Cover Contest June 20-26: Pre-Silver Age Kirby

[Iron Maiden]

I found this cover interesting because of the Ringmaster. He is one of the oldest villains in Marvel Comics. Also note the name of Betty Ross on the Wheel of MisFortune. The evil clown with the axe sure ain't Vanna White! The Betty Ross we know today first appeared in Incredible Hulk #1. I don't know if there is any link to the two.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

And how did Commissioner Gordon get mixed up with Nazis? Batman won't like that!

[kjn]

I know the past is another country, but the casual racism and ableism in that cover is just staggering!

[Kirby101]

I get the ableism, but where do you see racism? Everyone on the cover looks white to me. (Not that comics in the 40s weren't full of that)

[kjn]

I get the ableism, but where do you see racism? Everyone on the cover looks white to me. (Not that comics in the 40s weren't full of that)

The Ringmaster seems to have a strange mix of stereotypical African and Chinese features, and the hunchbacked man in front seems to carry on the trope that African men are ape-like.

[Iron Maiden]

The Ringmaster seems to have a strange mix of stereotypical African and Chinese features, and the hunchbacked man in front seems to carry on the trope that African men are ape-like.

The Ringmaster is as I said, one of the oldest villains in Marvel. The original Ringmaster is Fritz Tibolt and he was a Nazi agent from Austria. His son Maynard revived his Circus of Crime in Incredible Hulk #3. But you are right about the use of "freaks" in circuses of that era. There was a very controversial movie in the 1930s by Dracula director Todd Browning called Freaks but with a "normal" person as the villain of the piece.

This is a digital copy of the cover but from the original, it's hard to tell what the ethnicity is of the guy in the green Nazi uniform. But I would have to think he would be European since the Ringmaster's henchmen were Nazi agents.

[Kirby101]

The Ringmaster seems to have a strange mix of stereotypical African and Chinese features, and the hunchbacked man in front seems to carry on the trope that African men are ape-like.

I think you are just seeing things, when Simon and Kirby were just portraying evil deformities.

I don't see the ringmaster as anything but the usual mustached villain.

[Blastaar]

I know the past is another country, but the casual racism and ableism in that cover is just staggering!

I think you are looking for something that isn't there. These are a group of Eastern European Nazis. Exaggerated evil features, yes, after all it is a comic/cartoon.

[Scott Taylor]

Well I had no idea the Ringmaster was such an old villain, learn something new every day.

It is interesting to look at how evil is characterized. The thin mustache, the deformed features. Its absolute poppycock that those are somehow associated with evil, and they mirror more of a bigotry against the "different" than any racism. Notice how all the "good guys" are clean cut, well shaven and proportionally featured.

[Bryan]

I never realized how FRANK MILLER like the OLD Kirby style was influenced by!

[Iron Maiden]

And there is such realism in that cover. Jack Kirby served in the Infantry during WWII and was an advance scout around the time of the Battle of the Bulge, serving in one of General Patton's division. TwoMorrows has a long interview where Kirby discusses his experiences during the War In a small town he encountered a small stockade that was deserted by the Germans. When he opened the gate there were prisoners, Polish Jews who were forced to work in factories, starving and wearing tattered clothes. The winter was so cold the Kirby got frostbite in his feet and was sent home to recover.

[seismic-2]

The Ringmaster seems to have a strange mix of stereotypical African and Chinese features, and the hunchbacked man in front seems to carry on the trope that African men are ape-like.

It is hard to reconcile the use of racially diverse henchmen with the Nazis' ideal of the pure Aryan master race.

[kjn]

It is hard to reconcile the use of racially diverse henchmen with the Nazis' ideal of the pure Aryan master race.

The Nazis were also great supporters of "racial hygiene" that included removal of disabled or mentally ill people from the general population.

Do note that the Wikipedia article is slanted towards eugenics in Germany, but similar practices were widespread during the interwar era, and part of the practices were kept long afterwards. Modern-day Planned Parenthood in the USA has its root in the racial hygiene thinking, and Hitler regarded the Swedish Institute of Racial Biology as an example to emulate.

[Ravin' Ray]

First appearance of Manhunter.

[Jack Dracula]

The Nazis were also great supporters of "racial hygiene" that included removal of disabled or mentally ill people from the general population.

Do note that the Wikipedia article is slanted towards eugenics in Germany, but similar practices were widespread during the interwar era, and part of the practices were kept long afterwards. Modern-day Planned Parenthood in the USA has its root in the racial hygiene thinking, and Hitler regarded the Swedish Institute of Racial Biology as an example to emulate.

I think we'd all appreciate it if you'd please refrain from trying to turn the contest into a political discussion. Your views regarding Planned Parenthood can be shared on the Controversial Opinions thread or the News and Politics thread. Any continuance will be reported to the Mods.