[The Australian Panther]

I had these picked out before QQ's post so more 'Feisty' females.

I selected these because of the female headliners.
Do not feel obliged to comment on anything else in the books, or to comment on all the choices, but if you wish to, who am I to 'Say thee Nay!'

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=96212
Blue Circle Comics 4 - Version 2
Gail Porter - Girl photographer

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=81325
Blue Circle Comics 6 - Version 2
Gail Porter - Girl photographer

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=25809
Pat Parker Girl Commando
Speed Comics 23

Same comic - Black Cat  story.
A team-up!
Black Cat, Girl Commandos, Shock Gibson, Captain Freedom and Rick Horne.

Because I llike the Pat Parker cover
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=59986
Speed Comics 24
Girl Commandos again
and
Black Cat.
And Carol in 'Crash, Cork and Baron' is as much a feisty female as any of them.
Should keep us busy for a fortnight!
Cheers

Enjoy!

[Quirky Quokka]

I had these picked out before QQ's post so more 'Feisty' females.

Woo hoo! I'll look forward to reading about these feisty females. Thanks Panther.

QQ

[SuperScrounge]

Blue Circle Comics #4

The Case of the Gambling Fool!
I wonder if Marty Filchock was a reference to Martin Filchock who also wrote and drew comics? (Or an admission of guilt?  )

Okay, if a little simplistic on overcoming gambling addiction.


Assignment to the Tombs
I like that splash panel. It just needs a word balloon with Gail saying, "How dare you call me feisty! 

Toots escape came right out of "But the script said so" territory. There should have been a guard keeping an eye on them to prevent something like that.

Nice character, could have used a better script.


Toreador
A guy named after his profession. Yeahhhhhh... The story felt like a rough draft rather than a polished script.


Maureen Marine
Could have been better.


Driftwood Davey
Is there some company goes around the old west building hideaways in canyons to help out rustlers? It seems so common in these stories. 


The Race Track Rats
The Steel Fist... hero of corporations who want their lazy workers to work a full day's shift. 


Partners
Okay.


Slaphappy Grandpappy
Eh, okay, but not that funny.

[Quirky Quokka]

Blue Circle Comics #4

Assignment to the Tombs
I like that splash panel. It just needs a word balloon with Gail saying, "How dare you call me feisty! 

Toots escape came right out of "But the script said so" territory. There should have been a guard keeping an eye on them to prevent something like that.

Nice character, could have used a better script.
...
Maureen Marine
Could have been better.

Yes, it's a good splash page for Gail. Who doesn't love a cat fight! Though there's no knife in the actual scene, and the camera's already gone flying. But why ruin a good splash page with pesky details.    I agree it coud have used a better script. I guess it's always a problem squeezing a story into a few pages for a mixed bag comic.

I didn't read Maureen Marine, but you gotta love that name. Love the way she's able to wear a normal dress and shoes underwater  Apparently Humphrey Bogart was a fan.

https://gone-and-forgotten.blogspot.com/2017/05/truly-gone-maureen-marine.html

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Hi everyone

I'll start with the two Gail Porter stories.

Blue Circle #4 (Feb 1945) - Assignment to the Tombs

Right away, I'm confused by the mention of 'tombs' in the title. On the second page it says that Gail is going to the Tombs where Toots Sweeny is held. So is that just the name of this particular prison, or is 'tombs' a colloquial term for prison in general?

Great action shot to start with, though it doesn't accurately show what happens in the later scene (i.e., there's no knife in the real scene and the camera goes flying).

I also wasn't sure whether the newspaper had requested an interview and the commissioner is ringing to say their request has been granted, or if Toots was requesting an interview. And when given permission to interview such a notorious murderer, why did Gail start by saying 'I'd like to ask you a few routine questions. Do you mind?' Routine??? Cut to the chase, Gail, and ask her why she murdered her husband!

I was wondering if it was going to be one of those stories in which it would take Gail a while to convince the warden who she was after the switcheroo, but they sort it out quickly.

I hadn't heard the term 'Graphic' used for a camera before, but Wikipedia tells me it was a press camera, which started production in 1912. If Gail is still around in 1947, her graphic camera will be even better.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_Graphic

Though it seems reporters are responsible for buying their own cameras, since she goes to a pawn shop to get a cheap one. She must have a good memory to know the manufacturer's number by heart. And that camera is certainly getting knocked around. All that thrashing around is probably causing some damage.

Great acrobatic panel on last page, though unlikely that Gail's punch would make Toots do that particular move.

'Mother from Erin'? I've never heard that expression before. An Irish saying?

Although there were a few plot issues, I liked Gail. Nothing's going to stop her getting a story.


Blue Circle #6 (Apr 1945) - The Mad Auctioneer

Were people from Holland ever called Hollanders? So the 'Hollander' has threatened to kill the auctioneer if he tells the police he's a Nazi, yet the auctioneer is happy to tell a reporter? And why did the Nazi even reveal that info in the first place? Was he found out?

Gotta love the mishmash they're making of the German language: 'Yah, und der money from der sale of dem pictures in der museum - dot goes with me also! Goot Nicht!' My old high school German teacher would be having conniptions!

Gail is certainly intrepid. Clever of her to time the flash photo with the lightning. But how does she manage to hear the plans being discussed through a closed window? She then goes to a spot by the harbour where she can take photos without being observed, but she seems to be standing out in the open. Then she's back at the mansion and reads the note on the back of the painting that's addressed to Goering. She reads it in English. Wouldn't it be in German? Or is Gail also a wiz when it comes to translation? Still, Gail saves the day and gets a scoop to boot.

