The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: MLJ

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 871: THE MONSTER

    (Zip Comics 002, 1940) 

    Mr Satan is summoned to the charmingly-named Shadow Pond to solve a series of disappearances among a group of scientists who have secluded themselves there. Upon arriving he immediately finds himself in the middle of an attack by a humanoid monster (the Monster, of course. Annoyingly, it is never once referred to as the Monster of Shadow Pond, which would be a pretty great name). He manages to pull a young woman away from the attack and is shortly thereafter introduced to the cast of characters at Shadow Pond:

    Professor Heaslip: Mr Satan’s client and the de facto leader of the scientific group.

    Mrs Heaslip: the Professor’s younger wife, recently rescued from the clutches of the Monster by Mr Satan.

    John Heaslip: the Professor’s brother, a scientist in his own right. Narrowly avoided being killed by the Monster in its first attack.

    Blake: Scientist and acquaintance of Mr Satan. Blake gets mentioned a fair amount throughout the story but only makes one appearance. Probably killed by the Monster.

    Richards: Scientist. Killed in the first attack by the Monster.

    Slade: Scientist. Killed in the attack that Mr Satan witnessed.

    Unnamed Scientist: Killed at some point by the Monster.

    Is someone in this motley crew actually the Monster? Not the dead ones, obviously. 

    Mr Satan does some investigating and is himself almost killed by the Monster. In the process he discovers that the scientists’ missing bodies are caught in a whirlpool beneath the surface of the pond, explaining why they have not surfaced.

    A plan to kill the Monster with a bomb goes awry when the device, built by John Heaslip, goes off without warning and almost kills both his brother and Mr Satan

    This explosion provides Mr Satan with the final key to the puzzle: he tracks down the conveniently-not-at-the-site-of-the-explosion John and Mrs Heaslip and confronts them with the truth: this whole affair has been about the illicit love that they share. The Monster was born out of an attempt to murder Professor Heaslip so that his widow and brother could be together (and also so that they could steal his radium ray, a device that literally had not been mentioned before it was revealed to be a motivation for murder, and which I think was added late in the game to make the story a bit less sordid). A sad and grubby resolution indeed.

    We also get to see the full Monster getup, and while some of the other diving-suit-modified-to-look-like-sea-monster examples we have are a bit more monstery, this might just be the best looking weird diving suit. Lust look at that eye stalk/periscope!

  • MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 066

    They’re just doing their best over here.

    Nevada Jones: 

    Nevada Jones starts out as a detective working for the Cattleman’s Association in what is probably meant to be the Old West (though at this point my trust in that fact is fragile) but in his second appearance is framed for murder and so adopts a masked alter ego. He also acquired a sidekick named Little Joe, who speaks with the cadence of a guy who was orphaned in the jungle and raised by apes rather than just being Mexican.

    The only really distinct thing about Nevada is that he never seems to actually adopt a new name for himself, he just doesn’t offer a name at all. This means that everyone calls him “masked man” or “stranger” the whole time. There’s an argument to be made that his masked identity is called “Quick-Trigger Man” but the aesthetic part of my soul won’t let me acknowledge it. (Zip Comics 001, 1940) 

    Kalthar: 

    Kalthar, aka God-Son, the Giant Man, King of the Jungle, is the son of an unnamed man who saved the Ugarnas (possibly Urgana? They are only ever referred to in the plural, alas) tribe from slavers but lost his life in the process. Raised by the grateful Urganas, Kalthar of course becomes much cooler than any of them and can speak the language of jungle animals. 

    Kalthar also has the support of Ta-Lo, possibly the only non-evil witch doctor in comics, who brews up a big batch of magic grains that allow him to grow into a fifteen foot tall, bulletproof giant. This is, as you might imagine, a pretty decisive advantage in jungle combat (he can for example punch out a bull elephant), so a large portion of each Kalthar story is spent with him tied up or otherwise unable to reach the magic grains in their hiding place in his hair. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

    In Zip Comics 009, Kalthar marries Kate Goodwill, an explorer who he had been getting serious with over the prior few issues, but though the Next Issue blurb promises us further adventures of Kalthar and Kate, King and Queen of the Jungle this would be their final appearance. That’s a real shame, because if nothing else this arrangement would be a change from the usual chaste, long-term courtships you see in most jungle comics, where the jungle adventurer hooks up with the first white person they meet in their life but then constantly defers actually doing anything with the relationship. 

    the Devil’s Twins: 

    I just can’t resist a fighter pilot with a cool name, in this case brothers Tom and Tim Shane, aka the Devil’s Twins, aka the Devil’s Flying Twins (or should that be the Devil’s flying Twins), possibly aka the War Eagles unless that’s just the name of the strip. In addition to a great name, the twins have a totally stupid reason for being in the RAF: the German Ace Schultz once fouled them both in a polo match and now they want revenge on him. 

