Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 101 Atlas/ Marvel Horror

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 86

September 1955 Part 1

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Astonishing #41

Cover by Russ Heath

"The Locked Room!" (a: Mort Drucker) ★★★

"The Inventors!" (a: Bill Benulis) ★★

"Wings in the Night!" (a: Dick Ayers & Ernie Bache) ★

"The Rag Doll!" (a: John Tartaglione) ★★

"The Living Proof" (a: Pete Tumlinson) ★★

While vacationing in India, millionaire Bennett Baker stumbles upon a mystic meditating in a cave. The mystic insists his will pulled Baker to him, but the wealthy businessman (who dresses like he’s heading to the office while on vacay!) insists it was only by chance that they met. The swami explains that he wants to build a temple nearby and that the construction will set him back a half a million bucks. Would Bennett care to make a wager about the old man’s powers?

Baker agrees to pay the dough if the old man can play a chess game "ten thousand miles away" behind a locked door in his mansion. The bargain is made and Bennett heads back to America, stuffing 500 thousand-dollar bills in a safe. Every day, he and his butler check on the board and find that, miraculously, the chess pieces are moving! Bennett calls in a troop of reporters to help him debunk the phenomenon, but none of the writers can find anything that points to a hoax. The old man wins the game, but Bennett refuses to pay. The reporters head to India to get the other side of the story and notify the swami that the millionaire refuses to pay, but the old man produces the money from a safe and begins counting.

“The Locked Room!” (surely, one of the top ten overused Atlas titles) is a clever and well-illustrated fantasy that never wears out its welcome, courtesy of the ever-reliable scripter Paul S. Newman. Even though the rug was pulled out from under these writers, they’ve done a fairly good job of adjusting to a little-to-no-violence policy. I would have liked to have seen the missing panel of the wads of cash flying through the air to India.

"The Inventors!" has an all-too-familiar ring to it: in the future, robots are built to take care of man, but they’re built too smart and soon take over. The striking Benulis art is the saving grace here.

Vagrant Sloan loves to feed the birds, but he’s out of money. Overhearing the man bemoan his situation, the birds take it upon themselves to fly through the park and steal money from passersby. Sloan is arrested for training birds to pull heists, but the judge drops the charges when the winged creatures storm the courthouse. Believe me when I say that "Wings in the Night!" is just as dumb as it sounds and the Ayers/Bache work is hideous (Sloan, for some strange reason, has a little Hitler mustache--surely, the best way to drum up sympathy for your character).

Once they bring her brand-new sibling home from the hospital, it's like her parents have no time for Dorothy and the little girl retreats into her own fantasy world, where her favorite doll becomes her "baby." When Dorothy takes "The Rag Doll" out for a walk in the rain and develops pneumonia, her parents realize they've been neglecting their first-born and change their ways. Maudlin weepie with a child protagonist who deserves to have her little head twisted off. Thanks goodness Mom and Pop saw the error of their ways, or little Dorothy might have gone on a shooting spree in a few years' time. The John Tartaglione art just saves this one from a flush down the bowl.

Reporter Walt Nichols has fallen in love with his editor's daughter, Pat, but the old man refuses to give his consent unless Nicholls can bring back a "headline story!" Walt heads out and stumbles onto a spaceship full of Martians, but when he relates his tale to his editor, the man scoffs. It doesn't help that, when Walt brings the chief out to the landing spot in the woods, there's no longer any proof of galactic visitation. Walt is tossed out of the old man's office but comes back a few weeks later to present his proof: the Martians have made Walt one of their own. Not only that, they've converted Pat to Martian as well! The two lovebirds marry and fly away to their new home on Mars. Deliriously dopey and guilty of meandering, "The Living Proof" might have been a good joke tale had it been cut by a couple of pages. As it is, it's overlong and repetitious. The Tumlinson art falls in the Ayers/Bache camp, barely digestible with hardly any verve.-Peter

Journey Into Unknown Worlds #37

Cover by Sol Brodsky (?)

