(1) The Aristocrat of Crime - Down With Crime #4 - Bob Powell
This Bob Powell-drawn story features excellently drawn and inked detail, and the 2 very brief action scenes look adequate enough, although they are too brief for my taste, given that the entire remainder of the story hjas people just standing around talking. Powell drew buildings, cars, and other background details well. His figures are a bit elongated, but otherwise very realistic. I do like the bright colours in the daytime scenes, and the contrast between the darkness and shadows and the lighted areas in the nighttime scenes.
The story's title gives the reader the idea that the lead character is a major big city crime boss with a LOT of power and a large criminal organisation. But the author shows us a lone wolf operator, who stays away from major crimes requiring a gang. I think it is unlikely that The Doc would decide to team up with The 3 White Brothers on an ad hoc job after they had cut him out of a caper they planned to execute together, only taking advantage of his caper planning genius, and then dumping him, by carrying out the job alone early, without
telling him, proving they are untrustworthy. Interesting that Doc claims that The Brothers pulled the job off nwithout him, as if they just used his plan and they didn't want to let him get a cut of the take,; but they claim that HE was the cause of the rift, by not showing up of his own volition. I don't believe he would try to use them because they are 3 to one against him and can't be trusted, just to get more money together to. keep his money-grubbing non-faithful ladyfriend. But, I guess someone as illogical as a professional criminal who tries to live by committing robberies and constantly puts himself at risk of being killed by police or sent to prison, couldn't be expected to be logical when it comes to risk assessment, and what ius good for him in the long run.
The same is true for his judgement when it comes to life partners. Why would anyone want to marry someone who only wants him or her for their money? I guess they live on the high of getting something they don't deserve, and also having someone worship them for their prowess in achieving that against the odds.
I admit that having his ladyfriend in the bank and passing out, so that his gang can bring an ambulance for her, to clear traffic for their robbery get-away, and having Doc drive a police car is a great plan. That Doctor must have tremendous pull in that big Midwestern city. It's hard to believe he can have that as a loner, with no organisation of regular underlings working for him. The 3 Brothers' cutting The Doc out of his share of the loot could have been expected. It's obvious that The FBI would have been watching the movements of The White Brothers (notorious criminals). But, I'd like an explanation of why the prowlers who broke into John White's girlfriend's flat fit the FBI descriptions of Doc Bailey and his sometime associate, Dolly. That would have been easy enough to do in one dialogue balloon. Matching the clay on John White's shoes to a hunting/fishing area frequented by The Whites covers The FBI's looking for them there. Having The FBI arrive exactly as Doc first encounters The Whites is anticlimactic, and cuts down the story's action (having more standing and talking, replacing Doc mowing down the brothers with his machine gun). He could have accomplished that first, and after, could have been loading the swag into his car as The FBI arrived, and he still could run into the hills in his same futile attempt to escape. I assume that the added action I propose was ruled out because of the page and panel number constraints imposed by this book's limited number of allotted pages (11) for this story's content.
(SIDE RANT) Most of the criminals I've met, seem to have given off the aura that they didn't deserve to get "the good things in life", so they felt like they had to go out and grab it any way they could (e.g. take it away from the deserving people). Very sad that that type of greed (including by national and societal leaders, as well) dominates The World. The World would be a much better place to live if there were no greedy people (who feel that they are not deserving of having the good things in life come to them from the fruits of their own efforts in a fair system).
(2) A Short Step To Oblivion - Suspense Detective #1 - George Evans
A disgruntled penitentiary prisoner, who plans to escape using a team of prisoner gymnasts, is a great idea for a story plot. Evans' artwork is quite good. I like his use of dark and light in the scenes inside the pipe, to plasce emphasis on the expressions of the faces of the escaping prisoners. The story is very realistic, and has a great, unexpected ending that provides a just (moralistic) result, as well as being quite plausible and possible. The way Evans drew the expressions on the 3 escaping prisoners' faces really made me feel their agony and claustrophobia. I really "lived in this story" the way one "lives in" good films and when reading novels. So, I enjoyed reading it very much. This was partly due to evans' great drawing and staging, and also because it was realistic (nothinjg silly or very unlikely in it). I didn't mind that the prisoners junked the idea of using little, light-weight, gymnast prisoners to vault over the wall, when they found out about Pop's knowledge of the pipe opening to the river. The latter was much more realistic.
