A number of minor Fox Features characters for your perusal and delight. the Bird Man: The Bird Man, descendant of “an ancient Indian god” (no further detail provided) uses his weird demigod wing-flaps to fly around the American Southwest and render aid to people. (Weird Comics 001, 1940) In Bird Man’s final appearance, in Weird Comics 004, he has conformed to the heroic norm a bit more by moving to a penthouse apartment in what might be NYC (please note that he…
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…
Science for all! Whether they want it or not! Doctor Ivan has been pursuing a scheme in which he is systematically taking out insurance policies on everyone he knows and then having them murdered, and he is extremely smug about it. Now, I’m no expert in insurance fraud, but I have to say that I am certain that it requires a bit more subtlety than that, even if you’re doing it as a one-off. Forget the fact that the Flame…
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…
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…
(The Flame 003, 1940) The Mad Scientist of Hell’s Kitchen is a, you guessed it, mad scientist who has developed one of the classic serums, giving him the option to turn into a huge and super strong ape-man with a simple injection. Of note is the fact that this is not a Jekyll and Hyde situation, as the Mad Scientist and his alter ego the Beast appear to be merely physically and not mentally distinct. Also of note: though the…
Can’t keep ’em down for long, these guys. Look, breeding up a giant amoeba in order to use it to spread terror and conquer the world is one thing, but deliberately going out of your way to feed it “pretty girls” is some real twisted incel shit. It’s a wonder that Dr Jorgen here just ends up in jail and not in the belly vacuoles of his creation. (Science Comics 006, 1940) Dr Borgia is a weird creep who becomes……
We may have gotten away from the “costumed” and “generic” is debatable but you can take the “villain” from my cold dead hands. This guy is part of a gang who: -broke into Fort Knox via a secret tunnel -smashed up up all of the gold and mixed it into stone in a nearby quarry -transported that gold-bearing stone from the quarry to a mansion -melted down the gold and concealed it inside a series of bronze statues And while…
Some day these won’t inevitably start with Hitler. Some day. Adolf Hitler: Rix, a human living on Venus in the peaceful year 3090 CE, learns about dictators thanks to the time capsule from the 1939 New York World’s Fair and immediately sets out to make himself into the Hitler of the future. Beat down by interplanetary troubleshooter Planet Payson. (Planet Comics 008, 1940) Aviator Ted O’Neil is brought down in the warlike nation of Gestapia (one of the more on-the-nose…
(Science Comics 008, 1940) The Wrecker is a very good example of how a good name can elevate a project out from the ordinary. Comics books are full of corporate extortion schemes – it’s one of the classic scheme types for a reason. You can ramp the threat to life up or down with ease depending on just what is being sabotaged and likewise there are opportunities for big action setpieces as buildings or other corporate infrastructure are targeted. But…