A-5: 1940, Amazing Mystery Funnies #18 (Centaur). A German spy. He died in an accident when he stole a prototype stratospheric aircraft designed and built by Dr. Karl Jordan and guarded by Larry Kane.

Ace of Spades: 1940, Phantom Lady 20 (Fox). An oil scandal is brewing in the sleepy western town of Death Butte and witnesses are killed before they can come forward. So Senator Knight fakes a vacation trip to the touristy old west town to investigate along with his daughter Sandra and her boyfriend Don Borden. What they get is a murderous female cow-girl dressed in form hugging black and her partner the foreman of the oil fields. The Ace of Spades is unmasked by Phantom Lady as saloon singer Queenie. While trying to escape, she comes to an unfortunate end by driving her horse off one of the cliffs that gives Death Butte its name.

Agar: 1940, Amazing Mystery Funnies #19 (Centaur). Billed at the Colossal Bigtop Circus as the "Man without a Brain" Agar was an attraction controlled by Professor Henry Trepper. Being without personal volition Agar does not respond to pain and exhibits amazing strength and flexibility (for a human). Even after Professor Trepper's capture by Fantom nothing has been revealed of Agar's background. All that is known is that Trepper hypnotized some poor subject and gradually removed all traces of his personal volition. Once Agar reached this point Trepper used him to gain revenge on (read kill) his ex-wife and several other people. Agar was defeated by the Fantom in 1940.

Agent Z1: 1941, Amazing Man Comics #24 (Centaur). Ruthless Nazi agent stationed in the US. He was captured by the King of Darkness.

The Airmaidens: 1942, Air Fighters Comics v2 n2 (Hillman). The maidens are the beautiful assistants and wingwomen of the Valkyrie.

The Albino: (Fox). Anthony Durrant writes: This monster of the jungle was an albino exile who had a disease that he could pass to others by touch, with fatal results, when they died, they turned white like the Albino himself. He was the assistant of a girl who set herself up as a rival to Rulah, the Jungle Goddess, and pretended that she could root out the mysterious killer. In the end, the Albino died of his disease, but not before he killed the girl with his deadly "petrifying" touch as an act of revenge.

American Crime Ring: 1940, Amazing-Man Comics #17 (Centaur). This was a well-organized, high-tech gang run by Carl Weltner in Chicago. Though quite profitable none of the members knew exactly what the gang raised money for. In actuality Weltner was the front man for the Great Question. The high-tech equipment was supplied by the Great Question. The gang was disbanded after Amazing Man captured Weltner and destroyed much of the gang's equipment.

Anarchy Circle: 1940, Amazing-Man Comics #17 (Centaur). This was an anarchist's group supported by the Great Question. One known member was Madame Olga.

The Ant Woman: (Fiction). This evil white woman has made a home with her stolen gold and jewels in a lair underground, the entrances resemble large ant hills. She rules over native slaves and poisonous red ants. Her crimes and endeavors bring her to the attention of the Red Panther and when her lair is being destroyed by fire she seems to fall her to her death covered with maddened ants.

Argo: 1941, Amazing Man Comics #24 (Centaur). Ruthless Nazi agent stationed in the US. He was captured by the King of Darkness.

Asteroid Witch: 1950, Amazing Adventures #1 (Ziff-Davis). Anthony Durrant writes: This beautiful damsel from another dimension was luring spacefarers to her asteroid, where she would seduce them and drain the soul from their bodies! Her last victim was one Spike Kelley, who had just thought he'd seen his Martian lover Kell-E commit suicide by jumping through the window of their flat! After learning of the Asteroid Siren's existance from another spacefarer, Kelley stole a transport ship and headed off into the banned constellation where the Asteroid Witch's asteroid was located. However, Kell-E had only faked her death and arrived on the asteroid in her spaceship wielding a dimension busting gun that - once the Asteroid Siren had fled her asteroid - sent the woman into the seventh or eighth dimension! After her confrontation with the Asteroid Witch, Kell-E - whose gender made her immune to the Asteroid Siren's telepathic powers - took Spike home in her own spaceship.

The Avenger: Anthony Durrant writes: This gentleman set out to kill thirteen millionaires and was stopped by John Law, the so-called "scientective," in a story spread out over a number of issues.

Azkor: 1941, Amazing Man Comics #19, (Centaur). A scientist of unknown origin who created a gas which was so virulent that a thimble-full could wipe out an entire city in hours. He was supported, in his Latin American base, by Nazi agents. He was stopped (killed) by the Masked Marvel and his agents.

Baby Face: Sept. 1943, Clue Comics #5. (Hillman) Ronald Byrd contributes: Ostensibly "an angelic-looking little man who loves to give charity," Baby Face uses the lure of charitable donations to capture people. Accompanied by a gorilla whom he dresses in clothes and passes off as his mute "brother," Baby Face cages his victims (including the hero Twilight) as his gorilla was once caged, then plans to use a reducing liquid to shrink them. "For years people poked fun at me because *I* was small! Now I'll laugh!" But a blow from Twilight sends the spray toward "Brother," who kills Baby Face in a rage before shrinking into "a small pitiful monkey."

