Fantastic Comics #4 - pt. 4

Oh boy. Today, we're going to start with a look at Fletcher Hanks' Space Smith. Now, as goofy as it all looks, it doesn't actually read any goofier than most science fiction comic book stories of the time, and by that I mean that he gets the facts about as wrong as anyone.

Obviously, there's no such thing as a solid gold comet. But, comets can be big enough to land spaceships on. The largest known comet, Hale Bopp, is 60 miles in diameter. But, a comet would also be frozen, atmosphere-less, and shedding ice in a constant ice storm.

If I thought Flip Falcon was inspired by Thuvia, Maid of Mars, Fletcher here outright borrows the Kaldanes from it, with the only difference being the eye on their chests and the fact that no alien heads are around to ride on top of them. The narrator refers to these only as "headless soldiers," which is just as well since Kaldanes is still copyright protected.

There are 14 headless soldiers in panel 3, the most we see of them at one time.

Where was Space hiding that telescope before he used it...?

This is an unusual use of wrecking things, vibrating the windows so that they all open? And yet, it's the only mechanic that makes sense for this.

The headless ones aren't all that tough, as Space is decking them with ease. Maybe 2 Hit Dice?

The descending pincer trap is okay as long as it hits on the first try, and must be pretty easy to dodge after that. A cage surrounded by fire seems like a much deadlier trap. Probably too deadly; judging from the height of those flames, I think it would do 1-6 points of damage to Dianna per minute!

I can imagine a random result table for the controls with results like "blinding flashes" and "energy crackles around you," and with the top of the chart being "everything blows up."

The headless ones not only can't fight very well, but they aren't as fast as Space and Dianna, and when not controlled, they beat each other up.

This is Captain Kidd, and is it a doozy of a wacky adventure this time. You wouldn't expect an aviator Hero to be exploring D&D-like caves and encountering what appear to be a cross between gnolls and troglodytes, along with a gorilla. How weird that, when confronted with such bizarre monsters, it's the gorilla Kidd is worried about.

"Sulphur" fumes could be a trap in a hideout, as a failed save vs. poison could suffocate you, as it makes it harder for you to breath.

And it gets weirder! The ape can talk. And the ape is advised by four drugged oracles. Oracles, if I treated them as a mobstertype, can apparently whip people into a fighting frenzy with their weird chanting, maybe giving their allies +1 to hit and damage?

Gnollglodytes (I totally made that up just now) are not very fast despite their deer-like legs, as Kidd easily outpaces them here.

This is what worries me, when running modern campaigns -- "hero" hops in his plane and mows down all his opponents from high above. I'd be tempted to lay down a new house rule that, if you don't put yourself in any danger, you get no XP from the encounter. Hey, maybe his Editor did make that house rule, because sure enough he heads right back inside to take on the talking gorilla.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum.)

Smash Comics #7 - pt. 4

We're back to John Law, Scientective, and last post I had wrongly assumed he was going to use the broken hose as an improvised rope and grappling hook, but more cleverly he had used it to siphon water out of the trap and keep his head above water.

If you can choke down the racism of Wun Cloo, there's an interesting story about foiling an extortion racket with minimal fighting skills.

$50 a week doesn't seem that unreasonable; I wonder if that was something racketeers would have charged in 1940 or if this was meant to be humor.

And here is an intriguing use of invisible ink, though I doubt wearing a confession on the back of your shirt would carry much legal weight.

Hugh Hazzard goes big this month with Hitler, robbing Fort Knox. Well, the story says it's not him, but you see that mustache and you just know better, just like you know "Fort Adam" is really Fort Knox. In the hands of a better writer, this "Goldfinger, but with Hitler" story could be awesome...but "Wayne Reid" was George Brenner, so...

There actually had not been a "public enemy no. 1", officially recognized by the FBI, since 1936, but the concept was clearly still popular in the public consciousness and with comic book writers. Public enemies will be a step above master criminals in the hoodlum hierarchy.

I think we've been able to establish before that Hugh Hazzard is based out of NYC. So, Bozo would need to be able to fly at 390 MPH to get to Fort Knox in 2 hours.

This scene anticipates the end of The Rocketeer movie, when the mobsters turn on the Nazis, by 51 years. Pipalle punches Hitler in the face one year before Captain America famously does.

If you thought Hitler only used gas chambers, you'd be wrong; apparently he had a love for the cliched and also used rooms where the walls close in on you too.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum.)

Speed Comics #1 - pt. 3

This is Spike Marlin. This is not the first time we've seen whalers in the comics. This is the first time, though, that the whaling has been background detail. The real scenario here is the mutinous attack on Spike while the rest of the crew is fighting the whale.

This is Smoke Carter. Note how the gangsters are car-based; the 2nd ed. write-up will also be car-based.

Am I going to have to stat brutes as something new? I was going to treat them as a sub-category of thug, but this looks more like a flesh golem...

Oh, and this is Landor, Maker of Monsters.

Three air speeds (though I can probably get that from Wikipedia too).

This is Biff Bannon of the United States Marines, but I share it for the yellow peril hoodlums, and demonstrating that they can be armed with handguns and rifles too, not just daggers and hatchets.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

Famous Funnies #60

Eagle Scout Roy Powers reminds me that, whenever Heroes travel by sea, they almost always run into some storm, or hurricane. The 2nd edition Hideouts & Hoodlums basic book won't have room to talk about sea voyages, but if I ever get to the Advanced H&H Editor's Guide, I'll have to make sure to give a high chance of encountering inclement weather on any nautical, wandering encounter charts.

Something's not kosher about this, Skyroads...Speed says the canoe can go twice as fast as him. Okay, downstream, I could buy that, but upstream? Those are some strong oarsmen!

I'm sharing this because, not only does this educated Mayan school Sally on her cultural bias, but he then teaches her about fatalism. That is one cool character...

Not only is this gag from Life's Like That pretty funny, but it gives us a rare glimpse of a 1930s-era camper.

As if it even needed to be said -- why you don't want to get into a fight with a whale in H&H (this is from Dickie Dare).

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus)