Quality 1941 Week--Crack Comics #14 (Part 1)!!

These are your Golden Age comics on crack:

Yes, it's still Quality 1941 Week, and today belongs to Crack Comics #14!!

We begin with over cover boy:

Let me just say flat out: The Black Condor's origin is simultaneously so crazy and so brilliant that it may make your head explode.

Part one is pure Tarzan, but more insane. Infant Richard Grey Jr's family is on a scientific study in Mongolia when they're wiped out by bandits. Only young Richard survives, and he is rescued and raised by--wait for it--a super-intelligent species of condors. Yes, really.

Hang on, we're not even halfway there yet. He grows up with them, and by studying them, he actually learns to fly!! Just straight up fly--no jetpacks, no mutant powers. He meets a hermit, Father Pierre, who civilizes him. So he tracks down the bandits who killed his family, gets his vengeance, and heads to America.

But wait!! There's more!! Upon arrival in the USA, he stumbles upon a plot to assassinate a US Senator, Thomas Wright. Wright is killed before he can make a crucial vote, but guess what--he and Richard Grey look EXACTLY alike. So Condor assumes Wright's identity as a Senator, takes up with Wright's fiance (who can't tell the difference!), and fights crime from Washington DC when not filibustering on the Senate floor. (This, of course, could explain the behavior of certain Senators...)

Brilliant, or what? Of course, when DC revived him for Earth-X stories in the 70s, they retconned his origin to the very boring "he was exposed to radiation from a meteor." Boooo!!!!

The main villain during Black Condor's run was the vilest capitalist of his day, Jaspar Crow:

Surprise, surprise, there's going to be an industrial action over his slave wages:

Black Condor shows up, and of course he'll break up the violence:

What??

PRO-TIP: If you're going to hire a goon to pose as Black Condor, at least have him wear the right colors!

Well, now that Condor is on the outs with the workers, the real Black Condor glides in:

Crow is preparing to pull an Enron:

Well, after much identity confusion and random punching, Black Condor solves the problem...

...which makes you wonder just how much currency one capitalist can carry in his pockets!

And this leads to a more just situation for our workers--really!

Given that he was held upside down 200 feet in the air, I'm wondering how enforceable this particular contract might be...who's the racketeer now, Condor?!?

Next up is Tor The Magic Master. I already discussed him yesterday, so let's just remind everyone that he's a magician who has stolen Zatara's shtick...

...and leave it at that.

Next up is another blast from the past I've talked about before:

Madam Fatal was really actor Richard Stanton, who retired from the stage to fight crime by...

...dressing up as on old lady!!!

But whatever you might say about her...

...this grandma kicks ass!!
Next up:

"Wizard" Wells was a scientist who loaned out his brilliant mind to help fight crime. This issue, he's helping to take down an arson ring. And now, in a moment of pure Golden Age Science:

Wait...you mean I could have had superpowers all these years, if I had just swallowed a glass full of radio-active salts???? Kids, try this at home!!

Finally for today, we have a newspaper strip!!

We all remember that comic books started off as re-collections of newspaper strips. Well, Quality carried that on a bit longer than many of the other companies. And for quite awhile they ran reprints of the Jane Arden strip from Sunday newspapers:

And, yes, each installment had paper dolls:

And not just for the ladies:

Well, let's cut off there, and resume later this morning, with more of Crack Comics #14!!