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[MarkWarner]

So last week's Hot Rod Racers just managed to make it over the finishing line and scrape a late qualifying hit. Also, one thing that a few of us learned last week was that back in the day car fires were a really real menace!

Anyway on with this week's choice, and I predict it will be a corker, Soldiers Of Fortune #7  https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=17833. The story we are concentrating on is the first one featuring "Ace Carter...Adventurer".

[betaraybdw]

So... Ace Carter seems to bumble through from one situation to another, solving all problems by hitting people over the head or shooting them. I'm okay with that.

[Morgus]

There's a comic strip called RIP HAYWIRE that makes fun of this whole genre, so this was  gas for me. Okay, so you have that LITTLE PROBLEM of perspective on the first page with that boat that looks like it is floating UP a waterfall...and the bad guys face seems to be melting somehow. Is it just me, or does The Blue Lady look sexier when she has the red dress and the 'disguise' on? It's fast paced, I'll give it that...I turned back to the first page thinking I had missed something between the plane landing and the shoot out...and I like the gangster style submachine gun that looks like it's straight out of THE UNTOUCHABLES...art was okay...CAPTAIN CROSSBONES had a great first page of art, then seemed to fade out quality wise as the story went on..and I am not touching that line about being 'the master' and not 'the slave'...whooo boy...

[crashryan]

In my younger days this was my favorite genre. I drank up 30s Hollywood adventures, television's Tim and Toubo, and the pre-War Terry and the Pirates. My enthusiasm cooled over the years as I had to face the racism, misogyny, religious prejudice, and jingoism at the heart of these celebrations of the White (American) Man's Burden. This comic is typical of its type. We have one Exotic Princess, one Airhead Girlfriend, two Double-Crossing Babes, a Menacing Witch Doctor, and plenty of tough situations solved with fists and bullets.

There are some interesting features, though, beginning with Ace Carter's trick of sticking his hand into white-hot lead. I love Ace's pasteover qualifier on page 10. Obviously it had occurred to the editor that an eager reader might cook up some hot lead! Speaking of lead, I'm surprised the Azulos aren't mentally deficient as well as blue-skinned after centuries of ingesting the stuff.

The writer packs a lot of action into "Captain Crossbones." It's crowded but it reads a bit better than the other stories. Once again a girlfriend stows away and endangers everybody by being taken prisoner. This time around the hero doesn't even bother to chide her. As a kid I was unaware of the anti-Islamic undercurrent in many GA pirate series. Quality's "Black Roger" was the most upfront about it, but most stories dealing with the Barbary pirates play up the good-guys-vs.-the-"Moslems" angle.

"Sailors of Fortune" is interesting in its completely non-judgemental description of William Dampier's career. I think we are supposed to admire him, but it's not clear. Dampier definitely went where the money was--and that's what soldiers of fortune are all about.

Lance Larson is an odd feature. Though the logo calls him a soldier of fortune he's really a non-costumed superhero. For a "man of a thousand faces" he seems rather well-known. Everybody recognizes him when he's not disguised, and everybody is aware that he's a master of disguise. Not very helpful for an undercover agent.  It's remarkable that the rather over-complex story acknowledges Francisco Franco (not named) as a tyrant and casts Catalan separatists as freedom fighters. This was the opposite of the official US position; the media usually presented Franco in a positive light back then.

I'd like to know the truth about the Pancho Villa millions. Has anyone researched this? As for the ads--here is venerable old Cloverine Brand Salve. Cloverine Brand Salve has a fascinating story. Here's a brief description along with links to historical articles. Don't miss the comments, which include messages from people who actually sold the stuff.

http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2012/05/kids-get-rich-selling-cloverline-salve.html

Overall impression: guilty pleasure.

Hey, Skinny! Be the master, not the slave! Learn to fix any part of any car!

[Captain Audio]

The only problem with the "Sailors of Fortune" story is that it tells far too little about the exploits of William Dampier.

Heres part of his story from Wikipedia.

"William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651[1]

[SuperScrounge]

Ace Carter Adventurer - Eh, an okay story with highly questionable science (a DC comic would have explained the lead trick).

Cheechako Fortune - Interesting. Guess erosion wasn't fully understood by the gold miners in those days.

Grudge Fight - Eh.

Captain Crossbones - Uhhh... yeah... the name makes the lead sound like a pirate and he uses a pirate flag as his own, but he's the hero, uh-huh... Other than that it seems like a typical adventuring seaman tale.

Alligator Allies - Ehh.