Overall - There are a few plot problems in both stories, but I know it would be hard to cram everything in the few pages allotted to a story in these mixed bag comics. I liked Gail. She certainly was feisty. I'd love to see her team up with Front Page Peggy. They would be an unbeatable combo!

Thanks for bringing her to our attention, Panther.

Cheers

QQ

[crashryan]

QQ, "The Tombs" was a nickname for the New York City jail. It even has its own Wikipedia page!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tombs

[Quirky Quokka]

QQ, "The Tombs" was a nickname for the New York City jail. It even has its own Wikipedia page!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tombs

Thanks for that, Crashryan. I hadn't heard that term before, and I've watched a lot of old crime movies. Interesting article too, though I was disappointed to see that Toots Sweeny was not listed among their most notable inmates. I'm beginning to think Gail Porter might not even be real! 

Cheers

QQ

[The Australian Panther]

QQ, thanks for the link to 'Gone and Forgotten' which I had not checked out before.
I have just had a quick browse aroung there.
I wondered why there's a link lto a Glen Ford Movie in a comic book site.
Hoo Boy! What a gem! ( not in a good way)
Both the movie and the article are too good not to share.
And the current YouTube print is better than the article implies.
Jarrett (1973)
https://gone-and-forgotten.blogspot.com/2025/02/jarrett-1973.html
Jarrett (1973) - Glenn Ford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pI0_ltd-9Y
Definitly belongs on a comic book site and stars,believe it or don't!, Glen Ford, Anthony Quale, Forrest Tucker and Yvonne Craig.
Enjoy! 

[crashryan]

Blue Circle Comics 4&6

I'll lump these two together since they share the same characters in similar stories.

Gail Porter, Girl Photographer
Watching TV in the 50s and 60s I grew up on Golden Age Hollywood movies.  At the time they were considered cheap time-fillers to wrap around the used car and carpet commercials that dominated late-night TV. These films were full of fast-talking rough and ready newspaper photographers. I was dazzled by them and longed for my own Speed Graphic...though by the time I was old enough to afford one, 4x5 cut-film cameras were passe'. 35mm ruled the roost and I never got my Graphic. It's odd that while there were plenty of female reporters in old movies, there don't seem to have been any photographers. Does anyone know differently?

Anyway, Gail Porter is engagingly feisty, as advertised. The stories aren't any great shakes. It's really hard to tell a complete story in six pages. Writers end up relying heavily on coincidence, plots are shallow, and action is choppy. But short-short stories were where it was at in Golden Age comics (Driftwood Davey has only four pages!). Consequently Gail and her colleagues have no personalities, unlike Brenda Starr and her crew.

Gail's artwork is pretty clunky. The artist didn't put much effort into drawing her camera. In the Nazi story I get the impression the artist didn't want to draw it, cheating it out of many panels. Given that the camera is a real item identified by name, I'd have gathered some reference and drawn the heck out of it. But that's just me.

That's some sock Gail gives Toots Sweeny on our page 16, panel 4! Never cross a feisty female photog. It's funny that Martin Filchock shows up as a mobster. The writer was having a bit of fun. I wonder if the artist's rendition looks like the real Martin.

The Blue Circle
With two extra pages, BC's stories are a little meatier than Gail's. I always liked the concept of a hero having a team of ex-crooks helping him out. My favorite comics example is The Black Dwarf. The wayward son story is typical fare. I'm not crazy about the idea that although Stan has embezzled $14,000, BC lets him off, saying that by regretting having taken the money Stan has "had enough punishment." The black market story packs a lot of action into 8 pages. It's not bad.

The artwork is typical Golden Age fare.

Toreador
I assume this guy is supposed to be a Cisco Kid clone. Why he goes around in full toreador regalia is beyond me. I keep wanting to call him the Toreador but he definitely lacks the definite article. The shipboard spy story in #4 is surprisingly good. The writer takes the time to build up Toledo's growing feelings of guilt, and when he buys the farm we feel regret. The stampede story in #6, on the other hand, is a mess. We were saved from Pedro's "comic" relief in the previous story; here (our page 21) he acts like a moron. What is the origin of the stereotype of ethnic characters, especially Latin Americans, referring to themselves in the third person?

The artwork is a cut above the earlier stories, with #4 being the stronger.

Maureen Marine
Others have already discussed Maureen's conceptual problems. Would it have been that difficult for the writer to generate ideas taking advantage of the fact that the stories happen underwater? The Derby Day story in #4 gets a few points for the aquatic "racehorses." The problem starts when Lodar's gang captures Maureen. The cave they take her to seems to be air-filled (no water hatch marks) but later she simply walks out the cave mouth and is underwater again. For the diving bell story in #6 the writer just gave up, conjuring up horses, dogs, a guy in a suit running along the sea floor, underwater gunfire, and a forest with hanging vines. It could have easily been a topside story. Bah.

Maureen's a bloodthirsty little thing. In #4, when she sees the massacre on page 32 she says, "How awful!" But a page earlier she was threatening to kill Lodar and promising his head would "hang from the public auditorium."

I like Harold deLay's old-timey artwork a lot. He deserved better stories.

Driftwood Davey
Memories of homeless men "on the bum" during the Great Depression must have still been fresh in the 40s, because Driftwood Davey wasn't the only Golden Age series featuring humorous hoboes. These two four-pagers have little to offer. The mild humor is undercut by rampant corner-cutting in the art (which isn't that great to begin with).

