When deep-sea diving off of the Marquesas Islands, explorers/lovers Chuck Hardy and Jerry Peterson are caught in a volcanic upheaval and sucked through a rift in the ocean floor. They find themselves in one of the many underground lands that dot any comic book version of the Earth – this one being lit and heated by an enormous volcano called Roara. Chuck and Jerry’s time in the underground land (never actually named as a whole, so I have been calling…
Pad out your pantheon with some of these: Death: This version of Death may lack the social graces necessary to welcome Kardak the Mystic and his pal Lorna rather than attempt to murder them for entering his domain, but he does have a very good version of the classic “robed skeleton” look. And his house is charmingly coffin-themed, to boot! God Style: Anthropomorphic Personification (Top-Notch Comics 008, 1940) Ramu, God of Fire: Ramu, God of Fire is another one of…
Martians aplenty, plus more! Martians: Time traveller Scott Rand and his companions stumble into a Martian invasion of Earth during a jaunt to the far-distant future world of 2000 CE, and they immediately get in on the planet-defending action. Featuring a Viking vs Martian battle, for all those fans of classic 2010s mashup humour. These particular Martians aren’t anything special, but I must say that I appreciate their minimalist, doorstop-shaped spacecraft. (Top-Notch Comics 002, 1940) Martians: Scott Rand soon makes…
Once again we add to the scriptures. the Shadowman: Like his predecessor/inspiration Yarko the Great, Mr Mystic also has a semi-friendly/ semi-adversarial relationship with the personification of death. In this case, Death is a guy in a cool suit with a half-cape, and he is called the Shadowman, presumably because of his perpetually-in shadow face. The Shadowman’s first couple of appearances cast him as a mysterious stranger who helps Mr Mystic in his battle against various evils (including scientist…
We got your aliens, plus some so forth. Moon Men: The Moon Men of 2050 CE seem to be just another part of the future Solar System society until they enter an alliance with magic super-crook Sarku so that their Moon King Tan Tan can meet his historical crush Elena. This of course brings them into conflict with Mr Mystic, as Elena is his fiance and he’s just not that into her being kidnapped into the future. The Moon Men…
I think that demons and devils are the only category of comic book guy I don’t have a running round-up for yet (and having said that I’m sure that there will be more), so here we go: Satan: If we’re going do do demons, why not start with the one with the most name recognition of all: Satan. As seen here he has been vexing jodhpured adventurer Tippy Taylor in the form of a mad scientist, only to be defeated…
More gods for you to worship. Goddess of the Jungle: The Goddess of the Jungle is an idol stolen by an adventurer named Stero while he was roving around Africa. Returning to America with it, he attains some fame and success as a film director, which he attributes to the influence of the Goddess on his life. Is the Goddess of the Jungle really real, or can the whole affair be blamed on the fact that Stero has apparently spent…
Just look at them go. This gang has hit upon the very effective technique of faking an appearance by the Arrow in order to steal other crooks’ takings when they intelligently run away from a potential ass-kicking by a seven-foot-tall vigilante. The important corollary to any plan to impersonate a super-hero, of course, is that that hero will eventually get wind and show up to see just what they are supposedly doing, which leads to, yes, a collective ass-kicking by…
They really do just keep coming. **Update** The Arrow: While the Arrow has always been portrayed as a mysterious seven-foot-tall physical prodigy, this particular adventure really goes all in on his being super-humanly strong. This seems significant somehow, even if it is is second-to-last appearance by my reckoning. (The Arrow 002, 1940) **UPDATE** the Flame: This is the first actual version of the Flame’s origin that I’ve encountered in a comic book, so here it is. It is also the…
I’m not sure that these guys all have degrees. This fellow is known only as the Professor, and he conducts experiments in long- and short-range mind control on Lost Hope Island until Secret Naval Agent Spike Marlin shows up in search of a missing ship’s crew. (Speed Comics 009, 1940) This unnamed scientist has developed a drug that puts people into indefinite comas and has used it to kidnap and store ten millionaires, presumably with the intent of ransoming them…