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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 202: THE GHOST-GUN KILLER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 202: THE GHOST-GUN KILLER

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(Crack Comics 016, 1941) A hired killer working for perennial Black Condor villain Jaspar Crow, the Ghost-Gun Killer is tasked with murdering workers at the Great Northern Copper Mine at a hundred bucks a pop in order to drive down the value of the company, thus allowing Crow to buy it on the cheap.  His mystique is enhanced by (and name is taken from) his choice of weapon: a silenced rifle mounted with a powerful laser-like light, giving the impression…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 201: THE WEREWOLF

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 201: THE WEREWOLF

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(Crack Comics 015, 1941)  I love the Werewolf, and here’s a list of the things I love about him: -His name: He has the unlikely handle of Prescott Taunton. A minor point but a good one. -His motivation: Prescott is a writer. Specifically, he wrote a book about lycanthropy and then shopped it around enough to get rejected at least seven times. And then he started murdering the people who rejected his work. -His ambiguous lycanthropy: Is he a werewolf or…

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NOTES: NOVEMBER 2022

NOTES: NOVEMBER 2022

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Costumes: I don’t really feel like doing a whole entry for the Spider. Maybe someday. For now I just want to point out one detail of his costume: Little spiders on his boots!  Heroes Going to Costume Parties as Themselves: Batman! And he wins Most Original Costume! (Batman Comics v1 001, 1940) Speaking of awards and such, after Batman and Robin save an unnamed small town somewhere in America from a cabal of crooks they are honoured with a statue:…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 200: THE CRIMSON VULTURE

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 200: THE CRIMSON VULTURE

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(Crack Comics 015, 1941) The Crimson Vulture is a prime example of a character who could be so much better with just a little more oomph put behind him. His real name is Sarada, and he is a genius mechanical engineer who is back for revenge after being sent to prison. All well and good, but his actions – attempting to extort money from a series of rich men via mechanical vultures and then blowing them up when they refuse…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 199: THE CRAB

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 199: THE CRAB

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(Crack Comics 013, 1941) The Crab here is a prime example of the gang boss who goes just over the top enough – and has a good enough moniker – to make the jump to full super-villain. His plan – hold the city to ransom for 5 million bucks, then blow up the first ambush the cops set for him to show he means business – is sufficiently out there, and he adds some flourishes like taunting the police via…

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GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 002

GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 002

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Another collection of those middling muddlers who didn’t quite make it to the minor leagues: the generic costumed villains! Silas Greer:  Tried to kill his own nephew to get his fortune but was walloped by the Clock (and the Orchid!) for his troubles. (Crack Comics 002, 1940) Trag:  A gentleman with the unlikely name of Trag dressed up in this unusual mask in an attempt to frame a guy with the only slightly less unusual name of Doctor Prowl before…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 198: THE CRICKET

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 198: THE CRICKET

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(Crack Comics 001, 011 & 012, 1940-1941) The Cricket, leader of the Crickets, is a fairly undistinguished gang boss notable only for his brutality, the fact that he was the first foe of hard done-by hero the Spider and that he made two subsequent appearances! His first two appearances are nothing to write home about, though I do note a repeated armchair theme. The man loves to be comfortable. Sadly for him, he was shot down by the Spider before…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 196: THE JESTER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 196: THE JESTER

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(Crack Comics 010, 1941)  The Jester is your standard costumed thief. He commits a series of daring robberies that would in the normal course of things land him in the slammer at the end of a super-hero’s fist. But before Madam Fatal, the hero of this particular feature, can get around to the business of stopping the Jester, the man himself shows up, knocks out Fatal’s civilian guise Richard Stanton and kidnaps his friend Professor Mason. OR DOES HE? No,…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 195: THE SOPHISTICATED LADY

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 195: THE SOPHISTICATED LADY

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(Crack Comics 010, 1941) The Sophisticated Lady is a femme fatale thief of the kind that comics love. She has a decent career going as the comic opens but the Black Condor shows up to put the kibosh on it. Sadly she doesn’t actually get to do that much on-panel, but the terrific name makes up for it a little.

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 194: THE SCREW

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 194: THE SCREW

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(Crack Comics 009, 1941) I’ll be honest: the Screw is about as generic as it gets. He’s a hooded gang boss who runs a protection racket and just so happens to turn out to be the very head of the Chamber of Commerce who has been pressuring the police to take care of this awful Screw Gang. Pretty regular costumed villain stuff: his only real point of distinction is his fairly cool name.