The Banshee: foe of Buckskin Blake.

Varna Bari: August 1941, Victory Comics #1 (Hillman).Varna is a bit of a mystery. The British think she's a spy for them, and the Nazis think she's in league with them, helping them destabalize the country Damora through assassination. While the hero the Conqueror manages to thwart the assassination through the possibly willing or unwilling aide of Varna, he isn't sure of her loyalties.

Barlow, James: 1940, Amazing Man Comics #11 (Centaur). This was the incumbent mayor of Pittsburgh in 1940. As crooked as they come when he was overthrown by reformist Jeffery Haines he promptly blackmail Haines to concede his post by threatening to divulge information of sexual improprieties. His partner in this was Bob Fredrickson. His plot was exposed by Prince Zardi and he spent several years in prison.

Barmell, Anton, Dr.: 1939, Amazing Man Comics #5 (Centaur). This mad scientist has a fascination with shrinking people. He used his knowledge and technology to shrink an unknown number of people before he shrunk Minimidget and Ritty. He promised to restore Minimidget to his normal size in return for killing several of Barmell's relatives (for the inheritence). After Minimdget was captured by the F.B.I., he turned on Barmell and helped them capture the madman.

Baron Doom: Captain Battle Comics (Lev Gleason). Doom is a masked costumed Nazi who was after a treasure hidden by pirate Captain Kydd. Baron Doom raced around the world hunting up clues and fighting Captain Battle and Hale all along the way. Unfortunately, I only have one reprint of this multi-issue storyline.

Baron Kraft: 1940, Silver Streak Comics #4 (Lev Gleason). German ace who led a blitzkrieg raid in Poland that killed the pregnant wife of Paul Storm. This led to Storm adopting the identity of the Sky Wolf (I).

Baron Schlang: This bald german agent was captured and put into an asylum by the Halo. He is visited by the "most eminent criminologist in America", a bald cherubic clergyman known only as the Bishop and confides to him that he is working on an encyclopedia outlining every crime committed by human hands and that the last volume will be dedicated to the murder of Love, Music, and Religion that he plans on committing himself. He escapes from the asylum and sets out to make good on his promise. Only he runs afoul of the Halo once again. Note: the Halo himself is an interesting and obscure hero. He's tall and lean and basically the Spirit only with a mustache. However, his secret identity is that of the short bald and pudgy Bishop!

Baron Von Twotree: Cat-man 16 (Holyoke). A toothy genius, he went up against the Hood.

Baroness Blood: Air Fighters Comics (Hillman) Buxom blonde Nazi villainess in red costume with a white swastika on her chest and a purple cape. Foe of the Black Angel.

Baroness Von Elsa: 1941, Prize Comics 13 (Feature Publications). With a dim-witted giant and cunning dwarf, she went after a formula that increased the power of explosions. However, she ran afoul of the Green Lama.

Oliver Barron: Anthony Durrant writes: This murderous crook was the partner of a criminal known as Joltin' Joe, and together they hatched a scheme to put empty cargo cases onboard the ships that Barron insured in his capacity as an insurance agent, then Joltin' Joe would place an explosive device on the target ship and then skedaddle in a boat with his henchmen before the ship exploded. They were stopped by Luckyman, real name Frank Parr, a crook-catcher with incredible good luck who flipped a coin whenever he had to make a decision, but who was also a talented fighter as well. NOTE: Normally, this bio and criminal wouldn't interest me too much as the villain seems your common variety criminal. However, what we do have is a noteworthy hero. One, I've not heard of the guy. Two, he also reminds me of the 2 heroes named Lucky Coyne, one who was at MLJ and another by the Chesler Studios. Could this be another re-working of the same character, a not too uncommon practice ala Dan Hastings? And is there any link between them and the coin flipping bad-guy Two-Face?

The Bat: 1941, Cat-Man Comics (Holyoke). This masked and cloaked villain started a huge fire in the American west in order to gain control of a gold shipment in the small mining town of Red Creek. He's a cool customer, even when he attempts his escape from 'Chute' Harmon by running into the flames. Even the next issue blurb wasn't sure if we'd seen the last of the Bat.

Bats: Air Fighters Comics #6 (Hillman). A Nazi plane crashes into a cave in a English petrified forest. When Defense Police investigate they find only skeletons of the pirates and giant man-sized bats. Soon these giant bats are terrorizing production factories. The Black Angel investigates to find the skeletons were planted and human faces underneath bat masks. When they take to the air with bombs, she follows in her plane and shoots them down. Dead, they reveal their secrets, Nazi agents in costumes with small helicoptor rotors strapped to to their batwinged costumes.

