Second appearance of Brain Wave. Justice Society cover by Joe Gallagher. Art by Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Sheldon Moldoff, Bernard Baily, and Paul Reinman.
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COVER DETAILS
Title:
The Brain Wave Goes Berserk
Characters:
Justice Society of America [Wonder Woman [Diana Prince]; Dr. Mid-Nite [Dr. Charles McNider]; Hawkman [Carter Hall]; The Sandman [Wesley Dodds]; The Spectre [Jim Corrigan]; Johnny Thunder; Starman [Ted Knight]; Dr. Fate [Kent Nelson]; The Atom [Al Pratt]]; Brain Wave [Henry King, Sr.] (inset)
Pencils:
Joe Gallagher
Inks:
Joe Gallagher
STORY DETAILS
Title:
Husky - Co-Pilot of the Pilgrim
Pages:
0.670
Script:
Josette Frank
Letters:
typeset
Notes:
Inside front cover.
Title:
The Brain Wave Goes Berserk, Introduction
Characters:
Justice Society of America [The Sandman [Wesley Dodds]; Johnny Thunder; The Spectre [Jim Corrigan]; Dr. Fate [Kent Nelson]; Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Wonder Woman [Diana Prince] (Secretary); Dr. Mid-Nite [Dr. Charles McNider]; The Atom [Al Pratt]; Starman [Ted Knight]]; Brain Wave [Henry King, Sr.] (villain)
Synopsis:
Wonder Woman informs the JSA that all the minutes of past meetings have been stolen. The scene then shifts back to the moment the Brain Wave jumped from his tower, supposedly to his death. He survived and invented a way using electricity and special substance to shrink the JSA to 8" tall! Meanwhile, Wonder Woman heads home to look for the minutes and after she leaves, the members find themselves shrunk to 8" in height, and Brain Wave enters, imprisoning each member in a cage. When Brain Wave leaves the room, Hawkman calls his hawks, who come and take the members away as Brain Wave watches.
Pages:
4.000
Script:
Gardner Fox
Pencils:
Joe Gallagher
Inks:
Joe Gallagher
Notes:
Story title taken from the cover.
Title:
The Brain Wave Goes Berserk, Chapter 1
Characters:
Hawkman [Carter Hall]; The Thunderbolt [Archibald] (cameo); Ted Purvis (JJSA member); Mr. Purvis (Ted's father); thugs (villains)
Synopsis:
While flying along, Hawkman is captured by a JJSA member in a net, and he informs the young boy that his father is to be robbed by Brain Wave's men, so they head for the house, only to discover living tiny soldiers that are mixed in with the boy's regular toys. With a special yellow ray they regain their regular size and the Feathered Fury must come up with a different way of defeating the foe. As the Police arrive to arrest the thugs, Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt shows up and takes Hawkman away.
Pages:
4.000
Script:
Gardner Fox
Pencils:
Sheldon Moldoff
Inks:
Sheldon Moldoff
Notes:
The Hawkman chapter was cut 2-3 pages from its original length and doesn't have a splash. Sheldon Moldoff said he purposely drew it that way, indicating he combined pages of Fox's script in order to shorten the chapter.
Title:
The Brain Wave Goes Berserk, Chapter 2
Characters:
The Sandman [Wesley Dodds]; The Thunderbolt [Archibald] (cameo); Silk O'Mara (villain); O'Mara's thugs (villains)
Synopsis:
Sandman is dumped out of his cage by the hawk who rescued him near a tree that grew money! Each $1 bill has a message on it to thugs connected with the Brain Wave, so he hides and awaits them. When they show, they read the bills, which tells them to take jewels from Riffanys. He follows them from the store and is able to whip them before a Policeman shows up to take them into custody. Then the Thunderbolt arrives to whisk him away.
Pages:
6.000
Script:
Gardner Fox; Jack Kirby (partial re-write)
Pencils:
Jack Kirby
Inks:
Joe Simon
Notes:
Script credit from Craig Delich. Re-writes confirmed by Jack Kirby.
Title:
The Brain Wave Goes Berserk, Chapter 3
Characters:
The Spectre [Jim Corrigan]; The Thunderbolt [Archibald] (cameo); Spider (villain); the Brain Wave's thugs (villains)
Synopsis:
Brain Wave's thugs use a special gun that shoots indestructible spider webs at some guards protecting a safe in a person's home, which incapacitates them while they begin looting the safe. The Spectre arrives and takes on the crooks, but has a difficult time because of his size, so he rockets into outer space, finds a meteor and aims it toward the house where the crooks are looting the safe. It crashes and knocks the men out. As the Spectre is setting off an alarm for the Police, the Thunderbolt arrives and takes him away to Johnny Thunder.
Pages:
6.000
Script:
Gardner Fox
Pencils:
Bernard Baily
Inks:
Bernard Baily
Letters:
Howard Ferguson
Notes:
Letterer credit from Craig Delich.
Title:
The Brain Wave Goes Berserk, Chapter 4
Characters:
Dr. Fate [Kent Nelson]; The Thunderbolt [Archibald] (cameo); Lucky Luke (villain); the Brain Wave's thugs (villains)
Synopsis:
The Brain Wave's minions, headed by Lucky Luke, are posing as plumbers in order to get into a bank to loot it. Doctor Fate shows up in time to trail the thugs back to Lucky's apartment, and he uses a typewriter to type out some bad news to Lucky. Noting that he has one more job to do, and it's Friday the 13th, Lucky decides to go through with the job, and Fate puts a stop to the plot just as the Thunderbolt shows up.
