Comments |
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I've been collecting and reading comic books for 45yrs and I thought I knew about every mystery man there was ... well, I never heard of #711 or the Mouthpiece. I really enjoyed both stories in this issue. I think the concept for #711 is unique even if his origin story needs A LOT of work. |
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Additional Information |
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Publication | August 1941 | Price: 0.10 USD | Pages: 1 | Frequency: Monthly |
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Cover | Introducing the Firebrand |
Content | Genre: Superhero | Characters: The Firebrand [Rod Reilly]; Plastic Man [Patrick "Eel" O'Brian] (inset); The Human Bomb [Roy Lincoln] (inset); Phantom Lady [Sandra Knight] (inset); The Mouthpiece [Bill Perkins] (inset) |
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Comic Story | Introducing the Firebrand (11 pages) |
Synopsis | Firebrand's break-up of a window washer's racket leads him to bigger fish, who are attempting to steal a fortune in diamonds. |
Content | Genre: Superhero | Characters: The Firebrand [Rod Reilly] (introduction); Slugger Dunn (introduction, ex-prize fighter); "Emerald" Ed Reilly (introduction, Rod's father, steel tycoon); Joan Rogers (introduction, Rod's fiancee); Baron von Hanson (villain); Sylvester Cole (villain); Dave (villain, death); Dippy Dolan (villain, pickpocket) |
Notes | Slugger was originally named Slugger Shea. Firebrand, in the early stories, left his signature torch emblem for the police to find. |
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Comic Story | The Origin of #711 (6 pages) |
Synopsis | Dan agrees to take the rap for a soon-to-be-father, who agrees to give himself up to the law after seeing his newborn and wife. But when he is killed in an accident, prisoner #711 decides to remain behind bars and fight crime from there, in this case against Slick Panzer, who has swindled a widow out of $250,000. |
Content | Genre: Adventure; Crime | Characters: #711 [Daniel Dyce] (introduction, origin); un-named district attorney; Mary Horn (Jacob's wife, not seen); Jacob Horn (villain, death); "Slick" Panzer (villain) |
Notes | #711 wears a crimson jacket and cape and a hat which cast a heavy shadow over his face. |
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Comic Story | Dr. M. Balm's Man-Eating Plant (1 page) |
Synopsis | An evil doctor creates a flesh-eating flower and sends it to Super Snooper to rid himself of the crime fighter. |
Content | Genre: Humor | Characters: Super Snooper (introduction); Dr. M. Balm (villain) |
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Comic Story | The Attack of Ali Harid (7 pages) |
Synopsis | Evans and Snap head to Cyranis to photograph enemy movements and activity, but when they return with photos for the general, they are arrested for violating a treaty with Ali Harid. They escape, team up with a Libyan prince and prevent Harid's planned actions. |
Content | Genre: Detective-mystery | Characters: Eagle Evans (introduction); Snap Smith (introduction, cameraman); un-named U.S. army general; un-named Libyan prince; Ali Harid (villain) |
Notes | Script credit from Millennium Edition: Police Comics No. 1 (DC, 2000 series) #nn. The Who's Who lists no writing credits for Williams, so ? placed beside the script credit. Script/artist correction by Craig Delich 2012-7-3
"Clark Williams" is a house name.
Feature logo reads "Eagle Evans, Flier of Fortune". |
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Comic Story | The Legend of the Black Baron (6 pages) |
Synopsis | When Curtis Randall decides to change his will and give away his entire art collection, he is seemingly murdered by a suit of armor belonging to one of his ancestors. Chic is present for the reading of Randall's will and uncovers a murder plot by the deceased's brother Harvey, The Black Baron, wearing a skull mask, tries to claim his brother's fortune but falls to his death in the end. |
Content | Genre: Detective-mystery | Characters: Chic Carter [The Sword] (reporter); Curtis Randall (art collector, death); Detective Monahan; Hodges (Curtis Randall's butler, death); Betty Randall; Damon (cousin); The Black Baron [Harvey Randall] (villain, death) |
Notes | Feature continues from Smash Comics (Quality, 1939 series) #26.
Millennium Edition: Police Comics No. 1 (DC, 2000 series) credits Will Eisner with the script and art. The Who's Who lists Henkel as creator, writer and artist for the strip. Jim Amash and Mike Kooiman, in the Quality Companion, categorically state that The Sword was created by Henkel.
