MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 735: THE SILVER-WORSHIPPERS

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 735: THE SILVER-WORSHIPPERS

(Silver Streak Comics 005, 1940) Comics book cults, am I right? They’ll worship anything. Case in point: the Silver-Worshippers, who believe that silver is sacred and are pretty dang mad that it is being profaned by its use in finance and currency. They also very frustratingly do not seem to have a name that they use for themselves, so the Silver-Worshippers will have to do. But just how to remove the sacred silver from the hands of the heathen financiers?…

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NOTES: MARCH 2025

NOTES: MARCH 2025

Supercut Updates: Fresh new Skeletons With Jobs and Looming Spectres of Death await ye. Abandoned Ideas:  I came very close to assembling a supercut of Women Kissing the Protagonist in the Last Panel While Their Father Looks Coyly On, but it would be way too labour-intensive to assemble. Plus probably a bit creepy to see all in one place. Anti-Drug Propaganda: Chic Carter investigates a dangerous drug ring after a college kid goes nuts and kills his friend… ON WEED….

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 734: THE ROBOT MASTER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 734: THE ROBOT MASTER

(Silver Streak Comics 004, 1940) We open on a flashback, as this unnamed scientist and Captain Ken Keen of the Planet Patrol reminisce about the Comet of Death which has returned to the Solar System 100 years after it initially laid waste to the cities of Earth, Mars and Venus. And since the adventures of the Planet Patrol unlike many if not most Golden Age sci-fi comics is set in a defined time period, we know that that initial attack…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 733: THE PANTHER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 733: THE PANTHER

(Silver Streak Comics 004, 1940) The Panther! A murderous thief with a very cool look and a vicious set of claws! Well, okay, he does compliment his cool panther mask, panther paw gloves and shoes and pantherskin shirt with a pair of brown slacks so I’ll amend that to a mostly cool look.  Moderately cool looking or not, the Panther has been doing his crimes in the nonspecific New York-esque city that Ace Powers calls home and so Ace is…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 732: THE DOC

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 732: THE DOC

(Silver Streak Comics 003, 1940) Like his super-heroic enemy the Silver Streak, the Doc’s story is complicated somewhat by the fact that it begins as an effort by Jack Binder and ends as one by Jack Cole. In the former, the Doc is a mysterious figure who is orchestrating the deaths of the drivers of Silver Streak race cars via giant fly attacks. The reason for this? Never made clear.  Once the Swami and his race crew are seemingly out…

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MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 040

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 040

Lev Gleason’s finest! Lance Hale: Lance Hale is a soldier of fortune and jungle adventurer who is notable mainly for the fact that in his first appearance he is given super strength by a fellow with the pleasing name of Dr Grantland Grey so that he can help out on an expedition to the stars, and then after returning to Earth he just… stops using the armband that gives him his enhanced strength. He keeps on adventuring, don’t get me…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 731: THE PROFESSOR

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 731: THE PROFESSOR

(Silver Streak Comics 002, 1940) The Professor sits right on that dividing line between “super-villain” and “gang boss with a cool nickname” and what pushed him over the line for me was the fact that he makes three absolutely classic comic book super-villain mistakes in this issue. MISTAKE #1: The Professor lures the Wasp and his aide Bill Barnes to an isolated area to eliminate them before they interfere with his plans as they have in the past, but they…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 730: THE LITTLE MEN

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 730: THE LITTLE MEN

(Silver Streak Comics 002, 1940) Normally I try to put things in my own words and really work out the ins and outs of the motivations of the super-weirdos I write about, but I gotta be honest: I have so little idea of what the Little Men’s problem is (problems are?) that I’m just going to point to the intro caption: they’re trying to rid the world of all beautiful women. Simple as that. Why are they trying to rid…

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REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 011

REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 011

I hope you like the War of 1812 and its wacky cast of characters, because here they come! Dolley Madison: Seen saving the portrait of George Washington from the soon-to-be-burned White House. (Shield-Wizard Comics 002, 1940) Francis Scott Key: Meets Tommy the Super-Boy while both are imprisoned by the British, then is freed by the second Wizard in time to be inspired to write a national anthem. (Shield-Wizard Comics 002, 1940) James Madison:  Seen periodically in the lead-up and progress…

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REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 010

REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 010

The wartime exploits of the original Wizard, expressed as a series of encounters with famous figures from US history.  Benedict Arnold: Very nearly captured by the original Wizard. (Shield-Wizard Comics 001, 1940)  General Charles Cornwallis: Defeated by a coalition of the Americans, French and the original Wizard. (Shield-Wizard Comics 001, 1940) Admiral François-Joseph de Grasse: Helps defeat the British fleet at Chesapeake Bay but of course he couldn’t have done it without the original Wizard. (Shield-Wizard Comics 001, 1940) George…

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