Story title: "The Invisible Empire, Part 6"
Cover Date: October 1936
By: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
So, let's continue with "The Invisible Empire"
There's a giant robot on the title banner... I don't know what to say.
After a summary of the events of the previous issue, we find Steve Carson applying makeup. Naturally, Jean asks what he's doing. Ralph then proceeds to explain that he's going to change his appearance into that of the guy that they locked in the closet, AND has the nerve to say: "Can't you see his plan?". Well sorry for not deducing that he'd come up with the dumbest plan ever, which is definitely going to work anyway because this is comic books!
According to the narrator, Federal Men don't usually adopt disguises. Does that mean that they don't go undercover or that they don't literally impersonate someone else? Because if it means the former, I'm not sure if it's true...
Anyway, Steve disguises himself as the closet man and goes to the place of the meeting. Part of me still thinks that "a long trip" was code for "we're going to terminate you".
Steve is then driven to a field where he gets to a plane that looks suspiciously similar to the plane that he was driving last time:
More people get into the plane, and when they arrive at their destination, this is what they see:
It's whatever they were building in the last part! Apparently, it's a "man-made island". Pretty impressive stuff.
Oh, look! The title banner continues on the next page.
This is the first mention of the Invisible Empire within "The Invisible Empire". And it only took six out of seven parts! The concept is cool but kind of weird. I mean, the title obviously suggests some kind of secret society, but I expected that I would be hidden among the rest of society, not on a literal secret artificial island. Also, weren't they just building this in the last part? Is this like a new thing? Is this just one of their bases? If it is new, then it's safe to assume that the attack on DC with the giant tank was meant to fund the construction of this base, but I mean, that whole thing was a failure... I don't know, it just doesn't make a lot of sense.
Anyway, the plane lands and the island goes underwater again. One can't help to wonder why don't they transfer the new arrivals by submarine or at least by ship, so they can avoid exposing the city.
Then, the new arrivals, including Steve, are immediately put to work. Ho ho, that's rich! You'd think that living in a subaquatic, artificial, secret city would be some kind of privileged position but no. Steve and the rest get forced labor, and they can't even choose a position.
Steve eventually finds out that the access to the hangars that are close to his work area is severely restricted (I guess they don't want their slaves to escape), so he tries to approach one and gets threatened.
He tries again at night, and while this time there aren't any guards around (who'd imagine someone would try to escape at night!), he triggers all the alarms.
Steve manages to outrun his pursuers and then escapes on this funny-looking rocket:
Meanwhile, the closet guy escapes! he's about to stab Ralph, but Jean wacks him with a wrench.
Nice! But what's the point of this? Did they need to fill up exactly three panels? Were readers worried that the guy was going to stay in the closet forever?
Back to Steve, he flies through the glass ceiling (a literal one, I mean) and finally escapes. Someone somewhere within the hidden city says that they need to raise the dome or they'll drown. I'm not sure why that's the case... I'd have assumed that Steve breaking the ceiling would flood the place, but apparently, this order was given before his escape so... I don't know.
There's one more page to go, but before that, there's a panel for fanmail! Let's see what the fans had to say:
Very interesting. You can tell the average reader was very insightful back then...
In all seriousness though, I'm actually interested in reading what these fan letters say, so if anyone could direct me to a better scan or to a transcription or something, I'd appreciate it.
Then, claw first, a giant robot comes out of the city (Wrecking it in the process, mind you)! I'm not even kidding.
This is easily the best thing that has happened in the order so far.
The robot chases after Steve, matching the speed of the rocket (which is not surprising, it's standing on the ocean floor, the thing is fucking huge!). Steve gets to the lighthouse in time to warn his friends, who can't really do anything except hide and pray the Colossus doesn't see them.
But of course, the thing punches some land and:
Is it just me or does this actually look like intentionally comedic timing? Anyway, that's the end for now:
Ok, let's get to the rating.
Quality/Enjoyment: 3/5
The first three pages are pretty dull, and as always, filled with inconsistencies. However, I think the appearance of the giant robot (which also happens to have a pretty kickass design) deserves an extra point.
Historical/Cultural/Narrative Significance: 2/5
It's not the first in history, but it might be the first in comics, and this is definitely the first time there's a giant robot (or any giant "monster" for that matter) in the order, so 2/5 it is.
Alright, that's it for today. Next time, we finally get the conclusion to this storyline, so make sure to tune in I guess. In the meantime, thanks for reading, and have a nice rest of your day!
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