[crashryan]

Our German expat is now a bloomin' Brit, by Jove. Dash it all!

That's just too funny. They could have made the Baron Dutch, like the Blackhawks' Henderson.

One odd note: in the previous issue's (#12) CC&B story the boys lose all their personality shticks and become just three guys in suits. As you noted, The Baron becomes British in #13 and stays that way, but as of #14 Cork loses his vaudeville Irish accent for good.

[Robb_K]

Speed Comics #1

The Human Dynamo
Those zombies don't even look like zombies, why not call them something else like yetis?
How does Baron Von Kampf know of Shock Gibson? Did Shock have off-panel adventures between his origin and the story we read here?
Why doesn't Von Kampf use his control over the zombies to stop the lion?
What about the cops and corrupt politician? The reason Shock followed the plane back to Von Kampf's lair?
Otherwise a fun, breezy Golden Age hero tale.

The Three Aces

which features an…unusual character for an American comic from 1939.

The Baron is an odd choice, although there was an adventure comic strip (blanked on the name), reprinted in comic books, that likewise had a similarly accented character as a supporting player. (1) I suspect, if they ever got back stories they'd be Austrian or some German-adjacent country like that. Also the Baron has a royal rank so might not be a supporter of Hitler.
As for the story (what there is of it) not a lot of depth or character and the heroes seem to solve their problems too easy.

The Man of a Thousand Faces
(2) Where does Ted keep all these outfits and facial makeup?
Readable, but the story could have been better.

Spike Marlin
Okay, but nothing special.

Smoke Carter
(3) Why isn't the fire department working with the police on this case?
Otherwise okay, if not great.

Landor, Maker of Monsters
Is that on his business cards? 
Should Mary Shelly get a "original story by" credit? 

Texas Tyler
Okay.

Biff Bannon
Over the top and not as funny as the creator thinks it is.

(1) The Austrians were just as dedicated Nazis as The Germans (Adolph Eichmann, et al).  Better to make The Baron Swiss (they supposedly were neutral).

(2) Ridiculous oversights by the author and the artist.  That would never have gotten past a post 1947 editor.  At least when he dressed as a woman, he could carry a make-up kit.  After taking the young lady home, he could have hidden his extra clothing and make-up kit behind a bush.  There could have been an added comedy scene where the woman asks him what's in the full-length backpack he is wearing to take her back home.  He stashed it behind a bush just before they reached her front door.  After he abruptly says goodbye, not wanting to come inside, she dashes after him as he ducks behind the bush and starts putting on the woman's make-up for his disguise.  She sees that, and backs stealthily away, before he sees her, and disgustedly walks back to her door, not sorry he wouldn't come in.

(3) Smoke overstepped his authority greatly, and should have been fired from his position with the fire department.  He should also have been cited by the police for interfering in police business and not reporting
pertinent crime information in a timely manner.  If private detectives could be cited for that, and their licenses revoked, a city fireman should be treated in a similar manner.  At first, I thought the man with the captain's hat was the Fire Chief.  But THAT would be much too silly, and have created a gigantic problem between the two departments.  I now conclude that he was the city's police chief, and it was a joint operation.  But only the Fire Chief could make such an arrangement with the Police Chief.  So Smoke overstepped his authority by a longshot.  It seems like he is only a regular fireman in a local firehouse.  Even his own firehouse captain wouldn't have the authority to arrange a joint operation.

[gregjh]

Oh my goodness: Shock Gibson is like an early mashup of The Flash, Electro and Superman combined into one. That comic had every darn cliche and trope we could ever imagine: a lions den, a German-looking spy with a pointer stick explaining his plans to conquer the world, a volcano, a damsel in distress, a death ray, a zombie horde (that don't look like zombies) a low flying plane, an angry local mobster, the list goes on and on.

And yet it's just so much fun. I remember one GA comic book enthusiast told me the reason he likes comics from this era is because the writers and artists just did whatever the heck they felt like. They threw every idea out there and just watched what worked and what didn't.  This story is a good example of that.

