Cover Cavalcade

 FEBRUARY IS TANKS vs DINOSAURS MONTH!!!

A Ross Andru cover from 1960.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Black Museum: "A Lady's Shoe" 1952

A small dog and a lady's shoe come together to solve a murder.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

"...if I’m to answer for all the corpses I’ve made, ’twill be a wearisome reckoning.”

 

cover art by Stephen Fabian

A couple of weeks ago, we took a look at a Robert E. Howard story that was unpublished in his lifetime, despite being quite good. Today, we'll look at another one--"The Isle of Pirate's Doom," a novella REH wrote in 1928. It eventually popped up in various paperbacks. Nowadays, we're living in an REH Renaissance, where most if not all of his stuff can be found online or in various reprints.

cover art by Ken Kelly

(This reprinted two Black Vulmea stories along with "The Isle of Pirate's Doom)

The narrator of the story is a shipwrecked sailor named Stephen Harmer. He's been alone on a remote island for a time when a boat full of pirates lands nearby. 

One of those pirates is the beautiful Helen Tavrel, who is only 20-years-old, but has already built up quite a reputation as a freebooter.

art by Bill Cavalier

As Harmer hides nearby, he sees that Helen is having a rather violent disagreement with the other pirates. Shenanigans ensue. Several of the pirates end up dead, while Harmer and Helen team up. At first, they don't get along as Harmer seriously disapproves of pirates. Eventually, they begin to warm towards each other.

The story, in the meantime, moves from the island jungle through a swamp into an ancient temple in which legend says a fortune in jewels is hidden. Sword fights, poison snakes and booby traps quickly follow. 

It's a fun story that seems to be leading up to a lovey-dovey ending between Harmer and Helen, but REH throws in a bit of a twist, implying he might have instead tossed the two into more pirate adventures rather than a wedding chapel had this first story sold.

Helen isn't quite as epic as Belit, Valeria, or Red Sonya, but she's still pretty cool. "The Isle of Pirate's Doom" is a fun tale. You can find it online HERE. 

Tanks, Planes and Automobiles

 

cover art by Russ Heath

So how does a pilot get a medal for a ground action and a tank commander get a medal for an air action? It's a question that has plagued the greatest military minds through the ages. But in G.I. Combat #115 (Dec '65/Jan '66), writer Bob Kanigher and artist Russ Heath give us the answer.

Jeb Stuart and his crew stop at a forward airbase, where Jeb gets into the cockpit of Johnny Cloud's P-51--pretty much sitting on Johnny's lap--to examine the plane's controls. When the Luftwaffe attacks and begin strafing the base, Johnny is forced to take off with Jeb STILL on his lap!

Despite having to fly the plane while reaching around Jeb, Johnny still manages to shoot down a German fighter. But return fire jams his gun.

Fortunately, Jeb was carrying his Tommy gun and, working on concert with Johnny's skilled manuvering, he manages to shoot down two more enemy planes. Thus he earns a medal for air combat.

It's fun to look through this sequence and realize that we are never given an angle that allows us to see how Johnny is managing to fly with Jeb in the way--which would have involved foot pedals for the rudder as well as controls on the instrument panel. DC war comics were never noted for realism, so it really doesn't matter, but its fun to realize that poor Russ Heath might not have been able to draw a believable way of Johnny doing this, so drew the action so that we never see what he's doing.

Out of curiousity, I looked up the take-off procedure for a P-51. It involves adjusting the fuel mixture (controls near his left elbow, setting flaps (controls also near his left elbow) and rudder (floor pedals), releasing the brakes (toe portion of the rudder pedals) and using the throttle for speed (once again, on the left side of the pilot). I suppose Johnny could have still reached a lot of his controls, stuck his legs past Jeb's legs to reach the pedals and reached around Jeb to work the stick and fire the machine guns. So maybe it's possible?

Once again, I realize the sequence isn't meant to be realistic--just look cool. And it does indeed look cool. But I am who I am and I had to look it up. 

Anyway, not long after, Johnny is flying a mission and has to crash-land on top of a haystack. It turns out the Haunted Tank is hiding in that haystack, having run out of ammunition. But now the tank is basically hauling around a plane equipped with multiple heavy machine guns.

Working in concert with Jeb's skillful manuevering, Johnny manages to take out two enemy tanks. At one point, he refers to his guns as "wing cannons." If we take that at face value and conclude that Johnny's plane was equipped with 20mm cannon rather than the usual machine guns, then perhaps this feat becomes possible. Though, once again, the sequence is meant to look cool, not be realistic. And it does indeed look cool.

So that's how a pilot gets a medal for ground combat and a tank commander gets a medal for air combat. But then, after the medal ceremony, Johnny and Jeb's jeep is ambushed by German troops. The ensuing brawl with the Germans earns them both medals for infantry combat.

It's a fun story--a typical example of how Kanigher could come up with a gimmicky plot and depend on the magnificent artists he worked with to bring it all to life.

Next week, we will meet a comic book character I've only just learned about--Mr. Young of the Boothill Gazette. 

Cover Cavalcade

 JANUARY IS HERCULES MONTH!

Gold Key's Hercules was an adaptation of the Saturday morning cartoon. The artist of this 1963 cover is unknown. 

