Sensation 11: the stories

[Joanna]

A long time ago, I used to write synopses of my golden age comics, so that those who couldn't find copies, or didn't read golden age books could find out what they were like. I'm about to sell Sensation #11, and this is one of the comics I wrote a full synopsis of. I have no idea if this forum has any interest in this sort of thing, but I figure you can always skip this thread, if you don't. The following messages will all be from my original synopsis, written years ago (so some references will be dated). Hopefully, you'll find the stories as fun as I did. Ready? Stay tuned, because first up is the Wonder Woman story, and it's a doozy!

[Joanna]

"Sensation Comics #11: Wonder Woman

 

by JSandsmark

 

It's November of 1942. World War II is in full swing. Comics are selling hundreds of thousands of copies per issue. And a brand new heroine has captured the imagination of girls and boys all across the country. In the Summer of 1942, issue #1 of her very own series was sent to the newsstands. Meanwhile, her incredibly popular feature in the anthology series SENSATION COMICS continues to make it a top seller. And now you can be a part of that excitement. For if you keep reading, you can accompany me to another time and another world while I tell you what gems can be found in: SENSATION COMICS #11: A Golden Age Review!!!

 

Journey with WONDER WOMAN to the planet Eros where "women love their bondage." Then join me in an adventure with the BLACK PIRATE AND SON as they sail the seas. Don't be left behind when we follow the thrilling tale of MR. TERRIFIC, the startling story of THE GAY GHOST and the crazy antics of LITTLE BOY BLUE AND THE BLUE BOYS. And marvel at the legendary WILDCAT! Can you really afford to miss out on all this fun? [Note: This review contains the Wonder Woman story only. Please keep your eyes open for the follow-up reviews of the other features, coming soon to a thread near you but only if you demand it!]

 

Let's get to it then!

 

The cover shows Wonder Woman breaking open a jail cell, freeing lots of beautiful, scantily clad women while she kicks a male soldier in the chest. He appears to be dressed in some sort of Greco-Roman armor, carrying a spear (well, dropping a spear as he falls over from Wonder Woman's well-placed kick).��

 

The inside cover has the usual list of published comics and a recommendation for all you boys and girls to run out to your local library and get the book "Treasure Mountain" by Eric P. Kelly. It's a "fine mystery story and a good western adventure story as well."

 

At the bottom of the page, we have a message for members of the Jr. Justice Society. I've reprinted below the message just in case anyone can crack the code. You can translate it yourself into Greek, if you care to. Why? Just cuz. If anyone cracks the code, please post the message, 'kay?)

 

COKT NFI WGYBTS QCT WIBYGZ WIHQYRT HGRYTQN GU OATZYRO

 

There. Go to it, code-breakers.

 

"Prisons that make people happy!" is the opening statement of the summary caption on page one. "Strange ways of living on a planet where women love their bondage and refuse to rule -- the cruel despotism of masculine aggressiveness versus the cool, clever bravery of that beautiful girl, the far-famed Amazon Princess, Wonder Woman!"

 

Sounds to me like we're in for another Marston extravaganza, eh? H. G. Peter did the cover and the interior art for the WONDER WOMAN story with scripting by William Moulton Marston writing under his pen name, Charles Moulton.

 

The splash shows Wonder Woman bending and breaking the bars of a jail cell as she watches Steve Trevor punch out the Greco-Roman guard. Slight change from the cover, but it sure seems like this story is about prisons, doncha think? The insert panel shows Colonel Darnell asking for Diana Prince and Steve Trevor, but being told that neither of them have been heard from! After speculating that perhaps they eloped, he suddenly realizes their disappearance could mean that something bad has happened to them.

 

He sends Lieutenant Spotter to locate the pair who the "enemy would go any length to eliminate." Spotter checks out Steve's quarters and finds Steve sound asleep in his bed, wearing his uniform (but without the coat). Assuming he's drugged, Spotter calls a doctor who immediately sends Steve to the hospital. Meanwhile, Diana Prince's room is empty [quite the mystery here, eh? What in the world is this all about?].

 

Over at Holliday College, we find out the explanation for Diana's disappearance. Lying in one of the beds is Diana, dressed as Wonder Woman. In the bed next to her is Etta Candy dressed like a cowgirl, complete with hat, boots and gun & holster. She has one of those thought balloon pictures, like in IMPULSE, showing a saw cutting through a log. Guess Etta snores.

 

A woman (who looks like it could be Dean Sourpuss, or whatever name they're calling her this time) throws a jug of water on Etta, but she doesn't waken. So they're taken to the hospital as well.

 

Col. Darnell sees that Wonder Woman is also afflicted by this sleeping mystery and wonders aloud what drug could possibly knock her out! [i, for one, am baffled!] "Frankly, Colonel, we're baffled!" says the nurse. [phew! at least I'm not the only one...] "We've tested her for all known toxins with no result!"

 

Ah! But now we get the explanation! [Were you getting worried? Naw, they weren't going to wait several issues, string this along, cross it over with Mutt & Jeff in a multi-part superhero/funny animal slugfest. That was just a rumor.]

 

Last night in Diana's room, Ms. Prince is looking in the mirror, fiddling with her red button earrings. "When I visited Venus for the Justice Society," she thinks, "Queen Desira magnetized these earrings with her lips." [uh-huh. Queen Desira was kissing Diana's jewelry during the last JSA adventure. Hmmm. I'm not implying anything here. Just sort of wondering if that's, like, a Venusian custom or something. Kissing earrings. And magnetizing them. 'Ole magnet-lips Desira, that's what we used to call her in high school. Kissed the boys and made them attract every paper clip within a square mile. If this DC/Marvel crossover thing works out, what say we set up a blind date between Queen Desira and Magneto?] [ahem. It seems I've wandered off the subject. Sorry.] "She said the earrings would give me MAGNETIC HEARING and she could speak to me from Venus! I have a feeling she's trying to contact me now - oh - my ears are tingling!" [seems to me... nah, too easy]

 

"Greetings, Earth Girl!" comes Queen Desira's voice over those amazing lip-enhanced earrings. "You are needed tonight on the planet Eros. Your great strength may save its civilization from extinction!" When Diana asks how she's supposed to get to another planet tonight, Queen Desira tells her, "When humans sleep, their astral bodies travel wherever they desire. Your astral body wears the same clothing as your sleeping body. Sleep now and send your astral body to Eros!"

 

Sooo... let's see what we've learned, okay? Remember all those dreams you had where you were in high school and there was a big test only you didn't study and all of a sudden you noticed you were naked? Well, it really happened. Sure, it was a hot night and your best jammies were in the wash and you figured it would be safe to sleep in the buff. Ha! You actually astral projected yourself into school and met all the other sleeping students and you were naked naked naked!

 

You can learn lots from comics.

 

Wonder Woman, smart cookie that she is, thinks, "If I travel to Eros tonight in my sleep, I must be dressed in my Wonder Woman costume!" [Wisdom of Athena. Take note.] So, knowing that she can't go to sleep wearing her Wonder Woman costume in Diana Prince's bed, she heads over to Holliday College. Etta Candy decides to join the expedition to Eros and dons her cowgirl outfit [don't ask. I have no idea why, either.] As soon as they fall asleep their astral bodies project out and meet Queen Desira [who never says whether she has to bag it or not] but she warns them there's a lot of fighting going on, so they should bring a soldier. [Ayup. Sounds to me like we needed to work that Trevor dude into the story.]

 

The astral women float through walls and doors and find Steve in his jammies in bed, enjoying a pipe and talking to himself. "Gosh - I wish I knew where Wonder Woman is -- I bet I'll dream about her again tonight!" he says. Wonder Woman is, astrally speaking, standing right next to him and says, "This is embarrassing." [Hmmm... ya think she's embarrassed because he talks to himself? Talks about her? Has stripey jammies? Or because they're all going to hang around to watch him get dressed, including Etta?] Queen Desira implants the notion that Steve should get dressed (though she does add that the astral-femmes will leave the room. [shucks. We STILL don't know what Wonder Woman sees in him. Ahem.]) He complies but decides that he probably dreamed the message to get dressed, so he doesn't get into his full uniform.

 

With Steve in tow, the astralites head out traveling "at the quickness of thought." And so they arrive at Joyala, the capital of Eros. Waiting for them in the Palace of Judgment, is "Marya, Planetary Mother and Supreme Judge of Eros." Queen Desira takes her leave, assuring Diana that their astrallific bodies will understand all languages. As they enter the Palace, three people in chains are being led away saying, "Ha! Ha! Back to prison -- Hooray! Are we lucky!" and "Congratulate me! I got ten more years in prison!" "Pooh! I'm twice as lucky -- she gave me 20 years!" Etta postulates that prison food must be candy.

 

Meanwhile, a female prisoner is pleading with Marya to be sent back to jail, but the stern judge sentences her to freedom and a job conducting a symphony orchestra. Marya then greets our Astrolific gang of do-gooders and decides to thank them for helping out by giving them a prison term. "What! Send us to prison?" yelps Diana. "Not if I can help it!" Marya takes this as self-sacrifice, thinking Diana wants to help so much she'll forgo the pleasures of a jail term. "If only Rebla, our bad girl of Eros, were like you!" says Marya.

 

[New from Extreme: REBLA, BAD GIRL OF EROS! ::insert drawing of anatomically impossible, 48DDD, gritty sneering gun-toting silver-haired barely dressed generic female here:: Marston and Leifeld like you've never read 'em before! Action figure sold separately.]