    The brothers earn their main nickname for being such colossal pains in the ass of their immediate superior, Captain Rex: they adopt unsanctioned but very effective tactics supposedly derived from polo, they constantly take off on self-ordained missions that draw unwanted attention to the airfield, they fall in love with the same woman and are huge babies about it, etc, etc. Just a couple of ding dongs. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

    Mr Satan: 

    Mr Satan is really Dudley Bradshaw, “international detective and soldier of fortune,” who is so bored with the ins and outs of everyday life that he advertises for excitement in his local paper (and then later on he just follows the trouble-prone Doris O’Day around, despite the fact that she hates Dudley for not being as dynamic as Mr Satan). 

    Mr Satan’s purple bodysuit and horned cowl mask are both very charming and not a little reminiscent of the later Daredevil, and he has the distinction (along with most of the other heroes of Zip Comics) of never having been resurrected in any of the various revivals of the Archie/MLJ characters, a perhaps understandable decision in the case of a guy named Mr Satan, but a sad one. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

  • MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 066

    They’re just doing their best over here.

    Nevada Jones: 

    Nevada Jones starts out as a detective working for the Cattleman’s Association in what is probably meant to be the Old West (though at this point my trust in that fact is fragile) but in his second appearance is framed for murder and so adopts a masked alter ego. He also acquired a sidekick named Little Joe, who speaks with the cadence of a guy who was orphaned in the jungle and raised by apes rather than just being Mexican.

    The only really distinct thing about Nevada is that he never seems to actually adopt a new name for himself, he just doesn’t offer a name at all. This means that everyone calls him “masked man” or “stranger” the whole time. There’s an argument to be made that his masked identity is called “Quick-Trigger Man” but the aesthetic part of my soul won’t let me acknowledge it. (Zip Comics 001, 1940) 

    Kalthar: 

    Kalthar, aka God-Son, the Giant Man, King of the Jungle, is the son of an unnamed man who saved the Ugarnas (possibly Urgana? They are only ever referred to in the plural, alas) tribe from slavers but lost his life in the process. Raised by the grateful Urganas, Kalthar of course becomes much cooler than any of them and can speak the language of jungle animals. 

    Kalthar also has the support of Ta-Lo, possibly the only non-evil witch doctor in comics, who brews up a big batch of magic grains that allow him to grow into a fifteen foot tall, bulletproof giant. This is, as you might imagine, a pretty decisive advantage in jungle combat (he can for example punch out a bull elephant), so a large portion of each Kalthar story is spent with him tied up or otherwise unable to reach the magic grains in their hiding place in his hair. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

    In Zip Comics 009, Kalthar marries Kate Goodwill, an explorer who he had been getting serious with over the prior few issues, but though the Next Issue blurb promises us further adventures of Kalthar and Kate, King and Queen of the Jungle this would be their final appearance. That’s a real shame, because if nothing else this arrangement would be a change from the usual chaste, long-term courtships you see in most jungle comics, where the jungle adventurer hooks up with the first white person they meet in their life but then constantly defers actually doing anything with the relationship. 

    the Devil’s Twins: 

    I just can’t resist a fighter pilot with a cool name, in this case brothers Tom and Tim Shane, aka the Devil’s Twins, aka the Devil’s Flying Twins (or should that be the Devil’s flying Twins), possibly aka the War Eagles unless that’s just the name of the strip. In addition to a great name, the twins have a totally stupid reason for being in the RAF: the German Ace Schultz once fouled them both in a polo match and now they want revenge on him. 

    The brothers earn their main nickname for being such colossal pains in the ass of their immediate superior, Captain Rex: they adopt unsanctioned but very effective tactics supposedly derived from polo, they constantly take off on self-ordained missions that draw unwanted attention to the airfield, they fall in love with the same woman and are huge babies about it, etc, etc. Just a couple of ding dongs. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

    Mr Satan: 

    Mr Satan is really Dudley Bradshaw, “international detective and soldier of fortune,” who is so bored with the ins and outs of everyday life that he advertises for excitement in his local paper (and then later on he just follows the trouble-prone Doris O’Day around, despite the fact that she hates Dudley for not being as dynamic as Mr Satan). 