Bat-Winged Fiends: (Street & Smith) Germans shell the paradise island home of Astron and accidentally release the bat-winged fiends. These demons of superstition first do battle with the Germans and then with Astron, her boyfriend "Man of the sky" pilot Cassidy, and her large crocodiles. The demons are nearly invulnerable, it was only by drowning them that the crocs were able to finish off many of them.

Beast: 1941, Weird Comics (Fox). Bug-eyed, hooded villain with an iron claw for a right hand. Recurring foe of the Eagle.

Spats Bertelli: (Better) Anthony Durrant writes to me: His claim to fame is that he underwent plastic surgery to impersonate Grant Mannering, the brother of the deceased millionaire Hector Mannering, in order to profit from the sale of Hector Mannering's business to a worldwide aviation firm owned by the U.S. government. Unfortunately, he was stopped by the American Eagle, at which point it was revealed that he had killed Hector Mannering by drugging him during a business conference and injecting an air bubble into a vein. After the surgery, he looks just like Grant Mannering, but you can tell him apart because he dresses in a green suit, while the real Grant Mannering dresses in an old brown suit and has a triangle birthmark on his left shoulder, a means of identification used by Hector Mannering in his will, so that his brother could be identified if he was ever found.

Big Bertha: 1949, Guns Against Gangsters v2 no1/no7 (Novelty). Anthony Durrant writes us: A tall redhead, Big Bertha was the world's strongest woman.  When her manager, E. J. Hodes, caught her in the act of stealing from the studio, Big Bertha murdered him with her bare hands, but left a teacup with her blue lipstick at the scene of the crime.  The detective Toni Gayle discovered the murder when she came in for an audition.  Big Bertha overpowered Toni when she sneaked into her dressing-room, and forced her to go with her to a nearby park, where she planned to kill Toni.  Toni, however, had smeared Bertha's blue lipstick all over the sole of her shoe, and so her friends were able to follow them and stop Bertha from killing Toni. 

Bigger, "Doc": 1939, Amazing Man Comics #8, (Centaur). This madman operated out of Riceland University. There, he was capturing extremely large men (including his own son), lobotomizing them, surgically altering them, and using them for Riceland's football team. Needless to say, Riceland was winning their division that year. When he heard of Mighty Man, he tried to capture the hero to study his growing powers. Mighty Man, however, was able to turn the tables on Bigger. In the ensuing battle, Bigger was crushed by the giant lobotomized football players that he had created.

Black Band: 1936, Spicey Detective Stories (Culture Publications, Inc.). A band of crooks identified to each other by a ring with their secret symbol. When they murdered one of their own, they must send a member to retrieve the ring from the body. But he runs afoul Sally the sleuth and her chief.

Black Death: 1940, Thrilling Comics 10 (Better). Originally a costumed murderer in a play by the same name, it appears as if jealous actor Perry Knight has turned the role into reality by shooting his rival and kidnapping actress Linda Lytell whom he loves. The Woman in Red catches the real Black Death, Mr. Weber. The Black Death dresses in a black form fitting costume head to foot with the emblem of a skull on his chest

The Black Dragon: 1941, Silver Streak Comics #10 (Lev Gleason). The Black Dragon and his Deaglos (bird-men) are foes of Captain Battle. One of his Deaglos, was an orphan named Nathan Hale, who when cured became Captain Battle's sidekick. He is "the last word in evil sorcery, bewitches all prisoners into these giant Deaglos. In his feudal castle in Asiatic mountains, this incarnation of evil rules as an absolute tyrant. He chafes at any form of freedom for others, hence his sworn enmity against all democracies. The Asian powers are but a front for him and having failed miserably to even dent our cousin's navy, he is taking a hand by sending a division of Deaglos. Black Dragon having used the spirit of an extinct bird, the dodo, for these transformations, the Deaglos are proof against physical death, as we know it. They laugh at the sailors' efforts to shoot them. Deaglos retain their human speech and thought but are completely dominated by him." Deaglos are giants about 20 feet tall with yellow bird like faces, bulging red eyes and green beaks but pointed ears and a few of the nastier ones have red crest-fins. They have blue-gray wings and feathers about the shoulders and chest but human torsos otherwise. The Black Dragon himself is a very normal looking man in red robe and skull cap. Captain Battle discovers the Deaglos can be killed simply by radio beams, but the Black Dragon himself escapes. Created by Carl Formes & Jack Binder

The Black Dragon Society: In the comics: The Black Dragon Society was a feared secret society of Japanese espionage group and several comic characters and groups would clash with them such as the Justice Society of America. A group of them faced Captain Future in Startling Comics #18.

