THE FLY MAN fought a lot of crooks, inconspicuously, as his pituitaries were gizmoed up, and he shrunk down… The comic he premiered in, was only inches tall.
Insects and spiders and other bug-like critters have been creeping and crawling across palpitating pulp paper since the first bundle of comics was baled together and tossed on a newsie’s curb way back in the 30’s. And Insectx in Comix are still creeping and crawling through comic book pages today. Just to give you the willies, we present a rather lighthearted (and lightheaded) survey of bug-ish-men and women who were super-heroes
BUGGED WITH COMICS?
Insects BUG me. They really do. They crawl up and down your body, touching it oh-so-lightly that you shiver just a bit, and your flesh crawls ever so slightly, and you get goosebumps and then you start to shake, trying to make it seem like nothing is happening to you so no-one knows that a bug is doing a tap dance in your armpit.
So insects bug me. I avoid them at all costs. I should say that I try to avoid them. But that’s like trying to avoid the master-bugger, J. Edgar Hoover at an F.B.I. convention. But there are some insects that I don’t get too bugged by … and they’re the insects that inhabit the dark corridors of comics.
After Superman made it big … after Batman decided to seek revenge for the death of his parents, after Captain Marvel met some drunk in the subways who told him to say Shazam and he would have superpowers… after all these normal type of characters had been created, some bright guy … an exterminator probably, decided that it would be a good thing to give a whole bunch of insect names to comic book heroes.
BUGS
If BATman was a terrifying name, wouldn’t TARANTULA be even more frightening? Everyone hates spiders. They make you feel yeechy and creepy and crawly and … you get the point. Or if not Tarantula, how about SPIDERMAN, or THE FLY, or BLUE BEETLE or any of the many other comic book characters.
Let’s go over some of the earliest characters and work our way up to the present. Comic book freaks will probably scream up and down saying I missed a whole bunch of these insect creatures, but then who cares? Let them write a follow-up article. Some of the characters I’ll just mention by name, simply because I know almost nothing of them. Others I’ll go into a bit of detail.
It seems that anything connected with spiders went over in the old days. Quality Comics brought us ALIAS THE SPIDER in Crack Comics, May 1940 to Aug. 1943. Ace gave us the inspiring hero, THE BLACK SPIDER. Everyone seemed to love the idea of the Black Widow, so there were many. Claire Voyant, a comic book name if ever there was one, worked out of mystic Comics and All Select Comics in the early 40’s. Linda Masters became the Black Widow for Catman Comics. And more recently, Marvel Comics revealed a young Russian Miss as the Black Widow. I say revealed, because this particular Black Widow did the first nude scene in a comic code approved magazine.
BUGS- BUGS-
Egypt became the source of some buggy comics. The holy insect prompted the unforgettable character, THE BLAZING SCARAB who undoubtedly will be remembered for many years to come. His career lasted for five exciting stories in Champion Comics, 1939 to 1940.
Whereas one Egyptian created hero lasted but one year, the career of the BLUE BEETLE spanned comic book history. Fox Features created the first Blue Beetle, whose identity was Dan Garrett. Holyoke took the feature over several years later in 1942. This character appeared not only in his own book, but also as a character in Mystery Men, Big Three, Real Hit, Phantom Lady, All-Top, Zegra, and Variety. Thuugin his own book didn’t last long, he was making appearances elsewhere until the early fifties.
AND EVEN MORE BUGS
In the Mid-fifties, Charlton Comics got the rights to the character and published it for a while, and then he was again dropped. In the early sixties he was brought back again in a disastrous comic published by Charlton, and was quickly canceled once more. A few years later, under the artistic hand of Steve Ditko, a man responsible for another buggy hero, Spiderman, the character was refurbished, given a new costume, a new identity, and, in fact, was accused of murdering the original Blue Beetle. This series, though short-lived, was the most creative and best written of all the Blue Beetle stories. One side note. Fox Features, in an attempt to cash in on Blue Beetle’s popularity, tried to peddle a comic strip featuring his adventures to the newspapers. Needless to say, it didn’t go too far.
Flies also got into the act. There were several different flying characters. The FIREFLY published by MLJ, later Archie Comics, was amongst the first. He appeared in Top-Notch until 1942. The Fly Man, Clip Foster, died one year earlier as a back feature in Spitfire.
Years later Archie Comics tried again, brought in the talents of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, and The Fly flew again … but this Fly was an orphan who rubbed a magic ring and turned into an adult superhero. This interesting concept lasted four issues and then the comic changed. The art fell apart under new pencilers, and the storyline became zilch. Thomas Troy, the orphan, grew up, became dull, met a Fly-Girl, and finally changed his own name to Fly Man. Riding the crest of camp super-heroes, he died shortly afterwards. No one mourned his passing.
The Hooded Wasp appeared in The Shadow, and he, too, had a partner … Wasplet. Never let it be said that comics tried to be original! If the Hooded Wasp didn’t turn you off, the MOTH probably · would. Undoubtedly the Moth’s power was to eat the clothing off of your back. Moth appeared in the back of Mystery Men comics.
While The Moth was burning up in the limelight, THE SCARAB appeared. One thing about comics is, if a name proves interesting, everyone will soon use it. Better Publication, a conglomerate name for several other comic houses, published this character during the late 1940’s.
MORE BUGS YET
Then of course there was The Green Hornet.
Marvel Comics also got into the act. They entered the insect hero scene with The Silver Scorpian. The thing different about this here was that it was a girl. In her spare time, Betty Barston challenged evil as she powder-puffed her nose. Marvel also published, and still does, the character Ant Man, who later became Giant Man, then Yellow Jacket, and then Ant Man again. (Marvel characters often have identity crises and frequently don’t know who they are). Ant-Man married another insect, The Wasp, not related to The Hooded Wasp and Wasplet mentioned earlier, nor The Wasp that appeared in Silver Streak comics, nor the other Wasp that fought crime and stuff in Speed and Champ comics… I think that comics have seen enough wasps for a while. National (DC) Comics entered the scene in the early forties with Tarantula, whose secret identity was, get this, John Law! – Tarantula chased villains using his “web-gun,” walked up and down the sides of buildings, and, at times, was called Spider-Man. Marvel’s Stan Lee “came up with” his own Spiderman, Peter Parker, in the early sixties.
Finally we come to Yellowjacket. Yellowjacket appeared in the late forties under the secret identity of Vince Harley. Yellowjacket was also one of the names that Marvel used in connection with their character, Ant-Man.
That about ends the listing of insect heroes in comics. If you should know of any others – forget it. I’m not interested.
When I began this article I said comic book insect heroes were okay … that they didn’t bother me. I take that back. After going over a list that includes names like The Blazing Scarab, or Wasplet, or the Moth, comic book insect characters bug me as much as real insects do. Anyone have a can of Raid?
-Marvin Wolfman
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: MARV WOLFMAN is a pro-satire magazine writer, and writer-editor at DC Comics. JIMMY THORNTON is a mild-mannered doorman for a large, metropolitan apartment house, who, in his spare-time identify is the country’s most fan-atical enthusiast for The Green Hornet.