"The Man Who Didn't Exist!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★1/2

"Those Who Dream!" (a: Art Peddy) ★

"The Wreckers!" (a: Vic Carrabotta) ★★

"The Ship That Wasn't There!" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★

"Man Alone!" (a: John Forte) ★★★1/2

Andy Purvis takes a rough tumble off a small mountain while searching for exotic bird eggs but, luckily, there's a flying saucer just below to break his fall. Hours (or days) later, Andy wakes up and walks into Dalesburg, but no one recognizes him, not even his best friends. It's like he's "The Man Who Didn't Exist!" What's the deal? Well, turns out that flying saucer brought Andy back to Venus, where there's a duplicate Dalesburg and Andy-buddies. How or why is never explained. Nor are we told how Andy survives without oxygen on Venus, nor why the Venusians thought him so important that they'd kidnap him and then disturb their own little town.

Professor Roger Brent believes that the future can be foretold by "Those Who Dream" and he's willing to stake his good name and career on said theory. Now, if he could just present a personal example of that theory, he'd have the Science Board eating out of his hands. The doorbell rings, and it's the postman with a special letter from the Board for Roger: "Nope, we ain't buyin' it. Now, if you had some personal experience..." Roger wakes from his nap to the doorbell ringing. It's the postman with a special letter...

In "The Wreckers," a wrecking crew arrives at the old Merrywell place to start demolition but discovers a startling fact: this house does not want to be destroyed! The Carrabotta art is about the only highlight of this tired tale, one that leaves us with a very predictable "twist."

No one at the Atlas Home for the Aged believes old man Ferris is really building an invisible spaceship, but then he up and vanishes one day, leaving behind a burned patch of ground and little else. "The Ship That Wasn't There!" has no plot (if this ship isn't all an illusion in Ferris's mind, how was he tipped off that he could build it with invisible tools and material?), nor does it provide pleasing visuals.

Newspaperman Fred Barrows is just sitting around one day, trying to think up an angle for a piece, when the thought of his old friend, Peter King, just pops into his head. Not knowing why, Fred hops in his car and heads for King's office. When he gets there, Fred is surprised to learn that King was expecting him. King explains that he sent a message to Fred telepathically and that the journalist must aid him, or the world will be destroyed. Peter has picked up brainwaves from a sinister force somewhere out in outer space, a being who's heading to Earth as they speak.

King's plan is that he will pilot a spaceship and drop bombs all over Earth while Fred writes about the evil entity, in hopes this will join the people of our world as one. The plan works and the monster from space heads back to its planet without so much as setting foot on Earth. Fred sighs and looks out into space, wondering why his friend never returned. Easily the best story this month, "Man Alone!" is a cleverly-crafted little science fiction tale that makes the most of the rut the Atlas titles find themselves in. With no chance of featuring ghouls and demons, the distraught Atlas bullpen must utilize the only tools left to them: vanishing houses and spaceships. We never do see the creature from space, which gives me a small bit of hope that Peter King was actually a crazed telepath who will return to bomb the rest of the planet when the CCA lifts his constraints. The Forte splash almost looks like some creepy remnant of the pre-code era.-Peter

Journey Into Mystery #26

Cover by Carl Burgos

"The Wishing Well!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★★

"The Plane to Nowhere!" (a: Mort Lawrence) ★★

"The Machine!" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★★1/2

"Stormy Night!" (a: Bob Brown (?)) ★1/2

"The Man From Out There" (a: Pete Tumlinson) ★★

Johnny and Bess Dana buy an old house and enjoy making plans to fix it up until they encounter "The Wishing Well" and ask for a million dollars. Bess receives a phone call telling her that she inherited that very amount, and suddenly all the fun has gone from their lives, since they no longer have any common goals to strive toward. They ask the well to cancel all of their wishes and walk back toward the house. On the way, they meet the man from the phone company, who tells them that he ran into some difficulty hooking up phone service and will have it finished by tomorrow. No longer millionaires, the Danas are happy again.

The moral that money can't buy happiness is one that even I, in my brief association with Atlas comics, recognize as having been used more than once. Paul Reinman's art is serviceable, but the story doesn't contain any surprises. Still, I got a warm, fuzzy feeling reading it, so that's something, I guess.

After an argument with his wife, Ruth, Arthur Wilson heads for the airport and boards "The Plane to Nowhere!" He's all alone as the plane flies through a storm, and when it lands, he's back where he started and the ticket clerk tells him that no planes took off today. Arthur returns home to find himself and Ruth entertaining friends; when he insists that he's the real Arthur Wilson, he's attacked by Rags, the dog, and the police are called. Arthur holds off Rags by grabbing his collar, which snaps off in his hand.

Arthur returns to the airport, takes another plane trip, and arrives home, where Ruth tells him it was all a dream. Yet why is Rags missing a collar and why is the torn collar in Arthur's pocket?

