Jimmy Plays Hockey---OR DOES HE?

 

cover art by Curt Swan

Today, we'll begin a story-by-story look at Superman Family #182 (March-April 1977), This will be an every-other-week feature, mixed in with other comic book reviews. I have no delusion that my blog will ever have more than a small readership, but I appreciate the readers I do have (and, hey, feel free to leave comments a little more often) and I want to make sure my comic book reviews cover a variety of genres and characters. If one of you doesn't care for the Man from Krypton, don't worry. We'll visit someone else next week.

Anyway, Superman Family was a continuation of the Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane books, both of which folded into Superman Family in 1974, with that book continuing with the numbering from Jimmy's book. Issue #182 features two tales starring Jimmy, along with individual stories about Lois, Krypto, Supergirl and Superbaby. There's also a tale from ancient Krypton. It's typical of the Family book--giving us a nice variaty of yarns set within the vibrant Superman mythology.

The first story we come to, though, is a little weak. "Death on Ice," written by Murray Boltinoff (using the name Bill Dennehy and drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger, begins with a teaser splash page that shows us Jimmy playing goalie in a hockey game. But this teaser proves to be a DARN, DIRTY LIE! 

I can never trust anything ever again!

Schaffenberger's art on a Superman story is always fun to look at, but the story has a few flaws in the script. After the teaser page, it begins with Jimmy covering a hockey game for GBS, with Clark as his guest in the press room. After the game, Jimmy mentions an article he had just read that claimed that we are dreaming while we are awake and that our dreams are the real world. He then goes to the home team locker room to interview the goalie. 

But the player now refuses to talk to the young reporter. What's more, Jimmy sees a couple of known thugs walking away. These thugs, in turn, recognize Jimmy as a reporter and decide to kill him.

They try to bag Jimmy in the parking lot and during the ensuing chase, Jimmy sees Clark changing into Superman. This is why the earlier dialogue about the dreaming-while-we-are-awake article was there earlier. Jimmy, influenced by that article, will eventually decide that this was a daydream and Clark is not actually Superman. It's a weak subplot that could have been left out entirely without affecting the rest of the story.

Superman saves Jimmy by flying off with the thugs, weaving their car through Metropolis traffic until they get arrested for reckless driving. The next night, Jimmy confronts the goalie again after finding 25 grand in cash inside the guy's locker.

The goalie claims he turned down a bribe to throw the game, but the thugs had planted the cash in his locker anyway to get him to change his mind. He's afraid Jimmy will go to press with a story that makes him look guilty. Jimmy is afraid the player is attacking him and accidentally knocks him out.

The thugs, who apparently made bail, show up again, so Jimmy puts on a hockey uniform as a disguise. This was the point of the teaser--to make us think that Jimmy would end up playing in the upcoming game. But when the game begins, the guy wearing the goalie's mask makes one spectacular save after another and it's not hard to immediately guess that this is Superman. When the other team, who are in on the bribe and expecting the goalie to throw the game, attempt to gang up on him, the ice beneath their skates mysteriously melts. The thugs and the dishonest players all end up in jail.

This conclusion, while fun if taken on its own, is another weakpoint in the story. The best Jimmy and Lois tales involved them having adventures when Superman wasn't necessarily around to help them out. They are meant to showcase the fact that the other members of the Daily Planet (or, by this time, Galaxy Broadcasting) staff were great reporters in their own right. In "Death on Ice," though, Jimmy has to step aside and let Superman save the day.

Oh, well, Schaffenberger's art is still great and when we return to this issue, we'll look at a Superbaby story that is as fun as it is absurd. 

That's in two weeks. Next week, we'll jump to the Marvel Universe to find out whether a tough-as-nails Old West lawman can hold his own against the King of Vampires.

Cover Cavalcade

 

A superb Walter Baumhofer cover from 1936. 

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Friday's Favorite OTR

 Tales of the Texas Rangers: "Dead or Alive" 9/9/50

The real-life industrial explosion in Texas City (occuring in 1947) is the backdrop for a story about a wanted criminal who fakes his death to get the Rangers off his trail.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Getting Killed Twice by Chuck Connors.

 

Chuck Connors played the Rifleman. And you don't mess with the Rifleman if you want to live to see the sunrise tomorrow. Vic Morrow played Sgt. Saunders on Combat and, if you were a German soldier and wanted to see the sunrise tomorrow, you prayed on your knees not to run into Saunders.

