Costume Materials:
The Daredevil’s mask is made out of rubber. (Silver Streak Comics 017, 1941)
Cops Shooting at Fleeing Suspects:
The NYPD attempts to gun down Nightro (and his dog!) for fleeing the scene of a suicide. (Daredevil Comics 003, 1941)
Honours – Dash Dillon:
University sports hero Dash Dillon captures a U-Boat off the coast of Connecticut and receives a whole host of awards. (Daredevil Comics 004, 1941)
Honours:
Aviator Cloud Curtis and his pals are personally thanked by FDR for stopping a spy plot against the US. (Silver Streak Comics 007, 1941)
Decorations:
Check out Presto Martin’s portrait of Silver Streak and Whiz! (Silver Streak Comics 011, 1941)
Nova Scotia:
As I always have to note when Nova Scotia pops up in a comic book: here’s Captain Aero taking in the sights on the featureless green plain that is the Halifax Airfield. (Captain Aero Comics 001, 1941)
the Looming Spectre of War:
Less popular than our old friend the Looming Spectre of Death, the Looming Spectre of War nonetheless deserves recognition as a potent allegorical image. (Cat-Man Comics 002, 1941)
And speaking of the Looming Spectre of Death, here’s a fine example of such. (Cat-Man Comics 003, 1941)
Trophy Room – Blaze Baylor:
Blaze Baylor, costumed arson-fighter, has a whole bookshelf full of incendiary devices. (Cat-Man Comics 002, 1941)
Honours – Captain Marvel:
Not only does Billy Batson win the award for Outstanding Radio Work of the Year, but he has his ver own fan club! (Whiz Comics 015, 1941)
Honours – Smasher Spy:
Spy Smasher, turned evil and sometimes but mostly not known as Smasher Spy, is doing such a good job of sabotaging America that he is offered a medal and a position from the euphemistically-named War Lord by two Nazi stereotypes. If there’s one thing that Smasher Spy is, however, it’s an equal-opportunity hater, and he rejects a fascist government just as vociferously as a democratic one. (Whiz Comics 018, 1941)
Super-Heroes Attending Costume Parties as Themselves:
Not only does Captain Marvel attend this party as himself but Billy Batson also came in just his street clothes and a mask. The height of arrogance for a young celebrity, and a radio-based one at that!
Please also note the horrible off-brand Mickey Mouse costume worn by Billy’s assistant Whitey Murphy. (Whiz Comics 023, 1941)
Cops Shooting Fleeing Suspects in the Back:
I’ll grant these cops this: Steel Sterling did just steal one of their motorcycles. I still don’t think that that warrants a “SHOOT TO KILL!” and three bullets in the back. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)
Even less of a reason to shoot someone in the back: because you heard a different person shooting at them and assumed that they were a thief. Both because you are wrong and the person you are shooting at is actually super-hero Mr Satan and because theft is not punishable by death. (Zip Comics 007, 1940)
Not only do the cops try to blow the Scarlet Avenger away here, but they also allow real culprit Mr Nimbus to make a getaway. (Zip Comics 009, 1940)
Honours:
Rambunctious pilots Tim and Tom Shane, aka the Devils Twins, are decorated for valour. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)
Super-Heroes Going to Costume Parties as Themselves:
Dudley Bradshaw, aka Mr Satan, attends a very costume-heavy Mardi Gras parade in costume as himself. (Zip Comics 005, 1940)
Both Mr Scarlet and his enemy Bluebeard attend the same costume party in character. (Wow Comics 004, 1941)
(Pinky is there too, of course)
Vigilante also attended a costume party as himself in 1941 and I completely neglected to note it before now. (Action Comics v1 042, 1941)
Cops Shooting Fleeing Suspects in the Back:
I’ll grant these cops this: Steel Sterling did just steal one of their motorcycles. I still don’t think that that warrants a “SHOOT TO KILL!” and three bullets in the back. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)
Even less of a reason to shoot someone in the back: because you heard a different person shooting at them and assumed that they were a thief. Both because you are wrong and the person you are shooting at is actually super-hero Mr Satan and because theft is not punishable by death. (Zip Comics 007, 1940)
Not only do the cops try to blow the Scarlet Avenger away here, but they also allow real culprit Mr Nimbus to make a getaway. (Zip Comics 009, 1940)
Honours:
Rambunctious pilots Tim and Tom Shane, aka the Devils Twins, are decorated for valour. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)
Super-Heroes Going to Costume Parties as Themselves:
Dudley Bradshaw, aka Mr Satan, attends a very costume-heavy Mardi Gras parade in costume as himself. (Zip Comics 005, 1940)
Both Mr Scarlet and his enemy Bluebeard attend the same costume party in character. (Wow Comics 004, 1941)
(Pinky is there too, of course)
Vigilante also attended a costume party as himself in 1941 and I completely neglected to note it before now. (Action Comics v1 042, 1941)
Once again there are too many different kinds of minutia for my tagging system’s character limit.
