MEDIA IN COMICS 013

Today in Media in Comics, we're all about the Movies:

Movie star Dawn O'Dare returns to her home town of Holtville to premiere her new picture Love Me Forever! but the whole affair is almost undone when her understudy attempts to impersonate her and make off with the theatrical take, only to in turn be foiled by local copy boy Hap Hazard. (Lightning Comics v2 004, 1941)

Angry Waves, a sea epic, features a found footage action scene as one of the Strange Twins rescues the other from drowning. (Hit Comics 016, 1941)

It's time for our first movie titled Crime Doesn't Pay, starring police officer Sally O'Neil and featuring a real on-screen murder. (National Comics 010, 1941)

I fear that we will only be able to evaluate all of the Gone with the Wind parody titles once we have enough of then together to compare. That said, Flown with the Breeze, here about to be attended by Allan "the Hunchback" Lanier and date, has to be one of the more goofy of the bunch. (Wow Comics 002, 1941)

This adaptation of Ivanhoe had a troubled production thanks to an on-set protection racket. It is also distinguished by the fact that its arms and armour consultant was Justin Arthur, aka the Shining Knight. (Adventure Comics 068, 1941)

Jungle Justice, another troubled production due to on-set criminals, boasts its own heroic consultant in the person of Congo Bill. (Action Comics v1 042, 1941)

Though Red River Days managed to get made without any notable hiccups, its premiere in the actual town of Red River is marred by organized crime. (Adventure Comics 060, 1941)

Thrills of Africa, is a jungle movie that gives one crook the opportunity to dress up in a gorilla suit and rob the theatre it's playing in after posing as a statue in the lobby for who knows how long. Also, his two pals are there in blackface.

While chasing these problematic miscreants, Hourman passes a poster for The Count of... something. Perhaps Monte Cristo? Whatever it is, it must be printed real small, given the size of that poster. (All-Star Comics 006, 1941)

During the Dummy's tenure ans one of the Five Fingers of the Hand, he heads off to Hollywood to run a kidnapping scheme, and of course this ends up involving a whole plethora of movies. To begin, we have Aircraft Carrier, the premiere of which is ruined when star Rex Mason is seemingly turned to stone but actually spirited away.

Six-Gun Serenade, a Western, features occasional Vigigilante sidekick Billy Gunn as an extra.

While Vigilante is visiting Billy on-set, he gets involved in the latest kidnap attempt on the nearby set of sports film Touchdown Blues.

The crooks' getaway then takes then through the set of Bars and Stripes, which may or may not be a patriotic prison movie.

Finally, the Dummy's men are run to ground on the set of jungle picture Tropic Doom. (Leading Comics 001, 1941)

CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 002

Just which comic book character has taken the most punishment down through the years? join me as we compile the definitive guide to bodily trauma in the super class. 

Blackhawk:

Blackhawk must set off an explosion from closer-than-optimal range and ends up getting lightly shredded. (Military Comics 003, 1941)

Blackhawk's next two adventures feature him getting whipped badly enough to mark up his torso, by the Black Tigress and the Scavengers, respectively. (Military Comics 004 & 005, 1941)

Blackhawks:

Blackhawk stalwart Andre is shot in the back by Nazis and then starts an avalanche with his own body to bury those same Nazis. Though he does survive, Andre is believed to be dead for the next six issues. (Military Comics 003, 1941)

Blue Beetle:

Blue Beetle is shot in a gang drive-by while in his civilian identity of Dan Garret. He only survives thanks to an operation to remove the bullet lodged two inches from his heart. Bonus fact: Dan has Type B blood! (Blue Beetle Comics v1 004, 1940)

Dan Garret's partner/ the Blue Beetle's most dogged persecutor Mike Mannigan is a bit of a wound magnet. Here he is getting his skull creased by a bullet while attempting to round up one of the Sphinx's men... (Mystery Men Comics 018, 1941)

And here he is getting shot in the right arm. (Mystery Men Comics 026, 1941)

Congo Bill:

1941 is a bad year for Congo Bill's shoulders. First he gets shot in the left... (Action Comics v1 038, 1941)

... and then he gets a spear thrown clear through the right. (Action Comics v1 041, 1941)

Dr Fate:

Inza Cramer - long-time Dr Fate Companion/ eventual Dr Fate herself - takes a bullet meant for Kent "Dr Fate" Nelson by an agent of Mister X and is almost killed. (All-Star Comics 005, 1941)

the Flash: 

Jay "the Flash" Garrick gets his skull creased by a bullet while moving slow to avoid risking his secret identity. (All-Flash Quarterly 002, 1941)

the Patriot: 

Future Captain America stand-in the Patriot is shot and seemingly killed at the end of his story in Marvel Mystery Comics 024 but at the resolution of the cliffhanger in the next issue he turns out to have sustained a fashionable bullet crease to the skull. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 024, 1941)

the Ragman:

Ambushed and shot up by agents of the Stinger, the Ragman survives thanks to a bulletproof vest, but evidence would suggest that he was shot at least once and possibly twice in the right arm. (Cat-Man Comics 003, 1941)

DIVINE ROUND-UP 021

Just scads of gods.

