Minimidget
Encyclopedia
Minimidget was a fictional character
, a superhero
who first appeared in Centaur Comics. Minimidget was written and illustrated by John F. Kolb (1913–2004). Because Centaur collapsed in the early 1940s, Minimidget is now in the public domain.
#5 (the first issue, the other four were never published), and in his first story, he and a girl called Ritty are shrunken down to about six inches tall by a scientist named Dr. Anton Barmell. Barmell brings Minimidget to his family home and then has him climb up a drainpipe into the bedroom of his elder brother, whom Minimidget kills with a poisoned needle. After two more such killings - both victims were also Barmell's relatives - the FBI men manage to uncover the truth, after which Minimidget is fatally wounded in a mousetrap. Upon being cornered in his lab, Barmell blows it and himself to kingdom come.
Although Minimidget was supposed to have been killed, in the next issue (#6), Minimidget is revived by a paramedic. Free from the spell of Dr. Anton Barmell, he and Ritty fall in love and go on to have many adventures together, in Amazing-Man and then in Stars & Stripes comics before Centaur Comics ceased production later in the forties. Minimidget was the first shrunken superhero, beating Doll Man
by a matter of months.
Minimidget and Ritty's real names were never revealed in the original comics, but he is later described as being Jack Rhodes, a character who had also appeared in Amazing-Man #5 and then never reappeared in another Centaur Comic (or any other comic, for that matter) in the AC Comics
version of his story.
, which featured Lionel Atwill
as an escapee from Devil's Island who poses as an elderly female dollmaker and sells dolls that are actually real people shrunken down to a size of about six inches through a secret process developed by a mad scientist. Once in the home of the person who has bought them, the "dolls" climb out of their containers and stab their owners in the feet with poisoned needles - exactly the way Minimidget's victims were killed in his origin story.
Another movie may have provided the inspiration for a classic Minimidget story. Doctor Cyclops stars the virtually unknown actor Albert Dekker
as a mad scientist, Dr. Anton Thorkell, who shrinks several people to a height of about six inches. They escape containment and finally manage to destroy the madman by smashing his glasses, without which he cannot see, and he falls to his death. His victims return to their normal size when the shrinking serum wears off after a short period. Doctor Cyclops was the first horror movie to be filmed in three-colour Technicolor
, and was an RKO Picture. This movie could have inspired a story in which Minimidget and Ritty are helping a young man who has been framed by his crooked employer for a blackmailer's murder. To bring the murderer to justice, Minimidget and Ritty travel to his shop and Minimidget finds the murder gun while Ritty removes his glasses. While the murderous shop owner is stumbling and groping around his shop, Minimidget and Ritty call the police and have the man brought to justice and his victim released.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
who first appeared in Centaur Comics. Minimidget was written and illustrated by John F. Kolb (1913–2004). Because Centaur collapsed in the early 1940s, Minimidget is now in the public domain.
Fictional history
Minimidget first appeared in Amazing-ManAmazing-Man (Centaur Publications)
Amazing-Man is a fictional, American comic book superhero whose adventures were published by Centaur Publications during the 1930s to 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Historians credit his creation variously to writer-artist Bill Everett or to Everett together...
#5 (the first issue, the other four were never published), and in his first story, he and a girl called Ritty are shrunken down to about six inches tall by a scientist named Dr. Anton Barmell. Barmell brings Minimidget to his family home and then has him climb up a drainpipe into the bedroom of his elder brother, whom Minimidget kills with a poisoned needle. After two more such killings - both victims were also Barmell's relatives - the FBI men manage to uncover the truth, after which Minimidget is fatally wounded in a mousetrap. Upon being cornered in his lab, Barmell blows it and himself to kingdom come.
Although Minimidget was supposed to have been killed, in the next issue (#6), Minimidget is revived by a paramedic. Free from the spell of Dr. Anton Barmell, he and Ritty fall in love and go on to have many adventures together, in Amazing-Man and then in Stars & Stripes comics before Centaur Comics ceased production later in the forties. Minimidget was the first shrunken superhero, beating Doll Man
Doll Man
Note: This article is about the Quality Comics character. For the Full Moon Features film Dollman, see Dollman . For the article on the movie's titular character, please see Brick Bardo....
by a matter of months.
Minimidget and Ritty's real names were never revealed in the original comics, but he is later described as being Jack Rhodes, a character who had also appeared in Amazing-Man #5 and then never reappeared in another Centaur Comic (or any other comic, for that matter) in the AC Comics
AC Comics
AC Comics is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black.AC Comics specializes in reprints of Golden Age comics from now-defunct companies whose properties lapsed into public domain and were not reprinted elsewhere...
version of his story.
Inspiration
The character may have been inspired by the movie The Devil DollThe Devil-Doll
The Devil-Doll is a horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring a cross-dressing Lionel Barrymore and Maureen O'Sullivan as his daughter, Lorraine Levond...
, which featured Lionel Atwill
Lionel Atwill
Lionel Atwill was an English stage and film actor born in Croydon, London, England.He studied architecture before his stage debut at the Garrick Theatre, London in 1904. He become a star in Broadway theatre by 1918, and made his screen debut in 1919. He acted on the stage in Australia but was most...
as an escapee from Devil's Island who poses as an elderly female dollmaker and sells dolls that are actually real people shrunken down to a size of about six inches through a secret process developed by a mad scientist. Once in the home of the person who has bought them, the "dolls" climb out of their containers and stab their owners in the feet with poisoned needles - exactly the way Minimidget's victims were killed in his origin story.
Another movie may have provided the inspiration for a classic Minimidget story. Doctor Cyclops stars the virtually unknown actor Albert Dekker
Albert Dekker
Albert Dekker was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in Dr. Cyclops, The Killers, Kiss Me Deadly, and The Wild Bunch. He is sometimes credited as Albert Van Dekker or Albert van Dekker...
as a mad scientist, Dr. Anton Thorkell, who shrinks several people to a height of about six inches. They escape containment and finally manage to destroy the madman by smashing his glasses, without which he cannot see, and he falls to his death. His victims return to their normal size when the shrinking serum wears off after a short period. Doctor Cyclops was the first horror movie to be filmed in three-colour Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, and was an RKO Picture. This movie could have inspired a story in which Minimidget and Ritty are helping a young man who has been framed by his crooked employer for a blackmailer's murder. To bring the murderer to justice, Minimidget and Ritty travel to his shop and Minimidget finds the murder gun while Ritty removes his glasses. While the murderous shop owner is stumbling and groping around his shop, Minimidget and Ritty call the police and have the man brought to justice and his victim released.