 

Marya then tells her guests all about Rebla (bad girl of Eros). In their society, "Prisons are designed to give the prisoners perfect happiness. At fifteen all our children go to prison." Rebla did very well. She was an athlete, a star dancer, and an expert at man-fishing. [you read it correctly.] (They sit on a wall with a huge rod and reel and capture men by snagging them with the bola at the end of their fishing line. Then, like deep sea fishing, they "play" the man until he tires and reel him in.) Rebla studied electrical engineering and invented a paralysis ray in the prison lab. A guard offers to be her test subject (the guards are all beautiful women, most beloved). It works and the guard is paralyzed, though able to talk. Touching her with a copper tube discharges the ray. The guard jokes that Rebla could have escaped, to which Rebla shouts an outraged "NEVER! I couldn't invent anything without submitting to your direction!"

 

While Rebla was happily inventing a long-range paralysis ray gun, she is called to stand before Judge Marya. When Rebla protests, the guard holds the paralysis ray on her [ain't that a kick in the pants? Hoist on her own petard!] and says, "Submit, or I'll paralyze you! You are accused of being fit to rule both men and women. An emergency has arisen in Trans Mountania!" In court, Rebla pleads her case. "I am NOT fit to rule! I HATE responsibility! I like to SUBMIT, to be TOLD what to do! Being a ruler isn't worth the trouble!" But the jury finds her guilty as charged and sets her free, sentenced to be the ruler of Trans Mountania.

 

She hated it. She had no time for man-fishing and spent all her time working. She had to solve everybody's problems but her own. A brooding Rebla became rebellious [Remember, name = motivation in Martston's writing]. So she ignored affairs of state and concentrated on inventing stuff in her lab. An assistant warned her that unless she signed a treaty it would mean war and Rebla cavalierly responds, "So what? War might be exciting. Don't bother me." A government force sent to arrest Rebla was met by her army of ::gasp:: men, all armed with paralysis ray guns. The government (all scantily clad women in chain mail bikini tops and skirts) were trounced. Rebla then sent a letter to Marya. It read:

 

"Since you have declared war against me,

I shall attack you, and destroy the govern-

ment of Eros! I am building a New Kind of

Prison for you and your puny girl soldiers!

(signed)

Rebla

Ruler of

Trans Mountania

 

[note: This comic once belonged to Pearl Klein. She signed it in pencil on this page, proudly, in childlike cursive writing. So Pearl, if you're out there, thanks for the comic, but you couldn't have kept it in better shape???]

 

Wonder Woman, having now gotten up to speed on Rebla (Bad Girl of Eros) realizes they'll have to get the ray guns in order to defeat her. So she invents ray-proof bracelets, then trains the army in ray-deflection. During training, Rebla's army marches on Joyala, readying their attack!

 

Diana and the troops meet the rebel army with Steve commanding the center and Etta and Diana both taking control over the cavalry wings. Steve leads the attack but the girl soldiers aren't experienced enough to deflect the rays. [Note: Diana did some missionary work here, for as the girls are hit they all shout "Aphrodite save us!"] Time for the cavalry! Etta and Diana smash the rebel flanks. She lassoes a rebel officer and commands him to tell his men to surrender. Meanwhile, Etta grabs a ray gun and paralyzes folks left and right.

 

They realize that though they have the army, they don't have Rebla, so they go in search. Right into an ambush! [it's the old blind canyon with rebels on the clifftop with paralyzing rays trick. tch tch, Wonder Woman]. They chain the paralyzed prisoners and put them in cages. Everyone except Wonder Woman is unparalyzed. Wonder Woman is put in a cage alone. She tells Rebla, "You wanted to remain a prisoner. Now you DARE not surrender -- to your own jailers!" Rebla takes the challenge and submits. The chains are too tight, and they don't let her work in the lab. It's a rude awakening for the Bad Girl of Eros.

 

Rebla sends for Dominus, the man she appointed ruler in her place, and pleads for him to unparalyze Wonder Woman, saying the Amazon Princess will die if she remains paralyzed. Dominus doesn't care (he's dressed like Caesar for no apparent reason). Rebla has learned her lesson.

 

Steve, seeing the still form of Wonder Woman, is driven to action. He attacks a guard through the bars of his cage and knocks him out, grabbing his keys. But, although he escapes, none of the keys are for Wonder Woman's cage. She entreats Steve to free Rebla, who gets a copper rod and unparalyzes Wonder Woman. The Amazon wastes no time breaking her chains and smashing her cage. "Tearing off door after door from the prisoners' cells, Wonder Woman leads her army of imprisoned Eros women to freedom! Speeding back to Joyala like a flash of light, Wonder Woman plucks Dominus from the throne just as he is condemning Marya and Etta Candy to death!"

 

She punches out Dominus' lights saying, "Little boys with big mouths must have them stopped up!" With order restored, Marya apologizes to Rebla for freeing her in the first place and lets the Bad Girl of Eros return to prison and her lab. To the Earthers who helped her, Marya offers them Eros' biggest prize: a prison term of any length! "Well - er - thanks a lot, Marya!" says Wonder Woman, "But we must return to Earth. Farewell!"

 

Meanwhile, in Washington, a group of puzzled doctors note that Steve, Etta and Wonder Woman have slept for ten days! Suddenly the three patients awaken all at once. "Nice trip, eh girls? Ho-hum!" says Steve. "Punk - no candy!" opines Etta [my word for the day: Punk as an expletive. Love it.] Immediately, the doctors ask Steve if he knows where Diana Prince is. Wonder Woman zips out of the hospital, realizing that her absent secret identity is a real problem. Moments later, Diana Prince taps Col. Darnell on the shoulder. "Diana! You don't know how I've worried about you!" "That's nice - er, too bad!" she replies, "Wonder Woman rescued me. She said to tell Steve she -- I -- No, I won't deliver that message!" [Hmmm... wonder what she was going to say?] The end.

 

Remember: "Wonder Woman's adventures are like nothing you ever read before. Follow them each month in Sensation Comics!" Ah, would that we could!!!

 

Next we have an ad for two of All-American's hottest comics. The top half of the page has Superman, Batman, Flash and Green Lantern all telling you about the first issue of WONDER WOMAN!! "In less than a year - one of the leading comic-book characters of America! You'll love her more than ever in these new never-before published episodes! Edited by Alice Marble - former world's tennis champion! Now on sale everywhere!" Wow. WONDER WOMAN #1. There she is, on her white steed, her lasso circling above her head, hunting down Nazis. Man, I sure wish I could ride my bike down to the newsstand and pick up that baby.

 

The bottom half of the page tells you about All-Star Comics #13. "Axis agents shanghai the Justice Society into rocket ships and send them to scattered planets in the universe!" It's another complete full-length adventure of the Justice Society, folks, featuring all your favorite characters! Better run right out and spend your hard-earned dime -- that's my advice!

 

So what did you think of this way fun story? Want me to continue with more of Sensation Comics #11?��

 

-- Joanna

 

[Joanna]

So you stuck with me, eh? Found you couldn't stand it without knowing what other way cool stories were lurking in Sensation #11? Well, I'm with you! You can't read just one!

 

A point before we begin. I made a typo when transcribing the secret code from the Greek letters. The solution to the puzzle was: "Have you joined the Junior Justice Society of America?" Seems to me if they could crack the code, they might have. And if not, it still sort of sucks for a secret message. I wanted it to be something amazingly cool like "Sheldon Moldoff wears women's panties" or something equally scandalous. I mean hey -- no comics code! Take advantage! On the other hand, the Wonder Woman story most assuredly does that already...

 

In this portion of the review, we'll be reading the BLACK PIRATE AND SON. Still to come, MR. TERRIFIC, THE GAY GHOST, LITTLE BOY BLUE AND THE BLUE BOYS and WILDCAT! So stay tuned, folks.

 

On to the story...

 

"In the latter part of the sixteenth century, evil doers in all corners of the world trembled when someone mentioned the Black Pirate! Whether on sea or land, Jon Valor, in reality the Black Pirate, and his son, Justin, lashed out with punishing force against those whose creed was oppression."

 

Pearl Klein, the former owner of this particular comic, has written us a note in the margins, pointing out that the art on this story was done by Sheldon Moldoff. She noticed that the last panel had the small signature "Shelly" on it. Good eye, Pearl! C'mon everybody, let's hear it for Pearl Klein! And the art throughout the story is excellent. Lots of moody shadow stuff and fully rendered backgrounds. Nicely done indeed.

 

THE BLACK PIRATE isn't on his boat in this one. No water in sight. Instead he's hanging out with a king. Pretty fancy company for a pirate.

 

The story opens with a horseman slicing down peasants as "the sun bakes a wheat field near Paris". Oh, the horseguy is a sinister figure. [sure, he may be wearing green-stripey pants and a lovely orange checkered shirt, but in the 16th century, this is considered sinister. Nowadays, of course, it's considered a fashion risk.]

 

"Pay your taxes or I'll slice off your ears!" "But I have no money aaagh..." Then the earless one adds, as the best-dressed sinister guy in the kingdom rides away, "Thieving cousin to a thieving king -- the time will come when all your kind will perish." Pretty nice set-up, huh? Only took two panels and already we know lotsa stuff. For anyone out there who wants to know how to write concise comic book exposition, take note. [of course, this wouldn't work nowadays because there wasn't a single female with her butt hanging out in either panel. Sure, we had an earless guy, but that doesn't sell comics. If it did, "Van Gogh the Deathpainter" would be at the top of the charts.]

 

[by the way, it's a shame you can't see me here, because I am having SUCH a good hair day!]

 

[Ahem. Let's introduce the cast, shall we?] "Later, the Duc de Grande returns to the palace of Louis the Just - where Jon Valor and his son, Justin, are guests." King Louis says to the Duc, "Ho - and did ye inform my subjects, Cousin, that there is to be no more taxing?"