Yum Chac: 

These Mayan priests have tied a recent drought to some archaeological excavations in the Yucatan and have decided that the only thing for it is to revive the practice of human sacrifice to Yum Chac, aka just Chac, god of rain. They of course do this just in time for Zambini the Miracle Man to show up and wreck their whole operation.

The really interesting thing about this whole episode is that it takes place at a site called "Hichen-Citza" and let me tell you that it's this sort of thing that really shakes my confidence with regard to my knowledge of just when and why Golden Age comic book creators did these cute little place name substitutions. Surely there was no concern that an ancient or present-day Mayan might get upset by this depiction of their city but not, say their god? Or maybe I should just look back on the whole Egyptasia thing and conclude that "Zambini" scribe Joe Blair just really liked making up silly names for real places.

(also the high priest is named "Macchu Pacchu," which again seems to just be Blair having fun with names)

El Castillo, the temple of Kukulcan also features, and evidently drawn from an old reference photo from back when the sides were still covered in vegetation. 

God Style: Idol (Real Pantheon) (Zip Comics 008, 1940) 

the Moon Orchid:

I frequently like to point out when Golden Age explorers are just blithely waltzing into religious sites and stealing their sacred relics even in the face of stiff and reasonable resistance from the faithful, but this one is pretty beyond the pale. While most of the others at least attempt to adopt a pretense of respectability by claiming to be thieving for anthropological or other scientific reasons, Congo Bill and his pal Professor Kent are explicitly heading into the jungle to steal the Mesabi tribe's sacred Moon Orchid so that they can sell it for big bucks.

And steal it they do! And what's worse: they blow up the entire Mesabi village in the process, so it's not just sacrilege but mass murder. Worth it for that sweet orchid money, I guess.

God Style: Animist (More Fun Comics 066, 1941) 

Ozaz: 

Adventurer Steve Conrad is on vacation in Egypt when he stumbles upon a weird cult looking to do a blood transfusion from a living woman into a mummy queen in order to bring her back to life and usher in a new age of the Pharaohs. Presumably this bunch worship all of your standard Ancient Egyptian gods, but they don't name-drop any specific ones, until Steve fumbles his rescue attempt and is slated to be sacrificed to... 

OZAZ THE FIRE GOD! Possessed of a pretty good name and nothing else, Ozaz is a made-up god who seems to have the head of a bird and whose statue is perfectly placed to topple over and kill the cultists when Steve's assistant Chang opens the trap door underneath it. Too bad for Ozaz (no sacrifice today) and the Pharaoh cult (crushed to death).

God Style: Idol (Real Pantheon) (Adventure Comics 063, 1941)

Pyro:

Worshipped by the Center People of Asteroid Djung, Pyro is a simple god: he hungers for sacrifice and he wants it via his sacred lava pit. 

God Style: Invoked (Master Comics 019, 1941) 

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 385: THE GREAT MEDICINE BIRD

(More Fun Comics 067, 1941)

It's an old, dumb trope: diamond thief Gordon Slade escapes into the jungle with his loot and then takes over a tribe as it's spiritual leader - sometimes it's a god but in this case it's as a medicine man. Between the name and the outfit the Great Medicine Bird, like a lot of his shitty compatriots, technically qualifies for the status of minor super-villain. But since I don't especially like them, they're going into roundup posts from now on.

And yes I could have just started a roundup post with this guy but then I wouldn't have the opportunity to present this: the most over-the-top death I have encountered in a while: briefly getting the upper hand over Congo Bill, Slade is grabbed by a boa constrictor. He kills it, causing them both to plunge into a crocodile-infested river. Congo Bill's pal Professor Kent calls him both a snake and a rat as a eulogy.

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 378: THE THING

(More Fun Comics 064, 1941)

This is not a complicated one: Congo Bill is asked for help by his friend Jack Brent. Brent is trying to sell his plantation, one of the assets of which is his good relationship with the local labour pool. Just as he had found a buyer, a skull-headed goon called the Thing started murdering workers. It's about par for course re: jungle comics portrayal of nonwhite folks and fairly standard otherwise and of course the Thing turns out to be Mr Tate the prospective buyer attempting to get a better price via wholesale slaughter. The one redeeming feature of the story is this:

The Thing looks sick as hell. You'll be hard pressed to find a better look than a skull in a hood and the cool dagger is a real bonus. The bulletproof vest is of course not visible but speaks to a thoughtfulness that is shamefully wasted in this grubby little scheme.

And yes that is Congo Bill in blackface.