It's back--the pilgrimage that just won't stop, as
Quality 1941 Week continues here at
Slay Monstrobot!!
Today we're going to delve into another of
Quality's fine publications,
Hit Comics #13!!Who's that
nearly naked guy on the cover? Why, it's...
Of course, given that his existence in Greek mythology makes him public domain (until Congress decides to extend copyright some more), it's no surprise that comic books jumped on the
Hercules idea for some easy stories. In fact, even though it's only 1941, this is the
3rd comic Hercules, after
Timely and
Archie had one.
But this guy is
not the mythic Herc. He's just a guy named
Joe Hercules who grew up "
in the North woods" who was incredibly strong. After trying to find fame as a circus strongman, he read a
Doll Man comic book (
!) and was inspired to become a crimefighter. So he walked the Earth--
nearly naked--and lived a
David Banner style of life.
In this episode, he comes across some river pirates trying to steal the furs from a trapper's houseboat on the mighty Mississippi.
Herc Smash!!Then, believe it or not, Hercules just decides to loll around on the top of the houseboat:
He then falls asleep, and starts to dream:
Red turkey feather??Anyway, we then proceed to have a 5-page dream sequence--
5 pages out of a 9 page story!!--when he dreams what it would have been like to work the river back in
ye olden days!!Yeah, because
Mark Twain dressed
exactly like that in his riverboat days...
Anyway, he eventually is woken up, and alerted that maybe he should
stop napping and start fighting crime!!
And in a brawl with the pirates mob, the touch him in a
very uncomfortable place:
PUT ON SOME CLOTHES!!! DC owns you now, Herc, and the rule is you must at least cover your legs!!
He (
nakedly) rousts the pirates...
Given that DC had more than one of their own Herculeses (
Herculi?), Joe never made it into the modern
DC Universe with the rest of the quality characters. He did appear in the
Elseworlds The Golden Age, and he was mentioned in issues of
Starman.
Next up?
Lady At Law??
Hello, lady!!Betty Bates is a defense attorney--no powers--but she gets into the worst scrapes. Take, for example,
Jake the gangster, who's a little bit miffed that his lawyer couldn't get his brother
Joe out of jail:
OWW!!They trick Betty into coming over, and hold her prisoner until she gets Joe acquitted!
It's not clear if it's because Joe is really, really guilty, she's throwing the case, or she's a bad lawyer, but:
They're gonna take her out and shoot her:
But she knows how to use a car as a weapon:
After a spirited chase, they catch her and throw her off a dam...or do they?
With the bad guys finally caught, we learn why lady lawyers are so effective:
They can handle the pressure!!Next:
The
Strange Twins were British identical twins who were separated at birth--
Rodney Strange, kidnapped by Chinese gangsters, became a Tong leader, while
Douglas Strange became a Scotland Yard detective!! After Doug does a prison stretch for a crime Rodney committed (
eyewitness identification!), they later meet and reconcile, traveling the world together.
This issue, they're heading for America, and the US papers show what we think of the Brits:
"
Usual British reserve," eh?
Well, a London gangster is hiding out in San Francisco, and wants revenge on Rodney for betraying him...but damn, they nab the wrong twin!!
Rodney has to try to pass himself off as a policeman...
...Doug gets beat up...
...but it all works out in the end!
Next,
more boxing!!Who???They're really best buds, but they're
always brawling with each other. And when they end up in a boxing match:
On shore leave, Swab encounters a mysterious man looking to recruit him:
And surprise, they
same thing happened to Bob!!
Oh,
you silly Nazis!! The guys trash the spies...
...accidentally hit each other...
...and they start brawling again, until...
Oh,
you crazy military personnel!!
Tune in later this morning for more from Hit Comics #13--and
SPOILER ALERT--the best stuff is in that second half of the book!!
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