 

Again, I must point out that all the major points of the story have fallen into place and we've only used up 3 panels! We know the names of the major players, we know there is unlawful taxing going on by the Duc and that the Duc is the King's cousin. I just find this all so succinct. You just don't find that kind of clear storytelling going on in today's comics nearly enough.

 

The Duc hems and haws a bit, lying to the King that all is done as he ordered when Jon Valor enters. Jon sucks up to the king a bit and the Duc (who, in a thought balloon, calls him "that mincing Valor") decides that Valor is a threat because the King likes him. The Duc decides on a plan and sends Jon and Justin out to "see how happy the peasants be." When they great the peasants in the Duc's name, a riot breaks out and Jon is knocked off his horse. "Death to those who would oppress us -- vengeance is ours..." screams a peasant and others soon join him, carrying sticks [don't think they're sticks with nails in them, though, so phew! Jon may be okay]. Justin is also attacked, but he has time to draw his sword and defeats the burly peasant attacking him. He grabs Jon, puts his limp form on his horse and high-tails it outa there.

 

"That night, inside a poorly thatched hut!" [poorly-thatched hut. heh. I can just see it: Hi, come on in. Sorry my hut is so poorly-thatched, but care for some grog?] The peasants gather to plan their revenge on Louis (who, of course, they think is behind the usurious taxes). They decide to march on the palace. Outside, paying no heed to the thatching, are The Black Pirate and Justin [poor Justin has no cool code name, like The Beige Cabin Boy, or The Off-Black Pirate's Helperguy] who realize they've all been betrayed by Duc.

 

Meanwhile, Duc is telling the King that Jon Valor is the one collecting illegal taxes. Louis, now alone, is crushed. "Parbleu!" he says, "'Tis hard to believe so fine a man as Valor is a trumpery knave..." [anyone know what Parbleu means?] Through the window comes The Black Pirate "with a ready rapier for injustice and a tongue that bears ye th' truth." [Lotsa "ye" and stuff in this strip, ye know?] The Black Pirate then rats on Duc and the King is in a dilemma, not knowing who to believe, his cousin or the guy wearing the mask. He goes with the mask.

 

The King calls in Duc who enters a blackened room, where The Black Pirate waits in ambush. Blackie tells Duc he killed the King and wants Duc to take over so they can split the tax money. "Morbleu," says the Duc [anyone know what morbleu means?] Ducey is into the being king part of it but not so keen on splitting the money so he throws a chair at the pirate. Out from behind the curtain (shades of Hamlet!) comes the king, admitting they tricked the confession out the ducer. Duc grabs his sword and all looks lost until from out of nowhere another sword is thrown and disarms him. It's The Beige Cabin Boy...er... Justin!

 

Justin, now weaponless, swings on a portiere and goes to kick el Ducumondo in the noggin, but the crafty nobleman ducks and Justin knocks out the king instead! Ooops. This gives Duc the chance to call for the guards -- "Soldiers, soldiers! Your king is being attacked by pirates!" Justin tries to calm the situation claiming to be a friend to the king but the soldier says, "Ye stand over the fallen king and profess to be a friend - bah!" So the Duc sends the two pirates to the dungeon.

 

However, our resourceful duo fools a guard with the tried-and-true 'one guy moaning like he's sick while the other guy ambushes the guard' trick and they escape.

 

Meanwhile, the king is in bed and the doctor is giving him a "philtre." [what the heck is a philtre??? Hold on while I look it up. Hmmm... '1. a potion, charm, or drug supposed to cause a person to fall in love.' My goodness. Does the Duc have romantic designs on the king? Somehow I don't think so. This is the Black Pirate, not The Gay Ghost. '2. a magic potion for any purpose.' This seems closer, though everyone in the story just calls it medicine, so I don't know how magical it's supposed to be] Duc tells the doc to give him more medicine and the doc says, "No. A little of this philtre will restore the king. But too much is fatal..." [how convenient] The duc grabs the bottle "but as the deadly philtre lowers to the king's lips, a black-clad figure charges through the door..." [Let me note here that the Black Pirate doesn't actually wear ANY black. He has a white shirt, yellow tights with yellow undies-on-the-outside and a purple cape and cowl. But no black.]

 

At that moment, hoards of angry peasants attack the palace! They overpower the guards, having exchanged their pointy sticks for actual swords, and confront the king in his bedroom. Suddenly, the Duc confesses his entire scheme, calming the peasants [that was nice of him. Really. Great timing, don't you think?] The peasants ask for forgiveness of their sovereign and the king says, "Gladly. And I am Pleased that my subjects have the courage to defend themselves when abused." [What a great guy, that king. Ya gotta love him.] The king then asks The Black Pirate to find his friend Jon Valor, the easiest task yet for our not-so-black hero.

 

"Follow the swash-buckling tales of the Black Pirate and his son, Justin every month in Sensation Comics" or Justin will cry. Buy War Bonds.

 

Having decided to post each of these stories separately, this is where I'll leave you. But Mr. Terrific is on the way soon and he fights Nazis, so don't miss it! Meanwhile, what are your reactions to The Black Pirate?

 

-- Joanna

 

 

 

[Joanna]

Well, we've met Rebla, The Bad Girl of Eros and fought by Wonder Woman's side so that "girls who love their bondage" could go back to jail. And we've hung out in a poorly-thatched hut with The Black Pirate and Son while they helped King Louis the Just against his evil cousin, the Duc. What say we drop in on MR. TERRIFIC!!!!!

 

Hey look! An actual credit on this puppy! We didn't even need Pearl Klein to point it out! This tale of Mr. Terrific's daring-do is brought to you by Hal Sharp and Reizenstein. Now I know lots of you folks are big fans of the guy with Fair Play written on his chest, so I'm going cut through the babble of my usual forward [hmm... two paragraphs of babble already. Better sharpen my scissors if not my wit] and get you there lickety-split!

 

"Terry Sloane, [howcum they spell his last name Sloane here and Sloan in another story? No continuity! That's it. I'm boycotting comics.] a big name in war industries, a man whose decisions control the lives and welfare of thousands of Americans, flies up to the Maine woods for a conference with a colleague. Even there the relentless war pursues him, but this time, PHYSICALLY -- and Terry Sloane is always ready and willing for a good fight -- as MR. TERRIFIC!"

 

The splash shows Mr. Terrific chopping down a tree that lands on a Nazi U-boat in the water near shore. Nazis? Right next to the shore? Holey cow can it be true?

 

Terry calls Wanda to tell her he's flying up to the Maine woods and when she insists on accompanying him, he tells her she's welcome, but it's no pleasure trip. Terry and Wanda fly off in his Trojan amphibian plane using a "special license of the Eastern Flight Command". [it's wartime so you don't just hop in your Sopwith Camel and expect to go cruising around up there]. Terry explains to Wanda that the reason for the trip is to rendezvous with a scientist who's doing research for Terry up in the Maine woods. [the phrase "up in the Maine woods" is repeated over and over again at the start of this thing. Makes me wonder if it's somehow significant...]

 

Just as they fly over Petit Manon Lighthouse, Maine, the engine on the trusty Trojan starts to sputter. Terry puts her down on the choppy seas "as gracefully as a sea gull." Suddenly, Terry and Wanda spot a periscope in the water! Terry quickly repairs his motor [He stands in a little floaty inner tube thing to do so. Is this standard operating procedure for water repairs? Do all sea planes have little floaty inner tube things to stand on in case you need to repair your plane? Just wondering].

 

Terry decides to question the lighthouse keeper about the periscope, as U.S. subs don't patrol so close to shore. But when a cheerful Terry rows his floaty inner tube thing to the lighthouse, the keeper tells him to go away. "This here's gov'mint property!" Terry shows his credentials and asks if the keeper's seen a submarine, but the keeper is still surly and armed. [Ya don't wanna mess with folks who are surly and armed, just common sense] and says "Now scram - an' don't COME BACK!"

 

Terry rows back to his plane and tells Wanda that the keeper winked at him even though he acted very tough. [i'm telling you, I swear this is Mr. Terrific, not the Gay Ghost! Geez, first it's the Duc makin' moves on the Black Pirate, now the keeper is winking at Terry! So why do folks fuss about alleged lesbian themes in Wonder Woman when all this is going on? Nobody was winking at Diana! Then again, the women there were too busy putting her in bondage to worry about making a date...]. Terry also mentions that the keeper said "come back" really loud. He suspects foul play.

 

Terry dons his Mr. Terrific togs (green tunic, red tights, black belt, red mask and a yellow FAIR PLAY sign on his chest, just in case you're new around here) and swims over to the reef to "make a grand entrance as Mr. Terrific!"

 

"Gad! That water's like ice! Now let's see what's going on in the lighthouse!" he says as he crawls ashore on the rocky point. Inside he sees bloodstains and signs of a struggle. The bloodstains lead under a locked door. "And judging from the guttural voices behind it, there must be at least five or six nutzy Nazis in there!" [Gad! Not Nutzy Nazis!]

 

Terry bursts through the door saying, "I've been waiting for a chance to tangle with some of you Nazi boy scouts! LET'S GO!" Mr. Terrific punches out one of the Nazis [who are about as ugly as its possible to draw human beings, I might add] and teeth fly from the Nazi's mouth. "See your dentist, Nutzy!" says Mr. Terrific, "twice a year. You'll soon be seeing him through barbed wire at a prison camp!" [i'm so proud of Mr. Terrific. Here he is in a struggle against overwhelming Nazi odds, and he takes the time to worry about their dental hygiene. What a guy!] The toothless Nazi responds, "Ach! Butcher! My fine goldt teeth! Iss dis vot means 'keep 'em flying?'"