Black Fury: 1947, Zoot #9 (Fox) In the jungles, Taho and her mate Umar are aware of gold in the local river and plot for ways to chase off the village. They almost succeed by somehow bringing in killer octopi, but Rulah manages to uncover Umar's part in it and he's given to jungle justice, death at the hands, er, tentacles of his pets. Taho flees into jungle and uses other old talents she has. She's a descendent of a cult of cat worshippers who could speak their tongue and command them. She adopts a costume and with a group of panthers, tries to rid the jungles of Rulah's influence. However, Rulah is forewarned by an old witchwoman, and she manages to outwit and outfight Taho by using fires caused by an erupting volcano to scatter her pets. Taho is flees past the fires to escape and is last heard as her beasts turn on her. Oddly, in this jungle, all the women seem to be young, beautiful and white, except for the old witch woman. Jungle girl vs. jungle girl.

Black Priest: 1944, Red Dragon Comics #9 (Street and Smith). 2000 years ago, a black priesthood sect died out in ancient Egypt save for one who was condemned to death by Queen Hat-Shet-Sup but managed to stay alive (though very old) by the book of Thoth. Active once more in modern times, he has Hitler calling him master, controls a gang of crooks, and possesses the Pool of Life. The pool shaves years in seconds and he duels with Chuck Ro-Magnon, the Immortal Man in the pool. But the Black Priest does not realize that the Immortal Man is far older than he and by story's end he's reduced to a baby though still possessing his adult mind. In addition to vast mind powers (able to read minds, control others at great distances) he possesses some magical knowledge, even able to call forth phantoms to fight for him.

Black Rufus: 1940 Keen Detective Comics #21 (Centaur). This was a criminal in control of a part of New Orleans. He was the first villain encountered by the novice mystery man, Rainbow. He swore vengeance on the Rainbow after he and his men were run out of town.

Black Satan: Billed as the "arche-enemy of America." He looked like a devil: bald head, goatee, horns and a black suit. He bedeviled the kid gang the Four Comrades.

Blitz: Fighting Yank #5 (Better). A group of German saboteurs, practicing their craft in the Alps, uncovered a cave with their dynamite. Out of this cave came a blonde giant, a prehistoric man trapped in there for centuries. The long time in sub-zero temperatures made him bigger, stronger and made his body radiate intense cold. After slaying several of the Nazis, he falls under the sway of the leader Glunken who recognizes him as a German even if a prehistoric one. It is Glunken who gives the giant the name of Blitz. Glunken takes him to America to perpetuate several acts of sabotage but they were ultimately stopped by the Fighting Yank.

Prof. Blitzsnozzle. Foe of Dickie Dean. Created by Dick Briefer

The Boar: 1942, Daredevil Comics #8 (Lev Gleason). Foe of London. Created by Jerry Robinson

Bogardus: Yankee Comics: 3 or 4 (Chesler) See Gorgon's Head entry

The Bolt: 1942, Daredevil Comics #9 (Lev Gleason). "The Champion of Crime"; foe of Daredevil. Created by Charles Biro

Borcia: 1941, Cat-Man Comics #3 (Helnit Publishing Co). A great inventor whose mind snapped and dreamed of ruling the world. He created the huge robot Najar (also spelled Najor) and captured the powerful Dr. Diamond. However, his step-daughter turns against him and frees Diamond who destroyed the powerful robot and captured Borcia.

The Boss and the Imp: 1946 or 47, Black Cat #4 or 6 (Harvey) Anthony Durrant writes: The Boss and Imp were two characters who came up against the Red Demon. They would take the butlers of wealthy citizens captive during the Boss's magical disappearing act trick, then Imp would rob the person's home disgused as the butler, after which they dropped off the real butler in a dazed condition. The Red Demon caught Imp, and the Boss - a blonde who had the face and figure of an angel - fell to her death from a cliff soon thereafter.

Brain I: 1939, Fantastic Comics #1 (Fox). Referring to himself as the Brain at the start of his attempt to conquer Earth, this villain with a large egg shaped head and little pince-nez glasses is the great Martian scientist Skomah, the 7th son of the great scientist Skomah who wanted to produce an offspring with such a great brain that no problem would be too much. No mention of what happened to his 6 older siblings or if they too were named Skomah. Controlling thousands of Martian Imp Men, he brings Space Smith and girlfriend Dianna to Mars where he intends to make Dianna into a being like him and his queen of the universe.

The Brain II: 1940, Green Mask Comics 3 (Fox). Yes, another villain called the Brain, this one a foe of the Green Mask and Domino.

The Brain III: 1941, Popular Comics (Dell) Sorel, Supermind's "former pupil with the wizard mind, seizes several of Supermind's super-inventions and the man himself in order to commit incredible crimes. He returns at least once to bedevil Supermind and son by stealing the machine that gives Dan Warren his fantastic strength and invulnerability. Each time he is defeated by the superior intellect of Supermind and the powers of his son.

The Brain IV: 1944, Fighting Yank 9 (Better) Anthony Durrant writes to me: He and his fiendish cohorts were based in a captured lighthouse and worked for the Nazias actually a dummy on top of a u-boat, as well as taking prisoners who had strategic knowledge. The brain and his cohorts were eventually stopped by the Fighting Yank, who single-handedly knocked the u-boat into the water and thereby destroyed their operation. Physically, the Brain was just that: a brain in a jar with an entenna on top who did all his gang's thinking, sabotaging the Allied war fleet by jamming the harbour with the explosion of a sailboat that whem, including the plan for capturing the lightship and taking its crew prisoner; they were using the lightship to send false signals and thereby cause further destruction.