Hoo boy, not the old bit about finding an object that proves a strange occurrence must have happened! Other than a decent, half-page splash, Mort Lawrence's art looks rushed, but not as rushed as the hackneyed plot.

Scientists work together to create "The Machine," a big red computer with a humanoid face that can solve any problem. At first, it solves problems that have stumped mankind for centuries, then it begins to respond that the questions being fed into it are too easy. Finally, it shows signs of movement and soon disappears, leaving a message that it solved the problem of space travel and is headed for a planet where people are smarter!

The art is standard Winiarski, but for a four-page quickie, this story made me smile. I like how the machine quickly outthinks its creators and soon figures out a way to escape the stupidity of those around it.

A man barely makes the drive from Barton to a hospital in town on a terribly "Stormy Night!" He needs to take serum back to Barton to treat victims of a pandemic, but he's too worn out to make the perilous journey, so an ambulance driver volunteers to go and is handed a St. Christopher medal by a nurse. Incredibly, he completes the return trip, only to learn that a bridge he crossed was washed out hours before. The patron saint of travelers must have given him some extra help!

I have nothing against religious themes in comics, but this story is weak. The sole mysterious element pops up in the last three panels of the final page, and it has to do with a bridge that was washed out. The only problem is that there was no panel where the truck crossed a bridge, so we are left to imagine the unusual event for ourselves.

During a visit to the zoo, Prof. Grant Garson observes animals writing on the ground and realizes that they are doing simple mathematical equations. When he joins in, an animal emerges from a cage and transforms into humanoid form. "The Man from Out There" tells the prof that he is a visitor from another planet, here to determine the most peaceful and organized species, so that he can share advanced discoveries. After seeing various examples of mankind's inability to get along, he spies an ant hill and tells Garson that his people will return as ants to share their knowledge with the most intelligent and socially-organized society on Earth!

No big surprises once again, but it's interesting to note that Atlas writers (this time, an uncredited Paul S. Newman) can simultaneously be harshly critical of Soviet and Chinese Communists while also chiding Americans for their inability to achieve peace.-Jack

Marvel Tales #138

Cover by Joe Maneely & Carl Burgos

"Tomorrow!" (a: Mort Lawrence) ★★

(r: Crypt of Shadows #9)

"Last Seen Climbing a Ladder!" (a: Vic Carrabotta) ★★

(r: Uncanny Tales #2)

"The Little Men!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★★1/2

(r: Weird Wonder Tales #2)

"When Warren Woke Up!" (a: Gene Fawcette) ★

(r: Beware #7)

"Crack-Up!" (a: Doug Wildey) ★★

(r: Weird Wonder Tales #2)

Having just been fired from his job, Harry Dunston is quickly hired by a man who calls himself the Protector to view accidents occurring "Tomorrow" through a pair of futurity glasses and report back on them. Harry notes various mishaps but purposely leaves out one: he sees the man who fired him drowning below a bridge. Aware of his deceit, the Protector fires Harry, who did not realize that his boss was in the water to save Harry, who was knocked into the river by an out-of-control truck. He is rescued and vows to be a changed man.

Some particularly sloppy art by Mort Lawrence hurts this story, which has an intriguing premise. I had a feeling that the uncredited author would flub the ending, and, unfortunately I was right. Still, the idea of a company hiring people to look through special glasses and note down future accidents so that they can be prevented is promising and gives me some hope that Atlas stories might improve.

An asteroid approaches Earth but stops outside the reach of any plane. Everyone laughs at Daniel Farley when he builds a really long ladder, dons a spacesuit, and climbs toward the asteroid. He was "Last Seen Climbing a Ladder!" and eventually sends a message that he reached his destination and found an advanced civilization! He encourages Earthlings to climb up and meet them, but everyone scoffs, so the ladder is pulled up to the asteroid and no one ever sees or hears from him again.

The idea of building a ladder to climb up to an asteroid in outer space seems ludicrous, but the writer succeeds in selling it, due in part to decent art by Carrabotta. As usual, the ending is a bit of a letdown, since a caption reports that no one was able to reach the asteroid to apologize. We are left to infer that the fact that the ladder was pulled up to the asteroid was proof enough that Farley was telling the truth.

