This cover would inspire a young Kool-Aid-Man.
Crash Comics Adventures #1
Tem Publishing Company (May, 1940)
How many new titles came out this month? The pixels aren’t even set on my list of Golden Age comics to read or not read and we have another one. I went over the list and I have heard of none of these characters, so it should be an interesting experience. The cover and indicia call it Crash Comic Adventures but on Comic Book+ it’s listed as just Crash Comics, hence the parentheses in the article title. So….what reason is there for these heroes to have fallen into the obscurity of oversaturation? Did they deserve better? Will we bother with a second issue? Join me in finding out.
For those of you don’t usually join us, after two different scans of the same cover it starts with an ad for a men’s girdle “superform belt”. Hey, it fooled boys when they started using “action figure”.
Strongman by Scotty Walters
Rich heir Percy Van Norton is our first Superman ripoff in a while. After studying a book by a yogi (no bears required) and pushing his body to the limit, Percy is the perfect human, Strongman! Okay, the names induce laughter today but as a secret identity it blends Superman’s powers at the time with Batman’s alter ego, using his training regimen instead of alien biology. Of course, if you’re bothered by Clark’s glasses, Percy’s monocle is just going to make you crazed. This could have been a simple pearl snatching to introduce our hero, but somehow we had to get “a dictator nation at war” involved. At least they weren’t trying to drag the US into the war, but the writer still makes a point to mention it. Narration is not used well and panel layout needs work, but not a bad start. At least the fights were cool.
Buck Burke by Jack Stark
Obligatory jungle story ahead, captain! If you think that means 1940 African native stereotypes, of course it does. I’ve seen worse, mind you. Burke is after a lion for the zoo, but this lion is clever…and deadly. How they grab him is neither of those things and I have to wonder if this was supposed to be a gag comic, if not for the dead people.
Secret Agent Z-2 by Douglas
And the spy with a letter and number for his name. I wonder how many of the big hits we’re getting before this ride is through? Z-2 is working a case involving a plastic surgeon covering the faces of criminals. So is the chief’s daughter Lola also in the agency or does she just hang out? If the latter, agreeing to let her go along seems an odd choice. A good one as it turns out, but her doing good isn’t at the title character’s expense. A bit bland but decent.
Solar Legion
Following member Adam Starr in the year 2140…which is still pretty far off for us in 2026. Actually, there is no Solar Legion just yet. Just Adam dropping space bombs on space pirates. In space. It’s a “comic” in the same way Prince Valiant is; mostly text and illustrations with the occasional clunky dialog. It’s fun as an artifact of comic history, but I don’t seen too many readers today getting into this. The Legion actually forms next issue, so maybe that will help. No credit, but Comic Book Plus claims the creator is some guy named Jack Kirby. Wonder if he worked on anything else?
The Blue Streak: “The Defender Of The People” by Lowry Bishop
Masked hero goes to rescue a scientist from not-Nazis. I just put about as much effort into this summary as he did the story. Even got his name wrong (Blue Flash) in one of the narration boxes. Weakest story in the comic.
The Flying Trio
The three might have thought Chinaman Sing Low (I just report these names, folks) was getting a lucky break flying a beautiful dutchess home…until she pulled a gun on him so Ray and Mac had to give chase. Was she trying to steal the plane? Capture an enemy pilot? What was the end goal here. It tries but it’s not very interesting.
Jane Drake: Detective by Matt Robinson
Jane wants to be a detective, but her district attorney father doesn’t want her risking her life. She’s going after cases coming through his office, so she’s not getting paid for this. Get a PI’s license, Jane. Maybe stop dragging your boyfriend, Jerry King, into it because that’s not his life goal. At least this is what we learn in the few pages about Jane before the actual adventure starts. Someone’s threatening her father, and whether daddy and Jerry like it or not she’s going to find out who. This has potential to be good, but as an intro it doesn’t put our heroine in the best light.
Shangra by Nam Shang Po
Reporters Joan Joyce and Jack Flynn are trying to cover the war in China but end up “guest” of an ancient sorcerer, Shangra. His not so ancient granddaughter takes an interest in Jack and wants him to be her husband and take the old man’s place. I guess extending your life 200 years comes with drawbacks when your body still gets old and frail. Jack’s not up for this marriage and worries about his friend, so he plots to escape. So are these two going to be in every story, or do we just keep luring people to Shangraland? Not a good comic to end on.
overall
More good, or at least potentially good, than bad with this one. Curiosity will bring be back for another issue down the line.
