The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: DC Comics

  • GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 008

     

    The Scar was a spymaster encountered and captured by adventurer Biff Bronson and maybe if he dressed like that all of the time he’d have an entry of his own but no, he had just left the opera. (More Fun Comics 067, 1941)

    This bunch work for the villainous Count Parla and his pal Eddie in a classic case of “work your way into polite society in order to set up a big score”. If there’s a non-evil Count in comics I have yet to encounter him. Beaten up by Captain Desmo in a rare unhelmeted appearance. (More Fun Comics 069, 1941) 

    This unnamed fellow got up to all kinds of hijinks on a train, including murder, espionage and impersonating a conductor. Seen here inadvertently unmasking a crossdressing thief – it was a very busy adventure for Captain Desmo. (More Fun Comics 070, 1941)

    Johnny Quick’s first outing features one of my favourite comic book things: a series of vignettes of prior cases to establish Johnny’s bona fides vis-a-vis crimefighting. Two of the adventures in question involve what would almost certainly have been Minor Super-Villain entries if they were featured players, so here’s to you, the Pharaoh’s Mummy and the Murderous Musician (and the Money-Mad Miser, not pictured) (More Fun Comics 071, 1941)

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 394: BANDAR

    (More Fun Comics 070, 1941)

    I got some gripes about Bandar and they’re not really Bandar’s fault. But let’s start with who Bandar is: the source of a mysterious spectral figure that keeps bamboozling the Spectre and killing former members of the Crimson Circle Mystic Society.

    Jim Corrigan goes deep cover and joins the Society in order to get to the bottom of what the heck is going on and discovers that they’re just a bunch of dupes that society leader Bandar hypnotizes and makes steal for him. The former members are being killed – by Bandar’s astral form, it turns out – not to preserve some sort of mystic secret, etc., but to keep them from possibly remembering their actions and blabbing to the fuzz.

    The Spectre eventually solves the problem in his own inimitable way: by destroying Bandar’s human form so that his astral self is doomed to wander forever. Efficient!

    Now for the gripes: 

    1. While I appreciate the consistency of the “ghosts are chalk-white figures in a purple/grey hooded robe” design, it does get pretty samey after a while and there have been quite a lot of ghosts in 1941’s Spectre adventures.

    2. When I started reading this story I got pretty excited about the Crimson Circle Mystic Society (or the much cooler Order of the Crimson Circle, according to their signage) being the villain and Bandar is a bit of a step down from that.

    I acknowledge that those are unfair and subjective reasons to dislike a character so here are a couple of subjective things I liked about this tale to balance the scales:

    1. Bandar is an example of a trope that I don’t really know the name for – monster of the week? Basically, an antagonist who is able to enact a complete runaround on the very capable protagonist because they don’t know what the Deal is and thus can’t effectively counter the Deal. In this case, the Spectre can’t stop or catch Bandar until he figures out that he’s not actually a ghost but an astral projection. It’s just a fun way to make what would on paper be a mismatched foe work.

    2. This story marks at least the third time that Jim Corrigan is murdered while on a case, a fun recurring bit.

    So: Bandar!

  • SUPER-VILLAIN YEARBOOK: IAN KARKULL & WOTAN 1941

    What were Ian Karkull and Wotan up to in 1941?

    Ian Karkull is my Platonic Ideal of the Median Super-Villain: he has two
    Golden Age appearances (detailed here) and a handful of post-Silver Age
    ones but also was seemingly pulled out of a hat (probably by Roy Thomas) as the villain who did some sort of scheme that blasted the Justice Society with some sort of energies that made them age slower so that otherwise normal WWII veterans like Wildcat and the Sandman could be running around fighting crime well past retirement age. It’s a Big Deal and it means that Karkull has absolutely been mentioned far more than he’s actually appeared.

    1. More Fun Comics 069, ‘Untitled’:But we’re here to talk about 1941! What was Ian Karkull up to then? Well for one thing he wasn’t calling himself ‘Ian’ yet – that was presumably added at the same time that he was revived to irradiate the JSA. Karkull was seemingly just another scientist with a cool invention – a machine that turns people into shadows! – that he is determined to use for crime.

    Surprise of the year: Karkull has if not a good reason for turning to crime then at least a reason. While exploring the lost Saharan city of Ragnor with his partner Everett Dahlen he is betrayed and left for dead so that Dahlen could run off with a huge ruby. Is it the most rock-solid reason to turn to a life of crime? No, but it’s more of an origin than most Golden Age scientists get.

