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Author: skeletonmunroe

AESTHETICAL FUTURISM

AESTHETICAL FUTURISM

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(Flash Comics v1 002, 1940)   This strip (Rod Rian of the Sky Police, natch) might just be the greatest stand-alone future in comics, if only for Earth Commandant Elmus’ uniform, which includes not only a belt covered in little stars but a helmet with a planet and star on top! (better look at that great helmet) Amazing uniforms aside, this strip has some top-notch sci-fi jargon: pilotar, telespaceship, terlurium ore, sensotar, earthons (that one’s a currency), alien races called…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 230: ALEXANDER THE GREAT

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 230: ALEXANDER THE GREAT

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(Flash Comics v1 002, 1940) On the one hand, Alexander the Great is your standard criminal scientist with an ego as big as his great big head who tries to extort the city of New York just as soon as he has developed the technology necessary to do so, in this case a density increasing ray. On the other hand, I like him a whole lot more than most criminal scientists. He’s cool! he wears a tux and is kind of…

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SUPER-VILLAIN YEARBOOK: HATH-SET 1940

SUPER-VILLAIN YEARBOOK: HATH-SET 1940

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What was Hath-Set up to in 1940? That’s actually a tricky question, because Hath-Set is a tricky character! Technically, he did absolutely nothing in 1940, because he died somewhere in the 1200s BC. Because, yes, Hath Set is mixed up in the unholy mess that is Hawkman and Hawkgirl’s origin story. Of course, it didn’t start out complicated: Hath-Set was an evil priest of Anubis who murdered Prince Khufu and his lover Shiera and then they all got reincarnated some…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 229: THE FAULTLESS FOUR

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 229: THE FAULTLESS FOUR

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(Flash Comics v1 001, 1940) I have a lot of fondness for the Faultless Four, the first super-foes of original Flash Jay Garrick. Firstly and most simply, they are a perfect illustration of the power creep that super-heroes introduced to comic books: where this group of criminal scientists armed with mildly-fantastic skills and tactics would have been sufficient to occupy your traditional adventure hero for months if not years, the Flash walks all over them without a care in the…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 228: THE PURPLE MONSTER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 228: THE PURPLE MONSTER

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(Feature Comics 049, 1941) The Purple Monster is a pretty lacklustre super-villain. He ticks all the boxes: volcano lair on an island somewhere off BC, army of costumed henchmen, subjugated population of poor island yokels to exploit complete with fake human sacrifices and an unexplained sinister use for the sacrificial victims… it’s a complete checklist of features designed to qualify him for this list. He even draws his name from a local superstition, albeit one he started himself by projecting…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 227: FRAULEIN DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 227: FRAULEIN DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER

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(Feature Comics 046-055, 1941-1942)  If you, like me, aren’t familiar with WWI-era espionage figures, then this one will require some explanation. Fraulein Doktor was the only name that German spy Elsbeth Schragmüller was known by, even after the war had ended and up until German records were seized in 1945, in fact. And once Captain Bruce Blackburn’s adventures had wrung all of the interest they could out of the German-American Bund, a sexy spy nemesis was just the ticket! Thus: Sonya…

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MINOR SUPER-HERO 030: THE RED TRIANGLE

MINOR SUPER-HERO 030: THE RED TRIANGLE

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(Feature Comics 046, 1941) An exciting development! Up until now our minor super-heroes have been of two flavours: the stars of minor super-hero strips or a new identity adopted by the stars of crime or adventure strips – the key word in either case is star – they are the focus and driving force of the strip. The Red Triangle is our first example of another type of super-hero: the single issue guest star. These are far more common in the…

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