The kinds of character that are a part of comics history so it would be wrong to ignore them but are also pretty racist (usually – I’m sure that eventually I’ll find something else distasteful enough to put here) and unpleasant to dedicate a whole lot of time to. We’re going with a round-up! Our first culprit is George Harvard AKA Big Sun, a guy with a way too complicated plan to sell oil to the Axis out of the…
(Blue Bolt v1 006, 1940) Blue Bolt is a fine comic book character in the classic setting of a vast underground world full of sci-fi/fantasy concepts but 100% the best thing about him is that 10 or so of his first dozen appearances were by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon and boy does Marto here show it. Just look at this classic Kirby creation! Marto was originally Martin Hall, a scientist who accidentally bombarded himself with the very cosmic rays…
Ran out of tags again. Cops Shoot: The cops in whatever city Inferno lives in are trying to kill him because they think he did a robbery and is running away. (Blue Ribbon Comics 018, 1941) The cops try to kill Captain Flag twice in this issue! This time he’s breaking jail after being arrested for murder, but still. (Blue Ribbon Comics 019, 1941) Panel Fun: “Dixie Dugan” Comic, 1932
(Blue Bolt v1 005, 1940) Professor X has two of my favourite qualities in a minor super-villain: a famous name and a prior history. The first is the same kind of fun as when my friend named his cat after me. “What do you mean Professor X keeps getting up on the counter to steal ham?” I really love his Prohibition-Era villainy as well, particularly as I had it in my head that he specifically was a bootlegger and thus…
All Novelty Press edition! Dick Cole, Wonder-Boy: Dick Cole was left on the front steps of scientist Professor Blair as a baby, and according to him there was an accompanying note requesting that he use his hitherto-untested experimental child-rearing techniques to bring the kid up to be superhuman. And it works! Dick Cole is stronger and faster and smarter than everyone else, and works to help those around him in whatever way he can. Sadly for me the Dick Cole…
(Blue Bolt v1 005, 1940) Sergeant Spook, while a fun concept, had a problem as a super-hero: as an intangible, invisible ghost able to interact with the physical world he was possibly the most overpowered foe that a regular-style gangster or even your average super-villain could encounter. He was running the risk of becoming a bit boring just a few issues in, when the obvious solution presented itself: ghost crooks! Yes, Jesse James and his gang are back at it…
(Blue Bolt v1 001, 1940) The Green Sorceress! Possibly named Norzimo, absolutely the ruler of the underground kingdom of Voltor aka the Hidden Empire aka the Green Empire. Locked in a cold war with Dr Bertoff, leader of Deltos aka the Scientific City, as she wants the Deltosan radium fields in order to power her war machines and invade the surface while he wants to destroy her kingdom and everyone in it. According to Bertoff, the Green Sorceress is descended…
The thing is that they have some but not all of the attributes of a super-villain. A sea-raider who uses a stolen acid gun to build a psychically-controlled army of skeleton men? If only he had a name or had a bit more swagger! Alas for him the Shark puts him down before he could do enough to elevate himself out of this gathering of also-rans. (Amazing-Man Comics 021, 1941) This gang of guys dressed as mailmen don’t give the…
(Blue Bolt v1 002, 1940) Just a simple costumed extortion gang, but I really dig their skull masks if not their habit of killing the extortees regardless of whether they pay up or not. Too bad for them that Sergeant Spook was on the case.
Minor super-heroes need to be rounded up now and then. Blackstone the Magician: There are a fair number of comic versions of real life people: movie cowboys by the dozen, big game tracker Clyde Beatty a couple of times, etc. Not too many of them quite cross over into the super-hero side of things, but here we have magician Harry Blackstone Sr, who absolutely did (Blackstone is also a great example of someone who was at one point wildly famous…