JUNE IS DC WAR COMICS FIRST ISSUE MONTH!!!
A Jerry Grandenetti cover from 1952. It was re-titled from All-American Western and kept the same numbering system for two issues. After two issues with the old numbering system, though, future issues were renumbered starting with an Issue #2. (So there never was an All-American Men of War #1).
Abbott and Costello: "Bank Robbery with Marlene Dietrich" 10/15/42
Why is storing your money in Marlene Dietrich's stocking preferable to putting it in a bank? Because that's where it would draw the most interest!
Click HERE to listen or download.
Kings of Crime was originally published in the December 1932 issue of The Shadow Magazine. This one takes the Shadow out of the Big Apple to Seaview City--an obvious expy for Atlantic City. Four "Kings of Crime" are planning to bring crime to the resort town--gambling, drugs, blackmail and kidnapping.
It's a great Shadow novels in several ways. First, there are several superb action scenes--most notably a gunfight between the Shadow and a gang of thugs in a pitch-dark hotel room. At the climax, the Shadow makes judicious use of a sniper rifle and a rifle-grenade to ensure the bad guys come to a... well, an explosive end.
The other strong feature of the novel is some nuanced characteriztions, particular the redemption arc of one of the Kings. Throughout his career, the Shadow went up against some pretty ruthless and bloodthirsty villains and most of them are six feet under by time any one Shadow novel ends. But in this case, one of the Kings of Crime swerves away from this. His part of the crime empire is foiled by the Shadow early on and the guy is sent to prison. But he now worries about his family--who didn't know he was a crook and are now destitute. His fellow crooks were supposed to look after them, but they've pretty much thrown the family to the wolves.
The captured crook breaks out with a vague plan to take vengeance on the other Kings of Crime, but circumstances lead him to continue to examine his life. In a realistic, step-by-step transformation, he ends up being allied with the Shadow, helping destroy crime that he now hates and perfectly willing to return to jail and pay for his own crimes afterwards.
There's a lot of honestly-earned emotion in his character arc. In a world where bad guys are much more likely to take a .45 from one of the Shadow's blazing automatics, it's nice to see someone change his ways.
He's not the only cool supporting character. Seaview City's police chief is a great guy. In the end, he needs the Shadow to figure out who the bad guys actually are, but he's honest and courageous, bringing the police force to the front lines when necessary. He's a pretty cool guy.
Finally, there's a good mystery at the heart of the story. There's an "Ace" who is the brains behind the four kings. His true identity is a secret through most of the story. An astute reader will guess he's a member of the town council, but which one? The book's third person narrator refers to the police chief has having an honest heart, so its not him. But that leaves a quartet of other suspects.
The answer to this might catch a few readers by surprise--though readers familar with Walter Gibson's plot twists have a fair chance of guessing correctly.
So--a strong story; a nice change-of-location from the usual streets of New York City; a few fantastic action scenes; and some strong secondary characters. Kings of Crime is yet another wonderful Shadow adventure.
Anytime I write about one of the Dell/Gold Key comic books based on the Looney Tunes characters, I'm struck by the difference in tone from the cartoons on which they are based. The comic books had less anarchy and more story structure than the cartoon often contained. The comics often toy around with the character dynamics as well. For instance, in these comics, Bugs and Elmer Fudd are often friends rather than adversaries. Heck I once reviewed an issue in which Yosemite Sam was palling around with Bugs.
A story from Bugs Bunny #43 (June-July 1955), for instance, opens with Bugs and Elmer on a boating trip together. Written by Carl Fallberg and drawn by the great Tony Strobl, "The Irate Pirate," even has Bugs eventually making a sacrifice to ensure Elmer's safety.
While boating, the two friends take a swim, but their boat drifts away. When they find it again, it's been "adopted" by the dread pirate Yosemite Sam. After some slapstick antics, Sam forces Bugs and Elmer to sail to Nowhere Island.
Before they get to the island, Bugs has prepared a fake treasure map, which leads to Sam forcing the friends to accompany him on a treasure hunt. Sam's plan, of course, is for Bugs and Elmer to do the hard work while he keeps all the loot.
More slapstick antics ensue. When a fog rolls in, Bugs has a chance to escape. But that would mean abandoning the hapless Elmer. Bugs may sometimes be a stinker, but he's not that rotten.
Instead, he prepares a booby-trapped treasure chest, which knocks down Sam long enough for Bugs and Elmer to escape the island using a cannon-powered boat.
It's a fun story that catches the personalities of the characters--at least in broad strokes. The world of Looney Tunes comics is indeed more structured, with dangers encountered actually seeming... well, dangerous. Cartoon character immunity to harm seems to be less guaranteed than it was in the animated shorts, allowing writers such as Fallberg to mix some fun adventure in with the slapstick.
