(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.
(Crack Comics 009, 1941)
The Tiger Woman is another in a long line of characters who are vilified for pushing back against colonialism – in this case, American explorers appropriating her peoples’ treasures. Or she would be if the way she was pushing back wasn’t murder, which tends to muddy the righteousness of any cause.
She does have a really great costume, though. Top marks for style.
(Crack Comics 009, 1941)
The Tiger Woman is another in a long line of characters who are vilified for pushing back against colonialism – in this case, American explorers appropriating her peoples’ treasures. Or she would be if the way she was pushing back wasn’t murder, which tends to muddy the righteousness of any cause.
She does have a really great costume, though. Top marks for style.
(Crack Comics 008, 1940)
Kind of a weird and somewhat problematic case – Stuporman, like the Largest Man in the World before him, is a superhuman man of limited intelligence who is used as a living weapon by crooks until being killed by the hero of the piece, in this case the Clock. He comes from Mongolia, which is, like, the most remote and mysterious place that 1940s comics writers could think of.
Frankly, the only real reason I include Stuporman is his name, which is clearly a dig at Quality Comics’ Distinguished Competition, particularly in an adventure of the Clock, occasionally advertised as the “oldest and best comic book character.” And now he has defeated the big dumb strongman! He has won!
(Crack Comics 008, 1940)
Kind of a weird and somewhat problematic case – Stuporman, like the Largest Man in the World before him, is a superhuman man of limited intelligence who is used as a living weapon by crooks until being killed by the hero of the piece, in this case the Clock. He comes from Mongolia, which is, like, the most remote and mysterious place that 1940s comics writers could think of.
Frankly, the only real reason I include Stuporman is his name, which is clearly a dig at Quality Comics’ Distinguished Competition, particularly in an adventure of the Clock, occasionally advertised as the “oldest and best comic book character.” And now he has defeated the big dumb strongman! He has won!
(Crack Comics 007, 1940)
There is no textual evidence for this, but since this guy is dressed exactly like the unnamed boss of the Skull Gang (plus some rad horns) and uses the very similar tactic of dosing his minions (the Robbers from Hades – good name) with toxins that make them all shriveled and weird (and in this case more pliable and obedient), I like to think that it’s the same guy back for another shot at making his fortune in the crime boss game, albeit without taking the very sensible precaution of, say, switching cities or otherwise trying to avoid the Clock. This time, alas, he meets his end, so we won’t be treated to a green-hooded man with a tail leading squads of Demonic Monkey Marauders, or a green-hooded man with a tinfoil halo commanding his Larceny Angels. Sad days.
(Crack Comics 007, 1940)
There is no textual evidence for this, but since this guy is dressed exactly like the unnamed boss of the Skull Gang (plus some rad horns) and uses the very similar tactic of dosing his minions (the Robbers from Hades – good name) with toxins that make them all shriveled and weird (and in this case more pliable and obedient), I like to think that it’s the same guy back for another shot at making his fortune in the crime boss game, albeit without taking the very sensible precaution of, say, switching cities or otherwise trying to avoid the Clock. This time, alas, he meets his end, so we won’t be treated to a green-hooded man with a tail leading squads of Demonic Monkey Marauders, or a green-hooded man with a tinfoil halo commanding his Larceny Angels. Sad days.
(Crack Comics 001-022, 1940-1942)
Madam Fatal is the alter ego of one Richard Stanton, famous actor and female impersonator. Shortly after retiring to settle down, Stanton’s young daughter was kidnapped by a vengeful enemy and his wife died of grief. Going undercover as the elderly Madam Fatal in order to avoid recognition Stanton spent the next nine years looking for his child. In the first Madam Fatal adventure, he finds the kidnapper but not the kid and since the kidnapper ends up dead, the case of Richard Stanton’s missing child just… never gets addressed again.
Madam Fatal comics are pretty fun as a rule. They’re short and snappy, and since a big part of the character’s appeal is the incongruity of a little old lady (as mentioned in the past, they got no respect in the Golden Age) being in adventure situations, she is extremely kinetic and rough and tumble.
There’s absolutely no exploration of gender roles or sexuality because, duh, it’s the 1940s, but Stanton and Fatal are generally treated as being two different genders. A modern revival of the character could do interesting things if done right, by the right people. Mostly though, Madam Fatal is a punchline in modern comics.
The exception to this came in The Shade v2 006, 2012. James Robinson (and Darwyn Cooke) introduced Hot Older Lady Madam Fatal, made her just as much of a shitkicker as the original, and even (finally) resolved the case of Richard Stanton’s missing child. A worthy if brief revival!
(Crack Comics 007, 1940)
This is a weird guy. I’m not entirely sure what his deal is, to be honest. He’s developed some sort of revolutionary hydroelectric generator and some sort of lightning projector and claims that they are “useless commercially” but doesn’t really outline why. He extorts men with the last name Garr for some reason. I mean, it seems like it should be that the Garrs all got together and quashed his funding because he threatened their own business and now he’s getting revenge. Or maybe he’s the black sheep of the Garr family and now he’s eliminating everyone else to inherit their monies. The guy needs just a bit more motivation!
Drowned by Madam Fatal.
(Crack Comics 007, 1940)
This is a weird guy. I’m not entirely sure what his deal is, to be honest. He’s developed some sort of revolutionary hydroelectric generator and some sort of lightning projector and claims that they are “useless commercially” but doesn’t really outline why. He extorts men with the last name Garr for some reason. I mean, it seems like it should be that the Garrs all got together and quashed his funding because he threatened their own business and now he’s getting revenge. Or maybe he’s the black sheep of the Garr family and now he’s eliminating everyone else to inherit their monies. The guy needs just a bit more motivation!
Drowned by Madam Fatal.