Number 1531: Zapped by Pyroman

Despite his name, Pyroman didn’t set the comics world on fire. He appeared in comics published by Nedor (or Better, or Standard), edited by Richard E. Hughes (who stayed on when the publisher became the American Comics Group, known as ACG.) Pyroman, as Dick Martin, was charged up with electricity by being zapped in the electric chair. He got his powers when he survived the execution attempt and was from then on loaded up with electricity. which could be re-charged by grabbing on to live wires, (Kids, do not try that at home.)

The Nedor stories of the era are mainly action, panel after panel of slugging and flying and escaping and — you get the picture. This is no exception. In this tale a mechanical “brain” leads a group of German saboteurs and that’s all it takes for Pyroman to do his electric/magnetic thing for 12 pages.

Artist is unknown by the Grand Comics Database. The story is from America’s Best Comics #6 (1943):

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Number 1530: Boyhood adventures end: Terry and the Pirates #9

With issue number 9 (1948) of Harvey’s Terry and the Pirates reprints, Terry’s adventures as a boy ended. The closing adventure (at least for the sake of this reprint series) I am showing  here. The rest of the book picks up during World War II when Terry Lee has become an air cadet. I won’t be showing those stories, so this post ends my reprints from this historic series.

I thought I’d apologize to any and all who take offense at the Asian caricatures. Unlike the white characters, Connie and Big Stoop are comic figures. That was the way they were presented 75 years ago when the strip was appearing in newspapers. While those depictions may make us uncomfortable today they were part of the popular culture of the era.

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If you haven’t done so already, pick up from the beginning of the series, which began with Terry and the Pirates #3. Just click on the thumbnails of the covers:

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Number 1529: “Twisting” Dickens...Green Mask and the boy pickpockets

Not long ago I showed a science fiction story that was inspired by Robinson Crusoe, and here is a superhero/crime-fighter story of the Green Mask and a Fagin-like criminal (Spelled “Fakin” or “Faken” depending on the panel) right out of Dickens’ Oliver Twist. I always say if you’re going to swipe, swipe from the best.

Green Mask was a short-lived superhero (1939 to 1942) from Fox Features. According to Don Markstein’s Toonopedia.com, the character was drawn by Walter Frehm (spelled phonetically as “Frame” in the splash panel.) Also according to Toonopedia, Frehm went on to draw Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. His cartooning style on Green Mask was pleasing, but reminiscent of a style of an earlier era. He died in 1995 at age 89.

From Mystery Men Comics #3 (1939):

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Victims of the Twin Scourages

Paul Naschy fans will no doubt enjoy the wildly madcap, completely non-sensical combo of werewolves and vampire women in our second story presentation from the June 1952 issue of The Beyond #12, --and just like our last post this tale also features the awesome art collaboration of Lou Cameron and Rocco Mastroserio. Rounding it all out with another True Tale of the Supernatural one page filler quickie as well... yep, two stories down, two to go!

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