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 1500: New year, same old comics

For those of you joining us on New Year’s morning, how are you feeling? Tongue feel like someone stuffed a towel in your mouth? Head throbbing, joints aching, memory-loss from New Year’s Eve festivities? Well, go take a nap and come back when you feel better.

For the rest of you who did not over-indulge (including me), welcome to the first posting of 2014.

The Black Terror was a 1940’s character who had many artists over the years, and many adventures I consider silly. The Black Terror story I’m posting today, while silly, is one of my favorites. The art is credited by the GCD to Ralph Mayo and it has a gorilla. That’s good enough for me. I consider the panel I have excerpted from the story (above) to be some sort of oddball classic. The story is from Black Terror #20, 1947:

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I showed another Black Terror story last May. Click on the thumbnail.

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Number 1372: Dastardly drugmaker vs phighting pharmacist!

I give Black Terror some credit for having an unusual secret identity for a costumed hero. He was Bob Benton, a pharmacist. We don’t think of those guys as crime fighters as such. But I knew a pharmacist who wasn't afraid of crooks. He was my former pharmacist, Mark, who was 5'3" and slight of build, and who took off across a parking lot after a man who had just stuck him up for Oxycontin. Mark didn't need a mask or cape; he had a golf club, a flapping white pharmacist's jacket, and righteous anger. He was able to subdue the robber, whose drug habit had apparently left him unable to get far by running. The story made the local news and when I asked Mark about it he said, “When he gave up he asked me, ‘do you think you could give me a half dozen Oxys before I go to jail?’” I’m not sure even Black Terror could have handled the situation better than Mark.

Black Terror, and his young buddy, Tim, get on the bad side of ex-con, drug inventor Sinistro, who has created a drug to bring out the animal in man. My feeling about people with such talents using them for crime has been mentioned in the past. Anyone who could come up with such a drug could make a fortune peddling it to a drug company. It’s better than stealing. It just doesn’t make for good comic books.

From America’s Best Comics #2 (1942):

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