Trophy Room – the Parachute Patrol:
British Boy Scout troop the Parachute Patrol capture a German Stuka and mount its propeller like a boar’s head. (Wings Comics 004, 1940)
Honours – Beautia:
Beautia Not-Yet-Officially-Sivana wins the Empress of Beauty Contest (Whiz Comics 003b, 1940)
Later in the year, Beautia saves the US Pacific fleet from being destroyed by Dr Sivana, and gets an unspecified medal from the Navy for it. (Whiz Comics 009, 1940)
Cops Shooting Unarmed Suspects:
This California police chief almost blows away Ibis the Invincible for sassing him and is only prevented thanks to ancient Egyptian magic. (Whiz Comics 008, 1940)
Skeletons With Jobs:
Soldier skeleton. (Wings Comics 002, 1940)
the Looming Spectre of Death:
(Wings Comics 003, 1940)
(Wonderworld Comics 017, 1940)
(Wonderworld Comics 018, 1940)
Big Head Futurites:
Just a fun illustration of the concept of future humans being big-headed weirdos, from the “Brick Bradford” Sunday strip for 5 December, 1937
Honours – Thor, God of Thunder:
Grant Farrel, aka Thor, God of Thunder, gets a medal in his role in defending the US from invasion by fascist Gratnia. Note that it is Grant and not Thor who gets the medal, because Grant does a lousy job of protecting his secret identity. (Weird Comics 003, 1940)
Honours – Typhon:
Honoured at the Inter-Ocean Congress for stopping the dastardly Menar. (Weird Comics 006, 1940)
Panel Fun:
Just good clean fun with bad spelling as Thor heads to Tibet to warn the Grand Llama about an impending bandit attack. (Weird Comics 004, 1940)
The Fates of Various Nazi Warships:
Given the penchant for featuring even quite famous and obvious things under false names in comics, I always end up noticing when something or someone shows up under their own moniker, which is why I was very surprised when Royal Navy submarine captain Tom Niles, aka the Undersea Raider, is responsible for sinking several real Nazi warships in this 1940 comic. The casualties include the cruiser Admiral Scheer (sunk in 1945 in our world) and the battleships Bismarck (scuttled in 1941), and Scharnhorst (sunk in 1943). I had thought that the Admiral Graf Spee was another of these anachronistically early kills, but this depiction of it’s scuttling off of Montevideo, Uruguay is broadly accurate, except that it happened in 1939. A wild time for naval combat. (Thrilling Comics 004, 1940)
The Fate of Rome:
Specifically, the fate of Rome during the Great Fire of 64 CE. There are a lot of theories about how and why the fire was started, but very few of them revolve around it accidentally being started by magician/adventurer the Ghost and his companions while attempting to escape Emperor Nero’s soldiers with the help of an electric ray projector. (Thrilling Comics 008, 1940)
Honours – Doc Strange:
Doc Strange is given an unspecified medal by FDR for foiling a plot to bomb Washington DC. (Thrilling Comics 010, 1940)
The next issue, Doc gets a parade for saving NYC from being bombed into dust. (Thrilling Comics 011, 1940)
Honours – the Firefly:
Harley “the Firefly” Hudson was Intercollegiate Pole Vault Champion during his time at NYU – plus he went to NYU! Very exciting to know exactly where a super-hero got his education. (Top-Notch Comics 009, 1940)
Honours – Fran Frazer:
Magazine photographer Fran Frazer receives a medal from the country of Murania for preventing a Nazi invasion. (Top-Notch Comics 010, 1940)
Alternate Identity:
Doc Strange, while suffering from amnesia, boxes world heavyweight champion Bull Gallagher under the identity of the Unknown. (Thrilling Comics 001, 1940)