July 1940: Smash Comics #14

 Cover by Gill Fox

'Espionage starring the Black X' (by Will Eisner and Dan Zolnerowich): The Black X quits as a spy because he is in love with the sinister Madame Doom. As fate would have it, at the same time she is building an army of slaves who are willing to drink explosives and turn themselves into suicide bombers. The Black X eventually comes to his senses and stops the plot, but he can't stop Madame Doom from killing herself to avoid capture. It's more good stuff from Eisner, who somehow manages to sell the idea that X has really quit, and provides some genuine pathos in the conclusion. Zolnerowich turns in some good art as well, with a very capable Eisner impression.

'The Ray' (by Lou Fine): Ray Terrill is a reporter, who gains amazing light-based powers when he is on a hot air balloon that passes through a cosmic storm. His first adventure involves stopping some crooks from stealing an explosive formula, and it's not particularly exciting. But the art by Lou Fine is great, especially in the origin sequence.

In other stories:

'Magno' (by Paul Gustavson) battles a disgraced physics teacher who has a paralyzer ray. 'Abdul the Arab' (by Bob Powell) uncovers some traitors who are giving information to the enemy of a British colonel. 'Clip Chance' (by George Brenner) competes in a car race. 'Wings Wendall of the Military Intelligence' (by Vernon Henkel) enters Nazi territory to recover some papers. 'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian) deals with some crooks who are mining helium to sell to other countries. 'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel) goes in search of a missing explorer, who has gone crazy. 'The Purple Trio' (by S.M. Iger and Alex Blum) deal with a spy who is disrupting shipping near Turkey. And 'Bozo the Robot' (by George Brenner) tackles a mad scientist who has created a monster out of dead body parts (like Frankenstein).

June 1940: Smash Comics #13

Cover by Gill Fox

'The Purple Trio' (by S.M. Iger and Alex Blum): The Purple Trio, a group of vaudevillians who fight crime, make their debut here. Tiny is a cigar-smoking midget, Rocky is an acrobat, and Warren is a magician.  In this story they take on a group of racketeers who are taking money from grieving widows. The approach is humorous, and there's even the classic gag where the midget pretends to be a baby. What can I say, I'm a sucker for dwarf humour.

'Philpot Veep' (by John Devlin): This is the final appearance of Philpot Veep, a Sherlock Holmes parody strip. I haven't written much about it before, because I've not been dealing with the shorter humour strips, but I always liked this one.  It's not the sharpest parody out there, but it still pokes fun at Holmes and the detective genre in an amusing way, right down to Veep's occasional use of cocaine.

In other stories:

In 'Espionage' (by Will Eisner) the Black X must rescue a traitor from the Devil's Isle penal colony before he can sell US secrets to foreign spies. 'Chic Carter' (by Vernon Henkel) deals with a gang of fur thieves. 'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian) tackles a Chinese villain called the Golden Dragon, who has kidnapped a munitions magnate to build his own arsenal. 'Wings Wendall' (by Vernon Henkel) must safeguard a new automatic rifle from foreign agents. 'Clip Chance' (by George Brenner) helps a cop track down some crooks who are hiding behind a waterfall. 'Magno the Miracle Man' (by Paul Gustavson) deals with foreign agents who are hijacking US ships. 'Abdul the Arab' (by Bob Powell) takes on an Arab bandit chief, which is all he ever does. 'Captain Cook of Scotland Yard' (by William A. Smith) exposes a Chinese villain called The Key as the local prison warden. And 'Bozo the Robot' (by George Brenner) stops some thugs from stealing the formula for a cure to pneumonia.

April 1940: Smash Comics #11

Cover by Gill Fox

'Espionage starring Black X in Finland' (by Will Eisner): Black X, carrying top secret papers, is on a train heading for Finland. The train is full of Russian prisoners, who mount an escape and try to take over the train. The Black X escapes, and is saved from a harrowing ordeal in the snow by his telepathic servant Batu. Again this is very good, and it treats the war in Europe with far more maturity than any other strip around. The Russians are ostensibly the villains of this story, but they're presented as soldiers doing their duty, not as evil men.

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): Chic Carter goes up against a thief who has invented a radium solution that allows him to become intangible. He defeats the thief by trapping him inside a room with lead walls. Except that the guy walked into the room, so at least part of it can't be lead-lined. Also, the police have to open the door to go in and get him, so why can't he just escape then?

'Abdul the Arab' (by Bob Powell): There's a new creator on this strip, and suddenly Abdul has gone from an ineffectual hero who frequently needs to be saved by his sidekick, to a complete bad-ass. An English woman is kidnapped by Prince Kartuk to become his unwilling wife, and Abdul must save her. Which he does by killing Kartuk in a knife fight, knocking five guards from a wall with a single punch, and swinging from a palm tree onto his waiting camel. Abdul, you're the best.

'Captain Cook of Scotland Yard' (by William A. Smith): Captain Cook must stop a hybrid chimpanzee with surgically implanted owl's eyes who has been trained to steal green things, with the ultimate goal that it will steal the crown emeralds. Seriously. I can't even figure out why someone would bother with the owl's eyes, but it certainly adds a pleasantly weird touch to an already weird story.

'Wings Wendall' (by Vernon Henkel): Wings tackles a foreign spy named Regi Tashkim, who is using his operatives to weaken America's defenses. After beating Tashkim, Wendall helps the US army defend its shore from an attack. It's a solid, unremarkable action story.

'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian): Invisible Justice tackles a robber known as the Green Ghost, the twist being that there are actually two Green Ghosts working together so that they always have an alibi. It's not great, but at least the villains have some sort of a plan.

'John Law, Scientective' (by Harry Francis Campbell): This seems to be the final chapter of the long-running Avenger serial. Law goes to the mental asylum to see to the release of Albert Lewis, who the Avenger has been posing as since the beginning of the strip. The Avenger intervenes in an attempt to kill Lewis, but Law captures him with the help of his assistant June and some maple syrup in the Avenger's gas tank. This is tightly plotted and quite enjoyable, but if it is the finale it does feel a little anticlimactic.

'Chief John's Legacy' (by Robert M. Hyatt): While pondering a clay cube sent to him long ago, James Christian relates to his nephew the story of his trek into the Ecuadorian jungle, and how his brother was supposedly killed by a native chief. They discover the brother's shrunken head inside the cube,and so the mystery is solved. It's quite well told.

'Clip Chance' (by George Brenner): The team has a new star in left field, and the old left-fielder McSnort gets revenge by using a mirror to distract the new during the game. Clip wins the game anyway, then beats up McSnort in the locker room. Terrible.

'Flash Fulton, Newsreel Ace' (by Paul Gustavson): Flash Fulton helps rescue a girl in a fire. I do enjoy the way Flash puts himself in harm's way with a cheeky grin, but the story itself is nothing special.

'Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man' (by George Brenner): Hugh must rescue a police commissioner who has been kidnapped by racketeers. Their leader is named Smooth Kazar, which is about the best thing this story has to offer.

March 1940: Smash Comics #10

 Cover possibly by George Brenner

'Espionage starring The Black X' (by Will Eisner): Eisner's montage openings are getting crazier all the time. Check out his representation of war between Russia and Finland:

The story sees the Black X tracking down the plans for shipment routes into Finland that have been stolen by the Russians. This is all very familiar, but Eisner puts a twist on it by involving a kidnapped boy that X becomes fixated on rescuing. It threatens to get a little too sentimental, but manages to stop short and deliver a decent action story.

The strangest thing is that the boy is seen reading a copy of Smash Comics, and even comments on the Black X having his own strip. Some secret agent he is!

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): This story, in which Chic Carter must protect a woman who was witness to a bank robbery, is nothing special. But it does contain one of the greatest misleading captions of all time: "Before Lefty can fire again Chic is upon him... and hits him so hard he goes off into space!"

'Clip Chance' (by George Brenner): Clip Chance plays baseball, and some crooks try to rig the match by shooting the players. Sport comics suck so hard.

'Flash Fulton, Newsreel Ace' (by Paul Gustavson): Flash must rescue the assistant DA from a county prison that has been taken over by the inmates. I did enjoy the cheerful exuberance Flash displays while infiltrating a building full of murderers, but there's not a lot else here.

'Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man' (by George Brenner): The papers to an arms pact between the USA and Canada are stolen by foreign agents, and Hugh and his robot must stop them. I didn't find a lot to enjoy in this one. Ever since Hugh started riding inside Bozo the robot during missions I feel like the strip has lost something. Bozo has been reduced from a character to a suit of armour, which makes him much less fun to read about.

