War Comics #1 - pt. 2

The Tripod Trio are back. I don't know much about cameras, but I'm guessing rapid-fire flashbulbs and automatic plate expellers were not regular features on them back in 1940. If not, then this would actually be a minor trophy item.

And, although that torpedo is played for laughs, it reminds me that even in vehicular combat, you still need to roll to hit your target.

I was tickled by this page because hydrophones are a trophy item listed in 1st edition Hideouts & Hoodlums, but I never actually saw mention of one in a comic book until now; it was just one of those situations that I intuited to feel right.

But what first attracted my attention was the Y-gun. Was that a real thing? Yep, it's a depth charge projector! The things I learn from comic books.

It became very hard to take this story seriously as soon as that robot picked up a mask. I didn't include any other pages from this story because it's a pretty simple story of the robot posing as a person and three locals get wise to it. The one wrinkle you don't see here is that these robots are so hot that touching one can cause serious injury.

When I go to stat these, I'm not sure what to call them. Sikanduran robots seems long and really obscure.

This is one page, but there's a whole story about the fictional development of a television torpedo. I can't imagine the reception is very good, but the purpose is to be able to watch where the torpedo is going and guide it better. This too would be a trophy item (maybe with a +2 to hit bonus).

This is an unusual boys' adventure story, for several reasons. For one thing, Tim and Jerry are not particularly young boys. For another, they are in a Sweden that was just invaded by Germany -- an unusual event, because it never happened. The author clearly anticipates it, and it makes sense since it just happened to Finland, but Sweden stayed neutral through the war.

Here is Tim and Jerry on a boat trip from England back to the U.S., but they have not even gone far when they discover a German spy in the cabin next to theirs. They have a tricky situation when the spy accuses them of robbing him; the Editor is going to roll an encounter reaction check for each party (or let the players roll their own) and the master-at-arms is going to believe whichever side rolled higher.

Another sign that the U.S. was neutral in war (not a good position to be in when launching a war comic, I reckon), the Americans rescue the Nazi pilot and seem to befriend him here. This may be your last time seeing a Nazi becoming a Supporting Cast Member to Heroes in an American comic book.

This story feels all kinds of wrong! Here, Tim and Jerry are treated nicely by the kindly Nazi sub commander. After sinking the British warship, the Nazis let Tim and Jerry go to be saved by the people in the lifeboats. On the next page, Tim says they were "pretty good eggs." Is this the first case of Stockholm Syndrome in a comic book? And did Americans ever say "pretty good eggs?"

And now we jump to Danny Dash, Globe Trotter, who is in England during the blitz. Here he encounters a transport trophy I never thought I'd have to stat -- a radioactive car! I bet the insurance premiums are sky-high when you drive those.

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus.)