Black Cat

I don't know when DC introduced Catwoman as a villain, but this Black Cat comic, posted on Four Color Shadows, reveals a possible inspiration, although she is a crime fighter.  Her secret identity is glamorous movie star, Linda Turner. 

Dr. Mid-Nite

A good 20 years before Marvel's Daredevil, DC had its own blind crime fighter:  Dr. Mid-Nite.  In this case, the blind Dr. McNider overcame this challenge via technology, namely - infra-red glasses that, according to the splash page here, gave him "perfect vision."  The bad guys in this story, posed on Pappy's, have a penchant for deadly toy weapons - miniature battleships and tanks, etc. 

New Comic, Old Song

I read the comics section of the newspaper first every morning.  It is a nice way to brace myself for the news.  I would like to send a shout out to Tom Batuik & Dan Davis, creators of Crankshaft, for their prominent feature of a 1930's song in today's strip.  Specifically, the character of Ralph Meckler is listening to "I Can't Get Started With You" while ordering a burger, fries and chocolate malted from a carhop, who apparently does not know what a chocolate malted is.  Years ago, the strip revealed that Ralph had a chance to play with Bunny Berigan's band, so that song is certainly appropriate. 

Bob Phantom (Seriously!)

The hero of this 1941 comic, posted on Four Color Shadows, is "Bob Phantom."  He is not "The Green Phantom" or "Phantom Flyer" or even "Robert Phantom," - just Bob Phantom.  To make matters worse, his hero name bears no relationship to his secret identity, which is Walt Whitney, Broadway columnist.  What would be next, "Fred Batman"? 

And another thing - I know it was the 1940's, and male condescension to females was taught in kindergarten, but this guy seems like too much even for the times.  I'm surprised his secretary didn't slug him. 

Air -Sub DX

Here is an obscure (to me anyway) comic about a craft that can fly and travel underwater.  The setting seems very Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon-ish, an apparent future version of Earth, but one in which such a craft is apparently still more advanced than other vehicles.  Posted on Four Color Shadows, this Air-Sub DX story comes from 1939. 

Spy Smasher

I thought I had already posted an adventure of Spy Smasher, but on second look, I could not find one, so here is one from 1942.  Posted on Four Color Shadows, Spy Smasher journeys to occupied Paris looking for an American traitor, only to find a Resistance hero!  The dialogue is a little over-the-top, even for the 1940's, but the plot is not bad. 

Duke O'Dowd: The Human Meteor

I don't remember seeing this hero before, so when Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine posted this 1940 story of "Duke O'Dowd:  The Human Meteor," it seemed worth a post.  Apparently, his primary power is high-speed flying, when he is not driving a cab in his secret identity. 

Captain Marvel

It's been some time since Captain Marvel visited our pages, so this 1941 story posted on Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine seemed appropriate.  I never was much of a CM fan myself, as I never could figure out where he stood versus Superman.  Most of my exposure to the character was the 1970's Saturday morning live-action TV show. 

Whiz Wilson: Time Travelling Fix-It Man

As a time traveler, "Whiz" Wilson has a unique approach.  He does not just handle whatever problem he finds in the present time with the tools available, nor does he jump back in time to prevent the problem from arising.  Instead, he jumps to the future, borrows advanced weaponry, and returns to defeat his foes with technological superiority.  Pappy's Golden Age Comic Blogzine posted this story from 1941.

Thunderfist (Canadian Comics)

According to Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine, prior to World War II, Canadians were able to enjoy U.S. comic books.  With the advent of war, however, comic books were not high on the list of import priorities for the Canadian government, so our friends up north made their own.  Due to tighter budgets, these comics were in black and white.  This comic, Thunderfist, tells the story of a superhero whose powers are apparently thanks to his own inventions, and who defeats the deadly mechanical devices of a foreign power.

Free Classic Comic Books Archive

A post on Boing Boing alerted me to the existence of Comic Book Plus, a free online archive of thousands of public domain comic books, comic strips, pulp fiction and other similar publications from the Golden and Silver Age, as well as some old time radio, vintage movies and TV.  Although I have not had the opportunity for any significant exploration of the site, the few pages I have seen make me want to see more.

Groucho

This item, posted on Four Color Shadows, is not one of those biographical comics about a celebrity as I have sometimes posted before.  In this story from 1949, a Hollywood columnist with a movie star girlfriend encounters the inimitable Groucho Marx in everything but name, and madcap antics ensue.  I say "in everything but name" because the character could not be anyone other than Groucho, and no name is ever given for the mustached, cigar-smoking, wise-cracking, woman-chasing little guy.

The Blue Lady

According to Four Color Shadows, the Blue Lady was one of the few female superheroes to precede Wonder Woman, and this story from 1941 was her final appearance.  Apparently, she possessed an exotic ring that gave her super powers.  The limits of her powers are not clear from this issue, but it seems she can turn into a mist, uproot trees and break chains, although gas does incapacitate her. 

The Shadow In Vengeance Bay

Unlike some other heroes who branched out into radio, serials and feature films, the Shadow did not start in comic books, but rather in pulp fiction, from which he later moved to the comics.  Although these pulp stories had illustrations, it was the imagery in the prose that told the story.  Comics, Old Time Radio & Other Cool Stuff posted this review of a March 1942 issue of The Shadow magazine.

Boy Commandos And The Flying Saucers

As the Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine points out, the flying saucer craze started about 70 years ago in 1947 with sightings of UFO's by a pilot in Washington state.  This 1948 issue of Boy Commandos cashed in on that story with no holds barred, including Martians, giant robots and a tiny atomic bomb. 

The Eagle And Buddy The Wonder Boy

I don't remember every posting an Eagle comic before.  In this issue, the Eagle and his companion, Buddy the Wonder Boy, encounter a whip-wielding villain apparently known as the Scarecrow.  Posted on Four Color Shadows.

Sergeant Spook

I do not know anything about Sergeant Spook other than what I can infer from this 1947 edition posted on Four Color Shadows.  Apparently, Sgt. Spook was a ghost policeman, visible only to his young friend Jerry, with whom he solved crimes.  Looks like Jerry could end up getting all the credit.

Faust

The legend of Faust has been in print since at least the 16th century.  Four Color Shadows posted this short, comic book version of the story. 

Senorita Rio

According to Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine, this 1945 Senorita Rio story featured a glamorous female action hero drawn by a 20 year old female artist.  In this episode, Senorita Rio foils an attempted coup d'etat. 

Kinks Mason And His Trained Seal (No, Seriously!)

This comic, posted on Four Color Shadows, interested me for several reasons:  1) the name "Kinks" Mason 2) a trained seal sidekick, and 3) a story about stopping seal poachers from the 1940's.  The story does not really get into the moral or environmental issues about clubbing baby seals to death for their fur.  Instead, it has more of a law and order vibe, like "poaching is illegal and we should stop it."  Of course, it could just be that the writers wanted to give "Battler," our hero's trained seal, the opportunity to enlist his fellow aquatic mammals' help in capturing the bad guys.