DCRO 25- The Comics Magazine (1936) #1 [B Story]

Story title: "Koth and the Seven, Part 1" 

Cover Date: May 1936

By: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

DCRO Entry

Koth and the Seven huh? I've been watching The Boys and I hope it's not that "The Seven", because otherwise Doc Occult might not stand much of a chance against them...

So, this Doctor Occult story doesn't begin in "More Fun Comics" but in "The Comics Magazine". One might think this is a new magazine, but one might be wrong: This is simply the original title of "Funny Pages" (that's right, even though we've already read issue #9 of that magazine, we're going back to #1 for a different story), which lasted about one issue because they must've realized quickly enough that "The Comics Magazine" was a really generic title. So, why is Doctor Occult in a different magazine just for this one occasion? Hell if I know, but Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, the founder and then editor of National-Allied Publications (old DC), became well known in his time for not being able to pay authors and artists, so there's that...

Anyway, let's get to the story.

Wow, right off the bat we have three big changes for this edition: We're back to B&W, Doctor Occult is now called "Doctor Mystic" (possibly to avoid questions about the character appearing in different magazines) and Siegel and Shuster are finally credited by their actual names. This last one I know the answer to: The duo had a couple more characters of theirs appearing in More Fun Comics, so the publisher changed their names for this series to make it seem like they had a wider roster of writers and artists than they actually had.

The story itself begins with a giant guy terrorizing the city while searching for something, all of that whilst wearing a wrestling-style mask. Then, Doctor Occult shows up and pulls a Power Rangers, becoming a giant (through some "mystic ritual") himself to have a fighting chance against the masked guy.

They "Engage in mortal combat", and when Doctor Occult gets the upper hand by "pinioning" his opponent's arms, he takes off the mask to find it's actually his old friend Zator he's been fighting, who became a giant as a sure-fire way to find the Doctor. 

I like how he waited until the Doctor took off his mask and found out by himself, after fighting in their giant forms and probably causing a couple dozen deaths and millions of dollars in property damage, instead of just outright telling him. 

The Doc then asks about The Seven, and Zator tells him that that's precisely the reason he was looking for him. So they lock arms and take off Indiaward, at a speed "greater than light" (No way, a speed of light trip to India wouldn't last the whole next page).

How the hell did Doctor Occult go from scaring bats and doggies with a poker chip to becoming a giant and flying at the speed of light? Must be the power of the name change... He's not Occult anymore, he's Mystic!

That's an... interesting transition pane.

On their journey, the heroes are attacked by "creatures of the nether world", but since they are in some kind of ethereal form, they can't hurt them.

Later, the creatures try to attract them (with a naked woman of course):

Occult tries to go to her rescue, but Zator stops him, pointing out that it's obviously a trap... Ok, so, first, even if it was, they still can't attack them, and secondly, let's hope it actually was a trap and not the nether world's kidnapping of the week...

Later, they start to slow down, and when they turn to see what's going on, they see Koth! 

I think it's safe to assume he'll be the villain of this arc.

Zator, without messing about, goes straight for the kill, but Koth throws his spectral underlings to the heroes:

And that's the end of this part.

Oh, I'll wonder how they'll get out of this one! Let me guess... the monsters still won't be able to attack due to the heroes being in their astral forms or something? Ooh, or maybe Doctor "Mystic" will pull out his new Arcane Symbol or whatever!

Also, remember you can read the complete Doctor Occult Golden Age works here.

Anyway, let's get to the ratings:

Quality/Enjoyment: 3/5

It's a fine intro to the story arc, but maybe there's a lot to take in for only two pages. I made some jokes about the sudden change in the series styles, but while I do think it's kind of sudden, I did like it. It reminds me of what I've read of Doctor Strange in the Silver Age, and I do enjoy that Mystic/Arcane kind of stuff, so I don't mind the change.

Historical/Cultural/Narrative Significance: 1/5

Zator gives a slight impression of being an already existing character that just happened to have a crossover with Doctor Occult, but no. He's an original creation and the five parts of this story are his only appearances. The same goes for Koth and The Seven.

Anyway, that's that for today. Thanks for reading and have a nice rest of your day!