MONSTER, CRITTER AND CREATURE ROUND-UP 001

I've threatened to do it for long enough, it's time for the creatures to have their day.

Alligator Men:

Our very first creatures are also our first tough call. Steel Sterling fights these Alligator Men in Brazonia, South America while on the trail of Dr Yar (aka the Black Knight), and with any group of intelligent humanoids there is the question: did our villain make them using the power of mad science, or did he find them in the jungle and convince them to follow him?

The thing that sways my opinion on the Alligator Men is the fact that Dr Yar also has this swarm of giant mosquitoes at his command. If someone is going to the trouble of overcoming the square cube law to create a not-very-successful trap for his arch enemy then bioengineering a batch of alligator-headed goons has got to be a walk in the park, comparatively. (Zip Comics 003, 1940)

Alligoscerous:

This alligoscerous, a lake monster native to the hidden Diamond Empire in Asia and burdened with a most unlovely name, makes an attempt to dine on the Rocket and his allies and pays for it with its eyes. (Pep Comics 004, 1940)

Allosaurus:

Abdallah is a minor Centaur Publications character who has fantastical adventures in 10th Century Arabia, such as in this instance, when a caravan he is leading is attacked by a pack of allosaurus. It's honestly giving me a warm flashback to AD&D adventure modules.

Continuing in the tabletop RPG theme, later in that same story Abdallah must travel through an underground dungeon of sorts to save his father's life, and does battle with this very heraldic griffin. (Funny Pages v3 008, 1939)

Amphisaur:

The amphisaur, an ancient dinosaur hibernating below the sea floor, is awakened by Naval manoeuvres and immediately begins laying waste to the works of mankind. It's very Gozilla-before-Godzilla, though without the poignancy of the nuclear war metaphor.

Though the beast's hide is proof against all conventional weaponry and it is even immune to mummy-turned-super-hero Mystico's arcane power for the slightly contrived reason that it dates from before magic was invented, it is ultimately undone when an entire skyscraper is repurposed into a jumbo-sized spear to impale it. (Startling Comics 004, 1940)

the Sea Dragon:

The Sea Dragon, which pops up to vex and befuddle the US Navy in Hawaii, is in reality a classic (and astonishingly huge) submarine disguised as a monster and operated by an unnamed, not-quite-Japanese, Navy. (Captain America Comics 005, 1941)

Tangako:

Adventurer Reef Kinkaid and his companions, stranded in a lost valley filled with prehistoric life in the Amazon jungle, must confront a variety of monsters, including the horned cave-ape tangako, which Reef grapples to death...

... the cave-dwelling alagasaurus, which he grapples and beats to death...

... and the annoyingly-spelled pterodactl, which he grapples to death. (Amazing-Man Comics 016, 1940)

Bonus Dinosaurs!

 

These random dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals are encountered by the Black Hood during a confusing trip through time. (Jackpot Comics 003, 1941)

MEDIA IN COMICS 007

We've got some real early media for you today, so get ready for the crustiest scans of microfiche you ever saw.

Movies:

Steve Rogers and Bucky almost get to the movies to see a flick called Million Dollar Robbery before being interrupted by a real, if smaller-scale, robbery. BONUS: a classic case of real movies stars barely obfuscated by having their first names swapped, in Humphrey Raft and George Bogart, aka George Raft and Humphrey Bogart. (Captain America Comics 004, 1941)

Hired to look into dirty dealings on the Stupendous Films lot, Slam Bradley and Shorty Morgan go undercover as stunt doubles. The comedy film that Shorty works on is never named, but Slam briefly works on a film called Jungle Man. (Detective Comics v1 004, 1937)

Larry Steele's own investigations into a series of high-profile kidnappings take him to the set of Too Much Money, a movie we never learn anything about. (Detective Comics v1 005, 1937)

It's just barely possible to make out that this movie that the Radio Squad boys watch is called The Fighting Cop. A bit on the nose, boys! (More Fun Comics 038, 1938)

Music:

Detective Bruce Nelson investigates a series of murders committed on stage while each victim was singing the same song. That song was originally called "The Night is Blue," but is now known as "The Song of Death." (Detective Comics 020, 1938)

In Action Comics 006, a grifter named Nick Williams falsifies some contracts and begins licensing Superman's name all over town, and one of the results of this is a song! Specifically, a big band tune called "You're a Superman!"

