Halloween Heroines ZATANNA "Doppelganger!"

When Last We Left the DCU's Premier SuperHeroine/Sorceress...

...She Had Been Lured into Another Dimension by...Herself???

While the Justice League tales relating how Zatanna's powers were reduced have been reprinted, this story from DC's World's Finest V1N277 (1982) by Paul Kupperberg and Dan Spiegle hasn't (though it was footnoted in JL)!

Check out another never-reprinted story featuring Zatanna (with Supergirl) HERE, HERE, and HERE!

Next Week:

We conclude our Countdown to Halloween 2024 participation with a powerless Wonder Woman taking on a real witch!

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Halloween Heroines ZATANNA "Magic in the Air!"

She's a member of the Justice League and a second-generation sorceress/superheroine...

...and, usually, one of the most powerful magicians in the DC Universe!

But, this tale takes place at a point when her powers are lessened...

Actually, this never-reprinted story from DC's Worlds Finest Comics #276 (1982) will continue on

Thursday!

Written by Paul Kupperberg and illustrated by Dan Spiegle, this was part of Zatanna's second strip, running in World's Finest from #274 to #278.
Daughter of Golden Age magician/super-hero Zatara and Sindella, a member of Homo Magi (humans born with the ability to manipulate magical forces), Zatanna initially uses her human father's technique to manipulate reality by speaking incantations backwards, and later learns to utilize her inborn talents.

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Halloween Heroines FANTOMAH "Mystery Woman of the Jungle"

Jungle Heroine or Spirit of Vengeance?

Can you tell which one she is, dear reader?

I certainly can't!

As rendered by the...unique...Fletcher Hanks, Fantomah was the first comic book superheroine (as in heroine with super-powers instead of a costumed "normal" woman), predating Wonder Woman by a year!

This particular story, from Fiction House's Jungle Comics #2 (1940), was her premiere appearance, and reads like a drug-induced nightmare!

Hanks handled the character from her premiere in #2 to #15, with the stories becoming even more surreal every issue!

When new creatives took over with #16, the character was immediately "toned-down", eliminating the skull-face look, and limiting her almost-limitless powers.

As of #27, she was rebooted as "Daughter of the Pharaohs", queen of a lost civilization made up of descendants of an ancient Egyptian expedition stranded in central Africa centuries earlier.

Her series ended in #51 (1944).

Trivia: Despite being popular enough to run for several years in Jungle Comics, Fantomah never made the cover!

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Complete Works of Fletcher Hanks
(which includes all his Fantomah tales and so much more!)
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Halloween Heroine MOTHER HUBBARD "vs the Eyeless Ogres"

We conclude this chapter in the history of comic book heroines...

...with the final tale of the witch who looks like a traditional fairy tale sorceress; Mother Hubbard!

Most magician-heroines in comics are beautiful women in tights (Scarlet Witch, Zatanna, Clea, etc.). but Mother Hubbard was the personification of a classic fairy tale witch.

Art for this tale in Chesler's Scoop Comics #3 (1942) was by Bill Madden.
Regrettably, the writer is unknown.
It was her final first-run appearance, but Mother's adventures have been reprinted in both the Golden and Atomic Ages.

Be here next week, when we present another tale of classic creepy comic grrrl power!

Halloween Heroine MOTHER HUBBARD "vs Soul-Stealing Gnomes"

The mystical heroine who looks like the traditional stereotype of a witch returns...

...this time, taking on a mob of mischievous mystical menaces!

For whatever reason, after taking on Nazis in her first appearance, Mother Hubbard confined her war on evil to gnomes, trolls and the like.
Most magician-heroines in comics are beautiful women in tights (Scarlet Witch, Zatanna, Clea, etc.). but Mother Hubbard was the personification of a classic fairy tale witch.

Art for this appearance in Chesler's Scoop Comics #2 (1942) was by Bill Madden, but the writer is unknown.

Be here next week, when we present another tale of classic (yet creepy) comic grrrl power!

Halloween Heroine MOTHER HUBBARD "vs The Leader"

It's almost Halloween, so here's a witch...

...who battled Nazi spies in this unusual Golden Age series from Chesler Syndicate.

Most magician-heroines in comics are beautiful women in tights (Scarlet Witch, Zatanna, Clea, etc.). but Mother Hubbard was the personification of a stereotypical fairy tale witch.

Oddly, though this is her first appearance, the Nazis know who she is and what she's capable of!

No actual origin (or explanation of how she survived to the present and turned from evil to good) was ever presented during her three-story run.

Art for her premiere appearance in Chesler's Scoop Comics #1 (1941) was by Bill Madden, but the writer is unknown.

Be here next week, when we present another tale of classic comic ghoulish grrrl power!

Asian Avengers MARGO THE MAGICIAN

In the Golden Age of Comics, there was only one super-powered Asian/Eurasian heroine...

...and this is her only appearance...ever!

Note the last caption says "Read the next issue of Margo the Magician to find out!"

Sadly, there was never any issue of Margo the Magician!

This "origin" appeared in Quality's Uncle Sam Quarterly #2 (1941).
Margo was created by the Eisner/Iger Studio with no record as to who wrote or drew this story.
("Bill Bydem" was a pseudonym!)

The Margo strip was just as good as 99.9% of the other magician-superbeing stories, and she was one of extremely-few female magic-wielders in comics at the time!
Was it her ethnicity that kept her from being continued?
We'll never know.
Unlike almost every other Golden Age character, she has never been revived/rebooted, and this tale has never been reprinted!

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