Friday's Favorite OTR

Escape: “The Pistol” 1/3/50

San Francisco during the gold rush was a violent and corrupt place. When a man goes up against the man who killed his brother, the possession of one of those new-fangled six-shooters—the only one in the city—becomes a key factor in the battle.

Gerold Mohr does a great job as the protagonist and a sub-plot involving whose side a femme fatale will end up on generates some extra suspense.

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Don't Mess with Prince Valiant

Here's a couple of panels from the Prince Valiant comic strip that ran on March 28, 1943. A fake monk has just tried to back-stab Val with the intention of robbing his corpse.

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It's just not a good idea to mess with Prince Valiant.

Half an Evil

“Half an Evil" from Batman #234 (August 1971)

This is a classic Batman story that, in the space of 15 pages, highlights pretty much every single aspect of Batman that makes the character so awesome. It was written by Denny O'Neil, who was one of the best Batman writers of the Silver Age. The artist was Neal Adams--who was one of the best Batman artists of the same era.

The plot involves Two-Face, with Harvey Dent stealing several apparently unrelated objects before setting a 19th Century sailing ship adrift and sinking it.

Why? At first it makes no sense, but Batman--using old fashioned deductive reasoning--figures it out and is waiting to confront Two-Face at the end.

There are several things that make this issue particularly interesting. For instance, it was the first time in years that Two-Face had been appeared. He had popped up a number of times during the 1950s, but had since been largely forgotten. Nowadays, because of the last Batman movie and his appearance in the various animated shows since the 1990s, Two-Face is reasonably well-known even among non-comic book fans. But in 1971, O’Neil had to take time to explain Harvey Dent’s origin to comic book geeks. 

But this is also a notable issue in that it highlights all the strengths of O’Neil’s storytelling and his understanding of the character of Batman. In 15 pages of concise, well-organized plot construction, the story highlights the Dark Knight’s skill as a detective along with his talents in martial arts and escape artistry. He shows a keen understanding of his opponent’s psyche and he maintains his dark ambiance without tilting over into Crazy Town. 

That’s how you write Batman, people. It’s not easy for any but the best writers to do in practice, but the theory is clear. Batman doesn’t have to be a crazed loner. He doesn’t have to be drowning in angst. He can have his tragic background and scary ambiance and STILL be a hero!

Gee whiz, I miss this Batman. 

Cover Cavalcade

The Flame first appeared in 1939, predating the original Human Torch by just a few months. He could make nearby flames die down or flare up. That's not a bad power, but now he's just another of a legion of forgotten superheroes from the early days of comic books.

Friday's Favorite OTR

Richard Diamond, Private Eye: "Charles Walsh" 7/9/49


A pair of thugs break out of prison. One of them is determined to kill Richard Diamond, the man who sent him to the pen. After an abortive attempt to snatch the smart-mouthed P.I., they decide to set him up by kidnapping his girl friend first.

This episode gives several supporting characters--Diamond's gal Helen and comic relief police desk sergeant Otis--more time "on screen" than they normally get. Also, OTR fans will have a ball listening to Larry Dobkin and Paul Frees team up to play the bad guys.

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When all else fails, hit ‘em with a stove.

Read/Watch ‘em in order: Entry #8

Well, the Shadow has taken care of three fingers of the loosely knit criminal organization known as the Hand. He’s taken out blackmailers in New York City, a murder-for-hire gang in Philadelphia, and an insurance racket in Chicago.

Now the cloaked crime fighter takes to the high seas to fight modern day piracy. This all happens in "Crime Rides the High Seas," from the January 15, 1939 issue of The Shadow Magazine.

And this makes for a fun and unique setting. Nearly all the action this time around takes place at sea. First, there’s an attempt by the villains to scuttle a freighter carrying a shipment of gold. Then the Shadow infiltrates the pirate’s headquarters aboard a yacht. Then the Shadow’s top agents get some well-deserved time in the spotlight as they “join” a gang of thugs aboard a fast lugger, intent on spoiling a plan to attack a salvage ship.

