“Yesterday’s” Comic> The Blue Beetle #15

“Look over there! Sparky’s boat finally arrived!”

The Blue Beetle #15

Holyoke Publishing (October, 1942)

YOU CAN READ ALONG WITH ME HERE!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen (and various other modern identifiers I’m not going to explore), the moment you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived! It’s THE OFFICIAL DEBUT OF SPARKY! I know, you’re all so very excited and have been waiting with baited breath but you’re wait is finally over! Sadly he’s not the only Spark here as “Spark” Stevens is still here, but we also have more V-Man, which I’m sure excites…somebody. But who cares! Sparky has arrived and…what you mean this is coming off as disingenuous and mocking? Just because he didn’t need a Bucky Barnes style sidekick but Holyoke put one in anyway because Captain America and Batman had one and it was done for lame reasons and nobody really remembers Sparkington J. Northrup? The heck you say! I’ll show you how awesome Sparky is.

Don’t worry, folks. This isn’t going to be a running gag.

The Blue Beetle (and Sparky)

1. Story #1: Oddly there aren’t even titles from the Grand Comic Database on this issue. Chas. M Quinlan is the artist but no writer credited. It’s the first time we see Sparkington J. Northrup in action as Sparky…and it turns out he’s willing to blackmail Dan so he can go along to pick up a criminal being extradited from another city. Our kid-relatable character, everyone! Sparky’s already like a less lovable version of Gosalyn from Darkwing Duck. Plus they’re fighting Japanese spies the man was working for, so we get the old “get the japs” and “Japanazi” bits which I know will offend some of you out there who know little about history and just enjoy anime that much. At least they aren’t yellow face and bucktoothed like most war propaganda of the time and they know almost complete English, too. Mike’s sadly still the only real joke here. I really feel sorry for Mike Mannigan in this part of the run.
2. Story #2: It’s Sparky’s actual debut! And more blackmail! We’re supposed to like this kid, right? I’m not sure why they didn’t start with the origin story. Sparky’s dad is an important man in England, so with the Nazis causing trouble he sends the boy to America for safety. Unfortunately, Nazi agents plan to kidnap the boy but he’s been assigned protection by Dan and Mike. During one of the attempts Dan’s mask falls off and Sparky promises to keep his secret if he can be Beetle’s partner. Apparently nobody puts together the new blond kid with an English accent named “Sparky” is the same Sparky? I defend the Clark Kent glasses and I’m still not buying it. Yes, it was a mistake for Bucky as well so don’t start on me. This is such a waste.
3. Story #3: Our last Blue Beetle story for the issue has Blue Beetle and Sparky tangling with a vampire that Mike for some reason believes made off with Dan. And yet he’s smart enough to find the lair of a Doctor Grime, who is secretly the “vampire”, who is collecting blood to bring an Egyptian replica to life…what? How is the actual occult heroes made more sense than the fake occult villain?

Guest Stars:

• V-Man: Apparently V-Man has a spy in one of the occupied areas of France. He learns the Nazis are planning to attack a village where some of the French Resistance are from and get revenge through their families so V-Man rallies them to fight back. It’s definitely a story of its time. That doesn’t make it good or bad. It will however affect your interest in it. I wonder how many Germans fought the Nazis to restore their country?
• “Spark” Stevens: Nazis are using parrots (with Hitler mustaches on their beaks…oooookay) to send messages to their agents. Because this is their life, Spark and Chuck get Squacks mixed up with one of these spy parrots and uncover the operation as they go to reclaim their parrot friend. Is it me? Am I the one not understanding why this comic continued this far?
• Lieutenant Edward Henry O’Hare: It’s the “real hero” story for this issue. I’m guessing we’ll see these all through the war period. O’Hare is the only hope to protect his ship from Japanese attack planes when one of the planes on the aircraft carrier is damaged and blocks the other planes from landing. It is exaggerated? I’m sure the dialog at least was. It’s not a bad story if you don’t mind “Jap” being tossed around that often. Strange how the war stories in this comic is less racist than the non-war stories we’ve seen previously in these Golden Age reviews.

Overall, this was more a miss than a hit. None of the stories really held my attention. Sparky is thus far not an interesting addition, plus he’s blackmailing the hero into letting him join. I’m not very impressed with the Holyoke run thus far.