Pages:
6.000
Script:
Gardner Fox
Pencils:
Howard Sherman
Inks:
Howard Sherman
Title:
The Brain Wave Goes Berserk, Chapter 5
Characters:
Dr. Mid-Nite [Dr. Charles McNider]; Augustus Flack; Edward (Flack's butler); Dr. Charles T. Grant; Brain Wave [Henry King, Sr.] (villain, cameo); the Brain Wave's thugs (villains)
Synopsis:
A special newspaper is delivered to Augustus Flack (and others), telling of "The Ace of Spades." Then an ace of spades card falls out with a note telling him where to take his blackmail money. Mid-Nite arrives and discovers the address to which the men are asked to bring their money, so he heads over to it, takes on the thugs under cover of his blackout bomb, and convinces the men that they have gotten lead poisoning from handling the papers Brain Wave had printed. They head over to a doctor that Charles McNider has recommended, and the doctor gases them and calls the Police.
Pages:
5.000
Script:
Gardner Fox
Pencils:
Stan Asch [as Stan Josephs] (signed)
Inks:
Stan Asch [as Stan Josephs] (signed)
Notes:
This chapter was probably shortened by a page, as the panel showing the Thunderbolt coming to get Dr. Mid-Nite is missing.
Title:
Water, Water Everywhere
Characters:
Hop Harrigan; Tank Tinker
Pages:
1.500
Pencils:
Jon L. Blummer (illustration of Hop Harrigan)
Inks:
Jon L. Blummer (illustration of Hop Harrigan)
Letters:
typeset
Notes:
This filler does NOT appear in the Archives.
Synopsis:
Townspeople head over to Keller's Circus, which is putting on a free show for the people, a clever ruse by the Brain Wave because it leaves the town deserted and wide open to be robbed blind. While the people back at the circus have been gassed, Starman shows up and follows the crooks into town from the circus and takes them on until the Police arrive...and then Thunderbolt shows up to whisk him away.
Pages:
5.670
Script:
Gardner Fox
Pencils:
Paul Reinman
Inks:
Sam Burlockoff
Notes:
Art credits from Craig Delich. Pencils credit originally given to Ed Dobrotka. Inker credit confirmed by Sam Burlockoff.
This chapter was shortened by a 1/3 of a page.
Title:
The Brain Wave Goes Berserk, Chapter 7
Characters:
The Atom [Al Pratt]; The Thunderbolt [Archibald] (cameo); The Brain Wave [Henry King, Sr.] (villain, cameo); Crafty Connors (villain); Knuckles O'Grady (villain); Slipper Joe Dixon (villain)
Synopsis:
The Atom witnesses many strange accidents and the victims, taken to a nearby hospital, just happen to be crooks of every description. He discovers that the Brain Wave has taught the men how to fake accidents in order to commit theft. The men, in spite of the Atom's attempts, escape from the hospital with a supply of radium and head for their hideout, followed by the Mighty Mite. He attacks the best he can until the Police arrive to arrest the thugs...and the Thunderbolt appears to take the Atom away.
Pages:
5.000
Script:
Gardner Fox
Pencils:
Joe Gallagher
Inks:
Joe Gallagher
Notes:
This chapter was probably shortened by one page.
Title:
The Brain Wave Goes Berserk, Chapter 8
Characters:
Johnny Thunder; The Thunderbolt [Archibald]; Senator Sebastian J. Graves (bank President and multi-millionaire); phony Senator Graves (villain); Brain Wave's thugs (villains)
Synopsis:
Johnny arrives at the Keystone Hotel, ready to take on the Brain Wave's thugs, but lands head first and is knocked out. Inside the hotel, a phony Senator Sebastian Graves overpowers the real Senator and takes his place. Johnny attempts to intervene, but his small size presents a real challenge to him until he thinks to have the Thunderbolt make his full size again! Still, Johnny is captured, so he asks the Thunderbolt to get the rest of the JSA pronto!
Pages:
6.000
Script:
Gardner Fox
Pencils:
Stan Asch
Inks:
Stan Asch
Title:
The Brain Wave Goes Berserk, Conclusion
Characters:
Justice society of America [Hawkman [Carter Hall]; The Atom [Al Pratt]; The Sandman [Wesley Dodds]; The Spectre [Jim Corrigan]; Dr. Fate [Kent Nelson]; Dr. Mid-Nite; Johnny Thunder; Starman [Ted Knight]]; The Thunderbolt [Archibald]; Brain Wave [Henry King, Sr.] (villain, death?)
Synopsis:
The JSA saves Johnny and the Senator, then head over to the Brain Wave's tower at Sharktooth Bay. Brain Wave has wired explosives outside the tower to blow up the JSA as they arrive, but the Thunderbolt moves the explosives inside the tower and the Brain Wave accidentally blows himself up!
Pages:
2.000
Script:
Gardner Fox
Pencils:
Joe Gallagher
Inks:
Joe Gallagher
Notes:
Wonder Woman does not appear in the conclusion.
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CGC Census Report*
Grade
NG
PG
CVR
0.5
1.0
1.5
1.8
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
8.5
9.0
9.2
9.4
9.6
9.8
9.9
10.0
Total
Universal
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
1
3
4
6
6
6
2
2
4
5
5
3
3
1
0
1
0
0
0
56
Qualified
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
Signature Series
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
CGCxJSA
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Restored
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
Total
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
2
2
1
4
4
6
6
6
2
2
6
5
6
3
3
1
0
1
0
0
0
62
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