    Karkull’s first outing ends with him at large, albeit trapped in shadow form by Dr Fate as a sort of ad hoc punishment that is fairly out of line with his crimes of one murder and one bank robbery. That’s the Golden Age for you, I guess.

    2. More Fun Comics 070, ‘Untitled’: Not only is Karkull back in the next issue but he brought Wotan with him!

    In a development that is only a bit surprising, Dr Fate’s slapdash brand of vigilante justice has come back to bite him. Yes, Wotan was sealed in a stony cyst for all time and Karkull was left an intangible shadow but the problem with leaving enough foes just out and about like that is that they might team up, which is exactly what happened when Wotan’s wandering astral form (something you really should control for when imprisoning magic guys for all time) met Karkull’s shadowy one and they worked together to release Wotan’s actual body, albeit without his normal green skin for some reason (the colourist forgot that he was green).

    The Wotan/ Karkull team have a plan to conquer and/or attack the nations of Earth from their Arctic base using devices that control 3/4 of the classical elements, namely Earth, Wind and Fire. They accidentally (?) draw Dr Fate’s attention by attacking nearby teams of Arctic explorers with their wind weapon, leading to an ultimate 2 vs 1 confrontation in an Arctic dome!

    In a bit of an anticlimax, Dr Fate merely sidesteps their fire weapon, causing it to rebound and kill them both. Seemingly, at least – they’ll both be back when the continuity nerds start writing comics.

    IAN KARKULL

    Body Count: 6

    End-of-Year Status: Presumed Dead

    WOTAN

    Body Count:1905

    End-of-Year Status: Presumed Dead

    (Karkull kills his enemy; Wotan and Karkull jointly kill explorers; Wotan sinks battleship)

  • SUPER-VILLAIN YEARBOOK: WOTAN 1940

    What was Wotan up to in 1940?

    A trip back in time! A year or so ago when I was reading the 1940 issues of More Fun was before I started doing Super-Villain Yearbook posts and so I skipped poor Wotan, an injustice compounded by the fact that he is what I would call a Median Villain: one who has either enough appearances or importance to a hero’s history to be more than a minor villain but without the name recognition of a Capital S Super-Villain. Wotan has a bit of both: as Dr Fate’s first enemy he gets dredged up every once in a while when a magic guy (or gal, occasionally) is required.

    1. More Fun Comics 055, ‘Untitled’:  Wotan’s Golden Age appearances are pretty standard fare: he is introduced as an evil equivalent to Dr Fate, operating as some sort of magic crime boss – the ins and outs of his operation are less than clear as his main focus is eliminating Fate and his pal Inza Cramer. 

    As time goes on Dr Fate gets more ethereal and mystical and I just want to highlight how rock ’em sock’em, throw ’em out the window he was at the beginning. Just a brutal way to deal with a foe (and perhaps a few passing New Yorkers on the sidewalk below).

    2. More Fun Comics 056, ‘Untitled’: But of course throwing Wotan out of a window wasn’t going to stop him. Would it stop Dr Fate? Of Course it wouldn’t. He returns with a vengeance, quite literally: as revenge for Fate trying to kill him Wotan is going to blow up the whole damn world! Just try to stop that with a sock on the jaw, Fate!

    One sock to the jaw later, Dr Fate seals Wotan in a little rocky cyst for all time.

    Body Count: 0

    End-of-Year Status: Entombed

  • SUPER-VILLAIN YEARBOOK: WOTAN 1940

    What was Wotan up to in 1940?

    A trip back in time! A year or so ago when I was reading the 1940 issues of More Fun was before I started doing Super-Villain Yearbook posts and so I skipped poor Wotan, an injustice compounded by the fact that he is what I would call a Median Villain: one who has either enough appearances or importance to a hero’s history to be more than a minor villain but without the name recognition of a Capital S Super-Villain. Wotan has a bit of both: as Dr Fate’s first enemy he gets dredged up every once in a while when a magic guy (or gal, occasionally) is required.

    1. More Fun Comics 055, ‘Untitled’:  Wotan’s Golden Age appearances are pretty standard fare: he is introduced as an evil equivalent to Dr Fate, operating as some sort of magic crime boss – the ins and outs of his operation are less than clear as his main focus is eliminating Fate and his pal Inza Cramer. 