    Mr Satan’s purple bodysuit and horned cowl mask are both very charming and not a little reminiscent of the later Daredevil, and he has the distinction (along with most of the other heroes of Zip Comics) of never having been resurrected in any of the various revivals of the Archie/MLJ characters, a perhaps understandable decision in the case of a guy named Mr Satan, but a sad one. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 870: THE CHIEF

    (Zip Comics 002, 1940)

    While walking down the street one day in what is almost certainly supposed to be New York City, Jim “the Scarlet Avenger” Kendal witnesses the protection racket-related bombing of a tailor shop. What’s worse, the police response to the blast makes it pretty clear that they are on the take!

    Using his network of operatives, the Scarlet Avenger discovers when and where the next bombing is set to take place and intervenes by way of a heat ray that blows up the bomb as well as the crooks delivering it to kingdom come.

    After this and other interference in the gang’s activities, the Scarlet Avenger has well and truly drawn the ire of the leader, the aptly-named Chief, who arranges for the Avenger to be captured and delivered to him for disposal. But! Not without the Scarlet Avenger hearing about it first. 

    Before the Chef can execute his plan to execute the Scarlet Avenger in his homemade gas chamber, the hero reveals that he has “electrically wired myself, a million volts,” and that whatever that means, it allows him to easily escape both his shackles and the glass chamber.

    It also gives the Avenger a lethal touch, as both the Chief and his gang learn when they are killed by it. And just who is this mastermind of crime? Why, it’s the district attorney! There are a lot of questions to be asked about the large numbers of both super-heroes and super-villains who are district attorneys in their day-to-day lives, but at this point the one I’m asking is: just where do they find the time?

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 870: THE CHIEF

    (Zip Comics 002, 1940)

    While walking down the street one day in what is almost certainly supposed to be New York City, Jim “the Scarlet Avenger” Kendal witnesses the protection racket-related bombing of a tailor shop. What’s worse, the police response to the blast makes it pretty clear that they are on the take!

    Using his network of operatives, the Scarlet Avenger discovers when and where the next bombing is set to take place and intervenes by way of a heat ray that blows up the bomb as well as the crooks delivering it to kingdom come.

    After this and other interference in the gang’s activities, the Scarlet Avenger has well and truly drawn the ire of the leader, the aptly-named Chief, who arranges for the Avenger to be captured and delivered to him for disposal. But! Not without the Scarlet Avenger hearing about it first. 

    Before the Chef can execute his plan to execute the Scarlet Avenger in his homemade gas chamber, the hero reveals that he has “electrically wired myself, a million volts,” and that whatever that means, it allows him to easily escape both his shackles and the glass chamber.

    It also gives the Avenger a lethal touch, as both the Chief and his gang learn when they are killed by it. And just who is this mastermind of crime? Why, it’s the district attorney! There are a lot of questions to be asked about the large numbers of both super-heroes and super-villains who are district attorneys in their day-to-day lives, but at this point the one I’m asking is: just where do they find the time?

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 869: THE BLACK KNIGHT

    (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

    Shortly after giving himself super powers, Steel Sterling gets word of a brutal bank robbery in the town of Beeville and sets out to bring the culprits to justice. Determining that the crooks must have been guided by a mastermind of some sort, he trails their plane to a mountaintop fortress.

    The bow-wielding guards outside the Black Knight’s fortress (spoiler: it’s the Black Knight’s fortress, but what were you expecting) are notable for being the one time that he has anything related to his chosen theme around, and even they are supposedly only there to prevent… mountain cops?… from hearing the sound of gunfire. Inside, it’s plain old gangsters.

    Gangsters armed with ordinary machine guns are of course no match for a man with all the properties of steel, and Steel Sterling quickly makes his way to the Black Knight’s throne room, where he is immediately dropped into a deep pit full of rats.

    I’d just like to take a second here to appreciate the fact that the Black Knight’s costume is a) 100% brown and yellow with no black at all and b) a pretty conventional super-person getup aside from what appears to be a leather jerkin or similar. Historical, yes, but not particularly knightly. 

    A pit full of rats is also not enough to stop Steel Sterling, and he makes his way out, causes the Black Knight himself to fall in, and sets out after the fleeing gangsters just in time to avoid a secondary deathtrap as the fortress explodes behind him. The Black Knight is finished, it seems.