 

[Note: The phrase "keep 'em flying" is somewhat of a theme in this comic book. Almost every story from now on uses this phrase at some point. On the cover of every comic around this time is also a small circle with three planes in it with the legend "Let's go U.S.A. Keep 'em flying!" circling around them. Obviously, this was a major catch-phrase of the World War II era. It had to be such a part of the national consciousness that everyone heard it repeated and often. Therefore, it seeped into the literature of the day, like this comic book, where several different authors writing very different stories all managed to work it into the dialogue. Back to you, Chett] [i figured as long as we're using really old catch-phrases...]

 

One of the Nazis blasts a tear gas gun and Mr. Terrific falls against the wall. "Mr. Terrific's powerful use of the wall as a brace proves disastrous. For he unknowingly releases a hidden spring, opening a secret panel!" Mr. Terrific falls down a rocky shaft into the water. "BLUB! GLUB!" he sputters. [C'mon code-breakers! What did he really sa-- oh waitasec. That's not the Jr. Justice Society code. That's Terry sputtering. Sorry.]

 

In the small pool where Mr. Terrific has fallen, he spots the lighthouse keeper, also treading water. Finally, the mystery of the blood stained lighthouse is solved as the keeper says, "I back-handed one o'them varmints - give 'im a bloody nose - before they dumped me down here!" Terry notes the water is salty and determines that it must have an inlet to the sea. The keeper is too weak to make the swim but says he can do it later. Mr. Terrific doesn't have time to waste. He swims through an underwater channel and surfaces only to find the Nazis towing away his plane! With Wanda still inside!!!

 

He swims under the Nazi rowboat and without their seeing him, boards his Trojan. Then he powers up the engines and takes off, dumping the boatful of Nazis into the water as he flies away. "Don't those Nazis fly thru the air with the greatest of ease?" asks Terry. Wanda replies, "Just ducky, if you ask me." [i've always loved that phrase "just ducky." Mental note: say "just ducky" lots more often. But not in this review as my scheming brain was just telling me to, because it would get old real fast.]

 

So far, I'd say this story is just du...lightful.

 

"Wanda, you remember I cautioned you in New York about this trip. It is now taking on a decidedly grim aspect!" says a worried Terry to his paramour. "Yes," the stalwart girlfriend replies, "it's getting very interesting." Terry approaches Blue Island where the professor lives and they land to warn him of the Nazis.

 

When Terry tells the prof about the Nazis, the prof puts two and two together regarding a lab assistant who disappeared (obviously a Nazi spy!). Terry tries to call the coast guard but the phone is "dead as a haddock." [Dead as a haddock? Are haddock intrinsically dead circa World War II? What does that mean, dead as a haddock?] Upon investigation the pair realizes that the wires have been cut (and not just at the prof's house, but at the telephone pole, so all communications are out!) Professor Dale realizes that the Nazis are after his formula and fears that all is lost. When questioned, the prof explains that his formula is "a new way to process nitrates from seawater! Nitrates to make explosives in limitless quantities and cheaper than table salt!" [Aw nerts! Now what are they gonna do? If the Nazis get that formula... Punk! We're in trouble! Well, that's just du...ngerous. Very dungerous indeed.]

 

Terry decides to recruit some fighting men in the village while the professor waits behind. The men all wear plaid shirts and carry axes. [Hmmm... wonder what they do for a living?] Terry may have been the one to fly off, but it's Mr. Terrific who gives a stirring speech to the fighting plaid-shirted, axe-wielding men who agree to aid his cause. They set "a Nazi rat-trap."

 

The sub cruises up the inlet toward the prof's house, but waiting in ambush are Mr. Terrific and the men. They have prepared a tree so it is just about to topple. "Here comes the sub, boys - let's go!" exhorts Mr. Terrific. "Right!" answers one of the men, "KEEP 'EM FLYING!" [see what I mean? Twice in this story alone!] With a couple strokes of his axe, Mr. Terrific topples the giant tree on top the u-boat. "The sub's conning tower is smashed by the 100-ton tree like a toy boat!" Next, the guys go up to a huge logjam. "Now release this logjam into the river current. That'll finish the job!" cajoles Mr. Terrific. "Break the boom chain! We'll make pulp outta them Nazis!" said one of the men.

 

Meanwhile, the Nazis are struggling to escape their crippled sub. "Mr. Terrific and the lumberjacks [Lumberjacks! That's what they are! I had no clue!] loose an irresistible flood of logs to pound the Nazis!"

 

"Himmel! A log blitzkrieg! Jump for your lives!" shouts a Nazi. "The onrushing logs tear downstream straight for the sub like an armored division! Tons of the heavy logs smother the Nazi u-boat!" "Now, Nazis, you can FEEL the bark of American lumberjacks' guns!" shouts Mr. Terrific, while straddling two logs as he rides down the rushing currents. [What a cool guy, that Mr. Terrific. He's just du..shing. Dushing and dubonairre]

 

"And the Nazi craft, crushed by the roaring log jam, heads for the bottom! The nitrate secret is saved!"

 

Yippee!

 

Mr. Terrific then repairs the phone lines and calls the coast guard who will easily be able to salvage the sub. "Thanks fellows, for your help -- you did a swell job!" he tells the lumberjacks. "Great guy, that Terrific!" says one. "So long, Terrific!" says another. And after leaving the lumberjacks, Mr. Terrific changes back to Terry Sloane and tells the prof and Wanda that the formula is safe. [Only the Americans get to blow people up cheaply! Yay!]

 

"Yes, and say!" says the prof, "who was that chap in a red and green suit helping you? He was really terrific!"

 

Wowzers. That story really was just du...rrific.

 

There's an ad for the new Mutt & Jeff -- now quarterly!!! - issue #6 and below is a massively cool ad for more titles. Why massively cool? Mainly because all these covers are really famous. I've seen them all before and now I'm looking at them and imagining being able to buy them all this month. There's World's Finest #7. Superman, Robin and Batman all straddling cannons on a battleship and waving. You know you've seen that one before. Heck, I've seen it on refrigerator magnets! Next is Superman #19 and he's running along, carrying a car over his head with a family in it, getting ready to picnic. And last is Batman #13 with Batman and Robin parachuting through spotlights.

 

Too cool for words.

 

But wait! This is Sensation Comics we're reading. This is no pantywaist nothing publication with three stories in it. We still have LITTLE BOY BLUE AND THE BLUE BOYS and WILDCAT and the next review: THE GAY GHOST!!! It's a good one too. Has a mysterious dragon in the sky, pilots who go crazy, a lousy waiter and death-defying danger! Stay tuned and don't forget to post your reactions! (I like to know if folks actually read these things) What did you think of MR. TERRIFIC?

 

-- Joanna (feeling my running gag was just du...mb)

 

 

 

[Joanna]

...weeee-EEEEE-eeee-ooooo....

 

Orange flames flicker over Joanna's face as she settles you down by the fire. You huddle closer, the dark woods that surround you whispering in keening breezes and the small rustlings of creatures unknown. After a dramatic pause, Joanna asks in a low voice filled with mystery and intrigue... "Who wants to hear a ghost story?"

 

A short gasp comes from one of you, an uneasy shifting on the log bench from another and a nervous giggle from a third. It's time, she thinks. Time to tell them about THE GAY GHOST...!

 

"In olden days, the men who sailed the seven seas, spun eerie yarns of gigantic sea-serpents, and monsters which dragged ships and their crews to the briny deep -- how these stories started no one knows. But now we find another myth starting -- a dreaded 'Air Monster,' terror to flying men! But behind all this lies another story involving the fighting GAY GHOST, hero of the eighteenth century when he was Keith Everet, Earl of Strethmere -- but now appearing in the bodily form of Charles Collins, American flier --"

 

Now all eyes focus on Joanna as she begins to weave her eerie tale. Not one of you dares to move, lest you miss a word or nuance of the frightful yarn about to be spun. So listen. Listen all of you. Listen to the terrors of the Gay Ghost...

 

Um.... is this just not working because the dang hero is called the GAY Ghost? How do you get all spooky and stuff when the guy has such a cheery name? Ah well. Enough of this mucking about. Time for another Golden Age Review!!!

 

The splash shows the Gay Ghost (he wears form-fitting grey tights -- for those who like that sort of thing... -- with a grey cape. His shorts are blue as are his sleeves. Over this he wears a belted red tunic with pointy white shoulder thingies sticking up. His hair is styled like Errol Flynn's in "Adventures of Robin Hood" and he carries a sword.). He is fighting a large green dragon who has smoke pouring from his nostrils in that dragonlike way that dragons have [did I mention he was a dragon?]. They are both in mid-air. The initials "HP" are written in the corner of the splash, but I don't know enough about GA artists to tell you who this is. I do know that it's not Harry Peters. That's about the extent of my guessing.

 

For those unfamiliar with The Gay Ghost, whenever Charles Collins is unconscious, the ghost can materialize. The ghost can be a phantom or solid and can interact with folks as if he were corporeal. He can fly, is an expert swordsman, and a great fighter.

 

Now on to the story!

 

In the locker room, a bunch of pilots are trading stories. "I know all about the air serpent! ...It almost got me once--" "--Me too -- I went into a spin but it followed me -- then it disappeared just like that--" Collins doesn't believe a word of it. "Air serpent bosh!" he says [oooh, bosh. I like that. Yet another exclamation to add to our growing list], "what kind of old wives tale is this?" The men insist that it's the truth and in fact has been responsible for the rash of crashes they've had lately.

