One Panel #395-396: Turning On the Fawcett

From Captain Marvel: "The Awakening of Spy Smasher" by C.C. Beck and Pete Constanza, Whiz Comics #18 (June 1941)

Captain Marvel... hypnotist? Yep. He "summons all his willpower to combat the accursed spell that weighs down Spy Smasher". The things you can do with... the Power of Atlas? The Wisdom of Solomon? You tell me!

Also, you're feeling very sleepy. Very sleepy indeed... When I count down from 3, you will awaken refreshed and think the following panel makes sense in terms of physics... 3... 2... 1...

From Minute-Man the One Man Army: "Nuggerud the Agitator" by Charles Sultan, Master Comics #15 (June 1941)

Right?! Nothing wrong here!

Comments

Brendoon said…
That's so COOL!
I was reading some 1941 Captain Marvel last night(and some late 70's Shazam, for that matter) and noted how jolly darn slick the artwork was compared to some of its contemporaries. Could this be why it was even more popular than Supes at the time?
I would almost compare it to Tintin. The stories weren't as polished, but the adventures, the humour and the artwork... niiiice!!!

The 70's one was the story about the future earth populated by giant rats and I remembered how the artwork cast such a glamour on me as a 7 or 8 year old... exTREMELY slick. It was nice to remember those sensations. I think it may have been true love...
Siskoid said…
Superman was still doing common criminals and the odd mad scientist when Captain Marvel leaned into more fanciful fare. On the whole, it was a more imaginative strip during the period it was outselling Superman.
Anonymous said…
Old Captain Marvel comics remind me of newspaper comic strips more than comic books as we know them: big action, visually-irresistible characters, exaggerated action. And frequent payoffs in the story.

I read that, when Carl Barks was doing Scrooge McDuck comics, he tried very hard to end each page on a joke or at least something that made it worth getting to the bottom of the page. I don't know if old CM comics followed that rule, but attention-getting stuff would happen frequently enough that you didn't find yourself waiting to get to "the good part" very often.
Brendoon said…
That's fascinating!
It's possibly a pattern we'd see a lot of if looking for it. I know I was influenced a lot by one page serials, specifically Russ Manning and the Goodwin/Williamson stuff. It feels good to have something worthwhile at the end of every page.
Siskoid said…
It was also part of Hergé's process, ending every page with a cliffhanger.
Brendoon said…
Hergé is such a master!