The world’s first gay superhero, Bash Helmet, was created in June 1941 by William 'Florrie' Mendelson while he was a young lieutenant stationed at an army base near Brighton, England. Each night, after lights out, Florrie loved to excite his privates by sneaking into their barracks and telling them fantastical stories in order to raise their morale.
His tales centred around the heroic Justin Nicely, an investigative hairdresser who possessed a magical helmet. When Justin rubbed it, he swelled to twice his size and his muscles grew firm and strong. Accessorising with a tasteful purple costume, Justin called himself Bash Helmet and took to the streets, coming down hard on criminals.
Left: Florrie Mendelson Right: Florrie Mendelson
Word of Bash Helmet's exploits spread throughout the army base and Florrie soon found himself giving oral recitations in the officers' mess. Colonel Neville Hawthorne, the camp commander, had connections to an American publishing house that was producing a comic called Tales to Excite.
Hawthorne radioed details of Bash's adventures to the publishers who then employed artists to draw them. Early sketches of Bash depicted the hero as aggressive, bulky and hirsute but the editors worried that readers would mistake him for a lesbian. So his appearance was refined.
Right: A rejected sketch of Bash Helmet
Originally, Florrie’s Bash was an Englishman from the fictional village of Uppham-cum-Hardy but the publishers took the decision to make Bash an American as they felt it would broaden his appeal.In October 1941, Bash Helmet was introduced to the world in Tales to Excite issue 27. The debut story explained how Justin first came across his helmet in Greece and then returned to the United States to fight crime.
Bash Helmet’s first appearance in Tales to Excite number 27
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