Whiz Comics 39
(1) Captain Marvel Finds Utopia
The opening splash panel is reminiscent of the first view of Shangri-La in it's lost valley, as seen in the 1937 film "Lost Horizon" (one of my all-time favourite films), released only a little over 5 years before this comic book hit the newsstand shelves. And, of course, with many families in USA having been devasted in The Great Depression of the 1930s, and with a major Worldwide War broken out in various regions of The World, it's not surprising that people were thinking about a place with no cares or woes, no needs unfilled, need for money, and, thus, no greed, jealousy, and hatred. The breaking into a new year is the perfect time for aiming for a big change, as every new year brings that possibility. Star newscaster, Billy Batson, leaves his newscast in its middle, for what must be the umpteenth time, leading us to wonder why he hasn't been fired long ago. I guess his boss knows that Batson is also Captain Marvel, and has gone mad, now knowing that "magic" runs The World, and the laws of science no longer hold, and so nothing matters. The Universe is totally random, and nothing makes sense anymore.So, let him keep his job, so these wonderful Fawcett comic books can have meaning! Captain Marvel is, indeed, a marvel. He covers several hundred air miles in a matter of mere seconds. It's really tough for crooks to make their escapes when he's onto their wicked deeds.
"Captain Marvel can't make a fool, of Von Phool!" The Nazi spy ring Kommandant was named a VERY un-German-sounding name, only to use that terrible pun-styled word gag. First of all, the word "von" just means 'from, so, should not be capitalised. I'm sure there is no place called "Phool", which could be an origin location of a person or family. IF there were, it wouldn't sound like the English word, "fool". The "Ph" (would be a borrowed Greek spelling that COULD sound like an "F", but oo sounds like long O as in Das Boot (sounding like English "Boat".
The villains jump out of their plane as Captain Marvel pulls it back towards USA. They land in an area of Yucatan, in a valley surrounded by what are drawn to look like high mountain peaks. But Yucatan is entirely flat (about as flat a large peninsula as can be found anywhere on The Globe. They should have had them land in a hidden valley over The Sierra Madre range, if the author wanted the location in Mexico. But, the thick jungles of The Yucatan were barrier enough to hide the ruins of long-since abandoned Mayan cities for hundreds of years. So, why use the lost valley in a mountain range (just for the Shangri-La reference?). And THIS weird part of The Yucatan, not far from The Equator, has NO trees (and, apparently, almost no rain! - somewhat like Somalia's situation. A place like that would be more like Hell, than a Utopia. Pharo, the local's leader (wise man) is dressed in Greeklike robes, and his people speak Shakespearian English in the familiar form. Are they Quakers?
Naturally, the German Spy can't get along with the kindly and "weak" locals, but his 2 Italian underlings mirror the US cliché of The Italian Military, as having no stomach for war, and combat, and so, take well to the peaceful, friendly atmosphere. It was no coincidence that US military was, by the date of this issue, already planning to invade Sicily, and soon after, mainland Italy. So US policy was to have as much cooperation with The Italians as possible. So, US propaganda and public mage of The Italians was much less of a dangerous "evil" enemy than that of The Germans, who led The Axis European War effort in all ways. And that also is reflected in the story's ending in which The German attempts to take over the Utopic City, and murder The old wise leader, while the 2 Italians refuse to help him in that effort. And, they choose to remain living there, in harmony with the local "peaceniks".
(2) Spy Smasher And The New Year's Eve Plot
"America Smasher" (probably a German Nazi Super Spy, operating in USA, uses the backdrop of revelry on New Years Eve (similar to Egypt using Yom Kippur to make a surprise attack-first strike against Israel during The 1970s, and Hamas doing the same, recently). The Spy Smasher flies outside the hotel window, after changing into his tights and cape (which must have taken at least 10 minutes). Does he have the super power of real flight? Or does he just jump and glide a bit, and hope not to break his legs or wrists in his landing?