    The Black Knight is not, in fact, finished, and is soon (Zip Comics 002) hard at work robbing gold and fur shipments coming out of Alaska. Though he manages to capture Steel Sterling when he infiltrates the villain’s fake iceberg base he does a bad job of coming up with a suitable deathtrap for the hero and ends up in the hands of the US Navy.

    Steel Sterling’s next case brings him to the South American nation of Brazonia, where a man called Dr Yar has taken the famous scientist Walter Cummings in order to force him to develop weapons of war and help conquer the gold-rich country. 

    Dr Yar is of course eventually revealed to be an alias (or possibly the real identity?) of the Black Knight. Just why he has abandoned his old moniker is unstated but perhaps it is as simple as a desire not to attract the attention of Steel Sterling again. His new look is at least still visually interesting – particularly the periscopiscopes, which are of course goggles which allow 360 degree vision.

    Dr Yar really leans into the scientist aspect of his new identity, and deploys gadgets such as: flying tanks, oil bombs, electric rays and various viewscreens and visualizers.

    Plus: he not only has Alligator Men at his disposal but also a swarm of giant mosquitoes straight out of an ad for a pest control company (being big does not help them bate through steel skin, alas). 

    Once again the Black Knight/Dr Yar apparently meets his end, and this time it’s explicitly at the hands of Steel Sterling, who stuffs him into the barrel of his own super-howitzer before it fires. A truly brutal end, even for a dedicated super-villain. (Zip Comics 003, 1940)

    Steel doesn’t have to live with any guilt he might feel for long, however, as the Black Knight returns in the next issue, this time climbing the rungs of the aristocracy from mere knighthood to become the Radium King. His new plan is simple: steal the entire US radium supply and then ransom it back for 30 million dollars.

    The Radium King has appropriately impressive digs: an underwater base in Lake Superior that would probably be pretty hard to find if one of his minions hadn’t blabbed under threat of a beating from Steel Sterling.

    The Radium King costume turns out to borrow heavily from the original Black Knight getup, although without a lot of the yellow elements. I’d say that it’s better than the Dr Yar outfit but not as composed as the original, and that the half-mask/mustache combo is particularly unpleasant. Speaking of Dr Yar, the Radium King reveals that he survived Steel’s attempted cannon execution by simply crawling back out of the cannon.

    Not to be robbed of a kill, Steel Sterling uses the Radium King’s own submarine to blow him and his base to high heaven. Surely he’s dead this time! (Zip Comics 004, 1940)

    Not quite! The Black Knight’s fifth and final appearance (under the original name, this time) is probably his most ignominious, though it does feature his cool underground city headquarters, seen above. In it, he engages in a campaign of sabotage, kidnapping and extortion against his former kidnap victim/current minor member of Steel Sterling’s supporting cast Walter Cummings, who has gone into the munitions manufacturing game and has gotten the contract to produce the mysterious Zeta Ray for the US government. Somehow, if the Black Knight can delay production of the US Zeta Ray for long enough then his own scientists can produce one for him and that will be good, and if that description seems vague to you then I must assure you that it is 100% accurate to the comic. I don’t even know what the Zeta Ray does, for heaven’s sake.

    Though Cummings’ first factory is destroyed and his second collapses due to some sabotaged cement, Steel Sterling steps in and has almost completed a third when the Black Knight decides to take a personal hand and ram a tanker truck full of TNT into it. Now here’s the embarrassing part: not only does Steel Sterling handily prevent the truck from destroying the factory, but the first time that he is even aware that the Black Knight is involved in the plot against Dr Cummings is when he spots him just one fraction of a second before he is atomized in the explosion. It’s not even as dignified an end as being shot out of your own cannon would have been. (Zip Comics 005, 1940) 

  • MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 065

    Our themes today are “scarlet,” “family tragedy,” and “inadvisable human experimentation.”

    Mr Scarlet: 

    Brian Butler, NYC* district attorney,** is frustrated by the limitations inherent in working within the law and so like so many of his peers adopts a costumed identity in order to get the better of crime via acrobatics and punching. A classic origin, but Mr Scarlet’s real claim to fame is in being created by Jack Kirby (with Ed Herron) and thus starting off with a real dose of comic book charisma that subsequent artist Jack Binder manages to keep going – both, for example, illustrate his acrobatic explots with such flair that to this day people assume that he’s meant to be flying.

    * although it’s referred to as “Gotham City” in the one caption that names his location, I simply must assume that it’s meant to be the NYC nickname rather than some Earth-S version of Batman’s hometown, earlier than both concepts even exist.

