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Month: September 2023

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 340: THE SEA-DEVIL

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 340: THE SEA-DEVIL

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(Master Comics 007, 1940) Let’s start with the good things about the Sea-Devil: he’s part of one of my favourite super-villain traditions: the guy who dresses up like a creature in order to play off of local superstitions. Nothing specific in this case – he’s just banking on the local oyster divers not wanting to contend with a mysterious horned humanoid while they’re trying to earn an already dangerous living. To that end, his costume isn’t the most elaborate fake…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 339: THE FIREHAWK

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 339: THE FIREHAWK

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(Master Comics 004, 1940) The Firehawk is an extortionist of the particular kind that you get in comic book stories that have to clock in at under 5 pages: a dumb one. See, he has a pretty good threat to hold over the heads of his victims in that he can seemingly set them on fire at will. Since he’s operating on a movie set, he does so by mixing up batches of thermite-impregnated makeup that presumably self ignites after…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 338: THE BANDIT FORCE

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 338: THE BANDIT FORCE

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(Master Comics 004, 1940) This is a simple one because it’s simply a matter of scale, plus the fact that everyone involved is wearing a stylish purple cloak/ robe combo. A mass of bandits loot arsenals across the Eastern US, stealing tanks, artillery and armoured cars. Panic ensues! Soon enough, the band makes its goals known with a bold attack on that sweetest of targets: Fort Knox. And they almost get away with it! They actually have the gold loaded…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 337: DR DROWN

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 337: DR DROWN

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(Master Comics 001, 1940) Dr Drown is a paragon of his sub-category of super-villain. Unfortunately for him, that is not a particularly exalted position, as he belongs to the Association of Seagoing Criminal Scientists and the membership of that group is heavily diluted by decades of Aquaman and Sea Devils and even Challengers of the Unknown foes with wilfully bad schemes. Dr Drown’s schemes aren’t too bad! He as a submersible yacht that he uses to torpedo and loot ships,…

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MINOR SUPER-HERO 039: THE DEVIL’S DAGGER

MINOR SUPER-HERO 039: THE DEVIL’S DAGGER

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(Master Comics 001-020, 1940-1941) Devil’s Dagger! I love this guy. He has a lot of familiar things going on: a wealthy young man named Ken Wyman who works as a reporter in order to get the latest crime news and heads out at night in his souped-up car (the excellently named Speed Ghost) to kick butt accompanied by Pat Gleason, ex boxer and member of the surprisingly large Chauffeur/ Sidekick club. There are two really interesting things about the Devil’s…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 336: ADAM ADDAMS

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 336: ADAM ADDAMS

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(All-Flash 003, 1941) Like the Threat before him, Adam Addams is a revenge guy. Unlike the Threat, Addams is… I won’t say more petty, but perhaps less focused – they include the woman who didn’t marry him, the man she married instead, the man who refused to give him a medical license because he talked about glands too much, and anyone who contributed to one of his prior revenge schemes going wrong. If he has a particular focus, it’s Dr…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 335: THE THREAT

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 335: THE THREAT

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(All-Flash 002, 1941)  The Threat is an example of a type of morality tale that was very popular in 40s and 50s comic books but never really went out of style: a tale of promise squandered in service to a life of crime. In this case, the subject is a crook named Tough Joe Connor, who swears revenge on Jim Kelley, the prosecutor who sent him to jail for ten years.  My summarizing powers are not up to this task,…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 334: THE MONOCLE

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 334: THE MONOCLE

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(All-Flash Quarterly 001, 1941)  I love a foppish gang boss, and the Monocle might just be the most foppish I’ve seen in some time. He’s got all the accessories: the monocle, natch, but also the eccentric mustache, cigarette holder, neat suit with nosegay and tiepin and pocket square and to top it off one of the more eccentric comic book hobbies I have ever encountered: a twee little garden where he displays his stolen gems in artificial flowers. Pretty great…

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NOTES – SEPTEMBER 2023

NOTES – SEPTEMBER 2023

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Memes of Yore:  Women be loving hats. (All-Flash 001, 1941) Decoration: On the island nation of Felicia, the chairs are monogrammed with a big F (Master Comics 001, 1940)  UPDATE: And the shields. Drawn without reference: The majestic pterodactyl. (Master Comics 007, 1940)