FASCIST GOON CLEARING HOUSE 015

If there's one thing I know it's that the world has a seemingly-inexhaustible supply of odious little fascist worms.

the All-American League:

The All-American League is nothing so exciting as your Nazi spies trying to poison the reservoir or prevent and/or encourage the US entrance into WWII. Instead, they are the more banal type of fascism that is popular nowadays, in which patriotism is weaponized as a way to enrich and empower a few petty men (yes, yes that's what the Axis was too but they killed a lot of people while doing it so we hold them in higher esteem). The Flame is more than a match for a collection of small-minded opportunists.

Please note that this is the one and only adventure in which the Flame is said to live in a place called Metropolis before someone presumably thought better of it, and that it features an ethnic neighbourhood with the hilariously on-the-nose name of "Foreign Town." (The Flame 007, 1941)

the Nazi Bund:

This is our second instance of a group called the Nazi Bund and as the other one occurred in Fantastic Comics I would be tempted to posit that it represents a rare connection between two Fox Features titles. Not a strong connection, as this particular branch is completely annihilated by the Green Mask, just as that other was by Samson. (Green Mask v1 005, 1941)

the Yellow-Jackets:

Though the Yellow-Jackets, the recurring foes of America's Air Ace Bill Barnes, are described as a kind of freelance band of international bandit spies, in practice they are just another bunch of Nazis-by-another-name. It's a good name, though. Menacing. (Shadow Comics v1 002, 1940)

Unnamed Saboteurs:

This band of Nazi saboteurs are not the most distinguished but also not the least. Their big plan involves starting a forest fire outside of the war production centre of Brownstown and then burning down the town itself while everyone is out fighting the first blaze. Not a bad plan, if doomed to failure because of the presence of human fire extinguisher Fire-Man, but what really sets these guys apart is their weird cloth masks that sport one big central lens to see out of. These are not given any sort of narrative justification, so one must presume that they are worn solely to look cool. (Man of War Comics 001, 1941)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 991: ZIRA

(Jungle Comics 013, 1941)

While searching for her champion Sir Champion (annoying thing to have to write and the main reason I'm happy that he eventually fades into obscurity), who has failed to return from a hunt, Camilla, Queen of the Lost Empire is confronted by the ghostly vision of a blonde lady who rules an ancient lost castle. This is just a kind of person you get in the undefined part of Africa that houses the Lost Empire.

The lady's name, by the way, is Zira, Princess of the Palace of the Black Heart. She also refers to herself as a "wizardess," and while I am generally of the opinion that gendered job titles like that are retrograde and unhelpful I must admit to being charmed. Wizardess!

This vision leads Camilla back to the aforementioned Palace of the Black Heart, where her mortal form is revealed to be a middle-aged lady, or "old hag" as our hero so tactfully puts it. Zira states that Sir Champion is locked up in her dungeon and she will return him in exchange for all of Camilla's magic powers. The sum total of these powers, from my notes, being the ability to talk to gorillas and the power to call upon Thor and Baal to freeze someone. Frankly not a bad trade for someone's life. Do we include her eternal life? She got that from a potion, after all.

Camilla evidently wishes to continue to speak to apes and so she and her men battle with Zira's forces until they are ironically defeated by some apes.

It then turns out that Camilla has more tricks up her sleeve than I had in my notes. She offers to brew up a potion to make Zira good looking in exchange for freedom for her and her men, and since this is the same comic that made a point of calling Zira a wizardess, she is of course very vain by default and takes the deal immediately.

The thing about taking advantage of a woman's default vanity in such a comic is of course the fact that the vain woman will also be extremely fickle, as seen when the newly-hot Zira reneges on her deal in favour of keeping Sir Champion for her own horny purposes. Things quickly turn violent and Sir Champion is forced to slay Zira to save Camilla's life. All in all it's a real eleventh-hour fumble on Zira's part.

Categorized in: Accessories (Castles), Genrica (Ends in -a), Powers (Various Magics)

MAD AND CRIMINAL SCIENTIST ROUND-UP 027

A series of cautionary tales for budding young scientists.

Orid Dass:

Orid Dass is your standard jungle scientist: he's out there making apes into men and men into apes, all for the love of the ape-man game. He also has the distinction of being the only foe faced by Fantomah the one post-Fletcher Hanks adventure in which she is still kind of a jungle demigod rather than a jungle hero who knows some magic.

In that capacity, Fantomah does a little man/ape transformation of her own, turning both Dass and his ape-men into little green monkeys until he reverts his latest victim (a white guy) to human form, though why she couldn't just do it herself is not explored.

