I have a thing for female freaks, and nobody did it better than Bob Powell back in the earliest issues of Speed Comics with his classic, Landor "Maker of Monsters" quickies. Actually, many people have done it better, (before and since), but did they do it with as much fun as this? Also yes. But maybe they weren't drawn as good? Well, sure they were... I guess what I'm trying to sell you here today is a Triple Feature of Mad Scientist Terror. So now you ask, "But did anyone else ever do it this terrifying?" Oh yeah, waaaay more people have. This stuff isn't even that scary, tbh. But did they do it with as much originality? Of course they did, and have, and will continue to do. Anyway, what I'm really trying to say is that I love stories about creepy crawlin' cat women, and evil swoopin' bat babes, and dead dames revived to do dastardly deeds, all in the name of world conquering, wack-a-doodle science! So there, that's what I've been trying to say. Now prepare yourself for Sina, Creeta, Carda, and a two foot tall killer kitten, --plus a ding dong couple who just can't seem to stay away from the world's most ineffective, but undeniably inspired super-loser villain. From Speed Comics #2, #6, and #7 (1939 - 1940.)
1 comment:
Were these scripts the ones Fletcher Hanks rejected? They have the manic, crazy, logic defying storyline found in Stardust or Fantomah, only the monsters created were easy to subdue. The heroes could just sneeze on these baddies and they would fall over in defeat.
This Landor guy is either The Professor from the 1960's Felix the Cat cartoons or The Brain from Pinky and the Brain, a would be supervillain who never succeeds no matter how hard he tries. Give it up Landor, just sell your life giving potion to some other supervillain and retire comfortably on the profits of your research.
The art is fun 40's comic work featuring bright colors, something unexpected in horror comics. The heroic duo are the plain vanilla/nothing special heroes (no super powers, except the power to stumble in on Landor's plans) but the villain is less than a match against these heroes.
Come to think of it, if these misadventures of 'Landor the Lesser Evil' had been made into B movies, they would have been featured on Count Floyd's Monster Chiller Horror Theater, without the 3D treatment.
These were fun tales of the forgotten, and forgettable, Landor the Maker of Mediocre Monsters.
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