JOSE PAEZ
Real Name: Jose Paez
Identity/Class: Human (early
20th Century (World War I Era)) (Mexican)
Occupation: Miner;
former bandit, boxer
Group Membership: Leader of his own gang
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Juan Garcia
Base of Operations: Islas Marias;
formerly USA; Juarez, Mexico
First Appearance: Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24 (Fall, 1947)
Powers/Abilities: Jose Paez was an excellent horse rider. He carried a revolver and wore a gunbelt full of cartridges. As a former boxer, he was a terrific hand-to-hand combatant.
Height: Unrevealed
(approximately 6'1")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 190 lbs.)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black
History:
(Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4 (fb) - BTS) - Jose Paez was a
prizefighter from Juarez, Mexico. Eventually, he gave up boxing and
turned to crime. Under the alias of "Juan Garcia," he took a job at the
Ahumada mine to collect information on when and where they transported
their payroll. He recruited a gang including Pablo and Miguel to
accompany him in a payroll robbery.
(Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4) - On the day the payroll was being transported by train, Pablo and Miguel removed rails from the track around the curve of Los Lamentos. When the train attempted to turn, it was derailed, killing most of the passengers. Jose led Pablo and Miguel in collecting the payroll from the wreckage and killed all the survivors they noticed.
Jose and his gang journeyed into the desert to hide out. They were soon pursued by Alvarado and Cardenas of the Mexican secret police. Spying the police coming from a distance, Jose and his men fired a few bullets at them then rode away on their horses, knowing their own steeds were well-rested while the policemen's horses were tired from crossing the desert. Jose led his gang of five men to a mountain stronghold in northern Mexico and planned their next crime.
Jose and his men shifted from the payroll robbery to laying siege to small towns in northern Mexico. For some time, they succeeded in robbing the towns they raided but in the town of Ojinago, Alvarado and Cardenas caught up to them and killed two of Jose's gang. Reduced to only three in his gang, Paez tried to rob another town but the townspeople were ready for them and armed with gangs. In the botched robbery, two more of the gang were killed, leaving Miguel as Jose's only remaining ally. Jose decided they should find a place to lie low. Heading north towards the United States, Jose and Miguel attacked a border patrol agent but during their flight, a second border patrol agent shot Miguel in the back. Jose snuck into the United States.
Jose lived in the United States for ten years under an unrevealed alias. One day while drinking in a bar, Jose complained to another Mexican man about the poor quality of the tequila. The other Mexican could tell Jose was homesick and informed him that the living conditions in Mexico had improved and many of their countrymen were returning there. Jose decided to return to Mexico.
Jose took a job at a mine in the badlands but when he crossed the border into the USA, he was recognized by a border agent, who informed Alvarado and Cardenas. Alvarado and Cardenas went to the mine and arrested Paez but Paez refused to confess to his crimes. Driving out into the desert, Alvarado and Cardenas threatened to abandon Paez there, sixty miles from the mine. Unable to bear the heat, Paez broke down and confessed to his crimes. Alvarado and Cardenas escorted him to jail.
At his trial, Paez attempted to refute his confession but the details he had given to Alvarado and Cardenas were judged too accurate to be the testimony of an innocent man. Paez begged for mercy from the court. He was sentenced to the penal island of Islas Marias. He wore a smile that day for having evaded execution.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Allen Bellman.
At one point, "Garcia" was misspelled as "Gargia."
It's not clear to me whether Jose Paez was based on a true-life criminal (as was often the case in early Marvel crime comics) or was wholly original to the comics. If he was a real criminal, they probably changed his name.
This profile was completed on
10/23/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the
Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Jose Paez should not be confused with:
Alvarado was a member of Mexico's secret police. He led his subordinate Cardenas in the pursuit of Jose Paez. In their pursuit of Paez, they killed two of his men in Ojinago. Although Paez disappeared for ten years in the United States, he eventually returned to Mexico, where Alvarado and Cardenas arrested him at a mine in the badlands and threatened to leave him in the desert unless he confessed to his crimes. Paez was forced to confess and they took him to jail.
--Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4
Cardenas was a member of Mexico's secret police. He served under Alvarado in the pursuit of Jose Paez. In their pursuit of Paez, they killed two of his men in Ojinago. Although Paez disappeared for ten years in the United States, he eventually returned to Mexico, where Alvarado and Cardenas arrested him at a mine in the badlands and threatened to leave him in the desert unless he confessed to his crimes. Paez was forced to confess and they took him to jail.
--Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4
Pablo (left) and Miguel (right) were two of Jose's cohorts. They participated in the Ahumada payroll robbery and were responsible for removing the rails at Los Lamentos, causing the train to derail. Pablo was apparently killed by Alvarado and Cardenas in a gunfight. Miguel was killed by a border patrol agent while trying get across to the United States.
--Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4
images: (without ads)
Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4, page 2, panel 2 (Jose, main)
Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4, page 7, panel 3 (Jose, face)
Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4, page 2, panel 6 (Alvarado)
Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4, page 7, panel 1 (Cardenas)
Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4, page 1, panel 3 (Miguel and
Pablo)
Appearances:
Official True Crime Cases Comics I#24/4 (Fall, 1947) - unidentified
writer, Allen Bellman (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 09/16/2026
Last updated: 10/23/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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