It is once again time for some monsters. And critters and creatures, of course.

Tyrannosaurus and Gigantosaurus:

Discovered as eggs in the Siberian permafrost, these dinosaurs are hatched, raised and put on display by circus impresario Barney Bailey and break out of their cages in a panic thanks to a record-breaking thunderstorm. They rampage across the skyline for a time (and devour Barney Bailey in the process), but alas for the science of paleontology in the Marvel Universe, both are quickly exploded by the Vision. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 016, 1941)

Prehistoric Ghosts:

After the citizens of Ghost Town are rattled by a series of unearthly cries from the ghost mountains to the West of the city, Sergeant Spook sets out alongside the ghost of Daniel Boone to find out just what might be causing the disturbance (SIDEBAR: as Ghost Town is a city that appears to house the spirits of everyone who has ever lived in North America it is extremely weird that nobody has ever done this before). They quickly discover that these mountains are home to the ghosts of prehistory, including a ghost mastodon that is just passing by and a ghost sabre-tooth tiger that must be subdued with ghost gunfire.

The real big-ticket ghost, and the presumed source of the original noises, is this horrifying ghost brontosaurus, which is not only an aggressive, drooling, fanged carnivore but one with cute little ears! (Blue Bolt v1 011, 1941)

Sergeant Spook has further adventures in the mountains in the next issue, including a passing encounter with a ghost triceratops and some very cute ghost pterodactyls, but there is nothing to top that brontosaurus. (Blue Bolt v1 012, 1941)

Giant Devil-Octopus:

This horrible creature is employed as an undersea security guard by the villain One-Eye, and let me tell you: I have seen a lot of horrifying octopodes in the comic book pages but this – notably six-limbed – creature might just be the worst of the lot. It looks like a sheet ghost made out of human skin, for heaven’s sake, to say nothing of the fact that it has human hands on the end of its… arms? Tentacles?

By contrast, Kuga the Man-Eating Monster, who One-Eye keeps in a pit under his office in order to dispose of unwanted guests, merely looks like a giant hairless cat with a human face. The stuff of pleasant dreams! (Fantastic Comics 013, 1940)

Giant Insects:

Though they are referred to as “giant insects” throughout, these beasties resemble nothing so much as reptilian dogs, perhaps as designed by Big Daddy Roth. Regardless of their actual taxonomy, they have been created by an evil Central American scientist in order to decimate American food production.

Samson takes care of both the “giant insects” and the scientist with ease, and likewise handles this weaponized giant bull without even breaking a sweat. (Fantastic Comics 006, 1940)

Giant Water-Bugs:

After the Rocket gets framed for treason and thrown in the Diamond Empire dungeons, he must make his escape through the capacious Diamond Empire sewers. These giant water bugs make a token attempt to devour him before wisely turning tail and fleeing. (Pep Comics 002, 1940)

Giant Spider:

The Rocket must surely be feeling a bit of déjà vu in the next issue after he and the Queen of Diamonds crash their ship in the lands of the Batmen and find themselves in a waterlogged tunnel being attacked by an arthropod. Though this beast looks very crablike to me, the text assures me that it is in fact a spider, and who am I to argue with the text? (Pep Comics 003, 1940)

Arena Monsters:

As if being attacked by a giant crab spider wasn’t enough, the Rocket and the Queen are captured by Batmen immediately afterward, and the Rocket is forced to do a little gladiatorial combat as part of a plot by the King of the Batmen to dispose of him and marry the Queen. The serpent and giant turtle that the Rocket is matched up against don’t give him a whole lot of trouble for all of their formidable size, but I find the turtle in particular very charming. It did not deserve to be choked with the corpse of its arena-mate. (Pep Comics 003, 1940)

Gigantic Vulture Birds of Venus:

The villain Kaos employs these charmingly huge-legged vultures in his attempt to conquer the Earth, and since this is a Stardust the Super-Wizard story you know that he gets eaten by them by the end.* (Fantastic Comics 012, 1940)

* technically we never see him get eaten, but Stardust does turn him into a very appetizing worm and send him back to Venus with that in mind, so we count it.

Great Ones:

These human-headed (but seemingly not human-brained) tentacle beasts roam the surface of Mysto, the lost tenth planet of our solar system that was knocked out of its orbit millions of years ago and now wanders the spaceways.

Though the people of Mysto inhabit an impenetrable domed city, a villainous scientist (seen smirking evilly, above) has induced them to worship and sacrifice to the Great Ones as a means of exerting control over the population. This all ends once the Red Comet and a shipload of Earth scientists land on the planet and demonstrate that the Great One perfectly mortal by beating it to death. (Planet Comics 008, 1940)

Various Dinosaurs:

Ka-zar meets these fairly unhinged-looking dinos in a hidden land somewhere in the Belgian Congo. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 018, 1941)