Friday's Favorite OTR

 Cloak and Dagger: "Norwegian Incident" 8/20/50

Two men are smuggled into occupied Norway to contact the Resistance and blow up a bridge. At first, the mission goes smoothly.  At first....  

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Shoulder Surgery Pause

 

I'm having a minor surgery on my shoulder. It's nothing serious, but it will put my arm in a sling for at least a few days. That makes typing a really annoying task. No Wednesday or Thursday posts this week and perhaps not next week, depending on how well my physical therapy goes. Sorry. I know my posts are the only thing that keeps many of you going from day to day. I'll be back as soon as possible.

Cover Cavalcade

 MARCH IS BORIS, ROD AND RIPLEY MONTH!!

Another wonderful George Wilson cover, this one from 1968.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Mysterious Traveler: "I Died Last Night" 4/25/50

A man obsessed with studying life after death gets an unexpected opportunity to experience the matter personally.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Sailing a Freighter in the South Seas.

 

cover art by Rudolph Belarski

Louis L'Amour is, of course, most famous for the many, many excellent Westerns he wrote. But he did write in other genres. For instance, early in his career, he wrote a series of stories set in the South Seas, with his own experiences as a merchant seaman giving those tales authenticity.

The protagonist in these stories is a "Ponga Jim" Mayo, who is the master of a tramp steamer and who has a penchant for finding trouble. One of Ponga Jim's adventures is recounted in the October 1940 issue of Thrilling Adventures. 

"On the Road to Amurang" has Ponga Jim taking his ship, the Semiramis, on a cargo run to several islands. But World War 2 is raging in Europe and one side effect of that is to make the British and Dutch-controlled islands in the Pacific a dangerous place to be.

Jim finds that out when his ship is hijacked by gunmen led by a big guy (and I mean a BIG guy) named Job Dussel. Jim knows that he, his ship and his crew are doomed unless he does something fast.

He sees a chance to make a break for it and then finds an unexpected place to hide while Dussell's men are looking for him. When he has a chance, Jim jumps a guard, gets a gun and frees a few of his crew.

From there, the action picks up to a lightning pace. Dussell and his surviving men are forced to steal a lifeboat and leave the ship, but a (persumably German) cruiser is nearby to pick them up. Jim has a gun mounted on the Semiramis, but can't outduel the bigger vessel. But Jim knows the waters here better than anyone and he might still have one last trick up his sleeve. 

Besides, he doesn't want to miss a chance to find out if he can take Dussell in a fist fight. 

"On the Road to Amurang" is a great example of how much fun the Ponga Jim stories are. It's short, but packed with captures, escapes, gun battles, ship-to-ship combat and a brutal fist fight at the climax. You can read it online HERE. 

Only the Lonely

 

cover art by Joe Kubert

Our Army at War #214 (January 1970) is a story that is pretty predictable in every story beat it hits. But it's still enjoyable in that Bob Kanigher (who is probably the writer) organizes those beats skillfully and Russ Heath (the artist) provides his usual magnificent pencils.

Easy Company is searching through the rubble of a shelled-out town and taking some casualties doing so. Fortunately, they get a replacement. Unfortunately, that replacement is a bit of a jerk.

Hogan, we learn, grew up in the slums of New York and he's used to watching out for himself. In fact, he declines to tag along with one of the patrols checking out the town, deciding he's better going it alone.

 

It's a bit of a stretch that Rock wouldn't simply order Hogan to do as he's ordered, but the story flows along smoothly all the same. Hogan begins searching the town, only to stumble upon a unit of Germans who capture him, tying and gagging him before he can shout a warning.

Hogan had been a bit of a jerk, but he's got enough strength of character to realize he's screwed up. He also has enough strength of character to give up his life for Easy. As Rock and the others are about to walk into an ambush, Hogan charges out into the open. He's shot, but Easy has been warned.

There's a brief battle scene in which Easy Company charges into the Germans and mops them up. Hogan is wounded, but alive and starting to learn that he doesn't have to win the war on his own.

As I said, each beat of the story is predictable. We know that Hogan's loner tendency is going to get him and Easy into trouble. We know that Hogan will redeem himself in the end. I think the only part that isn't predictable is where Hogan is alive and learning his lesson, or if he's dead but redeemed by his courage. Either ending would have worked and--as I said--skillful storytelling and great art keeps us engrossed in the tale from start to finish.

Next week, we'll visit with Green Lantern.

Cover Cavalcade

 MARCH IS BORIS, ROD AND RIPLEY MONTH!!

This George Wilson cover is from 1970.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Whistler: "Shrunken Head" 6/13/42

A woman is haunted by a dream that a shrunken head is speaking to her during the night. Or... is it a dream?

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Danger in Deep Space

 

Read/Watch 'em In Order #167

The second Tom Corbett Space Cadet tie-in novel (written under the psuedonym Carey Rockwell by an unknown author) sends Tom and his fellow cadets out of the solar system for the first time.