Next week, we'll march to war with the best-lookin' gal in the French Resistance-- Mlle. Marie.
JUNE IS DC WAR COMICS FIRST ISSUE MONTH!
A Jerry Grandenetti cover from 1957. DC acquired G.I. Combat from Quality Comics and kept the same numbering system, so the first DC issue is #44.
Nick Carter: "The Case of the Devil's Left Eye" 1/4/48
It's not that unusual for Nick to have to solve a locked room mystery. That the murder weapon is a flintlock pistol does add a unique touch to the case.
Click HERE to listen or download.
This quote is from the Robert E. Howard tale "The Lion of Tiberias." And, yes, indeed, John Norwald knows how to hate. A wandering warrior in the 12th Century, Norwald had become the bodyguard of a young Muslim prince. When the prince's dad loses a battle, he insists that he and Norwald surrender. Their enemy, Imad ad-Din Zengi, promises that no sword will touch the prince.
Well, a sword doesn't touch him, but a whip does. Zengi has the young man scourged to death. That's what sets off Norwald's hate.
Zengi spares Norwald. Well, sort of. He condemns him to be a galley slave. He's strong, but there's no way that he'll survive more than a few years. No one does.
Skip ahead 23 years. Zengi's power has grown. A Norman knight gives him a spot of trouble, but he soon has the knight and his girl trapped in a small fortress. He brings up his army to take this fortress. He's on the verge of becoming THE power in the Middle East.
But what if an old enemy--a man he's long since forgotten about--survived for over two decades on pure hatred? What if he's coming back to visit Zengi?
I'm not counting this as a spoiler because if you don't know that Norwald is coming back the moment Zengi sends him to the galleys, then you aren't really trying. The journey there, though, is full of outstanding action and adventure. Like all of Howard's tales, it is truly exciting, vividly describing the bloody fights and heart-stopping chases. And, aside from being an exceptional adventure story, it's also a study in how the actions of one man can change history.
In real life, Zengi was assassinated in 1146. No one knows for sure who did it, though its thought to have been a slave or a disgruntled servant. Howard beats history in this case--his account of Zengi's death is lots better than that.
The story was published in the July 1933 issue of Magic Carpet Magazine. You can read it yourself HERE.
Space Family Robinson #21 (April 1967) brings the "medieval" story arc to an end. The issue, though, starts out with writer Gaylord Du Bois and artist Dan Spiegle bringing the Robinsons and the medieval refugees new troubles.
They are boarded by an alien race called the Xotalec, who are-- well, they are jerks. A lot of aliens in this series are jerks, but these guys are particularly obnoxious.
They decide to take the space station for study and strand the humans on a nearby planet, stating that microbes found on board might be a threat to the Xotalec. Tim sneaks away to hide, but the other humans are forced aboard the Xotalec ship and brought to the planet.
Fortunately, the planet is a nice place. The humans explore, finding eatable flora and fauna, a goat-like creature to provide milk, a wheat-like plant that can be cultivated, and a strategic spot to build a defensive wall. They seen nothing threatening yet, but better safe than sorry.
Spiegle's depiction of the planet, by the way, is perfect. There's enough slightly-odd plants and animals to remind us its an alien environment, but it also looks beautiful. It's BOTH alien and inviting.
The defensive wall does prove to be a good idea. They are spotted by a tribe of savage humans (or humanoids--this is never made clear), who soon attack, bringing us a superbly depicted battle scene. The Robinsons and their allies are outnumbered, but have better weapons and a good defensive position. They push back the savages. When a leader of the enemy demands the issue be settled by a context of champions (Craig has a small language translator to understand what he's saying), Sir Gilbert rises to the challenge. He knocks out the enemy chief with the flat of his sword and wins final victory.
The enemy chief is given a translator and soon the two sides make peace. The savages thought the humans were working with the Xotalec, who come by to snatch a few of them for unknown reasons every so often.
In fact, that happens now. A small Xotalec craft lands, shooting out metal tentacles to grab Sir Gilbert and Tam.
Fortunately, Tim has been busy. After the space station had been put into orbit around a frozen planet, the Xotalec had left it. Tim comes out of hiding and uses a spacemobile to travel to the planet on which his family had been stranded. He shows up in the nick of time, using the spacemobile jets to cut the tentacles holding Gilbert and Tam. A side effect of this is it causes the Xotalec ship to blow up. Those guys really were jerks--so its difficult to mourn their loss.