'Captain Cook of Scotland Yard' (by Stan Aschmeier): A criminal called the Bat pretends to terrorise himself while also terrorising his neighbours. It's dull.

'Abdul the Arab' (by Vernon Henkel): Abdul destroys an Arab band that has threatened the local English military. The story goes to great lengths to set up the mystery of where the Arabs are getting their seemingly inexhaustible supply of ammo, and then never resolves it. The only upside to this story is that Abdul actually does the heroics, as opposed to his servant Hassan.

'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian): Invisible Justice deals with a crook who has hijacked a scientific expedition to the Sargasso Sea to retrieve his hidden treasure. He also kills an octopus with a knife, which is by far the best thing he's ever done.

'The Sea Bat' (by Robert M. Hyatt): A deep sea diver is attacked by a giant manta, and returns to kill it with electricity. It's a valuable lesson for anybody who is planning to battle undersea wildlife.

'John Law, Scientective' (by Harry Francis Campbell): John invites the criminal called the Avenger over for a chat and deduces his identity, a hitherto unmentioned scientist called Rowan. It's a cheap way to resolve the mystery, but the Avenger is still at large, so the real climax is yet to come.

'Wings Wendall' (by Vernon Henkel): Wings destroys an airbase set up by spies in Brazil. There are some well done dogfights, but the story is too boring for them to mean anything.

February 1940: Whiz Comics #2, Smash Comics #9, Feature Comics #31

Cover by C.C. Beck

Officially this is issue number two of Whiz Comics, but in actuality it is the first proper comic in the series. The first issue was a promo comic with no real content to speak of.

'Capt. Marvel' (by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck): This is the first appearance of Captain Marvel, a very significant piece of comics history. It gets off to a cracking start, as orphan Billy Batson is whisked away by a mysterious man in a subway train to visit the wizard Shazam, who gifts him with awesome power. When Billy says the magic word SHAZAM he becomes Captain Marvel, with the following abilities: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury. The origin is really powerful, and rich with mythological symbolism. It really does feel momentous, and the sense of deep history is hinted at very effectively.

The main plot is a little weaker, as criminal mastermind Sivana invents a ray that will disable all radio broadcasts, and uses it to hold the world to ransom. Captain Marvel's ingenious solution is to wreck the machine, but I guess it gets the job done. It also serves as a way to get Billy Batson a job as a radio announcer, something that I'm sure will be a vital part of this strip's storytelling engine.

Despite the weaker second half, this is still a strong first outing.

'Ibis the Invincible' (by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck): Ibis is an Egyptian pharaoh who wakes up in the year 1940. Why he wakes up is never explained, but it's not super important. He owns a powerful wand called the Ibistick, which can pretty much do anything, including clothe him in the standard Golden Age magician's attire of suit and turban. Ibis's first instinct is to resurrect his lost love Taia, but before he can find her he spends a lot of time wandering the world righting wrongs, including an extended stay in Europe where he helps out during the war. By the end of the story he has brought Taia back to life, but his Ibistick has been stolen by a common crook. In many ways this is a variation on the 'Zatara' formula, although Ibis's magic tricks are not very imaginative. He also displays very little personality, and is very conversant with the modern world for an ancient Egyptian. It gets by on pace alone, with Ibis finding a new wrong to right every few panels. For all of its flaws, it's quite enjoyable.

'Golden Arrow' (by Bill Parker and Greg Duncan): Roger Parsons is the son of a millionaire, but his parents are murdered while flying a balloon across the country, and Roger is raised in the wild by an old prospector. He grows up and becomes skilled with the bow, earning the name Golden Arrow, and avenges the murder of his parents. It's a weird mash-up of the cowboy genre with a bit of the jungle hero archetype thrown in. But other than that it's rather bland.

'Spy Smasher' (by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck): Secret plans are stolen from a US admiral by the villainous Mask. The mysterious Spy Smasher gets them back. Great pains are taken to obscure Spy Smasher's identity, and the same goes for the Mask. There are two real suspects: Filipino houseboy Zambo, and wealthy young sportsman Alan Armstrong. No answer is given in this chapter, but surely Armstrong is the hero and Zambo the villain. I'll be delighted if I'm wrong.

'Scoop Smith' (by Bill Parker and Greg Duncan): As you may have guessed, Scoop Smith is a reporter. In this story he investigates Doctor Death (aka James Kirk!), who has invented a ray that can bring back the dead. Of course, he must murder someone before he can test it. Scoop gets the doctor arrested, and everything wraps up very neatly, except that there is now a ray that can bring back the dead in the hands of the US government.  It's the sort of thing that demands a follow-up, but I'm certain it will never be mentioned again.

'Lance O'Casey' (by Bill Parker and Bob Kingett): Lance O'Casey is a very Irish sailor, who must rescue a scientist and his daughter from island natives, and the white man in charge of them. The story's not very good, but the sheer Irishness of O'Casey is somewhat endearing. And he does fire his monkey sidekick from a tree like a catapult.

'Dan Dare in Seals of Doom' (by Bill Parker and Greg Duncan): No, not that Dan Dare. This one is a private detective, travelling with his girlfriend Carol. A millionaire hires them to try and pin a murder on someone, which is all tied into a dope smuggling operation. It's relatively complex, and done better than most stories of this type.

Cover by Gill Fox

'Espionage starring Black X' (by Will Eisner): Eisner's European war montage openings get more and more ludicrous. This time, in addition to the usual war imagery, we're treated to Jesus on the cross, a skeleton forging weapons at an anvil, and the Four Horsemen of Death.

But that has nothing to do with the main story, which sees the Black X taking on Proxoff, a warlord who has built his own private army with which he plans to take over the world in the aftermath of the war. His soldiers don't fear death, and when caught they ingest a drug that turns them into skeletons. This is another solid outing.  Not only does it work as a great action adventure story, but it displays an understanding of the horror and senselessness of war that many other similar strips lack.

'Abdul the Arab' (by Vernon Henkel): Abdul is tasked with capturing the bandit Khabib, but as usual Abdul gets captured and his sidekick Hassan comes to his rescue. He even survives getting shot before punching Khabib right in the mouth. Seriously, why does Abdul get all the credit? The guy does nothing!

'Flash Fulton, Newsreel Ace' (by Paul Gustavson): Flash, working in the European war zone, smuggles the information in some vital papers across the border by making a newsreel of them. There's very little here of note, except for a joke in the last panel that falls completely flat.

'Clip Chance at Cliffside' (by George Brenner): With his coach's job on the line, Clip wins every event in the decathlon and beats up some crooks who try to steal the gate receipts. He's just so wonderful!

'Wings Wendall of the Military Intelligence' (by Vernon Henkel): Wings stops a group of spies that is taking photographs of Hawaii's military defenses. This story has nothing of interest.

Captain Cook of Scotland Yard: The Case of the Roving Taxicab' (by Stan Aschmeier): A man is murdered in a taxicab, and Captain Cook proves that the culprit was the cab driver. No shit Sherlock, he was the only other guy in there!

'John Law, Scientective' (by Harry Francis Campbell): Last issue John Law figured out the identity of the Avenger, but was not able to capture him. This time the Avenger is menacing the owner of a bus company, making his buses disappear in a strange fog. Law tracks him down to an unfinished subway tunnel, gets captured, and McGuyvers his way out by making home-made thermite. Yes kids, with some aluminum filings, rust and camera flash powder, you too can make a substance that burns at 5000 degrees! This is pretty average, but I really did enjoy that potentially dangerous little home chemistry lesson.

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): Chic Carter smashes a marijuana ring in a very pedestrian story.

'The Cat Men' (by Robert M. Hyatt): A bunch of trains race to the Norton Mine, with the winner to gain the lucrative freight contract on offer. One of the train drivers cheats mercilessly and gets his comeuppance in a relatively satisfying fashion. It's alright so far as these prose stories go.

'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian): The Invisible Hood takes on a small band of pirates.As often happens, sleepiness set in around the time I was reading this story, and it wasn't exciting or interesting enough to keep me awake.

'Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man' (by Wayne Reid): Hugh and Bozo take on a dictator named Motler, who is totally original and nothing like Adolf Hitler at all. I've only just realised it, but now that Hugh can climb inside the robot, he is very much in the same vein as Iron Man (the Marvel character).

