The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: Crack Comics

  • GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 003

    Yet another collection of also-rans and never-weres.

    Philip White: 

    Philip White here got exactly one panel into his career as a masked spy chief before Madam Fatal unmasked him. (Crack Comics 014, 1941)

    Basil: 

    An auctioneer named Basil ran an overly complicated scheme to steal the fabled Five Bloodstones of Mu. His plans were also undone by Madam Fatal and ended in his grisly demise. (Crack Comics 016, 1941)

    Unnamed Crook: 

    This unnamed thief almost got away with the Dare Diamond under the very nose of detective Larry Steele. (Detective Comics v1 049, 1941)

    Howard: 

    A baseball pitcher named Howard got up to some shady betting schemes and ended up a generic costumed villain. Let this be a lesson, kids. Also part of his big plan involved shooting himself in the arm with a gimmicked up baseball mitt-gun, which is an early sign that you might not be cut out for costumed villainy. (Detective Comics v1 052, 1941)

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 208: THE TERROR

    (Crack Comics 018, 1941)

    Not too much to distinguish this guy: he’s Bumps Bale, a former pinball racketeer (you’re just as likely to see Batman smashing up a bunch of pinball machines as an underground casino or a slot machine in the 40s. Gambling is Bad and Pinball is Gambling, was the attitude) who had hit hard times and decided to go into extorting mayors as a second career. Accordingly, he poisoned city comptroller Ezra Daves and promised Unnamed Mayor here some of the same if one million dollars in small bills was not produced post haste. Sadly for the Terror, the Clock got involved.

    I do have to say that I appreciate the cowl-style mask that the Terror is sporting. Personally I find it far more aesthetically pleasing than the executioner’s hoods and cloth draperies that have been more the norm thusfar.

    (also for those keeping track this is presumably the mayor who took over after the Big Shot was ousted, placing him somewhere on a very spicy alternate Wikipedia page for List of Mayors of New York City)

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 207: THE BLACK WITCH

    (Crack Comics 018, 1941)

    The Black Witch is a member of a long comic book tradition: Haitian voodoo practitioners who use their sinister powers to get up to no good – in this case kidnapping the wife of one of Richard “Madam Fatal” Stanton’s friends as raw material in a search for eternal youth.

    The Black Witch is also part of a long-term demographic shift in comics: while the Haitian voodoo character is a staple villain s(and sometimes hero) into at least the 90s, in the early days they were basically all white folks like the Black Witch here, or the Master of Corpses. A question that I’m not qualified to answer: is this more racist than the state of things post 1960 or so when the population of voodoo villains more accurately represents the demographic makeup of Haiti or is it semi-vilifying an entire ethnoreligious group? 

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 206: THE CROW

    (Crack Comics 018, 1941)

    The Crow! Wanted in every country on the Earth! A villain with a very impressive resume! It’s actually a bit disappointing when he just does some regular bank robbing in this issue.

    To be fair, he does give the Spider much more of a run for his money than his usual foe, and he does end up returning in Crack 021 the next year, in which he steals the Black Widow and uses it for evil deeds. I don’t know if it’s quite enough, but it’s something.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 206: THE CROW

    (Crack Comics 018, 1941)

    The Crow! Wanted in every country on the Earth! A villain with a very impressive resume! It’s actually a bit disappointing when he just does some regular bank robbing in this issue.

    To be fair, he does give the Spider much more of a run for his money than his usual foe, and he does end up returning in Crack 021 the next year, in which he steals the Black Widow and uses it for evil deeds. I don’t know if it’s quite enough, but it’s something.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 205: THE JACKAL

    (Crack Comics 017, 1941)

    Like the Cloak before him, the Jackal started out as a fictional villain: made up by promoter Paxton Forbes to obfuscate his own role in murdering sea Captain Bly and stealing his treasure map. But if you do the very things you say that a villain has done, I would contend that you are, in fact, that villain. And Madam Fatal agrees, so there.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 205: THE JACKAL

    (Crack Comics 017, 1941)

    Like the Cloak before him, the Jackal started out as a fictional villain: made up by promoter Paxton Forbes to obfuscate his own role in murdering sea Captain Bly and stealing his treasure map. But if you do the very things you say that a villain has done, I would contend that you are, in fact, that villain. And Madam Fatal agrees, so there.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 204: THE MAN WITH THE TERRIBLE MACHINE

    (Crack Comics 017, 1941)

    The Man With the Terrible Machine (aka the Man with the Terrific Name) shows up one day in the far-off world of 2441 AD and lets humanity know that he will destroy the planet using his terrible machine in 24 hours, for no particular reason. Understandably, worldwide panic ensues.

    When scientist Dr Dram shows up and says that he can stop the terrible machine if only he can get enough gold, he gets full cooperation! And it works! Because Dr Dram and the Man With the Terrible Machine were one and the same! It was all a big con!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 203: BLACKBEARD

    (Crack Comics 016, 1941)

    I keep saying that space pirates are too thick on the ground to include every one despite my inclinations but Blackbeard here overruled me on several fronts, including:

    -Overall look: that’s basically a perfect look for a futuristic pirate (it’s not obvious from this image but I reckon that he’s shirtless under the coat, btw). Maybe swap the beret out for a more traditional hat but that would be the only thing I’d change.

    -Name: can’t go wrong with a classic.

    -Henchmen:

    Blackbeard’s crew are the Outlaws of Jupiter, and their names are things like One-Arm Ganz, Patch-Eye Tork and Half-Face McGurk. And Gilene, of course, who seems not to have suffered any sort of nickname-worthy injury.

    It’s all great stuff, even though Blackbeard’s only attempted crime – hijack a shipment of ray guns – is foiled immediately by the Space Legion.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 202: THE GHOST-GUN KILLER

    (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 that he uses some sort of death ray weapon to kill. Ultimately it’s not enough to take on Black Condor and the Ghost-Gun Killer is shipped off to jail.