Margo the Magician

Today, Margo the Magician seems rather like a parallel universe version of DC Comics’ Zatanna character. Both inherited their magical abilities from their fathers. In Margo’s case, her father was the Great Presto. Presto lived a nomadic life, traveling the world with Margo and her brother Jimmy to book random performances. 

In Shanghai, the family found themselves aiding two Chinese soldiers (brothers Hi and Lo) who were fleeing from the occupying Japanese. When gunfire broke out, Presto called upon his true supernatural abilities, diverting the shots away from his children—and onto himself! As he died, he whispered the secret of those powers to Margo. 

The Chinese soldiers swept Margo away, but Jimmy was captured by the Japanese. Using the power of hypnotism, Margo made her enemies believe various illusions, and tricked her way into the jail where Jimmy was held. She also freed an American reporter, Chick Benson. They met up again with Hi and Lo, who helped them to liberate a supply train with provisions to feed the Chinese people. 

More adventures were promised, but Margo passed into obscurity. It’s too bad. The feature was well written and drawn. The feature was probably created by Will Eisner. It was signed with a pen name, “Bill Bydem.” Rearrange “Bydem” and you get “Demby,” and Busy Arnold credited Emanual Demby in his staff, but no information exists on him. Who’s Whose credits Bill Bossert, but the art is not comparable to Bossert’s other features. (Uncle Sam Quarterly #2 )