Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: BC Vintage, kid eternity, otto binder, quality comics, Sheldon Moldoff

Operation Drumbeat & Kid Eternity's Debut, Hit Comics #25 at Auction

Kid Eternity's 1942 origin moment in Hit Comics #25 was a direct reaction to German U-boat attacks on merchant shipping along the East Coast that year.

The debut Kid Eternity story in Hit Comics #25 opens with a scene of looming tragedy, as a grandfather, his grandson, and the crew of their merchant vessel travel the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast of the United States.  The young boy who would become Kid Eternity spots a German U-boat surfacing nearby, which mercilessly sinks the merchant ship and then guns down all the survivors in the water.  This tragic story from the opening pages of Kid Eternity's origin moment is a direct reference to events that are now known as Operation Drumbeat, a devastating U-boat offensive against merchant shipping along the U.S. East Coast, in progress as this story was being created.  And in a moment inspired by the 1941 Academy Award-winning film Here Comes Mr. Jordan, the grandson, killed 75 years before his time by celestial mistake, is brought back to sort-of life as Kid Eternity, with the power to summon heroes from history.  It's a unique origin story that combines brutal reality with cinematic fantasy.

The creation of Otto Binder and Sheldon Moldoff, Kid Eternity is one of the most unusual characters of the Golden Age, and his debut in Hit Comics #25 is a surprisingly moving tale of sacrifice and redemption. A young boy is killed when a German U-boat sinks their ship during World War II, but it turns out that Kid was meant to die 75 years later. To right this cosmic wrong, he is brought back to sort-of life with the power to summon  historical figures by uttering the word "Eternity."Assisted by Mr. Keeper, a celestial clerk who made the mistake in the first place, the Kid begins a new life dedicated to upholding good.  As Mr. Keeper notes, "We owe you a debt, and by blazes, we're going to pay up. We're going to honor you with all this because you are neither dead nor alive.  That is, you have a chance of doing anything you wish to. And what's more, I know exactly what you're wishing. You want to be a combination of all the great deeds and great men of the past, don't you?"

The circumstances of the young boy's untimely death are a clear reference to Germany's Operation Paukenschlag (translated as Operation Drumbeat by historians), a submarine offensive against shipping along the North American East Coast from January to August of 1942.  These ships were initially poorly defended, and around 600 vessels were sunk during this period.  Historian Michael Gannon has called this "America's Second Pearl Harbor" in his book Operation Drumbeat: The Dramatic True Story of Germany's First U-Boat Attacks along the American Coast in World War II.  With an on-sale date of October 2, 1942, this story in Hit Comics #25 is a clear reaction to the history unfolding as it was being created.

The character proved popular enough to headline Hit Comics from 1942 to 1949 and spin off his own series for 18 issues 1946-1949. After Quality Comics folded in 1956, its characters, including Kid Eternity, were acquired by DC Comics.  Kid Eternity was featured in a memorable 1991 Vertigo mini-series by Grant Morrison and Duncan Fegredo.  There are only 25 copies of Hit Comics #25 on the CGC census, with only 20 of those designated "Universal" or unrestored.  There are only nine copies graded higher than the CGC VG/FN 5.0 Light tan to off-white pages copy up for auction in the 2025 September 18 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction II at Heritage Auctions.

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