Writer Walter Gibson provides a strong and logical plot centered around some of his best-ever action scenes. Especially noteworthy is the Shadow’s battle aboard the yacht, outnumbered by a gang of thugs until some of the honest crewmen spontaneously join with him.

And the Shadow’s agents—always presented as capable men in the best Shadow novels—really outdo themselves this time. On their own amidst a large gang of cutthroat killers, five of the Shadow’s best guys have to take sudden and dangerous action to save innocent lives. It’s a collective Crowning Moment of Awesome for Harry Vincent, Cliff Marsland, Hawkeye, Tapper and Jericho Druke.

I always appreciate the brawling Jericho’s all-too-infrequent appearances in the Shadow novels. He’s really a fun character and he really shines this time around, saving a fellow agent’s life on two occasions (once by throwing a STOVE at a pair of thugs) and joining in a blazing gun battle armed with nothing but a pair of frying pans. 

The story moves back ashore for the climax, which involves several bizarre plot twists (one of which was probably telegraphed a little too heavily in advance) and wraps up with yet another crime boss who comes to the erroneous and fatal conclusion that shooting it out with the Shadow is a good idea.

The Hand novels continue to get better with each installment. But there’s still one Finger left in the evil organization. So the Shadow will soon be travelling south to Virginia and the Carolinas to break up a vicious kidnapping ring.

History of the Marvel Universe: July 1968

FANTASTIC FOUR #76

Reed, Ben and Johnnie use a Reducta-Craft to shrink to microscopic size and pursue the Silver Surfer. The Surfer, though, unaware that Galactus is actively threatening Earth and having fun exploring a new (albeit sub-atomic) universe, refuses to go back.

This is all interrupted when Psycho-Man, who is back home in Sub-Atomica after his fight with the FF in last year’s Annual, spots them and sends an indestructible android to destroy them.

Our heroes are getting their butts handed to them until the Surfer shows up and pretty casually disintegrates the android. Now aware that Earth is in danger, he agrees to return and once again serve Galactus, even though this means sacrificing a happy life cruising around Sub-Atomica. The FF, though, opts not to follow him back immediately, instead staying in Sub-Atomica to have a showdown with Psycho-Man.

This is a strong issue in yet another fast-moving and imaginative story arc, but I’m going to pick a couple of small nits here.

Though the fight against the Android is pretty cool, this is the second indestructible android the FF has fought in a relatively short period of time. A slightly more original opponent might have been more effective. Stan and Jack might have had an infinitesimal failure of imagination here.

Of course, to be fair, I’m reading this issues over a much shorter time frame then when they were originally published, so that criticism might not be completely fair. Besides, Kirby’s sub-atomic landscapes pretty much drip with imagination.

Second nitpick: Reed simply “knows” the android was sent by Psycho-Man without any explanation. Once again, it can be argued that he might have deduced this from the information on hand. After all, he’s Reed "smartest guy in the universe" Richards. But the rules of good storytelling meant we should have been provided with a definite explanation.

But these are definitely nitpicks. It’s a great issue, with the emotional highlight being when Reed orders Ben and Johnnie to retreat and find the Surfer in order to save Earth, even though that would mean Reed going up against the android alone.

SPIDER MAN #62

Here we have another single issue story used as a break before another multi-part story arc begins. Last time, it was Spidey fighting a Spider Slayer robot. This time, he gets into a tussle with an Inhuman.

Because it’s John Romita doing the art, it looks great (though I don’t really care for Medusa’s new costume design—but that’s a totally subjective opinion). But the story itself is contrived.

Medusa visits New York to gauge how humans will react to Inhumans. Of course, there’s so many costumed superheroes running around New York, there’s no reason the Inhumans’ would stand out at all.

But, be that as it may, this results in a fight between Medusa and Spider Man, engineered by a publicity-hungry hair-spray company executive. Gee whiz, contrived isn’t a strong enough word to describe the plot, but I can’t really think of a better one.