Sailors of Fortune - Interesting, and this two pager skimps on a lot of his accomplishments. A fascinating real life guy.

Lance Larson - Probably would have worked better if I knew more of what was happening in Spain when the story was printed since the writer seems to assume that the readers will be up on what was going on. Other than that Lance kind of annoys me as a guy who's too good to lose and easily recognizable. Practically a plainclothes Superman.

Lost Loot - Loved the ending where they basically dared the reader to go into dangerous bandit territory and dig up gold. "Gosh, I can't understand why sales of our book are down? Could it have anything to do with all these boys who headed off to Mexico and disappeared?"

[SuperScrounge]

Crashryan, my dad has a book on Dampier, "A Pirate of Exquisite Mind", he was a fascinating man who discovered a lot and has a lot of things named for him.

[crashryan]

SuperScrounge, I'm going to read up on Dampier. He does sound like a fascinating guy.

For the benefit of those who didn't look it up, I Googled the business about the molten lead and it does work...IF you're quick and IF you get your hand wet before sticking it into the pot. It called the Leidenfrost effect:

"The Leidenfrost effect is a phenomenon in which a liquid, in near contact with a mass significantly hotter than the liquid's boiling point, produces an insulating vapor layer which keeps that liquid from boiling rapidly. This is most commonly seen when cooking; one sprinkles drops of water in a skillet to gauge its temperature--if the skillet's temperature is at or above the Leidenfrost point, the water skitters across the metal and takes longer to evaporate than it would in a skillet that is above boiling temperature, but below the temperature of the Leidenfrost point. It has also been used in some dangerous demonstrations, such as dipping a wet finger in molten lead."

Apparently you can pull a similar stunt with liquid nitrogen. Most people seem to agree you'd be a fool actually to try either one.

Unfortunately Ace Carter did not wet his arm before shoving it into the lead. Or rather I should say, "the late Ace Carter."

[Morgus]

eeewwww just thinking about doing that lead stuff makes me wince. Loved the stuff about the salve...and I think I'll do a bit of reading on Dampier...you have to wonder how far HE went when they thought William Bligh should be pardoned...

[bowers]

I've read and enjoyed each and every issue of this title. Growing up on a very non-PC diet of Ramar of the Jungle, Terry and the Pirates, Smilin' Jack, and so many more this book was always one of my favorites.

On the first page we get a panel featuring a bandido, El Scorpio, with a machine gun, natives preparing to board the old riverboat, and a hot lady with a pretty ridiculous mask! What more could a guy want for his dime? Fast-paced story with decent art and lots of tommy-gun action! Yeah, the lead bit was a little much but I probably wouldn't have thought so as a kid. And Ace could sure clean out the place with that Thompson!

The Cheechako Fortune, Lost Gold and the William Dampier shorts were all entertaining. I also want to read more about this guy.

Captain Crossbones was a fun read. Lots of swordplay and hot women with some appropriate pirate jargon thrown in. I just dove in and went along for the ride- eight pages of just plain fun!

Lance Larson was one tough customer- and a master of disguise as well. This guy seems like a combination of Rick Blaine (Casablanca), The Lone Wolf, and the Scarlet Pimpernel. Great story with an
even better ending.

Two thumbs up for me! Cheers, Bowers

[MarkWarner]

This book has a great cover, but I am in two minds about the story. Is the plot involving blue skinned people very silly, or something just a tad different? I'd have thought generations of you drinking contaminated lead water would have slightly worse effects than a tinge of blue.

Blimey, you can plunge your hand in white hot lead and it will come out unscathed, or so the story says. But, I am not going to test it and don't you try it at home!

Although not an expert on these issues, I'd have thought wearing a tea towel with a couple of eye slits cut out is really not much of a disguise. In fact, I think it would somewhat draw attention to yourself. So saying, I thought the art was really excellent.

Cheechako Fortune is a rather nice one page filler and a just acceptable text story. Captain Crossbones also did not rock my boat (a pun was not originally intended, but it is now:)). However the following story about William Dampier kept my hopes afloat.

Hooray!! Lance Larson was really very good, a bit of a plot ending with some REALLY cheesy lines:

"Lance, it's nothing new for you to stamp out tyranny!"

"Any American would have done as much Lolita!"

The last one pager is a standard

[Captain Audio]

Long ago I read of a workman at a smelting plant falling into a crucible of molten iron and popping back out unharmed because the sweat on his body turned instantly to steam. IIRC he did have the equivalent of a sunburn due to radiant heat.