Frank Ferris runs a small circus that includes among its exhibits very small people and very large people. After he reads an article in the newspaper about an epidemic of births of "midget children," his wife tells him to fire all of his small employees, since they'll no longer be a draw. He refuses and she berates him for being soft-hearted, so he goes out for a walk, and ends up going for a drive in the country with Cluny the giant, another circus employee.

By a lake, Frank gets out to stroll around while Cluny naps in the back seat. Frank encounters a spaceship, and from it emerge a number of "The Little Men," dressed like jockeys, who explain that their planet of little people has become overcrowded. They plan to colonize Earth and have been spraying a chemical on the crops to ensure that all new children are born small. Once everyone on Earth is wee, the extra-terrestrials will come and populate our planet.

Not wanting Frank to spill their plans, they grab him and head for their spaceship, but he stops them by telling them that their spray isn't working--most people who have eaten the altered crops have become giants! To prove it, he leads them back to his car and awakens Cluny, whose large stature scares the aliens into zipping off back to their planet right away. Emboldened by his success at saving Earth, Frank returns home and stands up to his wife.

What a creative, clever story! The uncredited author had to work pretty hard to get to the payoff, but it was worth it, and for once, an Atlas story ends with a satisfying turn of events. It's too bad Reinman's art isn't better; the story is a good one.

Scientist Matt Warren is tired after participating in the most powerful atomic bomb test in history. He goes to sleep and dreams that nature fights back against man's advances by engaging in a wild period of plant growth. Humans respond by agreeing to cooperate and stop fighting each other. "When Warren Woke Up!" he looked out the window and saw that all of the vegetation outside has gone wild!

Gene Fawcette had been around comics since the early days, and this is one of his very few jobs for Marvel. That's a good thing, because story and art are both of low quality.

Jayson grows up gazing at the stars and hoping to fly one day. He does well in school and soon attends the rocket academy, but his lack of emotional stability under pressure leads to a suggestion that he join the research department. He insists on flying, so he is put in a rocket for his first solo flight into space. Near the moon, he experiences a "Crack-Up!" and has to land; he passes out and awakens on a table at the academy, where it's revealed that the whole flight was a simulation, using a planetarium from the 20th century. Jayson shyly asks his teacher if the research job is still open.

A strong issue of Marvel Tales ends with a decent story that features some art by Doug Wildey that reminds me of Flash Gordon in spots. I wonder if he was swiping from old newspaper strips?-Jack

Next Week...
Our First Gander at the
Silver Age Clay-Face!

Batman in the 1960s Issue 11: September/October 1961

 

The Caped Crusader in the 1960s
by Jack Seabrook
& Peter Enfantino

Moldoff

Batman #142

"Batman's Robot-Guardian"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

"The Crimes of the Ancient Mariner"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff

"Ruler of the Bewitched Valley"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

Batman's friend from outer space, Tal-Dar (last seen in Detective 282), sends him a gift: a robot programmed to save his life whenever he's in danger. Realizing that this might put a crimp in his crime-fighting, Batman orders the robot to go home, but when the Dynamic Duo confront crooks stealing a shipment of gold at the Gotham Airport and one bad guy takes a shot at the not-so-Dark Knight, "Batman's Robot-Guardian" swoops in from above and blocks the bullet from reaching its target.

The next day, the robot gets in Batman's way when he and Robin are battling crooks who are trying to steal the company payroll from a steel mill. Even worse is the following morning, when the robot won't even let Batman try to stop a group of thieves from stealing a shipment of art from a warehouse because it might put his life in danger. Back at the Batcave, Batman wonders out loud if this "will eventually mean the end of our crime-fighting careers!" The following night, Batman finds a box of explosives hidden in a shed by the TNT Gang, but when the robot tries to grab the box, it explodes, and Batman appears to be dead. The robot short-circuits and falls over, only to have the real Batman emerge from the shed. He used the Batman-Robot to trick Tal-Dar's robot, thinking it would return to its home planet; instead, when it was no longer needed, it malfunctioned and no longer poses a threat.

This story presents an interesting problem, in that it demonstrates that Batman has to take risks in order to be effective in fighting crime. Having a robot nanny, which eventually would not let him cross the street for fear of being hit by a speeding car, prevents the Caped Crusader from doing the job he loves. It's good to see Tal-Dar return, since a lack of continuing characters can make these early '60s stories seem like they're not part of an ongoing narrative. The story has its silly aspects, but there's a hint of danger and thoughtfulness beneath them.

