MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 536: NAULUS

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 536: NAULUS

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(Fantastic Comics 001, 1939) Naulus is an undersea noble who is attempting to usurp the throne of Atlantis from its rightful ruler, Queen Lantida, and do Atlantean aristocrats get up to any other activities? Atlantis needs more hobby stores, I reckon. FATE OF ATLANTIS: this version of Atlantis appears to be the standard ancient sunken city saved by super science – specifically a sealed dome city full of air. These aren’t your water breathing Atlanteans, folks. Since this is a…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 535: VON HAUPT

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 535: VON HAUPT

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(Fantastic Comics 001, 1939) Von Haupt is  more like a journey through the traits and attributes of a style of  super-crook than a character: Aviator Captain Kidd is flying over an unspecified jungle when his plane is forced down by an engine-killing ray. Captured by costumed goons, Kidd is brought to a jungle fortress before a vaguely European man  with a German-sounding last name and a monocle. Though threatening, this exchange turns out to be a job interview, as von…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 534: THE BRAIN

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 534: THE BRAIN

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(Fantastic Comics 001, 1939) We open on Space Smith and his girlfriend Dianna (sometimes Diana) having a trans-Lunar space-date ruined by Martian Imp Men and I am immediately struck with the dilemma engendered by nearly all Fletcher Hanks stories: follow through on my impulses and post most if not all panels or be judicious for the sake of space and readability? I went with the latter but it hurt. So in lieu of my posting every panel that features the…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 533: THORGA

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 533: THORGA

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(Fantastic Comics 001, 1939)  Thorga! Exiled from Western society because of his “mad plans”, he emerges from the mountains of Tibet with a high-tech army, intent on conquering Europe! Thorga! He fields a mighty airforce of advanced planes, a mechanized infantry of advanced tanks! Thorga! He is the first foe faced by Fox Features’ Samson and so his main role is as a demonstration of Samson’s power as he destroys not only the planes and tanks but the regular infantry…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 532: THE DEVIL

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 532: THE DEVIL

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(Blue Ribbon Comics 019, 1941) This is the same guy as the Dictator but on his time off, I guess? Mr Justice kind of gave up on him after the Green Ghoul incident – maybe he just couldn’t get up the energy to keep running a Nazi Germany analog. I think he continues to pop up and empower Mr Justice foes but more importantly he has some very cute little trident-wielding imp goons. No hell-dimension is complete without them!

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 531: THE EVIL EYE

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 531: THE EVIL EYE

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(Blue Ribbon Comics 019, 1941)  I wonder if high schools in comic book universes hold some sort of assembly to teach kids not to yell about selling their souls to the Devil when life has them down? Because as far as I can tell it’s got a pretty high chance of working, like it does for weird little scientist Ribo here. Ribo does indeed get to see again but he also gets a demonic makeover – he’s even more of…

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THE FATE OF ATLANTIS

THE FATE OF ATLANTIS

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(Super Comics 002, 1938) This is just a regular account of some survivors of Atlantis (and their wives) setting up a colony somewhere – in this case the South Seas. The development of a priestly class obsessed with covering up their murder of one guy (to the extent that he is eventually made their god of Justice!) is pretty fun.

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 530: THE MAD BOTANIST

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 530: THE MAD BOTANIST

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(Blue Ribbon Comics 019, 1941) The Mad Botanist is an assassin “in the employment of a foreign power” which in 1941 as good as means that he was working for the Axis. His nom de guerre comes from the fact that his preferred method of murder is via deadly plant life, including the African Tentacle Vine, the Mediterranean Poison Cornflower and of course the insidious Man-Eating Clam-Plant. The Botanist’s somewhat bizarre physical appearance is never commented upon in the comic…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 529: RATZER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 529: RATZER

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(Blue Ribbon Comics 018, 1941) Ratzer is a Nazi agent who tangles with American-serving-in-the British-Army Corporal Collins a couple of times. There’s not a lot to say about him, honestly: the first time he meets Collins he’s trying to spring a load of Nazi prisoners and destroy a lot of British gun cotton in then-Bombay, while the second time he’s stealing oil in Iraq. He is not notably villainous, particularly in the ranks of Nazi super-villains. He does, however, have…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 528: THE BLACK HAND

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 528: THE BLACK HAND

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(Blue Ribbon Comics 016, 1941)  There’s a quality that some comic book characters have and some do not and I never knew about it until I started writing this blog. That quality is called Standing in Clear View So That I Can Get a Screengrab of Them, and buddy, the Black Hand does not have it. This is about as good of a full look as you get of the guy in his first appearance. Enough complaining! The Black Hand…

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