“And you’ll pay for what you’ve done to the cover as well, you fiend!”
Crack Comics #1
Comic Magazines, Inc (May, 1940)
I think we know some of these characters. The Clock showed up in other comics I’ve reviewed for this feature, Black Condor is kind of known outside of the Golden Age, and if you follow the blogs I have you know Madame Fatal (wasn’t it “Fatale”?). Ned Bryant made his way to Feature Comics. See if anyone else is familiar to you as we go through this first issue. Will it end up on the continue reading list?
The Clock Strikes by George E. Brenner
The Clock ends up with an ally when he takes pity on a pickpocket he can tell isn’t a thief at heart. Pat “Pug” Bradley was a football player until he was forced to kill a man to save his father. Sadly, his father died during the trial before the self-defence verdict cleared Pug, but he couldn’t maintain his father’s company. He ends up joining the Clock, and learns his secret identity of Brian O’Brien, when a crooked official tries to get others to join him, killing them when he fails to do so. We seem to have dropped the time-stopping bit and just have the Clock strike at midnight, and Pug could be a useful ally and loyal friend for our hero. A pretty good start, with the occasional bit of clunky dialog.
I see they’re still interrupting Jane Arden’s adventures with that lame comic about the hillbilly girl Lena Pry and the paper dolls. Takes the fun out of trying to read Jane’s adventures. Sorry, ma’am, but this one the Clock couldn’t save you from.
The Space Legion by Vernon Henkel
Meet Rock Braddon of the futuristic Space Legion. He and his crew of the Mercury are called in from Earth when space pirates attack a radium shipment from Mars and hide on the moon. Lot of dead guys in this one, but the action’s decent.
Alias The Spider
I’m not sure if this the same pulp hero or a new guy. For one thing he’s packing arrows instead of pistols. You know, like a spider uses. Yeah, I don’t get it, either. And of course he’s fighting his natural enemy, the Cricket, leader of a gang of murdering thieves. One thing both Spider characters have in common is they like killing dudes as well. I just couldn’t get into this one. The story isn’t terrible but it isn’t terribly interesting, either.
Wizard Wells: Miracle Man: “Too Hot To Hold” by Harry Campbell
I guess his first name is Wizard. He’s a a former halfback turned scientist who hates to physically fight, but will if he has to. He also keeps trying to pretend he’s not attracted the obligatory pretty girl who needs his help when a protection racket targets her father. Wizard and ex-fighter assistant Tug are drawn into helping, but they aren’t your typical baddie punching hero. Like I said, he hates violence, but will use comic book science to mess with the racketeers. Looks like the story continues next issue, and it’s certainly a different kind of hero for the period. Not our first science hero but he does enough to stand out from Dean Denton.
Ned Brant by Bob Zuppe
Each page seems to be a different strip, but it’s a continuing story. Also, we get basketball instead of the usual football players. Though apparently Ned wants to play baseball next. First, he and his team has to make their way through the championships of basketball. The presentation isn’t the best, but I’m just too biased to give you a fair review of this comic. It really wasn’t for me.
Lee Preston Of The Red Cross by Terrance Macaully
A heroine who doesn’t have to fight a gag comic and paper dolls for page space. Inspired by a chance meeting (and crash) by pilot Rick Royce, Lee decides to become a pilot herself, eventually joining the Red Cross. When a storm causes a flood she takes a doctor out there, but one of the people doesn’t want to be rescued. Rick helps Lee (if you want to call it that, since she saves him most of the time, but somehow it doesn’t come off like a current day “girlboss” emasculating a man) to get the man and his family to safety. It’s a pretty good introduction. We’ll see where it goes.
The Red Torpedo by Drew Allan
I see we can’t go a comic without some story about not-Nazi Germany trying to force America into the war (I’d be surprised if Hitler wanted that in real life) going up against an American hero despite America still not being part of World War II. JIm has invented a torpedo that’s more like a submarine, but the Navy thinks it’s silly. So he builds it himself along with his fiance, Meg. And when Hulk Hogan tried that he was stuck with Chris Lemon. Instead of a soldier of fortune on the seas, Jim becomes the superhero Red Torpedo, and stops the Not-Zis from attacking an American refugee boat of US citizens trying to escape the war zone. It’s not a bad introduction and we have so few nautical heroes.
Madam Fatal by Art Pinajian
I’ve heard of this character before. Actor Richard Staton becomes Madam Fatal (I thought it was Fatale) to fight crime by tricking the underworld into thinking he’s a harmless old lady until “she” kicks their butts. I wasn’t expecting the presentation of his origin to be convoluted in parts. Richard has been tracking the jealous rival for his Richard’s wife’s affections. When she married Richard, the rival kidnapped their daughter. They had to keep secret they knew who did it because the guy was a crime boss and Richard didn’t want his evil name to sully hers. When the wife died, Richard put on the old lady guise to find him and learn what happened to his daughter. Except the villain dies in this story and Richard decides to keep fighting crime as Madam Fatal until he can find his daughter. Seems like a bit extra work with the reason they never told the cops who did it. Can’t imagine what they’d do with this character nowadays, but hopefully it gets better in those days.
The Black Condor by Kenneth Lewis
If you know you’re Golden Age heroes, you’ve already heard of this guy. The last survivor of raiders attacking his father’s archaeology expedition because I don’t know, Richard Grey, Junior, is raised by condors, which should be the silliest part of this story. No, the part where as he grows up the boy learns to fly like a bird without the right bird parts (like wings able to hold him up, not even fake ones) that this becomes hard to believe. The same raiders attack a monk who takes him in after eagles force him down, so he decides to use his flying powers to fight evil. Except he does get a wing like cape at the end when he finally gets revenge for all the family he’s lost except for his condor mom. His bird family helps him. Somehow we’re supposed to take this seriously, but origin aside it’s a…well, I enjoyed reading it, anyway.
overall
Okay, adding this one to the keep reading list. There are some good stories, oddities aside, and the only ones I wasn’t interested it was either ruined by presentation or just not my kind of story. Otherwise, a decent time waster.
