The Spider Queen

Can she fight?
Well, you see
She has great agility
Can she swing from a thread?
Take a look overhead
Hey there!
There goes The Spider Queen

If the above lyrics are familiar yet not quite right to you, it's because I rewrote them a bit from the original Spider-man theme from 1967.  I did that to introduce to you today's subject, the original web-swinger, The Spider Queen.  If you've ever been curious as to what comics Stan Lee was reading whenever he decided to borrow some now public domain ideas for his own comics, keep on reading.

The Spider Queen made her debut in "The Eagle" #2 (September 1941), published by Fox Feature Syndicate.  Elsa Lesau is her credited creator, although Pierce Rice drew it according to The Grand Comics Database.  The Spider Queen made only three appearances total, but was an obvious influence on Spider-man created 21 years later by Lee and Steve Ditko.

From "The Eagle" #3 (November 1941).  

From "The Eagle" #4 (January 1942).  

That's it, true believers!  The amazing Spider Queen and her web-shooting adventures!  Thank you to all the owners, scanners and uploaders who shared these comics on the web for all of us to enjoy!  And thanks to everyone who reads this blog I wrote.  'Til next time!  

  

Spy Smasher

If spies need to be smashed, Spy Smasher is your man!  Created by writer Bill Parker and artist C. C. Beck, Spy Smasher made his debut in "Whiz Comics" #2 (February 1940).  Spy Smasher was published by Fawcett Comics, also the home of Captain Marvel.  Spy Smasher's adventures lasted until around the end of World War II, after which he changed his name to Crime Smasher.

The first story I want to share comes from The Internet Archive's version of "Whiz Comics" #2. These are the nicest looking scans of this comic I've seen on the Internet.        

The second story I want to share is from "Whiz Comics" #6 (July 1940) from Digital Comic Museum.  This is the story in which the beginning was "borrowed" by DC Comics for a Wonder Woman story that appeared in "Sensation Comics" #5 (May 1942)!  

Now I'd like to share a story that's the same length as the two stories above combined together! The cover comes from Heritage Auctions but the rest of "Spy Smasher" #10 comes from DCM. This is my personal favorite Spy Smasher story.  

I hope everyone enjoyed all of these smashing stories about Spy Smasher!  Many thanks, as always, go to the scanners and uploaders who were nice enough to share these classic comics.