The one item that stands out is in #4, pages 33 and 34. The legend in the splash page (page 33) suggests that Iron Head will try unsuccessfully to milk a cow. In the last panel of the page Iron Head points off-panel and exclaims, "Look! A real cow!" We turn the page expecting to see him interact with the cow. Instead we get this caption: "But Iron Head's attempt to milk a cow ends with the whole maddened herd in hot pursuit and..." and cow milking is forgotten as a story about rustling unfolds. I mean, WTF???

Page 34 is a classic example of drawing as little as possible. The "maddened herd" in panel 1 is bad enough, but it's topped by the fourth and fifth panels. I present them with the Bill Fraccio Prize for Minimal Effort.

The Steel Fist
Not to be confused with The Iron Claw.

This third-banana strip benefits from a fair H. C. Kiefer art job in #4. Maybe I'm getting burned out, but I find these war-themed stories generic, if not boring. Reading Golden Age comics one gets the impression that American factories were hotbeds of Nazi sabotage. I have no problem with a steel-fisted superhero, but in #4 Tim uses the fist while in civilian clothes. So much for the secret identity. Come to think of it, as Tim our hero seems required to hide his steel fist by sticking his hand in his pocket. That makes running a lathe a bit tricky, nicht wahr? It'd be easier if he wore one of those undetectable flesh-colored comic book gloves. (PS: in the next-to-last panel the iron fist has switched hands.)

The artwork in #6's snake story is almost good. It's obvious which panels he drew from photo reference and which he didn't. This seems like the work of someone who just needs a couple of years to develop his craft.

Slaphappy Grandpappy
This feature has a vintage 1920s look. The GCD says it was written and drawn by Jack A Warren, who went to art school in the late 'teens and worked on syndicated strips in the thirties. That explains that. I like Warren's old school drawings. His Grandpappy is lively. Warren doesn't skimp on backgrounds, which makes the strip appear more professional than the other Blue Circle artists. There are some amusing moments but the misogyny in issue #4 is laid on too thick for my taste.

All in all an interesting mixed bag. Next time, we read Speed Comics, the only comic named after Gail Porter's camera.

[SuperScrounge]

Blue Circle Comics #6

Gas is King!
I was wondering why the Blue Circle gang wasn't getting caught by law enforcement, then they had the scene where the FBI already knew about it. Maybe they should have had a comment about working with authorities before they started the fake gas card business?

Loved the Blue Circle deciding to tail a guy while wearing his bright colorful costume. Yeah, that should help you blend in. 


The Mad Auctioneer
An otherwise good story, but I had to laugh at the end where Gail is auctioning off the stolen paintings. Yeah, sure this time the money will go to help the Hollanders, but I believe after the war all treasures stolen by the Nazis were to be returned to the rightful owners, so I don't imagine the people who bought those pictures will be too happy.


Robbers of Freedom
So how do the people differentiate from an ordinary toreador and the Toreador? This is why other companies would add colors or descriptive terms to the names of their heroes (Green Arrow, Straight Arrow, Golden Arrow, etc.)

A bit simplistic with the crook deciding to be a good guy.


Mortal Marauder!
Interestingly the distance of the two guards that Lucky kills looks like it might be within the 2 to 3 feet that the Mythbusters proved was the accuracy of a bullet fired underwater, while Maureen was clearly farther away and so was safe. 


Driftwood Davey
Cute.

"Good news! Driftwood Davey becomes a 6 page feature starting with the next issue of Blue Circle Comics!"
Bad news, there was no next issue. 


The Crawling Death!
So the snake snuck up on the men, crawled up & wrapped itself around them, crushing them to death and slithering off fast enough that no one saw it when they came to investigate the victim's scream?
Yeahhhhhh... suuuuuuuure... okayyyyyy...


Priceless Ingredient
Okay.


Slaphappy Grandpappy
Okay.

[The Australian Panther]

I was dazzled by them and longed for my own Speed Graphic...though by the time I was old enough to afford one, 4x5 cut-film cameras were passe'. 35mm ruled the roost and I never got my Graphic. 

Crash, it wasn't the format that 'ruled the roost', it was the mass marketing of .35.mm cameras and film and the rise of the home snapshot photographer. Yes, that started a lot earlier with Kodak, but really boomed in the 60's.
Happens that I have a Bachelors Degree in Visual Arts/Fine Arts with a major in Photography. From which perspective I can tell you that for photography professionals the older the format the better.
8 x 10 was the Holy Grail, one of my lecturers specialized in 8 x 10 prints.
10 Reasons Why 8×10 May Be the Perfect Format
https://timlaytonfineart.com/2025/02/19/10-reasons-why-8x10-may-be-the-perfect-format/
In my final year I got my TLR (twin-lens reflex camera) and used it to do my graduation exhibitioin work. Loved that camera. It's still in the shed somewhere.
One serious advantage - apart from the detail from the larger negative - was that when using it, you look down into the viewfinder, so most people don't know they are being photographed.
The rise and fall of the TLR: why the twin-lens reflex camera is a real classic.
https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/features/the-rise-and-fall-of-tlr-cameras-why-the-twin-lens-reflex-is-a-real-classic
And no, I didn't choose Gail Porter because I wanted to talk photograpy!       

[SuperScrounge]

Speed Comics #23

Captain Freedom
If Don had suggested that they test his hands for gun powder at the start of the story he might have stayed out of jail.

