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Month: July 2026

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 984: THE GHOUL

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 984: THE GHOUL

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(Green Mask v1 007, 1941) The Ghoul has a simple, brutal, efficient racket: identify people who have large life insurance policies, murder them, and then extort the payout from their beneficiaries with threats of violence. What is unclear is exactly how long the racket has been going on, and whether the point we come in at represents some awkward teething troubles or a long-established operation beginning to crumble. Either way, the Ghoul’s last score is a mess: actor John Pierce…

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ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 051

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 051

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A disappointingly humanoid bunch of aliens today. Gigantians: The Gigantians of Gigantia are the kind of advanced society who like nothing more than to gas on about how primitive and backward Earth is to space travellers like Rocket Rooney and his pal, but are still content to have a hereditary monarchy. True to their name, they are super huge in their natural state but have the good graces to shrink themselves down whenever their Earth visitors show up. (Bill Barnes,…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 983: GREEN MASK AND DOMINO IMPOSTORS

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 983: GREEN MASK AND DOMINO IMPOSTORS

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(Green Mask v1 006, 1941) It’s a classic scheme: dress up like a super-hero – or super-heroes in this case: the Green Mask and Domino the Miracle Boy – to commit crimes, and rely on the public and the police to draw attention away from you and toward them in the subsequent outcry and investigation. The only real trick to the hero-imposture game is not to push your luck. As long as the super-hero is free to do so, they…

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MAD AND CRIMINAL SCIENTIST ROUND-UP 026

MAD AND CRIMINAL SCIENTIST ROUND-UP 026

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If we criminalize mad science then only criminal scientists will be mad. Mauser: Mauser is the second of two foes battled by two-fisted chemist Guy Gorham and also the second rogue biologist. Was this comic setting up some sort of biologist/chemist beef that never got a chance to pay off? Mauser’s plans are never really spelled out, but he’s got a colony of vampire bats that he seems to be training to attack human targets, which isn’t great but which…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 982: CAPTAIN MARS

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 982: CAPTAIN MARS

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(The Funnies 062, 1941) “Rex, King of the Deep” is an adventure strip that ran in The Funnies 037 through to 063, the final issue. It stars titular King of the Deep Rex Withers, a wealthy young man who decides to put his money toward the betterment of humanity by funding the construction of a Super-Submarine designed by his friend Professor Bidoux. Over the next couple of years worth of comics he and his ever-expanding cast of associates (the Professor, second-in-command Tim…

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CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 011

CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 011

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We regret to inform you that more super-heroes have been wounded. the Blue Beetle:  The very first thing that happens in the very first Blue Beetle comic: Dan “the Blue Beetle” Garret gets shot in the left arm. (Mystery Men Comics 001, 1939) Domino the Miracle Boy: It’s a miracle (a boy miracle?) that Domino survives 1941, because he gets hit by a dang car. (Green Mask v1 006, 1941) Not two issues later, Domino gets shot in the ever-popular…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 981: IVAN SHARK

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 981: IVAN SHARK

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(The Funnies 057, 1941) Ivan Shark is the arch-enemy of Captain Midnight, direct from the Captain Midnight radio show. He is the head of a nationwide network of spies and gangsters dedicated to overthrowing the US government. The threat of Shark and his organization is so great, in fact, that it is the impetus for the formation of Captain Midnight’s Secret Squadron, and so efficient that he is aware of the clandestine meeting between Midnight and a heavily-disguised FDR that marks the Squadron’s beginning…

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REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 027

REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 027

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Real people? In comic books? Now I’ve seen everything. Abu Khan: I sincerely cannot tell if this Black Knight foe is supposed to be Abu Sa’id Bahadur Khan, last ruler of the Mongol Ilkhanate, or if they just pulled a couple of syllables out of the air and added “Khan” to the end and called it a day. On the one hand, the real Abu Khan never tried to invade Egypt, as the Black Knight is trying to prevent him…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 980: THE WERE-WOLF

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 980: THE WERE-WOLF

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(Four Favorites 001, 1941) Lash Lightning is one of those characters who is so very powerful that he outclasses all regular human opposition, barring some extraordinary circumstance. That’s why a movie-style, immune-to-all-harm werewolf is a perfect foil for him! The story of the Were-Wolf begins c.1921 (or possibly 1911 – accounts vary!), when Sumter Military Academy student Adolph Krimetz, sick of being bullied and nicknamed “Wolf” because of his unusual appearance, attacks a fellow student and accidentally kills him. Fearing…

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MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 099

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 099

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Super-heroes. Like heroes, but super. Captain Midnight: Like the second, more popular (though still pretty obscure) Captain Midnight that will be published by Fawcett starting in 1942, this fellow is an adaptation of the radio character, and unlike the second Captain Midnight, this one is a pretty direct adaptation. It’s a bit abbreviated and you kind of have to keep referring to the Captain Midnight Wikipedia page to fill in the gaps where your assumed familiarity with the radio show lies, but…

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