Friday's Favorite OTR

 Archie Andrews: "Helping Dad at the Office" 1953

With his secretary out sick, Mr. Andrews has to leave Archie and Jughead to run the office while he picks up a client at the train station. What could possibly go wrong?

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Thanksgiving Week Break

 

I've noticed readership always drops over Thanksgiving week and Christmas week, so I've decided to start skipping the holidays. No new content this week. Have a happy holiday regardless. 

Cover Cavalcade

 NOVEMBER IS CHARLTON WAR COMICS MONTH!!!

From 1958, this cover is tentatively credited to Dick Giordano.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Whistler: "Bright Future" 8/18/48

A man moves into a new apartment and finds $35,000 hidden behind a picture. His future looks bright--but is it?

Click HERE to download or listen. 

The Robot Rocket

 

Read/Watch 'em In Order #174

We--sadly--come to the last Tom Corbett novel, published in 1956, about six months after the TV show had been cancelled.

It is, in fact, based on one of those final episodes, though the ebook edition I own does not include a credit. "The Space Projectile," written by Richard Jessup, was broadcast on April 30, 1955. Jessup, by the way, had a successful career as a novelist and screenwriter, with his best known book being The Cincinnati Kid (1963).

Here's the episode:

The novel takes the idea of recovering a robot rocket that is about to crash into a star and adds a couple of villains out to hijack that rocket to the mix. 

Also, during the last season of the TV show, Jan Merlin (who played Roger Manning) left the show. He was replaced by Jack Grimes, who played Cadet TJ Thistle. I don't know if the TV show gave a reason for Roger's departure, since, as far as I can tell, the early episodes from the final season don't exist. Or at least I can't find them streaming or on YouTube. In the early days of episodic TV, cast changes were often made without explanation.

But the novel dives head first into this. We find out that Roger has been reassigned to the Mars Academy, while a Mars Academy student (Thistle) has been transfered to Earth and takes over for Roger aboard the Polaris.

This is a big deal for Tom Corbett and Astro. Roger's abrasive personality brought him into conflict with the other two in the first novel, but since then they've all become best friends and trusted each other completely. They hate the idea of Roger leaving and Astro at least is resentful of his replacement.

But soon, they are on a mission to recover a possibly malfunctioning robot rocket, orbiting a world near the star Sirius. A cadet trained in astrophysics--Alex Monroe--joins them for the mission. Monroe is openly disdainful of the other cadets, allowing Astro and Thistle to bond over their dislike of the guy.

More serious problems soon arise, though. Aside from the discovery that the robot rocket is hurling towards Sirius, there are a couple of crooks following the Polaris. They plan to hijack the information contained in the rocket and use it to lay claim to a planet rich in uranium. This, of course, means they can't leave any witnesses behind.

Several nifty action sequences follow one after another. Astro and TJ crash in a jet boat on a dangerously radioactive planet where the atmosphere is thick with methane and visibility is virtually nil. 

This is followed by an attempt to capture the off-course robot rocket before it crashes into the star. This is a particularly good sequence, with each cadet (including Monroe, who is finally proving his worth) to use their respective skills to both reach the rocket in time and recover the information it contains. Skill, training, intelligence and determination are emphasized perhaps more effectively than in any other novel in the series except the first.

At one point, Monroe asks permission to do something very dangerous to ensure success. Tom tells him no, which sets off the normally easy-going Astro, who gives an absolutely epic speech on the responsibilites of leadership:

“I know my job,” Astro continued, “Roger and T.J. know their jobs, but I’m beginning to doubt if you know yours! Being in command of a ship and of men, being responsible for the lives of your passengers and crew is more than just turning a few switches and giving orders on the control deck. We’ve got automatic gear that can handle a ship better than you or anyone else. They put a commander on a ship to make decisions! Big decisions like the one you’re avoiding right now. Have you ever thought about what it’s going to be like when you get that black-and-gold officer’s uniform? You think it’s all going to be a bed of roses? You’re going to have to tell me to do things that are dangerous and that you want to do yourself, but you don’t dare, because if you’re lost, then the crew is without a skipper and the ship is lost. Of course it’s dangerous for Monroe to go out in the rocket— of course you want to go yourself and would go, if I wasn’t big enough to stop you. So what do you do? Instead of facing the decision of sending a man— possibly to his death— so he can find out the depth of his courage, you back out! You haven’t got the guts to be a commander, Corbett!” roared the big cadet. “You haven’t the courage to be able to tell a guy ‘Go out there and get yourself killed, because I’m the commander and I’m telling you to!’”

