?

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paw broon
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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by paw broon »

Ah, Phoenix. Doc Savage is arguably the best known pulp character, after The Shadow. And he not only appeared in the pulps, but in comics also. There was a feature film. Some consider him the forerunner of superheroes. More here
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Savage

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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by colcool007 »

Phoenix wrote:
matrix wrote:I wonder if they are reprints?
The text serials in The Rover are originals. I can't currently get at my collection of The Victor to check but I suspect that the early serials will be repeats in picture form of those stories in The Rover. If there are more than four in The Victor then the fifth onwards will be new stories.
I was out by one issue! The first serial runs from issue 2 to issue 19 where in a search for a lost boy, H K Rodd encounters The People of The Hills.

Serial 2 runs from 44 to 60 where H K Rodd is investigating strange weather phenomenon.

Serial 3 runs from 123 to 136 which is about landing a man on the moon.

Serial 4 runs from 165 to 169 which is about an atomic midget submarine.

Like Phoenix, I strongly suspect that these are repeats of the text serials adapted for picture publication. Hopefully the information that I have given will allow confirmation of that.

H K Rodd also appeared in the 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967 Annuals. The 1966 story features him taking part in the Prix d'Europe and foiling a murder. I can't get to the other three annuals for now, but I will dig them out at some point.

All of the Victor stories were illustrated by the artist Jean Marie.
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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by Phoenix »

colcool007 wrote:I was out by one issue! The first serial runs from issue 2 to issue 19 where in a search for a lost boy, H K Rodd encounters The People of The Hills.
Serial 2 runs from 44 to 60 where H K Rodd is investigating strange weather phenomenon.
Serial 3 runs from 123 to 136 which is about landing a man on the moon.
Serial 4 runs from 165 to 169 which is about an atomic midget submarine.
Like Phoenix, I strongly suspect that these are repeats of the text serials adapted for picture publication. Hopefully the information that I have given will allow confirmation of that.
Series 1 in The Victor is the equivalent of series 4 in The Rover. The essence of the serial in The Rover gets a retread as Wonder Girl! In The Caves Of Yesterday in Mandy in 1969, Jay Smith being the athlete who has been brought up and trained by scientist Dr Pugh. Series 2 in The Victor would appear to be the equivalent of Series 3 in The Rover. It is certainly snowing in Egypt. Series 2 in The Rover is basically a series of completes in which H. K. is testing sports cars, Formula One racing cars, aeroplanes and even a hydroplane. Some episodes take place in the U.S.A. where he also plays some baseball. This may be the equivalent of Series 4 in The Victor. There is no equivalent in The Victor to the cricket serial in The Rover, and no equivalent in The Rover as far as I'm aware to The Victor's Serial 3.

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Re: Wonder Man (Rover)

Post by Phoenix »

paw broon wrote:Ah, Phoenix. Doc Savage is arguably the best known pulp character, after The Shadow.
Thanks for the reply, Paw.

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