THE MAN OF MYSTERY
by Dave Goode
When I first started collecting (saving) comics back in the early
1960s I was lucky enough to live next door for about three years to a
kid who read comics. But never saved them. This gave me extra comics
that I could trade. And other comics that I never
had to buy. One of these comics was FLY MAN No.31 (May 1965). The Fly
Man was originally a character called The Fly who was created by Joe
Simon and Jack Kirby. This comic book introduced me to several
characters that were new to me. In the course of the
story the Fly Man teamed up with the Shield, who I immediately pegged
as a Captain America imitation. Little did I know at this time in my
life the reality. And there was the Comet, a sci-fi superhero in an
ugly green and orange costume. And then there
was the Black Hood, a "man of mystery" on a flying robot horse
named "Nightmare". To this day I can't put my finger why, but I
thought the Black Hood was neat. Maybe it's because the other heroes in
this comic were super-powered. And I always liked
heroes who didn't have "powers and abilities far beyond those of
mortal man".
I started trading for back issues of The Fly that featured the
Black Hood. I would later find out that the Black Hood character came
from the Golden Age of Comics. He debuted in Top Notch Comics No. 9 (October 1940). He was the creation of Harry Shorten
and Al Camy who was the original artist on the feature. Shorten was a
pretty interesting character himself. Writer, editor and publisher
Shorten played halfback for the NYU football team. He earned a degree in
geology there before going on to a brief career
in pro football. Aside from creating the Black Hood he co-created
that Shield character with Irv Novick. And I would find out that
character actually pre-dated Captain America. He also created the long-running single panel comic There Oughta Be A Law
with illustrator Al Fagaly. Later Shorten would become the publisher of
Midwood Books. A publishing house that produced adult, but not
pornographic books.
The Black Hood was Police Officer Kip Burland who was framed for a
crime he didn't commit by a criminal mastermind known as the Skull.
Burland would be trained by a mysterious hermit known as the Hermit (you have to love the Golden Age) and fights crime
as the Black Hood as he attempts to clear his name. I've never read the
original origin story. But I wonder if part of his training regimen
involved judo and jiu jitsu. I'm sure he must have used the seo nage
technique at least once in the course of his Golden
Age adventures.
During the Silver Age of Comics the Black Hood would be Archie
Comics No.2 martial arts hero after Bobby Bell of the Young Shields of
America Club. But where Bell gave judo and jiu jitsu lessons in the
pages of The Fly. The Black Hood taught karate basics
in the pages of The Fly and The Jaguar.
His martial arts skills would
serve him well when in Mighty Comics No.42 (January 1966) he faces off
against a villain known as the Karate Master in a story written by
Jerry Siegel, the co-creator of Superman,
and drawn by Paul Reinman. And no Karate Master doesn't have the same
ring as Judo Master.
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