Cleopatra! Hedy Lamarr! Veronica Lodge!

 Even the most casual comic book nerdlinger knows about Spider-Man's foe, the Lizard.  I mean, he was the villain in The Amazing Spider-Man movie last year.  But, as you might expect, a name like the Lizard had been used before.  Check out these bits from Golden Age Green Lantern #16:

I have to admit, the name really confuses me.  The "flaming salamanders" were apparently mythical creatures, so I guess I understand the gimmick, but why would a Lizard be a "master of fire?"  Shouldn't he have just called himself "the Flaming Salamander?"  Because I could totally get behind that...

And we have the big reveal that at least explains the costume:

He was wearing asbestos?  I suspect his legal problems are going to be the least of his worries.

Robert Gillis hasn't popped up in a while, but it's always awesome when he does.  These come from a story that I believe originally appeared in Detective Comics #168, later reprinted in the Secret Origins of Super-Villains Treasury from 1975. 

First, it's time for some Fun with Out of Context Dialogue! (tm!):

Let's follow it up with some Excessively Impossibly Expository Monlogue! (tm!)

I dunno.... that's one slow-moving wall if you're able to process all that.

Thanks, Robert!

Pep Comics gave us the first introduction of Veronica Lodge to the Archie Universe:

I never rooted for Archie to forgo Betty in the pursuit of Veronica.  Betty was a solid, All-American girl, while Veronica... well, Veronica was a smug little princess with entitlement issues.  I would assume that, should Archie ever reach maturity, he would regret all the energy he wasted chasing Veronica when he already had the attention of uber-cool Betty.

Then again, your average guy generally has at least one girl he regrettably overlooked while he spent too much time pursuing that one that wasn't right for him.  That's just part of growing up, I suppose.

On the plus side, she seems to have motivated the Riverdale boys to dress better.  I mean, he isn't exactly rocking that sweater-vest, but it's an improvement over the "vagrant Dennis the Menace" look he had been sporting up until then.

See you Monday!