Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: golden age, green lantern, streak the wonder dog
Streak the Wonder Dog was created by Bob Kanigher and Alex Toth, and debuted in Green Lantern #30, cover-dated Feb-March 1948.
Article Summary
- Explore Streak the Wonder Dog’s debut and key role in Green Lantern #30 from 1948.
- Discover the influence of 1920s film dog Silver Streak on the comic’s character.
- Learn how Streak overshadowed Green Lantern and continued in solo adventures.
Streak the Wonder Dog was not the first dog hero of the Golden Age of comics. Bulletdog (Bulletman #10, cover-dated December 1942) and Rang-A-Tang (Blue Ribbon Comics #1, November 1939) among others came along earlier. But Streak did debut seven years before Krypto (Adventure Comics #210, March 1955), and his history and legacy have taken some interesting twists and turns. He essentially came to dominate the Green Lantern titles more than Green Lantern himself, and his debut in Green Lantern #30 is a tougher get than you might think. An underappreciated DC Comics key, there’s a Green Lantern #30 (DC, 1948) Condition: GD- up for auction in the 2023 January 15-16 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122303 at Heritage Auctions.
Streak appears to be at least in part inspired by the forgotten film dog star of the 1920s and 1930s, Silver Streak the Wonder Dog. Movie star Silver Streak was a brown-colored German Shepherd with a similar appearance to his comic book counterpart. While some other dog stars are often played for comedy, both Streak and Silver Streak were also sometimes depicted to be very aggressive in pursuit of comic book and film justice. Film titles like The Snarl of Hate and Fangs of Justice set the tone for the original Silver Streak’s adventures.
As told in his origin story and debut in Green Lantern #30, Streak was born and grew up on a farm run by a woman named Sara. Streak helped watch over the farm, its animals, and Sara herself, keeping everyone safe from predators. Sara left the farm suddenly one day, leaving Streak in the care of her brother Luke, who was a forest ranger. Streak learned to aid Luke as he was helping people in various ways in his territory.
Sometime later, Luke got a letter from Sara and immediately left Streak behind in the care of a fellow forest ranger. But Streak deduced what was happening by smelling Sara’s scent on the letter, and followed Luke’s trail to Gotham City. Just as Streak finds Luke in Gotham City, Luke is gunned down by gangsters. Streak is also shot in the exchange, but is saved by Green Lantern. Soon, Streak finds Sara, who has been drugged by a war criminal named Dr. Malorgo, whom the world believes is dead. It is revealed that Sara is actually Captain Sara Dale, of U.S. counter-intelligence, who had been on Malorgo’s trail during WWII and had been called back to service when it was discovered that he might be alive. Green Lantern and Streak are ultimately able to rescue Sara and defeat Dr. Malorgo.
Streak next appears in All-American Comics #96, two months later. After this, Green Lantern’s decline at DC Comics became very evident. Streak became the dominant figure on the cover of All-American Comics #98, and Green Lantern lost his cover placement entirely beginning with issue #100, which was retitled All-American Western with issue #103. Streak dominated several of the covers of the Green Lantern series beginning with issue #34, and that title ended with issue #38. Streak even survived the end of Green Lantern both in his own title and in All-American Comics, continuing on in his own solo adventures in Sensation Comics #91-93.
Then in 1952, the team who had created Streak the Wonder Dog in Green Lantern — Bob Kanigher and Alex Toth — rebooted their comic book pup for the post-superhero era into a white-furred former military K-9 Corps German Shepherd called Rex the Wonder Dog. But it all began in Green Lantern #30, and there’s a Green Lantern #30 (DC, 1948) Condition: GD- up for auction in the 2023 January 15-16 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122303 at Heritage Auctions.
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