    ** he’s pretty consistently called a “special prosecutor”, but there’s just enough evidence to clarify that he’s a DA rather than an impartial lawyer brought in to prosecute cases involving possible conflicts of interest, which I just learned is what a special prosecutor is.

    Brian Butler’s secretary/love interest Cherry Wade learns his secret in Mr Scarlet’s first published adventure, and I must say as always that I appreciate a Golden Age comics with a straightforward hero romance to contrast with the widespread aping of the Clark Kent/Lois Lane situation. Even if it is an HR nightmare. (Wow Comics 001, 1940)

    Atom Blake, Boy Wizard: 

    Atom Blake, a youngster attending Lincoln High in Collegetown, USA, is curious about why he has a different last name than the people who are raising him, and perhaps more pointedly, why his is physically and mentally superhuman. His foster father, Professor Joseph Page, has the answer in the form of a note left for Atom by his biological father, Stuart Blake. Written in a mathematical code that Atom is instinctively able to read, the note tells of the elder Blake’s experiments in creating a super-element composed of all 93 known regular elements* and how the infant Atom was given treatments to make him super-human enough to utilize the power of the super-element (called sun-metal in later Atom Blake stories but not here) without evaporating like Blake Sr’s poor experimental orangutan.

    *always a good bit when it crops up. I just looked up the history of the discovery of elements to see how long the count of 93 was good for and it looks like about 4 years, though plutonium was discovered in 1941 but kept secret until 1948. More impressive is the fact that at least four of the elements known in 1940 weren’t yet discovered in 1923 when Blake did his work!

    An encounter between Atom and some bank robbers soon reveals that the super-element was stored in the ring that Stuart Blake left with Atom as a baby, and he gains access to a suite of deus ex machina powers. Will this sixteen or seventeen year old boy be able to deal with unlimited power in a healthy way? Stay tuned! (Wow Comics 001, 1940)

    UPDATE 1941 

    Steel Sterling: 

    John Sterling is your classic crime orphan: after losing his father to gangsters at a young age, he devotes his life to battling crime. But rather than become a living weapon through intense training, Sterling takes a note from his father’s death by gunfire and spends his formative years developing a chemical treatment that will give his body the properties of steel, dramatically catalyzed by a dip into a vat of molten metal in a sequence with more on-panel male nudity than you usually see. Please also note the final panel above, which showcases Sterling’s weird riveted metal briefs.

    And Sterling isn’t just blowing smoke about having all the properties of steel: in addition to being bulletproof and super strong thanks to his new density, he also has the magnetic properties of the alloy, which he, like many of his magnetic brethren, employs to fly around by “magnetizing himself to” various things. Later this is rounded up to simply being able to fly and thank goodness for that.

    Finally, Steel Sterling has one of the better secret identities, as he establishes private detective John Sterling as his own twin brother (and also as a sort of cowardly jerk so that he can establish the usual Lois Lane/Clark Kent dynamic with love interest Dora Cummings). (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

    the Scarlet Avenger: 

    I know I bagged on the Defender for just being the Avenger with the serial numbers filed off, but dang it if the Scarlet Avenger doesn’t feel even more like someone just took Richard Benson out back and slapped a little red paint on him. Real name Jim Kendall, the Scarlet Avenger loses his wife and child as a result of a gold robbery on the airplane they are riding in. Kendall alone survives the subsequent crash but loses the ability to form facial expressions, leading to his nickname as The Man Who Never Smiles. 

    The Scarlet Avenger’s calling card, seen above making the text box hard to read, is a flaming arrow for no discernible or stated reason. Later on it is often depicted with a decorative skull.

    The Scarlet Avenger lacks the ability to reshape his facial features that his inspiration possessed, and instead of being a master of disguise is more of a gadgeteer, variously employing a paralysis ray, bulletproof cloak, electrically wired suit that allows him to deliver lethal shocks, mind reading device, compact miniature parachute, shoe knife, personal smokescreen, rocket car and rocket ship in his pursuit of justice. 