    As time goes on Dr Fate gets more ethereal and mystical and I just want to highlight how rock ’em sock’em, throw ’em out the window he was at the beginning. Just a brutal way to deal with a foe (and perhaps a few passing New Yorkers on the sidewalk below).

    2. More Fun Comics 056, ‘Untitled’: But of course throwing Wotan out of a window wasn’t going to stop him. Would it stop Dr Fate? Of Course it wouldn’t. He returns with a vengeance, quite literally: as revenge for Fate trying to kill him Wotan is going to blow up the whole damn world! Just try to stop that with a sock on the jaw, Fate!

    One sock to the jaw later, Dr Fate seals Wotan in a little rocky cyst for all time.

    Body Count: 0

    End-of-Year Status: Entombed

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 393: THE TENTACLE

    (More Fun Comics 069, 1941)

    We don’t get a lot of backstory on the Tentacle. Presumably he’s a botanist or at least a gifted amateur horticulturalist, as he has developed a type of plant that strangles folks to death and can be triggered remotely (or on a timer, possibly). He uses this creation to blackmail rich men until he is tracked down by the Spectre and of course meets his end at the fronds of his own creation.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 392: THE GREEN MEN

    (More Fun Comics 068, 1941)

    The Green Men are little alien bigheads who rock up to our Solar System one day in their mobile planet and start siphoning life from the people of New Jersey in order to create a life-extension fluid. To this end, they depopulate at least three entire cities before being stopped, which is cool and dramatic as a bit of villainy and plays merry hell with the idea of a unified comics continuity: whither the monuments to the people of Lakehurst, Brent City and Memphis Beach? 

    (of course it’s hard to estimate exactly how many people that is, but as the low end of what can be called a city is generally agreed to be around 1500 we’re talking 4500 people at minimum)

    There’s a lot of running around and malarky by both the Green Men and the Spectre – the green ray guns and bighead mental powers that they use on him are able to disable but not kill him, while he spends a long time trying and failing to shoot their planet into a star – but ultimately the Spectre engages in a good old ironic punishment and traps them in a little ball for all eternity. How’s the extended lifespan now?

  • NOTES – DECEMBER 2023

    Weaknesses: 

    A very specific weakness for the Spectre: a once-in-a-hundred-million-year alignment of constellations that surely will never happen again. (More Fun Comics 071, 1941)

    Misc:

    This is my first encounter with Golden Age Johnny Quick so I’m not sure if the slow-down formula that he uses in the third panel above is a regular thing or a one-off but it sure has been left by the wayside. (More Fun Comics 071, 1941)

    EDIT: He does it again in More Fun Comics 072! 

    Memes of Yore – Keep ’em Flying!

    Johnny Quick (More Fun Comics 073, 1941)

    Green Arrow and Speedy (More Fun Comics 074, 1941)

    Drawn without reference:

    A wonderful 11-legged spider! (More Fun Comics 073, 1941)

    Origins:

    Poor ol’ Earth-Two Aquaman. Nobody even remembers that he exists half the time, plus he got eliminated in the Crisis. Anyway, here’s his origin: his dad found Atlantis and trained his son to breathe water (also a cheeky Fate of Atlantis – it sank and now Aquaman lives there). (More Fun Comics 073, 1941)

    Great Folk:

    I had completely forgotten about this story, but the old man who hoots and hollers and calls for detective Russell Granville until he’s on the case is the spectacular character find of 1939. Really, really great way to build up the detective before his appearance and I’m a bit sad that this is the only Russell Granville story because that old man needs more panel time. (Keen Detective Funnies v2 011, 1939)

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 391: THE SEA KHAN

    (More Fun Comics 068, 1941)

    Yes, the Sea Khan is just a pirate, but he’s a very successful one, with fifteen years of piracy on his cv, a whole fleet of his own, a super great name and even a nemesis who blames the Khan for the death of his family. No points if you guess that the Sea Khan’s daughter Sului is actually the guy’s daughter raised to be a pirate.

    Though the Sea Khan ends up being shot down by the US Navy, we can all remember him not only as a ruthless pirate but one confident enough to fly his own custom pirate flag. 

    His death hour has struck.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 390: DR MAUSE

    (More Fun Comics 067-068, 1941)

    On paper I should love Dr Mause, a weird little creep who preys on Allied shipping for his legally-distinct-from-German masters using not only an “electroblast ray” but a cool floating island base, but in practise he leaves me cold. I’m glad he gets captured by Captain Desmo, see if I’m not.