DIVINE ROUND-UP 002

Oh so spiritual, we are.

Koli Tow: 

Hal Hazard and his brother Hoagy are adventuring in the South Seas when they get shipwrecked, which is not really an excuse for just wandering into a local temple to eat the food offerings but I guess when you're hungry a little sacrilege is easy to justify. Even so, the local worshippers of Koli Tow aren't particularly understanding about it, and given the nature of the comic there's a human sacrifice in the offing until Hal and Hoagy escape to take their brand of cultural sensitivity to another island. 

God Style: idol (Circus, the Comic Riot 001, 1938)

the Canal God: 

An adventure on Mars brings the Space Rovers to the temple of the Canal God, who basically just looks like a dude because this is a Mars populated by basic-ass humanoids. Just what persentage of Martian gods are going to turn out to be canal-related, anyway? 

God style: idol (Exciting Comics 004, 1940)

Death: 

There are a few ways that the anthropomorphic personification of death is commonly written -compassionate, dispassionate, cruel, goofy - but this particular one crops up in genre fiction a fair amount: personally offended by people attempting to extend their lifespan. This particular version of Death is both pissy about the scientist Kromo's attempt to live forever via soul transfer and willing to take a hand in preventing him from doing so. He also seems to really enjoy freaking people out, as seen in his car ride with heroic scientist Dr Hayward. 

God style: real, anthropomorphic personification. (Jumbo Comics 002-004, 1938) 

Deli-Deli: 

As is often the case I am torn between finding Malaysian idol-god Deli-Deli charmingly goofy looking and knowing that the goofiness is part of the sneering "these primitive people will worship anything at the heart of many this kind of jungle adventure.

God-style: idol (Big Shot Comics 013, 1941) 

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 004

Now's the time that we start pulling aliens from the vaults! So look out for a lot of A-names for the next while! Not the first one though, because something has to come up organically.

Crillionites:

Hailing from the planet Crillon (which boasts the majestic Crillion City, natch), the Crillionites are a caste-based society in which the Lords of Crillon (like from the title of the comic!) rule over a slave population via some sort of divine right. This societal order is threatened by Professor Wendall Keene and his crew of space explorers: Hugh, Celeste, and the also-titular Ken Craig, but whether this is due to some innate sense of justice on their part or for some other reason is never quite spelled out in their one extant appearance, as things start in media res and Mort Cowen there presumably thought he could go back and explain what was going on a bit later. No dice, Mort. (Circus, the Comics Riot 001, 1938)

the Ancient Ones: 

It's that old staple of adventure, the ancient hidden civilization! Not all of them are different enough from regular humanity to qualify as an Alien and So Forth, but I reckon a society of prehistoric Antarcticans who retreated underground when the ice crept across their lands and have indefinite lifespans must surely count. The Ancient Ones are kind of boringly benevolent, but they do have a lot of gold, which inspires hero Rocky Ryan's crew to mutiny and thus provides a bit of excitement.

This also allows the Ancient Ones to show off their somewhat ghoulish hobby: collecting gold-hungry adventurers in suspended animation. Or possibly practicing human taxidermy. (Big Shot Comics 009, 1940)

Antarenes: 

The Antarenes, inhabitants of the planet Antar, have a problem: their sun has gone out. Their solution? Head underground and set out through the void of space with their whole dang planet to find a new one. Unfortunately for Earth, rather than one of the presumably many uninhabited stars in the galaxy the Antarenes have chosen Earth's orbit as the coziest place to pull up their planet, and the Earth is just going to have to move out of the way (and into the Sun), whether they like it or not. Fortunately for Earth, Marvo 1￮2 Go+ is on the case and Antar is rerouted back out of the Solar System to find somewhere elese to park.

One small detail that I appreciate about the Antarenes: as a society that seems to mimic the eusocial nature of our world's ants they of course have a Queen but we never see her, for the simple reason that she is way too important to let two weird randos just rock up and meet with her. (Superworld Comics 003, 1940)

the Ants:

Captain Tornado, along with Professor Bordani and his daughter Jane, are stranded on the extrasolar planet Barrang. They meet and shoot a variety of intelligent aliens while there, the first of which are these giant alien ants, who don't figure too heavily into the plot but who do engage in intraspecies warfare and melon farming. (Popular Comics 046, 1939)

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 051

It's Day Three of Round-Up Week here at the Curse of Skeleton Munroe. 

