(Crack Comics 018, 1941) Not too much to distinguish this guy: he’s Bumps Bale, a former pinball racketeer (you’re just as likely to see Batman smashing up a bunch of pinball machines as an underground casino or a slot machine in the 40s. Gambling is Bad and Pinball is Gambling, was the attitude) who had hit hard times and decided to go into extorting mayors as a second career. Accordingly, he poisoned city comptroller Ezra Daves and promised Unnamed Mayor…
(Crack Comics 018, 1941) The Black Witch is a member of a long comic book tradition: Haitian voodoo practitioners who use their sinister powers to get up to no good – in this case kidnapping the wife of one of Richard “Madam Fatal” Stanton’s friends as raw material in a search for eternal youth. The Black Witch is also part of a long-term demographic shift in comics: while the Haitian voodoo character is a staple villain s(and sometimes hero) into…
(Crack Comics 018, 1941) The Crow! Wanted in every country on the Earth! A villain with a very impressive resume! It’s actually a bit disappointing when he just does some regular bank robbing in this issue. To be fair, he does give the Spider much more of a run for his money than his usual foe, and he does end up returning in Crack 021 the next year, in which he steals the Black Widow and uses it for evil deeds….
(Crack Comics 017, 1941) Like the Cloak before him, the Jackal started out as a fictional villain: made up by promoter Paxton Forbes to obfuscate his own role in murdering sea Captain Bly and stealing his treasure map. But if you do the very things you say that a villain has done, I would contend that you are, in fact, that villain. And Madam Fatal agrees, so there.
(Crack Comics 017, 1941) The Man With the Terrible Machine (aka the Man with the Terrific Name) shows up one day in the far-off world of 2441 AD and lets humanity know that he will destroy the planet using his terrible machine in 24 hours, for no particular reason. Understandably, worldwide panic ensues. When scientist Dr Dram shows up and says that he can stop the terrible machine if only he can get enough gold, he gets full cooperation! And…
(Crack Comics 016, 1941) I keep saying that space pirates are too thick on the ground to include every one despite my inclinations but Blackbeard here overruled me on several fronts, including: -Overall look: that’s basically a perfect look for a futuristic pirate (it’s not obvious from this image but I reckon that he’s shirtless under the coat, btw). Maybe swap the beret out for a more traditional hat but that would be the only thing I’d change. -Name: can’t…
(Crack Comics 016, 1941) A hired killer working for perennial Black Condor villain Jaspar Crow, the Ghost-Gun Killer is tasked with murdering workers at the Great Northern Copper Mine at a hundred bucks a pop in order to drive down the value of the company, thus allowing Crow to buy it on the cheap. His mystique is enhanced by (and name is taken from) his choice of weapon: a silenced rifle mounted with a powerful laser-like light, giving the impression…
(Crack Comics 015, 1941) I love the Werewolf, and here’s a list of the things I love about him: -His name: He has the unlikely handle of Prescott Taunton. A minor point but a good one. -His motivation: Prescott is a writer. Specifically, he wrote a book about lycanthropy and then shopped it around enough to get rejected at least seven times. And then he started murdering the people who rejected his work. -His ambiguous lycanthropy: Is he a werewolf or…
Costumes: I don’t really feel like doing a whole entry for the Spider. Maybe someday. For now I just want to point out one detail of his costume: Little spiders on his boots! Heroes Going to Costume Parties as Themselves: Batman! And he wins Most Original Costume! (Batman Comics v1 001, 1940) Speaking of awards and such, after Batman and Robin save an unnamed small town somewhere in America from a cabal of crooks they are honoured with a statue:…
(Crack Comics 015, 1941) The Crimson Vulture is a prime example of a character who could be so much better with just a little more oomph put behind him. His real name is Sarada, and he is a genius mechanical engineer who is back for revenge after being sent to prison. All well and good, but his actions – attempting to extort money from a series of rich men via mechanical vultures and then blowing them up when they refuse…