A few years before becoming Sgt. Saunders, Vic Morrow twice guest-starred on The Rifleman. In both cases, he played an outlaw who had the same toughness that Saunders would have, but without Saunders' strong moral center. In both cases, my mind connects the characters he's playing with black sheep ancestors of Saunders. Toughness runs in the family, but not all of them recognize right from wrong. It's a silly and unnecessary connection, but I'm going to go with it anyways.

[By the way, I found it impossible to write about thess episodes without including spoilers. The Rifleman streams for free on IMDB TV, so you might want to pause here and watch the two episodes before reading on.]

In the first season episode "The Angry Gun" (12/23/58--written by Samuel A. Peeples), Morrow is Johnny Cotton. Lucas McCain and his son Mark are heading back to North Fork after selling some cattle. Cotton is a prisoner being transported on the same stagecoach. When two friends of Cotton stop the stagecoach and free him, he steals both the money and McCain's unique rifle.

So McCain pursues. Cotton, we find out, is utterly rotton and perfectly happy to see the two men who rescued him die so that he doesn't have to divide the loot. Eventually, McCain catches up with Cotton, only to get pinned down by gunfire from his own rifle. Cotton knows he's out of range of the six-gun McCain has acquired off the corpse of one of the other outlaws, so he takes the time to gloat before taking that final shot. And that gives McCain time enough to improvise a way to get Cotton first. I have no idea if McCain's plan makes real-life sense, but it sure looks cool.

In "Letter of the Law" (Season 2, 12/1/59--written by George W. and Judy George), Morrow plays Brett Stocker, a wanted killer who is identified and captured by North Fork's marshal because he carries easily-identifiable custom-made pistols. Marshal Micah Torrance has to take Stocker to federal authorities in another city, so he deputizes McCain to watch the town. But Stocker's gang kidnaps Micah, telling McCain they'll kill the marshal unless Stocker is released.

The episode is exceptionally good on several levels. First, it deals effectively with the morality of the situation. McCain knows he is sworn to uphold the law and that the letter of the law is important. But if he does this, Micah will die. Of course, McCain knows he's likely to be killed anyways even if Stocker is released, but shouldn't that chance be taken?  McCain's conversation about this with the town banker is intelligent, fits into the episode contextually without being preachy and adds to the overall tension.

Also, there's a mini-drama involving the captured Micah and a young outlaw who is shying away from the idea of actually committing murder. Paul Fix, the excellent character actor who played Micah, really shines in this scene, building a sincere rapport with the young man. This ends with a mini-tragedy within the story, as the outlaw ends up giving his life to allow Micah to escape.

And, finally, those hand-crafted guns of Stocker's work as an effective "Chekov's Gun," as McCain is able to use them to lure Stocker back into a trap after letting him go. Overall, "Letter of the Law" is one of The Rifleman's strongest episodes. 

Spies and Gladiators

 

Mr. Steed and Mrs. Peel were Britian's top spies, but in the first of two stories in their only Gold Key comic book appearance, they stumbled into a case purely by accident. 

Because Marvel already had a popular comic book titled The Avengers, Gold Key titled their book John Steed Emma Peel. It was cover dated November 1968 and called John Steed Emma Peel. Perhaps the title change to something awkward (a simplier Steed and Peel might have been better) was one of the reasons it didn't catch on. But, regardless, the stories in this issue were a lot of fun.

The issue leads off with "The Roman Invasion." (Writer and artist both unidentified.) As I mentioned above, Steed and Peel stumble upon this case. They are on a picnic when they spot two men dressed as ancient Roman soldiers fighting each other. One of them is knocked unconscious, forcing our heroes to intervene to save that man's life. The fight scene that follows, by the way, is entertaining and allows both Steed and Peel to show off their fighting skills.

They load both Roman soldiers into their car and drive to a hospital, but one of them wakes up and makes a break for it. He's soon calling in a warning to his mysterious bosses.

We gradually figure out what's going on along with Steed and Mrs. Peel, but here's a brief summary. A movie with a Roman Empire setting is being filmed in England. A foriegn power (East Germany, perhaps, to judge from the Germanic names used by the bad guys) is smuggling in agents by having them pose as extras in the film. A British agent found out about it--he's they guy who is still in the hospital at this point.

While Mrs. Peel remains at the hospital to question the agent, Steed checks out the film set, where he's soon roped into becoming another extra. Because he forgets to take off his bowler at first, the bad guys soon spot him. While an arena fight is being filmed, Steed ends up in an actual to-the-death fight with one of those bad guys.

Fortunately, Mrs. Peel has questioned the now-conscious agent and finds out what's going on. By stealing a scooter and then stealing a chariot, she arrives in the nick of time to save Steed. The enemy agents are rounded up and the day is saved. Steed and Peel continue their picnic with the chariot rather than their car.

The art work and the fight scenes really are fun, with the above image of Mrs. Peel charging in on a chariot being a highlight of the tale. "The Roman Invasion" does a pretty good job of catching both the humor and the sense of adventure inherent in the TV series.

That's it for now. Next week, we'll begin a journey through an issue of Superman Family. In the first story, Jimmy Olson plays hockey and dodges killers.

Cover Cavalcade

 

A great cover from 1954.

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Friday's Favorite OTR

 The Shadow: "Night Without End" 10/16/38

New York City has been plunged into pitch darkness for three days without any daylight. Accidents and panics have killed thousands. Can the Shadow put a stop to this madness before more people die?

Click HERE to listen or download. 

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Sky-Pilot Cowboy

 

cover art by Tom Lovell

Sky-Pilot Cowboy, by Walt Coburn, was first serialized as The Owlhoot Sky-Pilot in Ace High Western Magazine from December 1936 to May 1937. It appeared as a novel later in 1937.

I was curious as to whether Coburn revised the novel at all before it came out as a book. I couldn't find any information about that, nor could I find those particular issues of Ace High posted online. Coburn, referred to by one editor as "The King of the Pulps," was producing 600,000 words of new fiction a year at that time. So I doubt he had time to do any revisions. On the other hand, a guy who can write quality stuff that quickly might have somehow found the time to revise something. In the end, my completely blind guess is that the novel is the same (or at least not significantly different) than the original pulp serial.

In either case, it's a really fun novel. It begins with the murder of an itinerant preacher named Preacher Sam Magrath. Sam's son Galt is a teenager at the time. A cowboy named Hipshot brings Galt the news and also gives the boy Sam's now-bloodstained Bible. 

A few years pass. Galt is now a young man, traveling with Hipshot and working as a cowboy in various places. And, though Galt has no intention of following in his father's footsteps, he is asked to read from that Bible at funerals and soon gets the nickname Gospel Galt.

Eventually, life begins to get dangerous for Gospel Galt.

Plot twists and revelations of character motivations begin to fly as fast as bullets, so I don't want to go into too much detail and end up spoiling some of the surprises that are seeded throughout the story. In general, Galt and Hipshot get involved in battling a gang of rustlers who also may have been involved in the murder of Preacher Sam. The two get framed for murder, though Galt's reputation for courage and hard-work means that men like Dodge City sheriff Bat Masterson remain on his side. A mysterious woman known as the Rose of Tascosa, rumored to be an outlaw, also gets mixed up in the events. 

The man Galt and Hipshot are accused of murdering, by the way, is the father of the lady with whom Galt has fallen in love, which further complicates the plot.

As the novel comes to a conclusion, Galt and his two best friends are racing to confront the villains. But even this is further complicated by the fact that his two best friends also mean to kill each other.

There's a lot of stuff happening and a lot of characters to keep track of, But Coburn's plain and engrossing prose keeps it all straight. The action scenes, particularly the final shootout, are excellent. The characters, both good guys and bad guys, are given strong, believable personalities. 

There are a few flaws. The main villain launches into a soliloquy just before the last shoot-out that ties up some loose plot threads, but the moment comes across as very contrived. A black woman is largely presented as a racial steroetype--though, to be fair, even within the confines of that stereotype she is competent, brave and more than willing to use her shotgun to defend those she loves. 

But the pros more than outweigh those few cons. Sky-Pilot Cowboy is an entertaining Western filled with themes of redemption and forgiveness. And, also, a few really cool gunfights. 

Using Archeology To Defeat Villains

 

cover art by Murphy Anderson

By golly, archeology is dangerous. Anyone who has seen an Indiana Jones movie or played Tomb Raider knows that. It's gotta be the most dangerous profession in the history of the world. 

In Hawkman #8 (June-July 1965), for instance, we see a prime example of the dangers of the profession. World renowned explorer Paul Colby just wants to show off his new find--a large mask discovered on Mount Olympus--to museum curator Carter Hall. But then the mask, supposedly made by Vulcan himself, takes on a life of its own. It attaches itself to Colby, possesses him and soon has him flying off to Greece to find something else.

Hawkman and Hawkgirl quickly pursue. They catch up to Mask-Colby at Mount Olympus, where he displays various powers and is able to keep the Hawks at bay.

The battle uncovers a large statue. The Mask releases its hold on Colby and attaches itself to this statue, which then comes to life and starts rampaging through a nearby town.

It turns out that the Vulcan who made the mask and the statue was a highly-skilled blacksmith, but not the actual god. He somehow gave sentience to his creation, but was later able to subdue it. In present time, the Hawks are unable to either defeat the statue or figure out a way to get the mask off. But Vulcan did just that thousands of years ago. How did he manage it?

So far, Gardner Fox's script and Murphy Anderson's art have combined to give us a fast-paced and fun story. Here, though, is where we get the real highpoint. Unable to beat the statue on their own, the Hawks and the now-back-to-normal Colby examine the cave in which the mask was found. It's Hawkgirl who makes the required deductive leap--figuring out that the case in which the mask was kept must somehow nullify its powers. 

I really like this. The story does not lose track of the fact that its heroes are scientists as well as superheroes and they use their knowledge and intelligence to figure out a way to stop the rampaging statue.

They are indeed able to get the mask back into its case and thus save the day. I guess the story has a small plot hole here. How did Vulcan--a normal human being--get the mask into that case during the statue's original rampage? He presumably didn't have wings with which to reach the mask. Unless he borrowed wings some from Daedalus, perhaps? Gee whiz, now I want to know more!

Actually, it's too much of a stretch to call that a plot hole and what we have is an entertaining tale in which the heroes have to be smart as well as powerful to save the day.

Next week, we'll visit with the Avengers. In this case, I mean Mr. Steed and Mrs. Peel. Not Cap, Iron Man and Thor.

Cover Cavalcade

 

From 1949.  Yet another example of Date Night going badly.

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Friday's Favorite OTR

 Escape: "The Thirteenth Truck"  8/16/53

Allied commandos in North Africa have a bold plan for sneaking into a German airbase with the intent of sabotaging it. 

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Sherlock Holmes' character growth

 

I re-read A Study in Scartlet recently and have just finished re-reading The Sign of the Four. These are the first two Sherlock Holmes novels, published in 1887 and 1890 respectively.  But Scarlet is set in 1881 and many Holmes timelines (which are a source of a lot of speculation among Holmesians) place Sign of the Four in 1888.

It's interesting to see the differences in Holmes' character between these two novels. In both, he's still a brilliant detective who needs the mental challenge of a difficult case to make him feel truly alive. In Sign, we even see that he sometimes uses cocaine to deal with boredom when he doesn't have something else to occupy his lightning-fast mind.

But there are differences. In the first novel, he's adament about not learning or remembering ANYTHING that doesn't directly relate to his work. If a fact doesn't relate to his chosen profession, he doesn't want to clutter up his mind with it. 

But by the time we get to The Sign of the Four, Holmes is able to host a dinner in which he discusses a variety of non-detective related subjects knowledgably. I wonder if perhaps he also came to realize that any piece of knowledge, no matter what the subject, might help him one day solve a case. Or perhaps Watson is having a positive effect on him, turning him in some ways into being a more affable human being.

Here are exerpts from the books that show off this difference in characterization:

FROM A STUDY IN SCARLET: 

His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest way who he might be and what he had done. My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the Solar System. That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to be to me such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it.

“You appear to be astonished,” he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. “Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it.”

“To forget it!”

“You see,” he explained, “I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.”

“But the Solar System!” I protested.

“What the deuce is it to me?” he interrupted impatiently; “you say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work.”

From THE SIGN OF THE FOUR:

Our meal was a merry one. Holmes could talk exceedingly well when he chose, and that night he did choose. He appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation. I have never known him so brilliant. He spoke on a quick succession of subjects,—on miracle-plays, on mediæval pottery, on Stradivarius violins, on the Buddhism of Ceylon, and on the war-ships of the future,—handling each as though he had made a special study of it.

Gee whiz, Holmes, what do miracle-plays and medieval pottery have to do with detective work? In fact, by the time we get to the 1908 story "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans," Holmes is writing a monograph on medieval music. 

This change in direction for the character is, I think, important. It doesn't seem out-of-character or inconsistant. It simply shows the Great Detective growing a little as a person. Not too much growth, mind you. He's still the Great Detective and will never be --SHOULD never be--a normal human being. But the idea that his friendship with Watson had some effect on him is satisfying. I prefer to think this is the case. After all, we learn in the 1904 short story "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter" that Watson eventually weaned Holmes off drugs. Who knows, maybe encouraging Holmes to occupy his mind with other interests between cases is part of how the good doctor got him to stop shooting up.

Don't Mess with Moon Maiden

 

cover artist unknown

A few months ago, I reviewed another issue of Ben Bowie and His Mountain Men, arguing (as I have in the past) that it is one of the most consistently entertaining and well-written comic books ever published.

If one book might give Ben Bowie a run for his money in this area, it would be Dell's Indian Chief. If you read through multiple issues of that book, you will also find great art giving life to exciting, well-told stories.

Today, we'll look at a story from Indian Chief #3 (July-Sept. 1951). "White Wolf Trails the Pack" has a script by Gaylord De Bois and art by Alberto Giolitti, two pros who knew how to bring graphic storytelling to life. 

The 16-page tale is not formally divided into two parts, but it is built on two consecutive events that parallel each both overtly and thematically. We begin with White Wolf, who has been trapping small animals, heading out to hunt a dear. His wife Moon Maiden stays near their home to do some fishing.

As he leaves, there is a single panel that shows that the two people love each other and have a strong relationship. I enjoy the way this is done so effectively and succinctly without slowing down the pacing of what is, after all, an adventure story.

White Wolf begins trailing a wolf pack as the pack tracks a deer. He manages to bag the deer before the wolves can get to it, then has to fight the wolves to defend his kill. I'm showing just one panel from this sequence, but the battle lasts for several pages and Giolitti's art makes it look magnificent. White Wolf ends up not just with meat, but with a half-dozen wolf pelts. 

In the meantime, though, men from another tribe loot White Wolf's home of its furs, then find Moon Maiden. She tries to run and puts up a fight when they catch her, but she's eventually captured.

Here's where the next part of the story nicely parallels the first part. Just as White Wolf had trailed a wolf pack, now he has to trail a pack of human wolves and also fight them single-handed. He catches up with them that night, takes out a sentry, and attacks. One again, I'm showing you just one panel of an extended, wonderfully illustrated action sequence.

As you can see from the above panel, Moon Maiden takes a proactive part in the fight, so White Wolf isn't completely on his own as he was in the previous battle. The bad guys are killed, captured or run off. White Wolf and Moon Maiden get their stuff back and force the captured Abeneki to haul it all back to their home. 

Many stories in Indian Chief stress the strength of a loving family or a community that works together. I wrote a review of a story from the book's tenth issue a few years ago that also involved a husband going all out to rescue his wife. (That story, by the way, was unique in its own way and not a re-write of "White Wolf Trails the Pack.") So, in the end, if a married couple appears in Indian Chief, you just want to leave them alone. 

You can read today's story online HERE.

Next week, we'll visit with Hawkman and we'll learn that it's a bad idea to actually put on an ancient mask found on Mount Olympus.

Cover Cavalcade

 

This original retcon of Falcon's origin (from 1975) was awful, though I believe it has been largely ignored or re-retconned away since then. But the cover (by Gil Kane, with John Romita doing alterations) is a lot of fun.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 The Falcon: "Puzzling Pinup" 11/9/50

A murder-suicide leads to a blackmail plot which in turn leads to at least one more murder.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Return of the Whistler

 

Read/Watch 'em In Order #123

The last movie in the Whistler series (1948's The Return of the Whistler) is the only one not to star Richard Dix, who was too ill to continue working and was only a year away from his untimely death. That's too bad, because he had done an excellent job in the series, portraying good guys, bad guys and in-between guys with equal skill.

Michael Duane,who had played a supporting role in Secret of the Whistler and was a B-Movie regular throughout the 1940s, takes the lead in Return and does a fine job. And, as much as I miss Dix in the series while watching this one, a younger actor does fit the part better. 

Duane is Ted Nichols, who is about to marry a pretty French girl named Alice. Alice is a widow, by the way, who married an American pilot during the war and, when he was killed in action, came to the U.S. to meet his in-laws. 

Or IS she a widow? She disappears from a hotel room the night before the wedding and the clerk says she left on her own accord. Then Ted learns that her husband is apparently alive and that Alice is Cookoo for Coco-Puffs, suffering from selective amnesia and delusions.