I wonder if he had just filled the bathtub with water and dumped it on the fire might have worked better than carrying a bathtub full of water and kids and jumping down. I mean inertia should have had some effect on the kids and water when he jumped and landed.


Shock Gibson
An interesting idea for an evil duplicate, but unfortunately wasted in this story. I wonder if he ever reappeared for a rematch?


Pat Parker Girl Commando
Comedy highlight. The two Japanese soldiers getting blown up. The writer had a very dark sense of humor.


Biff Bannon U.S. Marine
Not as good as it could have been, but okay.

For those who like articles about the artists, here's an article about Art Helfant's beginnings.


Black Cat
Hmmm... it takes what 6 hours to fly from New York to Hollywood, and I don't know how long to fly from India to Hollywood. I wonder if the writer considered that at all.

What took Shock Gibson so long to get there? Did he make a left turn at Albequerque?

Not a bad story though.


Crash, Cork and the Baron
Eh, okay.


Flossie
Eh.


The Curse of Cave Canyon
Interesting although the quick ending feels like something created for the short number of pages.


Bimbo's Beanery
Okay.


Speed Taylor
Okay.

[gregjh]

I read the Black Cat team up story. I think that's the first female GA Comic story I've read since the painfully dull (in my humble opinion) Phantom Lady stories. This story was more fun. Silly, but fun. The stereotypes are dialled up to 11 and it's interesting to think that Hollywood being taken over by Japanese was considered a bad thing once upon a time. If that happened today I think I wouldn't be the only person happy about it!

[SuperScrounge]

Gregjh - Well, both Hollywood and the Japanese have changed since those days. 

For one thing live action remakes of anime would be much more faithful to the originals, unlike Disney's live action remakes.

[Quirky Quokka]

Girl Commandos

I thought I'd do the two Girl Commando stories together. So ...

Speed Comics #23 - Oct 1942

I had never heard of Pat Parker and the Girl Commandos. Dr Google tells me that Pat Parker, also known as War Nurse, has been around since Speed Comics #13, but I gather that Issue 23 is the first appearance of the Girl Commandos as a group. So we have War Nurse Pat Parker, her Lieutenant Ellen, glamorous Soviet photographer Tanya, famous radio reporter Penny and mystery woman Mei Ling. At first they think she's a spy, but when she says she isn't and that she would join the fighters for freedom, Pat says 'Righto Mei Ling, you're in!' Mmm ... not the best screening process.

It doesn't say what nationality the aviators are, but probably British or American? Though there were also Australians stationed in Burma. But in any case, the girls apparently think it's fine to subdue the pesky men, steal a plane, and set off to save the day themselves. When Pat has a lucky escape from the crashing plane, it's fortunate that she manages a Wonder Woman pose while recovering in a tree. The Japanese are drawn in a style common for the time. They look silly and don't seem at all suspicious when Honorable Hara sends a woman to give them instructions in English. And how did they not realise they were being handed live granades? The girls bomb the bridge, and aviators Dick and Don wipe out the rest of the enemy planes. Does anyone ever ask what happened to the missing plane the girls commandeered at the beginning?

Flags of the 28 United Nations

At the risk of sounding like Sheldon Cooper from 'The Big Bang Theory' (i.e., his 'Fun with Flags' series for the uninitiated), I thought the double-page spread of flags was interesting. I'm not a flag aficianado, but I couldn't help noticing a few were different from the modern ones (e.g., Canada, China, India) and instead of France, they had 'Free France' with the Cross of Lorraine. So France was occupied at that time, but I just thought it was interesting that they only had the Free France flag. Poland was also occupied at that time, but they had the Polish flag in the line-up.

And for those who have never seen 'Fun with Flags', here's a brief clip 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e8PGPrPlwA


New Speed Comics #24 - Dec 1942

The opening panel of Girl Commandos shows a Korean boy who reminded me of the Yellow Kid we reviewed a while back. I doubt he would have referred to his grandfather as Venerable Grandpop!  And speaking of flags, I hadn't realised that the Japanese flag was also different back then. Again some lovely (?) stereotyped drawings of the Asian characters, particularly Manolo the Phillipino houseboy, who turns into Japanese Secret Agent Zero by donning a pair of Coke-bottle thick glasses.

Pat/War Nurse and the Girl Commandos head off to beat the Japanese, while Dick and Don go along for the ride. No wonder the valise was heavy if Zero was inside (Took me a while to work out that's what happened). You'd think they'd try to work out what was causing the extra weight. Well there are plot holes galore, but that shouldn't get in the way of a good story. The Korean child (Yellow Kid?) is in awe of the exploits of the sensational Girl Commandos and they all live happily ever after.

Overall

Well, both of these stories have some plot holes and the writing is a bit all over the place. But they are probably restricted by the page limit of a mixed bag comic. On the bright side, it was good to see some women in amongst the war action, and the Asian settings were a bit different to the plethoria of war comics set in Europe. I probably would have liked to read the exploits of Pat and the girls back in the day. Thanks for the selection, Panther.

Cheers

QQ

[The Australian Panther]

Glad you liked Pat Parker, QQ! The Girl Commandos are also in the team-up.

The opening panel of Girl Commandos shows a Korean boy who reminded me of the Yellow Kid we reviewed a while back. I doubt he would have referred to his grandfather as Venerable Grandpop!

