“Sorry, you have to pay for a ticket like everyone else.”
Keen Detective Funnies V2 #11 (#15)
Centaur Publications (November, 1939)
Going by Comic Book Plus’s listings and how I do these Golden Age anthologies (not following the short gag comics or text stories for time, but since I link to their public domain scans you’re welcome to check them out and follow along) there’s only four stories to review. Or maybe I’m reading them wrong. Let’s read the comic and see what we get.
(Spoilers: the count is wrong. There are more than four stories.)
The Masked Marvel by Ben Thompson
A rival oil company has decided to blow up the competition. As the Zs investigate, the Masked Marvel heads to New York and after a little stealthy breaking and entering that can only be done in broad daylight by a guy dressed in a bright red outfit who jumps between buildings (then again, it is New York, 1939 or not) to find the evidence of a conspiracy. It’s a good story but if MM has designed a fire extinguisher that never runs out of foam, maybe consider sharing that with firefighters around the world. You don’t even have to take money for it if you don’t want to. What, are you running on Wakanda rules? Ah well, we’ve seen our title character do more deus ex machina levels of Gary Studom before. Not a bad story.
Spark O’Leary by Chas. Pearson
When a new test plane goes boom, Spark suspects a foreign power might have sabotaged it so they could get their hands on it. How? Why? Don’t ask questions. You aren’t the radio newshawk. Of course he’s right and of course he solves it quickly, but at least not easily even the villains end up being the source of their ultimate undoing. I can deal with that if the hero plays a part and Spark does.
Dan Dennis: FBI by Gilman
Hope you didn’t buy the Brooklyn Bridge recently, because someone just blew it up, insisting this and his creepy organ music will lead to him conquering the world!!! How did he blow the bridge up? Don’t know. Did the bad guys we cut to for a panel plotting to steal his plans or something lead to anything? Not really. This is a decent plot with a bad follow-through.
Dean Masters, DA: “Murder Money” by Clare’s Moe? I think?
Like the last story, this one is in black and white with an occasional page in red and white. There’s a really old joke in there somewhere but I don’t hate you. Anyway, Masters’ first case as district attorney is an apparent murder by drowning, but it’s actually a rather convoluted plan to trick someone into selling away his shares in a company. Too bad we just see everything happen in a narrator’s flashback instead of getting to follow the case along, but it’s not a terrible tale. Except for the guy who died, of course.
Spy Hunters by L Field
I feel sorry for Captain Forsyth and Sergeant McClean. They’re called Spy Hunters but they don’t get a cool car that turns into a boat and has machine guns (kudos to all who get the reference) and now they don’t even get color outside of the occasional partly red page. Also, no spies. Instead the Chinese try to force the British out until they can get approval to fight back. Color isn’t the only thing this story is sadly lacking. I don’t think the sarge shows up in this one, either.
Russel Grandville “The Coal Mine Tipple Trick”
There’s been a murder at a coal mine, and only Russel Grandville can solve this case…which one really annoying old man won’t stop telling everybody until he’s called in. I can’t say I followed this case very well because I was kind of bored with the presentation. Showing evidence is just so dry to read. I hope they call someone else next time, if only to annoy the old guy. Having panels repeat in narration what the characters just said doesn’t help this thing, either.
Jeb Tinker: “Satan Takes A Holiday” by Arthur Hoffman
We have color back! Someone needs to learn story structure. Jeb is a horror movie writer who is so timid he’s scared of his own finished work. Not sure how that works, but he’s not really the hero until the end of his story. His secretary, Laru, does most of the work when a villain comes for money that in Jeb’s basement for some reason, and his boss, the titular Satan (not the actual devil but another gangster) gets involved, then the police gets involved…it’s a total mess of a story, and sometimes I can’t tell the cops from the crooks physically. Only Jeb and Laru have any distinct looks and they’re still generic character designs. Not a fan of this one.
Dean Deaton: Scientific Detective “The Mystery Of The Missing Submarine” by Harry Francis Campbell
The Navy comes to Deaton for help when their submarine is stolen. If you don’t know who is behind it, this is your first introduction to Dean Deaton, the former ventriloquist who never uses that talent in favor of his science skills. It’d be a bland story if not for The Conqueror somehow kidnapping Carol and all the times the word balloons are in the wrong spot. So our final story is actually the one on the cover.
overall
There have been some odd placement choices of both text and panels in this whole issue. Cheapening out on color was at least consistent to the middle of the book. Otherwise the stories have been fair to confusing. Not one of their better issues, but a few stories made it worth reading.
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