Introducing Percival Popp, the Super Cop
MORE FUN COMICS #74
DECEMBER 1941
BY JERRY SIEGEL, MORT WEISINGER, BERNARD BAILY, GEORGE PAPP, PAUL NORRIS AND HOWARD SHERMAN
In this issue, we are introduced to Percival Popp, the super cop. A self imposed sidekick for Spectre who figured out that any cop imitating fictional detectives would be a super-cop.
Then meet The Voice, a criminal for Green Arrow and Speedy that can completely mute the city and commits crime without making noises.
Finally, check out Aquaman fighting Black Jack.
Oh and if you are keeping track of him, Clip Carson goes to Buenos Aires, but that is not being reviewed here. (Although, the story could actually happen in Buenos Aires in 1941, so I am impressed, nice research George Papp!).
Well, well, well. Reading this story from Spectre, I felt like Siegel didn’t know the story beats for this story before he started writing it (or maybe dialoguing it). The story itself seems to come up with justifications for things one panel before those facts can be used. Even for facts that there was no way for Corrigan to know them (maybe it’s one of the Spectre’s powers).
Then we have the climax of the story, where Spectre is able to convert the mad scientist into a good guy by taking him to a nebula. I mean, shouldn’t he be doing that to all villains from now on?
And then we have Percival Poop Popp, the super cop. It doesn’t feel so much like Robin or Speedy... he is more in the range of Shorty and Doiby (Shorty also created by Siegel, so I can see the inspiration).
The Green Arrow episode has something that made me think... they have been keeping trophies from their missions since their first appearance... and now I am not sure if they were the first to do that, or if Batman did it first. Whatever the case, Speedy managed to be kidnapped, just like Robin at the time.
The Aquaman episode was very uninspired, and felt too similar to the first one.
