Sign of the Beetle

First up in this entry of the Cool Golden Age Page of the Day is this great full-page fight scene featuring the Blue Beetle from Mystery Men Comics #12 (July 1940).

I'd be hard-pressed to find a scene as cool as this one in another comic book. Not bad for what was considered disposable entertainment. A nice testament to the talent and professionalism of the artist, who is credited as Charles Nicholas.

The second cool page is from the same story. After beating down the crime gang the Blue Beetle painstakingly arranges the bodies in the shape of his totem as his signature. Not really necessary since back in the Golden Age before cross-overs each hero existed alone in their universe. Villains there were plenty of but heroes were often alone except for the occasional un-powered kid sidekick. There was probably only one person on earth who could possibly have beaten senseless 50 armed hoodlums but Dan Garret signed his work of art anyways.