On this episode of Mythbusters: testing the “screen door on a submarine” myth.
War Comics #1
Dell Publishing Company (January, 1940)
I mean…look at the title. It’s not you can’t tell what we’re about to read. Pretty obvious. It’s still over a year before the US would join the war, and for all I know we only went after the Nazis and their Axis pals because Japan was one of those pals. Still, there was interest, if not sentiment, for what was becoming a second worldwide war, after the “war to end all wars” turned out to not be what was advertised. At the very least it’s a good backdrop for action stories. While Nazi Germany and the then current Japanese regime were the usual targets we forget that Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Croatia (according to Duck Duck Go’s AI search) were also in there. Maybe we remember Italy, but now we get along with all of those nations, especially Japan and Italy. World War II probably the easiest to define “good guys” and “bad guys” of any war, which might we why we go back there so often in fiction and extremist political discourse.
Scoop Mason: War Correspondent by Alan Blane
I wonder if anyone has done a list of all the hero news reporters in fiction around that time? Superman and the original Captain Marvel would qualify. Here we meet Scoop, his aide, Sleepy Sampson, and the rival correspondent female reporter, Judy Jackson, because we need the attractive girl who is both rival and love interest. Scoop and Sleepy are in trouble when they find out a French munitions dealer is selling ammo to both sides…and both duds. I’d also like to know how Judy got that information. A follow-up showing her investigation (I’m betting ties to the baron’s girl who said they’d meet again) might be interesting but this was still a good story on it’s own. A good first story to a first issue.
The Sky Hawk by Ralf Stone & Tom Hickey
Three American Navy pilots, one of whom grew up in China due to his father’s work, graduate flight school and get their first assignment. At this point the US isn’t at war with Japan, but Japan is still trying to conquer China. A wealthy Chinese man tries to get them to leave the military and fly with them but they refuse to fly for another country. They still get to deal with the Japanese when a pilot decides to show off in a dangerous way to the US ship our trio is assigned to, so they return the favor. Now the ace pilot of the Japanese ship wants a bit of payback, and to steal their planes’ secrets. This is will be continued next time, but it is a fascinating story. Curious to see where it goes.
Scapa Flow
An alleged news account of a German U-Boat who managed to get into the British shipyards at Scapa Flow and cause damage, but they do pay for their action. The captain is quite clever. Oddly, they’re just shown as soldiers on a mission, not necessarily marking them as the bad guys. Usually in the comics from this time, the Nazis or their stand-ins are clearly the villains even though we weren’t in the war yet. Yes, I keep bringing that up because despite the action backdrop I mentioned earlier, there seem to be a lot of comic writers back then anxious for us to get involved or at least cheer on the Allies pre-US. Sides were being chosen, but it was more for the story than the propaganda. Unlike a lot of today’s comics where the propaganda comes first and you’re lucky if the story is second. Here they’re just relaying events as best as they can dramatize them. I respect that.
Lieutenant Frank Luke: World War Ace by Roy Humphries
We did fight in the first World War against the Germans, and this story is set then. The tale of the World War I pilot that a Hawaiian airport is named after. I couldn’t tell you how accurate it is, but it is strange seeing a high schooler anxious to get back to working the mines and being successful at almost everything. It doesn’t say if he was killed by the German soldiers while living up to his pledge to never be taken prisoner. It’s a good story, but again, I can’t tell you how truthful it is. Some of these stories in other comics have come off as exaggerations.
Sikandur The Robot Master
We’re going a bit sci-fi on this one. Sikandur makes robots too hot to touch but very powerful. He and the Countess Sylvia conquered a country but they sent all of their gold to the US, which he needs to build more robots and conquer the world. Of course. He sends a robot to rob Fort Knox, but three college boys may foil his plans. It’s a good start, another story to be continued next time. Hopefully next time the creator learned how to place word balloons in the right sequence of who’s talking when.
Television Torpedo: War’s Newest Weapon
Anybody who grew up as old media tried to understand computers and video games, and now does the same with the internet, will be on familiar ground with the new hotness of the period: television. We’re back to World War I to begin this story, with two pilots going kamikaze on a German blimp. Is this irony given who we started fighting in the next war? I don’t know if this actually was a plan submitted to the military, but if it was they just exposed a military secret. We never actually got these of course, unless you count drones today. An interesting story if only for the historical interest.
Blockade by JD Wilkyey
Three American kids in Sweden are sent back home as the war starts, and get caught in a series of adventures trying to get to England so they can take a boat back to the US. This is very neutral, much like the “Scapa Flow” story, as we watch the boys get on the British boat, sunk by Germans, taken pity on because one of them saved a downed German pilot, and allowed to go back home on one of the British lifeboats. War is not presented harshly but it’s not celebrated either. It’s just kind of weird considering the type of wartime stories I’m used to seeing, but it was an interesting story. I wonder if those two will show up again?
Danny Dash: Globetrotter by Erwin L. Hess
Dan and his friend Shamrock (yes, of course he’s Irish) are headed to a boxing match in London when they hear the city was bombed. Not by the Nazis, because this isn’t the Blitz. It’s strange airplanes piloted by grey skinned men. Are they really from the center of the Earth or is something else going on. We’ll have to wait to find out next time, but it’s not a bad start. Quite a few multiparters this issue.
Peace Raider by Arthur McCaffery
Larry MacIntosh wanted to give his new metal-eating liquid to the US government in hopes of ending all war…somehow, but they weren’t willing to hear him out. Spies try to get the formula from him, but his plans to stop them are dashed when G-Men mistake him for a traitor. Now Larry must work in secret to uncover the enemy’s actual plan to keep the war going so they can mop up what’s left. Another cliffhanger, and although they try to push that “peace raider” nickname a bit hard it’s not a bad start. The scan I linked to for some reason repeats two of the pages.
The Tripod Trio
Throughout the story is this comedy bit about three newsmen whose cameras keep getting them into and out of trouble. I’m not sure why they split up with two pages between other stories but after awhile the formula gets old and it’s never really funny, especially with the running gag of the guy who keeps screwing up his sentences and the third guy has to finish it for him.
overall
This was a good first issue. The cliffhanger stories make me interested in seeing what’s next. The downsides are mild. I hope to check out more issues from this series.
BW Media Spotlight 