Cover possibly by Ed Cronin

'The Dollman' (by Will Eisner and Lou Fine): The Dollman tackles a weird hunchback who is murdering diamond salesmen and stealing their wares. It's a very basic story, and I still feel like this strip isn't making the most out of its premise.

'Jane Arden' (by Monte Barrett and Russell E. Ross): Jane is still getting entangled in soap opera romance and the like, but as the strip is ending it looks as though one of the men she's been dating is a crook. Pretty much everyone here is acting like a jerk this month.  I'll never get to find out what that maybe-crook's deal is, because this is Jane Arden's final appearance here.  It was never interesting enough to be missed.

'Captain Fortune' (by Vernon Henkel): Captain Fortune rescues his friend the Earl of Essex from a rival duke. The duke vows revenge as a set-up for next month's story. In theory this all sounds quite exciting, but on the page it's quite staid and flat.

'Rance Keane, the Knight of the West' (by William A. Smith): Rance Keane helps a supposed FBI agent against a gang of cattle rustlers, only to discover that this agent is actually their leader.  I could write about whether this was good or not, but instead I'd like to share my opinion of cattle rustler stories in general: they suck and I hate them.

'The Clock Strikes' (by George Brenner): The Clock takes on a spy who has stolen the formula for a new type of poison gas. He survives an attack with the gas because his mask got wet, which is pretty weak.  This appears to be the last we will see of the Clock for many decades. It's a fairly ignominious finale for the first costumed hero in comics.

'Spin Shaw of the Naval Air Corps' (by Bob Powell): Spin goes undercover in a gang of arms smugglers. It's another incredibly generic and boring story.

'Slim and Tubby' (by John J. Welch): Benton tries to get another boxing match, but because he's a hero nobody wants to fight him. I liked that one twist in the ongoing storyline, but otherwise this is pretty dull.  This is the last appearance of this strip, and Slim and Tubby have yet to come up with the money to save their ranch.  I can only assume that it goes out of business and they die penniless on the streets.

'Ned Brant' (by Bob Zuppke and R.W. Depew): Ned loses a relay race, then comes back and wins the race that decides the whole athletics meet. Because he's awesome.  This is the last appearance of Ned Brant, to which I say good riddance.  The sooner these sport-themed strips die out the better.

'Charlie Chan' (by Alfred Andriola): Charlie investigates a kidnapping and the attempted theft of some rubies. The story ends with him accusing a man who is still vehemently claiming his innocence, and his evidence is pretty tenuous.  This is the last we see of Charlie in Feature Comics.  I won't miss him.

'Magic on the Rink' (by Robert E. Jones): A crook tries to fix an ice hockey match by putting heating units into one team's skates, but he screws up and puts them in the skates of his own team. I'm not sure what this story is trying to say, except for "criminals are dumb".

'Reynolds of the Mounted' (by Art Pinajian): Two escaped crooks hole up in a cabin, but the boy who lives there notifies the Mounties by arranging the washing in Morse code.  It's terrible, and has Mounties in it.

As you may have guessed, Feature Comics is in for a big overhaul in the next issue.  I'm looking forward to it, because this is one of my least favourite comics to read for this blog.  Any change will probably be an improvement.

January 1940: Marvel Mystery Comics #5, Smash Comics #8

Cover by Alex Schomburg

'The Human Torch' (by Carl Burgos): The Torch goes to the rescue of a town caught in a blizzard, but the medical supplies he is carrying are stolen by two recently escaped crooks. This isn't particularly exciting, and about halfway through the criminals just have a plane out of nowhere. The Torch was much more fun to read as a menace than a hero.

'The Angel' (by Paul Gustavson): The Angel tackles a gang of bank robbers. I was amused by his initial plan, which involved overturning all the cars in the street while the gang was in the bank so that they would have no getaway vehicle, but otherwise it's a simple and uninteresting beat-em-up.

'Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner' (by Bill Everett): Namor returns to New York, where he's pursued by the authorities until a doctor jumps him with some chloroform. Thus subdued, he is held captive until his policewoman friend Betty Dean lets him go, and he tackles a gang of bank robbers who are tunneling underground. I really enjoyed the first half, with Namor fighting police and firemen, but the second half wasn't nearly as interesting. I definitely prefer Namor as an anti-hero.  His motivations change from issue to issue, so it's possible that he will return to villainy soon enough.

'The Masked Raider' (by Al Anders): The Masked Raider goes up against a guy who is murdering people with poisoned arrows and blaming it on the local Injun. I think he's trying to make the sheriff look bad so that he can become the next sheriff. To be honest the finer details escaped my concentration, but what i did catch was terribly boring.

'It's in the Cards' (by Ray Gill): In this prose story a drunken circus knife-thrower kills his assistant, then tries to convince the only witness to tell everyone that it was an accident. Dull.

'Electro, the Marvel of the Age' (by Steve Dahlman): The fake country of Molivia is attacked by the fake country of Torpis, and Electro goes to help. Besides the usual scenes of Electro smashing tanks and killing troops, there are some startling depictions of dead women and children. And the scene where the dictator of Torpis shoots himself rather than be captured has eerie similarities to the end of World War 2. But the crude art, which often has no connection to what's happening in the narrative captions, lets the whole thing down.

'Ferret, Mystery Detective' (by Stockbridge Winslow and Irwin Hasen): The Ferret solves a murder mystery involving counterfeiters. I don't know if this was the case last issue, but now he has an actual pet ferret that helps him fight crime. Other than that, this is totally uninteresting.

'Adventures of Ka-Zar' (by Ben Thompson): In the last issue, a whole mess of potential double-crosses and intrigues was set up, but in this issue it mostly comes down to a fight between Ka-Zar and DeKraft, the man who murdered his father. That confrontation is done well enough, but I thought a lot of the potential set up last time was squandered.

Cover possibly by Gill Fox

'Espionage starring the Black X' (by Will Eisner): Again with the war montage! Yes Will, you're brilliant at it, I know, but please get a new trick. In this story the Black X must infiltrate Germany and escape with an American reporter. It's a well told action story, with some humour thrown in when the reporter decides she really would like to carry on pretending to be the Black X's wife.  Madame Doom also returns, although she doesn't make much of an impression.

'Clip Chance at Cliffside' (by George Brenner): Two crooks kidnap one of Clip's ice hockey teammates, so that one of them can impersonate him and purposely lose the game. Clip figures out that it's an impostor and they win the game without him. It's the same old sports comic routine.

'Abdul the Arab' (by Vernon Henkel): Abdul tackles some oil thieves in a story that can best be categorised as existing. Yep, it's definitely there all right.

'Captain Cook of Scotland Yard' (by Stan Aschmeier): Cook investigates the destruction of a castle and the theft of some gold bullion. There's some solid detective work going on here, but in the end Cook only wins because he happens to stop at a certain farmhouse to seek shelter. I never like these kinds of circumstances in a mystery story.

'Hugh Hazzard and His Iron Man' (by George Brenner): Hugh and Bozo put a stop to "Batzi" spies who are trying to draw America into the war in Europe. Nice to see Hugh heroically fighting to stop America from helping the Allies!

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): It's the old 'cursed jewel' routine, with a wealthy man being threatened to return the Star of Egypt before he is murdered. Chic investigates, and the culprit ends up being the very first person that is suspicious. This is as straightforward and boring as this type of story gets.

'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian): The Invisible Hood goes up against a guy who is using his voodoo powers to hypnotise factory workers and make them cause fatal accidents. I think this is the first time we see a mastermind who makes his thugs dress in some kind of bizarre themed uniform. In this case it's medieval armour, as the crooks are all hiding out in an old castle. This is probably the best installment of this strip so far, as the Invisible Hood is actually captured and must work for his victory. It's still crippled by having an invisible protagonist, though.

'Flash Fulton' (by Paul Gustavson): Flash goes to the Amazon Jungle to rescue a white man from the natives. This one never gets past the usual cliches.

'The Winged Emeralds' (by Robert M. Hyatt): Some treasure hunters go to South America, where they use balloons to steal some sacred emeralds from a mine. I've reread this thing, and I still can't figure out how they did it.

'John Law, Scientective' (by Harry Francis Campbell): In this story, John Law finally works out the identity of the Avenger who has been targeting wealthy businessmen. Despite his one leap of logic (his belief that the Avenger is actually one of the people on the Avenger's hit list), his plan is bloody ingenious. He calls each of the thirteen businessmen and tells them he has a new phone number. Each number he gives out is unique. He then has a phony newspaper printed in which he taunts the Avenger, and when the Avenger calls him on one of the phone numbers he knows exactly who it is. John Law, truly you are the greatest scientective of them all!