Braina: 1944, Planet Comics #33 (Fiction): Anthony Durrant writes: Braina was a man from Jupiter who had lost part of his brain but had gained another one. He was seeking to kill Professor Tora, a delegate from Jupiter who was about to come to Earth to attend a meeting of delegates from all of the planets. To do this, he amputated a prisoner's arms and injected them with a radioactive solution so they would strangle Tora to death once placed in the vicinity of metal. His plan worked, and the amputated arms were substituted for the bomb Tora's secretary was carrying, but, ironically, the man Braina killed turned out to be an impostor who had subdued Tora and taken his place in order to destroy the interplanetary conference. Presumably, Braina himself was captured by the Space Rangers Reef Ryan and Flint Baker

Brima Stone: 1953, Purple Claw #1 (Minoan Publishing). Witch? Demoness? This red-headed beauty was queen of the underworld with hoodlums and demons serving her. Her best demon guardian was her gun. It brought gangsters under her control and she could kill with it any time. Despite this and her ability to appear and vanish in a flash of brimstone, she was brought low by the Purple Claw.

B'Shini: 1948, Fight Comics #56 (Fiction) Anthony Durrant writes: B'Shini was a legendary giant warrior who was worshipped as a god by a tribe in the territory of Tiger Girl, the jungle crimefighter. He was impersonated by Trader Gregory, a legless trader who used stilts and an elaborate disguise to persuade the natives that he was B'Shini and make them plunder the cargoes of the boats traveling along the cargo lanes. He was stopped by Tiger Girl, who unmasked him, and then was eaten alive by a huge leopard.

Nadya Burnett: 1944, Super-Mystery Comics Vol. 4 No. 2 (Ace). A beautiful model, Nadya was chosen to model a fantastic diamond necklace. She hires some crooks to steal the diamonds during the show, only to alert the head of the agency anonymously. He then calls Mr. Risk in to guard the diamonds. During the robbery while doublecrossing her crook partners, a large light crashes against her, horribly scarring one half of her face. She now loathes and seeks to destroy all beauty, but is accidentally knocked out a window by Risk and falls to her death.

Captain Black Flagg: 1940, The Flame #2 (Fox). Horace "Black" Flagg is a river pirate along the Hudson River. Along with a murderous gang, he commands a small but powerful and swift launch and a base hidden in an old warehouse with a secret bay door on the waterfront. He's apparently sent to a fiery doom by the Flame. Otherwise, Flagg looks like a standard for the time bearded sea captain

Captain Colorful: May 1937, Don Winslow of the Navy (P), Vol. 1, No 1 (Merwil Publishing Co.) Captain Colorful is an 18th century pirate. His descendent is Charles Colorful who, with the mysterious blonde Adeline, is competing with the unscrupulous modern day pirate Captain Scarbo in finding Captain Colorful's treasure buried on Colorful Island, rumored to be haunted by his ghost. NOTE: This is one of two strips running in the Don Winslow pulp, the other being about a sailor and boxer, Jupiter Jones. Something of interest is that both strips are credited to M. Sheldon. The similarity in the name and in the cartooning style leads me to believe that this is none other than Sheldon Mayer. There are some other connections to Mayer to support this supposition: Merwil Publishing (the publisher of the pulp) first published comic strip reprints of Don Winslow before the character moved to Dell Publishing where Gaines and Mayer were working at the time. Merwil Publishing was also apparently started by Harry Donenfield and Jjack Liebowitz making the company a sister company to "Detective Comics" where Mayer would be working in about a year when he brings that Superman character to editor Vin Sullivan's attention.

Captain Heroic: 1944, Prize Comics #46 (Prize). Foe of Boom Boom Brannigan. One can only assume that Heroic aka Percy Appleby was in reality less than heroic.

Captain Klegg: 1940, Keen Detective Comics #23 (Centaur). He and his pirates boarded a ship carrying Air Man's father and killed him along with a number of other passengers. This served as the impetus for Drake Stevens to adopt the id of Air Man and soon tracked down and captured Klegg and his pirates.

Captain Nippon: (Ace). Japanese villain. He¹s clad in green tights and cowl with a red suburst on forehead and chest as well as a hook for a right hand. Fought Captain Courageous.

Carro: 1941, Yankee Comics #1 (Harry "A" Chesler). Notorious New York gangster reads about Roger Chalmers returning to America from Africa with an enchanted dagger and decides he wants it. Unfortunately, all he does is draw attention to himself, and the Enchanted Dagger vows to fight his gang, "in fact all gangs, until crime itself has been wiped out."

