(Silver Streak Comics 009, 1941) Dominic Leonetti, aka the Domino, is a nightclub owner/gang boss with what I would call a moderate commitment to his chosen theme. Sure, he plays a game of dominoes with his victims before killing them, and sure he leaves a domino in the hand of whoever he kills, but where’s the domino tie pin or domino-handled knife or even that old standard the domino mask? Even his nightclub is called the Red Rouse, which is…
(Silver Streak Comics 009, 1941) The High One is a fascist spy chief cum mad scientist who has been using an advanced poison to wage a surprisingly successful campaign to kill of the upper echelons of the US government. This has brought him into conflict with Bart Benson, aka Secret Agent X-101, who is soon captured by the High One’s agents and bundled off to his HQ in the small town of Newburgh to be gloated at and then executed. Though the…
They just love putting real folks and versions of real folks in comics and I just love finding them and putting them on my blog. Adolf Hitler: An in-all-but-name version of Hitler gets mad at Citizen Smith for foiling his plans and plots. (Captain Fearless Comics 002, 1941) Gang boss and Deacon foe Duke Adare’s little toothbrush mustache is what initially drew my attention, even though that wasn’t nearly as glaring a signpost of a character being a Hitler stand-in…
(Silver Streak Comics 009, 1941) One day while noodling around in his super plane, Cloud Curtis comes across a crashed plane in Death Valley, with near-dead pilot speaking of snow on the wings. What could this mean? Cloud and his entourage check in with Mr Richmond, owner of the plane, and find that it is the latest in a series of crashes and disappearances. This is all highly suspicious, and what’s even more suspicious is the brick with a note…
The wonders of the cosmos! Spiny Scalemen: The Spiny Scalemen are yet another group of gross-looking underwater humanoids who threaten the mostly peaceful nation of Amloza, and what’s worse, they’re doing it as part of a Nazi plot to take over the city and use it as a naval base. Thankfully Mogg the Fish-Man and only competent citizen of Amloza realizes that city walls are a bit of a useless affectation in an underwater environment and destroys the Scalemen by…
(Silver Streak Comics 009, 1941) The US is being rocked by a series of explosions targeting munitions factories and other facilities contributing to national defense, and not even the speed of the Silver Streak is enough to combat the organizational skills and coordination of the mysterious mastermind behind them. It is only by sheer coincidence that he happens upon an imperilled security guard from a plant in Georgia and learns from him that the men who blew up his workplace…
Dudes come in all kinds of shapes nowadays. Walrus Men: We first encounter the Walrus Men in Champ Comics 013 when the newly-reformed Neptina goes to them to ask for help in reclaiming the throne of Amloza from her sister Mhersa, only to discover that the friendly Prince Eon has been overthrown and that the Walrus Men are now ruled by the expansionist tyrant King Walro. Not that Walro is unopposed in his rule, as there are still Eon loyalists willing…
(Silver Streak Comics 008, 1941) A killer stalks the entertainment industry! Prominent people are being murdered, including Academy Award winner Kay Kaye, opera singer Lily Donela and Dick Bradley, recent recipient of the Nobel Prize for “the best play of the year” which I suppose would be for literature? And also very impressive because the Nobel Prize was suspended in 1941 due to the war? In total, nine luminaries of the stage and screen have been killed as the story…
Lev Gleason characters for EVERYONE! Daredevil **UPDATE**: Daredevil had but one appearance in 1940, so it’s no surprise that the character still had some changes and revisions to go once 1941 rolled around. Firstly, his costume gets an update, with yellow swapped out for red and the complicated “DD” design on the abdomen dropped entirely. The most dramatic change, however, is that the Daredevil can now talk. Just how Bart Hill’s traumatic muteness was alleviated is unaddressed – I’m sure that the real…
More wounds for the wound god! American Ace: Minor Marvel adventure hero Parry Wade, aka the American Ace, is riddled through the torso and crashes his plane after a dogfight. He gets better. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 003, 1940) Black X: Shot in the left shoulder by agents of Vlamir Koran, then nearly dies of exposure while seeking aid. (Smash Comics 001, 1939) Black X’s aide Batu gets shot in the left shoulder on his next mission, while Black X…