Venus was one of several heroines introduced by Marvel at the tail end of the 1940s. Her title underwent a curious sequence of transformations in comics genres in its 19-issue run, starting as a glamour comic, becoming a romance comics, then a science fiction comic, and finally a horror comic. Throughout her run, Venus always remained the same character: the Olympian goddess with the power of Love, who came to Earth from the planet Venus to live among mortals for a while. It’s interesting to speculate how these adventures jibe with the modern day Marvel Universe. Yes, I know she was involved in the origin of The Champions, and I’m aware that Jeff Parker later retooled the “Avengers of the 1950s” from What If? #9 into the Agents of Atlas, but those appearances are almost mutually exclusive. The most obvious explanation is that she’s not an Olympian goddess at all, but really one of Jack Kirby’s Eternals. That’s not the tack Jeff Parker took, but I guess that’s the difference between a professional writer and a fanboy. Still, it’s fun to imagine that there’s a little bit of truth in both versions of her backstory, especially when one considers one of her early antagonists was none other than Loki. I’ve been curious about this series most of my life, and whereas I expected to enjoy it, I didn’t expect it to fire my imagination to the degree it has. The Marvel Boy, Black Claw, and now Venus Marvel Masterworks make an excellent complement to Jeff Parker’s (now sadly defunct) Agents of Atlas. Volume one collects the humor/glamour/romance run, but the best is yet to come. After the title switches to science fiction/horror, Bill Everett takes over as artist!
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"I can only confirm your suspicions about Roberto... but I can help you no further!" (Why he can help her no further he does not say.)
I hope the makers and players of adventure-quest role-playing games don't hear of this sort of thing. I could see it becoming a trope.
"Roberto's hypnotic hair dryer" made me think of the Beatles song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer."
VENUS #14:
First Story: "Fountain of Death" - This story is pure Everett. He's not only doing the art and story but the lettering as well. (The giveaway is the slanted boldfaced words.) He has also added his signature to the splash page. The story itself is ridiculously insane tale of a German rocket scientist who flies his spaceship to Mars in search of the legendary Fountain of youth. Whit and venus first meet Baron Franz Heinrich while on a date at the Embassy Club, where he is bragging about his upcoming space flight. Venus thinks there might be a story in it, so the next day she goes to his lab, volunteers to accompany him, and he agrees.
After days in space and days searching for the fountain after landing, Venus becomes frustrated at their lack of success and demands to be returned to Earth, but he refuses. She calls upon Jupiter for help, be he informs her that Heinrich has already found it. By the time she returns, a Martian named Azrael is also there, telling Heinrich that the fountain belongs to him. They fight, Henrick kills Azrael and throws his body into a crevasse. Fearing the retalliation of other Martians, Heinrich and Venus flee to Earth without even taking a sample of the fountain's water.
Hammond asks Venus if she is ready to submit the story, but she tells him it is not over yet. Then they go out on a date. Back at the Embassay Club, Heinrich is being ridiculed. He flies into a rage and rushes out into the street, but Venus and Whit follow him. she tells him, "Listen to me! I want you to think heard! I want you to remember the Martian, and what he told you about yourself! And then I want you to think of someone who might believe your story, and share the Fountain of Youth with you! Think, Baron--think!" Heinrich seems to take this advice to heart, and thanks Venus profusely. Whit observes that, "He took off like a ruptured duck," which is an odd turn of phrase I have never heard before. Speaking of unfamiliar phrases, When Hammond asks Venus if that is the end of Heinrich's story, she replies, "I'm afraid we'll have to wait a day or two before we can write '-30-' at the bottom of the last page." Although I can figure it out in context, I looked it up and learned that "'-30-' has been traditionally used by journalists in North America to indicate the end of a story or article that is submitted for editing and typesetting." I'm sure Cap has heard that phrase before (and probably Commander Benson), but I never had. Is it still in use?
Anyway, two days pass and Whit and Venus pay a visit to Heinrich. He has now reunited with his estranged wife and is deleriously happy. Later, Venus explains to Hammond, "There's an ancient legend, Whit, to the effect that, if a mortal desires and covets the unattainable, and ruthlessly pursues it, he will be challenged by a certain dark, sinister party. If there is any good yet to be done on earth by the mortal, he will win the fight--otherwise--KAPUT! The name of the Baron's adversary was Azrael!" whom Hammond immediately recognizes as Judeo-Christianity's "Angel of Death." They cannot use the story, of course, because it is too fantastic, but Venus observes that "just between you and me and the library shelf, it makes a pretty good yarn, doesn't it?" It does indeed.