The Cat: 1945, Exciting Comics #44 (Better). "Electrical wizard whose twisted, power-mad brain led him to fight his own country‹America" through the use of his invention, a flame ray that causes anything it¹s aimed at to burst in flames. With this attached to his gang¹s planes he looted trains and airplanes until he was stopped by American Eagle and. Despite a great name and invention, he was a rather pedestrian villain with delusions of grandeur.

Cat-Man: 1939, Amazing Man Comics #5 (Centaur). Twenty years before, the officers of the company Barton Stone worked for had engaged in some illegal activities. Although Stone was only peripherally involved in the activities, he agreed to take full blame for the illegalities in return for a rather large payoff. However, once he was safely convicted and in prison, the company officers cut off further payments. Stone's wife died in poverty while Stone, in prison, was unable to help. He swore vengeance. When he got out of prison he disguised himself as a little old lady with a cat. He then met with each of the officers, in turn. After revealing who he was, he threw the cat on them. The cat, then, sunk its poisoned claws into its victims. After all four officers were dead he left the country.

Cavemen of the Mountains: 1941, Blue Bolt v2 #3 (Novelty). The cavemen of the mountains are large hairy brutes that can only see at night and live in a cave in the forests. Chocolate is like a drug to them, and lumberjack Pierre uses that to enslave them as workers for his boss Big Nick. The hero Twister happens to be nearby, investigating Big Nick for some untold (at least in this tale) underhanded dealings. He takes them all on, sending the cavemen back to their caves

The Censor: 1942, Green Mask Comics 9 (Fox). A city and its newspapers are terrorized by mysterious deaths that turn the victims blue accompanied with a calling card with a picture of a man with a devilish mustache and beard. The Nightbird (secretly photographer Lens Crockett) manages to uncover that the devil's face is a mask concealing the identity of Ricardi, the society editor. With the help of a crooked police commissioner, Ricardi had been getting dirt on and blackmailing the wealthy. In the end, he fell victim to one of his own poisonous devices.

Chameleon:(Better) A villain mastermind who appeared to be in several places at once. Stopped by the Grim Reaper.

Chang: 1941, Fantastic Comics #13 (Fox). An evil lama, apparrently slain opposing Flip Falcon

Checker: Clue Comics (Feature Publications). Decked out in a checkered mask and costume, this villain kidnapped whole buildings and held a city at ransom. His operations led to the formation of the costumed duo Nightmare and Sleepy who put an end to his plans.

Chief Crane: 1940, Silver Streak #6 (Lev Gleason). A strange flying winged creature (the Flying Dragon of the bare-bones entry?) is attacking boats in what looks to be China. Seeing it on his televisor, Sky Wolf flies to investigate and gets involved in an arial battle until magnetic rays force his plane down. What he finds is a gang headed by their mustached leader Crane who has used advanced science to rob and plunder and he hopes to force Sky Wolf to join him in his grand smuggling operations. Their den is wholly magnetized making attacks from conventional weapons useless while Crane and his men use plastics. The creature that started it all, was little more than a cleverly disguised propeller-less airplane, complete with a flame thrower in the "mouth". A very short story, light on details but interesting nonetheless. This Sky Wolf is not related to the Hillman character, he wears just plain monotone flying togs (in the comic they are orange but probably meant to be brown) and a white mask.

Chief Zombie: Mystery Men Comics (Fox). Down in the swamps of Louisiana, this white bearded man uses local superstition by hiring men to pose as zombies and terrorize people so he can buy their land cheap and sell at a profit later. However, he runs afoul of real magic when Zanzibar opposes him.

Chen Chang: Mystery Men #1 (Fox Features). Chen Chang is the "Master Mind," "highly cultured and wealthy" but desiring only "to bring disaster upon the White Race!" He's a Yellow Peril menace, head of a Mongol army and aided by the sultry murderous River Lily. His plans of conquest are continually foiled by the white man Richard Kendall..

Chung Hang: 1940, Fight Comics #2 (Fiction) This yellow peril menace is a bit of a visionary. He forsees "soon the world will exhaust itself in war. Then it shall be ready for my super-science...I will control the thoughts of all men!" He's not an idle boaster either as the rays from a rod he holds allows him to controll anyone they fall upon. Unfortunately for him, he had apparently been using Americans trapped in war torn China to experiment upon and pilot Chip Collins and his Skull Squadron (their bi-planes have paintings of skulls on the side) as well as his girlfriend Wendy fly to the Chinese village to rescue them.

The Claw: (Lev Gleason) The most outlandish of the Yellow Peril characters taken to the extreme. Reports of this villain has him towering stories tall, a mouth full of sharp fang-like teeth, skeletal hands with long fingernails. Although obviously born out of the "yellow menace" hysteria, he seems to be beyond that, more of an embodiment of nightmares, hatred and paranoia. His goals seem to be nothing less than subjugation of mankind and he is frequently opposed by the heroes Daredevil, the Ghost, and Silver Streak. In his first appearance, he is a supernatural being, leader of a band of plunderers and has imposed a reign of terror on the mid-Pacific island of Ricca and its 1000 inhabitants. He operates out of a remote castle and on nights when the moon is full, his great form can be seen looming into the sky with a hypnotic hum that sends the natives scattering, save whoever his target is for enslaving. The Claw holds sway over his band through dreams, good dreams as addictive as any drug while nightmares are used to punish those that fail.

