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I reckon much of the DNA associated with comic book superheroes can be traced back to the primordial ooze of the early squinkies. This entry has many familiar elements: a special belt, superhuman growth, traversing some astral plane … also the hero wears a cape. Not all heroes wear capes, but superheroes are so synonymous with capes that the genre has earned the e-monicker capeshit (I reappropriate this term most dearly). In America, circus strongmen passed on capes to pulp heroes like Zorro who then passed them on to their comic counterparts. Googling “the first superheroes with capes” yields Mandrake the Magician and Dr. Occult.
Dr. Occult is a curious specimen, first appearing in New Fun Comics #6, he was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster of Superman fame (using the pen names Leger and Reuths on most of the stories, this was to give the impression of a larger team on those early comic anthologies). A paranormal detective inspired by Sam Spade, the hardboiled private dick of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, Dr. Occult typically appeared in Dick Tracy-esque fashion and fought typical horror staples like vampires and werewolves. He usually avoided typical superhero trappings, using a round talisman that has been described as a cross in a circle, but looks like a giant peppermint candy to my eyes.
But this story breaks that typical mode, with the Doctor teaming up with his mentor, Zator of the Seven, to battle the formidable Koth. In doing so he takes on a cape and a magic belt, revving up the age of superheroes. I’m guessing it wasn’t intended for Dr. Occult, and especially the concubine on the fourth page, to be flesh colored. The engravers either misunderstood, were having fun, or had too much to drink.
This mini-saga begins in The Comics Magazine #1 (May 1936) and continues in More Fun Comics #14-#17 (October 1936-January 1937). Mysteriously Dr. Occult goes by Dr. Mystic in the first installment (anyone who expects continuity out of Golden Age comics is shit outta luck). I have more to say after the story. Enjoy!
Note: Finding quality scans of these very early squinkies can be difficult, so some (especially the last segment from More Fun Comics #17) can be rough.
I remember seeing the opening black & white pages in comic histories and articles, with always the emphasis on Dr. Mystic/Occult in this story being the prototype for Superman. The story goes that while Siegel and Shuster were trying to find a buyer for Superman they found work on a number of other features, mainly for National Allied Publications (eventually DC), which included Dr. Occult. They were so eager to work on Superman they dropped the character’s elements into other work.
So Dr. Occult in cape-mode becomes a dead ringer for early Superman, even briefly adopting an inverted triangle crest on his chest (a protective symbol that wards off ether entities). But as a character I find him interesting for other reasons. He’s a link between the pulps and superhero comics, straddling two worlds, just like his archetype of paranormal detective: a hardboiled character delving into mystical realms.
Like his later work on Superman, Shuster’s art on Dr. Occult echoes Roy Crane, rock solid figures and storytelling. But here, as the Doctor enters a another plane and dabbles in epic adventure we see many shades of Alex Raymond, with the last segment reminding me of the legendary Flash Gordon Hawkmen Army Sunday page from June 16, 1935.
Siegel and Shuster had only begun to build Dr. Occult’s world during the character’s short run, expanding the role of his girlfriend, the appropriately named Rose Psychic. By the end she revealed powers of her own, the last panel had her traveling the astral plane along with the Doctor. Alas, that last Golden Age Dr. Occult story (More Fun Comics #32) shared the same cover date as Action Comics #1, and the rest was history.
National Allied Publications picking up Superman understandably cut Dr. Occult short, Siegel and Shuster shifted to a more profitable property (though sadly the profits primarily went to the publisher, one of the saddest stories in an industry full of sad stories). But the character was revived in the ‘80s, appearing in All-Star Squadron, Swamp Thing, and Crisis on Infinite Earths. Most notably the Doctor and Rose Psychic were given a memorable origin story in Secret Origins #17 (1987), written by Roy Thomas with art by Howard Simpson and Robert Lewis. It worked in elements from the featured story here, Koth and the mysterious group The Seven.
Note: The majority of scans used in these squinky posts are usually found at Comic Book Plus or the Digital Comic Museum. Feel free to check them out and donate if possible.
Right now I have a slew of Dr. Occult stories (including ones featuring Rose Psychic) on my Ko-fi page. Donate at least three bucks and you’ll get access to SECRET POSTS in the feed for an entire month (which include art-related posts). Check it out at:
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