Number 1833: Evil eye

Mr Justice (also referred to as the Royal Wraith) was a supernatural hero who appeared in MLJ’s Blue Ribbon Comics. This particular story pulls out all the stops, and includes the evil eye, a soul being yanked from a body, Satan making a deal, and Mr Justice confronting Satan himself on the devil's own territory. It is one of the reasons that the early MLJ Comics were popular. They later got into the Archie business, and dropped their lurid fare for a more “wholesome” style.

The story is written by Joe Blair, and drawn by Sam Cooper. The name of the blind soul-seller, Ribo, is an anagram of Biro. Charles Biro worked for MLJ with the same sort of gusto as he did for other comics, particularly Lev Gleason, with Boy Comics, Daredevil, and Crime Does Not Pay. Besides being an inside joke, I see the name assigned to such a sinister and twisted character as a paean of praise for a master of early comics and exploitation.

From Blue Ribbon Comics #19 (1941).

Number 416


Origin of Mr. Justice


This is a followup to our Halloween posting, Pappy's #405. Correspondent 1506NixNix writes: I saw the comment asking about Mr. Justice, whether he was a ghost like the Spectre. This is the origin story from Blue Ribbon Comics #9. It was published in 1941. Mr. Justice was a good character from MLJ but the company went another direction and by 1943 he was dropped in favor of the Archie comics.

Story is by Joe Blair, artwork is by Sam Cooper. Don Markstein's Toonopedia gives us the short course on Mr. Justice here.

...and what is that name again? The name of the kidnapped girl's family? Piddle? Did I read that right? Let me look...yup, I read it right.

Number 405


Vampire Valtz


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A year ago today I showed you this MLJ Witch's Tale story. Pappy's friend, 1506NixNix, who provided the scans for that, has provided the scans for yet another MLJ treat. This time it's starring Mr. Justice from Blue Ribbon Comics #11. We see a dance called the vampire waltz, and we also find out that vampires can turn into werewolves. Has anyone else ever suggested such a thing?

The name Carlos Hubbello is an inside joke. Carl Hubbell was an artist who worked in comics for many years. According to the book, The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu, Hubbell's wife, Virginia, actually ghost-wrote many of the stories signed by Charles Biro.

OK, so that's off the subject. Sam Cooper and Joe Blair did the creative honors on this story, which runs the gamut from super heroes to horror, and is a good example of why for a couple of years at least, MLJ, in its pre-Archie incarnation, was one of the most garish and lively of the comic book companies springing up in the late '30s period.