“Yesterday’s” Comic> Zip Comics #2

“That reminds me, I need to stop and get light bulbs on the way home.”

Zip Comics #2

M.L.J. Magazines, Inc (March, 1940)

I was a little tentative coming out of last issue, but as the formation of Archie Comics’ “Red Circle” characters (M.L.J. became Archie at some point) it still bears some investigation. Hopefully things will improve as this is the last comic of March of 1940 and it would be disappointing to go out on a bum note.

(I should make a list of the comics I’m reading and ones I’m avoiding. It would be easier on me. That’s a note to myself, folks.)

[Read along with me here]

Steel Sterling

Steel attempts to stop a prison break but ends up foiling a water piracy plot by the Black Knight. Is a second visit enough to be an arch nemesis or is the fact that he’s only had one enemy in two issues enough? Either way, it’s a good start, though the narration caption placement could use some work. It’s either late in describing stuff or didn’t have to in the first place, depending on the panel. The early days of comics.

The Scarlet Avenger by Irving H. Novick

A corrupt politician uses goons and crooked cops to run a protection racket. It’s up to the Scarlet Avenger and his agents to expose their operation. The science is kind of dodgy (SA should be electrocuted as well as the villains), but it doesn’t make the story any less fun. It’s the Golden Age. Science used to work that way.

Nevada Jones

Nevada turns Lone Ranger in his origin story. Framed rather easily for murder, he puts on the mask to hide his identity (I don’t think anybody had time to learn his name), makes an ally in the Mexican Indian Little Joe, and goes to clear his name…or at least take down the real villains. Kind of sorry he didn’t get to clear his name, but it’s a good story. Curious what happens to the character in the future.

Kalthar: Giant Man Of The Jungle by Harry Shorton

Poachers use dynamite to scare elephants, which somehow makes them easier to shoot. I’m no expert but a rampaging elephant should be HARDER to shoot down, I would think. The dialog is also clunky, and I don’t just mean the outdate racial comments. “Take him down, black. Wait, we’re white like you, you can’t kill us!” Yeah, 1940s, but it’s not like the rest of the dialog isn’t off. Is every elephant named Mano? Just not a very good story.

War Eagles

Yes, more of The Devils Twins, which the opening narration even admits joined the war just to fight their German polo nemesis. This is not the only lack of heroism out of the pair, as they try to weasel out of becoming squadron commanders, continue to fight over that girl, and end up getting caught in the battle, with Tom having to bail out during a fight. Also, their feud with their polo nemesis is making them more ancy on the Nazi side. I’m not really rooting for these two.

Captain Valor by Mort Meskin

Valor’s new friends are in trouble because one of the Chinese guys they befriended is a traitor, but the locals are called invaders…I can’t tell who I’m supposed to be rooting for besides the whiteys. Except for Wang-Fu, everyone in China seems to be jerks or pure evil. Hop-Lung (the names in this story are by someone who knows Chinese exist) is the only confirmed bad guy but everyone else seems just as bad. This was not a good story.

Mr. Satan

We’re not referencing Dragon Ball every time we get to this story. We have a decent plot. A strange creature is killing people near a pond and Mr. Satan is asked by the scientist living there to check it out. How he gets to the conclusions he does, accurate or not, is confusing. A bomb that can blow up a lake should have killed the guy holding it when it goes off. And we have more bad narration box placement. This could have been a good story but it ends up falling apart at the end.

Zambini The Miracle Man by I can’t read his name but the CB+ page says Elmo Wexler as artist but a different writer

You know, at least I understood what was going on. We have some burning planet that is going to destroy the Earth. Okay. Only one professor realizes it and he wants everyone to die because he’s kind of insane. When his not insane assistant wants to warn people, Zambini comes to save her. They journey to the planet on a glass palm tree (which is already strange but I swear I thought they were going to catapult themselves–so avoided that), fight the glass people, and save the planet even though the professor and the great glass blower try to stop him. This story is a mess. I wouldn’t even call this first draft level because I don’t see any thought at all put into this one.

overall

Like last time, the anthology started strong and ended badly. However, there’s enough interesting that I’ll look at the next issue.