Halloween Heroines FANTOMAH "Mystery Woman of the Jungle"

Jungle Heroine or Spirit of Vengeance?

Can you tell which one she is, dear reader?

I certainly can't!

As rendered by the...unique...Fletcher Hanks, Fantomah was the first comic book superheroine (as in heroine with super-powers instead of a costumed "normal" woman), predating Wonder Woman by a year!

This particular story, from Fiction House's Jungle Comics #2 (1940), was her premiere appearance, and reads like a drug-induced nightmare!

Hanks handled the character from her premiere in #2 to #15, with the stories becoming even more surreal every issue!

When new creatives took over with #16, the character was immediately "toned-down", eliminating the skull-face look, and limiting her almost-limitless powers.

As of #27, she was rebooted as "Daughter of the Pharaohs", queen of a lost civilization made up of descendants of an ancient Egyptian expedition stranded in central Africa centuries earlier.

Her series ended in #51 (1944).

Trivia: Despite being popular enough to run for several years in Jungle Comics, Fantomah never made the cover!

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Halloween Heroines ARROW COMICS "Headless Horseman Rides Again"

We've Witnessed the First Adventure of The Headless HorseMAN...

...now read the second (and final) tale of the transvestite crimefighter of the Plains!

Amazing how dense the Sheriff is, eh?

I'm really surprised no B-movie producer or early TV series executive thought of using this concept!
It's relatively low-budget and would've made for an attention-getting gimmick!
Ah, well...
Though this never-reprinted appearance in Centaur's The Arrow Comics #2 (1940) was her last appearance, it wasn't Headless Horseman creator Martin Filchock's last comics work.
In fact, he was just beginning!
When he died in 2012, at the age of 100, he was considered "America's oldest working cartoonist" with credits ranging from comic books to risque mens' magazine to The American Legion Magazine to the Journal of the American Medical Association!

Next Week:
There's Magic in the Air!
But Is It a SuperHeroine...or SuperVillainess?

Check Out the Other Countdown to Halloween 2024 Participants

HERE

Halloween Heroines AMAZING MYSTERY FUNNIES "Headless Horseman"

Why is a character called "Headless Horseman" featured in a blog about heroines?

Yes, there is a logical explanation, so bear with us!

You knew it all along, didn't you?

This character, introduced in this never-reprinted tale from Centaur's Amazing Mystery Funnies #19 (1940) was one of several transvestite heroes/heroines who appeared that year!
There was also the first Cat-Man, who disguised himself as a little old cat lady as shown HERE!
Madam Fatal, who ran for 22 issues of Quality's Crack Comics used a similar gimmick, minus the felines!
Sadly, both The Headless Horseman and Cat-Man I made only 2 appearances each before disappearing into oblivion!
You'll see the Horseman's other (also never-reprinted) adventure here on Thursday!

Check Out the Other Countdown to Halloween 2024 Participants

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Halloween Heroines BLACK ORCHID Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

Cover art by Bob Oksner

(Note: Despite the "Origin Issue" blurb on the cover, there's no actual origin story!)

When a disguised District Attorney infiltrates a criminal conclave (which includes the town's mayor and police chief) and is uncovered, a purple-costumed woman with superhuman abilities (including flight, hyper-strrength, and invunerability) saves his life.

She also displays extensive knowledge about the DA's personal life and family, recommending his recently-widowed sister, an MD, come to patch him up to avoid publicity by showing up at a hospital.

Meanwhile, the criminals are keeping an eye on the DA via a concealed TV camera in his house...

While DA Ken Ransom won't see her again (nor will he ever reappear in the DC Multiverse), this blog's readers will get to view her adventures, since, to paraphrase the end credit on 007's cinematic adventures...

Black Orchid Will Return!

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Halloween Heroines BLACK ORCHID Part 1

Welcome to Our Contribution to Countdown to Halloween 2024...

...as we introduce the never-reprinted adventures of the most mysterious heroine of all!

To Be Concluded...Thursday!

Written by Sheldon Mayer, illustrated by Tony DeZuniga, this premiere tale from DC's Adventure Comics #428 (1973) will offer no actual clues as to who (or what) The Black Orchid is...despite the fact it's promoted as an "Origin Issue"!

Superhuman Being?

Scientific Adventuress?

Spectral Avenger of Evil?

Or All of the Above?

Her strip ran for three issues in Adventure Comics before becoming a back-up strip in The Phantom Stranger for eight issues...which should tell you something about the direction of the series!
The unresolved concept was so intriguing that the creators of DC/Vertigo's Sandman, Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, took a crack at resolving it in a Vertigo series a couple of decades later!

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MADAM ZERO "Her Name was...Zero"

Real Name: Unknown
Agency/Organization Affiliation: Unknown
Effectiveness Against Commies: Unmatched!

Debuting in this never-reprinted tale from Fiction House's Fight Comics #82 (1952), Madam Zero fought only Commies (of varying ethnicities) for the entirety of her too-short career!

Note: the stories are told exclusively from George's point-of-view, and considering he runs into her in various locales at varying times by accident, it's obvious that...
1) She doesn't work for the same agency as him.
2) She may, in fact, be a totally-independent operative working outside legal constraints!
3) She's involved in situations and adventures he (and his organization) know nothing about!

STARFAWN "To the Nearest Quasar!" Part 5

When Last We Left Our Space Heroine and Her Fellow Space Force Crewmates...

...stranded on an alien world, the crew of the starship Destiny is running out of time before a collapse of the alien civilization's energy distribution system produces a major disaster!

Working with the aliens, they come up with a plan utilizing Shalla (aka StarFawn's) recently-acquired energy-manipulation abilities!

But, the plan involves her doing something she's never done before...

Did It Work?

Did Shalla and Daystar Survive?

Hell, Did Anybody or Anything Survive?

Or Will the Final Post of This Tale at Atomic Kommie Comics on Saturday be a Blank Page?

You'll Have to Go There Tomorrow to Find Out!

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StarFawn

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