'Wings Wendall of the Military Intelligence' (by Vernon Henkel): Wings Wendall goes up against a dirigible that is bombing strategic American sites. He shoots it down with incendiary bullets, in a story that defines the word mediocre.

December 1939: Smash Comics #7, Feature Comics #29

Cover possibly by Gill Fox

'Espionage starring the Black X; (by Will Eisner): Eisner opens with a war montage yet again, and this time he has added skeletons in military uniforms. Everything is improved with skeletons. In the actual story, foreign spies try to sabotage a US blockade that is stopping their country from gaining access to the Pacific Ocean. The Black X is sent to stop them, and the story proceeds along the usual captures and escapes line. But it takes a surprisingly emotional turn when Black X falls for the female leader of the spies, and tries to save her from certain death as she pilots a kamikaze torpedo at a US naval base. He fails, and is so gutted that he quits the spy game. It rings a little false when he instantly jumps back into action a panel later, but the rest of the story is told very well indeed.

'Abdul the Arab' (by Vernon Henkel): Abdul and Hassan go up against the "Masked One", the hooded leader of an arms smuggling operation. Abdul gets captured and Hassan does all the work, which seems to be a trend in this series. It's not particularly interesting.

'Captain Cook of Scotland Yard' (by Stan Aschmeier): Lola Barnes, daughter of Sir Sidney, is kidnapped, and a mysterious voice with no discernible source demands the Red Star Diamond as ransom. Captain Cook figures out that the voice is transmitted through wires, and that Lola is being held in her own house by Sidney's Hindu servant. Cook's hunch about Lola's location is never explained, and the Hindu servant is never mentioned before he is caught, so this definitely fails as a mystery story.

'Clip Chance at Cliffside' (by George Brenner): Clip receives a note from gamblers, telling him that if he plays in tomorrow's basketball game they will kill his mother. True to form, Clip wants to play regardless of the danger (he did the same thing when his girlfriend was threatened) but his coach won't let him. He tracks down the crooks, gets captured, escapes and goes on to win the game. But the crooks are still at large, and free to kill Clip's dear old mum at any time. Man, Clip Chance is the biggest jerk ever.

'Wings Wendall of the Military Intelligence' (by Vernon Henkel): A female spy is sent to seduce an army officer to get the New York Defense Plans. Wings stops the spy ring in a pretty solid story.  There are also scenes of German-born Americans holding rallies to declare their allegiance to the Fatherland, which must have been topical at the time, and they serve to ground the action and up the stakes.

'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian): Invisible Justice takes on a gang of crooks who set fire to businesses before robbing them in asbestos suits. There's nothing of interest here.

'Flash Fulton' (by Paul Gustavson): Flash foils some kidnappers, and films their confession without them realising it. Dull.

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): Chic is shot down behind enemy lines, and his captors force him to send the articles they want him to write. Chic escapes, foils an assassination attempt on the royal family of Moravia, then plants a kiss on the princess. It's a terribly boring story, but Chic Carter is easily the most bad-ass non-superhero reporter around.

'The Master of Mu' (by Robert M. Hyatt): After a promising opening, in which our hero Jon was kidnapped and sent to the moon by the villainous Milo, we find out that he's not actually on the moon, and that Milo is stealing planes by purely mechanical means. With all of the fantastical elements stripped out, this conclusion falls very flat.

'John Law, Scientective' (by Harry Francis Campbell): The Avenger's next target is Albert Lewis. Law goes to help him, only to find that the Avenger has turned Lewis's house into a deathtrap. Of course Law escapes, but the deathtraps are actually pretty creative in places. The Avenger, however, comes across as a pretty weak villain; there's a hilarious scene where he fails to capture Law's girlfriend, and watches forlornly as she drives away. Apparently Law is going to unmask the Avenger in the next issue, and any idiot can see that it's Albert Lewis.  Unless I'm being misdirected with very obvious clues, but I don't think so.

'Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man' (by George Brenner): "Jarmanian" spies kidnap a general's son and try to blackmail him for the gold at Fort Kentucky. Hugh and Bozo stop them, with the help of a notorious crook who refuses to betray his country. The inclusion of the crook and his redemption raises this above the usual fare.

Cover by Ed Cronin

'The Doll Man' (by Will Eisner): Darrel Dane is framed by an art thief, but as the Doll Man he is able to escape and beat up the thief and his gang. This is as rudimentary as this type of story gets. The art is quite good, with some very solid storytelling, but there's no sense of scale. The Doll Man is tiny, but it's not conveyed all that effectively.

'Ned Brant' (by Bob Zuppke and R.W. Depew): Ned Brant and his friend Bud Shekels are jerks to each other over a girl. I suppose I should be happy that they aren't playing any sort of sport, but this is still not very good.

'Charlie Chan' (by Alfred Andriola): In the last issue, Charlie and Detective Kirk went undercover in a gang of kidnappers. In this chapter they are exposed, but manage to beat them all in a fist fight. The story here is average, but there are number of scenes told effectively without dialogue or narration, which is pretty sophisticated for the time.

Ed Wheelan has moved on from this strip, and it's now being done by Joe Devlin.  It has switched from a continuing story to one page gag strips, and I approve. The latter format wasn't doing it any favours.  And at the very least, I won't have to write about it any more.

'The Clock Strikes' (by George E. Brenner): A friend of the Clock's is killed by blackmailers lead by a crook named the Reaper. The Clock captures them and places them under arrest. There are no real flaws to this story, but it's still frightfully uninteresting and formulaic.

'Jane Arden' (by Monte Barrett and Russell E. Ross): Jane has been undercover, working with a jewel thief called the "Man With the Scar", for ages now, and in this story she gets him arrested. It's not great, but I'm just glad that this plot line is over.

'Reynolds of the Mounted' (by Art Pinajian): Indians are being killed by a mysterious person called the "Flying Death", and Reynolds is called in to investigate. There's a white criminal who is under suspicion, but the killer ends up being the Indian chief. As far as I can tell there is absolutely no motive for the killings, which is like the first rule for constructing a murder mystery.

'Rance Keane, the Knight of the West' (by Will Arthur): Rance and Pee Wee investigate a derailed train. Footprints around the tracks lead them to believe that a one-legged man is the culprit, but it turns out to be a guy who was wearing two right shoes. I was vaguely interested in the set-up, but the solution was blindingly obvious.

'Whispering Walls' (by A.L. Allen): Two cowboys seek shelter from a storm in a supposedly haunted ruin. While shooting rats in the walls, they find a box full of treasure. This story seemed to be setting up a contrast between city boy Roy and tough country boy Jack, but that goes nowhere, and what we actually get is a series of events that in no way coalesces into a story.

'Captain Fortune' (by Vernon Henkel): This story gets off to a cracking start, with a member of Fortune's crew bursting into a tavern to announce that the evil pirate Black Flint is terrorising the coast once again. Fortune quickly rounds up his crew, sails to Flint's island, and kills the pirate and his men. This story wastes no time, bouncing from one action scene to the next. It's major failing is that Flint barely appears before his death, but I enjoyed the breakneck pace.

'Slim and Tubby' (by John J. Welch): Benton is scheduled to fight a boxer named Simpson, who takes a dive to make Benton look bad. Everything is cleared up by the boxing commission without much effort, and no drama at all. It's also occurred to me that Slim and Tubby, despite being the title characters, have not done anything for months.

'Spin Shaw of the Naval Air Corps' (by Rex Smith): This is a new strip, in which Spin Shaw is a generic heroic pilot, pretty much the most common type of hero in the Golden Age so far.  On an island protected by the USA, Spin stops foreign agents from poisoning the local crops. It features a decent aerial dogfight, but is otherwise pretty dull.

November 1939: Smash Comics #6

Cover possibly by Gill Fox

'Espionage starring the Black X' (by Will Eisner): Absolutely nobody can set the scene as effectively as Eisner. Admittedly he uses the exact same technique every time, a gripping World War 2 montage, usually accompanied by a burning map of Europe. But it works, and I'm certainly not tired of it yet.  In this story the Black X goes undercover in an Alaskan gold mine, trying to stop foreign agents from stealing the gold for their own purposes. It's pretty good stuff, with an amusing subplot wherein the tough miners think that Black X is a sissy because of his monocle. Speaking of which, we learn that he had his eye put out during a torture interrogation, so all accusations of sissiness are false.

