MONSTER, CREATURE AND CRITTER ROUND-UP 009

MONSTER, CREATURE AND CRITTER ROUND-UP 009

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What’s the difference between a monster, a creature and a critter? Never you mind. Devil Flower: These carnivorous plants are cultivated by the spy Mister K for use in assassinations and in a classic payoff the carnivorous plant grower eventually becomes carnivorous plant food. (More Fun Comics 068, 1941) Giant Octopus: Not only is this giant cephalopod a great example of the octopus giant humanoid head but its attack on Navy Jones and Princess Coral serves as a meet cute…

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SUPER-VILLAIN FILE 005: IAN KARKULL

SUPER-VILLAIN FILE 005: IAN KARKULL

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(More Fun Comics 069, 1941) Ian Karkull – who isn’t even called “Ian” until he returns in the year 200, sheesh – should be categorized as a minor super-hero but the past version of me got overexcited about his teamup with Wotan and gave him the full upgrade. See the link below for the skinny on Karkull’s two Golden Age appearances. UPDATE 1941

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 065

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 065

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You simply cannot have comic book adventures without a few aliens creeping in around the edges. It’s science. Monkey-Men: These Monkey-Men are encountered by Congo Bill while searching for a long-lost explorer named Desmond in the deep dark jungle. There’s not much to distinguish them from other the other ape-people we have encountered thusfar, aside from the fact that they live in cool-looking cone-shaped houses. The missing Desmond of course turns out to be an amnesiac who is living with…

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SUPER-HERO 014 UPDATE: DOCTOR FATE 1940

SUPER-HERO 014 UPDATE: DOCTOR FATE 1940

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Doctor Fate plays his cards very close to his vest in his first year of operation. We don’t get a whole lot more information about him than we started out with: magic guy, cool helmet. We do however learn where he lives: Doctor Fate’s fourth appearance marks the first appearance of his iconic headquarters, the mysterious ancient tower with no doors that stands outside of Salem, Massachusetts (and it is as always pretty gauche to link Salem to actual magical…

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SUPER-HERO FILE 015: CONGO BILL

SUPER-HERO FILE 015: CONGO BILL

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(More Fun Comics 056, 1940) Here’s the thing about Congo Bill: he is functionally exactly the same as a hundred other two-fisted Golden Age jungle adventurers. Perhaps he is a bit less bloodthirsty than some of his peers, but if you lined up every single one of them and asked someone not in the know to pick out the one who would still be appearing in comics eighty-odd years later there is no way that they would guess correctly other…

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SUPER-VILLAIN FILE 004: WOTAN

SUPER-VILLAIN FILE 004: WOTAN

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(More Fun Comics 055, 1940) Wotan is the poster child for the class of mid-tier super-villain who figure into a super-hero’s early adventures and thus get to keep coming back any time someone wants to get back to basics on them. In this case, as the first and also the first recurring foe of Doctor Fate, he crops up every decade or so and gets few new details added to his backstory. When we first meet Wotan he seems to…

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REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 034

REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 034

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The kids are back for this one, and if you are tired of Bobby and Binks and the Magic Crystal of History then I have good news for you: this is the last Real Person entry that they will completely dominate. You just have to keep your eyes on the long-term goal of seeing a comic where Superman goes back in time to help Hannibal cross the Alps and being able to point at it and go “I bet those…

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SUPER HERO FILE 014: DOCTOR FATE

SUPER HERO FILE 014: DOCTOR FATE

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(More Fun Comics 055, 1940) There are several major ways to introduce a super-hero: you can lay out their whole deal right away and make their first adventure an origin story, or have them relate their origin in a quick flashback, or leave their origin mysterious and only sprinkle in the odd clue now and again. Or, as in the case of Doctor Fate, you can just kind of handwave it. “Yeah, yeah, he’s a magic man. He knows a…

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MONSTER, CRITTER AND CREATURE ROUND-UP 008

MONSTER, CRITTER AND CREATURE ROUND-UP 008

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Monster of Space: This very fun monster menaces the Spectre and gangster Knife Groggins during a trip to the astral plane intended to frighten Groggins into talking. One visit to the depths of the beast’s very fun oubliette tummy and the job is done. I really appreciate how weirdly proportioned this fellow is – it’s a good way to convey its unearthly nature. (More Fun Comics 065, 1941) On an unplanned trip to the occult realms in More Fun Comics…

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