 

"Well, it sounds like a ghost story to me!" says Collins. [and he would know...] "A ghost story!" reads the caption. [here we go in a typical GA/SA device called 'driving the point home to new readers'] "What would the boys think if they knew that Collins himself is a ghost -- THE GAY GHOST! Living once more in the bodily form of a flyer, long since departed!" [Okay, now I feel stupid. That sounds like Collins is dead, too. I did not know this.] "But ghost or not, Collins is a level-headed fellow, not easily taken in by tall stories--"

 

Collins wonders what's really behind the stories of the air serpent and the mysterious crashes as he runs over to the tavern to meet Deborah and her kid brother (who just got his wings).

 

Time for another expository caption. "Deborah Wallace is the namesake and descendant of the girl the Gay Ghost loved in the 18th century, when he was Keith Everet, Earl of Strethmere--" [Hmmm... interesting...]

 

Deborah introduces Collins to her brother George. [Deborah is a gorgeous brunette, a perfect match for the handsome, debonair Charles Collins. I've decided I really like this HP whoever he is. He does a great job with faces. Some neato art in this story.] George and Collins trade some stories about flight training and then Collins mentions that he'd like to fly with George to check him out. George is excited at the prospect. In the background, a strange waiter realizes that this is his chance! [Ooooh, toldja it was scary! After all, what's more sinister than a waiter? Well, okay, there's a waiter with burning eyes, but those are so rare.] "The strange waiter stares at the young flyer with burning eyes -- " [eep!] "Do as I tell you --" says his thought balloon. In his hand he has a shining round object and he hypnotizes George with it. He then makes George say exactly what he wants him to, arranging to fly with Collins right after lunch. When Collins hesitates, he rudely chides him into agreement. However, it's Collins' curiosity about George's sudden rude behavior that is really making him agree to it.

 

They get to the plane and George momentarily regains control, apologizing for his boorish behavior yet unaware that he was hypnotized. George makes an excellent take-off and gets a big thumbs up from Collins while Deborah watches from the field. "George isn't acting like himself," she thinks, "I wish they hadn't gone up today..."

 

Deborah takes her eyes off the plane long enough to spot the waiter from the tavern standing nearby. She decides to find out what he's doing there, but when she approaches him, sees that he's in a trance! [i KNEW he was trouble! It was those burning eyes, I tellya!] Meanwhile, the waiter... um... hee hee... oh man does he have a goofy expression on his face!.. hee heeee har... ahem... the waiter thinks, "the MONSTER! It is coming straight at you! Smoke pours from its nostrils!" [yeah and your ears are sticking out and you look like you just noticed Deborah there had bean burritos for lunch. That's some wacky trance, waiter-boy]

 

Up in the air, the flyers are dealing with the results of the waiter's dirty work. George is panicking as he sees a gigantic dragon in the sky. Collins, however, sees nothing and tries to get the controls. George grabs a wrench and shouts, "You fool! It'll kill us! Dive! Crash! ANYTHING! Better to crack up than have that terrible thing get us!" and with that he slams Collins in the noggin with the wrench. Collins is out cold.

 

And that means this is a job for... The Gay Ghost! Yup, with Collins unconscious, the Ghost can take over. As his phantom form rises from Collins inert body he looks at the panicked George and thinks "Methinks the lad's grown daft!" The Ghost takes the controls and reassures "the laddie" that all will be well, but George is beyond reassurance. [And although the dragon is causing all manner of consternation in our young friend, the sudden presence of an 18th century ghost in the cockpit doesn't seem to phase him. Personally, regardless of how gay the fine phantom is, it would give me a moment's pause, dragon or not.]

 

"Driven mad by the weird vision of the monster, the youngster dives from the plane." [not to worry you squeamish types. He's wearing a chute]. "Even as he falls, the dream monster follows him!" George, still terrified sees this and says, "He won't get me! I won't open my chute!" [Okay, on your mark, get set: worry!] [Methinks Georgie isn't the smartest laddie in the air. Sure, the monster *might* kill him. But it's a guarantee the pavement will!] "But after him, like a bolt of lightning streaks the GAY GHOST!" [timers off, you can stop worrying now]. The Ghost punches George's light out, reasoning he'll be easier to handle asleep and sticks him back in the plane. However, the aircraft is in a fatal dive! [sigh. Okay, worry on your own now. I give up.]

 

Meanwhile, St. Deborah of the Burritos is still concerned over the strange behavior of Plucky the Waiter [okay, so I don't know his name. It was a shameless set-up for a joke down the line wherein I say "Plucky is just ducky" but now I've wrecked it, so never mind]. "Speak!" shouts Deborah, "Speak! Is something the matter with you?" The waiter comes out of his trance and says, "Oh - meddler, leave me alone! Why don't you mind your own business?" He is really ticked that she broke his spell, but knows the trouble is already done. Deborah muses that it's all very strange but her attention is diverted to the plane plummeting out of the sky [yeah, that's diverting].

 

With a tremendous effort, the plane pulls out of its dive at the very last second. [Phew!] Collins comes to and the Gay Ghost disappears inside him saying "The kid's coming to -- better put on my mortal form again -- don't want to scare him any more--" [sure, NOW you worry about that. Well don't bother. The kid couldn't care less about some measly ghost. Not with Puff out there terrorizing the wild blue yonder]. George is a tad embarrassed about his panic but Collins is reassuring.

 

They land and Collins asks that George not mention the dragon. Deborah confronts Collins on his crazy flying and he fobs it off as an air trick. [And she buys it. Sheesh, Deborah! You had a waiter in a trance and a plane in a death dive and rumors of an air dragon. Put two and two together oh ye of breaking winds]

 

The next day, Collins does some digging. When interviewing the flyers who've seen the dragon and lived, he discovers they all had lunch at the tavern first [that tavern is gonna be taken off the AAA list any minute now. No wonder Deborah had intestinal difficulty after lunch].

 

Collins goes once again to the tavern and meets Deborah, who's doing a little research of her own [Atta girl! Go Deb go! Solve this one for women everywhere!] Deborah tells Collins about the wacko waiter and he tells her to keep quiet as he has a plan. Within earshot of the waiter... okay he's shouting and the waiter is right next to him [not at ALL suspicious]... Collins announces, "Oh, Debbie -- I have to test a new experimental plane this afternoon -- has a new type gun and sights on and--" Debbie chimes in with "--For goodness sake, Charles, the enemy has ears! [really big ears that stick out, actually] You're not supposed to discuss things like that!" Ears the Waiter thinks, "This is my big chance!" [Nope, nothing obvious there, braniac].

 

The waiter gets out his little glowy thing and hypnotizes Collins, who decides to go along with it. Unfortunately, the waiter has strong mojo and succeeds only too well. Deborah notices that Collins' eyes water but he sluffs it off, speaking the waiter's words parrotlike, then hastily departs. "Charles never ran off like this before-- " says Deborah to the waiter. "Sorry, I go off duty now -- some one else will take care of you--" he says and scrams. [The service in this place stinks!]

 

Now comes my favorite panel. It's a close-up of Deborah and she has her fist up to her face, biting on the back of her finger like Carol Burnett used to do in every movie take-off they ever spoofed. You know the pose. Movie heroine drama. [i have *got* to remember to do that if I ever hear startling news. It's just so darn ginchy! I'll be the envy of every non-dramatic person who sees me. "Gosh, I wish I was more like Joanna and had thought to chew on the back of my finger while my eyebrows turned up at the center in that worried frown."]

 

Deborah tries to catch Collins before he takes off, but just misses him. But who does she see standing on the air strip? You got it. The Evil Waiter. "Oh, I couldn't stop him!" she thinks as she watches Collins take off. Then she spots ole 'howcum I get such lousy tips?' "That man again -- he has something to do with this!" [uh... Deborah... don't hurt yourself, but THINK WOMAN!!!] Waiter Lad conjures up the dragon and of course, Collins sees it and thinks it's real. So in true heroic fashion, he puts on the auto pilot and faints. [That's our boy!]

 

The Gay Ghost emerges and draws his sword on the mighty beast. "...as a ghost, even the terror of the imagination can do me no harm! My sword cannot stop this thing, but I know it is made only of dream stuff!" But his fight is interrupted when he spots what's going on down below.

 

Finally! Our plucky heroine has made the connections and draws a gun on the waiter! [i told you -- I scrapped the ducky joke. C'mon, stay with me. This is the climax fer cryin out loud!] She corners the waiter and says, "I know you're up to some mischief and this should stop it!" The waiter only pauses for a moment and then he hypnotizes Deborah into turning the gun onto her own temple! "Oh! I'm pointing the gun at myself and I can't stop it!" she says. "Yes," says the waiter, "You will do as I say! I will now tell you to pull the trig--" and from out of the sky comes the Gay Ghost! He knocks the waiter off his feet and shouts, "Keep 'em flying, Debby Lass!" [Note: did I tell you this was all over this comic or what? Even 18th century ghosts know all about it!]

 

The spell is broken and the Ghost hauls the waiter off to take his medicine from the flyers who were fooled. "Lads," says the Gay Ghost, "Here's the fellow who's responsible for your air monster! He just hypnotized ye! Would you like to borrow him for a spell?" [if you were the waiter, what would be the first words out of your mouth? Obviously, you'd want to diffuse the situation, right? You'd want to make sure these burly American flyers don't rip you limb from limb, correct?] The waiter says, "Ulp! I did it only for the Vaterland--" [yeah, real smart, waiter boy. That's using the ole Nazi noggin].

 

"Wham. Bam. Pop... Ouch."

 

"But they'll kill him, Ghost!" says a concerned Deborah. "Never fear -- they'll be anxious to save him for a good American jail --" he reassures her. A moment later, the Gay Ghost disappears and Collins shows up. "Debbie -- what are you doing here? I had a bad landing but I'm all right now--" And as they converse, we see the waiter, now all beat up, being led off by the other flyers.

