Captain Marvel – The so-called “Squadron of Doom” was an interesting idea with lots of “pulpy” elements like Rodney Stark’s amazing invention and the prehistoric villains. I was knocked out of my suspension of disbelief by “Billy” surviving a mid-air explosion BEFORE turning into Shazam. Of course, I was having trouble reconciling the graphics of the prehistoric giants in the massacre scene with the gatling gun appearance of their machine guns even before that. Still, I gladly accepted that ancient science-fantasy canard of ancient characters rescued from the ice. I couldn’t very well enjoy Captain America if I couldn’t grant at least that one. Of course, it’s somewhat ridiculous to expect logic to work for a comic where a newsboy says, “Shazam!” and turns into a superhuman character.
Golden Arrow – Golden Arrow’s gambits for capturing the would-be murderers of his girlfriend, Carol, is the true stuff of B-movies and motion picture serials. I had no problem with that or with the secret of the bad guys’ success in getting in and out of prison (however improbable it may have been). No, my difficulty was with the way Golden Arrow saved the day down in the mineshaft, both with the arrow and with his muscles. I think this one was tougher on my suspension of disbelief than the previous story because it doesn’t really offer the fantastic superhuman exploits of Captain Marvel.
Lance O’Casey – Except for the antiquated equipment (compared to the ‘50s television series), this story reminded me of the old Sea Hunt series with Lloyd Bridges. Unscrupulous characters end up being foiled as much by the sea and the creatures in the sea as by the hero (Mike Nelson on television and Lance O’Casey, here) of the episode. Even the incredible coincidence was cinematic and right out of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Disney version), so it was all great fun. The art style for the two sharks pictured in this story seemed weak to me, the mouth on one suggestive more of a dolphin (sharkdom’s fierce enemy) than of the Great White presumed to be represented. Of course, that last criticism is more a look back from someone used to today’s graphics. On the plus side, minimalist though the face work was, I really could imagine the facial expressions of the “boss” and imagined one of those interchangeable toughs from the film serials.
Horned Bear – This cute story, presented in text with one 1/3 page illustration, reminded me so much of all those times on camping trips and sleepovers my friends and I misidentified threats in the dark. I can so see this happening with the vivid memory on one cavern where the creek kept bending back and crossing over the main trail multiple times. I even remember counting the crossings like the characters in the story.
Spy Smasher – Even if the Gyrosub is a rather strange looking craft, I love the aviation scenes in these stories—particularly the autogiro escape scenes in this particular number. Indeed, some of the concepts like The Mask’s “super-directional” parachute seem to portend controls in some skydiving equipment today. This one was fast-paced and entertaining with just the right amount of “pulp” adventure “B” movie-style improbabilities to keep it flowing.
Dan Dare – “Peril in Fort Worth“ is a quick-hitting sabotage story where our hero starts with escort duty and ends up solving a rather obvious mystery. Still, adventures are made of such anomalies where the protagonist or her/his colleagues spots something that normal systems should have caught months before. Someone once observed that if, in real life, one needs to choose between conspiracy and incompetence, one should choose the latter every time. In adventure, it is more interestingly, the former and this story proves no exception.
Dr. Voodoo – It amazes me how much exposition John Hampton was able to work into this origin story of a jungle doctor and his “She” (apologies to H. Ryder Haggard) of a nurse to be. No offense to ERB fans, but I like the way this pulls together in just a few pages better (for my suspended disbelief) than the average Tarzan story. I look forward to more. I feel like I’m time-traveling while reading all of these selections.
Ibis the Invincible – What an incredibly unique but impractical car! I love it. It’s too bad we don’t have scans for the Whiz Comics in between the introduction of this character and this one. It looked like it was going to be a wild ride (speaking of carnivals). This story has more of a Route 66 feel to it, but I always enjoyed that anthology series, anyway. There is a very nice panel of the studio owner that offers a lot of character with minimal pencil work. I find lots to like in these stories.
Link to the book:
Whiz Comics 007
