DIVINE ROUND-UP 032

It can't all be off-brand Greek gods. I'm elbow-deep in the 1941 issues of Jungle Comics, so here are some off-brand African deities.

Damballah and Gbeji-Nibu:

The evil witch doctor N'Goku has been using his magical abilities to cause problems in his area (plagues of snakes, a sickness among the cattle) and then solve them for cash money, and then when Fantomah (post-Fletcher Hanks) points out that he is doing so he attempts to do away with her. N'Goku invokes Gbeji-Nibu, the God of Steers, as well as Damballah the Snake God, and since the latter is a real deity in West African Vodún we must assume that the former is as well, though as far as I can tell he has been made up for this comic.

Neither Damballah or Gbeji-Nibu are fictional in the world of the comic, however, as both of them are pretty mad at N'Goku for his misdeeds and send a divine animal avatar to punish him. To death. Interestingly, it seems that N'Goku's fatal mistake was not in using his divine gifts for evil but in crossing Fantomah, who is on good enough terms with Damballah that she calls upon him a few issues later to deal with a snake-pit situation she finds herself in.

God Style: Invoked (Real) (Jungle Comics 018, 1941)

Tokpodu:

We don't learn anything about the entity called Tokpodu but it evidently does hold some power, as the wizard Guluba here is able to use his jackal-hair whip to shrink both people and animals after invoking this entity. He too crosses Fantomah and ends up paying for it with his life.

God Style: Invoked (Real?) (Jungle Comics 019, 1941)

Leopards:

There's not much info on what this fellow is actually up to. Certainly he is sacrificing lambs (and attempts to sacrifice a human) to some leopards that he has in a pit in an ancient lost Egyptian temple, but whether he is worshipping them specifically or they are acting as avatars of a deity that was worshipped in the temple is unclear. I can't find an Egyptian god with an especial link to leopards but that might just be a sign of poor research on my part. Complete understanding of this issue is hampered by the fact that the story's protagonist is a lion and thus not equipped to do exposition or offer any real insight at all.

God style: Animist (I guess) (Jungle Comics 020, 1941)

the Elephant God:

This nameless Elephant God is worshipped by the Goru people, who hold all elephants sacred, except for a brief period when wealthy hunter Ali ben Yusi rolls through and convinces them that ivory hunting is more profitable. This ends when a herd of elephants smash up the village and the Goru reconsider their allegiances.

God Style: Idol (Real?) (Jungle Comics 020, 1941)

DIVINE ROUND-UP 001

As long as we're dipping into the aliens of comics, we might as well go all the way and dig out all the various gods etc that people have made up too. Comic book divinities fall into a few broad styles:

-real objects or creatures worshipped animistically but which do not display any real divine power

-idols, verbal invocations or other trappings of religious worship without any indication that the being being represented is really real

-actual supernatural beings, including:

--versions of actual deities

--new additions to real-world pantheons 

--gods made up out of whole cloth

Obviously there is some overlap between these categories. The idol that bestows curses or good luck, the invocation that does the same. Is a sacred tree an idol or animism or both? What if it delivers blessings on the faithful? 

The other thing to mention about comic book representations or religion is that huge swathes of them are being presented through the triple lenses of Smug 40s Rationalism, Default Christianity and White Supremacy in a real racist trifecta. Barring the odd exception we're going to see a lot of It's Silly to Believe in a Non-Christian God and All Non-Christian Religions are Actually Long Cons by Priestly Classes along with some If There is a Real Entity Behind This Then They are Actually a Horrible Evil. Plus a lot of elder god-monsters and culturally safe classical deities and so forth.

So: on we go! 

the Guardian of the Grotto of Jewels: 

Though the Red Mask is the leader of some or all of the peoples of the island of Kakura, he doesn't seem to have much regard for their culture (as befits a proper 1940s rationalist hero, I suppose), as in quick succession he a) brings a girl to the sacred Grotto of Jewels, b) gives her some of the eponymous jewels and c) kills the grotto's guardian god-monster with a boat. 

God-style: animistic worship of a real beast (Best Comics 001, 1939)

Akrifa: 

Akrifa here is the god worshipped by the evil King Tongo. He's some sort of fire god who Tongo does human sacrifice to, but before he really gets a chance after building Akrifa a shiny new temple, Kaänga ends up smashing the idol to flinders and Tongo is killed by an elephant. 

God-style: idol only (Jungle Comics 009, 1940)

Ailus the Flamingo God: 

He may just be another idol that a hapless white lady almost gets sacrificed to to you, but Ailus the Flamingo God has a certain whimsy that is lacking in most of his ilk. 

God-style: idol (Jungle Comics 011, 1940)

Baako: 

There's not a lot of detail given here but who cares. Baako is a Martian god, and you know I'm going to be into something like that. And just in case you need a bit more sauce to get excited about a Martian deity, this one was created by Jack Kirby!

God-style: invoked (Crash Comics Adventures 003, 1940)

NOTES - OCTOBER 2024

Cops Shooting at Fleeing Suspects:

The NYPD (or the cops in some other town. but probably the NYPD) attempt to murder the Green Mask and Domino the Miracle Boy because they were wearing masks near a crime and had the audacity to run away. (Green Mask v1 003, 1940)

Vexing Conundrum:

These panels are from a strip called Flyin' Jenny, the details of which are not important, save for the fact that a character has cheated in an air race and is now travelling incognito only to be given away by her signature piece of jewelry: a little tag with her name on it worn on a chain or string around her thigh. But... is this a thing? Did anyone wear these c. 1940 or is it a weird affectation made up for the strip? It seems to be impossible to hunt up online! (Reg'lar Fellers Heroic Comics 003, 1940)

Golden Age Policing:

Just had to pull these panels as it's the closest I've seen to cops actually torturing someone on-panel in a comic (usually it's just heavily implied to be good and just and a great idea). (Hyper Mystery Comics 001 1940)

Honours:

Wambi the Jungle Boy is awarded a silver sword for helping to prevent a rebellion/ helping to perpetuate colonial rule in Africa. (Jungle Comics 001, 1940)