Chain mail apparently isn’t what it used to be. Also, you’re welcome, ladies.
The Blue Beetle #29
Holyoke Publishing (January, 1942)
Two more of these to go before it returns to Fox. Most of my issues I had with the Fox run were the weirder stories, the Golden Age’s anthology routine meaning that outside of the main character I didn’t care for most of the comic, and the annoyances of doing a multi-story comic review. Holyoke has its own problem: they’re boring. There’s also a lack of consistency with what came before, like losing the infamous bulletproof chainmail armor, the addition of a sidekick even I can’t support in a manner that already makes him unlikable, and they seem to think supporting the troops against the Axis Powers means you don’t need to write good stories. I’m not going to miss this run but there is still the unknown factor of what the second Fox run will be like.
We’ll worry about that when it’s time. Right now let us get through this issue. And by us I mean me.
The Blue Beetle: Double Trouble part 3
Yes, this story is continuing. It better finish by next issue or we’ll never know how it ends. I’m not sure I care but an unfinished story is sometimes worse than a finished one because at least there’s closure. On the plus side it isn’t boring…mostly because the stupidity makes my head hurt. Dan and Tina (apparently Spunky disappeared…hope he stays that way) are heading home in the stolen bomber and decide to bomb a few German cities along the way. Surprising nobody, this attracts attention and the plane is shot down, the Blue Beetle bleeding to death for all of two panels. Dan meets with Baron Von X, who wants his help to take over the Nazis and then rule the world. Dan agrees to the former but at the Wunderplant he’s attacked by the German Blue Beetle and captured.
Here’s where it gets stupid. Dan, and apparently now even Hitler himself knows Dan Garret is the Blue Beetle, somehow spills a backstory that is no way the actual Blue Beetle origin. He could be lying to the Nazis but I’m still calling it wrong. Baron Von X, who was demoted after the two Beetles showed up at the plant (at this point just give Fritz the gold and get rid of him), is trying to hypnotize Tina into his agent but Dan manages to stop him, learning that Von X is actually an American trying to use the criminal underworld to take over the US along with Nazi agents. I haven’t even listed all the things wrong with this story. You can tell when the writer doesn’t care, and the writer clearly didn’t care about this one.
Ali Baba
Speaking of not caring, the writer himself admits he thinks his script is bad. How do you outdo previous weirdness in this series? Have Blue Beetle bring a comic fan named ‘Erbert (I’m guessing they actually mean Herbert) into the comic book so he can help Ali deal with the dragon from last issue. They fail to get the egg (Blue Beetle departs after bringing Herbert in and Ali gets mad that Blue Beetle went into his part of the comic) but a baby dragon takes a liking to Ali…for some reasons…so they take it back to Merlin figuring it will lay an egg someday. Merlin kicks the “kitty” and then drops Ali and ‘Erbert into cement. Continues next issue? Why?
Verne Davis: Private Investigator
At this point I think Holyoke is just tossing stories in and hoping sticks, like they don’t trust Blue Beetle to carry his own comic. As for the story, the wonky art is only easier to handle than the story. A former mobster’s girlfriend married a senator and now the mobster is blackmailing her…and so is the chauffeur because she’s blackmailing herself to get at the senator’s money…they just took all the plots and said “yes”. It’s not that I can’t follow the story, it’s at some point I stopped wanting to.
The Hidden Sub Tunnel
A girl is worried that her boss is up to something and recruits her sailor guy friend to uncover the truth. They find the boss is hiding a secret Nazi sub base on US shores, but apparently one of his workers is pro-American and secretly helps them contact the police and shut down the operation. I think that’s what happens anyway. Scenes seem to be missing so the story jumps forward a lot, making it a confusing read at times.
Boxie Weaver by Ink Williams
Boxie goes to his hometown when his friend is killed, a note leading to his next opponent being responsible when Boxie’s friend wouldn’t join him in joining a fascist organization. I want to like this story. It’s better written and drawn than the others thus far. However, I have doubts about the confession to the point where I think the real story is Boxie’s opponent was being framed but they didn’t have the page count to take it that far. It kind of ruins what we get when the pieces don’t quite fall into place.
Durrand Draw: The Case Of The Kodak Snap by Geo. Tukel
Again we have a story ruined by the page count. Durrand is hired to find a kidnapped baby. There’s some good action and detective work, but with a few more pages the story could have been more fleshed out.
The Blue Beetle
It’s another “fighting normal crooks while on vacation” story and it lend credence to last week’s theory that it’s the propaganda ruining the stories, even when the cause is worthy. Not that this tale is amazing but it’s better than the first one. Dan finds himself helping uncover how a group of arsonists are burning local buildings without evidence. They’re still trying to push the idea that the criminal underworld was in league with the Axis powers, something I’ve never heard in the real world, but otherwise it’s a decent adventure…or the best you’re going to get from these people.
Deep Sea Dawson: 1000 Fathoms Under The Sea by Gordon Fisher
There’s a seafood joke here but I don’t know if the company sells outside the US. Our final tale for this issue. Dawson is testing an experimental diving helmet that draws oxygen from the water, but gets dragged down by the currents just as a storm hits. Finding an underwater world, Dawson helps a group of water-breathing humans (if I’m following the art) to rescue their people from a tribe of slavers. Not sure how Dawson knows where their power source is but otherwise it wasn’t too bad. It feels like a pilot, even though Dawson gets to return home but according to the Grand Comics Database this was the only Deep Sea Dawson adventure. It’s an okay story but not really spectacular, though I’m willing to be this one just doesn’t hold up to my time.
The ad before this story pushes support for scrap paper collection for the war effort or there may not be more comic books. Personally, I’d put this comic in the scrap paper pile because it’s really not very good except as a piece of comic history. One more of these and we’ll see if Fox can do a better job in their second run. Next time: the final Holyoke Blue Beetle comic. Time to wrap up those multi-part stories, guys.
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