AMAZING-MAN COMICS #15 (AUGUST 1940)

 Amazing-Man was created by Bill Everett for Centaur Publications to compete against a new character from National Publications: Everett "has a new character for a strip which [Centaur\] wanted him to do in competition against the new one now being syndicated -- called the 'Superman' I think."  Amazing-Man was the second superhero to have a comic book named after him; Sups was the first.  In devising the character, Everett went back to old folk tales to find a character unusual enough to appeal to modern times.  Amazing-Man was actually John Aman (quite a coincidence, eh?), who had been raised by Tibetan monks -- the Council of Seven -- for the first quarter century of his life, and trained to superhuman mental and physical abilities.  He had super-strength, invulnerability, speed, the power of telekinesis, and ability to become invisible, and the ability to heal quickly (although if he were invulnerable, why did he need the healing power?).  Quite the package.  N ow hw as been sent into the world to do good, often facing up against his nemesis, the Great Question.

Amazing-Man debuted in Amazing-Man Comics #5 (September 1939) and ran through #26 (February 1940); he also appeared in Stars and Stripes Comics #2-6 (1941).  Amazing-Man was cancelled in 1942 when Centaur went out of business.  He influenced the creation of Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt in the 1960s, and of Marvel's Iron Fist in the 1970s.  Amazing Man was also the name of four different characters from DC Comics, beginning in 1983.

"Zona Henderson the ace girl crime investigator who has joined hands with the Amazing/M     an in his fight against crime, is now being forced into a large, black sedan by two kidnappers" while Aman waits for her in another part of town.  Another black sedan roars toward Aman and "from out of the window a machine spurts death."  Aman falls to the ground (unhurt, naturally) and a note is tossed by his body, threatening Zona's life unless Aman stays away from some unnamed upcoming "trouble."  A little later news reports tell of a daring robbery in an armory, in which all the ammunition has been stolen and the employees rendered unconscious by a strange gas.  Well, that had to be work of the Great Question, and the Great Question then must be the one who is holding Zona.  But how to locate him and rescue Zona?  Easy-peasy.  Just get a job in another armory (evidently there are a lot of them) and wait until the Great Question robs that one.  It works and Aman follows the bad guys to a hideout on the docks.  He switches to his superhero costume (tight black swim trunks, with bandoliers crossing his bare chest, centered by a large medallion emblazoned with the letter "A", and mid-calf black boots).  The stolen ammunition is being transports to a remote island by submarine and Aman, using his "green mist" to become invisible, tags along.  After he discovers that zona has been taken to the island by a freighter, he takes on seven thugs at one time and, knocking them out, begins to go after Zona.  (Somewhere along the liner he has lost his mid-calf boots.)  Aman locates Zona (somehow he is wearing his boots again) and is about to untie her when the Great Question interrupts him and sics two giant slaves on him.  Aman is knocked out and is tied to a post, which is hooked to a machine that has the power of an atom smasher.  The machine is turned on.  Is this end of Aman?  Well, no...

Also featured in this issue are stories about:

• MINIMIDGET.  He and Ritty, the supermidgets were projected into the year 3000 by a time-destroying machine.  (Ritty is a blonde chick in a red dress.)  He is now working on a more powerful macinde to bring them back to the year 1940.
• THE IRON SKULL.  Yes. the Iron Skull has an iron skull, which makes his head disturbingly flat and gives him eyes that are about six times to large for his face.  A mad scientist plans to ue the Oron Skull's blood to bring an army of robots to .life.  He uses a giant magnet to capture the Iron skull, then pokes him with a serum that also turns his body into iron.  Big mistake.  Now Iron Skull is strong enough to break free.  Bullets cannot harm his new iron body and the bad guys are captured.  Iron Skull uses his iron fists to smash the magnet to pieces , rendering iy harmless in this strange anti-science world.
• DR. HYPNO.  Hypnotist, psychologist, brain specialist, and criminologist -- Dr. Hypno is all of these.  And he can throw a mean punch.  By hypnotism he can transform his he can transform his consciousness into the body of any lower life form -- cat, dog, bird, whatever!  Colonel Marche's daughter Colette has been kidnapped for a ransom of ten thousan [sic] dollars.  Dr. Hypno transfers his mind to that of a bat to rescue Collette from an abandoned house at the Old Stone Quarry.
• THE SHARK.  "Father Neptune, the Shark's 'Pop,' told him about a story of his youth and an island in a mountain.  The story worked up so much interest in the two that they decided to go back and explore the place.  But the real reason Father Neptune wanted to return, was to get even with the strange looking savages on the island for killing some of his friends who were 'honest' pirates."  (That happened, it seems, two hundred years ago.)  Revenge, it seems is a dish best served cold -- where have I heard that before?)  Yeah, the savages are strange -- they are green, fish-like humanoids wearing only red breech clothes, unlike the Shark, who wears a tight blue bathing suit and a blue mask.  These savages have advanced technology and are working to bring about an invasion from Mars.  The Martians are really mean suckers...
• THE AMAZING MIGHTY MAN.  He's got superhuman strength and the ability to grow or shrink at will.  He's a friend of the helpless and the oppressed and he delights in righting wrongs.  This time he's up against a gang of hi-jackers who have threatened a truckers wife and kid.  When Mighty Man accidently kills a hi-jacker, he takes over his identity and infiltrates the gang.  Unfortunately the man he is posing as is named Goldie and Mighty Man does not have a gold tooth.  the gang gets suspicious and plots against him,  Mighty Man has super hearing, learns of the plan, and goes along with it.  The baddies think they have eliminated Mighty Man (the fools!) and he soon gets the best of them...
• REEF KINKAID.  Kinkaid -- gentleman adventurer and explorer -- takes an expedition to a lost world to rescue a previous expedition,  Giant crocodiles, and dangerous rapids and sabretooth tigers, oh my!  And did I mention the huge Magalosaurus?  Reef rescues Doctor Land and his pretty daughter Marion; together the three go on to more adventures in the lost world in future issue.
• ZARDI -- THE PRINCE OF ZANDIPORE -- THE ETERNAL MAN.  He has lived for countless centuries.  His magic gives him youth at will.  He has an inexhaustible treasure.  And he spends his life fighting crime.  Quite a combo.  This time Zardi investigates the theft of an Egyptian coin.  Zardi uses his magic cane to stop the bad buy from pressing a button and blowing them both up to eternity.  After which, Zardi rests and meditates...

But wait!  Did you think we were done with Amazing-Man?  Not so.  He also appears in a two-page text story.

A plethora of superheroes, some fairly hokey stories, and some supremely bad artwork help make this issue memorable.

Enjoy.

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