It turned out this was all some odd form of LARPing.
Mystery Men Comics #8
Fox Publications, Inc (March, 1940)
Another series of stories from the good era of Fox’s comics (not to be confused with the TV empire or the Disney-purchased movie company). I stopped reading these because of time but now they’re in the Golden Age rotation, so it’s more adventures with the original Blue Beetle in his original state. Plus we have other stories that didn’t get purchased by Charlton and thus were never brought to the DC universe. Let’s see what this anthology has for us.
The Blue Beetle by Charles Nicholas
I already heard this one. It was actually adapted into an episode of the radio show. So it’s need to see the source. Boss X wants to force the mayor to turn off the city’s power so his boys can go on a crime spree, and he’s blowing up buildings to do it. When even a hospital’s explosion doesn’t move him they kidnap his son. Points to Mike for actually putting up a fight, though we still have to have the random “I’ll get that Blue Beetle” bit from him. The gang think they killed the Blue Beetle, but he has a surprise for them. I wonder if the boy seeing Dan without his armor when he chases the boss through the water will ever lead to anything? It didn’t in the radio shows.
Wing Turner: Air Detective by Floyd Kelly
Bank robbers use an autogyro to avoid the police, so they call Wing for help. It’s just a big dogfight, the boss in this one dies because his chute won’t open, and there’s not much to the story beyond that.
Rex Dexter Of Mars by Dick Briefer
Enemies of a hot planet try to destroy the Earth’s atmosphere so it will get too hot and they can take over, even sending monsters to kill off the Earthlings. Whatever happened to the greenhouse effect? Anyway, Rex and Cynde have to end their vacation to stop him and save Earth. It’s actually Cynde that saves the day, which would look a whole lot different if this were a 2026 comic. However, this is 1940, where Rex gets picked on for have the girl save him. It’s not a very strong adventure, but not terrible. Or at least I’ve seen worse. There’s also a page with a template to make your own copy of Rex’s ship with balsa block, paint, and straws for the way too many thrusters.
The Green Mask by Walter Frame
The milk shortage in New York is caused by a foreign gang looking to use the problem to force the mayor out of office in the next election and take over the government with loyal agents. They try for poisoning next but the Green Mask stops them despite being wanted by the police himself. Vigilante superheroes were still treated as crooks back then, no working with the police. This wasn’t a bad story for the run time.
Chen Chang by Cecelia Munson: “Satan Steals The Scene”
Now he’s just getting petty. Chen tries to ruin Richard’s new theater by killing everyone (the white men, of course) and making him see it. Various events cause that to go wrong, Chen kills his own men just to prove a point, and you know the jerk’s going to be back somehow. I’m getting bored of his antics. The blurry scans of most of this story doesn’t help.
Lt. Drake Of The Naval Intelligence by F. Klaus
Drake finds an opium operation in Hawaii. Not much more to summarize. Decent action but kind of short.
Denny Scott Of The Bengal Lancers by L. Mayor
I can describe it, but it won’t make sense. Denny goes undercover to find a villain who wants American guns, but the lady who exposes him also helps him escape and dies with the burning fort. I don’t get it. What was her deal? This really needed more pages.
Secret Agent D-13 by S.R. Powell
D-13 gets to fly in a British fighter plane just as the Germans decide to bomb a Scottish bridge. The moral at the ending is about how terrible two people died for their respective countries because of a war of hate D-13 hopes young people won’t have to deal with. It’s almost the rare anti-war story instead of the “we need to get involved and get those Nazis” pre-World War II stories I’ve been seeing from around this period. That alone makes it interesting. Historical aside…it’s okay.
Captain Savage: Sea Rover by Arthur Reddy
We’ve kind of gotten away from the “proto-superhero” “mystery men” concept of the title. It’s also way too short, as Savage tries to rescue a low-populated island from villains who want to attack the Philippines for…a reason.
Zanzibar The Magician by George Tuska
And we end on crazy. Being too short might be advantageous or it would have been stranger. Zanzibar is bringing a murderer back to prison, but his fake surrender allows him to blow up the ship they’re on. Good move, hero. Now with two survivors they find a ghost ship and the murder becomes cursed by his desire to get their gold. I was over this character’s adventures a long time ago. This isn’t my jam, and unfortunately this is how the comic ends.
overall
The comic started strong but couldn’t stick the landing. I did at least enjoy the earlier stories, so I’ll be back, but it’s still a shame.
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