    The other point of similarity between the Scarlet and regular Avengers is the extensive network of agents that both employ, though the Scarlet Avenger’s narrows somewhat over time as he begins a romantic relationship with Inez Courtney, aka Operative 1. More trouble for HR.  (Zip Comics 001 1940)

  • NOTES – OCTOBER 2025

    Cops Shooting Fleeing Suspects in the Back: 

    I’ll grant these cops this: Steel Sterling did just steal one of their motorcycles. I still don’t think that that warrants a  “SHOOT TO KILL!” and three bullets in the back. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

    Even less of a reason to shoot someone in the back: because you heard a different person shooting at them and assumed that they were a thief. Both because you are wrong and the person you are shooting at is actually super-hero Mr Satan and because theft is not punishable by death. (Zip Comics 007, 1940) 

    Not only do the cops try to blow the Scarlet Avenger away here, but they also allow real culprit Mr Nimbus to make a getaway. (Zip Comics 009, 1940) 

    Honours: 

    Rambunctious pilots Tim and Tom Shane, aka the Devils Twins, are decorated for valour. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

    Super-Heroes Going to Costume Parties as Themselves: 

    Dudley Bradshaw, aka Mr Satan, attends a very costume-heavy Mardi Gras parade in costume as himself. (Zip Comics 005, 1940)

    Both Mr Scarlet and his enemy Bluebeard attend the same costume party in character. (Wow Comics 004, 1941)

    (Pinky is there too, of course) 

    Vigilante also attended a costume party as himself in 1941 and I completely neglected to note it before now. (Action Comics v1 042, 1941) 

  • NOTES – OCTOBER 2025

    Cops Shooting Fleeing Suspects in the Back: 

    I’ll grant these cops this: Steel Sterling did just steal one of their motorcycles. I still don’t think that that warrants a  “SHOOT TO KILL!” and three bullets in the back. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

    Even less of a reason to shoot someone in the back: because you heard a different person shooting at them and assumed that they were a thief. Both because you are wrong and the person you are shooting at is actually super-hero Mr Satan and because theft is not punishable by death. (Zip Comics 007, 1940) 

    Not only do the cops try to blow the Scarlet Avenger away here, but they also allow real culprit Mr Nimbus to make a getaway. (Zip Comics 009, 1940) 

    Honours: 

    Rambunctious pilots Tim and Tom Shane, aka the Devils Twins, are decorated for valour. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

    Super-Heroes Going to Costume Parties as Themselves: 

    Dudley Bradshaw, aka Mr Satan, attends a very costume-heavy Mardi Gras parade in costume as himself. (Zip Comics 005, 1940)

    Both Mr Scarlet and his enemy Bluebeard attend the same costume party in character. (Wow Comics 004, 1941)

    (Pinky is there too, of course) 

    Vigilante also attended a costume party as himself in 1941 and I completely neglected to note it before now. (Action Comics v1 042, 1941) 

  • DIVINE ROUND-UP 013

    Piping hot deities for you this mornining.

    Sivu the Tiger God: 

    The worshippers of Sivu the Tiger God come to New York City to recover the jewelled eyes of their great idol, which are known as the Death Ruby and the Doom Ruby and held in the New York Museum and the collection of Beverly van Pell, respectively. Detective Dan Dare gets involved when he is hired by Mrs van Pell and the rubies ultimately stay right where they are. A shame, but at least we get to see that six-armed, four-legged, chubby, tiger-headed representation of Sivu, right?

    God Style: Idol. (Whiz Comics 003b, 1940) 

    Zeus: 

    The MLJ Hercules is the first super-hero of that name to actually be the demi-god in question, and he accordingly has a couple of meetings with his dad Zeus to discuss the state of the fight for truth and justice back on Earth. What I mostly want to point out about this version of the King of Olympus is that he’s probably the most flamboyantly dressed Zeus in comics before Jack Kirby illustrates him in Thor. 

    God style: Real (Blue Ribbon Comics 005, 1940)

    Charon: 

    A pretty by-the-numbers version of Charon who doesn’t deserve to be bullied by Dr Fate just because he needs to cross the Styx. He didn’t even try a bribe first!

    God Style: Real (More Fun Comics 056, 1940) 

    Wisdom: 

    The reason that Dr Fate is visiting the underworld is to check on whether his enemy Wotan is in fact dead, and to that end he is consulting with “Wisdom, who rules the world,” which I can only assume is another entry in the long tradition (that started four issues earlier with the origin of the Spectre) of alluding to the Abrahamic (or let’s face it: Christian) god via a combination of vague wording, blinding light and dialogue from an unseen source.

    God Style: Real (More Fun Comics 056, 1940) 

    (annoyingly, I can’t figure out where the bit about the seven gates to the underworld is from. It feels familiar and I wanted to see if it was from a non-Greek, non-Christian source because then this trip would be incorporating three whole mythologies, but there is simply too much “Gates of Hell” talk online to find it easily)