The medievals decide to stay on this planet. Craig leaves them an industrial laser to both cut rocks to build a castle and defend against any future Xotalec incursions. The Robinsons then return to the space station. When the Xotalec are about to catch them, they use the broken phase-shift device to teleport to another part of the galaxy. They still have no idea where they are, but at least they got away from their rather unpleasant persecutors.
That ends the four-issue story arc, with the Robinsons' friends happy building a new civilization on another planet, but with the Robinsons themselves still lost in space. It brings an end to an intelligently-written, suspenseful, action-packed, and beautifully illustrated Space Opera. There's a few minor glitches--peace with the savages comes conveniently quickly after a brutal battle, but that's probably a reflection of having to tell the story within a set page count. And this is indeed a minor glitch. I still love this story.
For next week--we haven't visited the Looney Tunes comic universe in a while, so let's do that.
JUNE IS DC WAR COMICS FIRST ISSUE MONTH!!
This Curt Swan cover is from 1952. It's issue #131 because it was re-titled from Star Spangled Comics but kept the numbering system. After three issues using the old numbering system, the series started fresh with Star-Spangled War Stories #3. So there never was an issue #1 (or #2) for this title.
Mr District Attorney: "The Case of the Murderous Good Samaritans" 4/19/54
Two men in a tow truck stop to help a stranded motorist. But their motives might not be pure.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Rimfire (1949) is a noir Western directed by B. Reeves Easton. Easton is not exactly a famous figure in movie history--he was best known as a second-unit director and action specialist. He does a fine job here as the primary director, though, and his action-specialist background shows through in an exceptionally well-choreographed saloon brawl.
The main plot involves an undercover agent named Tom Harvey (played by James Millican) searching for some stolen government gold. He takes a job as deputy in a small New Mexican town, as he suspects the gold is hidden somewhere nearby.
But other stuff is going on in town. The owner of the local saloon is the secret leader of a band of stagecoach robbers. A gambler (Reed Hadley) is falsely accused of cheating at cards and hanged, though Harvey believed he was innocent. And then someone begins killing off those involved in the hanging--has the gambler come back from the dead? Harvey doesn't think so and also thinks the killings might relate to the stolen gold. But the only clue is that the killer is using rimfire cartridges (bullets in which the primer is along the edge of the cartridge rather than the center). Who else uses such a gun?
Aside from the pretty awesome saloon brawl, another stand-out scene is the gambler's trial, which hits just the right note of grimness and effectively reminds us that a man's life is at stake. The revelation of the killer's identity is honestly surprising and acting is quite good.
I found a quote HERE from an interview with Margie Dean, who plays a saloon girl in the movie:
“James Millican was polite and pleasant, but again I knew Reed Hadley better. It was a good little picture. Some of them I made were corny, but this was pretty well done. These films were done fast with last minute script changes. If you hit your spot and said the dialogue, it was printed. To be pretty good in something like that is more of an achievement than being good in a big picture where you do it over and over.”
I've always championed B-movies on my blog and Margie's quote about being good in a B-movie just makes me appreciate them more.
Here's the movie in its entirety. You know, I have a little over 7,000 subscribers to my YouTube channel (hardly an earth-shaking number, I realize) but I've never been sure why most of them have subscribed--whether its for the clips from movies I've reviewed or the ERB podcast or what have you. The increasing prevalence of old movies in their entirety on YouTube means I'm posting fewer clips--since I can more often post the entire film. I hope my subscribers don't show up as an angry mob outside my home because of this. Torch and pitchfork damage isn't covered by my insurance.
Space Family Robinson #20 (February 1967) is the penultimate chapter in the "medieval" story arc--with writer Gaylord Du Bois and artist Dan Spiegle literally taking the characters back in time to mediveval Earth.
The story begins with the crew using a new gadget installed on the space station to bring them through a wormhole back to their home galaxy. (By the way, the script does not use the term wormhole, but it is so obviously the go-to term that a modern writer would use, I think it's a pretty accurate description.) This works, bringing them to the Milky Way galaxy.
The next step is homing in on Earth. This is the dangerous part, as even a slight miscalculation could plunge them into a star. Craig elects to try a test run in one of the spacemobiles, taking only his son Tim and Sir Thomas with him.
The test flight seems to work great, with a jump to Alpha Centauri followed by a jump to Earth. But when Sir Thomas bumps against the controls, they also travel back in time. You would think the aliens who gave them this tech in the last issue might have casually mentioned "By the way, it's also a time machine." But they didn't. Sometimes, aliens are just jerks.
They figure out the time frame and discover that they are on Earth only four years after Sir Thomas and his fellow kidnappees were taken from Earth by the Iklatalians. Eager to see his wife and young son, he asks to be taken to his castle.
There's a neat bit here when they fly over a medieval village--Spiegle adds a nice touch of realism by showing us a muddy street, chickens, a dog and a few other touches that make the environment look real.
