Number 2268: Bad old Doctor Time

We begin our December posts with a reminder that time is a relentless and persistent enemy. I think about it a lot. It is one of the reasons I found this story of the Target and the Targeteers appealing; they kick Doctor Time’s butt.

[SPOILER ALERT] When Doctor Time tells his story he says he had invented a serum to stay young, but was framed for murder. He was sentenced to 99 years and got out of prison at age 124! Then to get revenge he created a reverse formula, making people old. As I now know, all too well, no one needs to make a formula to make people old. On the other hand, Doctor Time should have gone into business with his youth formula. That would be a much better revenge. Anyone with such a formula would make himself rich as Croesus, and hopefully without having to be an ugly green criminal with stereotyped Asian henchmen. [END SPOILER]

The art is by Bob Wood, for whom time was not kind. Later in life he killed a woman in a hotel room while on an alcoholic binge. He ended up in prison.

The Target and his two buddies were business partners, and had a long-time career in Target Comics. Wood went on to draw the Claw when he went into business with Charles Biro on Daredevil Comics and other titles for Lev Gleason. This story looks like something Biro may have had something to do with, uncredited. I have seen more than one Biro story go along at a regular pace and then wrap up on the final page by cramming everything into several panels.

From Target Comics Volume 2 Number 5 (whole number 17, 1941):