In 1940, DC Comics threatened to sue Fawcett Publications over a character the former company claimed was too close to their most valuable property: Siegel and Shuster’s Superman.

The offending character was not, surprisingly, Captain Marvel but a blonde, blue-eyed hero known as “Master Man.”

Master Man’s curriculum vitae certainly sounded familiar. The self-described “Wonder Of The World” was said to be “stronger than untamed horses, swifter than the raging winds, braver than mighty lions, wiser than wisdom and kind as Galahad.”

The super-man, however, gained his powers from a magic capsule (“The Vitacap!”) and monitored the Earth from a stone castle he build upon the highest mountain peak. Lacking a secret identity and supporting cast, Fawcett probably could have made the case that Master Man was distinctly different from the Man Of Steel.

Since the publisher already had the infinitely more original and successful Captain Marvel, though, Master Man disappeared after appearing in six issues of Master Comics – later home to Captain Marvel Jr.

To be honest, much like Fox Publication’s Wonder Man, Fawcett’s “Wonder Of The World” wasn’t a particularly inspired creation. (In fact, it isn’t really known who created the character although artist Newt Alfred drew Master Man’s first adventure.) The most notable aspect of today’s adventure is the apparently irony-free spectacle of a blonde, blue-eyed “Master Man” tormenting  a Hitler analogue.

So much for the Aryan physical ideal.

“The World’s Greatest Scourge: War” originally appeared in Master Comics #2 (Fawcett, April, 1940) The art is by Newt Alfred.

Ace Periodicals published a number of fine horror tales that disprove the notion that EC was the only Pre-Code comics company that emphasized quality as well as brutality. Ace’s earlier super-hero efforts, however, were crazy as hell.

The heroes themselves were stock, square-jawed types who stood for truth, justice and The American Way. The villains were another story, though. Ace’s rogues gallery consisted of killer clowns whose blood lust made The Joker look like Bozo, radium-irradiated mummies, vampiric hypnotists and – in today’s offering – a demonic midget little person who animated wax figurines with the condemned souls of hell.

Rudy Palais – who would later leave a significant mark in comics history as a horror illustrator for Harvey -  somehow manages to reign in the insanity with his typically expert art. He would only get better as his work matured.

The untitled story originally appeared Super-Mystery Comics Vol. 5, #2 (Ace Periodicals, Oct. 1945).

Kind of surprised Wertham never grabbed a hold of this story …

Popeye teams up with Wilco. One problem: I don’t believe Popeye would allow Jeff Tweedy to make off with Olive so easily …

Mac Raboy’s tenure on Captain Marvel Jr. produced some of the most beautifully illustrated stories of the Golden Age. His style, which was much more realistic than C.C. Beck’s take on Captain Marvel, were matched up with tales that were a shade or two darker than the Big Red Cheese’s kid-friendlier adventures.

While Dr. Vultur, for instance, was a garden variety evil Nazi genius, Junior’s methods of foiling the villain’s nefarious plans were as cold-blooded as any modern vigilante – even if they were masked with a smile.

From Captain Marvel Jr. #18 (Fawcett, April 1944), here’s “The Birds Of Doom.” The art is by Raboy.

Jean Harlow, Hollywood’s original Blonde Bombshell. That said, my favorite Harlow film is called Red-Headed Woman, which opens with Harlow mocking the notion that blondes have more fun.

Bob Powell’s Mr. Mystic faces off against his greatest foe, The Shadowman, in a surprisingly dark story printed days before Christmas of 1940.

The Shadowman was a precursor to Powell’s Man In Black, the human personification of death. Given the nature of such a foe, it’s not surprising that Mr. Mystic would have much to lose if defeated.

What is surprising, however, is that … well, let’s just say Spider-Man wasn’t the first super-hero to fail in a key, life and death situation.

The following story originally appeared in the Dec. 22, 1940 edition of The Spirit Section.

The Sorceress Of Zoom was one of comic books’ first “bad girls,” an out-and-out villain that was presumably granted an ongoing feature in Weird Comics because publisher Victor Fox liked as much T&A in his periodicals as possible.

Created by the great Don Rico, the Sorceress’ adventures certainly fit comfortably in the “weird” category. Zombie slaves, floating cities and bizarre transformations were the norm rather than the exception, as the villainess never hesitated to take any step deemed necessary toward achieving world domination.

(Of course, she never quite succeeded but you can’t fault a woman for trying … )

This particular adventure features an apparent Heel Face Turn by the Sorceress, but her sudden heroic acts are as ruthless as ever and are only based upon the character’s own selfish needs.

The dashing hero’s assertion that “she’s not so bad” is probably based more upon her provocative appearance than anything else. Nobody ever accused Fox comics of providing wholesome lessons, after all.

“Fantastic Valley” originally appeared in Weird Comics #12 (Fox, March 1941). The Grand Comics Database guesses that the story and art are provided by Rico.

Happy 82nd birthday to Willie Mays, a giant among Giants!

To celebrate Free Comic Book Day, here’s the complete Captain Marvel Adventures #78 (Fawcett, November 1947), advertisements and all.

This particular issue features two of my favorite Captain Marvel stories: the hero’s epic battle against Mr. Atom and an excellent human interest tale entitled “The Street Of Forgotten Men.”

According to the Grand Comics Database,  the issue was produced by the following creators: “Captain Marvel Meets Mr. Atom” was written by Bill Woolfolk and drawn by C.C. Beck and Pete Costanza; “Lucky Boy” was written and drawn by George Marko; “Climbs To New Heights” was drawn by Al Liederman; Captain Marvel Saves Sivana was written by Woolfolk and drawn by Beck and Costanza; “Stone Head” was written and drawn by Marko; “The World Stealers,” a Jon Jarl text adventure, was written by Otto Binder under the pseudonym Eando Binder and “The Street Of Forgotten Men” was written by Binder and Costanza.

Anything else that wasn’t ad-related was written and/or drawn by the ubiquitous “Anonymous.”

The issue was scanned, of course, by the good people at the Digital Comic Museum.

A real lip-smacker indeed…