I wouldn't call it the greatest song ever written (no song should include the word "resistless," for example), but it's not entirely terrible. (Action Comics v1 006, 1938)

Newspaper Columns:

Written by Paul Revere Sr, ultra-patriot and father to comic book adventure kid Paul Revere Jr, "America Awake!" is one of those exciting titles that works for an anti-Nazi column in 1941 and also potentially for a pro-Nazi one in the present. (Banner Comics 003, 1941)

Jay Garson Jr, aka the Ragman, wrote his "Crime Does Not Pay" column right up until someone tried to kill him for it and he was forced to fake his own death. And then kept on writing it for a while afterward, seemingly mostly in order to give his old editor a hard time. (Cat-Man Comics 001, 1941)

Radio Shows:

In addition to "You're a Superman!" Nick Wilson's Superman-licensing deals included a Superman radio show, meaning that the DC Universe had one a full two years before we did.

Wilson also mentions having sold movie and comic book rights, but as he is beaten up and forced to stop his scheme by the real Superman not long after this conversation it's likely that those never saw the light of day. (Action Comics v1 006, 1938)

Theatre:

Slam Bradley and Shorty Morgan investigate the crimes of the Broadway Bandit by getting jobs on Broadway, specifically as tap dancers in a production called Love on Ice that despite its name seems to be a variety show rather than anything with a discernible plot. (Detective Comics v1 016, 1938)

Renick's Frolics, the show in which "The Song of Death" appears, is another of these variety productions. (Detective Comics v1 020, 1938)

 

We learn nothing about Darkest Dawn other than the fact that someone is trying to kill the lead actress and Nadir, Master of Magic, is on the case. (New Adventure Comics 028, 1938)

REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 026

Once again we point and go "Hey. It's that guy."

Adolf Hitler:

Captain Courageous has to deal with a few pseudo-Nazis working for Hitler-alike Hinkler. (Banner Comics 003, 1941) 

Real Hitler takes a scheme-foiling by Vulcan pretty hard. (Four Favorites 001, 1941)

Devil's Island:

Captain America and Bucky infiltrate Devil's Island to free a prisoner who is not only a victim of carceral justice taken to unjust extremes but also as an arm of the Nazi government in France. (Captain America Comics 005, 1941)

the Duke and Duchess of Windsor:

The Duke of Windsor, aka the former King Edward VIII of England and his wife Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, welcome Speed Martin to the Bahamas in the Duke's wartime role as the Governor General of that territory. (The Funnies 051, 1941)

FDR:

Super-American rescues the most obscured-by-shadow (and completely silent!) FDR we have yet seen from the evil Tyrannus. The usual shadowed-features treatment that he usually gets is so over the top in that it looks like the President is going to be dramatically revealed to be some sort of frog monster in the next panel. (Fight Comics 015, 1941)

By contrast, here's a very recognizable FDR congratulating newsreel cameraman Speed Martin on returning from Europe with some vital intel on the Axis war machine. (The Funnies 051, 1941)

And by contrast with that, here's "Mr Jones," the mysterious government official who recruits Captain Midnight into his country's service and who is heavily implied to be a disguised FDR, even though he lacks the President's famously large head. (The Funnies 057, 1941)

(don't worry: someone thought about the big head issue and inflated it by The Funnies 058)

the German-American Bund:

Very rare appearance of the German-American Bund under it's own name, even if the actual group was already in severe decline at the point this book was published. (Captain America Comics 005, 1941)

Harold R. Stark:

He's not named, but the Chief of Naval Operations seen here sure looks like the man who held the position at the time, Harold R. Stark. Did they do a photo reference this one time? (The Funnies 055, 1941)

Joe Dimaggio:

"Joey Diraggio," star player for the Brooklyn Badgers and victim of the Black Toad. (Captain America Comics 007, 1941)

the Venus de Milo:

The Venus de Milo is stolen by Zeus and brought back to Ancient Greece so that he can turn it into a human woman to be his wife. Zanzibar the Magician rescues the statue woman and brings her back to the present with him, but the question is never resolved: does he chop off her arms and turn her into a statue again? Is the Fox Features Universe minus one statue and plus one blonde lady? (Mystery Men Comics 002, 1939)

Winston Churchill:

Personally thanks Vulcan for escorting a convoy to England. (Four Favourites 001, 1941)