Thanks for this one!

[paw broon]

I really like Shock Gibson.  It's daft, a bit of the old "with one bound" stuff, lots of superheroics, all action, good weird villains.  Greg said it all:-
"And yet it's just so much fun. I remember one GA comic book enthusiast told me the reason he likes comics from this era is because the writers and artists just did whatever the heck they felt like. They threw every idea out there and just watched what worked and what didn't.  This story is a good example of that."

There are a couple of British superhero speedsters from the '40's, Streamline and Maxwell the Mighty.
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=39618
https://comicbookplus.com/?cid=3625

[K1ngcat]

Nice one, paw! Very impressed by Gifford's Spirit-influenced Terry Traylor, who could've easily doubled for Denny Colt. Thanks for these links.

[Robb_K]

Shock Gibson

Well this was a hoot! The origin story is a little on the short side, but I guess we'll discover the extent of his powers as we go along. Lots of action and a few twists and turns, including an unexpected romance. Lucky that girl was waiting inside the volcano. The Baron looks like a cross between a stereotyped Japanese caricature of the times and the flying monkeys from 'The Wizard of Oz'. Given that this is 1939, I assume the 'Baron' evokes images of Nazi Germany. (1) Japan hasn't entered the war yet, but there were things brewing on the horizon. (2) The Zombies look more like aliens than zombies. But it doesn't matter. Shock delivers the boom at the end and gets the girl. I'd be interested to see more Shock Gibson stories to see how it develops.

I've got a busy few days coming up, so will post comments about the other stories next week.
Cheers
QQ

(1) Actually Japan was the first belligerent in WWII, invading China's Manchuria in 1931, and installing a puppet ruler there for there new overseas territory, and invading China Proper in 1933.  By 1937, there were US volunteers fighting on China's side.  This was all long before Germany attack Poland in September 1939.  But yes, you are correct that USA's sympathies were with Britain and France and Poland vs. Germany, and they were no friends of Nazism.  So, The Baron was certainly aimed at giving the readers a German villain.

(2) I agree totally that the so-called "Zombies" are cycloptic Space aliens, rather than Zombified Humans.  It seems to me that the "definition" of a "Zombie" has changed over the years, to a twisted, totally different meaning in popular media, and in public understanding.  Originally, Zombies were real people, who, affected by smoking or ingesting certain herbs which produced a cataleptic effect on them, appeared to be dead, came out of that state, and walked around as if in a trance.  A similar effect could result from certain diseases.  Apparently, a few of them became dangerous while in that state, and exaggeration in storytelling about those incidents led to legends about them, and the current public image of dead people wanting to eat living people.  Zombies have been part of Voodoo lore for several hundred years in The Caribbean and parts of South America, and, I believe, in tropical Africa, where similar poisonous and dangerous plants grow.

[The Australian Panther]

Probably my first Zombie;- 

Carl Barks' 'Bombie the Zombie'
https://www.lastdodo.com/en/items/485001-bombie-the-zombie

Seen here on a trading card.
cheers!

[The Australian Panther]

The Three Aces
Not much to say about this one that hasn't already been said.
The artist didn't go to any trouble to draw planes.
'Oskey Wow Wow' ?!

Annoying that the story is unfinished because of the missing pages.
However I do really like the illustration on the text page.Could definitely be by Powell.
The Man of a Thousand Faces
Nice origin. Early Version of 'the human target'
Would have made me want to read the next story.
Why does he run away from the woman at the end?
Because the presumed audience was 12 year-old boys?
Spike Marlin
I like the idea of a marine hero.
Spike Marlin is a good choice of name.
Early 'Save the Whales' story?
Smoke Carter
That first panel sure grabs your attention. Nice design.
Likewise the two panels at the top of the next page.
The story is mundane but the artist is striking, even if this looks like he threw it off in a hurry.
Its rough, but Muson Paddock, if it is he,  has an excellent design sense.

The Coming of Landor
"On the peak of a storm-swept mountain, lashed by a howling gale, stands a forbidding old castle." 
"It was a dark and stormy night" as Snoopy wrote. 

This first page;- 'the Rocky Horror show?!!' 
Nothing much more to be said.

Texas Tyler Totally generic western.
Biff Bannon
Fun story - I like the ending.
Thank you once more EHowie60.   




   

[SuperScrounge]

This first page;- 'the Rocky Horror show?!!' 

Let'ssssss do the Time Warp agaaaaaaaaaaain... 

[Robb_K]

Landor, maker of monsters
Every cliche available is packed into this one, but why name the story after the villain of the piece? Surely they're not going to follow it up? And yet, amazingly, they do, with Landor becoming more ghastly with every issue.

I went ahead and read the next few Landor's. (1) He is a kind of Wile E Coyote character, whose complex schemes involving monsters always fail, and where every story ends with the utter destruction of his work, and usually a line from his nemesis and "good guy" Anthony,  along the lines of, "there's no way he survived THAT". And yet Landor comes back each time. Landor further proves himself a man of honour when Anthony saves his life in issue 4. (2) I've enjoyed having the spotlight on this absurd villain.

(1) Ha! Ha! Ha! Great novel idea (at that time) for a comic book or comic strip villain!  Reminds me of Doctor Smith, in the first 4 or 5 episodes "Lost In Space" TV series, when the producers and directors were still attempting to make it an at least semi-serious series, BEFORE they realised that their supposed villain's hammy acting and his ineffectiveness in succeeding in his dastardly plans, rendered him impossible to take seriously as a danger to The Robinsons.  So, accordingly, they decided to go "whole hog" in playing up the comedy, and dropping any pretence of having any serious dramatic elements.  Now, I'm compelled to read all his follow-up stories (or should I rather say....  follow up episodes of his sad saga of ineptitude).  He should have given up his evil ways, and taken up a position as a comic book editor!

(2) I agree!  Having yet another "holier than thou", "truer than true", sappy super-hero or "mystery man" as the lead in another series is just boring.  Having a menace, dedicated to perfecting the planning and carrying out of evil deeds, in the face of constant failure is "admirable", at least in his tenacity and perseverance for a cause (albeit a negative one).

[robbius]

Spike Marlin
I like the idea of a marine hero.
Spike Marlin is a good choice of name.
Early 'Save the Whales' story?

I like the name too! But a kind of mixed message on whales?

Spike notes the whale is too small and "illegal" to hunt
But Spike then uses his amazing skills to harpoon the whale with an explosive charge 
Spike beats some dudes up for some reason, throws one into the sea, whom the pain-crazed whale kills
Spike's harpoon explodes and kills the whale 
Spike then threatens everyone else on board for hunting illegally! 
Spike helpfully lets the Coast Guard know that all the evidence they need about illegal whale hunting is floating right there next to the ship.   

[crashryan]

Spike helpfully lets the Coast Guard know that all the evidence they need about illegal whale hunting is floating right there next to the ship.

Weird association time again. Does anyone (probably "anyone in USA" since I doubt this show left the country) remember Smelly Dave, the dead whale that Bob & Ray toured the country with on their radio show?

[EHowie60]

I like the name too! But a kind of mixed message on whales?

Spike notes the whale is too small and "illegal" to hunt
But Spike then uses his amazing skills to harpoon the whale with an explosive charge 
Spike beats some dudes up for some reason, throws one into the sea, whom the pain-crazed whale kills
Spike's harpoon explodes and kills the whale 
Spike then threatens everyone else on board for hunting illegally! 
Spike helpfully lets the Coast Guard know that all the evidence they need about illegal whale hunting is floating right there next to the ship.   

That was a little odd, why did he help them commit their crime before he started punching?