 

Keep 'em flying, readers! And stay tuned for more action-packed adventure in every Golden Age Review! Next, we're going to have some big fun with LITTLE BOY BLUE AND THE BLUE BOYS! Meanwhile, I gotta know, did you enjoy reading about the Gay Ghost?

 

-- Joanna

 

 

 

[Zonker]

Way cool! Keep the summaries coming!

 

What I found most interesting was the mention of the JSA adventure. I have a few Golden Age books, and this kind of cross-feature continuity was almost unheard-of back then. I wonder if Roy Thomas knows? Heck, I wonder if Bob Overstreet knows! (Say, Joanna, maybe you ought to hold off on selling this until we can establish it as an ultra-rare unknown Golden Age super-key almost-JSA-crossover issue!!!)

 

Cheers,

Z.

[Joanna]

Yo ho ho ho, a pirate's life for me. Arr mateys, tis time for us to hoist the skull and crossbones, walk the plank, mangle the mizzen, spit and swear, color-coordinate our eye patches, hang out with sassy parrots, buckle our swashes and swash our buckles. 'Tis truly a grand day to be a pirate, aye? C'mon ya swabs, strap yerself in for a rip-roaring adventure that has very little to do with pirates but I had an overwhelming urge to say "Arr" and surely missed my chance when I reviewed The Black Pirate, seeing as how he spent the whole time in France ("le arr" just ain't the same, knowhattahmean?). Well, LITTLE BOY BLUE AND THE BLUE BOYS have no intention of spending their precious 6 pages eating croissants, keeping their language pure from outside influence and wearing berets! [Note: the views expressed in this review are not necessarily those of the author. She's currently channeling someone with far less cul-chuh]. The blue boys justa wanna have fu-un.

 

"A blue streak whizzes through the world of crime, leaving gangsters sprawled in its trail! Yes - you guessed it - it's LITTLE BOY BLUE and his BOYS IN BLUE doing another clean-up job! Even the district attorney doesn't know that his own son, Tommy, is the leader of these junior mystery men and that little Toughy and Tubby are his companions in these adventures of skill and daring!"

 

And that sums up the strip pretty succinctly. Any questions? Tough. This isn't interactive, y'know. However, I'll be happy to take questions and comments at the end. In fact, I'm willing to beg. Now on with the show!

 

The splash shows The Blue Boys laughing merrily as Tommy (Little Boy Blue) burns the butt of a baddie [my, doesn't that Joanna have a way with alliteration?] with an acetylene torch. There is a credit on this story too (I'm setting a record with my "gosh, these things actually have credits!" roll call). "Illustrated by Jon Blummer." I think he does some of the one page cartoon strips in comics, too. [no fair quizzing me on this stuff though.]

 

For those interested, the costumes of the Blue Boys are basically blue longjohns [they even have those button up flaps over the butt] and blue hoods with an odd little tuft of material at the top. Little Boy Blue wears a more form-fitting costume, with blue tights, a blue short-sleeved top (with long yellow sleeves under), red boots with yellow flaps, his steer horn bugle and a red thingy attached to the top tuft of his mask. Dunno what to call that. I'm so non-fashion oriented (yeah, Joanna, like we're talking high fashion here. Nonetheless, Elle McPherson prolly knows what to call that thingy. A scarf? A flag? An accent ague?).

 

"When Tommy and his pals aren't fighting crime, they're just ordinary kids like... well... like you and You and YOU!" [okay, show of hands: who reading this is an ordinary kid? C'mon, don't be shy, I happen to know each and every one of you is in touch with the child within. {Here's the layup...} But, if I may be so bold, {She's within range...} I doubt that even a one of you is ordinary! {She shoots! She scores! The suck-up was successful, ladies and gentlemen! Wild applause from the fans}].

 

The first panel shows Toughy, Tommy and Tubby running gleefully away from school. In the background is silhouetted bedlam as every student flees the edifice. (Tommy is wearing knickers. Ain't that jes the cutest thang? Knickers. Ya just don't see that except on the football field anymore). "No school until Monday!" shouts Toughy, "Wow!" Tommy has an idea. "Let's go over to the vacant lot and play!" Tubby, who's eating a sandwich says, "I don't have to be home until dinner--" Finding an empty crate in the lot, Tommy, in a 'George Washington crossing the Delaware' stance, says, "Let's play we're pirates! I'm CAPTAIN KIDD!" Toughy finds a board and fashions himself a sword while Tubby ties his handkerchief ['member when kids used to carry hankies? I used to steal my dad's hankies cuz they had his initial on them and they were really soft and made me feel like Dad was with me all day] around his head to make him "look like the real thing!"

 

"Soon, the broken shipping case is a sturdy old pirate craft..." Tommy, having fashioned an eyepatch out of... well... I guess someone threw an old eyepatch in that vacant lot or something... says, "Come on, ye lubbers! that Spanish galleon is ours!" With a chorus of "Aye, aye, sir!" his mateys are ready for battle. [The pirate ship is pretty cool. Very inventive boys. They stuck old pipes in the sides as cannon, and nailed a sheet of cardboard to a plank for a mast and sail. On the side they painted -- with what paint, I don't know -- a scull and crossbones. Tubby holds a dagger in his teeth made from something he found, I guess. Don't know if I'd want to put something in my mouth that I fashioned from junk in a vacant lot, but it's Tubby and he's always feeding his face, so I guess it's in character.]

 

"We're all wounded but we've taken the ship, Captain!" says Tubby, leaning on a makeshift crutch [these boys must have spent most of their playtime building swords, daggers, crutches and stuff. How very elaborate.] "Then we have to go ashore," says Tommy, "and bury the treasure!" Toughy just wants the loot, but Tommy insists that real pirates always buried their treasure. [Never quite understood that convention myself. Why steal stuff just so you can bury it? Sure, they won't be caught with the goods, but they'll have to dig it up sometime and then they could be caught with the goods. What an endless cycle... And how do you suppose all that burying stuff started? "Arr, Cap'n. We kidnapped the Earl's daughter for ransom but she died. What do we do?" "Well, matey, we'll land on that island and bury her, of course. While we're at it, instead of spending all our money foolishly, let's bury it ,too, and live like paupers." "Great idea, Cap'n. Bury the treasure! Bury the treasure! Let's water it and see if it'll grow!"]

 

They find a cardboard box and into it "pour their marbles, tops and other 'treasures'". Toughy puts in a wishbone and an extra skate key. Tubby tosses in his lucky agate. Tommy draws a map so they can find the treasure in a hundred years. [How fun would it be if, in a throw-away scene in a modern comic, someone dug up a shoebox with this stuff in it and thought, "now where did that come from?"] And although Toughy complains that with all the digging [and building of props, I'd add], being a pirate is hard work, Tommy, that task-master, keeps him at the job. They don't want anyone to see them...

 

"But the boys ARE seen -- by strange old Silas Darner, who lives alone and never speaks to his neighbors..." [a capital offense in them olden days, y'know]. "Great guns!" he says, "Those brats! I have to stop them!" [Hmmm... what is old Silas worried about I wonder?] "-- AND they are ALSO seen by 'Snake-eye' Jones, small fry racketeer, whose greatest boast is that he has never been caught 'with the goods'!" [Ooo, the plot thickens. Or the thicks plot. Or something bad, I'm purty sure.] One of Snake-eye's thugs says, "Looka those kids playing pirates... cute, ain't they..." Jones replies, "Yeah -- if dey wuz a little older I might make good mobsters outa dem..." [Wow! A career opportunity!]

 

Suddenly, Toughy's shovel hits a metal box! Other pirates' buried treasure, perhaps? They open it to find stacks of money and lots of it! They're rich! "STOP, YOU BRATS! LET THAT BOX ALONE!" shouts old Silas, "This is mine... all mine..." Tommy apologizes, but Silas walks away muttering about hoodlums. Then Tommy spots Snake-eye and the boys begin to worry.

 

And well they ought! Snakey rubs his hands together in clichéd villainous greed! "Wotta break for us! Old man Darner has been saving his dough all these years just for me--" Snakarino slithers up to the boys and "with big-shot generosity, [he] tosses the boys a dollar..." [in those days, a buck was worth sompin, too! Why, that coulda bought ten comics!] "Here kids," he says, "buy yourself some ice-cream..." [No! Don't waste your money on frozen dairy treats! It'll clog your arteries! Get the comics! Get the comics!] When Tommy questions Snakorama, the thug tells the boys the money is to forget they ever saw him in this neighborhood.

 

Well, our boys aren't exactly one Brady shy of a Bunch and they figure out purty darn quick what this is all about. Snakles is after Darner's dough! The boys trail the gangsters to their secret hiding place [i gotta get me one-a them thar secret hiding places. Doncha think everyone would consider me way cool if I had one? Then I could be a supervillain, or start my own club or put on a show! I could find a barn, get some of the kids together and well, Andy here is pretty good at writing music and we all know how well Betsy Booth can sing!! C'mon kids! We'll show those ole grownups what kind of spunk we have! Woo Woo!]

 

Tommy tells the others to go home, as he'll take the first watch. All they need do is listen for the sound of Little Boy Blue's horn! Meanwhile, inside the secret hideout, Snaklepuss says, "Darner won't have a chance to bury his dough again until it's dark... so we pay him a visit around sun-set, savvy?" [Ooooh, talk gangster to me, baby. It makes my toes tingle...] Our boy Tommy has been eavesdropping and this is all the skinny he needs to hear. "Now I can run home for dinner, too...!" [Ya gotta get yer three squares if yer gonna fight crime, y'know whaddah mean, dollface?]