**UPDATE** the White Streak:

Novelty Press is back at it again, exercising their compulsion to tone down the "fantastic" in their comic book stories. The White Streak has gotten a job as an FBI agent, and so he gets plastic surgery in order to make his inhuman face into that of a square-jawed white guy. Now instead of being the utterly fantastical ancient android in a bright costume running around blasting people with electron vision and zooming through the skies on an electric ladder, he's... the same thing but he looks like a normal guy. Plus he tries to limit his power usage so as to stay inconspicuous, so he sticks to x-ray vision and electrified punches. Very realistic stuff. 

If this move was in the cards for the White Streak, this might also be the explanation we were looking for for why Dr Simms went off the rails and blew up his entire life as Dr Death: it was a good old-fashioned slash-and-burn of a comic book's supporting cast before a change to the status quo. Feels like I'm in the Nineties again! (Target Comics v1 010, 1940)

Galar: 

A childhood friend of Spacehawk's from the same near-human species as him, Galar is turned from his six hundred year-long career as a space pirate by the intervention of his old friend and sent out into the galaxy to act as the protector of some random solar system, which it turns out is the reason that Spacehawk is protecting our solar system: he just arbitrarily chose it. (Target Comics v1 011, 1940)

the Stratosphere Patrol: 

Speaking of Spacehawk, here's "Spacehawks," a Basil Wolverton strip that didn't really get the room to shine before its home comic was given the axe. While "stratosphere" in the context of 1940s comics is often a flowery way to describe everything up to and including interplanetary space, the meaning here is quite literal: Steve Grover and Bart Bixby and their colleagues are charged with policing the vast array of air traffic that is constantly whizzing around in the near-future, and their greatest challenge occurs when they encounter an evil scientist who can go into the upper, upper atmosphere! Heady stuff. (Circus, the Comics Riot 001, 1938)

the Ghost Rider: 

There are a seemingly infinite number of masked cowboy vigilantes roaming the various Wests of assorted comic book universes, and the Ghost Rider is one of them. In his one recorded adventure he stops the wretched gambler and crime boss of the town of Last Chance, Poker Slade, from murdering miner Robert Burton and his daughter Rose and stealing their gold claim. Also, though it's not particularly visible in the image above, this particular Ghost Rider is the only one to have a mustache.

As always, there are no new super-hero names under the sun, and "Ghost Rider" might just be one of the ones to unexpectedly crop up the most times. (Amazing Mystery Funnies v2 004, 1939)

REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 013

Yet again we have a selection of comic book appearances of real-style people for you to enjoy.

Adolf Hitler:

Warak, dictator of Barbaria is a bit generic as far as pseudo-Hitlers go, but a pseudo-Hitler he is. (Smash Comics 017, 1940)

Scraggs, leader of the Green Shirts, is very much a "make the leader look like Hitler as shorthand for These Guys Are Fascists" character, a subspecies that will nearly die out some time in 1941 but survives in small numbers to this day. (Startling Comics 001, 1940)

Devil's Island: 

Black X has himself sent to, and then escapes from, Devil's Island in order to secure a fellow prisoner with valuable US defense secrets in his head. (Smash Comics 013, 1940)

FDR:

An off-model Roosevelt visits Carterville and is kidnapped by Devil's Dagger nemesis Jeff Marlowe (and thus retroactively by Marlowe's boss Mr H). This is a wild move for a regional crime boss to pull! (Master Comics 006, 1940)

Gill Fox:

Probably a different guy to the last "Gil Fox" to appear in a Clip Chance comic - this one is just a small town baseball player. (Smash Comics 015, 1940)

Groucho Marx:

Goucho's look lifted wholesale for this unnamed comedy character. (Star Comics 010, 1938)

Hollywood:

Autograph hound adds Shock Gibson to her collection along with "Cary Trooper" and "Glark Cable," aka Gary Cooper and Clark Gable. (Speed Comics 009, 1940)

Joe Devlin: 

Given the prior instance of Joe Devlin being referenced in a Clip Chance story I must assume that the "John Devlin" mentioned here is another. (Smash Comics 014, 1940)

Joseph Stalin:

The Three Aces (but not the DC Comics Three Aces, the Harvey Comics ones) transport three anthropology-minded sisters to Paraguay to study the Guató people and stumble upon a plot by the sinister witch doctor Ni Lats to bring all under his sway via hypnotic mind control, for which crime he is drowned in a swamp.

