MEDIA IN COMICS 009

I hope you like media from comics, because I certainly do and I am going to keep doing these.

Comics:

Bullied bootblack Timothy Smith just wants to buy a comic book with his last nickel and he has a whole selection of Fox Features titles to choose from, but what draws his eye is a book called The Land of Magic, a comic so fantastical and majestical that he wishes himself away to live inside its pages the next time he gets beaten up. (Green Mask v1 007, 1941)

We never actually see the Colossal Guy comic book, but this Colossal Guy superfan is evidence enough that he is a character with get-up and go. Enough to inspire Captain Bruce Blackburn to invent his alter ego of the Destroying Demon, in fact. (Feature Comics 039, 1940)

"Ripley's Believe it or Not" had enough cultural caché in its time that there are innumerable plays on it in comics, just as there were imitators in real life. These mostly differ by how successful a play on the name they have: "Don't You Doubt It," as consulted by Eve Colby as part of one of Spy Smasher's cases, is about average. (Whiz Comics 005, 1940)

Magazines:

I have a lot of affection for the concept behind Jim Dolan, two-fisted magazine editor, who solves crimes and then writes about them for Daring Detective Magazine. The magazine itself is fine. (Slam-Bang Comics 001, 1940)

Movies:

We never learn more about The Big Snatch other than that it is a mystery thriller. The big joke here is of course that the star of the film is comics creator Joe Devlin. (Smash Comics 014, 1940)

Likewise, we never learn much about the Western Hearts of the Range other than the fact that it starred the blowhard Sheriff O'Toole. (All-American Comics 021, 1940)

Melody of 1941 here is likely a play on Broadway Melody of 1940 and as such a musical, and stars a couple of classic mixed-up name actors in Tyrone Taylor (Tyrone Power/ Robert Taylor) and Myrna Rogers (Myrna Loy/ Ginger Rogers). (Detective Comics v1 046 1940)

We have no information at all about Old Bill. It has a pretty big premiere for a movie with such a drab name, so it must have something going for it. (Action Comics v1 028, 1940)

Oriental Horror is the name of the hit movie that made Barry Moore's name just before he quit acting, moved back to Center City to become a police scientist and adopted the identity of the Scarlet Seal based on the yellowface character he played in the movie. I would venture a guess that the film is not considered an enduring classic in the present day DC Universe. (Smash Comics 016, 1940)

She Made Him Love Her! is the name of a romantic movie attended by Sisty and Dinky, aka the daughter of the future Red Tornado and the brother of teen cartoonist Scribbly, aka the future Cyclone Kids, after the former falls in undying love with the latter. And to be fair to her the duo are canonicall later married, so this is a proven tactic. Eventually.

The movie itself might be loosely based on the film They Knew What They Wanted, or I might be grasping at straws. (All-American Comics 012, 1940)

CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 004

More wounds for the wound god!

American Ace:

Minor Marvel adventure hero Parry Wade, aka the American Ace, is riddled through the torso and crashes his plane after a dogfight. He gets better. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 003, 1940)

Black X:

Shot in the left shoulder by agents of Vlamir Koran, then nearly dies of exposure while seeking aid. (Smash Comics 001, 1939)

Black X's aide Batu gets shot in the left shoulder on his next mission, while Black X himself gets his skull creased by a bullet. (Smash Comics 002, 1939)

Finally, Black X gets his right arm broken by a guy named Taneo. (Smash Comics 005, 1939)

Clip Carson:

Shot in the left shoulder by the dastardly Mister K. (More Fun Comics 068, 1941)

the Devil's Dagger: 

The Devil's Dagger's aide Pat Gleason is shot in the right leg by the dastardly Mr H. (Master Comics 015, 1941)

Jim Dolan: 

Two-fisted magazine editor Jim Dolan is not only thrown off a bridge to drown but machine gunned on the way down. Thankfully they only get his left shoulder. (Wow Comics 002, 1941)

Ka-Zar:

The Golden Age Ka-Zar is covered in shallow cuts as torture. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 005, 1940)

A few issues later he gets shot in the (left? side by an unscrupulous hunter. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 011, 1940)

And a few issues after that, the same unscrupulous hunter shoots him in the (left?) arm. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 016, 1941)

Tiny: 

The Ragman's sidekick Tiny is shot in the right arm by a Nazi. (Cat-Man Comics 005, 1941)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 125: THE GORILLA MAN

(Slam-Bang Comics 005, 1940) 

A jewel thief who dresses up in a gorilla costume to commit crimes, what really stands out about the Gorilla Man is that he does so for no real reason? He just likes it?

Hell, if anything it makes him more likely to get caught since he has pulled this sort of job before and the gorilla costume is a bit of an attention getter. Is it reasonable to call this fictional character from more than 80 years ago a furry? Perhaps not, but I shall leave the question open to debate.

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 123: THE DRAGON

(Slam-Bang Comics 004, 1940)

What makes them a super-villain? Why, that snazzy outfit! Comics are full of people who run opium smuggling rings but very few look as good while doing it.

What makes them interesting? It depends on your definition of interesting, but this is the first costumed criminal on our list whose disguise includes pretending to be another race - specifically, the Dragon is a white hardware store owner named Jones who passes himself off as a Chinese master criminal until Jim Dolan, heroic magazine editor gets involved.