Kip Burland is a beat cop, loved and respected by the community he serves. His life changes when he catches the death-faced Skull in the middle of a midnight break-and-entry at the old Woodrow mansion. “What is this, a man or a corpse?” chokes the cop. So horrified is Burland that he drops his pistol at the mere sight of the zombie-like villain. The Skull takes offense to this insult and drops Burland with a quick right-cross, then leaves a few baubles in the policeman’s hand in order to frame him. Kip Burland’s life is changed forever.
Welcome to Top Notch number 9 and the beginning of the career of The Black Hood. And what an origin it is! Disgraced and stripped of his badge, Burland is arrested for grand larceny. Out on bail, he decides that the only way to clear his name is to take down the Skull himself.
The inevitable rematch occurs a few nights later when Kip surprises the Skull and several of his henchmen stealing furs. This time Kip doesn’t drop his gun. Fists flying, he wades through The Skull’s henchmen and only to find that bullets are useless against the ghoulish arch-villain. Outnumbered and out-gunned, Burland eventually goes down under the onslaught of The Skull’s goons. The crooks drive the former officer down a seldom-used back road, riddle him with bullets and leave him to die amongst the grass and trees.
Burland is rescued by an eccentric old hermit who turns out to be a former crime fighter with his own history of his own against The Skull. This mysterious hermit nurses Burland back to health and trains him the many disciplines and sciences the ex-cop will need to defeat his arch-nemesis.
Long months pass and The Skull’s crime-spree escalates. The Skull taunts the police, informing them of when he’ll strike and then committing the crime under their very noses. The law is helpless before this macabre villain.
Finally, Burland is ready for round three. There’s just one problem – Kip Burland is wanted for grand larceny and bail-jumping. The solution is provided by the hermit – a yellow costume and a black mask. “With the name and costume of The Black Hood, you are now a man of mystery, and that you might remain” he explains, “for only mystery can strike terror into the hearts of criminals.”
Thus the Black Hood is born.
For the rest of the story, read Top Notch Comics #9, October 1940.