 

"At home, Tommy asks his father, The District Attorney, a strange question." [Daddy, where do babies come from?] "Dad, why is it that 'Snake-eye' Jones was never put in jail...? Everyone seems to know he's a criminal..." Dad sucks on the tip of his finger to remove the last of their finger-licken' good meal and says, "That's an embarrassing question to ask a district attorney, son -- but..." [tell him about the cabbage patch! No wait! The stork! Tell him it's the stork!] "In our country everyone gets a fair trial [unless you're in L.A. and then you get a mock trial] -- we can't convict 'Snake-eye' or anyone else [waitasec, this sounds like it IS L.A.!] without good evidence. [oops, my mistake. Not L.A.] -- But why do you ask about him...?" Tommy flumfers a bit claiming it was idle curiosity then asks if he can go talk to Toughy and Tubby about something. Mom okays it, but tells him not to be "too late or play too rough." Dad, meanwhile, is proud that Tommy took an interest in his work.

 

Tommy changes into his costume and then "a mighty blast flows from his famous horn." The Blue Boys join him asap and the three crimefighters run off with a camera to get evidence. However, they end up at Darner's house. What evidence will they find there? Tommy assures there'll be plenty.

 

Silas, with money and shovel in hand, spots the boys coming in through the window and fears they're after his money. "Don't worry, Mr. Darner," says Tommy, "We're here to help you!" And upon saying so, Tommy takes the money. [note to myself: next time bills are due... wear funny costume... "here to help"... take the money... excellent plan!]

 

The boys scatter. Darner weeps like a little girl, and Snake-Fu enters. He pops Darner on the kisser, even as Old Silas protests that Little Boy Blue just took his money. "Little Boy blue - HA! Expect me to believe in fairy tales! You old fox!" His Rhodes Scholar assistant says, "it's just a gag to fool us, boss!" Meanwhile, outside the window, Tommy is pulling a Scavullo and snapping away. "You can kill me if you to!" whimpers Darner, "Now that my money is gone, I don't want to live anyhow!" [Darner is such a sympathetic character. So noble. So stoic]. Our favorite mobster says, "We don't want to kill you - yet! - Just make ya talk!" They have Silas tied to a chair [bondage alert! And it's not even in Wonder Woman!] and are torching his toes with an acetylene torch. Youch! Hot foot! Hot foot!

 

Having taken their fill of photos, the Boys Blue jump into action! With a cry of "Keep 'em Flying!" [take note - the slogan of the century yet again] Boy Blue grabs the acetylene torch. "Sayyy...! What WAS that Blue streak?!!" queries Snake'n'ali? "Maybe it was a comet," responds Toughy with a socko to the jaw, "here's some STARS to go with it!" [Wow, crime-fightin' and snappy banter -- these teens are boss!] The thuggy second banana pulls a gat on the Blue Boys, but unseen behind him is Tommy with the torch. He lifts the mobsters coat and hits him with a flame about this high... "You should have known you'd get the HOT SEAT some day!" says Tommy.

 

They call the cops and then decide to have a chat with Silas. Tommy holds up a Victory poster and tells Darner, "Put your money where it'll be SAFE and do good work besides!" Silas, all aglow, says, "U.S. WAR BONDS! Why sure! I'm an old fool! Why didn't I think of THAT before?!!" [Nope. No propaganda here. Just sound financial advice.]

 

The cops arrive and Tommy hands over the film so they can put Big Brother Snake in jail once and for all. "Well, at last!" says his dapper dad, "We've convicted 'Snake-eye' Jones, son! LITTLE BOY BLUE furnished the evidence we needed!" Tommy plays it coy, saying, "'Snake-eye?' Oh, yes - he's the gangster I asked you about yesterday -- isn't he?"

 

The last panel has just a little more message, in case you missed it the first time. "That dollar 'Snake-eye' gave us went into U.S. War Stamps! [but... the... comics... don't you realize how much money they'd be worth nowadays? You fools!] C'mon folks! Get it up!" [i do believe the phrase "get it up" has a slightly different meaning in today's lingo...]

 

Next we have the Sensation Stamp Page by Sidney M. Elias, where advertisers offer all sorts of stamps for collecting and Mr. Elias tells you about stamps in the Leeward Islands. Stamps was hot stuff back then, I guess.

 

Two more comics make their way into your collections on the next page -- if you've got the dimes. ALL-FLASH #7 with The Flash in "The House of Horror": "Murder and mayhem, kidnapping and arson take place in this wierd [sic] house of horror, right before the Flash's eyes! Yet, no one is killed, hurt or kidnapped, and nothing is burned down! WHAT IS BEHIND IT ALL? Don't miss this mystery comedy adventure!" On the bottom of the page, Doiby Dickles tells us about GREEN LANTERN #5 where it's "anudder complete novel-length story featurin' me an me pal, GREEN LANTERN, fighten de axis in de desert, on de sea, an' in de air!!"

 

Then Evelyn Gaines [recognize that last name?] writes "Murder in Blackout", a text piece hailed as "A Hal Mason Story". It's part 2. I don't have part 1, so no sense telling you about this one [actually, I'm too lazy to read it again]. There are some small ads on the page, too. One for Gaines' other imprint, "Picture Stories from the Bible" and a coupon for a free book on Chemistry as well as a way to send 30 cents to get pictures of movie stars and Western Stars. Oh, and Buy United States War Savings Bonds and Stamps!

 

Turn the page and look! There's WILDCAT! Want me to tell you about the neato... nah. Let's save that for another day...

 

And that ends this review of the exciting adventures of LITTLE BOY BLUE AND THE BLUE BOYS!! I know it took me awhile to get to this one, but tell me, for heavenly snakes -- was it worth the wait?

 

-- Joanna

 

 

 

[Joanna]

Actually, Zonker, I'm pretty sure that was Marston. He owned the character of Wonder Woman, so he watched over every appearance. Long before "creator owned" characters, Marston made sure his contract never gave up his rights. In fact, she still belongs to his descendants, and is only leased to DC Comics for as long as they publish x amount of issues per year. If they ever stop, they lose the rights. That's why she's always had a comic, despite some ridiculously low sales in certain eras. They can't risk losing the rights (and the merchandising), so in all of comics, there will never be a cancellation of her title. Even when they rebooted it, they made sure to publish a mini-series during the space between series 1 and 2.

 

-- Joanna

[Joanna]

Whether you demanded it, forgot about it, or simply wonder who Wildcat was, gather round ye gentle reader for the last in a series of reviews based on SENSATION COMICS #11. This story: WILDCAT!

 

"What makes Wildcat wild? Many a rueful racketeer can give you the answer! For when crime, cruelty and lawlessness show themselves, a swift-taloned, furious nemesis appears........ A desperate WILDCAT! Nor does anyone know that this feline fury is in reality Ted Grant, Champion Boxer of the World!"

 

Cool, huh? This 10-pager was written by Irwin Hasen and illustrated by Bill Finger (a name you might recognize from Detective #27's new little feature: Batman). And I have to note here, that the art in this story is amazing. Wildcat looks really feral and frightening -- he's a big hulking animal when he's in costume. It's interesting to me, since in other stories he looked almost comical in that cat suit. Finger really knows how to bring out the shivers in his audience.

 

Brrrrrr.

 

The splash page shows Ted Grant in a boxing pose, gloves on, squaring up against another boxer who looks a little scared. His opponent has two mobster-looking chaps near him. Ted is drawn really big, and beside him is his alter-ego, Wildcat, in the same pose. Looks like the pugilist/panther is going to be duking it out with the mob in this one.

 

The inset starts the story in Stretch Skinner's office (Ted's closest friend). Stretch is musing to Joan that he'd love to figure out who Wildcat really is. Joan replies, "I wish somebody WOULD find out! That mystery fascinates me!" Enter Champion Ted Grant, who fobs off the question of Wildcat's identity by presenting Stretch with a few passes to his next fight. When asked who his opponent will be, Ted replies, "That's the funny thing! I don't know!" It seems Ted signed a deal with the big fight manager, B.L. Gill to meet whomever Gill produces on the day of the fight. When Stretch notes that that's a rather dangerous thing to do, macho Ted replies, "Dangerous? Maybe, but that's how I do things! A champion must be ready to meet ANYBODY at ANY TIME!" Joan, frightened for Ted, appeals to Stretch to do something. So Stretch puts on a Sherlock Holmes hat, a fake moustache and picks up a magnifying glass to sniff out the answers as a "deteckatif".

 

Stretch listens outside the door as Gill and Jo Jo (his washed-up cronie) discuss their scam. According to the papers, everyone suspects that Ted is going to be fighting Jo Jo, but in reality he is training the real fighter. The two men realize that someone is listening, so Stretch sticks his head through the window above the door [you know how those old time office doors always have those small windows above them that swing out? In movies and TV shows people always crawl through those little windows to break into places -- know what I'm talking about? What the heck are those things called, anyway. On the tip of my tongue... Wish I could draw ya a little sketch, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about. Anyway, Stretch is so tall, y'see, he can stick his head in without standing on anything. Stretch. Tall. It's a theme.]

 

Stretch, his head now poking into the room, puts them all "onder arrest" but Gill tells him that by sticking his head in, he's trespassing. So "Gill draws down the rod controlling the transom" [Ack! A transom! That's it! NOW you know what I'm talking about, right?] and smashes Stretch in the head. Then Gill and Jo Jo throw fruit at Stretch's head, for sport. [Keeping in mind that Stretch is one of those comic-relief side-kicks, it all makes sense. Too bad there were no pies conveniently lying around.]

