(Wonderworld Comics 003, 1939) Maybe it’s because the MLJ version of the Devil is so fresh in my mind but… this is an underwhelming version of the Devil. He teams up with Death – and it’s a measure of how lacklustre this Devil is that I’m going to deal with the Death separately rather than treat them as a duo – to eliminate their common enemy Yarko the Great. Death does all the legwork toward this goal so we’ll discuss…
(Wonder Comics 002, 1939) Shaddiba appears in the first adventure of magic hero Yarko the Great as an old enemy of Yarko who has come to the town of Hexville in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. His exact reasons for doing so are unstated, so I reckon that it’s equally likely that Hexville is an especially ripe spot for crime as that he was attracted by the old haunted mansion on the hill that he moves into. Comic book expectations…
Once again we take you to the world of the minor super-hero. See them dance for your amusement. the Mystic: Later known as Kardak the Mystic, the Mystic is a stage magician who uses stage magic to battle crime, specializing in fraudulent mediums etc. His stage magic eventually gets rounded up to real magic, of course. (Top-Notch Comics 001, 1939) the Phantom o’ the Hills: The Phantom o’ the Hills is an otherwise unnamed masked cowboy who rights wrongs in…
(Wonder Comics 001, 1939) A gun runner doing business with rebel forces in the probably-South American country of Mauchako, the Mask doesn’t bring a lot to the table beyond a fairly snazzy take on the low-effort costume. He’s also the first foe faced by super-spy K-51 (is his original callsign of K-5, as you may have noticed). He’s also a US Senator, which is a heckuva job to split your attention from – also, weirdly he’s not our first one….
Once more they ride: the REAL PEOPLE OF COMICS Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln’s shadow is used to symbolize the power of the US exerting a calming effect on the European belligerents. (Smash Comics 005, 1939) Adolf Hitler: Chancellor Rudolf of Wurtberg here is a more dynamic than usual Hitler analog (Smash Comics 004, 1939) Misc minor appearances: Getting some bad news about Nazi operations in Yugoslavia (Blue Ribbon Comics 015, 1941) Captain Kidd: For no particular reason this aviator/ adventurer is…
They just keep on coming. the Champ: The Champ is Captain America if Dr Erskine was a nutritionist rather than a… biologist? Biochemist? Whatever Dr Erskine was a doctor of. A sickly, bullied boy, the Champ (no other name given) was so-called by his bullies because he won at nothing. Scientist Dr Marlin, pitying the Champ, provides him with an experimental food supplement that over a period of seven years transforms him into a physical and mental paragon, the Champ…
Memes of Yore – Sheep vs Cows: It’s not at all surprising that there was conflict between sheep and cattle farmers in the Old West – human tribalism alone might have accounted for that without the sometimes conflicting needs of the two industries coming into play – but the insistence of early Western media that the cattlemen were RIGHT, DAMMIT and those dirty sheep farmers were nothing but a bunch of crooks suitable only for roles as sneaking villains is…
(Fantastic Comics 001, 1939) Naulus is an undersea noble who is attempting to usurp the throne of Atlantis from its rightful ruler, Queen Lantida, and do Atlantean aristocrats get up to any other activities? Atlantis needs more hobby stores, I reckon. FATE OF ATLANTIS: this version of Atlantis appears to be the standard ancient sunken city saved by super science – specifically a sealed dome city full of air. These aren’t your water breathing Atlanteans, folks. Since this is a…
(Fantastic Comics 001, 1939) Von Haupt is more like a journey through the traits and attributes of a style of super-crook than a character: Aviator Captain Kidd is flying over an unspecified jungle when his plane is forced down by an engine-killing ray. Captured by costumed goons, Kidd is brought to a jungle fortress before a vaguely European man with a German-sounding last name and a monocle. Though threatening, this exchange turns out to be a job interview, as von…
(Fantastic Comics 001, 1939) We open on Space Smith and his girlfriend Dianna (sometimes Diana) having a trans-Lunar space-date ruined by Martian Imp Men and I am immediately struck with the dilemma engendered by nearly all Fletcher Hanks stories: follow through on my impulses and post most if not all panels or be judicious for the sake of space and readability? I went with the latter but it hurt. So in lieu of my posting every panel that features the…