Old Mr. Stubbs has been pensioned off by Dutton Shipyards and hangs around the waterfront, bitter that he's lost his job. Tom Travis, who runs the boarding house where Stubbs lives, gives him a pet albatross named Davy Jones and tells Batman that Stubbs is known as the Ancient Mariner. The next evening, a wave of events that will come to be known as "The Crimes of the Ancient Mariner" get underway, as Batman witnesses Stubbs running off with the shipyard payroll.

The next day, Stubbs sets sail on a stolen model of an ancient Phoenician War Galley, from which the Ancient Mariner launches a giant spear with an explosive attached that damages a nearby freighter. Later that night, the Dynamic Duo locate Stubbs in his hideout and neutralize his pet albatross with a bagful of fish. Batman pulls off Stubbs's mask to reveal Tom Travis, who was impersonating the old man and committing crimes; Stubbs was tied up in a back room the whole time. Batman sets him free and leaves a smile on the old seaman's face when he tells him that he's the new ferry captain.

A terrible story with below-average art from Moldoff, this one smells like rotting fish. The ending, where Batman pulls the mask off of Travis, is the sort of twist that elicits groans and thoughts of Scooby-Doo.

Batman and Robin fly the Bat-Plane to Central America, landing near a Mayan temple in a remote valley. They are there to search for Detective Regan, who disappeared a month ago while trailing a wanted criminal. Suddenly, Tezcatlipoca, god of the Mayans, appears atop the temple, warning Bat-Hombre (as a local farmer calls him) and Robin to get lost. A giant jaguar leaps out of the tall grass and is only repelled by a powerful blast of exhaust from the Bat-Plane. When Batman and Robin approach the temple, a huge, flying serpent emerges, and they have to retreat.

Next morning, Batman and Robin sneak into the temple and discover that the jaguar and the serpent are really robots. It seems that the phony Mayan god is using the temple as a hideout for wanted crooks, several of whom tie Batman, Robin, and Detective Regan to posts atop the temple. Tezcatlipoca announces to the peasants gathered below that the trio will be sacrificed, but when the jaguar and the serpent emerge, they blow a gasket. Batman frees himself and the others and quickly mops up the criminals and the phony god. He later explains that he short-circuited the wires on the robots before he was captured, and a friendly peasant thanks him for ending the reign of terror.

It's always nice to see Batman and Robin in a new setting, and I liked that the local farmer referred to him as Bat-Hombre. The ability of crooks to build giant robots that look just like the real thing never ceases to amaze me.-Jack

Peter-Neither "Robot-Guardian" nor "Ancient Mariner" are anything above silly fluff. I love how Bats immediately figures out what the robot is up to when it issues a few beeps and snorts. "Something I said caused the robot's electronic 'memory' to record some new information." Just once, I'd like for the Boy Blunder to look over his shoulder and tell the boss he's full of crap.

I liked "Ruler of the Bewitched Valley" much more (even if it climaxes with the obligatory "the monsters were just robots that were probably more expensive than the booty the villain had hoped to gain."). Renting out an ancient Mayan temple as a BnB seems like an idea whose time has come. I'll eat my cowl if Tezcatlipoca wasn't heavily influenced by the then-recent Reptilicus movie and funny book (which I covered to the extreme in the 4th issue of the print version of this here blog).

Moldoff

Detective Comics #295

"The Secret of the Beast Paintings"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

"The Martian Show-Off"

Story by Jack Miller

Art by Joe Certa

"The Curse of the Sea Hermit"

Story by George Kashdan

Art by Nick Cardy

Batman receives an excited phone call from old friend (well, to be clear, he's an old friend to Bats, but we've never heard of the guy and probably will never see him again), Professor Nichols, who has stumbled across some insanely excellent find in the 'burbs of Egypt. Jumping into the Bat-plane (which is always cleared by the FAA, no matter where our heroes go), Batman and Robin jet to the "faraway rendezvous" and meet up with the excitable egghead. But this find proves to be more than just King Am-A-Toot's cigar holder or Princess Namamoka's brassiere; Nichols has found evidence that Batman lived in pre-BC Egypt!

 

Well, that's what we would surmise from the paintings found deep in an ancient structure, graphics depicting Bats fighting two gigantic Kaijus. One, a giant green guinea pig with a third eye on a stalk atop its head, suddenly materializes in the desert and attacks the explorers with a sizzling "disintegrating beam" emanating from its giant orb. Bats makes quick work of the thing by tying up the eye-stalk but, oddly, the creature disappears. Very soon, the other beast depicted in the comics on the wall takes its monster-brother's place, this one an orange beetle with deadly pincers. Quickly noticing that the monster has no eyes and must detect its enemies via its super-powered nostrils, Batman tosses a handy bucket of gasoline on the thing and it, too, disappears.

