The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: Adventure Comics

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 139: IVAN BORLOFF

    MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 139: IVAN BORLOFF

     (Adventure 061, 1941)


    Ivan Borloff is a strange combination of things: a scientist with a super airship (the Cylindecraft) and a metal-destroying ray, he rains destruction down on New York City in pursuit of his goal of conquering the US (and by implication, the world), but also, it’s implied that he is affiliated with *foreign powers*, ie, fascists – possibly ones who didn’t quite know what they were getting into. 

    His name ringing more Russian might mean that he is a rare pre-Cold War Commie villain, but a more likely explanation is plain old lazy naming – German, Russian… it’s all basically the same, right?

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 139: IVAN BORLOFF

    MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 139: IVAN BORLOFF

     (Adventure 061, 1941)


    Ivan Borloff is a strange combination of things: a scientist with a super airship (the Cylindecraft) and a metal-destroying ray, he rains destruction down on New York City in pursuit of his goal of conquering the US (and by implication, the world), but also, it’s implied that he is affiliated with *foreign powers*, ie, fascists – possibly ones who didn’t quite know what they were getting into. 

    His name ringing more Russian might mean that he is a rare pre-Cold War Commie villain, but a more likely explanation is plain old lazy naming – German, Russian… it’s all basically the same, right?

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 138: DR DOOG

     (Adventure 061, 1941)


    Starman’s first foe is also his first super-foe: the diabolical Dr Doog. Doog (and nothing is ever made of his name being Good, backward) has stolen a device called to Ultra-Dynamo from Professor Davis (above right) and is using it to disrupt electrical power across North America in service to his dreams of world domination.

    Doog brings in deathtraps, a hollowed-out mountain base and perhaps most importantly, a group of henchmen with the excellent name the Secret Brotherhood of the Electron. It’s small wonder that he’s already been brought back once or twice, a decision that I wholeheartedly endorse.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 138: DR DOOG

     (Adventure 061, 1941)


    Starman’s first foe is also his first super-foe: the diabolical Dr Doog. Doog (and nothing is ever made of his name being Good, backward) has stolen a device called to Ultra-Dynamo from Professor Davis (above right) and is using it to disrupt electrical power across North America in service to his dreams of world domination.

    Doog brings in deathtraps, a hollowed-out mountain base and perhaps most importantly, a group of henchmen with the excellent name the Secret Brotherhood of the Electron. It’s small wonder that he’s already been brought back once or twice, a decision that I wholeheartedly endorse.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 136: THE LEGION OF THE MASKED

    (Adventure Comics 058, 1941)


    The Barry O’Neill serial in Adventure Comics had basically been about Barry battling the dastardly villain Fang Gow (Minor Super-Villain 001) from its inception in 1935 to his death by sea mine six years later and evidently someone thought that it could continue as more of a free form adventure strip despite losing that structure (as well as its setting, having started as a comic set in Paris that had quietly moved to London about the time that the German Army marched in). In fact, it lasted for two issues before Barry and his pal Inspector LeGrande retired to New York City and Starman took over the page real estate.

    The Legion of the Masked are the one other super-foe that Barry faced after the death of Fang Gow and… they did okay, getting up to a little arson, a little insurance fraud and a fair bit of theft and murder. Why they chose to dress like they are in the Klan while doing it, we will never know.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 075: “UNCLE”

    (Adventure Comics 057, 1940)

    As I’ve said before, sometimes a character is very clearly a super-villain but chooses no name for themself, in which case for administrative purposes I pick something that the text boxes or other characters refer to them as and go with that. Scientists are usually easy – they just go by their name. This fellow, on the other hand, is basically only ever referred to as “Uncle,” so Uncle I call him.

    And Uncle is a credible threat! He tries to ransom the world by threatening to destroy it by knocking it off of its orbit, then actually tries to do it in a fit of pique – it’s only the timely intervention of Sandman that saves the day.

    In the last entry, when I was talking about mad scientists as perfect characters to bring back as reformed? This is the kind of guy I had in mind. What a gift to a cast!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 074: DR TOGG

    (Adventure Comics 057, 1940)

    Yet another Hourman science-villain. Dr Togg was really into hybridizing dogs and buzzards in various fun ways. Such a cool guy was he, in fact, that he was brought back as an ancillary character in the 90s Hourman series, himself mutated into a partial dog/buzzard in a retconned final encounter with Hourman before he was sent to prison.

    Thinking about him (and fellow Hourman foe Iker in about 50 entries or so), has made me realize just how much I love the concept of the reformed mad scientist with their struggles to comprehend scientific ethics and their weird little mutations and leftover minions. A few recent Marvel series have featured the concept but I would still consider it to be underutilized.

    There’s our guy.


  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 074: DR TOGG

    (Adventure Comics 057, 1940)

    Yet another Hourman science-villain. Dr Togg was really into hybridizing dogs and buzzards in various fun ways. Such a cool guy was he, in fact, that he was brought back as an ancillary character in the 90s Hourman series, himself mutated into a partial dog/buzzard in a retconned final encounter with Hourman before he was sent to prison.

    Thinking about him (and fellow Hourman foe Iker in about 50 entries or so), has made me realize just how much I love the concept of the reformed mad scientist with their struggles to comprehend scientific ethics and their weird little mutations and leftover minions. A few recent Marvel series have featured the concept but I would still consider it to be underutilized.

    There’s our guy.


  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 073: DR SLIGHT

    (Adventure Comics 056, 1940_

    Dr Slight is similar to Dr Snegg, in that he is a scientist-villain with a method for bringing inanimate statues to life for crime purposes who is stopped by Hourman. But Dr Slight brings *plaster* statues to life, not wax ones.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 073: DR SLIGHT

    (Adventure Comics 056, 1940_

    Dr Slight is similar to Dr Snegg, in that he is a scientist-villain with a method for bringing inanimate statues to life for crime purposes who is stopped by Hourman. But Dr Slight brings *plaster* statues to life, not wax ones.