Booktube: My Doctor Who Books

 

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Gunsmoke: "Bloody Hands" 4/2/52

Sick of having to kill people, Matt Dillon resigns as marshal. But he might not be able to escape his destiny.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Lovecraftian Horror

 

cover art by Lee Brown Coye

Of the many authors who dipped their pens into the universe of H.P. Lovecraft, one of the best is the short story "The Will of Claude Ashur," by C. Hall Thompson, published in the July 1947 issue of Weird Tales.

The narrator of the tale is Claude Ashur, who is confined to an insane asylum while his body is being eaten away by incurable leporsy.

Well, except he's NOT Claude Ashur. He's Claude's brother Richard. The body belongs to Claude, but it's Richard who the unwilling occupant. 

The story flashes back to explain how this happened, starting with Claude's birth. The mother died during the process and the doctor says it was as if the baby were taking all the strength of will from her for himself. 

Claude is a creepy child. His father hires tutors, but all quit very quickly. After Richard's dog bites him, the dog is later found dead as if killed by a wild animal. 

When he gets older, Claude attends Miskatonic University, which firmly sets this story within Lovecraft's universe. He supposed to be studying medicine, but instead delves into the rare literature kept by the college--books like the Necromonicon or "the loathsome Book of Eiban." He's eventually expelled, but apparently not before he learns what he wants to learn.

When Richard and Claude's father dies, Claude takes his portion of the inheritence and begins to travel to places where he can learn voodoo and magic. When he returns home, he has a wife.

Richard begins to suspect that the wife isn't acting of her own free will and that Claude has nefarious designs on her. Richard's correct, of course, but it turns out to be a little too late to do anything about it. Things don't end will for either Richard ot the girl. Claude, on the other hand, seems to have found a way to live forever.

Thompson is an excellent writer who effectively emulates Lovecraft's style. The story is scary and creepy in all the right ways.

Which makes me think: Why do I like Lovecraftian cosmic horror. As a Christian, I believe that we live in a world broken by sin, but is is still a purposeful creation, with divine love and human diginty both being realities. Lovecraft created a universe where there is no purpose and human beings are less than nothing in the cosmic scope.

So why do I like reading stuff with themes antithetical to my own beliefs?

Well, part of it is simply an appreciation that the stories are told so well--Lovecraft, Thompson and others knew how to craft a tale effectively, with style and perfect word choices. 

Another reason is perhaps a glimpse into a universe without a loving God makes me more appreciative that there IS a loving God around.

Or perhaps I'm overthinking it. Perhaps its just fun to have the bejeebers scared out of me from time to time.

You can find "The Will of Claude Ashur"  HERE. 

Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Comic

 

cover art by Mike Grell

Batman #288 (June 1977) picks up where the last issue left off--with Penguin now aware that Batman is aware of his scheme, but Batman is aware that Penguin is aware that Batman is aware of Penguin's scheme. Writer David Vern (using the pen name David V. Reed) and artist Mike Grell continue to emulate the structure and crazy bat-deductions of the Adam West TV series, while still keeping a straight face and keeping everything acceptable for the Batman of the Bronze Age Universe. 

Penquin has his henchmen rehearsing their next heist with the intent of trapping Batman when the Dark Knight inevitably shows up. Also, Penquin takes time to sit of a sculpture he's having made of himself.

In the meantime, a reporter named Chester Cole has been trying to get Bruce Wayne to allow him to tag along for a story on the millionaire's personal life. Bruce keeps putting him off, but Chester notices that Bruce has been doodling on the tablecloth and has sketched out a logo for a company. Chester figures Bruce is planning on buying that company and plans on dropping in to get a story at last.

The company is a chemical factory and Batman does indeed confront the Penguin. He gets the drop on the villain and his henchmen despite the Penquin's preperations and it looks like victory is at hand. Then Chester Cole comes in at the wrong moment and spoils everything. Both Batman and Cole are captured.

They are dropped in an empy chemical vat. While Penquin leaves to pull off his final heist--the end object of his entire complicated plan--two giant robot vultures attack Batman. Fortunately, he's able to damage them, then salvage parts to allow himself and Cole to get out of the vat. 

Using the same bizarre logic involving the death dates of historically important short people (this time, it's Atilla the Hun), Batman tracks Penguin to a furniture storage company and takes out the bad guys in a final fight. 

Why all this trouble to rob a furniture storage place? There was a million bucks in stolen bonds hidden in a bureau--the unrecovered loot from an old robbery.

Batman has Penguin's statue locked up with the villain, Chester Cole is glad he "misinterpreted" Bruce's doodle as it led him to a better story, and the tale comes to an end. Together, this issue and the previous one nearly perfectly emulate the structure and bizarre logic of the TV series. The inevitable death trap comes partway through the second part rather than be the cliffhanger for the first part, but that's really no big deal. It's a wonderfully done tale, walking that tightrobe between celebrating TV series while keeping the overall tone of Bronze Age Batman. And Mike Grell's artwork give us fantastic fight scenes.

Next week, we'll visit with both the Haunted Tank and ace pilot Johnny Cloud. 

Cover Cavalcade

 JANUARY IS HERCULES MONTH!

DC Comics tossed Hercules into a post-apocalyptic future in the mid-1970s. This Walter Simonson cover is from 1976.