So, who were America's great heroes in 1951 (at least according to Fawcett Comics)?

No big surprises: The Marvel Family, a jungle queen, lots (and lots) of western heroes, and...and...and...what the hell is this:

Who...?

AHHHHH!!


 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Look, those of you with your quaint and silly fear of clowns...please. That is nothing compared to the terror caused by puppets--especially magician puppets!!!

The Great Foodini (with his assistant, Pinhead) was one of the earliest children's shows. They first appeared on The Adventures of Lucky Pup, but for some unfathomable reason, they proved more popular, and took over the show!! See, they killed Lucky Pup (probably!)!

Here, you can watch an entire episode...just don't blame me if you can't sleep for a week or so:



Thank you for the nightmares, CBS!

Apparently, Foodini and Pinhead (Pinhead!!! Are you listening!! PINHEAD!! AHHHHHH) proved popular, and quickly became masters of all primitive early 1950s media.

They had records:

They were on magazine covers:

There was no escaping the terror of the magician puppet:

And yes, the Satanic duo even infiltrated our beloved comic books:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

IEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Somebody stop them!!!!

After their series at Continental Comics died, they proved their evil by coming back from to dead to infest Fawcett Comics, in a series that actually lasted longer than the television show!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

That woman, by the way, Hope Bunin, who with her husband Morey, were well known puppeteers, and creators of Foodini and Pinhead. Because in the 1940s & 50s, you could become famous for being a puppeteer and horrifying millions.

AIEEEEE puppets torturing puppets aieieieee!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Sorry, man...puppets freak me out!!!!

Foodini #1-4 appeared in 1950. Pinhead and Foodini #1-4 appeared in 1951-1952. This explains why you're parents are so frakked up. The ad appeared in Worlds Beyond #1 (1951)

Evil circus entrepreneur BB Farnum (get it?!?) has discovered the "precious secret" of animating puppets and getting them to do his bidding. namely, stealing Superman's superpowers, one by one. Don't believe me? Just look for yourself:

But, after dispatching his puppets to slay Superman, he decides he'd rather do it himself:



Well, kids--have you solved the mystery? Can you tell which superpower Farnum and the puppets have forgotten--which superpower will save Superman??


No, it wasn't his power of super-disguise--there is no such power (unless you're Batman). Guess again!!

D'oh!! Of course--super-ventriloquism!!! (Which, on Krypton, apparently includes the ability of super-mimicry...)

Oh, by the way--Farnum, you're spectacularly ill-equipped to complain about Superman's "dirty, rotten stunt." I mean, you were trying to kill the man, you douche--all he did was trick you in order to save his life. I would think that attempted murder by puppet ranks somewhat higher on the dirty rotten stunt scale.

Anyway, Superman hauls him away, and...

Sadly, BB Farnum never returned, despite his pledge of an encore. So the secret of how these puppets were animated, how they were able to steal superpowers, and what the heck this all means is still locked in Cary Bates' head...

Super-ventriloquism saves the day in Superman #269 (1973).