Number 2003: Human Meteor: a bullet for the boy

Human Meteor was another short-lived superhero of the early forties. He was a cab driver, Duke O’Dowd, who had been given a magic belt by a Tibetan. Duke shed his clothes for his role as Human Meteor, and did his super deeds bare-chested and bare-legged — the better to show his muscles, I guess. Duke had a boy pal, Toby, who had no powers, but who Duke took into battle with him. And Duke had no right to do so...especially when Toby took a bullet from the Nazis when they flew to France to help out a British commando. To compound Duke’s bad judgment, he even lied to Toby’s mom when he and the boy went home, telling her Toby had been injured in a car accident. Apparently lying to a boy’s mom is not a bad thing; the guys are winking at each other in the last panel.

It is probably no wonder Duke and Toby only had two more adventures in Harvey’s Champ Comics before their careers were ended. Perhaps Child Protective Services caught up to Duke O’Dowd.

The nice artwork is identified by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr, as Arthur Peddy. Lambiek.net tells us while working in the Iger shop Peddy is the artist who drew the first episode of Phantom Lady for Quality Comics. He had a long career in comics. I remember Peddy mainly as an inker for DC Comics in the sixties. He died in 2002.

From Champ Comics #23 (1942):

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