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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 976: DOCTOR DROOL

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 976: DOCTOR DROOL

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(The Flame 004, 1941) Doctor Drool* is a medical doctor who was recently executed for an unspecified crime. He has, however, planned for this eventuality, and his assistant Scully is on-hand to collect him from his mausoleum at the earliest opportunity so that he can administer a revivification treatment to him. Thus restored, Doctor Drool swears revenge on the Judge, District Attorney and jury who convicted him, a fourteen-person death list that would eventually grow to include the Flame as…

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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-VILLAIN 975: THE SMILER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 975: THE SMILER

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(Fight Comics 016, 1941)  The Smiler! A grody-looking gang boss with a permanent crooked smile thanks to a facial scar! I can’t actually figure out where this scar is actually supposed to be – I suppose that it must be there, but the Smiler’s face is so covered in seams and divots that it doesn’t stand out. The Smiler is such a ruthless and dastardly crook that he accepts a commission from Nazi agent Blitz to steal the engine-killing ray…

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MEDIA IN COMICS 007

MEDIA IN COMICS 007

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We’ve got some real early media for you today, so get ready for the crustiest scans of microfiche you ever saw. Movies: Steve Rogers and Bucky almost get to the movies to see a flick called Million Dollar Robbery before being interrupted by a real, if smaller-scale, robbery. BONUS: a classic case of real movies stars barely obfuscated by having their first names swapped, in Humphrey Raft and George Bogart, aka George Raft and Humphrey Bogart. (Captain America Comics 004, 1941) Hired…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 973: THE MASTER MIND

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 973: THE MASTER MIND

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(Fight Comics 011, 1941) Just when the futuristic (i.e., early 2000s) nation of Greater America thinks that it can relax, it is simultaneously attacked from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans! Acting quickly, Saber, aka the Spy Fighter, super-powered Head of Greater American Espionage, sets out to discover who is behind this dastardly deed.  Saber uses his telepathic abilities to trace the impulses that are directing the armies to an isolated outpost where he finds a fellow variously referred to…

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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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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 972: THE BLACK TALON

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 972: THE BLACK TALON

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(Captain America Comics 009, 1941) The Black Talon is honestly such a disappointing character. Two-thirds of him is composed of concepts that I love, but that remaining third is very rough. A hard character to endorse. First good Part: The Black Talon, aka Pascal Horta, is a mad artist who kills both as a way of eliminating his rivals and as a means of deriving inspiration for his series of horror-themed portraits. I always love seeing the mad arts represented…

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GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 044

GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 044

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Bored? Unemployed? Why not explore a career in low-tier supercrime?  the ABC Gang: I must regretfully inform you that the ABC Gang that is described here does not appear in this issue, as Spencer Steel and his pal Doakes instead get sidetracked by a different gang that is looking to rob the bank that they pegged as the logical next target in the ABCs’ pattern. This is a real shame, because “gang who robs banks in alphabetical order by name,…

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GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 043

GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 043

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You give a guy access to a mask and some super-science and how does he repay you? Crime! Karno: The dapper Karno has a cool flying submarine, a metal-melting weapon and a plan to combine the two and do some old-fashioned piracy with them. He thinks that this scheme will be enhanced by the expert submarine piloting skills of Sub Saunders, but quickly learns the same lesson that all villains do upon incorporating a hero into their plans: it’s more hassle than…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 971: THE MONSTER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 971: THE MONSTER

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(Fantastic Comics 023, 1941) The comic opens in media res, as a (the) Monster bursts into the hotel room of art critic Iona Hall and carries her off into the night. Cut to the Gorman Art Gallery the next day, where we see… Iona Hall!? As you might have guessed, this isn’t the real Iona Hall, and “famous art connoisseur” Dan Kenneth spots this when he is introduced to the false Hall by gallery owner Gorman. When Kenneth attempts to discover…

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