"FUNNY MONEY MUMMIES"
Membership: At least eight unidentified members, including the boss (see comments)
Purpose: To print and distribute counterfeit American money
Aliases: None
Affiliations: Unrevealed (see comments)
Enemies: Bob Brant and the Trouble-Shooters (Bomber, Daffy, Feathers)
Base of Operations: National Museum, New York City (see comments)
First Appearance: Man Comics I#28/1 (September,
1953)
History: (Man Comics I#28/1 (fb) - BTS) - A gang of
counterfeiters set up their illegal operation, secretly hiding in the
basement of the National Museum--they figured it would be the last place
the authorities would think of looking for criminals. They began
producing phony ten and twenty dollar bills.
(Man Comics I#28/1) - One night, four of the gang members
disguised themselves as mummies and frightened off the museum security
guard and several other patrons--this event elicited a newspaper story
and brought about rumors that the museum was haunted, so the museum was
closed down.
The following day, Mr. Brant (a United Nations employee) was reading the newspaper when his elder son Lance (a government agent) asked him if there was any news about the counterfeiting ring that he was investigating; Mr. Brant said there was nothing except that more phony bills had turned up. Lance was determined to find the gang, whom he felt had to be located in the city--but where? Mr. Brant's department at the U.N. was concerned about the counterfeiters as well, because it made for "bad propaganda"; their discussion was overheard by Lance's younger brother Bob, and Lance scolded his kid brother for eavesdropping, but Bob told him he couldn't help but overhear. Bob then told his father and brother that he was going out to do some research for a big school exam he had on ancient hieroglyphics.
Bob met with his three friends--Bomber, Daffy, and
Feathers--and they all walked to the only place where they could find
the information they needed: the National Museum (Bob was able to talk
the others into accompanying him, despite their hearing the rumors that
the place was haunted). The four arrived to find a CLOSED sign
posted out front, yet the museum's door was unlocked, so they entered
and headed to the Egyptian Room. While Bob, Daffy and Feathers
were copying the hieroglyphics from a display, Bomber was startled to
see a mummy sit up from its slab! The hysterical youngster tried
to tell the three older boys about what he had seen, then Daffy spotted
one of the mobsters lurking in a corner, but the man disappeared before
the other boys could see him. While the teenagers were distracted
by Daffy's claim, a secret panel on the wall opened and a hand grabbed
Bomber from behind and pulled him in. Bob and his two pals noticed
Bomber missing, and upon closer inspection they found the secret
panel and opened it, then climbed down the concealed staircase to the
museum's basement--they didn't notice that they were being followed by
two mummies!
At the bottom of the stairs, Bob, Daffy, and Feathers found Bomber being held prisoner by three of the counterfeiters, so they attacked the criminals with a furious flurry of fisticuffs to rescue their little friend. As the four boys ran back up the staircase, with the gangsters in pursuit, they found their way blocked by the two mummies, so they plowed through them and continued running into the museum. Bob and the boys toppled some of the museum's displays cases on the gangsters to trap them, then made their way into the Armor Room, but they found themselves beset upon by three of the counterfeiter mob wearing medieval armor. Acting on Feathers' suggestion--that their heavily armored foes wouldn't be able to stand back up if they were knocked off their feet--Bob and his pals yanked the rug out from under them just as the crooks' bandage-clad "Mummy-Boss" called out a warning to his men, and the bad knights clattered to the floor. The boss fired his gun at the boys, but Bob noticed a loose bandage on the criminal's foot--he grabbed the end of the bandage and pulled, which spun the "Mummy Boss" around as it unraveled the crook's disguise, leaving him with a bad case of vertigo. Bob then telephoned Lance to tell his brother where he could find the defeated counterfeiter mob.
Later, Bob and his pals went to the soda shop to meet up
with their friends Carol and Bess--Bob had kept one of the counterfeit
bills as a souvenir of their adventure in the "haunted" museum.
When Bob's girlfriend Carol saw the money Bob was carrying, she asked
him to buy her a soda, but Bob had to refuse--before Bob could explain
why, Carol walked off in a huff because she thought he was being stingy.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Carl Hubbell (artist).
This gang was never identified by any name, so I just called them "Funny Money Mummies" (Try saying that three times fast!) for the purpose of identifying them. "Funny money" is a slang term for counterfeit currency.
It wasn't revealed how many members were in the gang, but I figure there were at least a total of eight seen at one point--two disguised as mummies, three in armor, and three in street-clothes; the four mummies seen at the beginning of the story could be additional members, or they could just be some combination of the known eight in disguise. Also, I'm assuming the one I identified as "Mummy Boss" was the leader of the gang because he seemed to be the one ordering the others around.
Hmm...the counterfeiters wanted to conduct their operation in secret, so they go to a public museum, then make it look like the place is haunted--now that's not likely to attract any attention (he says sarcastically). I'm surprised nobody called Rex Lane to investigate.
Although it wasn't specifically stated that this story took place in New York City, I'm assuming it did because Bob Brant's father worked for the United Nations, so I guess the Brants probably lived in one of the nearby suburbs.
Given the time-period that this story took place--the Cold War era--maybe those counterfeiters were agents for some Communist power in a plot to destroy the American economy.
With some minor reworking, this story could have easily been a Scooby-Doo episode. These Bob Brant stories seem to read like Atlas/Marvel's answer to Archie comics.
Profile by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The "Funny Money Mummies" have no known connections to:
Apparently the leader of the gang (see comments), he and his men set up a counterfeiting operation in the National Museum, where they disguised themselves as mummies to frighten the curious away.
His gang had successfully produced and distributed some of the phony money, but their scheme ran afoul when Bob Brant and his three buddies unintentionally stumbled upon their plot.
During his final confrontation with the young adventurers, the "Mummy Boss" tried to fire his handgun at the boys. But Bob yanked the loose bandage on his foot and the boss went for a "spin," which unraveled his disguise and bought his counterfeiting scheme to a dizzifying conclusion.
Afterward, Bob phoned his brother Lance, and the "Mummy Boss" and his gang were presumably taken into police custody.
--Man Comics I#28/1
images: (without ads)
Man Comics I#28/1, p1, pan1 ("Mummy Boss" attacking Bob Brant and the Trouble-Shooters)
Man Comics I#28/1, p1, pan 4 (main image, four mummies frighten museum security guard)
Man Comics I#28/1, p5, pan6 (three counterfeiters surround captured Bomber, as Bob and Daffy look on in foreground)
Man Comics I#28/1, p8, pan5 (three armor-clad counterfeiters about to attack as Bob, Bomber, and Daffy prepare to pull rug out from under them, while "Mummy Boss" calls out a warning)
Man Comics I#28/1, p8 pan8 ("Mummy Boss" fires gun as Bob Brant notices loose bandage)
Man Comics I#28/1 p8, pan9 ("Mummy Boss" "goes for a spin" after Bob yanks his bandage, Daffy and Bomber laughing in background)
Man Comics I#28/1, p9, pan1 (dizzy "Mummy Boss" revealed)
Appearances:
Man Comics I#28/1 (September, 1953) - unidentified writer, Carl Hubbell (artist)
Last updated: 08/18/16.
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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