Bring on the Bad Guys: Emil Norvell and Lola

Real name: Emil Norvell/Lola Cortez
A.K.A.:
First Appearance: Action Comics I#2 (July 1938)
Abilities: Munitions magnate/spy
Quotes: "Good Heavens! He won't die!"
Worst Act: War profiteering/framing Lois Lane 
Created by: Jerry Sigel (writer) and Joe Shuster (pencils/inks)

Continuing from the last issue, we meet Alex Greer's boss, munitions magnate Emil Norvell. Norvell has been manipulating the people of San Monte into a civil war for his own profit, but Superman scares him straight, mostly by scaring the hell out of him and forcing him to enlist in the San Monte army then crashing the guy's plane. 

Lola Cortez, on the other hand, isn't connected to him. She just enters the story to frame Lois Lane for spying, leading her to be put before a firing squad. Superman saves her at the last minute, although you would think Cortez would pop up again. 

Both are fairly standard villains, but they both show us what kind of guy Superman is. 

Bring on the Bad Guys: Butch Mason, Senator Barrows, Alex Greer

Real name: Butch Mason, Senator Barrows, Alex Greer

A.K.A.: none

First Appearance: Action Comics I#1 (June 1938)

Abilities:  Murder, bribery 

Weapons: Knife, money

Quotes: "Don't get tough!"

Worst Act: Wife beating, bribery and war profiteering 

Created by: Jerry Sigel (writer) and Joe Shuster (artist)

The next three guys all showed up in Action Comics I#1, and since we already looked over the very first crook, I'd figured we look at the rest in one swoop. 

The first is Butch Mason. A wife-beater, he went after his wife when Superman showed and punched the bum through a wall.

Senator Barrows and Greer, on the other hand, are crooks of a different kind. Greer is a lobbyist who has the senator in his back pocket. Barrows is a senator trying to get the US into a war with Europe. 

So, all three showed us what kind of crime Superman would be facing. 

Bring on the Bad Guys: Bea Carroll

Real name: Beatrice Carroll
A.K.A.: none
First Appearance: Action Comics I#1 (June 1938)
Abilities:  Singer
Weapons: Gun
Quotes: "Yes, I killed Jack Kennedy...and he deserved it!"
Worst Act: Murder 
Created by: Jerry Sigel (writer) and Joe Shuster (artist)



This year we'll be taking a look at the Man of Steel's rogues gallery, so why not take a look at the very first one?

Bea Carroll, a singer at the Hilow Club, was in love with a fellow named Jack Kennedy. When he started seeing someone else, she murdered him and framed Evelyn Curry for the crime. She might have gotten away with it too if it weren't for that meddling Superman.

That's it. A fairly flat character (and repurposed from Sigel and Shuster's attempt at having Superman be a comic strip character) but her being dropped into the governor's mansion established the Man of Tomorrow's credibility and would set the tone for the next 75 years.

TNA Wrestling, or why I shouldn't be a Booker

2018 and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is still in business. I know, it's called Impact Wrestling now, but who would have figured that a company that seems to do everything wrong would still be in business?

Yes, a bit snarky to rag on a wrestling company, but I counter by showing what I'd do if the Jarretts hired me back in 2002.

Ideas that didn't quite take off: WWE-the Comic

Unearthing an old one here, but for a while I was quite the fan of professional wrestling. I still catch the occasional match, but there's just something about the old days.

So naturally I wanted to do a comic about it.

Now, I wasn't the first. Boom! Studios is actually doing a pretty good job (feel free to pick them at your local comic shop today!), but they weren't the first. In fact it seems that anyone who does a licensed WWE book seems to come to a bad end. Chaos Comics went under, as did Valiant, plus the utter madness that was Warrior.   I was going to be different.

I wasn't. In fact anything that could go wrong did. My artist messed up his arm, the discs that had all my scripts got demagnetized and the hard drive bombed.

I posted the ideas on a wrestling message board, but it was shut down some time later.

So why not haul them out again?

Nouveau 52, part 10

Down to the finish line. We've covered heroes, monsters, and the EDGE. What else is there?

Nouveau 52, part 9

Kicking off  the new year, let's move into the Dark, with a few detours along the way.