"-30-" isn't much in use any more, as it was primarily used during the days of hot lead. It's really only used by ink-stained wretches like me to indicate when something is finished. I use it when I sign off at night at The Daily Memphian, and everybody gets it, although I imagine some had to have it explained to them.
"Taking off like a ruptured duck" used to be a more common phrase in the days following World War II. The ruptured duck was a slang term for the honorable discharge medal, which had an eagle on it that people thought looked like a duck in distress. "Taking off like a ruptured duck" meant rushing to leave with the eagerness of someone who was just mustered out of the military. It would have been in common use during the time Everett wrote that line, and he would certainly have had a ruptured duck himself, having served. I heard it once or twice in my youth, possibly from veterans, but more likely from old movies.
Ah! I did not know that! Thanks!
This is the WWII honorable discharge lapel pin
A ruptured duck! Thanks, Richard. (Who says comic books ain't educational?)
I learned everything I needed to know from comic books!
Second Story: "Hangman's Horror" - Venus is investigating a rash of suicides by hanging. After consulting with Sgt. O'Toole, she learns certain details: "All of 'em used a foreign type of rope, unobtainable in this country, and with the identical, peculiar kind of hangman's knot! No obvious reason for suicide, and no apparent evidence of foul play! It's got the whole force completely baffled!" He shows her one of the nooses and she identifies it as "a rare type of hemp... a type used only by fakirs and magicians... reputed to mean sudden death to anyone else who handles it." Each of the three victims so far recieved the noose in the mail, with no fingerprints or clues as to who the sender might be. Just then, word comes in of a fourth victim, Elliot Sherman. Venus recognizes the name as the foreman of the jury which convicted Raoul Hamud of murder. Then Sgt. O'Toole realizes that the names of the other three victims all match the names of other members of the jury. (Not to be critical, but I think this is something a police investigation might have uncovered. Just sayin'.) Hamud was sentenced to hang, but then his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, so he couldn't be the murderer.
Later, Venus researches Hamud's background: "life in the orient--no formal education--married and widowed in America--one son, abandoned in infancy, never found... That's interesting! Says here the child had a strange birthmmark around his--UH,OH! The phone..." It's O'Toole telling her that the killer has been caught in the commission of another crime. She rushes right over. The accused is Mr. Mason, who was also on the jury which convicted Hamud. (The police were at least keeping watch on all of the surviving jurists.) Mr. Mason was allegedly murdered by his employee, but the employee maitains he just found Mason and was actually in the process of removing the noose when the police broke in. Several weeks later, he has been convicted and sentenced to hang. Visiting him in his cell, Venus notices some marks around the young man's wrists. He hadn't noticed but says they're probably from the handcuffs.
Then Venus spots Raoul Hamud himself loitering outside the cell. He has been made a trustee, and is now the prison's chief executioner! Later that night, Venus receives a hangman's noose in the mail which magically wraps itself around her neck and tries to strangle her. she calls on Jupiter for help, who immediately transports her to Olympus. Two weeks later, Venus attends the execution. At the last moment, she annonymously shouts, "NO! WAIT! Are you sure his wrists are bound properly???" Hamud secured his wrists himself, but double checks anyway. Then Hamud goes nuts and hangs himself! Later Venus explains to O'Toole that, when she saw the marks around the accused wrists, she suspected he might be Hamud's son. But was he actually Hamud's son (which would be quite a coincidence), or were the marks actually made by the handcuffs (and lasted two weeks). Also, Why didn't Hamud notice the marks when he was securing his writes in the first place. Not the greatest story. Too many holes and implausibilities.
Third Story: "Venus Meets the Lady Killer" - A man named Don A. Donis has been going around town breaking hearts. (Of course it's the real Adonis, who has never met Venus because she's been on Earth for so long.) Venus beats him at his own game, causes him to fall in love with her, then sends him back to Olympus. In mythology, Adonis was involved with Aphrodite, Venus's Greek counterpart, so no discrepancy there (according to my theory). And there is no Adonis in Silver Age Marvel continuity, so no problem there, either. Another mediocre story.
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