We’re not out of the extremely crusty scan woods yet, but the media of comics must be recorded, folks. Hang in there. Books: When Diamond Jack defeats his early foe the Witch and transforms her book of magic into 1000 Ways to Cook Spinach, there is one big unanswered question: did this spinach cookbook already exist or did his ring magically compile 1000 recipes on its own? (Slam-Bang Comics 001, 1940) Early Batman foe the Wolf, meanwhile, got his start…
It’s astonishing. They just keep on coming up with more super-heroes. the Flame **UPDATE**: Like many other long-running Fox Features characters, the Flame gets a bit of an overhaul late in 1941. In the Flame’s case, this includes an expansion to his powers: long able to get around by running on the stream of fire produced by his flame gun, the Flame is now simply able to fly. He can also now pick up and move fire around, as seen…
(The Flame 004, 1941) Doctor Drool* is a medical doctor who was recently executed for an unspecified crime. He has, however, planned for this eventuality, and his assistant Scully is on-hand to collect him from his mausoleum at the earliest opportunity so that he can administer a revivification treatment to him. Thus restored, Doctor Drool swears revenge on the Judge, District Attorney and jury who convicted him, a fourteen-person death list that would eventually grow to include the Flame as…
I’m beginning to think that the super-hero scene is pretty hazardous. the Blue Bolt: The Blue Bolt’s first outing against the Green Sorceress is marred by the fact that he gets near-fatally clawed by her vulturoid monsters. (Blue Bolt v1 001, 1940) the Cloak: Jeff Cardiff, aka the Spy-Master, aka the Spay-Chief and the future Cloak, gets a classic skull crease. On purpose! This is the way that that goon chose to knock him out! Such confidence! (Big Shot 002,…
(Fight Comics 016, 1941) The Smiler! A grody-looking gang boss with a permanent crooked smile thanks to a facial scar! I can’t actually figure out where this scar is actually supposed to be – I suppose that it must be there, but the Smiler’s face is so covered in seams and divots that it doesn’t stand out. The Smiler is such a ruthless and dastardly crook that he accepts a commission from Nazi agent Blitz to steal the engine-killing ray…
We’ve got some real early media for you today, so get ready for the crustiest scans of microfiche you ever saw. Movies: Steve Rogers and Bucky almost get to the movies to see a flick called Million Dollar Robbery before being interrupted by a real, if smaller-scale, robbery. BONUS: a classic case of real movies stars barely obfuscated by having their first names swapped, in Humphrey Raft and George Bogart, aka George Raft and Humphrey Bogart. (Captain America Comics 004, 1941) Hired…
(Fight Comics 015, 1941) I sniffed at the chronal implications of Super-American coming back in time to help out 1941 America, but it’s very possible that it is only by his intervention that his future comes to exist at all. By the time he arrives, Tyrannus, leader of an unnamed organization perhaps a couple of levels tougher than your average group of bundists, has already managed to install himself in the Oval Office. Senators are being machine gunned in the…
Even the most minor of super-heroes gets the chance to shine brightly in the Round-Up. Super-American: I can’t decide if I’m surprised or not that the development of the archetype of the patriotic hero was so rapid as to produce a character called “Super-American” less than a year after the debut of Captain America. He’s simultaneously straight out to the sketchbook of a 60s underground comix guy (or indeed a more modern edgy comics guy) and a perfectly ordinary 1940s…
Once again we point and go “Hey. It’s that guy.” Adolf Hitler: Captain Courageous has to deal with a few pseudo-Nazis working for Hitler-alike Hinkler. (Banner Comics 003, 1941) Real Hitler takes a scheme-foiling by Vulcan pretty hard. (Four Favorites 001, 1941) Devil’s Island: Captain America and Bucky infiltrate Devil’s Island to free a prisoner who is not only a victim of carceral justice taken to unjust extremes but also as an arm of the Nazi government in France. (Captain America Comics…
(Fight Comics 011, 1941) Just when the futuristic (i.e., early 2000s) nation of Greater America thinks that it can relax, it is simultaneously attacked from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans! Acting quickly, Saber, aka the Spy Fighter, super-powered Head of Greater American Espionage, sets out to discover who is behind this dastardly deed. Saber uses his telepathic abilities to trace the impulses that are directing the armies to an isolated outpost where he finds a fellow variously referred to…