A Question of Imagination

Back in 1965, Archie Comics began publishing a comic book adaptation of The Shadow, and I have to say that it must have taken a heck of a lot of imagination to transform this:

To this:

... or at least to do so and imagine that it was a winning proposition. That's why I was kind of surprised to see some... familiar elements while reading the series. Did imagination desert them as soon as they'd hammered the Shadow into Batman Lite? How else to explain this:

Only a passing resemblance, you say? Surely two fellows would dress up in goggles and laced-up shirts, you assert? Well, how about this:

Eh? Eh? Surely someone at Archie must have known what they were doing when they created this guy.

EDIT: Phew, I got way over my head on the image formatting here. Just when I think that I am Wordpress' master, it shows me who's boss. Shield your eyes!