Public Domain Squinkie #2: The Comet, Cold-Blooded Killer!

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The history of killer superheroes (as in literal killers) is long and winding. In the capeshit collective consciousness Superman is Adam, the noble boy scout, and representing the fall from grace were increasingly bloodthirsty vigilantes (starting in the gritty ‘70s and going full throttle in the dark turn ‘80s). Even Batman, who is the yin to Superman’s hangin’ yang, has a no kill rule, putting him far ahead of The Punisher.

But the early Golden Age was more of a grey area. Early on Batman definitely did not have a no kill rule, and even Superman was a bit reckless with criminals. Some point to the Comics Code Authority as putting an end to ultra-violent heroes, but by the time the CCA rolled around most of the sadism was being channeled into the industry’s horror comics (EC being the primary target of the code). It’s also true that despite being the descendants of the brutal pulp heroes, most of the early Golden Age heroes weren’t ruthless murderers.

But those that were, wew boy.

Fletcher Hanks’ Stardust is the most notorious, but he’s for another entry. The one featured below is Jack Cole’s The Comet, published by MLJ Comics (who later renamed their company after their runaway financial success, Archie). The Comet was John Dickering, a scientist so enamored of the gas he discovered (much lighter than hydrogen) that he shot it into his veins. There were the good side effects (being able to fly) and the bad (uncontrollable rays blasting from his eyes, only tamed by his glass goggles, a look that presaged X-Men’s Cyclops by decades).

But what’s most distinctive about The Comet is how he kills his foes with gleeful abandon, disintegrating them with his eye beams and dropping them to certain death. But he’s no grim dark turn vigilante, The Comet is clearly having a blast.

The off-kilter humor is courtesy of Jack Cole. And though the art lacks the kinetic brilliance of his later Plastic Man, there are still flashes of brilliance in inventive title pages, dynamic layouts, and clever visual touches (like on page three below: a panel split with a CRASH when The Comet plunges into the roof of a criminal hideaway, the bottom half revealing the interior). It’s a level of creativity that sets him apart this early in the Golden Age.

The first installment of The Comet below appeared in Pep Comics #1, playing second-story to cover-boy The Shield (patriotic precursor to Captain America). Unfortunately The Comet’s Golden Age run was short-lived. More after the story. Enjoy!

So in summary:

• The Comet’s body count this episode: four

• The Comet’s biggest weakness: glass

• Underrated biological weapon for racketeers: Typhoid Fever

From everything I’ve read The Comet wasn’t a big hit, and interest really dropped off after Cole left the title after only four installments. His final Golden Age appearance was also a comics first, one that many comics fans may be aware of, but I’ll be coy about since it’ll eventually be another squinkie installment here.

Despite his early short run The Comet was resurrected several times. Most notably: first in the 1960s as a key member of The Mighty Crusaders, resurfacing in The Fly #30 (October, 1964). Though in the words of Don Markstein’s Toonopedia, “This new Comet, with a rainbow-colored helmet, pencil-thin moustache and no eyewear, didn’t look a thing like the old one.” Then under Red Circle Comics as a limited series (detailed here). And in ‘91 DC licensed a number of Archie superheroes and revamped them for their short-lived Impact Comics imprint, one of those titles was The Comet (pretty distinct from the original).

But Cole’s version remains the most intriguing to me, because Jack Cole is one of the greatest cartoonists (emphasis on cartoon) to ever grace the medium, and every step of his development is part of a greater whole, a wildly diverse output tragically cut short.

And there’s more! Another classic The Comet story is available on my Ko-fi page. And there’s also a number of other posts on there (three bucks unlocks certain posts and fuels this Substack). Check it out at: