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[MarkWarner]

I thought last week's choice The Thing #1 was super cool. but as usual was in a minority of one.

This week's choice is a complete shot in the dark. I have bumped across it (well the peculiar title) a few times before and wondered what it was all about. So now is the time to open the pages and see. I have also noticed a comment which mentions a tie-in, so that adds to the intrigue.

Captain Tootsie #2 can be found at https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=3144, and the story we are concentrating on is the first one "Treason on U-238".

[narfstar]

This is very much a kids book and should be judged as such. I really dislike kids fighting criminals in comics. The Secret Legion of kids is not even a secret. Even in a kids book I did not like that aspect and the kids capturing the saboteurs. BUT, overall I thought the story was a good read for kids. If it were designed for an older audience it would have failed. Great character names in Captain Tootsie (Rollo) and then Sweetie to make a Fatso.

[crashryan]

As Narf said, one must judge a kids' book as a kids' book. By that yardstick this one's pretty good. It puzzles me that, given Captain Tootsie's origin as an advertising spokesman for Tootsie Rolls, there is no mention of the candy--not in the stories, not in the ads, not even in the indicia. I wonder what the story is here. Maybe the Tootsie Roll company produced these comics intending them to be giveaways, then changed their minds and sold the content to Toby Press. Very curious. [Aside: are/were there Tootsie Rolls in England?]

The three-part story is good 50s space opera with some interesting ideas like the silicon-based centaurs. There are curious bits, though. Tootsie and the kids are awfully blase when they witness a rocketful of astronauts blow up. At least they're even-handed. They also don't bat an eyelash when they blow up a rocketful of bad guys. These two mass extinctions stand out because the rest of the book's mayhem is of the harmless paralysis-ray variety.

Like most comic book kids the not-so-Secret Legionnaires pound baddies with all the skill of adult superheroes. They're remarkably pessimistic, though. They're constantly saying things like "There's nothing we can do!" and "We're trapped!" Like most comic book fat kids, Fatso is especially good at suggesting possible disasters. I cringed when Tootsie jettisons the girls before leaving to save the universe. I admit this stunt is consistent with the spirit of the time. I doubt the all-boy target audience would have liked their story cluttered up by (ick!) girls.

The book's production has an upper-class feel, so the nitpicker in me was surprised to find several misspellings and a mis-assigned balloon. The art is pretty good. It's got some of the Beck-Costanza look of the Tootsie Roll ads, but I don't think it came from Beck's shop. All the adults except for Tootsie are drawn in a semi-realistic style. The bad guys have such extreme features I thought at first they were supposed to be aliens. Speaking of bad guys, the instant Chief Moabit appears, with his foreign-sounding name and pencil mustache, you KNOW he's the spy. And didn't the spaceport spies know their slouch hats and trench coat were dead giveaways?

Final judgement: not a bad kids' comic. A fun read.

[SuperScrounge]

Treason on U-238/The Stone That Lives!/Rocketeer Patrol - An entertaining, if simplistic, story.

Prspector Pete - Eh, didn't find them funny.

Captain Tootsie's Timescope - Not bad, although I think estimating the sizes of stars came after Galileo.

[Philv]

I found this background on toonotopia.com

I thought the origin was interesting:

"About three fourths of each 1-page Tootsie Roll ad was devoted to a story in which Toots (he had no nickname in his heyday, so we're giving him one now), assisted by his Secret Legion (three boys, about 10 or so, named Fatso, Fisty and Rollo, who hung around with him), performed daring rescues, defeated nefarious villains, and accomplished other deeds befitting his status as a superhero. He was able to get all this done so quickly by binging on sugar

[Lorendiac]

I just now read the first part of the comic -- "Treason on U-238." I took a few notes as I went along, which I will now flesh out a bit.

I agree with the previous comments in this thread about how it was aimed at a very young audience and so we shouldn't expect much subtlety. Even judged by that standard, it's not nearly as engaging as some of the old Carl Barks "Uncle Scrooge" stories I've read in reprints, but it's not a bad job.

Although I was very worried before I finished reading the block of text in the bottom right corner of the first panel, because the writer couldn't even make up his mind about how many "worlds" there were in our solar system! In the first sentence, the asteroid belt was described as including "small worlds." So far, so good.

In the second sentence, however, we are told: "On one of the largest of these asteroids named U-238 is the only uranium refining plant of the world!" In context, that obviously doesn't mean: "the only such plant on that particular large asteroid!" I think the author meant: "the only such plant which is used by the people of Planet Earth," but instead he uses "the world" as if it were synonymous with "the entire solar system." (Hint: It ain't the same thing! )

And in the third sentence. the author assures us that the aforementioned plant is "the source of all the world's power" and that Captain Tootsie and his Secret Legion will "speed to save the world." In this instance, I think "world" simply means "Planet Earth." I get the impression that the author was either schizophrenic or else (more likely) hammered out this script in a terrible hurry and didn't bother to do any proof-reading to see if he was being terribly inconsistent about such points as "does anything in the solar system besides Earth really qualify as a 'world'?"

Fortunately, he generally did better in expressing himself later on in the story; I'd been afraid this confusion was a fair sample of what would happen on every page!

(I did find myself wondering: "If the fuel produced by this plant is so vital to modern civilization, why not have at least two or three of those plants running, each located at least fifty million miles away from Earth and from any other plant, so that if something bad happens to one location, others can pick up the slack? There's an old saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket . . ." But I can accept that in a children's comic, whereas I would be more disappointed by it in a science fiction novel written for adult readers.)

Moving along . . . on the off chance that I ever decide to sabotage a spaceship so that it explodes right after takeoff, I probably won't be right there by the landing field as it blows up. Or, assuming for the sake of argument that I am there, I definitely won't laugh about it with my fellow conspirator in the presence of other witnesses who are almost sure to put two and two together.

On the other hand, I was mildly impressed by the way Captain Tootsie decided to pretend he wasn't going to do anything about this perplexing case, and then revealed to the kids that this deception was performed because of his strong concerns about security leaks.

And a bit later, when the good guys said the "magnetic torpedo" was coming straight at them, I had a very strong suspicion of what would happen next. When Captain Tootsie assured the kids he had a special protection against magnetic torpedoes, my suspicion crystallized into certainty.

Sure enough -- I was right!

Now I wonder: Could this be the very first time that any science fiction story in any medium showed the hero avoiding impending doom by "reversing the polarity" in the proverbial nick of time? Thereby launching what has become a venerable cliche in modern pop culture? Have I just witnessed how it all started? (Probably not, but I can dream, can't I?)

[Philv]

Captain Tootsie #2 - Treason on U-238 - This is my first encounter with Captain Tootsie.  I thought he had a real Captain Marvel look.  I agree with others that it was strange not to see a candy tie in to the story. If you didn't know he was from a candy ad, you'd have no clue as to where the less than masculine name came from.

I liked the story.  I had to suspend reality to enjoy it, but that's ok.  So many kid heroes of the time, on the radio and in comic strips, had unbelievable adventures, like Little Orphan Annie and Jack Armstrong.  Kids fighting against espionage wasn't unusual fare for 1950.  On the negative side, the mixed up dialog at the start of the story threw me a second, and using the little girl as a decoy was pretty tacky for an All American hero. 

For the times and for the audience, I thought the story was fun, well drawn, and it kept me reading.

[paw broon]

This was an entertaining read, if a bit wordy.  From the cover I thought C.C. Beck but obviously not. The art was nice to look at and the story seemed to me to be of it's time. The problem with the mis-placed word balloon was jarring, as were some of the "sciency" bits.  It didn't twig at first, even though the character seemed vaguely familiar, that it was the hero from the Tootsie roll ads in other comics.  As we didn't have Tootsie rolls in the U.K., as far as I remember, I'd only ever seen the good Captain in those ads and I don't remember paying much attention to them.  It seems really strange that no mention of the sweeties (I feel uncomfortable using the "candy" word for sweeties) is made anywhere in the book.  And if what Philv says is right, then it was even stranger to have no mention of how he powered his superhero body.  Mind, if he solely consumed sugar laden sweets, the energy would have worn off really quick, he'd be a nervous wreck with that huge sugar rush, and be diabetic.
The Secret Legion? Eh? Not very secret.  Nowadays the comic would be seen as non p.c.  but then different attitudes prevailed and I suppose it would have been good entertainment for many kids.

[JVJ]

I don't usually have anything to add to your meanderings, Mark, but this issue demands one important bit of clarification: the artist here on "U-238" and "The Stone That Lives" on everything but the Captain and the kids (and maybe EVEN them - he certainly was capable of such divergent styles) is Rafael Astarita - one of my very favorites. I love what he did with this character, even if it's likely that someone else (Pete Constanza, perhaps) reworked CT's face. Sorry, you KNOW that I didn't read the stories. Peace, Jim (|:{>

ps. What did your wife think of ImageS #13?

[MarkWarner]

I am guessing this comic is aimed more at a younger target audience rather than those of my advancing years. But I am hoping my real mental age may for once prove a benefit.

So off we go, the cover has a real Captain Marvel feel which in my opinion is a good start. Wow, I am
an avid old advertisement reader and this is one I haven't seen before. Plus, it's summat I really want to get my hands on a Bobby Benson Fillum Fun Theatre. I think it is some kind of projector in a box, going to keep an eye out on eBay for this one!

Now onto our main story "Treason on U-238" I don't know why, but when I turned to our page 4 and saw the top left panel I laughed. It just looks funny.  Actually the story is quite "serious" and the Dungeons of Darkness sound worse than the Black Hole of Calcutta.

Now I have now finished and it was really quite good. Actually had a story line (unlike Undercover Girl a couple of weeks ago). There also appears to be a bit of a body count that I thought a tad surprising. The other surprising thing is that the next story takes place straightway.

Captain Tootsie says:

"Our job here is done! They can take care of the rest of the traitors"

     
... and bang he's straight into another adventure, with not even enough time for a nice soothing cup of tea. Oh double blimey! I didn't see that coming and there is NO WAY I am going to spoil this comic .. but it's good! The second story certainly had a Narnia feel to it with all the stone and the Centaurs. This really is a ripping yarn!

Um the one page "Prospector Pete" was vaguely funny in a vague sort of way .. but I want more Captain Tootsie anyway! And my wishes are granted ... come on Captain Tootsie let's give Moabit what is coming to him! And folks you'll have to "tune in" to find out how he did it! A bizarre, but excellent conclusion to the story! Prospector Pete makes another one page appearance and was slightly less vaguely funny. (IE: was slightly funnier)

The next story is cool, as Galileo is a bit of a hero to me. But they didn't torture him. It was more house arrest and ominous threats of terrible things to follow. BTW one of my all time favorite books is Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel. ("It is based on the surviving letters of Galileo Galilei's daughter, the nun Suor Maria Celeste, and explores the relationship between Galileo and his daughter"). Really interesting, funny in places and has a great ending!.

To my eternal shame I have never heard of Antony Leeuwenhoek. The panel finishes with what I think is a reference to the fact that relativity and quantum physics don't quite agree on things and how it looks like we have haven't got something right somewhere. Excellent!

We end with another couple of cool advertisements, which I don't believe I have seen before. One is for some rather expensive Brother and Sister Sets. Perhaps it could have been worded slightly better

Sister - Be a shootin' tootin "Queen of the West" in Dale Evans 11-Piece Outfit For Girls

Brother (as above)

Hmmm ... lol

Verdict: I really enjoyed the book, and if I was a kid I'd have slapped my dime down on the counter for it. I don't read other reading group comments until after I have written mine. So I was interested how close we are on this one!

[MarkWarner]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the comment  Um rather than "meanderings"  as you so succinctly put it, I like to think of them more as well crafted and important missives that will ring down the centuries ...lol!

Um well ... I put ImageS #13 under Lisa's nose and I think there was an appreciative grunt, but basically if it is not a picture of one of her dogs, or an animal or person doing something stupid you don't tend to get much reaction. She was also on eBay at the time looking at flat pack furniture. She likes to order the stuff that lasts around 9 months before it ends up in the garden ... "Well it's still better than your 'old people's furniture'

BUT as for me I thought it was great!! I am now an "Illustration Addict" so much so that I have built it into my new project. I have just started to plunder your site in search of artist names. Charles Robinson being my first find along with his wonderful Alice pictures.

[bowers]

This one was much better than I expected. As earlier stated, this was definitely a book for kids. As such, it hit the mark quite well. Of course we adults might have a bit of a problem with our kids belonging to a "Secret Legion" and running off on dangerous interplanetary adventures with a guy named Captain Tootsie. (I wonder if they had to be home in time for dinner?) But I'm sure the kids loved it! The art was surprisingly good, and the writing didn't talk down to it's readers. Even threw in a bit of science. I must say I had Chief Moabit pegged as the bad guy right away. A man sporting a sharp, pointy moustache and wearing a rather Germanic uniform can't be up to any good. I, too, was surprised that there was no tie-in advertising. A few years later, though, there was another advertising character that got his own comic. Nabisco's Buffalo Bee was the spokesbee for Wheat Honeys and Rice Honeys, and got his own Dell comic. I don't believe there was any tie-in advertising in these either. All-in-all, a very fun read. Keep 'em coming Mark. Cheers, Bowers