Dass briefly gets one over on Fantomah by dropping her into a pit lined with radioactive ore, as this is also the one issue in which her powers are neutralized in the presence of radiation, but is subsequently crushed when his entire base collapses on top of him - the downside to the convenience of building your science compound on top of a huge radioactive cavern system, I guess. (Jungle Comics 016, 1941)

Doktor Teufel:

Doktor Teufel lives on the aptly-named Death Mountain and spends his time enslaving passing US aviators and building advanced radio-powered technology, implicitly in service to some nefarious plot against the United States. He's a prime example of the kind of villain who is perfectly positioned to achieve all of his goals but who has not planned for the fact that a radium-powered super-hero - specifically Radior, the X-Ray Powerman - is going to walk fly a convertible through his front door and dismantle his entire operation in twenty minutes. (Key Ring Comics, 1941)

Dr Dietz:

We meet Dr Dietz after he has successfully stolen a high-powered experimental aircraft, and he spends so much time bragging about this and about how great a weapon it will make once he has mounted his disintegrator ray cannon (or "death-beam") on it to Federal Agent Steve Crawford* that he never actually gets around to mentioning whether he intends to use it for espionage or for personal gain. He himself is disintegrated before he gets a chance to clarify. (Liberty Scouts Comics 002, 1941)

*Referred to as "Steve Crawford, Undercover Man" despite the fact that in this, his only recorded adventure he is operating under his own name and openly as a lawman.

the Mad Scientist:

The aptly-named Mad Scientist has been setting forest fires as a way of capturing strapping young firefighters from the nearby CCC* base as fodder for his experiments. He is aided in this by his mind-controlled niece Nancy and a huge goon named Gaston (who wears a very cool-looking protective suit while traipsing through the burning forests).

And just what is the radical theory that has driven the Mad Scientist to both the fringes of society and the outskirts of scientific ethics? Why, he believes that if he electronically incinerates a human body just right then it will become "solid gas." Exactly what does this mean? I cannot really say, but going by the available evidence from his eventual successful creation the result is a living, tangible human with a massively decreased density and a radically different metabolism. 

*the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal work program.

As I said, the process is eventually successful, turning a CCC firefighter named Jim into the mighty Fire-Man, but while the Mad Scientist was able to conceptualize and bring into existence an entirely new form of life he was not as visionary about the benefits of proper lab safety and both he and Gaston were fatally exploded in Fire-Man's subsequent attempt to escape his captor. (Liberty Scouts Comics 002, 1941)

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 101

It's a big year for the jungle-based heroes of Fiction House, and also Radior is here.

Camilla, Queen of the Lost Empire **UPDATE**:

1941 is the year of change for Camilla. First off, she faces a series of threats to the Lost Empire itself, beginning when an evil magician nearly conquers and partially razes the city. (Jungle Comics 014, 1941)

Next issue, the otherwise-unremarkable lech Prince Renardo finishes the job and burns the city to the ground as part of an attempt to win Camilla's hand in marriage. Camilla and her surviving citizens rebuild but it is a far less grand affair, being more of a wooden stockade. (Jungle Comics 015, 1941)

Perhaps inspired by the radical change in circumstances, Camilla and her subjects adopt a sort of retro-Norse style in keeping with their ancestry. Camilla's lover Sir Champion disappears from the narrative at this point, never to be seen again. (Jungle Comics 016, 1941)

The Viking revival among the people of the Lost Empire really takes off, and soon Camilla and her new paramour Erik are sailing around in longships having adventures with the seemingly endless variety of anachronistic societies littering the Central African jungle. This state of affairs continues for the remainder of 1941, as does Camilla's insistence on wearing one of the most improbable bikini-chestplates in the history of fantasy illustration. How is it held on? (Jungle Comics 018, 1941)

Fantomah **UPDATE**: 

Following the departure of Fletcher Hanks, Fantomah too goes through some changes (and will continue to do so for a while yet). The first stage of this sees her lose a fair portion of her magical power, most importantly including her signature skull-faced "this means war" form. She also drops her black nightie look in favour of a more traditional jungle heroine's one-piece, albeit made of leaves rather than the more typical animal skins. (Jungle Comics 017, 1941)

By the end of 1941, Fantomah has become a mostly-regular jungle heroine. She has a panther pal named Fury, an orphan boy companion named Ken, and though she still busts out the odd magical ability - about once per adventure on average -  her supernatural power pales in comparison to the Hanks days. 