While this has been going on, Professor Nichols evidently thought it wiser to investigate the inner chambers of the temple and finds a third Sheldon Moldoff original on one of its moldy walls. This panel shows a scarlet-hued Batman and Robin standing before a pharaoh. Suddenly remembering an unimportant conversation our hero had with the uber-brainy Prof, Bats asks if the archaeologist happened to pack his time machine on this voyage. "Why yes! I did!" blurts out the absent-minded professor. The Dark Knight explains that the only way to get to the bottom of "The Secret of the Beast Paintings" is to go to the source, the Pharaoh himself! Disregarding the old standard that messing with the past screws up the present, the boys hop into Nichols's machine (which could double as a ride car at Disneyland) and buzz back to... whenever!

Entering the temple (which is now sparklingly new), our heroes are immediately assaulted and captured by a band of (what else?) aliens. Picture J'Onn J'Onzz with a yellow head and beak. The captain of the creatures identifies himself as Torg, from the world of Nakor, a planet far beyond our solar system, and further proclaims that he intends to invade and conquer Earth as a summer home for Nakorians. The creatures that attacked Batman in the present time were sent there to see if earthlings were easy pickings (or something like that--please don't stop to think about it) for the marauding band of space conquerors. Watching Batman battle his pets, Torg decides that humans are more clever than he suspected, so he heads back to his ship to discuss plans with his war council. (No, I don't follow the logic, either.)

While the beaked bastard is orating, Batman notices Robin hiding behind a pillar, but "the flaring end of his red jerkin is sticking out..." Torg doesn't seem to notice as he exits the chamber and Robin emerges to free his mentor. The two escape the temple and round up a group of friendly Egyptians to head back and defeat the aliens. Batman deduces that the reason Torg missed Robin is that the Nakorians don't see the color red, so he has Khau-Re, leader of the local Egyptian rumble gang, round up as much red dye as he can find. The Caped Crusaders paint themselves red and head back to the temple, where they cause quite a ruckus amongst Torg's henchmen. Realizing there's no way the Nakor Nabobs can defeat an invisible enemy, Torg packs his beaked bozos into his ship and blasts off into space. Our heroes zip back into the present and explain their crazy adventure to Professor Nichols, who admits that maybe this whole Butterfly Effect is a lot of hogwash. 

Yeah, there's the usual eye-rolling to be had in "The Secret of the Beast Paintings!" but I really enjoyed its ditzy logic and frenetic pacing. This time machine that Prof. Nichols brought along as an after-thought intrigues me. Why would any archaeologist bother digging when he has a time machine? Couldn't Nichols simply set the way-back machine for 23 B.C. and find out where all the good stuff was buried? In fact, wouldn't the gizmo fly in the face of whatever standards and practices the digger has upheld all these years? A time machine would effectively render an archaeologist unnecessary. Speaking of which, how does Nichols know what year to set his contraption to? Did the artist sign his name and date it? That Robin. Entrusted as number two to Gotham's savior, and yet the kid can't even hide behind a pillar. 

As enjoyable as the script may be, we really have to talk about Shelly's seeming inability to craft new alien designs that don't look suspiciously like the twenty that passed before them. Or perhaps the poor guy shouldn't be handed script after script of alien invasions (of course, his Gotham bad guys all look alike, too).

Patrolman Danny Jensen needs only one more arrest to nab him that coveted trip to Paris, where he'll study with the great French detective, Jacques Clouseau, but damn that Martian Manhunter for constantly butting in and nabbing the bad guys before Danny. Of course, J'Onn explains that the bad guys he's been apprehending are armed to the teeth with semi-automatics and dynamite, but the chief ain't buying it. He's had enough of "The Martian Show-Off"! Either the hero stands to the side and lets Danny get his man, or the chief will out J'Onn as a glory-hunter. J'Onn suspects something's up, so he follows Danny to a rural shack and discovers a gang of baddies holding the real Danny Jensen hostage. You see, one of the villains, Biff Stearns (!), needed a way out of the country and, with the help of some minor plastic surgery, became Danny Jensen. The free prize was the perfect escape, fingerprints be damned! The Martian Manhunter forgives the chief for his blackmailing tactics and allows Danny to collar Biff, thus winning the prize. Everybody wins... except for Biff!

