“I’m going to have the coolest diorama.”
The Blue Beetle #41
Fox Features Syndicate (March-April, 1946)
This one is going to be a big shorter. There’s a new chapter of the “Threat From Saturn” but according to the Grand Comics Database they didn’t make any more and left the story on a cliffhanger. Seeing as how I hated the story I’m happy to leave it finished with “and then they unexpectedly drowned for some reason” and get on with my life. Also, there’s an O’Brine Twins story and I really don’t care about them, either. The two “Minut Mysteries” are one page crime stories that never have time to be good.
Don’t worry, there’s still plenty to review and the link below will take you to the comic if you really want to read them. I don’t, so I’m moving on. With this series I’m following the history more than trying to enjoy it, but I’m hoping it gets more fun at some point.
“Adventure Of The Panting Photographer”
With a name like I Snapem we should be lucky he’s a putz instead of a supervillain. (Wonder what the “I” stands for? I’m going with idiot.) Idiot Snapem sets up some phony action scenarios in order to get pictures (though the camera looks like a film camera, like the one Patty O’Day and Ham used–I miss them) of the Blue Beetle in action, but something keeps going wrong and become real dangers. With someone after Joan to keep a crime secret, BB really doesn’t have time for his nonsense. I think this is supposed to be funny but it’s just kind of lame, really.
“The Bouncing Book”
The plot was decent. Mike, now on the Beetle’s side finally, wants to be an author but he accidentally gets his manuscript switched with someone else’s. The publisher realizes that the crimes in the book match ones actually going on and Mike gets framed. From there the story falls apart like, well, like Mike’s original manuscript. It bothers me when a good idea is poorly executed and that’s what happens here.
Joan Mason: Reporter in “The Latest Fashion In Crime”
Joan’s editor sends her to cover a fashion show, but leave it to Joan Mason to stumble on a crime when she tries to cover anything. She accidentally exposes a woman who can’t pay the ransom for her brother and the kidnappers nab her as well. Joan follows and Mike and Dennis (again) see her and follow her. At first I thought it would be another story where Dennis does all the work but it’s Joan that comes up with the plan to trick the crooks right into the cops without hurting the girl and her brother (who I swear looks like a prototype for Tintin). At least the Joan Mason stories are good in this period of the series.
So ignoring the too short mysteries and the text stories, neither of which feature our heroes anyway, and that dumb serial that should have stayed dead and isn’t coming back, leaving the serial on a cliffhanger, the stories were…okay. Joan’s story is the better of the offerings left, and the Blue Beetle stories fail only in execution. Also, we have confirmation that the real world kid adventures are over as the comic goes bi-monthly. There may yet be hope for this, or it could be wishful thinking on my part. We’ll find out.
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