#sheldon mayer

Sugar And Spike And Scribbly

Original Art (1976)

Art by Sheldon Mayer

From Heritage Auctions...

To my surprise, while looking through the June 3, 2026 previews, I spotted Abigail "Ma" Hunkel (the original Red Tornado) on the cover of the final issue of the six-issue miniseries Harley & Ivy: Life & Crimes.

I'm generally not a fan of most Harley Quinn solo books. I'm probably in the minority there, but I feel the same way about most Deadpool and Lobo solo series. Too often they seem to rely on, "Look how crazy and inappropriate I'm being. Isn't that hilarious?" More often than not, that kind of humor just doesn't land for me because it feels like it lacks a point.

Still, Ma Hunkel was enough to pique my curiosity, so I picked up the series from the beginning. To my surprise, I absolutely loved it. Erica Henderson tells a heartfelt and engaging story about the beginnings of Harley and Ivy's relationship, while her expressive, whimsical artwork perfectly complements the tone. I can't recommend the series highly enough.

Ma doesn't enter the story until the back half of issue #4, where it's revealed that she took Harley in as a runaway teenager and has remained someone Harley trusts when she needs a safe place to disappear. Interestingly, Ma looks considerably younger here than she did in her recent appearance in DC's I Saw Ma Hunkel Kissing Santa Claus, which is curious considering she'd be well over a century old by now.

For readers unfamiliar with her history, Ma Hunkel was created by Sheldon Mayer and was one of DC's earliest costumed heroes. An ordinary housewife, she first donned a homemade costume to rescue kidnapped neighborhood children from gangsters, debuting as the Red Tornado in All-American Comics #20 (1940). Although the public assumed the Red Tornado was a man, Ma became a beloved neighborhood crime-fighter and even made a memorable appearance at the Justice Society's first meeting. Her children, Huey and Sisty Hunkel, along with their friends Scribbly Jibbet and his younger brother Dinky, frequently found themselves caught up in her adventures. Sisty and Dinky eventually became her costumed sidekicks, the Cyclone Kids; as adults, the two of them married each other and joined the veteran superhero team Old Justice.

After testifying against organized crime, Ma entered witness protection, eventually returning years later to serve as curator of the Justice Society Museum. During her time in hiding, Professor T.O. Morrow secretly copied Ma's memories into the android he created as the second Red Tornado. Those memories of Ma's courage, compassion, and heroism helped the android overcome his villainous programming and ultimately become one of the Justice League's greatest heroes. Her legacy continued through Huey's daughter, Maxine Hunkel, who later became the hero Cyclone and joined the modern Justice Society.

What I especially love about Harley & Ivy: Life & Crimes is how Henderson embraces Ma's legacy instead of simply treating her as an obscure Golden Age cameo. She puts Ma back in her iconic Red Tornado costume, introduces two young characters who go by the names Scribbly and Sisty (potentially setting them up as a new generation of Cyclone Kids), and even hints that Ma may actually be a low-level metahuman, offering a fun in-universe explanation for both her incredible strength and remarkable longevity.

While I'm doing Bronze Age DC, I've also been wanting to check out some of the 70s era of this long-running anthology-format book. (Probably gonna skim around a bit and just dig into the features that catch my eye.)

VERY groovy opening splash by Sekowsky here.

I didn't realize Alec Baldwin appeared in 70s DC comics.

Fuckin badass shit

Nothing like loudly announcing things!

LOVE this page by DeZuniga

YOU LIVE IN THE DC UNIVERSE

Vintage Comic - Limited Collectors' Edition #C-20 - Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Pencils: Sheldon Mayer

Inks: Sheldon Mayer