We’ve been doing a second pass on some comics I read early on in this project, and so here are a few more guys who I chose not to include but absolutely should have:

Henri Duval:

A series of men have been murdered in unlikely-to-impossible scenarios, with the only common denominators being that they were all judges at a recent art exhibition and that they all have the initials “HD” marked on their foreheads. This is a case for Doctor Occult!

After planting a story that names him as the only surviving judge of the exhibition, Occult finds himself at the mercy of Henri Duval, an artist whose skill is such that he is able to paint someone being killed and have them actually die. I guess that it’s more of a technical perfection than an objective beauty thing, however, or Duval wouldn’t be out there killing art show judges wholesale. He does manage to pull off the most spectacular “you’ll never take me alive” that I have seen in quite a while when he does a quick sketch of himself with a dagger in his neck as the cops bust in. (More Fun Comics 024, 1937)

the Black Riders:

They may be one of the lowest rungs of the super-villain ladder, but this masked Western gang called the Black Riders still deserves a seat at the table. This particular group is trying to drive all of the ranchers out of a particular valley so that their leader can buy up their land for a steal. Texas Ranger Jack Woods isn’t having any of it. (More Fun Comics 027, 1937)

A Vampire:

Speaking of low rungs on the super-villain ladder, here we have some generic and unnamed vampires. These particular undead fiends are just starting to get ready to conduct a campaign of supernatural horror in New York City when Doctor Occult and his oafish friend Captain Ellsworth get on their case. I always love seeing vampires from before their whole deal was culturally solidified and you’d get something like these green-skinned, bat-winged weirdos out of nowhere.

Sometimes it seems like Doctor Occult hangs around Ellsworth because he is a guilt-free means of baiting various monsters and murderers out into the open. Show this guy a threat that he can over-confidently attempt to blow away and he will try to do so, thus drawing all the hostile attention onto himself and leaving Occult free to counterattack.

Here we see this strategy pay off, as Occult is able to drive the vampires back to their graves with his mystic symbol. From there, it’s a simple matter of digging them back up and applying the stakes. (More Fun Comics 028, 1937)

the Spectral Killer:

When murderer Ed Murphy is executed, he swears revenge on all those present to witness his demise, and as shortly thereafter those witnesses do indeed start to be murdered we must once again consult the Big List of Ways that People Get Revenge from Beyond the Grave! Has Murphy been brought back to life by a crooked scientist? No! Did he have a secret twin or other loyal friend or relative who is doing the murders in his stead? No! Did he manage to bribe the executioner to not actually do the job, thus faking his death? No! This leaves only one option!

Yes, Murphy’s hate was so potent that he managed to will himself into a state of undeath. Dubbed the Spectral Killer, his shade manages to murder an indeterminate amount of the unspecified number of witnesses before getting to Doctor Occult, who is not so easily strangled by a mere shade. One quick brandishing of the ever-handy mystic symbol is all it takes and Ed Murphy is banished from this world for good. (More Fun Comics 029, 1937)