In Boy Comics # 89, the Claw resurfaces and gets a new origin, this time as an alien invader from the planet Zylmarx who is stopped by Rocky X of the Rocketeers.

Cleopatra: 1945, Speed Comics #38 (Harvey). In Egypt, Cairo dancing girl Tesmen Beh, working with Japan, pretends to be the reincarnation of the legendary queen. She is killed when she is struck by her asp while fighting the Black Cat. Anthony Durant provides: a dancer, who was hired by the Japanese to impersonate Cleopatra so that she could trick the Egyptians into attacking the Allied forces with weapons left behind ten years earlier by the Japanese in a pyramid near her underground hideout. She first saw Linda Turner, the Black Cat's alter ego, while dancing at a club with a cobra (yes, that kind of dancing!).

Cloud Clipper: 1948, Target Comics vol. 9, #8 (Novelty Press). The Cloud Clipper is acrobatic and the head of small gang of thieves that use a camouflaged plastic blimp to appear as if they are riding on a cloud and stage daring robberies on the top floors of tall buildings including going after the world's largest diamond. However they couldn't handle the Target and the Targeteers.

Cloud, Eve, Dr.: 1940, Amazing Man Comics #16 (Centaur). This mad scientist experimented with a shrinking formula on a deserted (at least after he got there) island in the Pacific Ocean. He was captured by the Shark.

The Clown: 1940, Super Mystery Comics 5 (Ace). A malevolent psycho who at times seemed to work for himself and other times for Hitler. He was decked out in a clown's garb and a frequent foe of Magno.

The Clown II: 1942, Green Hornet Comics #7 (Harvey). Murderous thug in Clown attire, and avowed enemy of both Britt Reid and the Green Hornet. Despite his thuggish demeanor, he's fiendishly clever and make-up artist expert and manages to avoid his own execution. Harvey also had a hero by the name of the Clown.

The Clown III: 1943, Shadow Comics v2n11 (Street & Smith). This villain proved to be no laughing matter for Danny Garrett.

The Cobra: 1942, Prize Comics 19 (Feature Publications). The Cranes inherit a castle with a hidden treasure and they hire private detective Terry Dane to help them find it. Unfortunately, they find themselves opposed by a gang led by a man with a cobra head mask. Though he's strong and devious, he is stopped by the Black Owl (Terry's boyfriend Doug Danville) and revealed to be Tom, the caretaker.

The Cobra: (Ace). German agent with fang-like teeth and dresses in a green snake outfit. His most frequent adversary is Magno.

Cobra Lady: 1943, Daredevil Comics #20 (Lev Gleason). Ally of the Claw; foe of the Ghost. Created by Bob Wood

Commander Darke: 1941, Bang Up #1 (Progressive). Nazi who opposed Cosmo Mann.

Conquering King (and the Conquering Knights): 1947, America's Best #21 (Better). A group of 40 crooks become would-be conquerors with an ultraviolet gun that blinds opponents. Defeated by Doc Strange.

Conqueror: (Centaur). Bolton Gates is a criminal mastermind was constantly thwarted in his attempts to conquer the world (or, at least, a large chunk of it) by the intervention of Dean Denton. He had a large organization of loyal followers and an impressively varied armory of chemical weapons.

The Conqueror: 1939, Amazing Mystery Funnies (Centaur). In the future, he's a mysterious figure, a scientific genius turned towards criminal activities, leading a band of outlaws on Saturn until the gang was wiped out and he disappeared for five years. Captain Tim, Professor Gray and Rita, the crew of the Air Sub 'DX', discover the villain and his forces on Mysterey Isle (sic). Clues suggest that the Conquerer might be explorer Montan who had disappeared on expedition to the isle 50 years before.

The Corpse: March 1943. Clue Comics #3. (Hillman). Ronald Byrd wrote: Suffering from a blood disease that renders him immune to pain, undertaker Westly insanely decides to make sure his friends precede him in death; as the Corpse, he poses as an apparition in which, thanks to a mirror-mask, each of his victims sees his own face. He succumbs to his disease shortly after being defeated by Nightmare and Sleepy.

Corzen, Robert, Captain: 1940, Keen Detective Funnies #24 (Centaur). This brilliant engineer designed and built several old-style pirate vessels that incorporated modern technology and materials and could travel underwater like a submarine. He was captured by Air Man.

