PROBLEMATIC ROUND-UP 006

PROBLEMATIC ROUND-UP 006

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Every time I relax, another one emerges from the shrubbery. And what’s depressing is the fact that they will continue emerging at a more or less steady rate for the entire history of comics. Here’s the latest batch of Problematic Characters. the Voodoo Man:  When Dr Bob Warren heads to Haiti to practice medicine and “investigate voodoo”, he comes into conflict with the Voodoo Man, a zombie-raising, curse-spouting, doll-pinning collection of every voodoo trope and stereotype. As compared to other headlining…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 868: THE HOOD

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 868: THE HOOD

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(Wonderworld Comics 019, 1940) The Hood, a mysterious figure (who leaves a note with an unfortunately cut-off symbol that I can only assume/hope is a hood-and-crossbones) is terrorizing an unnamed city with a series of murders – eight in one week!  Going by the old wisdom that the murderer always returns to the scene of the crime, the Flame waits at the site of the latest murder and is rewarded when the Hood does just that. He is however unsuccessful…

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DIVINE ROUND-UP 018

DIVINE ROUND-UP 018

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Idols, idols, idols!  the Great God Khwass:  Khwass, Great God of Vengeance, is a comparatively rare villain’s god who actually follows through on his promises. He is invoked vs Dr Fung by the daughter of a former foe and not only replies to her prayers but deploys sleeping gas and a weird monster to aid her in her quest for vengeance.  God Style: Real (Wonderworld Comics 016, 1940) Ice God Emul: Captain Venture and the Planet Princess Zyra’s great enemy,…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 867: THE MASKED MAN

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 867: THE MASKED MAN

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(Wonderworld Comics 017, 1940)  Our story opens as a man named John Daniels approaches Yarko the Great after a show and requests his aid in preventing whatever fate befell his mysteriously missing brother James from also happening to him, as threatened by an ominous note. Yarko of course accepts. I wouldn’t call this the most clearly-plotted comic story of all time, so instead of laying everything out in sequence I’ll just introduce the cast of characters: John Daniels: Receiver of…

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MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 064

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 064

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Oh my gosh! It’s more minor super-heroes!  the Phantom Rider:  The Phantom Rider is Tex Maxon, who was already a wandering cowboy who meted out justice for a while before getting into the masked vigilante game. Where a lot of masked cowboy vigilantes are doing a classic secret identity or concealing their identity for more specific reasons like being wanted for a crime they didn’t commit, the Phantom Rider thing honestly just seems like a fashion choice on Maxon’s part,…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 866: THE SCAR

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 866: THE SCAR

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(Wonderworld Comics 014, 1940) The Scar is a fairly ordinary crypto-fascist spy chief – in his first appearance he is leading a gang of incompetents in a plot to blow up a Europe-bound supply ship, for example – but I’ll be danged if he isn’t well suited to his nickname. Most guys named Scar in 1940s comics are maybe rocking one big facial scar, while our friend here not only has three, but is missing at least one ear! Whatever happened…

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DIVINE ROUND-UP 017

DIVINE ROUND-UP 017

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You’ll never believe it: more gods.  the Serpent Gods:  While pursuing crook Rango in the African jungle, Yarko the Great comes across a couple being sacrificed to the Serpent Gods by being flung into a pit of sacred serpents. But are the serpents the Serpent Gods themselves? There is no further context given, so we must assume that they are. God style: Animist (Wonderworld Comics 015, 1940)  Gorm:  Gorm is the god of the villainous Hatchet Cult, a gang that…

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GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 029

GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 029

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You’ll never believe how close these guys get to being name-brand super-villains!  The Great-Great-Grandson of Lafitte is a flamboyant character who runs a protection racket on coconut plantations on the US Virgin Islands. Is he really a descendant of the great pirate captain? Who can say, but what is certain is that he puts on a good show before getting his block absolutely knocked off by US Navy goofs Spark Stevens and Chuck Lawson. (Wonderworld Comics 009, 1940) Some classic…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 865: HANS VON LUNDBERG

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 865: HANS VON LUNDBERG

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(Wonderworld Comics 014, 1940) Our story begins in a very economical way, as Yarko the Great hears about a great plague ravaging Tanganyika (part of modern-day Tanzania, if you must know) and determines that it merits his attention enough to teleport directly to the scene.  Yarko uses his mental powers to trace the source of the disease to a very Transylvanian-looking spooky castle that is not explicitly said to either be or to not be in Tanganyika so I guess…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 864: THE BLOODY BARON

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 864: THE BLOODY BARON

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(Wonderworld Comics 010, 1940) The Bloody Baron was once Karek, Baron of the Duchy of Morziava, somewhere in the spooky part of Eastern Europe. Nine Hundred plus years ago he went off to war and came back a woman-killing creep and so his people burned him at the stake. Ever since, he’s been rising from the dead and carrying off a woman per year – that’s at least eight hundred women as of the story we’re talking about! Yarko the…

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