(Speed Comics 006, 1940) The Devilfish is a pseudo-Nazi mastermind who vexes Lieutenant Jim Cannon of the Royal British Navy for the first 2 or 3 of his handful of appearances in Speed Comics and I won’t lie: it’s all about that great name for me, although that same name is annoying the part of me that loves to put things into categories due to the fact that “devilfish” is such a loose term. People – especially in the first…
Buncha Smash Comics fascists I lost behind the couch for a while. Just why this German-American Bund equivalent is called the Groups is a real mystery for the ages – it’s possible that these people are protesting, like, all bundist-style organizations at once and calling them “the Groups” collectively, though why they would do so at one specific group’s meeting is beyond me. Whatever the truth of their name, the leadership of the Groups meet their ends after an attempt…
(Smash Comics 007, 1940) You’re going to have to trust me because I have gathered no evidence, but I can state with some confidence that the American people of late 1939/early 1940 had a great deal of (perhaps wishful) hope in the effectiveness of the French Maginot Line, right up to the point at which the Nazis did an end run around it and into France. A fair number of war comics of the time (like the adventures of Corporal…
Buncha mooks this time. The ship that picked up scientist-adventurer Dean Denton and his pals from the island of Baron Blood just so happened to have a pseudo-Nazi spy (fake name Lieutenant James, code name K-192, real name unknown) committing murders on it for unclear reasons. Despite composing a crime scene to contain nothing but clues pointing to other members of the crew Denton rounds him up pretty quickly. (Masked Marvel 003, 1940) Pilot Prop Powers has to defend his…
Will they ever mend their evil ways? Like the Purple Shirts before them, the Black Legion exists mainly to represent the Forces of Unamericanism that Uncle Sam stands against, as they seek to win the hearts and minds of in this case the small Midwest community of Glen Valley (by shooting anyone who resists). The only real bit of innovation that they bring to the table are these rad machine gun motorcycles they go into battle on. They also have…
Once again we must discuss the fascists. The Black League are a pretty regular-style gang of fifth columnists with two points of distinction: 1) they call one another “Black One”, which is kind of fun and 2) they are trying to steal this completely awesome WWII mech suit and get beat up by Dick Cole, Wonder-Boy for their efforts. (Blue Bolt v1 011, 1941) The nation of Bundonia deploys this crack squad of idiots, the Bundsters, to Hollywood to prevent…
It’s time for another round with the guys in the masks. A radio announcer who tries to poison all of Inland City with chlorine gas for unclear reasons. Ends up blowing himself up while tangling with heroic pilot Captain Steve Ransom. (Keen Detective Funnies v2 006, 1939) This unnamed fellow takes the cake for audaciousness: his racket is drug smuggling and though traditionally one wants to keep a low profile while attempting to move controlled substances from place to place…
(Fantastic Comics 013, 1940) Yew Bee! A scientist/fifth columnist working for an unnamed nation to soften the US up for invasion! A pretty common type of guy in Golden Age comics if I’m honest, and I might have passed him by if he weren’t a Stardust the Super Wizard villain. Even the most rote Fletcher Hanks creations have at least a couple of interesting things about them. The first thing is obviously the name. Yew Bee. Is it a reference…
(Fantastic Comics 012, 1940) The Boss is actually Roulf, editor of the Daily Standard newspaper in NYC. He pulls the classic villain mistake of acting as a concerned citizen recruiting the protagonists – in this case Samson and David – to investigate his own villainous alter ego. It’s the kind of error that you can emphasize with to a certain extent: how better to ensure that a super-powered busybody doesn’t unexpectedly show up and wreck your plans then by controlling…
We have mad scientists at criminal scientist prices. Dr Koch is one of the many people hungry to get their hands on the secret vitamin supplement that turned the Champ (derogatory) into the Champ (aspirational) after its creator Dr Marlin is murdered. Koch’s mild claim to fame is the fact that he’s the first one to get ahold of the formula long enough to do anything with it. What he did, specifically, was to mix up a big batch and…