'Clip Chance at Cliffside' (by George Brenner): Clip fails an exam, and has to pass the re-examination to be allowed to play in a basketball match. Of course he does so, and wins the game with seconds to spare. There's also a subplot about the teacher's stolen watch that doesn't ever intersect with the main story.

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): Chic is accompanying the king and princess of Moravia to inspect a border garrison. When a sudden attack cuts them off, Chic dons an army helmet and starts killing the enemy with abandon. This is standard behaviour for Golden Age heroes, but it's still a little jarring coming from a guy I'd pegged as a high society reporter.

'Flash Fulton, the Ace of Cameramen' (by Paul Gustavson): Flash investigates a group that is deliberately setting fire to oil rigs. He displays a similar facility for violence to Chic Carter above, but even that can't hold my interest.

'Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man' (by George Brenner): Hugh Hazzard modifies his robot so that he can pilot it from the inside, and goes up against a gang of jewel thieves. The highlight is a panel right near the end, where the robot stands amidst the wreckage of a car, surrounded by corpses, and smilingly declares "Dead! Every one of them!!"

'Captain Cook of Scotland Yard' (by Stan Aschmeier): Cook investigates a group of spies that is trying to stop England from buying helium gas to use in its new dirigible. Now these guys are stupid. Their whole plan involves lighting the dirigible on fire, for which they need it to be full of hydrogen. But they seemingly haven't bothered to find out that England bought and used the helium despite their best efforts. Then they escape by parachuting away, only to land in the middle of the ocean where they are destined to drown. Cook didn't even need to do anything, because these guys killed themselves.

'Abdul the Arab' (by Vernon Henkel): Abdul is framed for murder, by a plan that hinges on him being the only Arab guy around who is named Abdul.

'John Law, Scientective in The Sound of Death' (by Harry Francis Campbell): The Avenger still has wealthy businessmen in his sights, and this time it's Roger Carlin, manufacturer of the ointment Vitasav. People have been dying after using Vitasav, and it turns out the the Avenger has discovered a way to make the ointment sink into a person's bloodstream when a specific sound is played. It's all fairly implausible, and not terribly exciting. And there are still nine businessmen to go, which is not an enticing prospect.

'The Master of Mu' (by Robert M. Hyatt): This prose story is an intriguing beginning. When a scientist investigates some plane disappearances, he is kidnapped by an evil mastermind and rocketed to the moon with his many other captives. I've got no idea where this is going, but I liked it. And it's always charming to read old-school sci-fi that has only the vaguest idea of what the moon is like.

'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian): Invisible Justice goes up against a gang of helium smugglers in an unremarkable story. I suppose that helium was in the zeitgeist at the time.

'Wun Cloo - Him Velly Good Detective' (by Gill Fox): I don't quite know what to make of this. Wun Cloo is a laundry shop owner, but also a detective, and he rather cleverly stops a counterfeiter. His speech patterns aren't horrible, as the title above would suggest. There are some good jokes in here, and none of those are racist. It's just that title that's skewing things. If it wasn't for that, this would be perfectly acceptable.

'Wings Wendall of the Military Intelligence' (by Vernon Henkel): Enforcing the president's strictly isolationist policies, Wings goes up against a group of smugglers trying to take weapons to Europe. Henkel tries a patented Eisner war opening, and doesn't do a bad job of it, but the rest of the story is nothing special.

October 1939: Smash Comics #5

Cover by Gill Fox

'Espionage starring Black Ace' (by Will Eisner): Eisner is delving back into his usual bag of tricks, opening with a montage of the war in Europe.  It's something he has done a lot, but it certainly is an effective way of laying out the stakes. The rest of the story sees the Black Ace going up against a foreign saboteur who is waging a campaign against the US armament program. It was going well until the end, where the USA becomes so well-armed and powerful that all the nations in Europe decide to make peace rather than risk war with America. It's exactly the sort of naive patriotic propaganda that I can't stand.

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): Chic goes to war-torn country of Moravia and ends up helping rescue the Princess Maria from a kidnapping. There's a bit of sword-fighting, but the bulk of the action is glossed over in a single caption, and the rest is fairly dull.

'John Law, Scientective' (by Harry Francis Campbell): I've only just twigged to this, but there's an over-arching plot to this series. The villainous Avenger is seeking revenge against thirteen wealthy businessmen, and John Law must stop him. In this story the Avenger (who is never seen) tries to destroy a railway magnate by wrecking his trains with an anti-gravity device. The story is average, but at least I'm sort of intrigued to see what the Avenger is like when he finally appears.

'Wings Wendall of the Military Intelligence' (by Vernon Henkel): Wings must deal with a group of spies who try to photograph an experimental plane during combat maneuvers. It's fairly dull.

'Clip Chance at Cliffside' (by George Brenner): The crooks whose plot Clip foiled last issue are still hanging around. They kidnap him to try and fix another game, but he escapes and makes it to the game in time to score the winning touchdown. I swear that these football strips have exactly one plot. And it ain't a good one.

'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian): Invisible Justice topples some racketeers who are being led by a respected doctor. The story isn't great, and I'm starting to think that the whole set-up here is flawed. An action story where the protagonist is always invisible isn't the easiest thing to pull off, and Pinajian isn't able to do it.

'Abdul the Arab' (by Vernon Henkel): Abdul's best friend is implicated in the murder of some tourists, and Abdul must find the real culprit. It's a decent premise with mediocre execution.

'The Cloudburst part II' (by A.L. Allen): G-Man Jim Mitchell last issue witnessed some horse smugglers being caught in a flash flood. In this story he rescues the leader and arrests him, and also saves him from a dog he beat in the last chapter. To be honest I was kind of zoned out here.

'Captain Cook of Scotland Yard' (by William A. Smith): Cook takes on a gang smuggling an explosive gas in powder form, hidden in a linen shipment. Like just about all the stories in this issue, this is another very boring one.

'Flash Fulton' (by Paul Gustavson): Flash Fulton exposes a mayor who wants to deliberately blow up his town's dam. I read the story twice, and I still can't figure out why the mayor wanted to do this.

'Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man' (by Wayne Reid): A gang of foreign spies hatches a plan to destroy Hugh's robot with their death ray. It's more entertaining than most of the fare in this issue, but that's saying very little.

September-October 1939: Smash Comics #4, Blue Ribbon Comics #2, Action Comics #19

Cover possibly by Gill Fox

'Espionage starring Black Ace' (by Will Eisner): As the threat of war looms between the USA and "The Orient", Black Ace must transport the US defense plans to a conference in California while avoiding a sexy foreign agent named Madame Doom. This strip gets better and better, and this is one of the best examples of the spy genre seen in comics to this date. It's also interesting to see Eisner using a lot of cinematic storytelling shortcuts, such as a flurry pf newspaper headlines, and the old "line on a map" to denote long-distance travel. There aren't any other comic artists doing this stuff at this time, but Eisner's using the techniques effectively.

'Clip Chance at Cliffside' (by George Brenner): Last issue, Clip was tricked into breaking curfew by his rival Ray Snort, and now he's off the football team. Meanwhile, some gamblers have stolen Clip's playbook and given it to the other team.  The part of this story where Clip is investigating all of the shenanigans is quite solid, but it all falls apart once he's solved everything and makes his triumphant return to the football field. There's something inherently dull about watching real sports depicted as comics.

'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian): Invisible Justice goes up against the Green Lizard, a masked crime lord who is blackmailing wealthy businessmen for money. It's an average story, but the swamp setting gives it a little bit of atmosphere.

'Captain Cook of Scotland Yard' (by William A. Smith): Cook infiltrates a gang of anarchists who have been blowing up buildings in London. His disguise goes awry when he is assigned to blow up a bridge, but he manages to capture them all in the end. The only thing that this story has going for it is that the villains all wear Cobra Commander hoods. This is a fairly common occurrence in the comics of this era, and I wonder what the real-world inspiration was.

'Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man' (by George Brenner): Hugh and Bozo protect a submarine from foreign saboteurs, who then capture Hugh and try to torture the secret of his robot out of him.  Bozo comes to the rescue, and even manages to have a fight scene with a shark. Not to mention the earlier bit where he catches a bomb and throws it at a plane in mid air. The story itself is nothing special, but there are a few really entertaining moments.

'Abdul the Arab' (by Vernon Henkel): Abdul goes up against Forrest (an English brigand) and his gang of Arab crooks, who have slaughtered an English expedition and stolen their priceless ruby. There's nothing of interest here.

