“Hey, you should have bought a ticket like everyone else!”
Zip Comics #1
MLJ Magazines (February, 1940)
Another new anthology. There’s only one character in this list I know: Steel Sterling, the cover character. He’s one of the heroes Archie tried to bring back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Everyone else is going to be completely new to me. Will they be any good is the question.
Steel Sterling: The Man Of Steel
I hope Superman wasn’t using that already or somebody’s in trouble. Steel Sterling’s origin is…interesting and clearly a product of his time. The narration on the introductory splash page tells us that John Sterling saw his dad betrayed by the criminal underworld and created a chemical that would turn his body indestructible. Testing it by throwing his body into molten metal is a choice I wouldn’t have made, but lucky for him it worked. He also has magnetic powers because steel uses magnetism so he activates it by running his fingers through his hair. I’m going to need a scientist to check that math before I declare “science used to work that way”. Anyway, instead of going after the guys who killed his dad, Steel Sterling (not even trying on your name, John) tangles with the Black Knight, who isn’t dressed like any kind of knight. We get a good use of his powers and he’s not the killing type hero (though when you steal a cop’s motorcycle don’t be surprised when they shoot at you). It’s a pretty good introduction.
The Scarlet Avenger
This one sounds familiar but it’s a name that’s shown up in various forms. Jim Kendall’s wife and child are killed during an attempt to rob a plane (beat the Punisher to this backstory), and in the crash his face muscles were damaged so he can’t smile. Also a scientist, he settled for a bulletproof costume (the only thing scarlet being the cape and open head cowl, which narration says that’s the only part bulletproof…I have concerns) and has aides who aren’t aware of his dual identity, like the Shadow or Solitaire. He also makes a bunch of gadgets like Batman. His first mission we get to see is taking on an insurance racket run by Sledge Hammer.
…no, not him. I really enjoyed this one, too. We had another magnetic steel connection so I checked and it depends on the type of steel. So fine. Good introduction to this hero as well.
Nevada Jones: Cattle Detective
No superheroes this round. Nevada is a detective for the cattle association, which is a new one for me. In this story Mexican rustlers are sneaking over the border and stealing a pretty ranch owner’s cattle. There’s some good action, some sadly dead horses, but I can’t tell if this is the Old West or the then-current West given we see no technology of either time that they didn’t both share. Nevada does threaten to air condition a baddie after killing the rustler leader and that’s pretty much it. Overall a good read.
Kalthar The Giant Man: King Of The Jungle by L.R. Streeter
Oh, here’s one of those stories that don’t age well. Kalthar is our Tarzan knockoff for the comic, and you can guess from the time period how the “savage” natives, even among his allies, are written. No superhero here either unless you get technical since he has a grain that transforms him and another that changes him back. Kalthar is protector of the Ugarnas tribe after his father died rescuing them from Arab slave traders. Well, the slavers are back but Kalthar is ready for them. At least until one of them sees him transform and the hero has to call for help. Kalthar speaks Arabic, African, and animal despite being a white man who just came here with his dad. It’s not as good as the other two but still a pretty good story. At least it tried to do something different with the jungle man archetype.
War Eagles (featuring the Devil’s Flying Twins)
Remember, we still aren’t at the point where America entered the war. So our twins join the British military…because they have a feud with a German who tried to cheat them at polo. Our heroes? Well, they disobey orders during a mission, let one plane go to taunt their rival, fight over a girl, and after the Nazis (yes, we’re actually calling them Nazis for the first time in a long time in these reviews and not some vaguely German sounding enemy) take revenge and blow up their base, the twins find new planes and attack the Nazis on their own. The only reason two root for these twits is who their fighting. We have our first clunker of the comic, folks.
Captain Valor
Captain Valor, no first name if that’s his real name at all, quit the Marines because they were too boring. Okay, odd reason to turn adventurer and not “my commission was up and I wanted more personal freedom”. Being a former Marine is just an excuse to explain why Valor can fight as he fights a Chinese mandarin who tried to trick him into guarding his ammunition. Going undercover doesn’t work because he and his friend, whose sister they’re trying to rescue from the same pirate, aren’t colored yellow like every other Chinese character and are found out rather easily. Our heroes escape and take the villains down, but are the Chinese officials that find them friend or foe? So we have another story that isn’t standing the test of time, but is only slightly interesting. At least it’s a step back up.
Mister Satan
You know, I’ll give Japan a break for not understanding why this is a bad name for a supposed good guy, but this comic isn’t getting that break, especially when your introductory panel looks like he’s throwing dark skinned children around. Are they supposed to be pygmies? They are being used by the villain. Dudley Bradshaw takes on the identity and offers his services as an adventurer because he’s a bored rich kid. The bad guy in this one wants a jewel a missionary grabbed for a museum despite the gem having one of those “you’ll have great wealth but be in constant danger” blessing/curses on it. And this comic started so strong, too. This story is just mediocre.
The Miracle Man: Zambini The Magician by I’d tell you if I could read the name
Well, been a while since we’ve had a new occult hero. Zambini is asked to help stop his enemies from attacking in a war, the enemy tries to kill Zambini first, then tries to recruit him, and both plans fail. A woman manages to capture him because…get this…the touch of someone else’s hand makes him lose his magic powers. We have a new contender for lamest weakness possible, and somehow the villains are still dumb enough to lose because the lead spy gets jealous of her holding Zambini’s hand. Made worse by the dialog and over relying on narration, this is just sad. At least the Devil Twins were somewhat interesting. And this is how we end the issue.
overall
The comic started really strong but couldn’t maintain the momentum. It was good enough that I might give it another chance next issue, but it was kind of disappointing by the time it was all over. This also takes us to the end of February, 1940 in Comic Book Plus’ list because we’re out of comics that interested me and I already reviewed the first issue of Whiz Comics, the debut of DC’s Captain Marvel (the rest will show up either here or in pre-DC Tuesday). Next week it’s time for March, 1940 and the rotation starts over again.
BW Media Spotlight 