They're not good people and they're not good at what they do and yet they still have a certain charm.
This guy is exclusively called "the Fiend" in narration boxes even though he is introduced as "the Great Master" and "Mako". He practices voodoo and just sort of generically terrorizes the Haitian countryside until Yarko the Great comes at the behest of the intriguingly named Doctor Medico to settle his hash. And speaking of names, this issue features multiple characters referring to voodoo practitioners rather than their subjects as "zombies," which is a new one on me unless of course you count the Grand Zombie. (Wonderworld Comics 019, 1940)
Called "the Wolf" by detective Dr Fung as he is hunting him down, this masked fellow is actually Horace Bailey, a Wall Street financier who killed his partner to gain full control of their firm and made the mistake of involving a super-sleuth in the execution of his perfect murder. (Wonderworld Comics 020, 1940)
Don Cervantes is a fellow who discovered silver in the hills near the small probably-Mexican town of Toranto and decided that the best way to keep it all to himself was to revive the practice of human sacrifice in the area. This does not prevent Nevada Jones from moving in and deposing him, of course. (Zip Comics 007, 1940)
Comic books having cover illustrations that do not reflect the action in the book itself are nothing new, but this is the first time I have felt the need to highlight any of the characters on them whose adventures have gone unchronicled. Here's to you, Executioner, Green Guy with Sickle Claw and Tiny Green Guy, I'm sure that you were very dastardly. (Zip Comics 008, 1940)
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