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): Chic goes to Singapore to investigate the theft of gold bullion from a ship, and ends up captured by a gang of pirates. They're defeated by the end of what is a very dull tale.

'Flash Fulton' (by Paul Gustavson): This is a new strip about a newsreel cameraman who I assume gets into dangerous adventures during the course of his job. In this story he is assigned to get footage of the dictator Rudolph, who has just marched his forces into the fake country of Cerania. He gets the footage showing Rudolph leading a bloody cavalry charge against a defenseless village, which he thinks will put a stop to Rudolph's invasion. There's also a subplot about Rudolph having a double, but that goes nowhere. Again, this is a very mediocre story, and not a series that I'm looking forward to more of.

'The Cloudburst' (by A.L. Allen): In this prose story a US marshal is investigating some crooks smuggling cattle over the Mexican border. While they are herding cattle through a dry river bed, a flash flood threatens to kill them all. To be continued! The cliffhanger to this took me by surprise, and it promises to be a much different story than I thought it would be.

'John Law, Scientective' (by Harry Francis Campbell): It's a locked room mystery, in which Law must figure out how a wealthy plane magnate was murdered in a sealed room before the victim's innocent son is executed for the crime. The solution is pretty ingenious - a heavy block of dry ice is hidden in a lamp that the victim sits under. The heat of the lamp expands a piece of metal, the dry ice falls and crushes the victim's head, then it evaporates leaving no trace of a murder weapon. It's very clever, and enough to make this otherwise average story worth a look.

'Wings Wendall' (by Vernon Henkel): Wings investigates the disappearance of some planes over Alaska. It turns out to be the work of a mad scientist, who has captured the bombers and is controlling the pilots with drugs. Wings puts a stop to that nonsense, but we never do get a motivation for the villain, or any indication at all of what his goal is. It's pretty weak.

 

Cover by Norman Danberg

'Rang-a-Tang the Wonder Dog' (by Norman Danberg): Detective Speed and Rang-a-Tang save a baby from a fire, only to find that the other baby has been kidnapped. They track the kidnappers up north into Canada, capture them and rescue the child. This one has an almost frantic pace to it, but for the life of me I can't figure out exactly what the kidnappers wanted.

'Dan Hastings' (by Creators Unknown):

'Buck Stacey' (by Creators Unknown): Buck Stacey is still investigating the theft of Sandra Cumming's cattle. He can't catch a break, as he is framed for stealing her money as well as murder when a thug who attacks him falls on his own knife. At that point it got so farcical that I was enjoying it, but in the end Buck makes the real culprit confess and it all goes along the usual western lines.

'Experiment in Death' (by Creators Unknown): This prose Dan Hastings story is very bizarre. The population of Earth is dying, as the planet's oxygen is being stolen by a ray from the planet Termin, 2 billion light years away. Dan is sent to Termin, where he meets and is killed by telepathic alien crabs. He wakes up back on Earth, where Professor Carter has saved Earth by firing his own rays back at Termin. And then there's a weird explanation about what happened to Dan having happened in the future, but only if he's actually there at the time it happens. And for that matter, I don't see how his trip to Termin helps the situation at all. It's an intriguing set-up with some incredibly vivid passages, but none of it makes a lick of sense.  But you know what?  I'm willing to run with it as the final Dan Hastings story and say that eventually he does die on Termin exactly as described.  Hooray for inescapable destiny!

'Scoop Cody' (by Creators Unknown): Scoop Cody is a reporter who is tasked with tracking down a racketeer. It would be a fairly pedestrian affair, except that he is aided by a masked man called the Marvel.  The mystery of this guy makes an otherwise mediocre story just a little bit more interesting.

'Bob Phantom the Scourge of the Underworld' (by Irv Novick): I'm not really sure what Bob Phantom's deal is. He could be a ghost, or he could be a superhero with a lot of tricks. But nothing about him is explained, which is puzzling and sort of unsettling from the perspective of having read so many Golden Age comics now. In this story he terrorises a gangster until he gives himself up to the DA. I'd hesitate to call this story good, but the character is intriguing. The story-telling style is certainly like nothing I've seen in this era so far.

'Devils of the Deep' (by George Nagle and possibly Edd Ashe): Jim, Bill and Ted are naval adventurers. They come across a wrecked ship, and discover that it's been sabotaged by a man trying to claim its cargo of jewels. It's perfunctory at best.

'Secret Assignments' (by Maurice Gutwirth): Adventurer Jack Strand is sent to investigate the sabotage of his uncle's Balkan oil fields. It turns out that the saboteurs are spies trying to stop the nation getting the benefit of the oil. There are some slightly more sophisticated story-telling techniques on display here, but the story just isn't interesting at all.

'The Silver Fox' (by Creators Unknown): A police chief with a silver streak through his hair reminisces about the case that won him his nick-name of the Silver Fox. It's a hackneyed "the butler did it" detective story about a murdered millionaire, but at least it plays fair with the mystery. The art has some serious perspective problems, though.

'Corporal Collins, Infantryman' (possibly by Abner Sundell and Charles Biro): Jim Collins, an American stranded in Paris after it declares war with Germany, joins the French army and spends the next four pages just straight up killing Nazis. It's the first real anti-Nazi story I've read, and while there's a certain excitement to it, it's really quite terrible.

Cover by Joe Shuster

'Superman' (by Siegel and Shuster): A mysterious plague is killing the people of Metropolis, the work of none other than (surprise, surprise) the Ultra-Humanite. Superman helps a scientist find the cure, and has a bunch of confrontations with his enemy, from being shot with an electric gun to being hypnotised to serve him (don't worry kids, he's just faking). The story ends when Superman pulls the Ultra-Humanite in front of his own electric gun, killing him. Yes, Superman kills the Ultra-Humanite, and it looks quite deliberate to me. To be honest, it's not at all out of character for this version of Superman. It's another enjoyable story, though I'm hoping we get some villains besides the Ultra-Humanite in the near future.

Superman's Secret Message: FOREMOST AMONG THE PRINCIPLES OF THE SUPERMEN OF AMERICA IS THE SINCERE EFFORT TO PROMOTE PEACE AND HAPPINESS AMONG THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD

'Pep Morgan' (by Gardner Fox and Fred Guardineer): On his way home, Pep foils a train robbery. Two of the crooks escape, and return later to seek revenge. This is a fairly average story, but the presence of Pep's family grounds it and gives him a bit of added dimension. I've said it before, but all those sport strips before Pep became an action hero make him feel a lot more authentic as a character. The same thing goes for showing his family.

'Chuck Dawson' (by Homer Fleming): Chuck is ambushed by two cowboys who steal his boots and leave him with a pair of their own. This is their way of framing him for murder and robbery, but Chuck escapes from town and brings them to justice. This isn't the first Chuck Dawson story with an intriguing opening and a lame finale, and it won't be the last.

'Clip Carson, Soldier of Fortune' (by Bill Finger and Bob Kane): In Kenya, Clip is hired to lead a safari carrying ivory to the African coast. By modern standards it's unusual to see the ivory trade portrayed in anything less than a negative light. The ivory shipments have been the target of the notorious Wolf Lupo, whose agents dog Clip at every turn. There's not much excitement to be had in this chapter, but a scene where Clip wins the friendship of some cannibals by giving them harmonicas is memorable (probably for all the wrong reasons).

'Forest Fire' (by Jack Anthony): A forest ranger rescues a woman and her son from a fire.  It just barely manages to qualify as a story.

'Tex Thomson and the Zombies' (by Bernard Baily): Now there's a title with some promise. Alas, the zombies in question are chemically hypnotised people under the command of an African tribe. Tex has been hired to find the son of a friend of his, and he ends up captured and about to be injected with the chemical. To be continued! This is okay, but as ever I find Gargantua to be a troubling character.

Holy crap, it's a full page ad for Flash Comics! Featuring the Flash! And the Hawk-Man! And, uh, the Whip! Huzzah!

'Three Aces' (by Bert Christman): Fog, Bill and Will investigate the death of a fellow pilot in a plane crash. It turns out his death was engineered by his wife and his business partner, who both wanted the money from an experimental engine for themselves. I was all set to hate this one, but the scenes with the wife and the killer at the end were quite good, and there's even a nice introspective ending. It's too bad that Fog's dialogue makes me want to gouge my eyes out every time he speaks.

