“Whirlwind Carter of the Interplanetary Secret Service” by C.C. Starr, aka Fletcher Hanks. From Daring Mystery Comics #5, 1940.
My guess is the misshapen word balloons with their banal text overlaying the strongly graphic, shape-oriented art style....
I love the font here! (jonathanbogart (or whoever), why does this make me think of Winsor McCay even though it’s decades...