Writers and Artists back then had great difficulty differentiating the various East Asian peoples accurately in their delinating and writing.
So Japanese, Chinese and Korean people were often mis-portrayed.
Other ethnic groups, (Burmese, Thai, Fillipinos, Veitnamese) aren't often found in stories of that vintage.
cheers!     

[bowers]

 Panther, at the time this comic was published, I don't believe the artists made any attempt to differentiate or even humanize Japanese people. After the shock of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. propaganda machine swung into action, using newscasts, films and even comics to vilify the Japanese foe. Racial slurs and grotesque renderings of Japanese soldiers became commonplace. Even Blackhawk's companion, Chop Chop, wasn't spared, although he was still portayed as one of the "good guys". The American film industry pulled out all the stops. In the films, Japanese pilots usually faced a painful, gruesome death, while American pilots died bravely and peacefully. These films were made to raise morale and unify the nation against a common foe, and succeeded in doing that job. To be fair, Fillipinos were usually depicted somewhat better, both in comics and films, as were some of the Chinese and Burmese allies.
  I don't really believe we can, or should, judge these comics by today's standards as we didn't live through what our parents an grandparents endured! We can just enjoy them for what they are, an entertainment from our past! Cheers, bowers

[SuperScrounge]

Speed Comics #24

Captain Freedom
How did the kids know that going near the victims was bad? Maybe if they had seen another good samaritan rush to help and be stricken, but there were no visual clues that the threat was still around.


Shock Gibson
Funny how they draw Hirohito in this story as more like Ming the Merciless than like the traditional caricature of him.


The Girl Commandos
Bick Caniff... any relation to Milt? 

Ellen seems to have plumped up a bit since the last story. Trying to get a supporting role in Wonder Woman?

"It's something out of the comics!" The author's subconscious is trying to tell the author something. 


Biff Bannon
But what happened to the goldfish? 


Black Cat
Good thing Linda's Black Cat uniform does not have any identifying marks on it or she couldn't have used it for her dress's top.


Crash, Cork & The Baron
Carol certainly qualifies as feisty, but she really should have had a better grip, or even a strap, on her camera so she wouldn't drop it out of the plane's door.


Flossie
Cute.


Ted Parrish
You'd think Ted would have heard a shot that came from so near to him and realized it wasn't just a sound effect.


Speed Taylor
A bit rushed.

[Quirky Quokka]

Panther, at the time this comic was published, I don't believe the artists made any attempt to differentiate or even humanize Japanese people. After the shock of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. propaganda machine swung into action, using newscasts, films and even comics to vilify the Japanese foe. Racial slurs and grotesque renderings of Japanese soldiers became commonplace. Even Blackhawk's companion, Chop Chop, wasn't spared, although he was still portayed as one of the "good guys". The American film industry pulled out all the stops. In the films, Japanese pilots usually faced a painful, gruesome death, while American pilots died bravely and peacefully. These films were made to raise morale and unify the nation against a common foe, and succeeded in doing that job. To be fair, Fillipinos were usually depicted somewhat better, both in comics and films, as were some of the Chinese and Burmese allies.
  I don't really believe we can, or should, judge these comics by today's standards as we didn't live through what our parents an grandparents endured! We can just enjoy them for what they are, an entertainment from our past! Cheers, bowers

Hi Bowers

I have some volumes of early Superman comics, complete with original ads etc. They have a disclaimer in the front saying that some things which we might find offensive today have been left in so that they are true to the times (not their exact wording), and I think it was good they didn't edit them out. It helps us to see what the cultural tone was at the time and how things have changed, hopefully for the better.

Cheers

QQ

[bowers]

 Amen, QQ! Cheers, bowers

[Robb_K]

Hi everyone

I'll start with the two Gail Porter stories.

Blue Circle #4 (Feb 1945) - Assignment to the Tombs

Right away, I'm confused by the mention of 'tombs' in the title. On the second page it says that Gail is going to the Tombs where Toots Sweeny is held. So is that just the name of this particular prison, or is 'tombs' a colloquial term for prison in general?

Great action shot to start with, though it doesn't accurately show what happens in the later scene (i.e., there's no knife in the real scene and the camera goes flying).

I also wasn't sure whether the newspaper had requested an interview and the commissioner is ringing to say their request has been granted, or if Toots was requesting an interview. And when given permission to interview such a notorious murderer, why did Gail start by saying 'I'd like to ask you a few routine questions. Do you mind?' Routine??? Cut to the chase, Gail, and ask her why she murdered her husband!

I was wondering if it was going to be one of those stories in which it would take Gail a while to convince the warden who she was after the switcheroo, but they sort it out quickly.

I hadn't heard the term 'Graphic' used for a camera before, but Wikipedia tells me it was a press camera, which started production in 1912. If Gail is still around in 1947, her graphic camera will be even better.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_Graphic

Though it seems reporters are responsible for buying their own cameras, since she goes to a pawn shop to get a cheap one. She must have a good memory to know the manufacturer's number by heart. And that camera is certainly getting knocked around. All that thrashing around is probably causing some damage.

Great acrobatic panel on last page, though unlikely that Gail's punch would make Toots do that particular move.

(1) 'Mother from Erin'? I've never heard that expression before. An Irish saying?
Although there were a few plot issues, I liked Gail. Nothing's going to stop her getting a story.


Blue Circle #6 (Apr 1945) - The Mad Auctioneer

(2) Were people from Holland ever called Hollanders? So the 'Hollander' has threatened to kill the auctioneer if he tells the police he's a Nazi, yet the auctioneer is happy to tell a reporter? And why did the Nazi even reveal that info in the first place? Was he found out?

