A DEMIGOD (1886) – Written by American author Edward Payson Jackson, this work preceded Philip Wylie’s Gladiator by more than 4 decades.
We readers are told that in the early 1600s physician Kenelm Vere decided that human beings were not living up to their potential. He established a remote laboratory in Greece, and purchased a female he deemed physically perfect. Dr. Vere mated with her and began a selective breeding program with their offspring, with their children and grandchildren enhanced by his own scientific tweaking over the decades.
In 1880s Greece, Kenelm’s sole surviving descendant Hector, now spelling the family surname as “Vyr”, is a human wonder. Hector has Adonis-like physical beauty, intelligence far ahead of his time, greater than human strength and amazing reflexes that allow him to dodge bullets fired at him. Continue reading
AMAZING FANTASY Vol 1 #15 (August 1962) 
THE MILLTILLIONAIRE (1895) – This novel was written by American author Albert Waldo Howard under the pen name M. Auburre Hovorre. A second edition came out in 1898. 
THE FANTASTIC FOUR – There can be no over-stating the importance of the Fantastic Four to Marvel Comics and by extension to much of pop culture the last several years regarding superhero movies and television programs. Though the Fantastic Four are now considered as dull as any b&w sitcom family of long ago, the team’s success convinced Marvel the market was right to recommit to superhero comic books. 
As Marvel Comics in 1961 the company decided to dabble in superhero comic books again, with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, two veteran comic book hands since the 1940s, putting together a brand-new team of superheroes. That team was, of course, the Fantastic Four. 
HULK Vol 1 #150 (April 1972) 
NOTE: Thanks to sorcerers on Jarella’s home planet in the Microverse, Hulk was able to retain Bruce Banner’s mind there even when he was the Hulk, so she technically loved both his personae. 
BY AEROPLANE TO THE SUN (1910) – Written by Donald W. Horner. This British novel features ideas that wouldn’t have been out of place decades earlier but in 1910 it’s astounding to encounter concepts like an alleged scientist believing that the sun is inhabited. 
GOOD EVENING, MR. TIBBS – As promised, I recently obtained a copy of author John Ball’s final story featuring his iconic African American homicide detective Virgil Tibbs. Yes, THAT Virgil Tibbs, introduced in the 1965 novel and 1966 movie In the Heat of the Night. 
DE STILLE GETUIGE (The Silent Witness) 
THE QUEST OF SETH FOR THE OIL OF LIFE (1962) – Written by Esther Casier Quinn, this is one of the best and most concise works of comparative mythology that I have ever read. It’s a medieval legend often compared to the Grail story and is appropriate for Holy Thursday. The Quest of Seth for the Oil of Life is also known as The Quest of Seth for the Oil of Mercy, The Legend of the Rood and many other titles. 
For those not familiar with this particular popular offshoot of the canonical story of Jesus Christ here’s a brief overview:
This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at the Marvel Comics run in which Hercules and Thor fought side by side against assorted menaces. 
THOR Vol 1 #221 (March 1974) 
Balladeer's Blog 