'Zatara the Master Magician and the Gorilla King' (by Fred Guardineer): In this story Zatara takes on a madman who has created a city full of gorillas with human brains. From the moment the gorillas dressed as firemen showed up I knew that this was going to be a hoot. Zatara, as usual, is the best thing in this issue.

August 1929: Smash Comics #3

Cover possibly by Gill Fox

'Espionage starring Black Ace' (by Will Eisner): Once again Eisner begins his story with a war montage, depicting the current strife in Europe. When the president sends out freighters to bring all US citizens home for their own safety, an unnamed foreign nation decides to sink them as part of its plan to seize Alaska (I'm not sure how that works, but I'll let it slide). The Black Ace infiltrates the submarine crew assigned to destroy the ships, and with the help of another American he takes control of the sub.  This is a cracking good yarn. The backdrop of World War II gives it a sense of real urgency, the action set pieces are great, and there's some pathos as well with the sacrifice of Ace's American buddy. This is really good stuff. (Also, Black Ace takes on the submarine crew while shirtless and wearing a monocle. He's rad.)

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): Chic is sent to Mongolia to find Dennis Courtney, a missing millionaire sportsman. It turns out that he is being held for ransom by a Mongolian warlord. Chic rescues him in a fast-paced action story that's reasonably fun.

It's interesting that these two stories have both been set around real-world events. The previous story was rooted in the war in Europe, and this one features the Japanese occupation of China. It's a far cry from DC's use of fakes and analogues.

'Abdul the Arab' (by Vernon Henkel): Abdul rescues a British man (who has the formula for the strongest metal known to man) from an Arab warlord. There are some weird story-telling glitches in this that mar an otherwise adequate story.

'Captain Cook of Scotland Yard' (by William A. Smith): Cook investigates a robbery, which turns out to be the work of a mad scientist and his ape. This being the Golden Age, the ape has been given a human brain, and can talk and wear clothes. Despite some entertaining trappings, this story is a mess. The guy whose house was robbed is prominently set up to take a role in the story, but then never appears. The mad scientist starts banging on about a lost airmail pilot who had never been mentioned before, and has a death ray out of nowhere. Cook's investigation doesn't flow logically at all. It's all over the place.

'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian): Invisible Justice goes up against a gang of crooks who are using a submarine to rob ships in New York harbour. This is mediocre at best, but Invisible Justice's new invisibility power makes it a bit livelier than his stories have been previously.

'Clip Chance at Cliffside' (by George Brenner): Since beginning this blog, I have developed a seething hatred for cowboys, ranches and mounties. I can safely add footballers to the list. In this story Clip is selected in the team at the expense of Ray Snort, who tricks him into going out after curfew, where he is seen by the coach and suspended. There's also a subplot about crooks trying to steal Clip's playbook so that they can use the inside knowledge to bet on the game. I zoned out around the time of the first forward pass. Alas, the story continues next month.

'John Law, Scientective' (by Harry Francis Campbell): John Law! Scientective! Law is a detective who uses science to solve his crimes. In this story he investigates some murders at an airport, where planes have been exploding. The general manager turns out to be the culprit, but he has no apparent motivation at all. There's also a mysterious gunman in the story who shoots anyone who knows too much about the murders, but he's not caught by the end. The whole thing feels unsatisfying.  (Any relation between John Law and Johnnie Law, the detective who appeared in More Fun Comics and was last seen being blown up by a bomb, is probably coincidental. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Roy Thomas has linked them at some point.)

'Mystery at Catalina part 3' (by Jeffrey Spain): This story finally finishes, as the old Chinese man Sun Wang helps stop a gang of crooks who are using a fake movie shoot as a cover for their dope smuggling. The supposed hero, Tony, does bugger all. This is okay, but it's certainly been stretched out over too many issues.

'Wings Wendall of the Military Intelligence' (by Vernon Henkel): Wendall infiltrates the organisation of the Hooded Terror (who looks a hell of a lot like Cobra Commander), and stops his plan to blow up the Panama Canal. This is average stuff, even if the villain does look cool.

'Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man' (by George Brenner): Hugh and Bozo the robot deal with some spies who have stolen the plans to a new torpedo bomb. This is okay, and it's livened up considerably by an aerial dogfight between the crooks and Bozo. If only the robot didn't have such a stupid name I might enjoy this strip more.

July-August 1939: Smash Comics #2; Action Comics #16

Cover creator is unknown

'Espionage' (by Will Eisner): This strip delivers the goods again, as the Black Ace has to retrieve the plans to the X-Beam (a beam that can completely disable a plane in flight) from two crooks trying to sell it to Russia or Japan. Just about every spy story at this time is using fake countries, but this strip isn't afraid to name names, and it feels far more grounded because of it. This story also has a great conclusion, as the two crooks turn on each other and end up locked in a death struggle as they fall from their plane. Good stuff.

'The Lone Star Rider' (by George Brenner): This is an origin story for the Lone Star Rider, a sort of generic cowboy do-gooder. When he was a kid the Black Gang attacked his father's ranch and killed his mum and dad (in a pretty entertaining shoot-out scene). The story is as hackneyed as they get, but it's rare that the death of the hero's parents is gone into in such detail, so it felt somewhat fresh.

'Abdul the Arab' (by Vernon Henkel): Abdul is asked by the chief of police in Baghdad to investigate rumours of a rebellion against British rule. The villain is a sultan named Siddi Ben Yusuf, and this story seriously covers every possible cliche that a story with a sultan as a villain could have. But it romps along from plot point to plot point with such enthusiasm that I couldn't help but enjoy it.

'Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man' (Wayne Reid): Hugh Hazzard is called in to rescue a banker's daughter, who has been kidnapped and held for ransom by a gang of crooks. He defeats them with the help of his robot Bozo.  I was pleased to see that Bozo's deadly baby-stealing rampage from last issue hasn't been forgotten, and that there are people who oppose his reactivation. Otherwise this is an average story, with none of the weirdness I expected from a Golden Age robot serial.

Captain Cook of Scotland Yard'(by William Smith): Cook is in Paris, so naturally he goes up against an art thief who steals the Mona Lisa. The story is hampered by some very shoddy story-telling on the art side, and the thief's plan makes absolutely no sense.

'Invisible Justice' (by Art Pinajian): After the Invisible Hood starts wishing that he could really be invisible, he hears a radio report about the kidnapping of a scientist who was researching (wait for it) invisibility. He goes to rescue Professor Dorn, who douses his hood and cloak in invisibility formula. The Invisible Hood beats the crooks (by calling in the FBI, not through any heroics of his own), but he's too late to save Dorn. He should have known; any time a scientist invents something unique and groundbreaking, he is guaranteed to be dead by the end of the story. The story serves its purpose by giving the Invisible Hood his gimmick, but it does kind of paint him as a pathetic figure. When he gains invisibility and exclaims that it's the greatest moment of his life, it really makes me wonder if the guy does anything but dress up in a sleeping bag costume and fight crooks.

'Clip Chance at Cliffside' (by Scott Sheridan): Two crooks decide to fix a baseball game by burying wires that will knock out anyone who steps on them while running around the bases. Clip foils their plot purely by accident, because he doesn't run in the right place. Terrible.

'Mystery at Catalina' (by Jeffrey Spain): This story continues from last issue. In this chapter the abalone fisherman Tony is lured into becoming a movie star by a gang of crooks posing as film-makers. It's continued next month, and I have absolutely no idea where it's going.

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): Chic Carter really claimed his territory as a high-society detective last issue. In this story he's investigating the murder of a munitions magnate on a cruise ship, but it's not quite as distinctive as his previous outing. At least the murderer has a decent motive, and gets a somewhat ironic death.

'Wings Wendall of the Military Intelligence' (by Vernon Henkel): Wings Wendall has a mediocre adventure involving some foreign agents trying to get plans to a new plane. Of more interest is the last panel, which teases Wing's encounter next issue with a villain called the Hooded Terror. Master criminals wearing hoods are really the in thing in 1939.

Cover by Fred Guardineer

'Superman' (by Siegel and Shuster): It looks as though Siegel and Shuster have it in for gambling this month, with Superman utterly demolishing every gambling den in Metropolis in the space of 13 pages. He's really vicious in this story, just threatening to kill anybody who doesn't do what he says. It gets the job done, but it's certainly not the Superman I grew up with (which is by no means a bad thing). At least he resorts to a clever trick at the end, gathering all of the gambling leaders in town, asking them to draw a card, and threatening to kill whoever draws the ace of spades unless they leave town. Of course he has given everyone the ace of spades, and they all clear out leaving Metropolis free of gamblers. I usually enjoy the stories where Superman just busts up on whatever social injustice the creators have it in for that month, and this is no exception. Superman-as-bully is fun to read.