(3) Gotta love the mishmash they're making of the German language: 'Yah, und der money from der sale of dem pictures in der museum - dot goes with me also! Goot Nicht!' My old high school German teacher would be having conniptions!

Gail is certainly intrepid. Clever of her to time the flash photo with the lightning. But how does she manage to hear the plans being discussed through a closed window? She then goes to a spot by the harbour where she can take photos without being observed, but she seems to be standing out in the open. Then she's back at the mansion and reads the note on the back of the painting that's addressed to Goering. She reads it in English. (4) Wouldn't it be in German? Or is Gail also a wiz when it comes to translation? Still, Gail saves the day and gets a scoop to boot.
QQ

(1) Yes, it's an old Irish (Erse) saying.  It means something like "Mother Ireland, (Forever)"  Erin is a form of "Eire" the Erse (Old Keltic Irish) name for that island country.

(2) People from Holland were always called "Hollanders", as long as Holland existed.  "Holland" was a County (led by a Count) during the middle ages, and makes up 2 of the 12 Provinces(Noord Holland & Zuid Holland)(North & South Holland) of The Netherlands (Nederland) (called "Niederland" in German language). "Hollander" also can stand for Netherlander (a citizen of the entire nation) for most Germans (just as it does for British people).  But to Northwestern Germans, who live near The Netherlands, it stands for only people from North & South Holland.  My family comes from South Holland (Den Haag), where I lived for 38 years, and I last lived in a village in North Holland for 9 years.

(3) That so-called "Mishmash" is really an attempt to make a phonetic representation of a German, who speaks enough English to make himself understood, speaking English with a heavy German accent.  Almost none of the words are the actual German words in German the sentences are trying to convey.  But, your German teacher shouldn't have had a problem with this device being used in a comic book for American kids, as they wouldn't have been able to understand it IF it had been written in proper Hochdeutsch.  I always liked what Carl Barks did in his stories when the language was not English - he might show a message in a foreign script and had Uncle Scrooge translating it to English, or when foreigners were speaking to each other, it was always noted to be in THEIR language, with an asterisked footnote below the panel, stating: "This has been translated for the convenience of the reader".

(4) Yes, of course the note from Von Braum to Hitler should be in German.  So, that infers that Gail knows at least a rudimentary (few years of schooling) knowledge of that language.  In Midwestern Canada, we took French,  German, or Russian in school.  And, as far as I recall, French and German were the most popular foreign languages in schools in The Midwest of USA in the 1940s, according to what my cousins took.

(There is no word or placename, "Braum" in German. Should have used "von Braun".  "von (from) in a surname should never be capitalised. 

[Quirky Quokka]

(1) Yes, it's an old Irish (Erse) saying.  It means something like "Mother Ireland, (Forever)"  Erin is a form of "Eire" the Erse (Old Keltic Irish) name for that island country.

(2) People from Holland were always called "Hollanders", as long as Holland existed.  "Holland" was a County (led by a Count) during the middle ages, and makes up 2 of the 12 Provinces(Noord Holland & Zuid Holland)(North & South Holland) of The Netherlands (Nederland) (called "Niederland" in German language). "Hollander" also can stand for Netherlander (a citizen of the entire nation) for most Germans (just as it does for British people).  But to Northwestern Germans, who live near The Netherlands, it stands for only people from North & South Holland.  My family comes from South Holland (Den Haag), where I lived for 38 years, and I last lived in a village in North Holland for 9 years.

(3) That so-called "Mishmash" is really an attempt to make a phonetic representation of a German, who speaks enough English to make himself understood, speaking English with a heavy German accent.  Almost none of the words are the actual German words in German the sentences are trying to convey.  But, your German teacher shouldn't have had a problem with this device being used in a comic book for American kids, as they wouldn't have been able to understand it IF it had been written in proper Hochdeutsch.  I always liked what Carl Barks did in his stories when the language was not English - he might show a message in a foreign script and had Uncle Scrooge translating it to English, or when foreigners were speaking to each other, it was always noted to be in THEIR language, with an asterisked footnote below the panel, stating: "This has been translated for the convenience of the reader".

(4) Yes, of course the note from Von Braum to Hitler should be in German.  So, that infers that Gail knows at least a rudimentary (few years of schooling) knowledge of that language.  In Midwestern Canada, we took French,  German, or Russian in school.  And, as far as I recall, French and German were the most popular foreign languages in schools in The Midwest of USA in the 1940s, according to what my cousins took.

(There is no word or placename, "Braum" in German. Should have used "von Braun".  "von (from) in a surname should never be capitalised.

Hi Robb - Thanks for taking the time to answer those questions. I figured the 'Erin' had something to do with Ireland, but I wasn't sure what the saying meant. I've never been to the Netherlands and wasn't clear on the distinctions between Holland and the Netherlands. Thanks for clearing that up. And yes, I can udnerstand why they used the heavily accented English for the Germans, though I've seen it done better than it was in this case. When I was in high school in Australia in the 1970s, the students in the academic stream only had the option of taking either French or German. Since my father's ancestors came from Germany, it was assumed that I would take German, which I did for five years. Though when I finally got to Germany and tried to order something in German at a cafe, the waitress just answered me in English anyway    A lot of the Australian high schools these days, also offer one or more Asian languages, such as Chinese, Japanese or Indonesian.

