Number 2490: Ice cold plunderers from the past!

 In this Moon Girl story, “Plunderers From the Past,” Some Vikings are thawed from ice and come back to life. A character in the story explains that “some frogs” can freeze and yet come back from their organs and body being in the deep freeze. Yeah, I’d heard that a time or two, so to corroborate that factoid it was to the Internet I went. The National Science Foundation has an article, “Frozen Frogs Don’t Croak,” and from that article: “Jon Costanzo, a professor at Miami University in Ohio says at the first sign of ice in late fall or early winter, the frog freezes solid as a rock.

“That touch of ice immediately sets off signals inside the frog that pulls water away from the center of its body, so the frog's internal organs are now wrapped in a puddle of water that then turns to solid ice. . .The frog's heart stops beating, its kidneys stop functioning and its respiration ceases--for months. The frogs endure this suspended animation by producing a type of antifreeze made with glucose, keeping the water in their cells in a liquid state at temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius).” So when the Moon Girl character who talks about frogs asks, “Why not humans?” we know now that it is because we don’t have antifreeze in our blood.

Antifreeze or not, Moon Girl gets involved with these formerly frozen humans.

The story is written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Sheldon Moldoff. It is from EC Comics’ Moon Girl #6, 1949.

Number 2364: “Sky Sabotage”

I can imagine the conversation between EC founder and publisher, Max Gaines, and writer Gardner Fox: “I want you to create a character just like Wonder Woman, only different. No kinky stuff!” Gaines had been the publisher of the All American line, partners with Donenfield and Liebowitz, publishers of DC Comics, where Wonder Woman was a big seller. In 1945 Gaines sold his share, including Wonder Woman, to DC, and went off on his own again. Superheroes were fading fast in the late 1940s, except for Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, so naturally he would want to capture some of Wonder Woman’s sales.

It didn’t work as well as hoped, and the only super hero(ine) of the EC Comics line, Moon Girl, didn’t last for long. It doesn’t mean that Moon Girl wasn’t fairly well done; Fox and artist Sheldon Moldoff were professionals who had been working for Gaines for years, but Moon Girl didn’t have the bizarre characteristics of Wonder Woman that made her a big seller. M.C. Gaines died in 1947, and EC was put under his son Bill’s direction. He gradually made decisions that turned the company into his, and not his father’s.

“Sky Sabotage” is from Moon Girl #3 (1948):

Number 2085: Moon Girl is swamped

We begin another theme week, and like last month, the theme is comic book women of the forties. First up, Moon Girl.

Clare Lune, Moon Girl, must have needed a job when she accepted a position in a mansion far into the Bayou. She is all set to tutor little Mary, when the house is assailed by a vampire. Despite Moon Girl’s powers and obvious ability to take care of herself, she has to call in her boyfriend, the Prince. The story is kind of a mess, ending abruptly. We aren’t shown how that tutoring job turned out. At least the artwork by Sheldon Moldoff is atmospheric, and foreshadows his later work in Fawcett’s horror comics.

Grand Comics Database lists the writer as Richard Kraus, based on information from Tales of Terror: the EC Companion. Moon Girl #4 (1948) was edited and published by William M. Gaines, who took over EC Comics when his father died in a boating accident in the summer of 1947.

Number 1918: Volcano sacrifices: Moon Girl and her mom!

I have mentioned before the character of Moon Girl is inspired by Wonder Woman, introduced to the world by publisher Maxwell Gaines. Moon Girl is like Wonder Woman without the kinky stuff. She has a fella (the Prince), like Diana has Steve Trevor. While Wonder Woman comes from a mythical place called Paradise Island, Moon Girl comes from a mythical version of a real place, Samarkand. Here’s a bit of information about Samarkand, from a travel guide on the Internet:

“Samarkand - The Capital of Tamerlane. Samarkand is situated in the valley of the river Zerafshan. It is the second largest city of Uzbekistan and is of the same age as the city of Babylon or Rome.”

No mention of a Moon Mountain or the Volcano Kokama, which are key plot elements in “The Spirit of Kokama,” from Moon Girl #3 (1948). There’s a rebellion going on in Samarkand, and Moon Girl’s mom is thrown into a dungeon. She didn’t detect the plot against her, but then I don’t think she is very smart. When the volcano erupts, she claims it is “harmless.” She sounds like a queen in denial.

Despite all of the things about mixing fantasy with real places, I am intrigued by Moon Girl’s plane. It isn’t invisible like Wonder Woman’s, but is controlled by Moon Girl’s moon powers. When it flies from Uzbekistan to America and shows up, unpiloted, to collect the Prince, it reminds me of a drone.

Artwork is by Sheldon Moldoff.

Number 1655: Moon Girl’s bad double

I wish I had a buck for every time we comic book readers have seen a story of a superhero impersonated by a crook.It is not the most original plot. Still, this is a Moon Girl story. Moon Girl, being EC Comics only superheroine (before the Old Witch, that is) is of some historical interest. The story, drawn by Sheldon Moldoff and published in Moon Girl #3 (1948), is entertaining enough in its own way. We know the Moon Girl double is a bad girl because she smokes and she stands around striking pin-up poses.

More Moon Girl from last January, including links to two other Moon Girl posts: