How to Outsmart a Pirate

cover art by Fred Ray

It is a truism that you can never have too many stories about either pirates or dinosaurs. Star Spangled War Stories would eventually do their share in providing dinosaur stories with the War That Time Forgot series--the greatest cultural achievement in the history of mankind.

They also helped with pirates. The 10th issue (June 1953) included a story by an unknown writer and artist Fred Ray titled "They Fought Under the Black Flag."

Set in 1803 during our war against the Barbary pirates, the story begins aboard the U.S. Navy ship Concord, where a crew of marines (led by Lt. O'Hara) are disguising themselves as pirates. Their mission is to sneak into a Tripolitan harbor controlled by the brutal pirate Yusseff Karamelli, who is holding American sailors prisoner.

But the plan SEEMS to go awry when Yusseff notices that "pirates" on the ship are wearing the leggings of American marines. He therefore plans to lure them into the harbor and blow them out of the water at close range.

Well, gee whiz. I was impressed with Lt. O'Hara's plan and strong leadership. How could he make such a rookie mistake? 

But fool that I am--I didn't trust the good Lieutenant enough. When the pirates open fire on the ship, the resulting explosion is big enough to wreck the port defences. And then Lt. O'Hara and his men, having sneaked off the boat and left painted dummies behind to fool Yussef, attack what's left of the fort. After a brief, sharp fight, the pirates are defeated and the hostages freed.

It's a fun, well-constructed story with strong artwork. And it sets the plot twist up nicely. That plot twist was meant to fool the children who were the regular readers of comic books in 1953. But I'll confess that for a few panels, it had me fooled as well. But I'm an emotional 8-year-old anyways, so perhaps that's to be expected.

Next week, we'll visit the realm of fairy tales.