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Category: 1940

MONSTER, CRITTER AND CREATURE ROUND-UP 002

MONSTER, CRITTER AND CREATURE ROUND-UP 002

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It’s time for more monsters! And also critters and creatures! Prehistoric Gorilla: This carnivorous cave-dwelling ape lives in a hidden valley in Africa and has a pretty sweet deal going with the local pterodactyls, whereby they bring him things to eat and he seemingly doesn’t have to do anything. This arrangement does eventually backfire after the pterodactyls grab KaƤnga’s mate Ann and the justifiably miffed jungle lord follows them and slays the gorilla. (Jungle Comics 017, 1941) A few bonus dinosaurs…

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MONSTER, CRITTER AND CREATURE ROUND-UP 001

MONSTER, CRITTER AND CREATURE ROUND-UP 001

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I’ve threatened to do it for long enough, it’s time for the creatures to have their day. Alligator Men: Our very first creatures are also our first tough call. Steel Sterling fights these Alligator Men in Brazonia, South America while on the trail of Dr Yar (aka the Black Knight), and with any group of intelligent humanoids there is the question: did our villain make them using the power of mad science, or did he find them in the jungle…

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FASCIST GOON CLEARING HOUSE 015

FASCIST GOON CLEARING HOUSE 015

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If there’s one thing I know it’s that the world has a seemingly-inexhaustible supply of odious little fascist worms. the All-American League: The All-American League is nothing so exciting as your Nazi spies trying to poison the reservoir or prevent and/or encourage the US entrance into WWII. Instead, they are the more banal type of fascism that is popular nowadays, in which patriotism is weaponized as a way to enrich and empower a few petty men (yes, yes that’s what…

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CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 013

CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 013

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If I see a wound, I catalogue it. Camilla, Queen of the Lost Empire: Shot in the back with an arrow. (Jungle Comics 019, 1941) Captain Flag: Nearly dies of the Black Hand’s horrible hand disease. (Blue Ribbon Comics 016, 1941) the Cat-Man: Stabbed in the chest, to death (he gets better). (Crash Comics Adventures 004, 1940) Killed by a blood-freezing ray. He gets better again. (Crash Comics Adventures 005, 1940) Dynamo: Dynamo gets his skull creased by a bullet…

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ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 052

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 052

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The aliens are very humanoid today. I hope that they are to your liking. Cavemen: There’s no real explanation of why these cavemen are just chilling out in a cavern not a day’s walk from an inhabited region of Africa, along with assorted mammoths and sabretooth tigers. They’re just what Fantomah finds when she follows a river to its source to see why it has been contaminated and is killing those who drink from it. The answer: the cavemen killed…

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MEDIA IN COMICS 010

MEDIA IN COMICS 010

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Is the media in comics any good, do you think? Do super-heroes get to watch good movies? Movies: Arizona Nights is a Western being produced by King Studios when a climactic gunfight scene is used as cover for a real-life murder. Detective Sergeant Carey clears up the mystery (it was the cameraman) but we never learn if the footage of a man dying in real life was used for the added verisimilitude. (More Fun Comics 052, 1940) Call of the…

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CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 012

CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 012

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If I keep at this long enough then we will find the super-hero with the most comically-long list of wounds sustained in the course of their adventures. Currently in the lead: the Green Mask! Unless we’re talking about head traumas, in which case I must direct your gaze to the Blue Beetle. Domino the Miracle Boy: Shot in the right shoulder by Dr Moru while heroically leaping in front of a gun to save the Green Mask. (Mystery Men Comics…

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MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 100

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 100

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You like minor super-heroes? We got more than four hundred of them! the Night Bird: The Night Bird might just have the simplest origin in the history of super-heroes: when newspaper Dell (just Dell) is captured by gangsters, her photographer Lens Crockett sets out to rescue her. Deciding that he needs a disguise, Crockett looks in the office storeroom and finds a full super-hero outfit stuffed in a bin – if it were about ten years later this might be…

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ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 051

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 051

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A disappointingly humanoid bunch of aliens today. Gigantians: The Gigantians of Gigantia are the kind of advanced society who like nothing more than to gas on about how primitive and backward Earth is to space travellers like Rocket Rooney and his pal, but are still content to have a hereditary monarchy. True to their name, they are super huge in their natural state but have the good graces to shrink themselves down whenever their Earth visitors show up. (Bill Barnes,…

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CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 011

CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 011

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We regret to inform you that more super-heroes have been wounded. the Blue Beetle:  The very first thing that happens in the very first Blue Beetle comic: Dan “the Blue Beetle” Garret gets shot in the left arm. (Mystery Men Comics 001, 1939) Domino the Miracle Boy: It’s a miracle (a boy miracle?) that Domino survives 1941, because he gets hit by a dang car. (Green Mask v1 006, 1941) Not two issues later, Domino gets shot in the ever-popular…

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