MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 037

More cream rises from the milky depths of the Golden Age!

Red Roberts, the Electro Man:

It's unclear what Red Roberts' actual job is, but he is a guy who Knows Too Much about the corruption in the unnamed city he lives in and so he is framed for murder and fast-tracked to the electric chair.

Luckily for Roberts, this is a comic book universe and being an innocent person sentenced to be executed via the electric chair means that you get sick-ass electricity powers instead of dying like everyone else. Red Roberts quickly parleys these powers into revenge on the city's crooked mayor and his cronies and then cleans up crime around town for a couple of issues more for good measure. He doesn't bother with a secret identity because at least half a dozen people were there to witness his origin, which must feel quite freeing. (Rocket Comics 001, 1940)

the Phantom Ranger:

There's not much to distinguish the Phantom Ranger from his contemporaries in the ranks of Mysterious Cowboys Who Stick Around Just Long Enough to Help Out, but here goes: his horse is named Demon and he likes to ride around with his sleeves rolled up, which gives him a business casual look that I appreciate. (Rocket Comics 001, 1940)

the Defender:

Is the Defender (Robert Larson, who was scarred facially by criminals as a child and who now fights crime using a malleable rubberoid mask and two dedicated assistants) a take on pulp and comic character the Avenger (Richard Benson, whose face was rendered inhuman by the shock of losing his wife and child to criminals and who now fights crime using his own malleable face and 4-5 dedicated assistants)? I certainly think he is, but I don't know if you could conclusively prove it. (Rocket Comics 002, 1940)

Samson UPDATE:

Samson being descended from the long-haired Biblical figure of the same name is not a new origin for the character, but once he had his own series it was time to explicitly lay it out in the form of his mother telling him in plain English that he is. Frankly, I'd much rather learn how he managed to get away with  having shoulder-length hair as a teenager in the early 1930s, but it's just left as an exercise for the reader to figure out.

No such luck for David, however. He remains an orphaned Boy Scout who Samson just found and adopted one day. David is not his actual name and we do not know his actual name. There is some early effort to play up his Boy Scout knowledge as valuable to the crimefighting enterprise but that soon falls by the wayside. (Samson 001, 1940)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 522: THE NIGHT RIDERS

(Blue Ribbon Comics 004, 1940) 

There are plenty of Ku Klux Klan- inspired groups in comics and thusfar we've encountered a few: the Blue Devils, the Horned Masks, even the Purple's gang of idiots. All of those examples share one thing: they're just gangs that operate in the country using the intimidation tactics of the KKK but without the goals of reinforcing white supremacy - they're just regular comic book gangs, only in the country.

There's a part of me that wants to say that the Night Riders are closer to being the KKK than the rest of these groups but if I'm honest that's because they have no clear goals - they just go around the countryside abducting, beating and killing people for getting into their business without any clear indication of what that business is. It could just as easily be organized insurance fraud as domestic racial terrorism, because the real reason the Night Riders are doing all this is so that they can beat up newspaper photographer Paul Patton and inspire him to become the Fox.

NOTES - FEBRUARY 2024

Good reactions by the people in this crowd to Amazing-Man passing through in his Green Mist form - people usually treat it as if he's invisible but this is much more satisfying. (Amazing-Man Comics 014, 1940) 

Origins:

The Shark is not just the son of Father Neptune, he's part of a long line of father/ son Neptunes and Sharks! I was right in my belief that the Shark was more interesting than most ocean dwelling super-heroes! (Amazing-Man Comics 014, 1940)

I Don't Get It Dept:

The names on this poster are either character in the story (Dr Hypno, Lana the lion tamer) or jokes (Governor Graft, Senator Filchit, Mayor M.I. Blue), but Ivan Coe is not the former and I can't figure out any way he's the latter. It's a puzzle! (Amazing-Man Comics 019, 1941)

Attacking Hitler:

Amazing-Man participates in the grand old tradition of political commentary in comics (Amazing-Man Comics 022, 1941)

Fate of Atlantis:

Adventurer Reef Kinkaid encounters a fairly standard version of Atlantis (or Atlantia) stuck in a little bubble under an island and still somehow managing to thrive for 9000+ years. (Amazing-Man Comics 022, 1941)

Gruesome:

Real gruesome death perpetrated by one-off hero the Marksman (Amazing-Man Comics 023, 1941)

Famous Names:

Hobo Harper encounters this evil guy who loves "fancy murders" and is trying to gain control of a travelling carnival - Tony Blair (Amazing-Man Comics 025, 1941)

Giant guy on the right lives in the Tennessee woods eating wild boar and ends up falling off a mountain while tussling with DA Tom Kerry. Jim Davis is the name. (Big Shot Comics 002, 1940)

Cops Shoot:

Captain Courageous is accused of being a spy (literally by one guy yelling "he's a spy!") and these cops attempt to execute him. Twice! (Banner Comics 003, 1941)

Now, the Blue Beetle did just rob a restaurant in order to get in good with a gang, but that's still not a good reason for this cop to attempt to murder him. (Big 3 006, 1941)

Canada:

Always have to note when a comic makes a stop in a specific rather than generic location in Canada, even when it's not actually Canadian for another eight years or so. This time it's Captain Courageous showing up to help these wacky pacifist fishermen drive off a Nazi invasion. (Banner Comics 004, 1941)

NOTES - DECEMBER 2023

Weaknesses: 

A very specific weakness for the Spectre: a once-in-a-hundred-million-year alignment of constellations that surely will never happen again. (More Fun Comics 071, 1941)

Misc:

This is my first encounter with Golden Age Johnny Quick so I'm not sure if the slow-down formula that he uses in the third panel above is a regular thing or a one-off but it sure has been left by the wayside. (More Fun Comics 071, 1941)

EDIT: He does it again in More Fun Comics 072! 

Memes of Yore - Keep 'em Flying!

Johnny Quick (More Fun Comics 073, 1941)

Green Arrow and Speedy (More Fun Comics 074, 1941)

Drawn without reference:

A wonderful 11-legged spider! (More Fun Comics 073, 1941)

Origins:

Poor ol' Earth-Two Aquaman. Nobody even remembers that he exists half the time, plus he got eliminated in the Crisis. Anyway, here's his origin: his dad found Atlantis and trained his son to breathe water (also a cheeky Fate of Atlantis - it sank and now Aquaman lives there). (More Fun Comics 073, 1941)

Great Folk:

I had completely forgotten about this story, but the old man who hoots and hollers and calls for detective Russell Granville until he's on the case is the spectacular character find of 1939. Really, really great way to build up the detective before his appearance and I'm a bit sad that this is the only Russell Granville story because that old man needs more panel time. (Keen Detective Funnies v2 011, 1939)