I love that this is included in a novel aimed at kids. It doesn't hold back at all in its lesson about leadership and trusts the kids reading the novel to get it.

In the meantime, the bad guys have hijacked the Polaris and captured Captain Strong. They plan to lure Tom and the other cadets into a trap, but Tom deduces what's going on and lays a countertrap...

It's a good novel and a solid ending to the book series. It would have been nice if we could have seen Tom, Astro, Roger and TJ eventually graduate, but with the TV series gone, it was inevitable that the books would come to an end.

Here, by the way, is the Tom Corbet fan page, which has good information about the TV show and its various iterations on radio, comic books and novels. 

Avengers Annual #1 (Part 5)

 

cover art by John Buscema

(with alterations by John Romita)

We come to the last chapter of Avengers Annual #1 (1967), written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Don Heck.

While all the other Avengers have spent the previous chapters fighting for their lives, Captain America and Quicksilver have been sitting on their duffs back at the Mansion.

Actually, that's not quite fair. What they've been doing is tracking Mandarin's transmissions sent to the various super villains. They've finally discovered the source of those transmissions, so they borrow a rocket from NASA and blast off into space.

Because the Mandarin's secret lair is a giant space station. The villain allows Cap and Pietro to board, because he wants the satisfaction of killing them personally. It's a tactically silly thing to do--he could have easily blown up their rocket while it approached the station. But this sort of ego-based decision fits a lot of master villains, including Mandarin. What could have seemed like a cheat by the writer comes across as an acceptable way to progress the story. 

Mandarin and the two heroes go at it for a round or two in another nicely choreographed fight scene--with everyone using tactics that make sense in a world ruled by Comic Book Logic. Then the other Avengers show up. Cap had, of course, sent them the coordinates.

But it's at this point that Mandarin unveils his master plan, showing off the big diamond we saw back in Chapter 1. It emits a hate ray. Mandarin wanted at least one of his villain teams to bring some diamonds back to him, which would have allowed him to amplify the power of the hate ray and blanket the Earth with it. All three of his teams failed, but the hate ray will still work at short range. The Mandarin pulls a lever and the Avengers are soon pounding away at each other. This allows Don Heck to give us a magnificent splash page.

 

In an ironic twist, the Mandarin doesn't stop to consider that one of the hate-filled Avengers might attack HIM. He soon finds himself bowled over by Wasp's sting, knocking the hate-ray lever to the OFF position as he falls. Before he can recover, Quicksilver wrecks his equipment at super speed. This causes some violent explosions, which tear a hole in the space station wall. The Mandarin is hurled into space, probably dead but one never knows about villains. 

In another nice ironic twist, the Avengers plug up the hole with the giant hate-diamond. They then rig the station to explode, crowd into the space craft that brought Cap and Pietro to the station, and head on home. 

It's a great climax to a great story. Don Heck gives us some superb fight scenes and the script is solid--with the action following Comic Book Logic in a way that allows us to follow the story as it jumped from one location around the world and off the world. The Mandarin's plan makes perfect sense within the confines of a Comic Book Universe and the characters are all given appropriate personalities and dialogue. This was fun from start to finish.

Next week, we'll take a break for Thanksgiving. (Readership always drops during the big holidays, so I've planned to begin skipping Thanksgiving week and Christmas week from now on.) In two weeks, we'll jump to the DC universe and look at a Justice League annual. 

Cover Cavalcade

 NOVEMBER IS CHARLTON WAR COMICS MONTH!

