More aliens? Just how many more can there be? Fantasans: When time/space traveller Whiz Wilson visits Earth of the year 4400 CE, he finds that it is being bombarded by comets originating from the far-off planet Fantasa. Going there with the aid of his trusty Futuroscope, he learns that Molla, the rightful ruler of Fantasa, has been deposed by the wicked Gorano and that Gorano has a fanatical (and unexplained) hatred of humanity that is his reason for the comet…
Comic book aliens: one of the few inexhaustible resources. Martians: Just as Doc Strong and his followers are starting to get the post-apocalyptic, WWII-lasted-a-century world of 2041 sorted out, a bunch of robot-looking Martians show up to ruin things by invading their territory on the Isle of Right. It’s just one thing after another with that year. Though they are fairly generic hostile invaders, these fellows really distinguish themselves among their class by immediately abandoning whatever plans that they had…
I hope everyone likes monsters as much as I do because there are a whole lot of them to cover. Beaked Tyros: When polar explorer Anthony Conrad gets lost in an Arctic storm and falls through a hole in the pack ice, he reasonably expects to meet his demise. Instead, he falls into the subterranean kingdom of Artica and is chosen by the elderly Artican king – also a stranded former surface explorer – as his successor. As part of…
Here’s to all the crooks who just didn’t have enough oomph. the Despot: The Despot (not really his name, but literally the only thing he is called throughout the story) has the magic power to transform himself and others into living plants and animals, a power which he uses to trap Camilla and Sir Champion in his mountain fastness after luring them there on a magical golden road. Thus stripped of its leaders, the Lost Empire proves no match for…
It’s time for more monsters! And also critters and creatures! Prehistoric Gorilla: This carnivorous cave-dwelling ape lives in a hidden valley in Africa and has a pretty sweet deal going with the local pterodactyls, whereby they bring him things to eat and he seemingly doesn’t have to do anything. This arrangement does eventually backfire after the pterodactyls grab KaƤnga’s mate Ann and the justifiably miffed jungle lord follows them and slays the gorilla. (Jungle Comics 017, 1941) A few bonus dinosaurs…
Here come some more gods and god-adjacent beings for you. the Golden Skull: While I must of course frown and shake my head at the concept of human sacrifice, you really have to hand it to the worshippers of the Golden Skull (who is, yes, very much not golden and also not especially skully), for giving their god a name that guarantees that a constant stream of American and European treasure hunters would arrive on their doorstep in search of…
(Jungle Comics 024, 1941) The Zombie Witch (aka the Queen of the Zombies, aka Celie) is, as the name suggests, a witch with a penchant for raising the dead – often while they are still actively being mourned. She demonstrates a few other magic powers (e.g., scrying in a bowl of water, crocodile charming) but the zombie thing is her bread and butter. So what, specifically, does she want a bunch of reanimated corpses for? Well! I won’t say that…
(Jungle Comics 022, 1941) Zuko, aka the Bird King, is in a lot of ways a very classic minor super-villain. He has an obsession with birds and has both a flock of trained vultures and a set of working bird wings for personal flight that he uses in the pursuit of crime. He also has an obsession with diamonds that makes him jealously guard the ones that he has collected, and stop at nothing, including kidnapping and murder, to acquire more. The…
It’s a very literary day here in Media in Comics Land. Books: There are many potential reasons to get into super-science and super-crime, but “reading a get-rich-quick scheme in a book” is one of the better ones, as demonstrated by Wizard Wells foe Mota here and his copy of Cash in Chemistry. (Crack Comics 010, 1941) Crime in the Afternoon (A J.J. van Snyde Detective Novel), enjoyed here by Nickolas, henchman to Black Condor foe the Sophisticated Lady. (Crack Comics 010, 1941)…
(Jungle Comics 015, 1941) Org is a fellow with a gift – the power to play the drums hypnotically – and also the knowledge of the location of a hidden valley full of giant spiders. He combines these two factors as a part of his scheme to conquer “all of Jungleland,” which probably means Africa and possibly means India but in my heart will always mean a humid pocket dimension summoned into being by Fletcher Hanks and his fellow Jungle writers’ lack…