Most secret identities wouldn’t last long in the real world, of course, but Daniel Dyce’s might.
Dyce, a/k/a Quality Comics’ mystery man 711, had one of those rare perfect dual identities.
“He roamed the underworld by night, in search of villains to bring in, like a good superhero should,” recalled comics historian Don Markstein. “But in the daytime, he hung around the jail where he was a convicted inmate. Of course, the fact that he was a resident of a jail cell with the lucky number 711 at Westmoor Prison, from which he obviously derived his superhero name, was just a ghastly mistake.”
A former district attorney, 711 had been wrongly convicted because of a good deed gone wrong. In prison, Dyce was able to come and go as he pleased via a secret tunnel.
Dyce’s secret identity turned out to be extremely — ahem — convenient. Still, it was a bit cheeky of him to name himself after his own cell number. Something like “Monte Cristo” might have been a safer alternative.
“He even handed out fancy cards, supposedly showing the crooks what fate awaited them, but in reality, they represented the fate that had already befallen the masked hero,” Markstein noted.
His lucky number finally failed him, though. “He is eventually killed in action, his role being assumed by Destiny,” Jess Nivens noted.
Created by George Brenner, the mysterious 711 was one of no less than nine heroes who graced the pages of Police Comics 3 (Oct. 1941). The others included a masked reporter (the Sword), another masked prosecutor (the Mouthpiece), a masked chemist (the Human Bomb), aviator-adventurer Eagle Evans and Steele Kerrigan, who was another wrongfully imprisoned hero.
Ironically, in Police Comics, the law apparently didn’t work too well.
The playboy-turned-crimefighter Firebrand and his peek-a-boo shirt got the issue’s cover spot. But the two breakout stars of Police Comics would be found on the back pages — Arthur Peddy’s Phantom Lady and Jack Cole’s Plastic Man.
Robert Carson:
ReplyDeleteI've read his stories. I liked them.
I replied:
The handful that there were. Kind of a hard-luck superhero, when you think about it.
Randy Meyer:
ReplyDeleteI have a reprint of Police Comics #1. Every story in it is great.
Johnny Williams:
ReplyDeleteOkay Dan Hagen, just Wow. So you Know how much I love learning new (to me) things about comics? Well, today’s Daily Hagen Essay is a real winner for me. Here’s why. I’ve never heard of this guy.
The first thing that caught my attention was the look of Daniel Dyce. The discerning eye can well spot a significant resemblance between his appearance in the picture above and the Golden Age (and early Silver Age) art style of one Jack ‘The King’ Kirby. I saw it immediately and was drawn in. Things that standout to me as ‘Kirbyesk’ are - the shadowing of his face; the look of his fedora; his nose, Yes, that’s a very GA Kirby nose, Trust me, I’m an artist and am aware of such things; even the way that his clothing/costume drapes screams old Kirby. So there’s that.
Then came the veritable smorgasbord of heroic mentions of other denizens of Police Comics. Each and every one of them sounded like a character that would have delighted me as a wee lad, and also to me, sounded by short description like 40’s - 50’s Batman comics characters, either friend or foe. Eagle Evans especially would have appealed to me because I went through a period of fascination with the character type known as aviators as a kid. I never missed an episode of Sky King (I’m really dating myself here).
My final delight was the ending mentioning of the Phantom Lady and Plastic Man. They are two of my Golden Age favorites. Thank you again Mom. ❤️
I replied:
Plas was a favorite of my mom's, too.
Kevin Caris:
ReplyDeleteI like the character
Very pulpy but his origin is dumb. Who the hell would willingly take someone's place in prison just so u can see your baby being born.
Wasn't 711 a DA could he done something legally for his friend?