(slight aside: the Guató are a real people being used as set dressing for an exotic locale, and weirdly, in checking to see if that was the case I'm pretty sure I stumbled across the exact reference that Klaus Nordling drew from - every detail in the brief entry on the Guató in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica is reflected in the story. The mind control thing is added plot) (Speed Comics 010, 1940)

Samuel Goldwyn:

Is this movie producer named Sam meant to be Samuel Goldwyn or merely a lookalike reference to him? Regardless, this is clearly Samuel Goldwyn. (Speed Comics 010, 1940)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 738: KADU-KAN

(Smash Comics 006, 1940)

Time for a very obscure character indeed: Kadu-Kan, who put out Black X's eye in an attempt to induce him to spill some military secrets. Kadu-Kan is therefore a major figure in the history of the character to be mentioned in one panel and never again, and then only to provide a reason for Black X's ever-present monocle.

(Speaking of Black X and setups with no real payoff, the first Black X adventure in Feature Funnies 013, 1938 includes this enemy spy who is a double of Black X and escapes into the night at the end of the story, to never return)

NOTES: FEBRUARY 2025

Secret Knowledge: 

This is mostly me not wanting to sign up for a Fandom account but confidential to the Dickie Dean page on the Public Domain Super Heroes wiki:

-Dickie Dean is said to be 14 in the splash blurb of his first appearance in Silver Streak Comics 003

-in the same story he receives a telegram from J Edgar Hoover in which he is addressed as Richard 

-in Silver Streak Comics 006 he is addressed as "Richard Bruce Dean"

Memes of Yore - Hamburgers: 

Can't have a hamburger without onions. (Feature Funnies 048, 1948)

Honours:

Swashbucking reporter Chic Carter receives the Moravian Military Cross for his role in fighting off an invasion force. (Smash Comics 006, 1940)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 679: THE EXPLOSION OF KRYPTON

(Action Comics 001, 1938)

Does this first version of the explosion of Krypton really fit the category of minor super-villain? Absolutely not. "The planet got too old and blew up" is a natural disaster, albeit an extreme one.

The second appearance of the Explosion of Krypton, in Superman v1 001, 1939, doesn't even blame the explosion on old age. It just happens. So why categorize it such? Because basically every time it shows up going forward (and it's going to be a while - we're currently reading comics from 1940-41 and the next appearance of Krypton is in 1948) the blame rests squarely on someone's shoulders, whether it be the Kryptonian Science Council's bureaucratic stultification and/or short-sighted self interest dooming their own citizens or the latest villain-of-the-week getting an unearned boost to their C.V., someone takes the heat for this disaster. And when they do, I'll be there to take note of it.

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 017

Another fresh hot basket of also-rans, just for you.

the Mask:

Scoop Cody, society reporter, is secretly vigilante crimefighter the Mask. He's not terrific at concealing this fact - both love interest Elaine and villain Carlos figure it out during the course of the one extant Mask story - but he gets the job done. Of mild interest is that Scoop Cody is also the name of the Marvel's reporter pal. (Star Comics v1 013, 1938*)

the Phantom Rider: 

The Phantom Rider is your standard masked cowboy, identity unknown. Given their similar names and that they are both Centaur Comics characters it is equally likely that he is a renamed Phantom o' the Hills as it is that he is a separate creation. His horse is named Thunder. (Star Comics 016, 1938*)

Air Man:

Air Man is Drake Stevens, an ornithologist who embarks on a vigilante career after his father is murdered in an insurance scam on the high seas. He only makes a handful of appearances before Centaur folds, and here are the salient things about him:

-Air Man is a "realistic" version of Hawkman, i.e., not realistic but in a slightly more plausible way than an antigravity belt. His wings are filled with helium and he has a little jet engine for propulsion (at least, as of his second appearance. Maybe he's just very slowly gliding around in his first). He also has egg-shaped bombs, which isn't relevant to the flying but is fun.

