[Johnny L. Wilson]

Captain Marvel – Don’t get me wrong, please. I enjoy these Captain Marvel stories. This incredible shrinking ray of Dr. Durgan’s is great fun—I especially like the way it functions with a photographic analog as part of its technique. It’s ironic, though, that I can accept the idea of a shrinking ray, but I still can’t get my head around Billy shouting the magic word in front of everyone (including the main villains) and still clinging to his “secret identity.” In this story, though, I’m also a little confused as to how the security guard tells Billy that even a fishhook couldn’t enter through the top of the case, but the victims of Dr. Durgan’s shrinking ray do enter somehow. Well, it’s a good thing I don’t read comics for the reality-based insights, isn’t it?

Golden Arrow – Wow! I must have really spaced out when I read the first couple of “Golden Arrow” stories. I seem to have glossed over the idea of solid gold arrows in my mind. I certainly doesn’t seem like said arrows, made of such soft metal, would be very effective (unless it killed villains with blood poisoning when portions of the arrows flaked off into the bloodstream, making them living bottle of Goldschlager—chuckle). Also, I can’t resist pointing out the Jewish background of Golden Era comic books as demonstrated when the Native American mercenary, Yellow Feather (probably not the nicest name for a member of a tribal nation), says that they will make lots of “mazuma” (Yiddish for “ready necessary,” implying “cash”) from killing Golden Arrow. But what I really enjoyed about this story was Carol’s role and her rationale behind it. That was entertaining after G.A. sent her home for her own safety. It was the opposite of the Lois Lane effect. (chuckle) Of course, I also wonder about the anachronistic use of the term “death house” to describe the location of an individual slated for a hanging. That sounds way more New York City 1940s than Wild West. The ending was appropriate fun right out of Robin Hood, though.

Lance O’Casey -- Old Dan’l Doom’s pirate argot is much more in evidence than O’Casey’s Irish background in this tale of pirates and pearls. Bill Parker’s fun with character names continues as the captain of the pirates is named Bully Strong, complete with obligatory eye patch. Art-wise, this story seems a bit rushed. The pirate henchman agreeing to search the premises in the bottom-right frame of p. 23 (p. 25 of the scan) seems a spitting image for O’Casey himself and the top-left frame of p. 24 (p. 26 of the scan) has a pirate threatening a “Lance” who looks more like a pirate than like O’Casey. This story was clever. I liked the ironic ammunition the hero was able to wield against the pirates. One little note on which to close, though—is it just me or does it seem like the Brian Boru II gets scuttled in every story?

Spy Smasher – Turn-about is “fair play,” isn’t it? Readers who are so used to having the bad guys (male or female) disguise themselves should enjoy this quick-hitting story with subterfuge on both sides. This story of the theft of a top-secret “hypno-ray” could just have easily been a “Captain Midnight” story or serial as a Spy Smasher comic or serial. Of course, I enjoy both of these, so that’s not a problem for me.

Dan Dare – I loved this story because it was essentially an early 20th century “ransomware” story. I also liked the way Dare deduced where the “ransomware” gang might have been operating. I thought this was better than the average Dan Dare story. The plot “glue” held together very nicely.

You Never Can Tell – The text story, “You Never Can Tell,” was a succinct morality play for perseverance and hard work. One character complains that his life is essentially a trap (though he simply uses the word, “boring”) and the other tries to encourage him with the idea that anything can happen. Of course, it would not be a spoiler to indicate that something surprising happens and the reader learns that perseverance can pay off unexpectedly.

Dr. Voodoo – I liked the way this story telegraphed a nice revelation within the exposition of the early frames. The story arc for this series is pulp adventure at its finest and the classic trope of the hidden temple of gold for this episode fits in nicely. My “suspended disbelief” came off its “enforced leave of absence” when the claw mark of a giant ape becomes a perfect tattoo of the story’s objective. Wouldn’t modern tattoo artists love a chance to adorn the body perfectly with one stroke? There’s another jungle trope that doesn’t make sense later in the story, but readers can simply disregard the lack of realism and celebrate the frame that looks right out of the old “Pitfall” Atari game in the center frame of page 52 (page 54 of the scan). One word of caution before I forget, young readers are urged not to confuse the verb “to lose” as in no longer having something for the word “loose” as in already partially untied or unbound. It’s “…no time to lose” not “…no time to loose.” But more importantly, the perverse “deus ex machina” at the conclusion sets a fairly nice balance for future adventures. Quibbles aside, I really enjoy this character’s “Jungle Jim”-style adventures.

Ibis the Invincible – These stories are always fun for me. The “magic” lets me throw out almost all of the objections I would have (even here, there appears to be a contradiction between where black magic is blocking the Ibistick and when the Ibistick guides them to and protects them within an enchanted forest). The enchanted forest in this story is delightfully presented and there are appropriate magical “stand-offs” in the remainder of the story. All in all, this has been a clever ride.

Link to the book: Whiz Comics 009 (paper/8fiche)