This 1961 cover is tentatively credited to Jack Abel.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Suspense: "Cricket" 3/15/45

A dog can be heard moving around a house and occasionally howling. The odd thing about this is that the dog is dead.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

The Advantages of Having a Brain Tumor

 

The Thrilling Detective website refers to the short story "Prognosis Negative," by Floyd Mahannah, as a "quick mean blast of nastiness." That's an accurate description of the tale. And that's a good thing.

The story appeared in the March 1953 issue of Manhunt, the source for some of the best hard-boiled short fiction ever written. It's narrated by a private detective named Jim Makin. Makin is sad, because he's just found out he has an inoperable brain tumor. 

He's also working on a tough case, looking for the husband of a Mexican woman who is, in turn, being looked for by a local mobster. She worked as a housemaid for the guy, but when she found out that some of her expected duties were rather... intimate, she grabbed sixty grand in cash and ran for it.

A thug shows up in Makin's office, looking for the woman. Under normal circumstances, Makin would have been terrified and tried to talk his way out of trouble. But now... well, his prognosis is negative. He has nothing to lose.

That leads to a beaten, unconscious thug. Later, when the woman is found by the mobster, that negative prognosis leads to Makin charging into the mobster's home. That plan doesn't work out well, but as long as Makin has nothing to lose, he might still find a way to dig himself and the woman out of trouble. If he gets killed, he only loses a year at the most. He might as well go for broke--even if there are four armed bad guys and he no longer has a gun...

It's a brutal story, but that's a strength. Hard-boiled detective tales normally take place in a brutal, cynical universe, often reflecting the worst aspects of human nature. But the good guys in this universe fight back--heroism exists side-by-side with corruption. Makin fights back because he no longer has a reason not to fight--but he does fight. 

You can read the story online HERE. 

Avengers Annual #1 (Part 4)

 

cover art by John Buscema

(with alterations by John Romita)

Avengers Annual #1 (1967), written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Don Heck, was epic. It's even--on its own--made me a fan of Heck's art. I had always thought of his work as good, but a little stiff. But he was simply killing it here. I need to go back and look at some of his other work--it's possible I've been way too harsh on him.

In this chapter, Thor and Hawkeye confront the Living Laser in an unnamed African city. No country is given either--the city seems to have a mostly white population, which might have still be possible in a few places in 1967. This is another fun chapter, but if I were going to criticize it, it would be to point out that the setting is pretty generic. It is indeed supposed to be Africa, which gives room for a lot of different cultural styles. But, from what we see, this story could have been set in downtown Trenton without making a difference to the plot. It's a minor point, though, since the enusing fight seen is pretty darn cool. 

When L.L. is confronted by the two Avengers, the villain manages to dodge Thor's hammer. In turn, Thor blocks return laser fire. Hawkeye then claims first crack at the bad guy. 

It actually makes sense that Thor's sense of honor would cause him to hold back after Hawkeye states he wants to go first. It's an excuse to give us some Hawkeye vs. Living Laser scenes without Thor (whose raw power would bring the fight to an end quickly) taking part. But its a reasonable excuse that fits the characters.

And the Hawkeye/Living Laser fight is pretty cool, with both of them using intelligence tactics and counterstrikes against one another. In the end, though, the archer manages to pin the bad guy to a wall.

But it's at this point that the Mandarin's big, giant android Ultimo bursts out of a pit and changes the odds. He manages to knock Mjolnir out of Thor's hands, which means the Thunder God will turn back into Donald Black in 60 seconds. Hawkeye distracts Ultimo long enough for Thor to retrieve the hammer (in the absolute nick of time--Thor even changes back into Black for a moment before recovering Mjolnir). Thor then batters the android back into the pit from which he emerged, then uses lightning to seal the pit shut.

So all three of Mandarin's schemes have been foiled (and keep in mind that we have been given no clear idea of what the villain's goal might be). 

So we get another fun chapter with another well-choreographed and nigh-epic fight scene. My only minor complaint was that it was stressed in an earlier chapter that this was taking place in Africa, but then we were given no real sense of place when the action starts.

In the next chapter, Captain American and Quicksilver will finally get off their lazy butts and track Mandarin to his lair, bringing us one last epic chapter before the story ends. We'll look at the final chapter next week. 

