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Category: 1940

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 050

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 050

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All these fictional aliens and we don’t even get one other inhabited planet in our solar system. Moon-Men: These Moon-Men are encountered by Phantasmo (seen here in his less-nude human identity) and his pal Whizzer McGee during an impromptu trip to the Moon. They live deep beneath the satellite’s surface and appear to have a mining-based culture that is pretty hostile to outsiders, and that is all we know. While I must commend the “Phantasmo” team for not automatically making…

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MEDIA IN COMICS 008

MEDIA IN COMICS 008

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We’re not out of the extremely crusty scan woods yet, but the media of comics must be recorded, folks. Hang in there. Books: When Diamond Jack defeats his early foe the Witch and transforms her book of magic into 1000 Ways to Cook Spinach, there is one big unanswered question: did this spinach cookbook already exist or did his ring magically compile 1000 recipes on its own? (Slam-Bang Comics 001, 1940) Early Batman foe the Wolf, meanwhile, got his start…

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CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 010

CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 010

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I’m beginning to think that the super-hero scene is pretty hazardous. the Blue Bolt:  The Blue Bolt’s first outing against the Green Sorceress is marred by the fact that he gets near-fatally clawed by her vulturoid monsters. (Blue Bolt v1 001, 1940) the Cloak:  Jeff Cardiff, aka the Spy-Master, aka the Spay-Chief and the future Cloak, gets a classic skull crease. On purpose! This is the way that that goon chose to knock him out! Such confidence! (Big Shot 002,…

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MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 095

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 095

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There really are a lot of these guys, aren’t there? Hurricane: As presented, Hurricane is a real mythological mash-em-up: “son of Thor” but also “last descendant of the Ancient Greek immortals,” and arch-enemy to the Roman god Pluto. Pantheism, baybee! Hurricane’s whole deal is in being super fast, like mythically fast. The fact that he has a divine opponent is quite nice, in that it offsets some of the tendency of speedster characters to walk all over their opponents as…

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REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 025

REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 025

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If comics are reflections of the real world then why should we be surprised to find them so full of real people? Adolf Hitler: Hiller is the “mad dictator” who inspires Hercules to reincarnate and eventually become Marvel Boy. He’s about as close as you get to putting a Hitler in your comic as you can get without actually saying the name. The whole name. The “t” part. (Daring Mystery Comics 006, 1940) This otherwise-unnamed Fuehrer of a likewise nameless…

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SUPER-HERO FILE 004: BUCKY

SUPER-HERO FILE 004: BUCKY

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(Captain America Comics 001, 1940) I probably wouldn’t have thought of this before writing so many entries about Golden Age super-heroes and their hastily shoehorned-in boy companions, but Bucky really is a top-tier sidekick, conceptually. Probably not the top, since Robin really set the gold standard, but close! Consider: In terms of the How Does He Acquire the Boy aspect of things, it couldn’t be simpler. There’s no need for some contrived (or ridiculously omitted) adoption process because Bucky is the…

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SUPER HERO FILE 003: CAPTAIN AMERICA

SUPER HERO FILE 003: CAPTAIN AMERICA

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(Captain America Comics 001, 1940) Captain America! Hitler-Puncher Number One! Quite possibly in the top five of super-heroics’ most well-known origins – a young man, physically unfit for the military but wishing to serve his country, is transformed into a super soldier with a combination of chemicals and radiation. The scientist responsible for this is murdered by an enemy spy rendering the young man a unique hero rather than the first of many. His first act as a hero is…

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ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 048

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 048

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Gosh! How alien they are! Frog-Men: These two Frog-Men cause trouble for Sub Saunders when they steal his ship for a little joyriding/ piracy session. They are undone by the fact that neither of them know how to drive, and are ultimately head-konked into submission after crash landing. What this tells us about Frog-Man society is unclear – if this were a Star Wars then the Frog-Men would end up being a race of car thieves, of course, but most…

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ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 047

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 047

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It’s more of those dastardly (and not-so-dastardly) aliens! Zutarians: One day while on a trip to visit his magic brother in-law who lives on the sun, the Golden Knight and Alice are thrown off course and crash on planet Zutarn, where they are picked up by some friendly-yet-threatening Zutarians. As is often the case in Golden Age comics, the exact location of Zutarn is not stated – for bookkeeping reasons I’m going to say it’s in an unspecified star system,…

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CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 009

CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 009

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How can we have nice things if they keep getting so dinged up? the Black Terror: It might look like the Black Terror (‘s secret identity) is knocked out by falling down a flight of stairs onto his head, but according to him it was actually a bullet creasing the old skull that did the trick. (Exciting Comics 010, 1941) This is a tough one: the Black Terror is shot and nearly killed, and he kind of seems to be…

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