Oh, well. The next seven or eight issues will be covering the events of three separate and well-written story arcs, culminating in another classic Spidey/Kingpin fight. So we can be forgiving of one awkward issue.

And besides, Romita really does make it look great.

THOR #154

Ulik stumbles across a cave that was sealed up by Odin many centuries ago. He busts the cave open, releasing Mangog, a being with the strength of a billion billion men. Mangog, grouchy after all that time trapped in a cave, vows to destroy the universe. And, judging from Jack Kirby’s wonderfully creepy design of the character, he’s just the guy to do it.

Loki returns to Asgard, where he finds everyone aware of the danger, but Odin is suffering from the ultimate plot devise—Odinsleep. So Loki declares that he’s in charge.

The rest of the issue is filler, to bring it to an end at an appropriately dramatic moment. Thor, still on Earth, is tempted by Hela to come to the afterlife and lead the dead heroes already there in eternal battle; he checks to make sure Sif is recovering; he stops some muggers; and he gives some hippies a talking to about living their lives for a cause rather than simply dropping out. In the meantime, Karnilla threatens to turn Balder into a living statues (as she’s done with other guys who have rejected her over the years) unless he gives her a little sugar. But Kirby makes is all look awesome, so it doesn’t feel like filler.

Besides, though Stan Lee’s dialogue for Thor might be a little over the top when he talks to the hippies, it’s still a strong and effective speech that really gives us a sharp reminder of Thor’s inherently noble personality.

That’s it for July. Next week, we'll take a look at a time when Batman truly was made of AWESOME. In two weeks we'll look at August 1968; in which the FF confront Psycho-Man while the Silver Surfer negotiates with Galactus; Spider Man discovers that two birds in the hand are more dangerous than one in the bush; and Thor faces off against Mangog. 

Cover Cavalcade

  

I don't know if I could pick a favorite George Rozen Shadow cover. He did a fantastic job every time.

Friday's Favorite OTR

The Lone Ranger: “Nitro For Pablo Juarez” 5/21/45

The Lone Ranger helps out a Mexican officer in the rebellion against the French. But that help gets the Ranger, disguised as the officer, sentenced to die by firing squad. Without his six-shooters and silver bullets, the Masked Man must depend on an experiment in applied psychology to get him out alive.

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Imagine how well he’d do if he DIDN’T get captured twice.

Norman A. Daniels was one of the many talented and very prolific writers who churned out countless adventure and mystery stories during the pulp era. Writers like Daniels might never have produced a Maltese Falcon-level classic, but they knew how to construct plots and write exciting action.

Daniels is perhaps best remembered now for writing some of the stronger adventures for the Phantom Detective (a character whose pulp career ran twenty years), but he turned out quite a lot of other stuff as well. “Corpse Collector,” a short story I recently downloaded to my Kindle, is just one of his many efforts. It was first published as a back-up feature in the November 1935 issue of Secret Agent X magazine.

A gang of crooks (called the Shotgun Gang because of their preference for that weapon) has been looting  banks and gunning down innocents for some time now. When they kill a cop during their latest outing, a detective whose been behind a desk for years asks to go back out into the field.

This is Captain Stone, our protagonist for this fast-moving tale. And I do mean fast-moving. Like most professional pulp writers, Daniels doesn’t waste any time or unnecessary words in getting to the good stuff.

Knowing that one of the Shotgun Gang was killed during their last hold-up, Stone deduces how they’ll try to get rid of the body. That allows him to follow one of the gang members to their hideout and put in motion a plan that will lure them all into a trap.

It’s a plan that doesn’t always go smoothly. Stone actually ends up getting captured TWICE in a matter of just a few minutes. But he continues with his plan and improvises when he has to, using the new-fangled technology of putting radios in patrol cars to run a con on the villains and get them away from potential hostages before bringing the hammer down on them.

Norman A. Daniels was a storyteller—able to spin an entertaining yarn that grabs your attention and holds you for the short time it takes to read through it. It’s a rare and valuable talent and it’s nice that his tales are still available to entertain us today.