(3) The Wall! The Wall! Behind The Wall! - Suspense Detective #2 - George Evans
The story opening whole page splash panel drawn by Evans really makes the reader feel the claustrophobia and apprehension of the impending sealing up of the wall and the victim's slow and agonising death from asphyxiation. The shining light puts emphasis on the steady dwindling of his slim chances of surviving. The beginning looks very like a British film I remember from 1949 "Give Us This Day" (directed by Edward Dmytryk) in which an Italian immigrant bricklayer in New York's Little Italy, suspects the crooked job foreman of buying and using cheaper inadequate (unsafe) safety equipment for building tall buildings, and skimming off the cost difference for himself, when the construction firm owner gave him the proper amount. In that film, the old bricklayer brings his protege to work there, and the young man is killed when a work platform collapses and falls several hundred feet. That happens after the old man falls off a collapsing scaffold to the ground and is crippled for life. That is too much to be a coincidence. I seem to remember that the young man man, was named Geremio (very close to Mario-also Italian) in the film. This story, probably written only 2 years later, was likely not just a random coincidence. I hope the author of this comic book story just took that basic plot and moved it into different direction.
Now back to the story. The foreman murders the owner to protect himself from a jail term. The deaf mute watched that happen, but can tell no one. But, he COULD write it on paper. So the murderous foreman hits him on his head with a shovel and ties his arms with his belt and places his unconscious body and the dead owners' behind a half-finished brick wall, planning to seal the rest so no one will ever find them. He finishes the wall before the son works his hands free. The workday ends, and he fears he'll be left behind the wall to suffocate. Next morning, after hearing reports that the construction owner was also missing, the father returned to the construction site to open the brick wall he saw the foreman sealing. The villain, coincidentally living next door sees him leave, and follows him. (Who would believe such a convenient coincidence?) After the father opens enough of the wall for the son to escape, the villain pounced on the father. His son climbs out and
strikes the villain with a death blow. A great story, but 3/4 of it was stolen from the film's scriptwriter, unless the latter wrote the comic book story, too. I would have enjoyed reading this even if I hadn't seen the film (probably a bit more). So, yes, the author likely inspired by the film's basic plot, took it a different way, making the foreman into not only a crook, but a murderer. The film was based on the 1939 novel "Christ In Concrete" by Pietro Di Donato.
(4) The Punk - Underworld Crime #1 - Mike Sekowsky
Mike Sekowsky, another excellent artist, provides great facial expressions, action, and realistic background detail. Again, I like the colouring, as well. This is a good and realistic story about a young man, who grew up in a poor, tough neighbourhood in a giant city (no doubt New York). It was a bad atmosphere, full of have-nots who dreamed of having the things that money can buy, and coming to worship that, and swearing to get it, no matter the dangers or ultimate cost to them. The kid, tired of being called a punk, and looking for respect from his peers, buys a gun, and proceeds to rob liquor stores every night. When his first failed robbery happens, he kills a policeman. Now on the run, he sneaks aboard a ship sailing to Central America.
I don't like smiles on the face of the murdered cop's father. He's going to trace the murderer down. He should rather have a look of strong determination on his face. The young novice crook thinks he can be a gang leaderb in a foreign country in which he has no connections. A coward, who shoots people in their backs and hits liquor stor managers on their heads when he robs them. I don't think such a punk kid could raise a gang to take orders for him ANYWHERE, let alone in a foreign country where his only connections were a few ordinary men who were willing to guide him to a rural trading post for some American money. So, his new gang of half-breed Indios attack stray Indians on their way to sell gold to the post trader, and soon desert him. He is soon captured by the tribesmen, and beheaded. And his shrunken head sits upon a pole as a warning to strangers. I don't know of any headshrinking natives left in Central America by the 1950s, or at any time during the 1900s. I seem to remember that they were only ever known in South America (Amazonia) in The Western Hemisphere. This is a very far-fetched, unrealistic story. But, it was somewhat entertaining.
(5) Save Me... The Coffin Is Closing - Suspense Detective #5 - George Evans and/or Bernard Baily
A ghastly tale iof horror, much more than detective/crime genre. Again the contrast of lighting up part of the faces accentuates the mood, especially expressing terror. The artwork is excellent as in Evans' other stories. This doesn't really look like it was inked by a different artist. I can't see the woman staying in that situation when her fiancee leaves. And she should have, and could have successfully escaped before the villasin stationed his killer dogs in the estate's front garden. It seems too contrived to produce the terrible situation she is in, to help the author produce this story. It's too convenient, and not convincing that it could really happen that easily. It reminds me of those ridiculous American 1950s low-budget horror films. It must have been inspired by Poe's "Premature Burial". Just after they lower the casket into the grave, her fiancee arrives, demanding they open the casket. All of which we knew would happen. That takes away the suspense. The villain feebly protests that they mustn't, but others there demand it, wondering why the villain would be so against it. The author tried to instill a bit more suspense at then end, with the fiancee hearing no heartbeat, but, of course she is revived by artificial respiration. Somehow, I'm left with the feeling that the writer could have staged this plot in a better, more believable way, tidying up the holes and fixing the problems.
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Topic: Reading Group # 316 Fawcett Crime. (Read 1096 times)