At first, Ted accepts this. But soon after, he finds a clue that tells him Alice's supposed husband was lying to him regarding at least one important fact. Ted finds himself tasked with busting Alice out of a Sanitarium to find out what is really going on.

Duane and Lenore Aubert (Alice) are likeable protagonists and the plot is quite good. We see most of the events of the film from Ted's point of view, following along with him as the identities and apparent motivations of various characters keep shifting. Is Alice crazy? Are her in-laws who they claim to be? What's the point behind a complicated plot to seperate Ted from Alice before they get married? 

I especially enjoy the inclusion of a private eye played by Richard Lane, who's own shifting motivations for helping Ted, then working against him, then helping him again make him a key part of the story. And Lane, who played Inspector Farrady in the Boston Blackie movies, is one of the character actors I always enjoy seeing in a movie--a guy who feels like an old friend whenever he pops up in something I'm watching. 

Of course, watching this movie has made me feel like my own honeymoon was lacking. I didn't have to rescue Angela from a Sanitarium ONCE during the entire trip. Oh, well. 

That's if for the Whistler movies. Watching them all has made me wish there had been more of them--or simply that Hollywood still churned out B-Movies and double features today. Nostalgia can be a misleading feeling, because its certain that many things were not better in the past. But I think that it can be argued that in many ways, storytelling in popular culture was stronger in the 1930s, 40s and 50s than it is today. 

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Saving Churchill

 

cover art by Jack Kirby

Invaders #4 (January 1976) picks up right where the previous issue left off. In fact, a few pages in, after Captain America and the two Torches commandeer a plane, we get a handy map that recaps the situation.

I love maps.

Last issue, we learned that a traitorous Atlantian, called U-Man, had been given super powers by the Nazis and was planning on ambushing Winston Churchill. Namor and Bucky were heading to the ambush location in Namor's plane. The other three Invaders, without time to wait for red tape, steal a dive bomber and head out in the same direction.

In the meantime, the U-Man arrives along with a few minions near the battleship H.M.S. Duke, which is awaiting Churchill's arrival. He captures a patrol boat, aboard which is Betty Dean, Namor's one friend among the surface people. 

U-Man turns out to be something less than a tactical genius. He recognizes her value as a hostage, but makes her a prisoner in the cabin of the boat right next to a working radio. She alerts the Allies to what is going on just as Churchill's plane is landing. That plane immediately begins to take off again.

U-Man manages to board the plane before it can gain altitude. Namor arrives and the two Atlantians begin to duke it out atop that plane. Remember that there's also a battleship nearby. There's some Atlantian minions handy and there's no reason to think the Nazis don't have one or more U-boats nearby. The rest of the Invaders are just arriving. We are all set for an epic fight scene in an unusual setting with enough super-humans, humans and weaponry to make it interesting. Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins can really go to town here.

But this doesn't happen. I am a big fan of Roy Thomas' writing, but someone makes a terrible editorial decision here to use this issue to plug another comic book. Skull the Slayer, about a group of people thrown into the distant past by a time warp in the Bermuda Triangle, had debuted a few months earlier. 

And the U-Man vs. Invaders fight is also set in the Bermuda Triangle, where it is interrupted by a time warp. The Torches save Churchill's plane from being sucked into the past and the good guys and bad guys end up seperated. Just like that, the fight is over. What was potentially one of the greatest comic book fights ever is nipped in the bud by the decision to cross-market a completely unrelated title. 

I don't know whose idea this was. Roy Thomas edited The Invaders as well as wrote it. Len Wein had edited the first issue of Skull the Slayer, but by this time Marv Wolfman had taken over. And (if I've got my editor-in-chief timeline correct), Wolfman had recently taken over from Wein as editor-in-chief at Marvel, who had in turn taken over that job from Thomas a year or two earlier. 

But whomever it was decided to stop a fight that could have easily been continued into the next issue and would have unquestionably been wonderful--well, I'm still mad at that guy 45 years later. I'm not knocking Skull the Slayer--that book had a disjointed story arc because it kept switching writers, but it was still fun. But a random shout-out to it in a World War II-themed book made no sense at all and gave the Invaders story a weak ending. 

Next week, we'll jump back to the Old West to look at another story from Dell's Indian Chief. 

Cover Cavalcade

 

The movie tie-in edition of one of Richard Stark's (Donald Westlake) excellent Parker novels. This edition was published in 1968.