I just finished reading my wedding anniversary gift from Vicki, which was a copy of All Star Comics # 18 from 1943. (The cover shown here isn't from my copy, but rather one that I found on the 'Net.) It was a fun read, with lots of interesting little historical bits.
"Knowing your oats" was apparently quite the expression in the early 40s, as slang for "being right." It was used in various forms three times over the 64 pages!
"A good man can lick anything" probably didn't evoke the same laugh all those years ago that it would today, I suspect.
The Spectre was repeatedly referred to as The Dark Knight, despite the fact that Batman was also around in the 40s. Not sure who got the nickname first.
This story featured a set of Spider Men (bad guys, or really more dupes of bad guys) who could spin webs from their hands. This was of course nearly twenty years before the debut of Peter Parker.
Whoever wrote the Johnny Thunder adventure (the JSA starts out together, then go off and have individual battles before re-forming at the end) didn't quite understand how his interaction with his Thunderbolt (genie) worked, as he was able to command the lightning-shaped imp without saying his magic word of "Cei-U" (pronounced "say you").
Similarly, the writer of Sandman's chapter seemed to think Wesley Dodds' superhero identity simply a fighter, as there was no use of any of his weapons or gadgets, including his trademark sleeping gas.
Overall, it was great to see what's stayed the same over six decades, and what's come a long way.
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