Name 'em -

The man with the mustache is obviously Hercule Poirot. The large man sitting down is probably Nero Wolfe. The girl is Little Orphan Annie or Nancy Drew. The couple in the staircase may be Nick and Nora Charles, although Nora is holding what looks like a large cat instead of the dog, Asta. The upper floor may be the Hardy Boys and their father. No clue about the rest, although I suspect Dick Tracy is one of them.

3 hours ago, tkdguy said:

The man with the mustache is obviously Hercule Poirot. The large man sitting down is probably Nero Wolfe. The girl is Little Orphan Annie or Nancy Drew. The couple in the staircase may be Nick and Nora Charles, although Nora is holding what looks like a large cat instead of the dog, Asta. The upper floor may be the Hardy Boys and their father. No clue about the rest, although I suspect Dick Tracy is one of them.

The guy in profile against the wall could be Dick Tracy, but I think the cigarette in his mouth makes him as Sam Spade. Can anybody place the strongly built guy with glasses?  An obvious choice would be Clark Kent, but everyone else there but Bruce is a literary figure so I think it may be someone else. 
   Congrats to tdkguy for the rest of the deductions!

How could I forget Sam Spade? *headdesk*

 

Maybe Philip Marlowe is in that company as well. I can't figure out the guy with glasses either. Albert Campion perhaps? Lamont Cranston (The Shadow) would fit right in.

 

I think the young girl actually is Orphan Annie, considering her hairstyle and dress.

It couldn’t be Cranston, he didn’t wear glasses and all the illustrations had him being imperially slim.   But I think you were right the first time with the girl being Nancy Drew.  Everybody else is a literary detective. Annie was neither. After a close look at the picture I also think you were right about the couple on the staircase being Nick & Nora.  It’s more of a dog’s face than a cat’s. I think that the colorist just made Asta the wrong color.

It's a long shot -- but that tuft of hair, plus short height and shape of head BEHIND Hercule Poirot screams Tintin to me.

I missed Tintin. It is Nick & Nora on the staircase. I would say Nancy Drew more than Annie. Lamont is there but he's hidden (jk).

I would say Annie is over next to the guy with glasses, he could be daddy Warbucks.

 

I picked up the panel from 2003's Batman: Detective No. 27.

I totally missed Tintin. I didn't even notice him until KawangaKid pointed it out.

 

I did mention Albert Campion, a British detective. He does wear horn-rimmed glasses, but he is also described as being thin and having an unintelligent expression. The guy with glasses is a bit too broad for Campion, unless he was drawn heavier than normal.

Looks like some of our guesses were right.

 

Here are the entries from:

 

DC Database (spoilers)

TV Tropes

 

On 5/29/2021 at 9:06 AM, tkdguy said:

Lamont Cranston (The Shadow) would fit right in.

There is a large sloping shadow on the wall behind the Hardy boys on the upper balcony that seems like it might be the shadow of The Shadow, wearing the distinctive cape, whilst remaining unseen.

Is that Sherlock Holmes holding Bruce's blindfold and speaking?

Also, here is my Pulp Images tax.

10 hours ago, KingAdipose said:

Is that Sherlock Holmes holding Bruce's blindfold and speaking?

 

Could be. I thought that character was Allan Pinkerton, but he doesn't look like the historical figure.

Lee Travis, the Crimson Avenger. He and Alfred induct Bruce into the group.

Sorry for putting a video in a pictures thread, but here's some background if you set your games in the 1920s:

 

 

On 5/29/2021 at 6:50 AM, KawangaKid said:

It's a long shot -- but that tuft of hair, plus short height and shape of head BEHIND Hercule Poirot screams Tintin to me.

  Good catch!

13 hours ago, tkdguy said:

Sorry for putting a video in a pictures thread, but here's some background if you set your games in the 1920s:

 

 

I personally have no issues with videos

Here's some Bad Guys for your Shadow/Spider/Black Bat emulators to contend against--

The outfits of the people being threatened put this, I think, in the

late Forties/early Fifties--but I can't see why someone couldn't use

this in the pre-World War II America.

Based On A True Story.  .  .

I posted the second picture in this Forum several years ago, but it's worth posting again to compliment the first picture.  From the mind of Hugo Gernsback--if you're looking for a mechanical monster to terrorize your PCs, you can hardly do better than this--

 

 

 

I wonder why propeller driven cars never caught on? 

They look like they'd be an awful lot of fun.  .  .

So your team of intrepid adventurers can discover a 

lost land under the sea.  .  .

16 hours ago, wcw43921 said:

I wonder why propeller driven cars never caught on? 

They look like they'd be an awful lot of fun.  .  .

 

I guess people weren't big fans.

3 hours ago, IndianaJoe3 said:

 

I guess people weren't big fans.

Were you just chomping at the blades?