Danger in Deep Space (1953) is another slam-bang Space Opera tale that drips with fun. Tom, Roger and Astro are assigned to fly the Polaris to the planet Tara, orbiting around Alpha Centauri. Once there, they are to test a new interstellar communication device. For this mission, the Polaris will be refitted with a hyperdrive and overall command will go to Major Connel, reputed to be the toughest officer in the service.

This is apparently true, as Connel's first encounter with the three cadets involves him chewing them out and all three soon have a bucketful of demerits charged to them for a variety of minor infractions.

But Connel isn't just a martinet. Yes, his command technique for cadets is at first to go into total Drill Sergeant Mode. But we soon find out he's really good at his job--that he cares about both the service and those under his command--and that, if you've earned a "well done," you'll get it. Connel's character template isn't original, but it's presented here with sincerity and a genuine respect for men who do jobs requiring discipline, intelligence and courage.

And discipline, intelligence and courage will be needed. The Polaris heads first to a large spaceport in orbit around Venus. It's from here they will refuel and then launch for Alpha Centuri. (By the way, there is a few paragraphs of technobabble to explain how a hyperdrive works, but then any real-life problems with relativity and Einsteinian physics are blissfully ignored. The book jumps with both feet into Space Opera territory and only occasionally about realistic science. This is how it should be in the Tom Corbett universe.)

While there, a ship crashes into the space station and the two crewmen aboard are killed. Roger Manning, who had been on duty in what was essentially the space station's air traffic control, is framed for being responsible. He goes on the run, while a replacement is brought aboard the Polaris.

While the good guys fly to the planet Tara on their mission, the guys who framed Roger actually recruit the fugitive aboard their ship. They are also flying for Alpha Centauri, intending to mine a small planetoid that is rich in copper. Copper is now very valuable--its esssential for making modern electronics, but most copper sources on Earth have been mined out.

This leads to an entertaining storyline in which the overall situation keeps changing in fun ways. The bad guys try to blow up the good guys. Roger helps foil this plan and then helps capture the bad guys, rejoining the crew of the Polaris. 

The crew of the Polaris decides to blast the copper-planet out of orbit and send it towards Earth. Apparently, it will reach the Earth in a reasonable period of time despite a distance of four light-years. It's similar to how the Millenium Falcon can reach Bespin despite its hyperdrive being knocked out. Or how the Mandalorian could get himself and Baby Yoda from one star sytem to another with no hyperdrive. Like Star Wars, the Tom Corbett Universe works according to Space Opera Physics. As it should. I DON'T WAN TO HEAR A WORD OF COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS! UNDERSTAND?

To carry out this plan, the cadets have to spend several near-sleepless days working out complicated math while building reaction bombs and timing devices. The bombs have to go off at the exact correct second to send the planet off on the correct trajectory.

I really enjoy this part of the book. As in Stand By For Mars, the book here stresses not just physical courage, but education and intelligence. We are reminded that the cadets are all very, very smart. In our universe, they'd each have at least one doctorate in the fields of math, physics or astronomy. When Major Connel obligates them to do Nobel Prize winning tasks on the fly, they step forward to do them. 

But sometimes the need for physical courage arises as well. The captured bad guys stage a break-out at the worst possible moment, putting the mission and the men of the Polaris in a situation that seems pretty much hopeless.

 

Danger in Deep Space brings the Tom Corbett series so far to 2 wins and no losses. We'll return soon to see if the winning streak continues with On the Trail of the Space Pirates. But it has space pirates in it. It can't help but be good.

Stealing Oil

cover artist unknown

 

Before he made it big with his Mike Hammer novels, Mickey Spillane's career as a writer included a stint with Marvel Comics. (Then called Timely Comics.) In All-Winners Comics #3 (Winter 1941-42), Spillane penned a nifty Human Torch story, with the art tentatively credited to Torch's creator Carl Burgos.

The story begins when the Torch and Toro hear a shot and then see the gunman running from a nearby building. They stop the guy, who commits suicide to avoid capture. He turns out to be part of a pro-Japanese society called the Black Dragons.

Inside the building is the body of an oil tycoon, who had recently sold a Texas oil well to someone else. The Torch's investigation of this convinces him to take a look at the oil well. Confirmation that he is on to something comes when, during the trip to Texas via train, a Black Dragon assassin tries to kill him.

The assassin is wearing an asbestos suit, so is able to escape. Upon arriving in Texas, the Torch takes a job at the oil well. He and Toro soon find out that the oil is being pumped from the well to the coast rather than to a legitimate location.

The two heroes are nearly blown to bits by land mines, but soon have the local Black Dragon goons on the run. They capture all but the leader, who escapes through the pipeline and boards a Japanese submarine that has been collecting the oil. 

The Torches catch the sub and burn a hole in its side, forcing it to surrender to a nearby American destroyer. So a plan by the Japanese government to steal oil is foiled.