-Air Man is not a generic bird-themed hero but in fact an albatross-themed protector of the seas, which is a niche that I have not encountered before and the closest that I can think of is the Marvel hero Stingray, and that's just because they both fly and are ocean-based.

 -Air Man believes in protecting the high seas so much that he breaks up with his fiance rather than just... living in a lighthouse with her or whatever. Super-heroes love breaking up with people and then feeling noble about it. (Keen Detective Funnies 023, 1940)

TNT Todd:

TNT Todd had been a regular FBI agent having FBI agent adventures in Keen Detective Funnies for about a year when he became if not the earliest then certainly our first example of a non-super character getting a super-heroic makeover to fit comic trends (I tell a lie Tex Thomson/ Mr America has come up before but he made the switch in 1941). While overshadowed by fellow explosion-based hero the Human Bomb a year or so later I must admit to enjoying TNT Todd more on a conceptual level. Just a guy careening through a city via a series of explosions, theoretically helping people. (Keen Detective Funnies 021, 1940)

*there are several issues of Star Comics from this time that are not readily available, including issues 012, 014 and 015. This means that both the Mask and the Phantom Rider could have earlier first appearances.

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 016

A pretty motley collection this time.

the Ermine:

A frontier vigilante who wears a reversible ermine skin outfit (white for winter wear, brown for regular), leaves an ermine tail as his calling card and can communicate/ is friends with with all the creatures of the forest (except for the ermine, presumably). The Ermine would be an interesting character if he wasn't explicitly and murderously racist against Native peoples. He's classed as a minor hero here because all of his recorded adventures involve him acting as the protector of two youths but I assume that he has a lot of hate crimes under his belt. (Star Ranger Funnies v1 015, 1938)

the Lone Marshal:

I have a strong suspicion that the Lone Marshal is a Lone Ranger knockoff. Obviously there's no way to peer into the past and be sure, and admittedly the name was a really big influence on my opinion, but I'm sticking with it. He's got a Sioux companion named Vajo and a horse named Lobo, so he's just as not-technically-Lone as the Ranger is. (The Comics 001, 1937)

Doctor Doom:

Doctor Doom, "the Robin Hood of International Spies," is some sort of freelance spy chief who we join as he works for the small Balkan nation of Returia as they fend off invasion plans by their rival, the similarly-small, not-as-Balkan Kingdom of Merovia. Doctor Doom and his double handful of associates are on the back foot for the entirety of their time battling the Falcon and never really manage to get the upper hand before the feature is cancelled but I assume that they would have come out on top eventually. (The Comics 001, 1937)

Jungleman:

Jungleman is your typical white-kid-raised-by-beasts jungle hero, in this case based out of Cambodia. He lives in a temple and collects treasure and repeatedly kidnaps a young woman named Louise until she falls in love with him - like I said, typical stuff. 

The real thing that sets Jungleman apart from his peers is both the sheer number and variety of his animal companions and their tremendous attrition rate - he goes through two tigers in his first three appearances when most jungle heroes have to make one big cat last their entire career! 

Eventually, Louise and her dad convince Jungleman to relocate to the US under the more civilized alias of "Mister Jay" and I was all set for a lot of the same kind of fish-out-of-water stuff that Ty-Gor spent a lot of his time on but no! Their ship gets wrecked and they just end up in a different jungle! It's the old jungle switcherooo and I never saw it coming! (Champion Comics 002, 1939)

**UPDATE** Bob Phantom **UPDATE**

Star Comics 001, 1938 features a different guy named Bob Phantom, which only reinforces my paranoia vis-a-vis there being a joke or a reference that I'm missing about the last name Phantom. Also, given the slapdash nature of early comics and their record keeping, nobody actually knows who created this guy and so it's entirely possible that he's the same Bob Phantom and Harry Shorten and/or Irv Novick just took him from Centaur to MLJ and upgraded him from stage magician to super-hero.