Cheers

QQ

[Robb_K]

Blue Circle Comics 4
Gail Porter - Girl Photographer

The first thing I noticed was that Gail was "billed" as only the photographer; but she went out on the assignment to also interview the infamous prisoner.  So, why is she not billed as a "Reporter/Photographer" or "Photographing Reporter"?

The next thing that struck me about this story is that I barely got into it, and it was over.  Only 6 pages is not really enough to tell a "story".  The author and artist can only show a scarce few of the story's main events, much as one would do in a one-page film scenario to first get a film producer interested.  An outline with the basic main events.

With only 6 pages of 3 tiers each, and a big opening splash panel taking up 2 tiers worth, why did the author waste the whole first page with the theme of "The Female Human is more Vicious", when the author and artist have shown how dangerous the murderous prisoner was?  The main object of that point certainly is to show that Gail is very brave and resourceful by agreeing to take such a dangerous assignment, and fighting her physically, and using her brain to get her recaptured.  I agree that it was not likely that the jail guard would leave her alone in the room with that violent murderess, without, at least remaining by the door.

The newspaper's editor laughs when he finds out that HIS underling allowed a multi-murderer to escape from jail, and is on-the-loose in New York.  Couldn't that occurrence be such an embarrassment for his newspaper that the owners might fire both of them?  IF the photographers for newspapers were responsible for supplying and maintaining their own camera equipment, are they ad-hoc employees paid by the assignment, or independent contractors?  IF so, why should Gail expect her newspaper to pay for the camera and her stolen clothing?  She must be one of the newspaper's star reporters (that they want to keep at all costs).  Gail was a star reporter, with an eye for details.  I can believe that she could recognise the first  5-6 digits of the camera's manufacturer's serial number, which, given that the camera looks, in all ways, like her own, would be too much of a coincidence.  Given that the author has only 6 pages to finish the story, it's no wonder that he or she had to use the coincidence of Toots just happening to return to the pawn shop at the exact time that Gail discovers that it is HER own camera.  Whats a "Hofficer"?  Wouldn't that fit better in Issue #6, with the German villains?  (an officer of the Hoff?) 

Blue Circle Comics 6
Gail Porter - Girl Photographer

Of course, the German Nazi has the cliche monocle that stereotyped vicious Nazi leaders often have.  The German masquerading as the Dutchman has the alias, "Hans Brinkler" (as Hans Brinker is a famous American story of a Dutch boy).  Why does the author waste an entire panel when room is so precious, when his alias is not used in the story's plot action?  Goot NICHT?  "Nicht" means NOT.  The phrase is "Guten NACHT!" which  a lot of Americans would have known.  And not only does Super-Reporter/Photographer, Gail Porter save millions of Dollars for The "Free" Netherlands war effort, but she auctions the paintings off, herself, instead of the auctioneer!  What a star!

[Robb_K]

Speed Comics 23
Pat Parker - Girl Commando
Pat seems to be forming "The Girl Commandos" in this issue of Speed Comics, as she was a War Nurse operating in Malta in Issue 22.  She is British, and it seems that she has an American, British, and Russian friend volunteer to join her in a squad of female commandos, and they add a Chinese woman to their group.  They are stationed in India, and form to help The British fight The Japanese in the Burma and general Southeast Asia fronts.  Apparently, they are not officially combatants, within The British military, but self-appointed, self-directed, "allies", who act completely on their own.  They steal a  British plane to rescue 3 American volunteer fliers (Flying Tigers).  Pat crash-lands the plane as Her Commandos parachute out, landing inside The Japanese lines.  The Japanese soldiers' skin is bright yellow)as is that of the Chinese female commando.  Stereotypically, the Japanese soldiers ALL wear spectacles!  What are the odds of that!  They find the 3 wounded Americans, dress their wounds and fly their plane out of the valley, and back to her base in India, without the British officers knowing what they did.  A fairytale!  Is this story something young girl readers would like to read???  And I don't understand why Pat feels the need to wear a Wonder Woman-style female superhero-type "costume" (only because young, pre-teen and young teenaged boys want to see scantily-clad women), and will toss down their hard-earned dimes to do so.

The Black Cat (A team-up with The Girl Commandos)
Japanese forces invade The USA's mainland's West Coast (Los Angeles)! Various super-hero mystery heroes are called to Los Angeles from around The World, to free it from The Japanese Army's occupation.  The Girl Commandos come from India.  The Black Cat and her allies plant a Japanese flag atop the tallest building in Los Angeles (supposed to be its City Hall).  But the artist (no doubt from New York's East Coast crew that Harvey used) had no idea what L.A. looked like.  The City Hall, built in 1932, was los Angeles' only tall building (due to earthquake danger), until the early 1960s.  So, those other tall buildings don't belong in The Downtown scenes. Planting the flag was a plan to get the rival Japanese Army and Navy to fight each other.  Shock Gibson destroys The Japanese Navy's ships with lightning bolts.  The Superheroes and Mystery Heroes leave just as The US Army approaches to mop up the victory and secure Los Angeles.  Thank God for Superheroes, or The World would still be a Nazi Dictatorship, and instead of just half my extended family having been murdered by them, the rest would have been gotten, too. 

