Well, that cop’s dead. Good going, Rod.
Police Comics #3
Comic Magazines, Inc (October, 1941)
I was just going to read a few issues and move on, like I did with Blue Beetle and Mystery Men. However, since quite a few of these characters ended up going over to DC but never got a solo comic from what became Quality Comics, I figure I’ll just go through the whole thing. It’s not like continuity mattered in the Golden Age, but after this I’m going to try to get the whole Quality/Comic Magazines order in, like I’m doing with Malibu’s Ultraverse (finally). So this will be the last Police Comics until the timeline catches up. Unlike Blue Beetle this isn’t just about Plastic Man, but all of the DC acquisitions. It’s just that Plastic Man was the only one to really matter enough in DC that he ended up with his own cartoon and many starring appearances while the rest of the line-up got a guest appearance on an episode of Batman: The Brave & The Bold and that’s pretty much it.
The Firebrand by Reed Crandall
A friend of Rod’s dad is killed because a crooked politician working with the Germans (or probably another Nazi knockoff…a Nazioff if you will) to take farm lands that have oil underneath. This is back when oil drilling wasn’t a hassle to get going that it actually meant something to find it. Joan is here too…and gets shot down so she’s not even part of the story. What was the point? It’s like she suspects Firebrand is her fiance. Otherwise it was a darn good story to start off with.
#711 by George E. Brenner
Dan learns that one of the new prisoners is working with a new guard to sneak out and kill off witnesses to his crime. So he comes up with a plan to expose them. I’m not sure they’d let another prisoner just walk in during a confrontation to help the warden confirm the evidence #711 slipped them, but otherwise a good story.
Eagle Evans: Flier Of Fortune by Clark Williams
Eagle and Snap are recruited to get a British agent to another British agent who has documents that will help the Allies in the war. It might be a gestapo trap, and our heroes need to figure that out before it’s too late. Some good dogfighting and fistfighting for the time. Not much else to say.
The Sword by Vernon Henkel
Ah, we’re finally giving the hero the larger logo instead of his secret identity, Chic Carter. He and his girlfriend, Gay Nolan (yes, that is her name), are on their way to a piano concert when she develops a headache. Because the 1940s was a different time, they head to a nearby hospital where, unbeknownst to them, a mad scientist has taken over to complete his youth potion, convinced the “hand of Biro” is guiding him. I know that because he won’t shut up about it. So, it appears Gay…and I can sense many jokes coming in the future…actually knows her boyfriend is the Sword (but the cabbie didn’t until now!), which puts her one over Joan and her fiance. Another pretty good adventure.
Plastic Man (I don’t see a Jack Cole credit, but it’s usually him)
Plas gets his first assignment, uncovering a crooked pinball machine racket. (Nothing’s sacred.) Eel O’Brian already knows how it’s being done, and he has a questionable relationship with the cops in both identities. The hero gets on the chief’s nerves while Eel is still wanted by the law. This is lighter in tone than the others, as the funny accented villain fails to kill Plastic Man thanks to his stretchy body. It’s fun and a good story.
Steele Kerrigan by Al Bryant
Steele and his girlfriend, Anne, come across a dead motorcycle cop and end up catching the crooks when Anne is kidnapped. Not much to summarize (it’s a Golden Age anthology after all) but a good story as Steel has to take on a whole gang without a gun.
The Mouthpiece by Fred Guardineer
A violent criminal breaks out of prison and the Mouthpiece has to track him down. There’s not much story here. The hero tracks the villain, gets knocked out, comes up with a plan to stop the villain, and that’s pretty much it. There’s a lot of fighting. Kind of a step down from what we’ve seen thus far.
Phantom Lady by Arthur Peddy
Don is kidnapped by spies who frame Phantom Lady for the kidnapping…a trick that barely matters to the story. I also have to ask how Don doesn’t recognize Phantom Lady when he isn’t hit by the black light and she doesn’t even wear a mask? Make fun of Lois Lane all you want, but Clark knows how to work both identities. Sandra is not so good at it…yet it apparently works.
The Human Bomb by Paul Carrol
Roy is recruited to join the President’s new laboratory, but Nazis use a purple mist to hide their attempt to kidnap the President. The Human Bomb gets a hold of one of the enemy’s glasses that allow them to see through the mist and save the President. Said President is never named. He’s just Mr. President. Unlike these days when it has to be the current President in the White House (unless they don’t like him). I don’t know how they got a bunch of tanks into Washington, DC, but oddities like that aside it’s not a bad story.
overall
Most of the stories are pretty good. Even the worse ones aren’t really stinkers. I hope that continues, but next week I’m going to start reviewing in proper order, so we’ll be jumping to National Comics before returning to Plastic Man, Phantom Lady, The Human Bomb, Firebrand, and the heroes DC didn’t use.
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