Cougar: 1944, Super Mystery Comics vol. 4 # 1 (Ace). Fritz Martin was blackmailing the father of twins Tom and Tim Turner. Tim follows his father to learn who's bleeding his father only to be seen and recognized. Fearing for his life Tim calls in Mr. Risk. As the Cougar, Martin dresses in a black cat suit and has poisoned claws that he can throw with a deadly accuracy.

Count Irban: 1944, Clue Comics #8 (Hillman). Ronald Byrd says: Descendant of a Swisslakian rebel routed by the Boy King's Giant 500 years earlier, Count Irban poses as carnival owner Rudolpho in order to steal Swisslakian gold and depose the Boy King. He is aided by trapeze artist Carlos, knife thrower Emil, trick rider Rondo, and the magician Captain Fingers. All are defeated by the Boy King, his brother Muggsy, and the Giant.

Count Vesti: 1946, Yellowjacket Comics 8 (The Frank Publishing Co.). The entire village of Pabst in Balkania is affected by moon madness and when the weak-minded villagers are such the evil Count Vesti commands them to rob and kill any who oppose him. However, under the command of Zeus, he is stopped by Diana the Huntress who uses Mercury¹s caduceus to put the villagers to sleep and seals Vesti inside his castle.

The Crab: Speed Comics 20 (Harvey). A robed Yellow peril menace, this Japanese worked his evil in Korea. Only, in his case he's twins, allowing himself to appear in several places at once. His chief agent is by the name of Zero. He and the Crab(s) are captured by War Nurse and the Girl Commandoes, with the aide of two aviators and some Korean nationals.

Mr. Crambell: 1941, Silver Streak Comics #7. Daredevil Durrant writes: Mr. Crambell was a smuggler who was apprehended by his employee, Bart Hill (not the original Daredevil this time), a "timid soul" who was transformed into "a peerless dynamo of battling courage" when his doctor informed him he had a fatal illness that would kill him after sunset that day. Bart knocked out Mr. Crambell's henchman Aubrey, and then ran into his office where he found Crambell pointing a machine gun out the window! After a struggle with his employer, Bart captured Mr. Crambell and received an award for exposing him and his fellow smugglers. Bart Hill and Mr. Crambell appeared in a story entitled "Dynamo Hill" in Silver Streak Comics #7. They were slated to appear in the next issue, as the last frame suggests, but never did.

The Crane: 1943, Clue Comics #2-5 (Hillman). A German commander whose natural arms and hands were replaced with robotic ones that can telescope many times their normal length. He often made use of infernal inventions such as a huge robotic tyrannosaurus to put him on an even playing field with Boy King and his Giant.

Crime Syndicate: Amazing Man Comics #22 (Centaur). A powerful and murderous gang that wears blue coveralls and large gray hoods, completely masking their identities as they carry off daring crimes. They plan on pulling off the crime of the century tunnelling under and through the vaults of the Sub-Treasury Building. However, their actions attacted the attention of the mystery man known as the Voice and were no match for his hypnotic voice and incredible fighting ability.

The Crimson Abbot: 1942, V...-Comics (Fox). Foe of the Banshee.

Crimson Conqueror: 1944, Complete Book of Comics and Funnies #1 (Better). The first foe of the Magnet.

Crocodile: foe of Don Winslow and who flies through the air in an immense sky island called the Sky City and kills U.S. sailors in the South Seas by dropping ice cubes full of poison gas on them.

Crooked Arrow: Ajax-Farrell. Anthony Durrant writes: Crooked Arrow is the twin brother of Swift Arrow, the mighty Apache chieftain and warrior. The two brothers had been separated at birth, and eventually Crooked Arrow had agreed to settle in the mountains with a part of the tribe. He comes down from the mountains and raids a wagon train, which sends the Lone Rider after his brother, Swift Arrow, who is forced to reveal his brother's existence to the Lone Rider to save his own skin. He then retires to his wigwam to mourn the loss of his brother as the Apache death drums are struck and sound throughout the land.

The Crooked Nine: 1943, Clue Comics #5 (Hillman). A group of thieves while in prison form a baseball team. As luck would have it they are paroled at the same time and decide to embark on a life of crime using their baseball skills and costumes to steal jewels, especially diamonds. Nightmare and Sleepy put an end to their crime spree.

Crow King: 1944, Boy Comics #17 (Lev Gleason). Foe of Young Robin Hood. Created by Alan Mandel

Cruelblitz the Dictator: ~1941, Popular Comics (Dell). His army drove the people of Unpreparda from their homes and plans to slaughter the refugees as they try to return to their war-torn country but is opposed by Supermind and his son. Cruelblitz looks like Hitler and refers to himself as der Fuehrer and his soldiers look like Nazi troops, so it's obvious the names were changed since America was still a neutral country.

Curley: 1939, Amazing Mystery Funnies (Centaur). So named because of his curley hair, he's the despotic rule of an undersea country in the future and he wants Professor Gray's Air Sub 'DX', a vehicle that can fly through the air and travel under the seas with equal ease and armed with dissolving guns. With it, he thinks he can rule the universe.