Speed Comics 24
The Girl Commandos
The Yellow Kid returns to comics in 1942! It appears to me that President Ahnho (presumably President of Korea???), who is shown as a European with white skin, when ALL other Koreans, Chinese, Japanese and even his Philippino house boy is shown with bright yellow skin.  Their President has European features.  How can that be, given that Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910(32 years before), and this "President-in-exile" in USA, was drawn to appear to be in his early 20s?  He would have been a nation's leader almost 10 years before he was even born!  The Filipino houseboy was actually a Japanese spy.  Penny Kirk is a prisoner of The Japanese military.  The Author acts as if Japan just attacked and occupied Korea recently.  But Korea had been fully integrated into The Japanese Empire 32 years before that.  Amazing what the American comic book writers and artists didn't know.  And Japan had economic ties with Korea, and industries and other businesses there since 1895.  So, they wouldn't have had "occupying soldiers there.  It had long been an integrated part of Japan.  The "Freedom Bell" could actually have existed, being The Sacred Bell of Great King Seongdeok, from 771 AD.  But, I think it was already housed in a museum by 1942, and so, the scenes with the bell ringing in a temple tower couldn't have happened.  It's a good story idea that that "Freedom Bell" would rally disgruntled Koreans to "overthrow their Japanese Overlords.  But the story is far from the real World situation at that time.

The Black Cat
In this story, The Black Cat is teamed only with Rick Horne.  The Gestapo is secretly operating in USA.  The Gestapo and Nazi agents plan to capture the US Military's West Coast chief officers.  The Black Cat intervenes to prevent their capturing several high-ranking US Naval Officers.  She rips off her evening gown, so that she isn't encumbered by it, sas she is wearing her fighting (superhero) uniform underneath.  She and Rick Horne put the German soldiers out of commission, saving Captain Mason, and presumably, the other Naval officers that were attending the party.  This all happens in just a couple pages, with no time to develop the scenario, or make what happened believable.  The first bsattle was staged using an actor for Mason.  The Black Cat and Horne realise they were duped and run to the other studio room where ther real Mason is being tortured in his questioning.  They defeat The Nazi soldiers in hand and foot combat, in just a couple panels.  Each of the different scenes of the entire story is shown in just a couple of panels, making it very choppy and awkward, and hard to process as a story, and difficult to enjoy as entertainment.

[Quirky Quokka]

Robb said:

Blue Circle Comics 4
Gail Porter - Girl Photographer

The first thing I noticed was that Gail was "billed" as only the photographer; but she went out on the assignment to also interview the infamous prisoner.  So, why is she not billed as a "Reporter/Photographer" or "Photographing Reporter"?

Yes, I wondered that too. She is more than a photographer. Maybe they were just trying to distinguish her from the female reporters in some of the other comic books.

Blue Circle Comics 4
Gail Porter - Girl Photographer

Goot NICHT?  "Nicht" means NOT.  The phrase is "Guten NACHT!" which  a lot of Americans would have known.

Yes, indeed. That's why I commented on the mishmash of German in my other post. You expect them to use an Anglicised version of German, but this was not a good attempt.

Speed Comics 23
Pat Parker - Girl Commando
Apparently, they [the girl commandos] are not officially combatants, within The British military, but self-appointed, self-directed, "allies", who act completely on their own.  They steal a  British plane to rescue 3 American volunteer fliers (Flying Tigers).  Pat crash-lands the plane as Her Commandos parachute out, landing inside The Japanese lines.  The Japanese soldiers' skin is bright yellow)as is that of the Chinese female commando.  Stereotypically, the Japanese soldiers ALL wear spectacles!  What are the odds of that!  They find the 3 wounded Americans, dress their wounds and fly their plane out of the valley, and back to her base in India, without the British officers knowing what they did.  A fairytale!  Is this story something young girl readers would like to read???  And I don't understand why Pat feels the need to wear a Wonder Woman-style female superhero-type "costume" (only because young, pre-teen and young teenaged boys want to see scantily-clad women), and will toss down their hard-earned dimes to do so.

I agree with all of that. It was pretty far-fetched and I did wonder why she bothered with the costume. Still, I suppose it was good to see women doing something active in fighting the enemy. I imagine there would have been girls at that time who would have liked this team-up.

Speed Comics 24
The Girl Commandos
The Yellow Kid returns to comics in 1942! It appears to me that President Ahnho (presumably President of Korea???), who is shown as a European with white skin, when ALL other Koreans, Chinese, Japanese and even his Philippino house boy is shown with bright yellow skin.  Their President has European features.  How can that be, given that Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910(32 years before), and this "President-in-exile" in USA, was drawn to appear to be in his early 20s?  He would have been a nation's leader almost 10 years before he was even born!  The Philippino houseboy was actually a Japanese spy.  Penny Kirk is a prisoner of The Japanese military.  The Author acts as if Japan just attacked and occupied Korea recently.  But Korea had been fully integrated into The Japanese Empire 32 years before that.  Amazing what the American comic book writers and artists didn't know.  And Japan had economic ties with Korea, and industries and other businesses there since 1895.  So, they wouldn't have had "occupying soldiers there.  It had long been an integrated part of Japan.  The "Freedom Bell" could actually have existed, being The Sacred Bell of Great King Seongdeok, from 771 AD.  But, I think it was already housed in a museum by 1942, and so, the scenes with the bell ringing in a temple tower couldn't have happened.  It's a good story idea that that "Freedom Bell" would rally disgruntled Koreans to "overthrow their Japanese Overlords.  But the story is far from the real World situation at that time.

I also thought that first character looked just like the Yellow Kid. I'm not really aware of that part of history, so thanks for the extra info about the relationship between Korea, Japan and the US at that time.

I haven't read the Black Cat story yet.

Cheers

QQ