So! America Smasher is NOT from northern Germany! The villains are always so idiotic. They always have the chance to kill their nemesis, but NEVER do that. They always leave a time bomb or Rube Goldberg complicated several-step murder device that ALWAYS fails. Spy Smasher's alter ego returns to the party. No one at the party heard the brawl, with bodies hitting the floor, and men screaming, and no one came out to see what had been going on, to be able to witness "Spy Smasher's alter ego changing his garb to that of Spy Smasher. Spy Smasher didn't need any super powers in this story. I'd rather have seen him dive out of the window, and do a tuck and roll to land, safely, than appear to fly out, and just run after the villains from there.
(3) Lance O'Casey - New Year's Eve In South China
Stars of adventure/action series often start off stories in which they get into life-ending danger, with the complaint that "I could use a little excitement - but nothing like that could happen here!" And before the man can finish that sentence a bomb explodes, destroying the nightclub or restaurant, or an unknown assailant streaks towards him, wielding a sharp knife, from behind the curtains! And, of course, the requisite dying man hands the star the secret plans, or voodoo icon, or damaging letter, before he could reveal what his situation is about. This is solid cliché, and no surprise. But it works very well. And, seconds later, at a heart- exhausting pace, without break, the Tiger Woman, against whom our heroes were warned to not let possess the valuable box, shows up pointing a gun and demanding them to hand over. Of course, as a matter of principle, the 2 heroes refuse, and at risk of death, run away (without being hit by bullets). And The Chinese New Year provides the perfect hiding place by fugitives running only a short distance from their pursuers.... ducking under the blankets of a parade dragon. Genius! And, all of this leads O'Casey and sidekick to the capture of The Tiger Lady's drug (Opium) ring. not bad. lots of action, and local colour. And with a moral message from the sidekick, at the end, that O'Casey was lucky he didn't eat any of the candy balls (filled with opium). The art is better than the first 2 stories I read.
(4) Ibis - The Invincible - Magic Against Magic
The purveyor of White Magic in a darkened World plagued by evil sorcerers! It has an expected beginning, with a wormy soul, of questionable work ethic, digging through the city's War Effort scrap metal dump, late at night, and finding the answer to his dreams, Aladdin's magic lamp. But this tale has an unusually clever plot, wherein the new owner gives the genie (slave of the lamp) the opening to take his freedom, and in addition, become ALL-POWERFUL! It's a great idea - but TOO great to waste on the minuscule page count allowed for each story in this type of book.
I often encountered this problem in developing plot ideas for Uncle Scrooge stories, knowing that if I used this or that concept with endless possibilities for a mere 10-page story, my editor wouldn't allow that idea to be used again if an opportunity to use it in a long 20+ page story in a special book would arise (such as happened with "Scrooge's Marriage". So, literally hundreds of what seemed like great story ideas were shelved by my production group, hoping we'd get chances to use them in a proper format.
Despite this problem, I'm intrigued to see how the author developed and finished this story. The Genie is, of course, power mad and wants revenge for having to do the bidding of many "masters" over the centuries. Now he'll see how it feels to force his will upon ALL who cross his path. But, Ibis' trusty "Ibistick" sends him to the location of this new danger. Ibis sends a magic forcefield to shield The Genie's victim, and the Genie runs away. The Genie, tired of stealing money and jewels wants a consort, who can be Empress of The World to his new emperor position. As he knows Ibis' ancient Egyptian "ladyfriend", Taia, from encounters thousands of years before, he sets out to steal her away. I love the page showing both the Genie and Ibis growing larger, and larger, trying to outgrow the other to win a duel to the death. They end up larger than The entire Earth and other planets.
What a disappointment!!! The ending is simply that Ibis' magic wand is more powerful than the power of the lamp, and Ibis orders The Genie to re-enter the lamp. We saw absolutely NOTHING of what horrific things The Ibistick could do to him that would make him instantly obey, and become a slave again, dashing all his dreams. The whole idea of having sequential artwork along with some narrative and dialogue in story-telling is because SEEING and "hearing", together, leaves much more impression of what happens in a story, than just hearing about it. Identifying with it is easier if you "see" it happen, before your very eyes. You will "believge" it more, and identify with the emotions of the characters. And as I surmised, the 10-Page limit forced a cutting down of the plot's scope, and caused this story to end abruptly, and unnaturally, and so, to become very unsatisfying.
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Topic: Reading Group #314 – New Year theme - Whiz Comics #39 and Kilroys #5 (Read 1903 times)