Also, I believe that this is the first time the city of Metropolis is mentioned by name.

Elsewhere in the comic is the Superman of America page, with various Superman fan club bits and bobs.  It includes a secret message from Superman in code, which I have included (and translated) below.

Superman's Secret Message:
VXSHUPHQ - RI - DPHULFD - DUH - RSSRVHG - WR - DOO - HYLO - DQG - LQMXVWLFH

Translation:
Supermen of America are opposed to all evil and injustice.

Words to live by!

'Pep Morgan' (by Gardner Fox and Fred Guardineer): Pep is asked by his rich friend Mr. Smith to act as a bodyguard for his daughter, who has been threatened by kidnappers. Pep deals with the kidnappers easily. There are early signs that one of the crooks isn't too happy with life as a kidnapper, but that goes nowhere, and leads to a pretty average story.

'The Adventures of Marco Polo' (by Sven Elven): Marco has escaped from slavery, but he is pursued relentlessly, even after fleeing into a deadly swamp. It all culminates in a last stand battle with his back to a cliff, but just as Marco is shot through the hand with an arrow, a mysterious rescuer drops some rocks on the head of his foes. This is pretty tense, and all the more enjoyable for it.

'Clip Carson, Soldier of Fortune' (by Bill Finger and Bob Kane): When last we left Clip Carson, he was being menaced by a mummy in an Egyptian tomb. His characteristic response is to unload his pistol at the thing, revealing it to be a robot. Even when the Pharaoh Cheops returns from the dead he's skeptical, and it turns out to be a British police sergeant in disguise. Clip exposes the fake, punches his way through a whole bunch of Arabs, and escapes with some of the treasure. This isn't high literature, but it lives up to the title Action Comics better than any other strip in here. Bob Kane has a knack for fun fight scenes.

'Tex Thomson' (by Bernard Baily): Tex brings down a spy ring in France that is being helped by the chief of the local secret service. It's rudimentary stuff. I was more interested in seeing how they played Gargantua T. Potts, Tex's new black sidekick. He's not as prominent as his introduction last issue led me to believe he would be, mostly being used for comic relief. He's the most interesting thing in the comic, and even has some humourous lines. It's a racist portrayal for sure, but as bad as it makes me look he's probably my favourite character in this strip. At least he has a personality.

'Treasure Hunt' (by Jack Anthony): This prose story continues from last issue, in which Hank and Tubby went looking in a cave for pirate treasure. In this chapter they encounter an escaped convict and capture him, which is about the least interesting place this story could have gone.

'Chuck Dawson' (by Homer Fleming): Chuck is ambushed by crooks and framed for the murder of a ranch owner. I want to say that it's getting ridiculous how often people try to kill or frame this guy, but to be honest I'd probably do the same thing. Perhaps these crooks have been reading the same terrible stories I have?

'Zatara the Master Magician and the Terror from Saturn' (by Fred Guardineer): Zatara encounters a strange invader from Saturn, and is transported to that planet as a typical specimen of mankind. Once there he proceeds to terrorise the king with his magical powers until he agrees to make peace with Earth. This is enjoyable as most Zatara stories are, and I was interested to see that the aliens look almost exactly like the Martian Manhunter.

June 1939: Smash Comics #1

Cover by Ed Cronin

'Espionage' (by Will Eisner): This strip has migrated over from Feature Comics. The lead character has been renamed from the Black X to the Black Ace, but otherwise this is the same spy comic. You know a story means business when on the opening page a Hitler look-a-like dictator conquers the entirety of South America and sets his sights on the USA. After a few more pages of all-out war, the Black Ace is dispatched to deliver a message to the rebels living under the dictator's yoke. The Black Ace is pursued by a female agent named Mara Hani and her goons, giving us some decent chase sequences through cities and jungles, and culminating in a shoot-out that also involves a jaguar. This is pretty gripping stuff.

'Philpot Veep, Master Detective' (by John Devlin): This is a humour strip about two detectives, Philpot and his sidekick Waldo. Waldo buys a radio, and gets ripped off by a man trying to raise money to help feed starving actors. The main plot isn't the interesting part, though. There's a panel of Philpot sitting in his couch, and right next to him is a dirty big syringe on top of a tub clearly marked "cocaine". There's no reason for it to be there, other than the obvious inference that Philpot's shooting up for recreational purposes. Yep, it's definitely a different era.

'Chic Carter, Ace Reporter' (by Vernon Henkel): Chic Carter lives up to his name, as he spends most of the strip hanging around in swanky nightclubs. In this story he investigates the murder of a nightclub owner by a guy who wants the club for himself. It's basically the same plot that I'm sick of in the cowboy strips, but here it's livened up by some well defined characters and a novel setting. Chic Carter is off to a promising start.

'Simple Simon' (by Ed Cronin): Simon is a not-particularly-bright small town guy who gets mixed up in the kidnapping of King Julius of Slobodka. This is really funny, especially the rude note that the Slobodkans send to the kidnappers in reply to their ransom demands.  Apparently this strip never appears again, but at least I got a laugh out of it.

'Wings Wendall of the Military Intelligence' (by Vernon Henkel): Well, I'd never have guessed that this comic would have a strip about a heroic aviator. When a US major is kidnapped by some evil guys and taken to their island, Wings Wendall flies to his rescue. This one is fairly generic.

'Archie O'Toole' (by Bud Thomas, who may or may not be Will Eisner): This strip has come over from Feature Comics. Archie's country has been taken over by the evil Gil O. Teen, and Archis is thrown in the dungeon. He escapes by eating an apple that turns him invisible, then uses some ventriloquism to get the bad guys fighting each other. This is mildly amusing.

'Hooded Justice' (by Art Pinajian): This strip stars the Invisible Hood, arch-enemy of crime! His real name is Kent Thurston, but we don't learn anything else about him; I assume that he's a millionaire playboy like the other masked heroes, but there's no indication one way or the other. In this story he investigates the theft of some jewels belonging to the Maharajah of Raas. The story is nothing to write home about, and the Invisible Hood has one of the worst costumes I've ever seen. It looks like he's wrapped himself up in a red sleeping bag.

'Clip Chance at Cliffside' (by George Brenner): Clip Chance is a college student who is invited by a friend to spend some time in the country. There's baseball game coming up, and Clip's buddy gets kidnapped by crooks who want to fix the match. Because this is the 1930s, Clip tracks down the crooks, beats the hell out of them and gets back in time to win the game off his own bat. I think I've discovered a new character that I can hate as much as I once hated Pep Morgan.

'Captain Cook of Scotland Yard' (by Will Arthur): It's another strip from Feature Comics. When some trains are wrecked by a mysterious "ghost train" Captain Cook is called in to investigate. It turns out that the culprit is a rival train company trying to secure a contract to carry oil, and the "ghost train" was actually a plane with a headlight. The wrap up for this was average, but at least the mystery at the beginning was original. And I have no idea what the deal was with Cook's sidekick constantly eating peanuts.

'Mystery at Catalina' (by Jeffrey Spain): This prose story is about a young abalone fisherman named Tony, who saves his old Chinese friend from a giant abalone then gets in a fight with some crooks who are new in town. This is to be continued next month. It's not bad.

'Abdul the Arab' (by Vernon Henkel): Abdul is a stereotypical Arab tribesman. He witnesses the attempted kidnapping of a British colonel's daughter and rescues her, but then gets framed by the same outlaws he just thwarted. By the end his name has been cleared and the outlaws arrested. Again this is average. I spent more time wondering why Abdul's skin is grey than I did thinking about the story.

'Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man' (by George Brenner): Holy cow, the first ever robotic protagonist! Except that in this story it's an antagonist, as this is the origin. The robot is on a rampage, robbing, killing and stealing babies, under the control of a mad scientist. Hugh Hazzard is called in to stop it, and does so by hiding inside the robot while it takes him back to its headquarters. After the mad scientist is dealt with, Hazzard saves the robot from destruction and decides to use it to help him fight crime. The main problem with this story is that we never really see the robot on its rampages. We hear a lot about it in newspaper headlines, but I would have liked to see a bit of that baby-snatching first hand. Still, I like the set-up, and I'm interested to see where this goes.