Henkel himself said, in Alter Ego #48, that super-heroes didn't interest him. He was more into adventure stories, like those in the movies; he liked realism. Perhaps this was why Carter appeared in costume as The Sword for only a very short time. Added by Craig Delich 2014-1-3. |
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Comic Story | The Origin of Plastic Man (6 pages) |
Synopsis | While escaping from a crime scene, Eel O'Brian has a vat of acid dumped on his head, giving him the ability to stretch his body. Eel decides he doesn't want to be a criminal anymore and uses his newly found powers to capture his former partners in crime. |
Content | Genre: Superhero | Characters: Plastic Man [Patrick "Eel" O'Brian] (introduction, origin, reformed villain); un-named monk; Skizzle Shanks (villain); Skizzle Shank's mob (villains) |
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Comic Story | The Redemption of Steele Kerrigan (6 pages) |
Synopsis | Imprisoned for having taken the rap for a gang of robbers he was working as a lookout for, Kerrigan saves the life of the warden and is paroled. But he is quickly approached by Spike and his gang, who kidnap Betty and manage to convince the authorities that Kerrigan was in on another job, the same day he was released. |
Content | Genre: Detective-mystery | Characters: Steele Kerrigan (introduction, origin); Anne (introduction); un-named prison warden; Spike (villain); Torpedo (villain) |
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Comic Story | The Alien Smuggling Racket (6 pages) |
Synopsis | D.A. Perkins dons a mask and cape in order to get the goods on a brutal alien smuggling racket, spearheaded by Peg-Leg Friel, who smuggled European refugees inside fish carcasses! When Peg-Leg attempts to escape, the Mouthpiece thinks nothing of harpooning the dastardly villain. |
Content | Genre: Detective-mystery; Superhero | Characters: The Mouthpiece [Bill Perkins] (introduction, district attorney); Smokey Joe (villain); Captain Peg-Leg Friel (villain, death) |
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Text Story | Vengeance (2 pages) |
Synopsis | Two former French army majors become bitter enemies after the war, and one of them, Pierre LaFonde, swears revenge after being cheated out of a fabulously valuable diamond mine. |
Credits | Pencils:? (spot illustrations) | Inks:? (spot illustrations) | Letters: typeset |
Content | Genre: Adventure | Characters: Dick Mace (introduction); Albert Brancourt (weathy diamond merchant, death); Mrs. Grancourt (Albert's wife, death); two un-named children of Albert Brancourt (both die); Adrian Grancourt (Albert's oldest son, death); Vivienne Grancourt (Albert's 9-year old daughter, death); Pierre LaFonde (villain, printer, death) |
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Comic Story | The Coming of the Phantom Lady (6 pages) |
Synopsis | The Phantom Lady rescues a kidnapped scientist who has developed a uranium explosive. |
Content | Genre: Superhero | Characters: The Phantom Lady [Sandra Knight] (introduction); Senator Henry Knight (introduction, Sandra's father); Don Borden (introduction, State Department investigator); Dr. Raphael (inventor); Wenner (villain, death); Pete (villain, Raphael's assistant, death) |
Notes | Phantom Lady's origin was revealed in Freedom Fighters #15. |
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Synopsis | Dewey gets a letter from the government informing him that he has been drafted. |
Content | Genre: Humor | Characters: Dewey Dip (introduction); Mr. Drip; Mrs. Drip; Lulu (Dewey's girl) |
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Comic Story | The Origin of the Human Bomb (6 pages) |
Synopsis | An Axis consul makes several attempts to steal a new explosive capsule invented by the late Professor Lincoln, but, in the end, he is on the receiving end of its power. |
Content | Genre: Superhero | Characters: The Human Bomb [Roy Lincoln] (introduction, origin); Professor Lincoln (Roy's father, death); Fritz (villain, death); Baldy (villain); Riker (villain); un-named Axis consul (villain, death) |
Notes | A black and white restoration/homage to this story by Jack Cole is printed in Golden-Age Men of Mystery (AC, 1996 series) #12.
Even though the Who's Who doesn't list Gustavson as a writer of the strip, Mike Kooiman and Jim Amash state in the Quality Companion that he created the strip and wrote it, so the question mark with the script credit has been removed by Craig Delich 2013-1-18. Also verified by Gustavson's son, Terry Gustafson.
Letterer credit courtesy of Terry Gustafson, Paul Gustavson's son. |
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Creative Commons Attribution License.
More details about this comic may be available in their page here |