They discover Sir Thomas' castle is besieged by brigands. Sir Thomas charges across the field and gets inside. Craig and Tim are chased by the bad guys, but get back to the spacemobile and scare the brigands off by buzzing them with the craft. They then fly off, leaving a happy Sir Thomas behind, standing next to his wife and holding his young son.
It's human elements like this that add a lot to the story. The way the Robinsons worry about each other when they are seperated is another aspect of this. We are presented with people who care about each other and, thus, make us care about them.
But the heck with human touches. There is still cool science fiction stuff that has to happen.
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The space station had landed on a planet to wait for the return of the spacemobile. They are forced to take off when the weather turns violent. The spacemobile finds its way back to that planet, but has to perform several time jumps and a tense search before finally finding its way home.
BUT, the space-phasing device has broken down. A key element has gone kla-blooie, which prevents them from easily locating Earth again. The Robinson family (and the 13 remaining refugees from the 12th Century) are still lost in space.
Once again, I'm very impressed with Spiegle's dynamic art, but perhaps even more impressed with Du Bois' skilled plot contruction. As I said last week, if this had been a prose story, I can easily imagine it as the cover story in an old issue of Amazing Stories. It is intelligent, imaginative Space Opera.
Next week, we'll look at the final chapter in this saga.
Night Beat: "The Man Who Claimed to Be Dead" 3/20/50
Randy meets a man who claims to be dead, though he is still walking and talking. A doctor says he has no heartbeat and an undertaker claims to have buried him. Is Randy going nuts or is there a logical explanation hidden away somewhere?
Click HERE to listen or download.
For various reasons, the Edgar Rice Burroughs podcast I co-host will be on a bit of a hiatus. Of course, we usually only manage an episode once every two or three months, but it might be a bit longer this time before we get back to it.
To keep a steady stream of content on my ERB Podcast playlist on my YouTube channel, I've decided to produce "What I Read This Month" videos at the end of each month. In the future, I'll probably post them here on what is normally an off-day (probably Saturday), but for the premiere video, I'm giving it the Thursday spot.
So here's "WHAT I READ IN MAY":
Space Family Robinson #19 (December 1966) picks up right where the previous issue left off, with Gaylord Du Bois' intelligent script still highlighted by Dan Spiegle's dynamic art. But before we dive into this issue, I have a confession to make, by golly. I left off an important plot point in my review last week! I shall report to the closest Agony Booth for punishment.
Kor, the alien, had explained that there are "holes" (a modern story would probably say "wormhole") in space and the Robinson family's space station had travelled through one of these and is in a different galaxy. But before he can give any concrete navigation advice, he keels over with a high fever.
So this issue picks up with the Robinson family and their 14 guests from medieval Earth believing that Kor is probably doomed. Kor believes it as well, asking the humans not to revive the other Iklatalians and expose them to the same disease.
Knowing they might be stuck on this planet, the humans decide to explore. They divide into two teams and take the two spacemobiles, with Craig flying one of them and Tim flying the other.
One of the many smart elements of the script is that Du Bois never forgets that all this technology is brand new to the medieval guys and gals. They adapt quickly, but are continually surprised or intrigued by each knew thing.
One of those things is a shower. This leads to a very human touch when one of the men going with Tim is delayed because he's enjoying taking a shower for the first time in his life. I love it.
An impish young lady named Elaine puts on the guy's armor and thus tricks her way onto Tim's spacemobile.
She soon has reason to regret her impishness. When investigating yet another set of ruins, Tim's crew encounter some ancient and ill-tempered robots. Tim's laser pistol helps even the odds, though he temporarily loses the pistol in the struggle and has to use a sword to deactivate one of the robots.
Soon after, Tim's spacemobile gets targeted by a missile:
There's no radio contact with Tim after this happens, which understandably worries Craig and June. In the meantime, though, Kor recovers. He uses antibodies from his blood to give the other Iklatalians immunity to the disease, then the lot of them form a telepathic ring to contact Tim. He and his crew were okay, but the blast knocked out radio and radar, so he was trying to fly home by dead reckoning. The aliens guide him home telepathically.
Both the alien ship and the space station are repaired. Kor is able to give directions to a wormhole that will take the Robinsons and their friends back to the Milky Way, but he can't direct them to their specific sun. Still, it's a start. The four Robinsons and the 14 medieval people take off for (hopefully) home.
Like the previous issue, this chapter in the 4-issue story arc is solid science fiction in the Space Opera vein. Had this been a prose story written in the '30s or '40s, I could easily see it being the cover story in an issue of Amazing Stories.
We'll check back in next week to see how they're doing.
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