The Purple Claw was a Golden Age comics ghostbreaker from Toby Press. The author is unknown but all the strips were drawn by Ben Brown and David Gantz, except “The Ghost of Don Carlo” (my title) which was David Gantz alone. There were three issues from January-May 1953. Weir would face off against femme fatales, were-creatures, plant monsters and giant spiders. (Being a pre-Code comic, it can be quite nasty at times, like the panel showing a man being suffocated by a horde of spiders. “All scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome crimes, depravity, lust, sadism, masochism shall not be permitted.” Spoil sports!)
Issue 1
“The Power of the Purple Claw” tells the origin story of Dr. Jonathan Weir. A doctor in the Army Medical Corps in 1943, he crashes his plane in the jungle. An old witch doctor rescues him and nurses him back to health. In return, Weir helps him protect his village from a mysterious plague, malaria. In thanks, the old man gives Weir the Purple Claw. Jonathan promises to use it for good.
Weir’s first case begins when a man dead and buried for two months, Tom Bradley, shows up at the bank to cash a check. The bank contacts the police and they tell the family. Alice Bradley, the dead man’s sister, contacts Dr. Weir. The doctor examines Tom and takes a blood sample. This brings the evil-looking Dr. Gool to his house, demanding the blood be returned. Alice is upset that Weir gave in so easily and rushes off to find her own answers.
As the Purple Claw, Weir goes to Dr. Gool’s sanitarium, first to rescue Alice, and secondly to confront Dr. Gool, who is creating an army of undead to take over the world. (All he needed was a side kick named Pinky!) Weir smashes the machine that contains Gool’s radioactive serum and all the zombies die, including Gool.
“The Devil Is a Dame!”
Brima Stone (a red-head, of course) is a dangerous gun moll. She is also a witch. She kills her henchman, Lug Garrison, with her enchanted gun. The gun feeds on the souls of its victims and possesses the shooter. Dr. Weir captures Brima after she kills Lug. Using the Purple Claw, he takes the gun from her. He takes it to a conference at the Mayor’s office. The weapon moves on its own, shooting at the men. Brima appears and take the pistol back.
Brima goes on a crime spree that the police can’t stop. Dr. Weir uses the claw to conjure up the undead Lug Garrison. Lug takes him to Brima’s secret hideout in the sewer. There Weir sees a horde of monsters that serve Brima. The creatures attack Weir and Lug. Weir ends up with the gun in one hand and the Purple Claw on the other. Lug begs Weir to shoot him. It is the only way he can be at rest. He does. He also shoots Brima, ending her reign.
This one reminds me of David H. Keller’s misogynistic Pulp story “Tiger Cat” from Weird Tales, October 1937. The writer would use the beautiful but evil woman again in “the Serpent Strikes”.
“The Ghost of Don Carlo”
Dr. Weir comes to Zocalo in Spain for a holiday. While there the ghost of Don Carlo appears at midnight to kill women. The Purple Claw goes into the night to find the ghost. He does, Don Carlo disappears when Weir tries to use the claw. On his second encounter, Don Carlo offers to show the Purple Claw his life story. In the end, Weir finds his hung corpse and buries it, ending the string of killings.
Issue 2
“The Web of Horror”
While in the Italian Alps, Dr. Weir and his companions hear of the Valley of Horror. Weir’s friend, the scientist, Italo, and his men have been taken by the many spiders. Later when the travelers’ donkey gets caught, the Purple Claw frees it. Once at their destination, Weir reports to the police. They are helpless to stop the rampage. Weir meets the Baron Latro, third cousin to the Countess Arachni. The two scuffle until Arachni shows up. She invites Weir to her castle, where spiders try to capture and eat him. He escapes by jumping into the moat. Using the Purple Claw, he kills all the spiders including the Countess.
“The Killer in the Snow”
A ski party is interrupted by a strange evil-looking snowman. Preta sees the snowy creature but the others doubt her. Weir investigates and tells her he believes her. The snowy monster attacks Fred while skiing. Fred dies with an icicle driven through his heart. Again the monster attacks, causing a small avalanche. The fiend grabs Agnes and crushes her until frozen to death. Weir learns what is going on, when Don pulls a gun on him. He and Preta murdered Peter, Preta’s brother, because he stood in the way of their marriage. The snow fiend is Peter’s ghostly avenger. Another avalanche covers Don, Preta and Peter, freezing them in a wall of solid ice.
“The Serpent Strikes”
Anne Windom is unhappy when Ted Reddings marries the exotic, Leera, a woman from the jungle. Dr. Weir is visiting and hears Anne’s concerns. He also hears about her strange dreams about snakes. Weir notices on several occasions slime trails left by snakes, like the night Anne wakes from a terrible dream. While investigating a real cobra attacks Weir. Using the Purple Claw he crushes it by the throat before it flees into the night.
The next morning Leera has a sore throat. Dr. Weir offers to prescribe a medicine for her. She refuses. Ted feels her skin is cold and insists the doctor examine her. She leaves. That night a cobra attacks Ted. The bite turns him into a snake. Leera is a were-snake and her bite turns others into the same. The Purple Claw rescues Ted, killing Leera. Weir reveals Leera’s evil. Ted and Anne will be together forever.
Issue 3
“The Giant From the Tomb”
Dr. Weir is visiting a European country where the dictator, Horak rules. Dissidents are taken to the tombs under the castle. There, the poor souls, will be imprisoned forever, tending the undead. Golga, the Giant of the Mountains is placed in the tomb. The huge man, now undead, escapes from the castle to rampage Frankenstein-like through the country. Using the Purple Claw, Weir defeats the giant and helps overthrow the dictator. The people are free at last.
“Death Flower”
Sam Barney and Trigger Martex are two New York mobsters hiding in Miami, Florida. An old man on the beach passes along a message that the cops in New York know they were the ones who killed Joey Marchetti. The old man offers to hide them in the Everglades. That night tentacles grab the two men. The tendrils are from a giant man-eating plant who consumes them.
The old man meets famous botanist Parker and his wife, Marge. They also go out to the Everglades and Parker is eaten. Marge escapes and goes to Dr. Weir. They find the monster plant and Weir sets it on fire. From the blossom appears the old man. He tells Weir that he has destroyed the flower for one night but tomorrow it will grow again. The old man lures some sailors to be the next victims. While Weir fights the creature, it rains and the old man/plant die in the quicksand.
“The Final Horror”
As the title states, Weir’s final battle with evil was this last story in the third and final issue. Fellow scientist, Bill Bartel is drinking a lot because when he sleeps he has horrific dreams. He sees a weird pit filled with strange shapes, including a weird, faceless one that he calls “the final horror”. Using the Purple Claw, Weir takes Bill into his own dream world. There they find the faceless creature. It is Bill’s own evil side. The visiting Bill fights and defeats his evil mirror self, ridding him of the dreams forever.
The Purple Claw saw nine cases in these three issues. Like Johnny Peril, The Werewolf Hunter and others, Weir followed in the footsteps of Siegel & Shuster’s Dr. Occult, destroying on a case-by-case basis. Toby Press would reprint the nine original tales in Tales of Horror. Dr. Weir would return in the 1990s with AC Comics along with other public domain characters.
These three issues can be downloaded for free at Digital Comic Museum.
