Sherlock Holmes: "The Iron Box" 12/31/45
Because he was born on February 29, a man has waited over eight decades to reach his 21st birthday and receive the iron box (reputedly containing gold) that is his inheritance. But reaching this milestone might be a motive for someone else to commit murder.
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I'm glad that so much of Robert E. Howard's stuff is getting reprinted nowadays, especially those stories that show what a strong sense of humor he had.
That humor is probably most apparent in his stories about mountain man Breckinridge Elkins, but you can also look to Sailor Steve Costigan for both great fight scenes and laugh-out-loud moments.
Costigan is a somewhat naive sailor who is quick with his fists. In fact, his solution to many of the problems he encounters is punching someone.
The stories often have him on shore leave in a port somewhere (often but not always accompanied by his bite-happy bulldog Mike), getting entangled in an adventure that requires him to get into fist fights and always features one of those fights being a formal match in the boxing ring.
"Sailor's Grudge" was published in the March 1930 issue of Fight Stories and is typical of how much fun a Sailor Steve yarn can be. Costigan goes ashore in San Francisco for a few days, this time without his dog, and meets a girl. Later, he finds out the girl has been forbidden to see him again by a big guy named Bert. Costigan deduces that Bert is a villain who is probably blackmailing the girl's father to force the girl to see him. It's not much of a spoiler to tell you that Costigan's deductions lack accuracy.
Anyway, Bert is the fight double for a movie star on a boxing film. Steve lands the job of the opponent in the big finale by beating up four other guys who want the part. Steve and Bert are supposed to fight for real for four rounds--giving the director some great fight footage---then Steve is supposed to take a dive. Close-ups of the movie star will be spliced in later.
What follows is a great fight scene--something that is also typical of the Costigan tales. Here's an example:
We traded rights to the head and lefts to the body and he brought up a sizzling uppercut which might of tore my head off, hadst it landed. I buckled his knees with a right hook under the heart and he opened a cut under my left eye with a venomous straight right.
He then backed away, sparring and working for my wounded eye with a sharp-shooting left. Much annoyed, I followed him about the ring and suddenly dropped him to his knees with a smashing right cross to the side of the head. He bounced up without a count and flashed a straight left to my sore eye, following it instantly with a right uppercut to the body. I missed a looping right, landed with my left, took two straight rights in the face to sink my left hook into his belly, and he went into a clinch. We worked out of it and was fighting along the ropes at the gong.
The end is hilarious, with the movie almost ruined and a disillusioned Steve learning he's not going to get the girl after all.
Howard, famous for his Conan the Barbarian tales, is not always remembered for his sense of humor. But he should be.
Read "Sailor's Grudge" HERE. And for a deeper dive into Howard's boxing tales, check out an excellent article HERE.
According to the reliable Grand Comics Database, the cover and interior art in The Mighty Hercules #2 (October 1963) is by Rube Grossman, who worked for various comic book companies beginning in the 1940s until his 1964 death. Grossman is clearly emulating the look of the cartoon, as did the artist in the first issue, so it's pretty much a shot in the dark whether Grossman drew the first issue. As with the first issue, the stories are written by the prolific and always dependable Paul S. Newman.
As with the first issue, there's two Hercules tales plus a direct adaptatioh of a Greek myth. The issue opens with "Journey to the Land of the Dead."
The evil wizard Daedalus' latest shenanigan is stealing the statue of Demeter from the city of Calydon. This ticks off Demeter, who allows the plants around the city to die. With the risk of a famine now looming over the city and Daedalus planning on holding the statue hostage unless he is declared the ruler--well, it looks like a job for Hercules.
The centaur Newton sees Daedalus teleporting the statue into a "Melos's Palace," a floating structure with no apparent entrance. Hercules travels to the city, but it turns out even his strength isn't enough to let him punch an entrance.
The builder of the palace--Melos--is dead. But that minor detail doesn't stop a Greek hero from questioning the man (or rather ghost) about hidden entrances. Hercules travels to the underworld, where he uses his wits and his strength to get by several obstacles. (Cerebus and the Furies, respectively.)
Hades directs Hercules to Melos, whose afterlife punishment is pushing a heavy boulder up a hill, only to have it roll down again. (Something taken from the story of Sisyphus--the cartoon Hercules' world is not an exact mirror of the original myths.)
Herc solves Melos' dilemma by digging a hole at the top of the hill so the boulder won't again roll down. In exchange, Melos tells him what bricks to press to open the door into his palace.
It's back to Earth, where Hercules and his friends gain entrance to the palace and find the statue of Demeter. Daedalus tries to stop them from leaving with a burst of magical fire, but (shades of Silver Age Superman!) Hercules uses super-breath to put out the flame. Demeter is returned and plants begin to grow again. The day is saved.
This sadly short-lived series continues to entertain. Like the cartoon episodes it is emulating, this tale is another example of quickly setting up the plot, then moving the story along quickly. Grossman's art helps keep it all fun and lively.
Next week, we'll look at the myth of Perseus, as told in this same issue.
MARCH IS SCIENCE GONE MAD MONTH!!!!
Doctor Doom is about as "mad science-y" as you can get! A February 1964 cover by Jack Kirby.
Suspense: "Short Order" 8/16/45
A hideously deformed man becomes a regular customer at a diner, which begins driving away the other customers.
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Because of Laptop Trouble (I needed a new power cord, but I suspect Skynet was behind it), I'm behind in creating posts. I'm afraid there will be no Wednesday or Thursday posts this week.
MARCH IS SCIENCE GONE MAD MONTH!!!!
Cover-dated May-June 1950, with art by Al Feldstein.
The Adventures of the Saint: "Nursemaid" 7/15/51
Simon is hired to convince a young lady not to date a gangster. Unsurprisingly, he ends up having to solve a murder.
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The first eight Reeder stories were collected in The Mind of J.G. Reeder in 1925, published in England. In the U.S., the book was retitled The Murder Book of J.G. Reeder, with the individual stories sometimes retitled and arranged in a different order. Title changes, of course, are done by editors who think a new title is catchier for their specific audience. I have no idea why the stories were re-ordered, though the tales are self-contained enough not to matter.
The first story in Richie Rich and Dollar the Dog (September 1977), by an unidentified creative team, includes an important PSA for all dog owners. If you are ever rehearsing a play in which you play a bad guy who dislikes dogs, MAKE SURE your dog doesn't hear you and take the dialogue out of context. This won't end well. It's what happens when Richie's dog Dollar (a dollarmation, of course) overhears Richie and his friend Freckles doing just this.
I don't care how silly the above images are--if you own a dog, this is a heartbreaking scene.
Dollar runs away and begins hitchhiking. He's picked up by a pair of gangster, who by now has heard the news that Dollar is missing and that there's a huge reward. But bad guys are bad guys. Rather than settle for just the reward the Rich family is offering, they come up with a complex plan to smuggle Dollar out of the country the statue of a horse, sell him to a rare animal dealer, THEN tell the Rich family where he is to collect THAT reward.
The horse with Dollar inside is loaded on a plane, but the pilots hear Dollar barking and immediately land again. Dollar makes a break for it.
The gangsters spot him and give chase. Fortunately, Dollar runs into the local school in his attempt to get away, where that play is currently being performed. Richie and Freckles take care of the gangsters (and, wow, does Richie pack a powerful gut punch!), Dollar finally understands that Richie doesn't hate him and everyone is happy. Well, everyone except the gangsters. They get arrested.
It is a silly story, but it's fun. And, by golly, if you own a dog, the story will become an emotional roller-coaster. It can't be helped.
Next week, we return to The Mighty Hercules.
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