(Amazing-Man Comics 005, 1939) The Great Question is a member of the Council of Seven, the mysterious body of scientists and mystics who trained and orphan boy into John Aman aka the Amazing-Man. The inner dynamics of the Council of Seven can be a bit hard to parse but early on it seems like the Great Question is if not in charge at least an unofficial leader. Later, as he has more and more conflict with Amazing-Man that role is…
GENERIC! COSTUMED! VILLAINS! It’s not much of a costume but this dude named Marmi does manage to use a trained cobra to steal a huge ruby before the Radio Squad gets him, which is a feat. (More Fun Comics 072, 1941) It’s possible that this fellow was meant to have a name but he never managed to say it over the Green Mask’s relentless mocking of his costume. He’s munitions magnate August Mincer, who has no obvious ties to Nazism…
The Foot Test For Guns: I sincerely can’t believe we’ve found another person trying the Foot Test For Guns, the worst of all ways to see if a gun is working. (Big Shot Comics 004, 1940) Kids Playing Super-Heroes: Jibby Jones is a pretty weak sauce comic strip (seen here in comic book reprint, natch) but dang if I’m not intrigued by this Moon Man character. (Big Shot Comics 005, 1940) Honours: Jeff Cardiff, Spy-Chief saves Washington DC from being…
(Big 3 004, 1941) In a change of pace from the usual heaping of honours on the various costumed do-gooders of comics we have here the Flame giving out an award called the “Flame Badge of Merit” to someone who helped out on a case. A fun twist!
More mad science than criminal science or vice versa? You be the judge! This guy, who seems to be neither bald nor ironically hairy enough for his name of Baldy Fluger to make sense, has a hypnotic ray and a plan: to use that hypnotic ray for crime. The Green Mask and Domino the Miracle Boy have something to say about that. (Mystery Men Comics 021, 1941) If there was any more to these three (respectively named Boris, Oscar and…
(Mystery Men Comics 029, 1941) Really very strong showing from the Death Master in the splash panel, with artist Louis Cazenueve (as Lester Raye) doing some great Kirby-esque monster-man work on the man himself. And the story version of the character almost measures up! The Death Master is head of a counterfeiting gang who completely buys into his own hype – he’s a sneering, gloating villain of the type I love. But why is the Death Master called that? Why,…
(Mystery Men Comics 029, 1941) The Hooded Killer AKA the Hooded Man AKA the Hooded Figure is your average lawyer personal secretary who has killed his client and is now attempting to kill his client’s heirs because once they’re all gone then he gets the money. Do you know that because of comic books ad police procedurals every time the subject of wills comes up this is the kid of thing that runs through my mind? Hopefully I never have…
(Mystery Men Comics 029, 1941) We first see Countess Belladonna at the Westchester Flower Show, where she meets young Brenda Talmadge and murders her for her recently-inherited Riviera Ruby. Now here I’m going to jump ahead and spoil the twist of a comic book that was published more than 80 years ago: Countess Belladonna is actually Judge Talmadge, stepfather to Brenda Talmadge. As with any modern reading of a story with gender ambiguity there is a temptation to read more…
(Mystery Men Comics 028, 1941) In addition to being a member in good standing of the Name Sounds Like It’s a Thematic Choice But Isn’t Club, Dr Leech is a charter member of the The Protagonist Just Wandered into My Place of Work Instead of Having to Do Any Detective Work to Find Me Society. When the Green Mask intercepts a clearly mind controlled bank robber he hauls him into the nearest doctor’s office, which turns out to be Dr…
(Mystery Men Comics 027, 1941) As is so frequently the case, this here ghost is in fact an elaborate hoax carried out to keep people away from a particular location. This time it’s a gang of smugglers operating out of an old abandoned inn evocatively named “the Tombstones” by the locals. The Green Mask makes short work of these rascals despite the extra effort they put in, including wholesale grave robbing in order to keep themselves stocked up with enough…