Cover Cavalcade

 NOVEMBER IS CHARLTON WAR COMICS MONTH!!!

From 1960, here's a Sam Glanzman cover.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Mysterious Traveler: "The Accusing Corpse" 4/16/44

A supposedly perfect blackmail plot gradually begins to unravel.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Stolen Manuscripts and Multiple Murders

 

Read/Watch 'em In Order #173

A year after we were introduced to rare book dealer Joel Sloan and his wife Gerda in Fast Company, the two returned in 1939's Fast and Loose.

But they are no longer played by Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice. Rather, they've been transformed into Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell.

It is perhaps even more obvious in the sequel than in the original that MGM is trying to replicate a Thin Man vibe with this series. The Sloans banter with each other constantly. As with the first movie, this is just fine. Montgomery and Russell have good chemistry together and Russell in particular is a master at playing that sort of character. 

In this one, Sloan is asked to be an agent in the purchase of a Shakespeare manuscript. He and Gerda are staying at the home of the current owner when things begin to get hairy. The manuscript turns out to be a forgery. The owner's personal librarian disappears. And then the owner is murdered.

Gerda isn't happy about Joel investigating another murder after he got shot in the behind last time. But there's no choice. The cops suspect someone Joel believes to be innocent. 

There are a number of other suspects, including a ruthless gangster who tries to threaten the Sloans and later has his thugs run them off the road. Sloan keeps plugging away, even after his best theory is seemingly shot down and two more murders occur. But eventually, he is able to finger the killer and find the real Shakespeare manuscript.

It really is a fun movie. I think Montgomery and Russell play off one another even better than Douglas and Rose (though that's subjective--both couples are excellent). The murder mystery is relatively clever and the banter is indeed witty.

One more movie in the series to go---with different actors again taking over the lead roles. We'll soon see how they stack up against the others.

Avengers Annual #1 (Part 3)

 

cover art by John Buscema

(with alterations by John Romita)

Chapter 3 of Avengers Annual #1 (1967--writer: Roy Thomas; artist: Don Heck) moves the action to Asia, where Hercules and the Scarlet Witch are confronting the Enchantress and the Executioner. The bad guys have brought along an army of trolls, but Hercules  and Wanda wade through those until they essentially give up and go home.

So the battle quickly narrows down to two heroes and two villains. The Executioner figures an epic battle like this needs an epic location, so he carves through dimensional barriers with his axe and brings all four of them to a between-dimensions location called the Citidal of Silence.  This annoys the Mandarin (who is listening in on the battle), because there's something in Asia his supposed minions are supposed to bring him. But Asgardian bad guys have always had trouble listening to mere mortal bosses. The Executioner tosses the communication device away.

It's a nifty bit of irony in that whomever wins the fight, the Executioner's arrogance alone has already spoiled this part of the Manderin's plan.

Hercules and Executioner pound away at each other while Enchantress trades hexes and spells with Wanda. 

Eventually, Herc knocks out his opponent. Wanda has done pretty well against Enchantress in the meantime, but the villain eventually forms up some debris into a frost giant that's a little too much for the Witch to handle. 

So Herc throws the unconscious Executioner into the giant, destroying it and knocking out Enchantress with the ensuing magical backlash from her spell being disrupted.

So it's another win for the bad guys. The two villains are bound with Enchantress's hair, which will keep them prisoners until Odin can judge them, while Hercules and Wanda return to Earth. 

Once again, Don Heck's art is magnificent, with this issue continuing to change my opinion of his art. I never hated it, but never loved it. Now I kinda love it.

The fight is imaginatively choreographed and the arrogance of the villains is captured perfectly. Hercules is portrayed as a big bruiser, but who also keeps his head during the fight. I love that he uses his unconscious opponent as a missile.

Next week, we'll move to Africa to see how Thor and Hawkeye are fairing.

Cover Cavalcade

NOVEMBER IS CHARLTON WAR COMICS MONTH!!! 

A Jack Keller cover from 1970.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Escape: "She" 7/11/48

Despite the half-hour run time, this episode gives us an effective and atmospheric adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's classic novel.

Click HERE to listen or download.