Another simply dreadful chapter of DC's worst back-up feature (to be fair, I haven't read any of the other titles, so I'm just guessing but, I assure you, I will not put my theory to the test), with awful story and amateurish art. Imagine a police chief admonishing a superhero for bringing in a dangerous felon because his star beat cop can't get to one thousand arrests. Surely, there were hundreds of jaywalkers and candy store shoplifters to pad those stats.

Aquaman and Aquasquirt encounter a sea hermit who claims to have been cursed by an ancient Aztec sorcerer for daring to seek out a treasure chest. Now no one can approach the miser's ship without perishing in boiling water or octopus tentacles or being chained to a chair and forced to listen to Taylor Swift's entire oeuvre. Of course, in the end, it turns out the old hermit is actually Biff Stearns, a survivor from a recent Aquaman bust, disguised as a crusty old codger to keep the authorities off his tail. Below his ship lies an insanely elaborate set of gizmos designed to churn up the ocean. Aquaboys put the kibosh on the villain's plans and return him to jail. Broken record time... good art, lousy writing. It's amazing these tenth-rate hoods can figure out elaborate mechanisms but forget that a quiet shack in the back woods would probably attract less attention than churning boiling waters. I do love that this bad guy has set up this plot so that he and his sea pirates can wait out "the statute of limitations" on his crimes. At least he was trying to travel the straight and narrow path, eh?-Peter

Jack-My problem with Aquaman stories is that various fish escapades always have to be shoehorned in, not to mention the fact that the stories all take place in or around a body of water. It gets predictable. Unfortunately, also predictable is the mediocre quality of the J'Onn J'Onzz tales. They're at least readable, and the art meets minimum standards, something one can't always say about Atlas Comics, but the Martian Manhunter's adventures have a sameness to them that quickly gets tiresome.

That's not the case with the lead story, which I enjoyed a great deal, despite the aliens. I love stories about Ancient Egypt, so I was happy to see hieroglyphics portraying the Dynamic Duo. It only got better when they traveled back in time as if it were something we all do on a daily basis, and I liked the business with the aliens' not being able to see red.

Moldoff

Batman #143

"The Twice-Told Tale of Batman and Robin"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

"The Blind Batman"

Story by Arnold Drake

Art by Sheldon Moldoff

"Bat-Hound and the Creature"

Story by Bill Finger

Art by Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris

After Batman and Robin succeed in capturing Nitro Joe at his mountain hideout, Dick wonders how the story might be told far in the future. A story-teller would have the Dynamic Duo flying on Batwings, rather than using Whirly-Bats, and the stool pigeon they shake down for the location of the hideout would be a small genie with the power to transform into a giant serpent.

Instead of a shack, Nitro Joe (renamed Nidor) would live in a fortress atop a glass mountain, and the big lug outside would become a giant holding a massive club. Nidor is a wicked sorcerer who conjures up the symbols of the Zodiac in living form to battle Batman and Robin. However the story is told, the result is the same, and good triumphs over evil.

It's not quite Rashomon, but "The Twice-Told Tale of Batman and Robin" does a fair job of showing how mundane events can be reinterpreted as great heroics when viewed through the lens of history. Dick is reading a book at home in the evening after Nitro Joe's capture and remarks to Bruce that "the real facts about heroes like King Arthur have been exaggerated through the ages;" this level of thoughtfulness is often absent from Batman and Robin tales.

Dr. Pneumo blows the door off the Burke Street Bank vault by pumping the vault full of compressed air. Batman and Robin arrive before the doc can escape in his pneumatic car (hovercraft), but the doc knocks Batman off his feet with a blast of compressed air. Batman hits his head in the fall and is struck blind due to an optic nerve injury! The Dynamic Duo keep this development a secret from the public, as Batman uses radar earplugs to increase his hearing to compensate for his loss of sight.

The next day, Batman and Robin confront Dr. Pneumo as he attempts to rob a factory safe. All is going well until the doc dumps a box of tinfoil; when the pieces of metal float through the air, they interfere with Batman's radar, and he is unable to get over his blindness. That night, Dr. Pneumo deduces that Batman has lost his sight so, when the doc and his gang burgle the Yang Sung Curio Shop, the Dynamic Duo respond and plunge the space into darkness to even the playing field. Once again, Dr. Pneumo knocks Batman over with a blast of compressed air. Batman and Robin follow Dr. Pneumo to his hideout, where Batman easily captures the villain; his sight returned with his second fall!

