SILVER AGE CLASSICS: UNUSUAL TALES VOL. 4 HC
Unusual Tales #16-20 (Charlton Comics, May 59-Jan 60)
I didn't expect more from Unusual Tales Vol. 4 than I had gotten out of other volumes of the same series. Which is why I was surprised by the story "The Incredible Walking Stick" in Unusual Tales #18 (Sep 59). It begins:
"Thor, the mighty Norse god of thunder, wreaked great havoc when he threw his hammer at foes! But what was his hammer? Of what wondrous metal was it made? Is the hammer in existence today?"
Speaking of "today," Alvin Johnson of 1959 injures his foot just as he has taken off for a few days to do some jobs around the house. He had, for example, planned to tear down an old barn in his backyard. Trying to walk off the injury, he comes across an antique sale, where he finds just what he needs -- an old walking stick, for the low, low price of three dollars. He buys it, and makes some astonishing discoveries.
On the way home, he discovers the cane "makes me feel as light as a feather ... I ... I can walk fast!" In fact, "my leg feels perfect now!" He then discovers he can cut a tree in half with one swing of the cane. At home, he knocks down the old barn with one "SWIISSH!"
Switch to another scene where a man chastises his son for selling the cane. "We must get it back at all costs!" he says. "You know why!"
So the boy uses the receipt to find Alvin's house, and surreptitiously switches out Alvin's cane for a lookalike. To Alvin, it appears that whatever power the cane held has disappeared. And he "was never to learn that the cane he had owned was fashioned from the hammer of Thor, the Viking god!"
We never learn who the father and son were, although it's not hard to imagine the father is Odin, and the boy is one of his sons. (Probably Balder and not Loki, since he does what he's told.) But, while there are certainly major differences, a link between Thor's hammer and a walking stick is certainly something that Dr. Don Blake would discover in Journey into Mystery #83 ... three years later!
PS ARTBOOKS SOFTEE: SPEED COMICS VOL. 1
Speed Comics #1-3 (Brookwood, Oct-Dec 39)
Something similar happens in Speed Comics Vol. 1. The book includes the first three issues, from October to December 1939. As you can imagine from comics that early in the game, they're not very good.
Backup strips include:
- Crash, Cork and the Baron, which stars "The Three Aces," a team of two-fisted aviators, comprised of Crash, an always-smiling American; Cork, a stereotypical Irishman; and the Baron, a stereotypical Prussian royal (complete with monocle and German accent).
- Ted Parrish, which stars a two-fisted actor who moonlights as a master of disguise and crime-fighter named "The Man of Thousand Faces." I guess Lon Chaney Sr. wasn't around to sue. It's by Bob Powell, though, which is a plus.
- Smoke Carter, which stars a two-fisted firefighter who catches bad guys.
- Spike Marlin, which stars a two-fisted sailor who beats up bad guys.
- Landor, Maker of Monsters, which stars a mad scientist who is constantly foiled by the two-fisted Anthony Torrence (occupation unknown), and his beautiful fiance, Maria. In the first three issues, Landor appears to die at the end of each, only to somehow return in the next installment. Another Bob Powell effort.
- Texas Tyler, which stars a two-fisted cowboy in the old West.
- Biff Bannon, which stars a two-fisted Marine. This strip is by Dick Briefer, so it's a slight cut above the others.
Those are the back-ups, so what about the headliner? That honor (and the cover of the first three issues) goes to Shock Gibson, a guy in red leotards and a gold helmet who is super-strong and uses an electrical field to ward off bullets. There are always electric-shock signifiers around his hands and feet when they're doing something superheroic, which along with his name, lightning-bolt belt and the bulletproof force field led me think to believe his unexplained powers were electrical in nature.
In the second issue, my assumption was validated, in the form of an origin told in a caption on the first page: "Charles Gibson, a young man with a hobby of experimenting with chemical and electrical forces, was at work in his laboratory one night when the place was struck by a tremendous bolt of lightning. The chemicals spilled over him and at the same time he received the full force of the lightning through his body. Some reaction of the chemicals combined with the huge voltage of the electrical charge cause a mysterious change in the youth. Instead of killing him outright it gave him a strange increase in his vital energy. He became suddenly all powerful, endowed with an almost unbelievable strength and energy."
Does that sound familiar? It would to Barry Allen, who experienced something similar in Showcase #4 ... 17 years later.
Speed Comics was published for 11 issues by some company named Brookwood, before being picked up by Harvey, which continued it through issue #44. I hope it gets considerably better.
PS ARTBOOKS SOFTEE: BLACKHAWK VOL. 5
Blackhawk #25-30 (Quality, Jun 49-Apr 50)
Blackhawk Vol. 5 was pretty much like the first four volumes, only slightly worse on the art front. There's a lot less Reed Crandall and a lot more John Forte, which is a serious drop in quality.
I've also confirmed my opinion that, despite all the airy words about democracy and justice, Blackhawk mainly supports the status quo. Whoever's in charge are good guys who need to stay in charge, and anybody attempting to overthrow them are bad guys and must be stopped. When Blackhawk is called in by a troubled maharajah or endangered shiek, he doesn't ask any questions -- he just starts rounding up the rebels.
PS ARTBOOKS SOFTEE: PLASTIC MAN VOL. 3
Plastic Man #9-12 (Quality, Autumn 1947-July 1948)
Plastic Man Vol. 3 also doesn't provide much in the way of novelty. Plastic Man, like Blackhawk, had wildly divergent plots, but both seem formulaic just the same. Fortunately, with both the formula is mildly entertaining.
One thing, though: On another thread (I've forgotten where), it was asserted that most Golden Age sidekicks, and Woozy Winks was mentioned by name, were basically competent. While that's true for the likes of Ebony White and Doiby Dickles, it is manifestly not true in the case of Woozy. He is an idiot, full stop. He rarely contributes anything useful, and when he does, it's by accident. He's comedy relief, and that's all he is. That explains why Jack Cole keeps him around, but why Plastic Man tolerates him is never explained.
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