Though Harvey Comics eventually became better known as the publisher of such comics as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Witch, Hot Stuff and others, they had a large number of superheroes in the 1940s. Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some of those heroes.
THE HUMAN METEOR
Secret Identity: Duke O’Dowd, cab driver
First Appearance: Champ Comics #6 (April 1940)
Origin: When Duke O’Dowd was serving overseas in the French Foreign Legion he earned the friendship of Wah Le, ruler of a lost, super-scientific city in Tibet. Judging Duke worthy, he gave him a high-tech belt which granted him superpowers. O’Dowd used those powers to fight crime as the Human Meteor.
Powers: The Human Meteor’s belt possessed “radium emanations” which let him fly at incredible speeds and protected him from all metal weaponry, including bullets and shells. The belt also granted him a degree of superhuman strength via its “electric energizer”. Wooden weapons could penetrate the Human Meteor’s protective force field, or “contra-magnetic field” as Wah Le called it. An “explosatom gun” was briefly used by the Human Meteor.
Comment: Wah Le’s super science included a televox which enabled him to monitor the Human Meteor’s adventures from Tibet as well as give him advice via a wrist television device. This hero’s sidekick was a white shoeshine boy named Toby.
BLACK ORCHID
Secret Identity: Judy Allen, Private Investigator
First Appearance: All-New Short Story Comics #2 (March 1943)
Origin: Private Detective Judy Allen adopted the costumed identity of Black Orchid in order to take on especially dangerous or connected criminals.
Powers: Black Orchid was in peak physical condition and excelled at unarmed combat. She was also more agile than an Olympic gymnast and was a highly skilled criminologist.
Comment: Judy Allen’s partner at her Private Detective practice was Rocky Ford. In an amusing twist he was secretly the superhero called the Scarlet Nemesis. Ridiculously, even though Black Orchid and the Scarlet Nemesis worked together several times they never figured out that the other costumed figure was their own investigative agency partner. Some “detectives”.
(If you’re wondering, the Scarlet Nemesis had no super-powers either, but his costume included a forehead light-beam like miners wore. He could use that light to temporarily blind adversaries.) Continue reading
BREAKHEART PASS (1975) – (Frontierado is coming up August 7th and, as always, it’s about the myth of the Old West, not the grinding reality.) Alistair MacLean may be more closely associated with espionage and crime thrillers like When Eight Bells Toll, The Eagle Has Landed and Puppet on a Chain but his lone Western, Breakheart Pass, is a very solid story which transfers MacLean’s usual themes to the American West. 
Some critics bash this above-average film because they apparently thought Alistair MacLean’s name on the script meant it would be an over-the-top Western Spy actioner along the lines of Robert Conrad’s old Wild Wild West television series crossed with Where Eagles Dare. Instead, Breakheart Pass comes closer to grittiness than slickness and is all the more enjoyable for that. 
“WE NEED THIRD PARTIES!” is my frequent refrain here at Balladeer’s Blog. Donald Trump has been a de facto Third Party President and has been fighting BOTH of America’s notoriously corrupt major political parties. No other president of my lifetime has done more for the working class and the poor than Trump has. Unfortunately, the working class and the poor don’t own major media outlets so stories like this one from Melissa Tate’s social media are often overlooked. 
Following the Civil War the slaves in Indian Territory were declared Freedmen like the slaves in the late Confederacy, and as citizens of Indian Territory those Freedmen were in theory entitled to some of the money that was still being paid to the tribes in the Territory and to land. In reality the Five Civilized Tribes who called Indian Territory home were resentful of their former slaves’ new status and often used violence to drive out the freed slaves, even burning down their homes in many cases. 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
ROMAN CATHOLIC 
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 
Democrat State Representative Vernon Jones, a Martin Luther King Person of Courage, who has been very outspoken about the right of African-Americans to vote for any candidate they choose, NOT just Democrats, once again blasted Democrat Presidential Candidate Joe Biden over his many ugly actions regarding communities of color. (Link below, but first some excerpts) 
“Jones applauded President Trump’s decision to sign an executive order on police reform. The EO created a national database of police misconduct. This prevents officers from bouncing between police departments when they’re fired for excessive force or other related issues.” 
Said Jones “Where were Joe Biden and the previous administration for 8 years in the White House on this issue? I’ll tell you. They were absent in unifying this country.” 
Jones also reminded voters of color about Joe Biden’s THIRTY-SIX YEARS of pushing horrifically strict bills against black offenders (sometimes in conjunction with Hillary Clinton, who notoriously called black men “super-predators”).
“Don’t take my word for it,” Jones said, “take then-Senator Joe Biden’s own words for it. The truth is, every major crime bill since 1976 that’s come out of this Congress, every minor crime bill, has had the name of the Democratic senator from the State of Delaware: Joe Biden. Now that Biden is running for president in a woke Democratic Party in 2020, he’s attempting to sweep his racist legacy under the rug. We can’t let him.”
The Latter-Day Saints aka Mormons, faced very real oppression and bigotry because of their faith. In Missouri in the 1830s the Church’s opposition to slavery added to the usual mistrust and suspicion that Mormons faced. The series of Mormon “Wars” were not truly large-scale wars (with the exception of one). 
AUGUST 6th, 1838 – This was Election Day in newly-formed Daviess County in Missouri. One of the candidates, William Peniston, called Mormons “horse-thieves and robbers” and warned them not to vote. A band of 30-some Mormons DID show up to vote on August 6th and were blocked by roughly 200 Anti-Mormons. 
THE GRENADE 
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