The Comet and...the Hangman?

[alicemacher]

Last time, we saw that John Dickering, the Comet, under the influence of bad-guy hypnosis, had committed several robberies and disintegrated at least one cop in the process. He snapped out of it, discovered he was now a wanted man, and vowed to clear his name. Which would be a tall order, given that while still mesmerized he'd managed to kill both his captors. So, did he ever clear his name? Find out in this story from Pep #17 (July 1941) which, like all issues up to #71, is in the public domain (scans courtesy of ComicBookPlus.com).



First, since I'm skipping over so many issues, a bit of background. While evading the police, the Comet continues to fight crime. He even, several issues in, starts leaving crooks for the police to apprehend, instead of killing them. My guess is that this was due to either the writer change--Jack Cole having left after Issue 8--or editorial fiat, in line with other comics publishers establishing "superheroes don't kill" policies around that time.

In any case, from Issue 5 onward, John no longer has to work alone. He meets Thelma Gordon, a newspaper reporter, who's been following his exploits and knows he's innocent of those police murders. Working together, they eventually fall in love, which brings us to the story in Issue 17. According to the Grand Comics Database, the artist is George Storm, while writer "Cliff Campbell" was a pseudonym for either Harry Shorten or Abner Sundell.

Hold on...who's that in the title and splash page? Don't worry; all will become clear shortly.















That's right. The Comet has the distinction, decades before pre-Crisis Kara Zor-El and Barry Allen, of being the first superhero to die. And he didn't even get to clear his name. ;__;

But wait; there's more!








And here I admit to having used the "Covers Preview Panels Always Lie" trope on you, muaha. As you can see, that's not the Comet in the second panel, but Chugger's face with (odd) dramatic lighting.







So yeah, that was that for the Comet. While the Hangman did indeed prove a popular (if similarly grim) enough character to get his own title by 1942, there was apparently not much reader demand for a resurrected Comet. He wouldn't return until Archie Comics' The Fly #30 (Oct 1964).

Comments

[skjam]

We wonder what his Master's Degree was in...

[drtechnobabel]

Considering he locks criminals alone in dark rooms for hours on end in order to mentally break them, I would have to say Psychology.

[zapbiffpow]

Wait, COMET IS DEAD? At least we can take comfort in his last words:

"Aaahh!"

Dammit, I can't put that in his memorial plaque. It just sounds like he's enjoying a refreshing drink.

[writeofway]

"He wouldn't have written, "Aaahh!" he would've just said it!"

[ozaline]

Perhaps he was dictating.

[dustbunny105]

At least it's more family-friendly than, "Ow, fuck!"?

[drtechnobabel]

I noticed that when the Hangmen first kidnaps the chugger, the people in the courtroom are screaming 'murderer'... does that mean he killed the other guy that he punched when he first entered the room?

...Oh, who am I kidding, of course he did. He's the Comet's brother, after all.