Fantomah's outfit has continued to evolve over the course of the year: from a green costume made of leaves to a pale blue one made of leaves to a more typical jungle one-piece that merely has the outline of something made of leaves. I can only assume that this change was a present from the (unknown!) artist to themself. (Jungle Comics 024, 1941)

the Red Panther:

Our final jungle makeover goes to the Red Panther, who adopts a sporty cowl-and-loincloth look to replace his more traditional super-hero outfit. His adventures don't change as much as Fantomah or Camilla's due to the fact that (barring the odd jaunt into outer space) he was about two steps away from being a Tarzan clone to begin with. The only real difference between the Old and New Look Red Panthers is in the latter's increased use of panther companions to do his dirty work. (Jungle Comics 019, 1941)

Radior:

Radior, the X-Ray Powerman, is super strong, bulletproof, can fly, can hear radio waves, see through solid matter, and can transmit images directly into the human mind - a pretty thoroughly superhuman fellow. And just how did he get this way? Why, because his father, the famous Professor Kennedy, disappeared from public view when his son was born and spent the next twenty years feeding Radior as much radium as he could get his hands on. And while we might decry this as irresponsible parenting... hey, it worked! The kid grew up into a radiation and radio-themed superman!

Sadly Radior only made the one appearance, in the oddball Key Ring Comics, a one-off collection of hole-punched and spot-coloured stories that it is very hard to find any real information about. (Key Ring Comics, 1941) 

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 990: THE EMPEROR

(Bill Barnes, America's Air Ace Comics 003, 1941)

The first chunk of the story that the Emperor appears in is not available anywhere that I can find, but what remains is enough to evaluate him and determine that yes, he is a super-villain. Specifically, he is a scientist who discovered "the secret of atomic power" and decided that the best way to use it was as part of an attempt to conquer the world. Plus he has all of his henchmen running around in little uniforms, a clear sign of super-villainy.

The part of the Emperor's plans that we get to see involves using cool-looking rocket bombers to blow big holes in various US cities and then sending out agents provocateur to stir up public support for surrender as an alternative to continued explosions.

Unfortunately for the Emperor, Bill Barnes (America's Air Ace) is on the case, and he's such a mechanical genius that he is able to divine the secrets of atomic energy merely by creeping around the engine room of one of those cool rocket bombers for about half an hour. Barnes builds his own fleet of nuclear-powered aircraft, tracks the Emperor to a secret base in the Rockies and then wipes him off the map with atomic bombs. I suppose that the actual Emperor himself might have suvived, since we never actually see him alive or dead, but it's pretty unlikely.

BONUS: Bill Barnes is awarded "the highest honor of the nation" by FDR for stopping the Emperor, which is either the Medal of Honor or... some precursor to the Medal of Freedom that I can't find (logically there had to be a highest civilian honour before 1942 but Wikipedia is being coy). It all depends on whether America's Air Ace is a military or civilian role.

Categorized in: Accessories (Mountain Base), Royalty (Emperors), Supercrime (Attempted Conquest of the US)

NOTES: AUGUST 2026

the Looming Spectre of Death:

An impressive Grim Reaper complete with bloody scythe and optional army helmet looms over an Alaskan town in this Liberty Scouts Guards tale. (Man of War Comics 001, 1941)

CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 013

If I see a wound, I catalogue it.

Camilla, Queen of the Lost Empire:

Shot in the back with an arrow. (Jungle Comics 019, 1941)

Captain Flag:

Nearly dies of the Black Hand's horrible hand disease. (Blue Ribbon Comics 016, 1941)

the Cat-Man:

Stabbed in the chest, to death (he gets better). (Crash Comics Adventures 004, 1940)

Killed by a blood-freezing ray. He gets better again. (Crash Comics Adventures 005, 1940)

Dynamo:

Dynamo gets his skull creased by a bullet in the classic fashion. (Science Comics 005, 1940)

the Green Mask:

Michael Shelby is shot in the chest, prompting pal Professor Lascomb to stick him in the machine that turns him into the Green Mask. (Green Mask v1 001 1940)

Domino the Miracle Boy:

Later in the same issue, the boy known only as Don gets seriously exploded and must also be placed in the machine. (Green Mask v1 001, 1940)

Kaänga: 

Not even being an off-brand Tarzan can save you from being shot in the left shoulder,, as Kaänga learns here. (Jungle Comics 010, 1940)

the Mask:

District Attorney Colby is blinded by acid as part of his journey to becoming the Mask. (Exciting Comics 001, 1940)

Tabu, Wizard of the Jungle:

Tabu is shot in the right shoulder by this jerk. (Jungle Comics 019, 1941)

Just one issue later, Tabu is speared in the right arm by a different jerk. (Jungle Comics 020, 1941)