This book came as a pleasant surprise. The stories were fun and the art wasn't bad.
The data card suggests Joe Millard is the writer based on his "writing tics." I assume this means his use of exclamations like "Awwrk!" and "Grawwk!" If so, Millard must have written the Ken Shannon stories too. That's where I first ran across these peculiar expletives. Come to think of it these stories are strongly reminiscent of Ken Shannon. A smart-talking tough hero who frequently berates himself for his mistakes and isn't always the smartest tool in the shed--although Shannon was definitely a lummox while Pete Trask is reasonably intelligent. He's brought down mostly by unlucky coincidences.
Aside from those coincidences I was impressed by the writing. Given as few as seven pages to tell a complete story, Millard did a solid job of setting up the plot, providing action and a few surprises, and coming to a satisfying conclusion. Seven pages! I enjoyed the second story most. Betty was a royal pain, but I liked her personality. Trask came off as something of a misogynist, though.
In "Augie Moore" Jack Cole was obviously channeling The Bowery Boys. Like T-Man, the story is compact and well-told with some good dialogue. However I don't care if I ever see them again.
Artwise the cover stands out. I agree it looks like Crandall's pencils, especially the construction of the woman's head. Doesn't look much like his inks. Harry Anderson provides the best pencils in the second and third story. However he's smothered by the Quality house ink job. I don't buy the data sheet's suggestion that H.A. inked either story. Edmond Good (if it's him) does a good job on his story, but Anderson's figures have more life to them.
When I see a story set in a foreign locale I always want to see the artist pull out his National Geographics and give us a little local color. Of course given comic page rates that's unlikely unless the artist is a background freak like me. Here the artists do provide some sense of the locations but they don't put a lot of work into them.
A couple other observations. First, when I read T-Man stories back in the day I didn't care, but now it bugs me that Trask is working for the Treasury Department, which except perhaps in counterfeiting cases operates exclusively within the U.S. In the comics Trask is a globe-hopping spy, like a CIA man. I suppose "CIA Man!" isn't as catchy as "T-Man!" And admittedly the CIA wasn't as well-known in the 50s as it became in the 60s. Second, seeing Trask with a mustache made me think how few comic heroes wore one. He calls to mind Brian Donlevy, who could easily have played Trask in a movie.
