GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 034

Since we're currently reading Whiz Comics for 1941, it's time yet again for another load of unscrupulous people to get their hands on the Ibistick and then kill themselves with it. And here they are:

the Widow Zorn:

Ibis lends the Ibistick to old Professor Grubb  for scientific study after Grubb finds it outside of an exploded building and uses its magic to restore the building and everyone inside - which included both Ibis and Taia, along with their their young ward Tommy - to wholeness and life. This isn't a bad idea per se, as Grubb is an honest man, but he is also in love with the scheming Widow Zorn, who vamps it away from him in about two seconds flat.

Zorn's main interest is in conjuring up hunks to fight for her attention, so the damage potential in her having the Ibistick is a bit lower than some (although she does vaporize poor old Prof Grubb when he kicks off about it). She does of course try to kill Ibis with his own wand and ends up on the Moon for her trouble, but fortunately for her the reconstituted Grubb advocates for not letting her explode or whatever and she ends up falling for him after all. (Whiz Comics 012, 1941)

Trug: 

Trug gets his own super-villain entry, the jerk. 

the Chief: 

The Chief isn't a villainous figure per se, but his role in the comic is close enough that I'll say that he counts. The leader of an Inuit group subjugated by Trug, the Chief recovers the Ibistick after Trug loses it in a magical air raid and turns the tables on the villain by imprisoning him in his own palace.

The Chief lives through the process of confronting Ibis by simply being a fair fighter and not deigning to use magic where fists will suffice. Fair-ish, at least - he is nine or ten feet tall at the time. Still, Ibis manages to win their fight and reclaims his wand. The Chief and his people are returned to their original sizes (as the latter had been shrunk by Trug to ensure obedience) and get to keep Trug's palace to boot. (Whiz Comics 014, 1941)

A Spider: 

When Ibis and Taia leave the Chief and his people they are given a stone as a gift, and after having it appraised and finding out that it is an enormous and valuable ruby Ibis decides to give it back. Rimson, the appraiser, objects to this and attempts to claim the ruby for himself, and to that end he shoots out the couple's car tire, causing them to crash into a gorge.

Ibis and Taia survive thanks to the magic of the Ibistick, but the wand is dropped in the shuffle and chanced upon by a colourful and anatomically dubious spider that manages to envision its desires well enough to become both enormous and intelligent. 

The arch-cad Rimson soon falls to the spider's fangs, and Ibis is forced to battle it lest he and Taia likewise be eaten. He manages to mortally wound it with an improvised spear and then it finishes itself off by wishing for Ibis to fade to nothingness. It's a sad end for what I reckon might be our very first animal villain. (Whiz Comics 015, 1941)

Mudge: 

Mudge was already wanted for murder, minus a soul thanks to a deal with Satan (actually the villain Trug in disguise - not sure if that affects the validity of the soul sale) and afflicted with a donkeys ears thanks to Ibis when he acquires the Ibistick after it has been dropped in a a struggle. If any villain could use a break like this it's him, but he immediately screws up his chance by trying to afflict Ibis with chains. (Whiz Comics 020, 1941)

Unnamed Fascist:

This unnamed officer in the army of the War Lord not only speed-runs the process of reckless Ibistick use leading to disaster but manages to take down an entire invasion force with him thanks to his grandstanding, as he tries to wipe out Ibis and the entire army he's with all in one go.

Please also note Ibis foe Half-Man in the above panels, who is remarkable for being the only villain to date to avoid this kind of thing by not using the Ibistick at all. Presumably he is wise enough to keep tabs on how other villains have met their downfalls. (Whiz Comics 024, 1941) 

NOTES - JULY 2024

Cops Shooting Fleeing Suspects: 

The cops send a "shower of bullets" after the Fantom of the Fair as he swings over the densely-populated New York World's Fair. (Amazing Adventure Funnies 001, 1940)

Spider Drawn Without Reference:

Tarantula: a perfect black sphere covered in root structures. (Champion Comics 006, 1940)

Memes of Yore: COWARD!:

The "cowardly and superstitious lot" line that Batman is quoted as saying was not a one-off thing but it was in fact a widely-promoted idea of the time, that criminals were inherent cowards (there was also a frequent emphasis on criminals' gun use being a very cowardly attribute but that fell by the wayside at some point). Crime Does Not Pay was a message hammered into the public consciousness via the Hayes Code and later the Comics Code, and making criminals non-aspirational figures in every way possible was a part of that.

The extrapolation of this into "the more criminal you are the more cowardly you are" in this story is extremely funny, as is the fact that a criminal supposedly meeting his death by electrocution with some stoicism made front page news. Don't worry, it was the old "escape prison by using a death-simulating drug prior to your execution and then have people on the outside wake you up later" gag. Dr Miracle recaptures Nickie Norton in short order and his actual death was without dignity. (Champ Comics 011, 1940)

Honours:

The Flying Trio receive the Sylvanian Order of the Cross and Palms (Crash Comics Adventures 003, 1940)

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)

SPIDERS DRAWN WITHOUT REFERENCE

 (All-Star 006, 1941)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 054: SLAUGHTER SLADE

(Special Edition Comics, 1940)

Here is a list of pertinent details about Slaughter Slade:

-He talks like Swamp Thing for no discernable reason

-He is stronger and more intelligent than the human norm. Together with the prior point and some general odd behavior throughout the story this kind of leads one to think he might be revealed as a robot or alien or something. He is not.

-He has three henchmen: a regular gangster named Butch, a weird little freak named Spider and an intelligent gorilla named Doctor Allirog. Oh, and a giant spider:

-Doctor Allirog is not an intelligent gorilla at the beginning of the story, but his name is Doctor Allirog at the beginning of the story.

-Slaughter Slade's plan is to destroy the entire US government and install himself and Doctor Allirog as President and Vice-President, respectively.

-Part of Slaughter Slade's plan involves buying a book of knowledge from this man:

Professor Universe is possibly the single-appearance character whose failure to make a return has hurt me personally the most. Just the idea of this mercenary genius living somewhere near Fawcett City is so delightful to me. Obviously I want them to BRING BACK everyone involved in this story, down to Butch and the two Spiders.

SPIDERS DRAWN WITHOUT REFERENCE

As discussed elsewhere, the vast wealth of reference material that artists have access to nowadays simply wasn't available back in the day. Sometimes a comic book required a drawing of something that the artist simply had no point of reference for.

And while in light of that fact some of the wild octopus or dinosaur anatomy on display in old comics is entirely forgivable and understandable, the wild depictions of the humble spider are totally baffling - I could round up a spider in about 2 minutes, if needed. Hell, I can see a spider from where I'm sitting writing this.

Hence, an ongoing roundup of spiders, drawn without reference.