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Monday, June 29, 2015

Number 1754: The Sub-Zero Man cools it

Where I live the calendar is moving us into the hottest time of the year. Not that it hasn’t been hot, already. It just gets hotter.

So I don’t know if the Sub-Zero Man will make us cooler, but maybe if we put our faces closer to our computer screens we will feel a gentle, cool breeze wafting over us. Ahhhhh. I can feel it.

The Sub-Zero Man is an early superhero who appeared in Blue Bolt Comics. He was yet another alien who came to Earth* (in this case from Venus) with superpowers. When you read the story you’ll easily enough understand his powers. Oh yeah...he is called Sub-Zero by the other characters, and officially Sub-Zero (dropped “The” and “Man” from his name) sometime later.

From Blue Bolt Comics #3 (1940). Signed by Larry Antonette.
 









*For some reason these good alien superheroes land in America. Lucky for us Yanks, eh?

4 comments:

Daniel [oeconomist.com] said...

Indeed, it's lucky for us that the good aliens land here in America, but keep in mind that the d_mn'd Martians land in New Jersey!

I always appreciate seeing the stuff of the early golden age!

The depiction of the face of the young woman here reminds me of some of Eisner's very early work, as on Yarko. (Otherwise, though, I don't see a lot of similarity.)

There doesn't seem to have been a lot of thought given to how much power [the] Sub-Zero [Man] had, nor to how it would be used effectively. For example, the power necessary to construct the ice bridge would surely have been enough to stop the fire to which the fire-fighters intended to go.

We can note to J_D_La_Rue_67 that real-life fire-fighters have been known to commit acts of arson. He might suggest that they had been inspired by pre-code comics.

Pappy said...

Daniel, from the City University of New York, "Chasing Fires":

The “Hero”: These are people who set fires just to rescue the victims. The “hero” thrives on excitement and attention. A subcategory of the “hero” is the firefighter-arsonist. More than 100 firefighters a year are arrested for arson, according to a 2008 report from the National Volunteer Fire Council, a national association representing volunteer fire, EMS and rescue services.

“They use the fire as a vehicle to feel better about themselves and to be viewed as someone who is heroic,” said Berrill.

“Firefighter-arson” is the term used by the United States Fire Association. In the early 1990s, an FBI study concluded that 75 firefighters were responsible for 182 fires, according to the United States Fire Administration Security National Fire Data Center.


No pre-Code comics mentioned as reasons for the arson, thank goodness, although someone could have used comics as kindling.



J_D_La_Rue_67 said...

Uh... No... That would be much like saying that Thích Quảng Đức was a big fan of the Human Torch.
In other words: that would be too much. Even for me.

On the other hand, Sub-Zero might have inspired Iceman, Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat, etc. etc...

Alicia American said...

LOL this guy is just copieded off that snow man from X-Men yo LOL OMG Pappy my birthday is 2moro yo OMG #XSIGHTEDED