CODEX OMNIVERSA

Roderick Burgess, Pt. 3

In 1936, Ethel Cripps left Ruthven Sykes and took the Dreamstone with her. Roderick Burgess was watching, and since Sykes was no longer protected by it, Burgess killed him…

Blackhawk

Janos Prohaska was a famed Polish aviator who flew with the Bill Heywood Squadron on the side of the Republicans against the Nationalists.

Death Mayhew was a Brit who immigrated to the United States and became a famous Hollywood actor. Due to his achievements, the British Empire knighted him and offered him Lordship. He also served in the Spanish Civil War as a war correspondent; however, he was secretly collaborating with the Germans.

Prohaska and Mayhew engaged in aerial conflict during the Spanish Civil War in a raid on Madrid. The fight ended in a draw; however, Prohaska exposed Mayhew, resulting in the end of his Hollywood career and the revocation of his British Lordship.

Flashback: William Everett

William Everett was raised in the South during the 1920s. His family worked as sharecroppers; however, when he punched the landlord one day, they left for Detroit. His father got a job in an auto factory…

After the stock market crash of 1929, his father was laid off, and his mother had to work as a scrubwoman.

One day I’d make ‘em proud, they were always sayin’… and maybe I did, in ’36… at the Olympics in Berlin.

Hitler had plans to show the whole world what great athletes Nazi Germany could turn out…

Flashback: Libby Lawrence

When Libby Lawrence won the American Intercollegiate Girls Athletic Tournament, she received a bell-shaped medal made from a piece of the original Liberty Bell.

She also competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, winning gold medals for competitive swimming.

Dr. Occult

In late 1936, Zator suddenly returned to take his former pupil back to the citadel. While traveling through the astral plane, they were attacked by monsters under the control of Koth. The Seven saved them; however, Koth sought to overpower them.

Able to force Koth to flee, Dr. Occult and Zator were sent on a mission by the Seven…

Although they walked into a trap and battled an army that materialized from Koth’s kingdom, they prevailed.

Afterwards, Zator asked Dr. Occult to return with him to the citadel; however, he replied…

I must return to my own world. But, who knows? One day we may again join forces.

---

---

---

In 1936, other publishers were jumping on the comic book bandwagon. Dell released Popular Comics in February, and David McKay released King Comics in May. The former included reprints of such Sunday strips as Dick Tracy, Little Orphan Annie, and Terry & the Pirates. The latter featured characters from Popeye on the cover.

The same year, The Phantom was a popular comic strip that appeared in newspapers. The character was the first hero to wear a skin-tight costume and mask.

The first standard size comic was the March/April issue (#9) of More Fun #9.

The December issue of New Comics (#11) on sale November 30, included a house ad for Detective Comics; however, it was delayed from its original December 1936 cover date.

During this time, Siegel and Shuster were writing Federal Man, a strip about an “ace sleuth.” One story featured a character named, “Jor-L.”

The first multi-part comic book story was the original 1936 telling of the Dr. Occult story referenced above. It was also the first time a comic book character demonstrated super-powers.

---

Codex Omniversa is going on hiatus for the month of October, but will return to 1937 on Wednesday, Nov. 5. Please join us on our sister site, ClassicHorrors.club for the annual Countdown to Halloween…