 

Ted Grant just happens to walk up to Gill's office at that moment and sees Stretch caught in the Transom. "That's Stretch! Caught in the Transom!" he says. [Everyone remembered that word except me. ::choke::] So Ted pulls his buddy out with a resounding crash as the transom splinters. [i know, you think I keep repeating "transom" to try to fool you folks into thinking I was only joshin' ya before about not remembering. Well, I'll have you know I'm much more honest than that. I never lie in GA reviews. Almost never. Very rarely. Only occasionally. Just half the time. Constantly. I'm a rat who spends all her time weaving falshoods to hoodwink youse guys. Better? Ha! I lied. I never lie. um... let's get back to the story, maybe?]

 

Ted bursts into the room and grabs Gill. Suddenly, a mysterious silhouette appears, telling Ted to let his manager go. It's the guy Ted is really going to fight! They decide to duke it out right there, instead of waiting to get in the ring. ZAM! "The battle begins! Ted Grant dodges a swing, but his opponent scores with a left -- then Grant lands a smashing right on his foeman's face." The blow breaks the guy's nose, suddenly making him recognizable. "You're Blitzy Burrows! The fighter who killed his manager and disappeared!" says Ted. [NOW we're getting somewhere. I had no idea Blitzy Burrows was the fighter. Good thing Ted just happened to break his nose. And ruffle his hair. And tell us that he's Blitzy Burrows along with reciting his sordid past.] Even as Ted realizes that Burrows had plastic surgery to disguise his looks, he gets a sap on the noggin from behind. 8 - 9- 10 yer out! But while Gill urges Burrows to finish him off, Stretch waves a gat threateningly. Gill, Jo Jo and Burrows beat a hasty retreat while Stretch tends to Ted.

 

Ted tells Stretch to skip calling the "po-leece" and bring them in himself. "Thass right!" proclaims the articulate Stretch, "I'm a detckatiff! I'll git on the trail at wunst!" Then, in a way cool shadowy profile shot of Ted, the secret hero thinks, "So will WILDCAT!".

 

"Leaving swiftly, Ted Grant dons the bizarre costume of WILDCAT!" He thinks to himself "when the CAT shows up, those RATS will stop playing around!" He rejoins Stretch who says that "they musta disapopped!", and has no clue as to where they went, as there is but one door and a window. But by stretching his long body from the window to the building next door, Stretch is a human bridge for Wildcat to walk across. Finding traces of blood near the fire escape, Wildcat deduces that this was indeed the escape route.

 

The thugs didn't go far, feeling they were safe. Blame is tossed between the three for the mess they're in now, especially as Burrows' freshly broken nose is a dead giveaway to his identity. A gun is produced and it looks like they're about to slaughter each other, but Wildcat is waiting and ready. He leaps into the room and goes into action. He promptly knocks out Gill and Jo Jo but at a shout from Stretch, his attention strays for a moment. The next instant, Wildcat is knocked out the window into Stretch on the fire escape and the two fall. "Two more murders against you, Blitzy!" notes Gill. The hardened ex-boxer says, "What of it? They can only burn me once!"

 

"Down plunge the falling forms of WILDCAT and Stretch! But WILDCAT'S talon-fringed foot fastens on an awning..." He manages to save himself and his buddy. Down below, the three thugs call a taxi, keeping Burrows' face covered from prying eyes. As the cab pulls past the awning, our two heroes drop onto it. When they reach their destination, Wildcat tells the taxi driver to go get the police.

 

We find out the house the thugs went to is the home of the plastic surgeon who fixed Burrows up the last time. At gunpoint, they tell him to repeat his surgical magic. The doctor, however, is reluctant, as he didn't know Burrows was a murderer when he first performed the operation. But a gat is persuasive, so once again, the doc breaks out his scalpel.

 

That rat Gill doesn't play fair, though. When the doc completes his work, Gill decides to plug him anyway. "I did what you wanted!" protests the doctor. "Nobody will ever connect him with his crime now!" Gill replies, "That's just what I mean! YOU could tell the cops and identify Blitzy! That is, if you stayed alive! ...Get me?" Even though the doc is sweating bullets, so to speak, he's a pretty brave guy, for his next statement is, "I get you! Shoot and let's have it over with!" [i'm telling you. That takes a ton of guts. No way could I say that. Nah-ah. I say Doc should get his own comic.]

 

Even as Gill's finger touches the trigger, a magnifying glass conks him in the head. Ole Stretch has good aim! Wilcat bursts through the window. His first blow is right in the metal nose guard of one Blitzy Burrows. [That's gotta hurt. He gets a nose job. He gets his nose broke again. He gets another nose job. And minutes after surgery he gets a fist in the sniffer. This is NOT his day]. However, it looks like Wildcat hurt his hand on that metal nose thingy, and the pain slows him down. [Wildcat is a cream puff to let that slow him down. C'mon! The other guy is in nasal hell and a little knuckle buster takes the wind out of the cat's sails? Sheesh!] The moment is all Burrows needs. He flails on Wildcat, landing blow after blow. Wilcat reels, clinching Blitzy, in desperation.

 

Meanwhile, it's Stretch vs. Jo Jo. But all Stretch has to do is hold the diminutive Jo Jo on the head and the thug can't reach far enough to do any damage to the lanky giant. Finally, Stretch just sticks the doofus on a chandelier, then gives him a spanking.

 

Ah, but the respite was all Wilcat needed. "He scores hard to Blitzy's solar plexus!" Wildcat remembered that it was Burrows' weak spot. Then it's an uppercut to the jaw. "A desperate rally on both sides! Toe to toe, they throw sunday punches!" The police arrive in time to arrest the three subdued criminals, and the plastic surgeon identifies Burrows. The cops tell Stretch there's a big reward which the deteckatif offers to split with Wildcat, only the 'Cat has vanished! Back in the office, Joan asks Stretch about working alongside the famous hero. "Ya know, " says the lanky sleuth, "I figger he's learnin' to be a real crime fighter, from associatin' with ME!" Ted's only response is a silent "Hmm!"

 

"In the ring and out, there's no scrapper like Ted Grant... alias WILDCAT! Be with him every month in SENSATION COMICS!"

 

That Wildcat, he's a neato guy. In his GA history, he only fought two costumed villains, as his forte was the common thug and mobster. He's an everyman hero for the normal guy out there who wants to make a difference. Yup, dress up like a giant cat and you too can stop crime.

 

Well that's it for Sensation Comics #11. Took me long enough, didn't it? I don't know if I'll be back with any more, as time has become a precious commodity, but maybe someday, you'll notice yet another GA Review cropping up. Until that time, so long and tell me what you thought of WILDCAT and SENSATION COMICS #11!!!

 

-- Joanna

 

 

 

[FlyingDonut]

"Strange ways of living on a planet where women love their bondage and refuse to rule ..."

 

I think I went to this club once. Saw Darth and Greggy there.

 

Seriously, this was tremendous! Keep them coming.

[Joanna]

Donut,

 

I avoided all greggy comments because we're privately negotiating.

 

I've posted all the stories in this issue. I have a bunch of other issues that I did, but I wanted to post this one for two reasons.

 

1. It's its birthday! Sensation 11 has a cover date of November 1942.

 

2. Since I'm selling it, I wanted to revisit those stories again. My copy is in terrible condition, but this proves that the heart of comics isn't condition, it's the stories. Look how fun this issue was! Would the stories have been any better if the condition were improved? Nope, they'd be the same. That's the joy of bad condition - lots of stories, not so many bucks.

 

-- Joanna

[greggy]

Actually, I consider it a badge of honour when people mention my name in threads that I have no involvement. Just don't be nasty or troll-like and I won't mind!

[PovertyRow]

Definitely keep these going! Great fun to read.

[Joanna]

I would never troll you, greggy, because you alone among many had the sophistication to display a Wonder Woman cover as an avatar when I first got here.

 

-- Joanna

[Joanna]

Pov,

 

Perhaps I'll pop one up every once in awhile, just for kicks. I think this was the only Sensation Comics that I wrote up, but I know I have several issues of golden age Wonder Woman. Those Marston stories are massively kinky, so the lads here might enjoy them.

 

-- Joanna

[greggy]

Yeah, but I've regressed to a typical fanboy because I have reverted to a scantily clad women. Wait, isn't Wonder Woman scantily clad most of the time?

[Zonker]

Interesting. I wonder what Marston's heirs thought about Mike ("the Mod")Sekowsky turning WW into Mrs. Peel?

 

It does seem strange that now that we have Batman "by Bob Kane" and Superman "by S&S," why we don't have Marston's name on the character he still owns? Or maybe, since the Charles Moulton pseudonym was used throughout the early days, the Marstons just don't care...

 

I realized Marston did most of the WW in All-Star Comics, just as Simon & Kirby got to do most of the Sandman episodes. But I wonder how many instances we could find of a character explicitly referring to the JSA or a JSA story outside of All-Star Comics? I'm guessing it would be less than a dozen, if that many. Roy Thomas' email address is published in the indica of the Alter-Ego magazine-- maybe I'll send him a link to this thread.

 

Cheers,

Z.

 

 

 

[Joanna]

Once Marston died, his family continued being involved for awhile, but eventually, they left things to DC, and didn't interfere. So Emma Peel didn't violate the agreement because the comic was still called Wonder Woman (otherwise, DC probably would've changed the name of the comic to Diana Prince or something. They were really trying to distance themselves from a run that tanked).

 

As for the pen name, yes, that was name under which he created her and has always been the credit.

 

I could scan the panel where she refers to the Justice Society if you need it.

 

-- Joanna

[Guest]

Thanks, Joanna, that was captivating . They just don't write 'em like that any more. Now, if you could only retell that Brenda Starr story for us...

 

[tb]

Sorry, that anonymous one was from me.