It's a simple, fun story. Though the artist is uncredited, it looks like Burgos' style and has the same liveliness typical of his work. Spillane shows that, even early in his career, he knew how to move a story along at a brisk pace. Also, its always worthwhile to note that Marvel Comics was slamming the Axis forces before the U.S. officially entered the war. That always makes these early anti-fascist stories more fun to read.

Next week, we'll stay in the 1940s and visit Sgt. Rock.

Cover Cavalcade

 MARCH IS BORIS, ROD AND RIPLEY MONTH!!

This 1967 cover is by George Wilson.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Night Beat: "Jukebox Romance" 5/18/51

A drawf newspaper vender, a jukebox girl, and a ham actor mix together into a strange love triangle.

Click HERE to listen or download.

Another visit with the Rat Patrol

 

The first of six paperback tie-in novels with the 1966-68 TV series, The Rat Patrol (1966) was written by Norman Daniels. Of the six novels, this is arguably the best. (Though The Two-Faced Enemy (1967), by Tom King, would be a close second.)

An Allied attack against Rommel's Africa Korps fails and several thousand Americans are captured.

 

Fortunately, the Rat Patrol has a plan. The four regular members are reinforced with four more men (who might just as well have been issued Star Fleet Red Shirts--their fates are predicatable from the moment they enter the story). The team will then add six trucks to their regular two jeeps and travel around Rommel's flank. The trucks are stuffed full of weapons and ammo--the idea is to spring the 2000 prisoners captured by the Germans, then use them to raise havok behind German lines while another attack is launched.

 

It's an unlikely plot--but that is typical for a Rat Patrol novel. The action moves along non-stop from start to finish and the novel is a lot of fun. Battle scenes include dodging Stuka dive bombers; using bazookas to ambush a pair of tanks; the mass POW break-out and ensuing battle; desperately taking cover behind an upended jeep while the enemy is charging them; and attacking a caravan of "Arabs" who are really disguised Germans deploying a secret weapon. Along the way, the Rat Patrol also has to deal with a beautiful belly dancer who is probably a German informer.

 

It's all over-the-top, but the author keeps the pace fast and has us believing that maybe the Rat Patrol COULD pull all this off. And, heck, maybe some of it is more plausible than non-combat-veteran me thinks. Does anyone know, for instance, if a German Mark III Panzer could be taken out by a .50 caliber machine gun firing armor-piercing rounds? It's an early model tank with much thinner armor than later Panthers and Tigers, so maybe I was wrong in shaking my head a little when I read that scene.

 

The Rat Patrol, like the TV series on which it is based, is a fun romp that concentrates more on continuous action than on realism.

Sir Spot the Lion-Hearted Leopard

 

cover artist unknown

I love discovering obscure characters that have since vanished into Comic Book Limbo. And, by golly, I've found another who is worthy of standing side-by-side with Tommy the Time Traveling Cat or Travelin' Toughy. 

Today, we examine the origin of Sir Spot, the Lion-Hearted Leopard, who first appeared in Animal Fair #1 (March 1946). The artist is Bill Bailey and the writer is unidentified.

A leopard named Freckles, who loves poetry, is picked on by bullies. In response, he's found a hidden location in the woods where he dons a cape and mask, then practices swashbuckling moves with a sword.

But, alas, Freckles knows he's too scared to ever really become a brave knight.

Until the opportunity is thrust upon him. A messenger from the queen stumbles up to Freckles, needing help. With no other choice, Freckles fights the soldiers pursuing the messenger. To his surprise, he wins! All that practice pays off.

Information in the scroll being carried by the messenger leads newly-confident Freckles (though we can now call him Sir Spot) to a castle, where the queen is being held by an evil duke. Sir Spot jumps the wall, takes out some guards, rescues a maid, encounters the duke, defeats him and then discovers the maid is really the queen in disguise.

The graceful queen knights Sir Spot, but Freckles decides that he should keep his knightly identity a secret. He'll be around for more adventueres.

His origin story is pretty cool, with Bailey's artwork endowing the story with energy and a sense of adventure. Sir Spot would go on to have stories in all 11 issues of Animal Fair, which you can read online HERE. He also later appeared in two issues of Fawcett's Funny Animals (#63 & #67). I haven't found these issues online, so I can't confirm whether they are new stories or reprints from Animal Fair, though both have different titles than any of the Animal Fair tales. 

Next week, we'll return to the early days of Timely (later Marvel) Comics and visit with the original Human Torch.

Cover Cavalcade

 MARCH IS BORIS, ROD AND RIPLEY MONTH!!

A George Wilson cover from 1966.

Edgar Rice Burroughs Podcast: Episode #36: Tarzan: Back to Mars

Edgar Rice Burroughs Podcast: Episode #36: Tarzan: Back to Mars:   Tim, Scott and Jess discuss Will Murray's excellent new novel "Tarzan: Back to Mars," in which the Lord of the Jungle return...

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Life of Riley: "Real Life Soap Opera" 4/7/47

Riley becomes convinced that his wife Peg is planning to run off with an old boyfriend.

Click HERE to listen or download.