DIVINE ROUND-UP 008

Some more dubious theology for you. 

the Stone Tablet:

The pompous jackasses at the British Archaeological Club really get Mr Mystic's goat when they treat the theories of his friend Doctor Gadasky like trash, so he does the only sensible thing and uses his magic to travel back to 1 000 000 CE to see for himself. Gadasky claims that Cro-Magnons had a religion based around the worship of a stone tablet, and wouldn't you know it, he's right!

Mr Mystic's jaunt through time is about as well-considered as those things normally are, and he ends up causing the deaths of two Cro-Magnons, including the Stone Tablet's keeper, plus the loss of the Tablet itself in a quicksand pit, which is a boon for Gadasky, as he is able to dig it up in the present and prove his theories. Take that, establishment jerks!

Speaking of those theories, just where did they come from? Is the fact that Gada, the Stone Tablet's guardian, is a dead ringer for Gadasky and that Gadasky carries an echo of the wound that killed Gada (reptile-bird beak to the skull) on his flesh an indication that the Tablet posesses some measure of actual power? Could be!

God style: idol (the Spirit Section, 8 December, 1940)

Oona, the Angry God: 

Oona is the Angry God, a generically sinister Asian deity who requires the sacrifice of a good English girl now and then. Inspector Dayton is of course having none of that, particularly as the sacrifice happens to be his love interest Wini. Oona worship in England is ended at the barrel of a gun.

God style: idol (Jumbo Comics 022, 1940) 

Orga: 

In a near-deserted lost city of gold, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and her paramour Bob Reynolds come across an unnamed mad king and his court of trained gorillas. The King has been sacrificing travellers (and implicitly his own people, leading to the city's depleted population) to his gods. I can only assume that the fantastic idol behind the king's throne is a representation of Orga, the only god mentioned by name. 

God style: idol (Jumbo Comics 009, 1939) 

Orta the Sun-God: 

Captured and sentenced to death by a Peruvian tribe, Marvelo, Monarch of Magicians pulls a variant on the old "we are divine beings, you primitives" gag by transforming his companion into a fireball. Is Orta the Sun-God something that Marvelo makes up on the spot or is he exploiting these (admittedly inhospitable) people's extant beliefs? We shall never know.

God style: fake (Big-Shot Comics 014, 1941) 

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 421: THE RED-EYED KILLER

(Jumbo Comics 020, 1940)

What a cool-looking villain! Suit and cape combo? Blood-red eyes? Great stuff. He's got a cool mask and a wavy dagger and he goes on an enormous spree killing in NYC while Our Hero Inspector Dayton tries to figure out just how he's going to stop the Red-Eyed Killer.

But they spend too much time in the setup! Dayton stumbles into a doctor's office on the last page and the resolution happens in an instant - the Red-Eyed Killer is Dayton's work pal, police scientist Doc Black and he gives up... pretty reasonably, I guess. Being pinned to a door by a half dozen of your own daggers will inspire compliance.

So, the Red-Eyed Killer. Good but not great; a lesson in leaving enough room for the end of your story to have some stakes in it. Also: tell us how he get those red eyes!

GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 006

MORE! MORE!

Another Nazi spy-cell headed by a guy in a cloth mask called the Leader, this time in Switzerland for a bit of variety. (Captain America Comics 009, 1941)

Having just read a year's worth of Jumbo Comics, I can tell you that this guy here, name of Sam Bradford, is the closest thing to a super-villain in them and it's mostly because of the decent outfit. He's an agent who kills a producer or something because of professional reasons - strictly snoozeville. (Jumbo Comics 033, 1941)

This creep is Mark Giddings, who kidnaps Eve Scott, daughter of NYC Mayor Scott because she turned down his advances. Somehow he thought that extorting the mayor to resign via threats of dismembering his daughter would net him both the job and the girl but in reality he just got socked by Bulletman. (Master Comics 011, 1941)

This fella answers to the name of Operator G-6, and he's the very first foe faced by patriotic hero Minute-Man. Also the first person summarily thrown off a train to his death by Minute-Man. (Master Comics 011, 1941)