Bill Finger takes a break this time out and Arnold Drake provides a fun script for "The Blind Batman." Dr. Pneumo is yet another one-time villain whose use of compressed air leads to fun developments. The cliche about going blind with one knock to the head and regaining sight with another allows Drake to show Batman figuring out some amazing ways to hide and get around his blindness; for once, this is a story that could have gone on longer and remained enjoyable.

Batman, Robin, and Bat-Hound trail the Yates Gang to a paper mill and capture most of them, but Bat-Hound disappears after the fighting ends. The Dynamic Duo find him near an astonishing scene: state troopers are shooting at a huge, alien creature that resembles a big red and green insect. Surprisingly, Bat-Hound jumps at a trooper who is about to fire on the alien! Why is Bat-Hound protecting the creature? Batman and Robin discover a space capsule and deduce that the creature emerged small but grew gigantic when exposed to the Earth's atmosphere. It was launched as an experiment from another planet and is confused and frightened, something Bat-Hound instinctively sensed.

When the crime-fighters are captured by Lippy Yates and his gang, the alien helps to free them, and the huge creature saves their lives by holding up a trestle bridge after Yates throws a bomb and blows it up. Yates is apprehended but the bridge collapses, killing the alien creature. As the sun sets, Batman and Robin bury the creature and erect a memorial to it; Bat-Hound lies next to the pile of stones, missing his alien friend.

"Bat-Hound and the Creature" takes a surprising turn halfway through when it's revealed that the alien creature is not a threat. The ending is surprisingly downbeat, with the creature dying and being honored with a memorial. Batman 143 is an unusually good issue!-Jack

Peter-What occurs to me after reading "The Blind Batman" is that the Caped Crusader's body took quite a pounding in the 1960s. The guy was super-sized, elemental, turned into an alien, baked in a giant cake, and now rendered blind. The other thing that occurs to me while reading two of the three stories in this issue is that Bill Finger was running out of ideas. Oh, Bill could still come up with some entertaining twists now and then, but most of these scripts (especially the shorter ones in the Batman title) are drivel. The best of the three is the imaginative "Bat-Hound and the Creature," simply because it made me laugh the loudest (well, except for the ending, which was sad and not at all maudlin). My favorite part of these space operas is when either Bats or the Boy Wonder steps out on a ledge and gives a perfectly reasonable explanation for what's going on ("People on another planet must've launched the small animal on a space experiment, just as we do--and the capsule drifted through space until it landed here" says Robin, as a very patient Batman nods his head, possibly in boredom), and that theory usually holds up. Oh, and I can't get enough of Bat-Hound with a mask on. Could you imagine Frank Miller doing Batman: Year Two with the masked mongrel at our hero's side?

Dillin/Moldoff

Detective Comics #296

"The Menace of the Planet-Master"

Story by Bill Finger (?)

Art by Jim Mooney & Charles Paris

"The Alien Bodyguard"

Story by Jack Miller (?)

Art by Joe Certa

"The Mystery of Demon Island!"

Story by Jack Miller (?)

Art by Nick Cardy

Holy solar system! The Dynamic Duo encounter their most dangerous and powerful foe since last issue's alien Egyptians! The Planet-Master! A villain who has designed his weapons and planned his heists around the (then) nine planets in our universe. The metal-melting fires of Mercury shoot from his wrists; he can summon the mists of Venus; make ordinary items grow to the size of Jupiter; and then there's the trick with Uranus. The guy even has multiple costumes!

Batman, using his skills as the World's Greatest Detective (and the fact that one of Planet-Master's discarded weapons actually has a manufacturer's label!), tracks the Planet-Master to the home of well-regarded genius, Professor Norbet. Waking Norbet, the Caped Crusaders climb through his bedroom window to interrogate the old timer. Norbet suggests that the Planet-Master has snuck into his lab and stolen some of the Prof's contraptions. Later, after Batman and Robin leave, the egghead opens his secret lab door and discovers the uniforms of the Planet-Master hanging right next to the Liberace outfit he wears to parties on Friday nights.

Norbet immediately calls Batman who, for some reason, happens to be hanging around a Gotham police precinct, and theorizes that the Planet-Master must be... Norbet's estranged assistant, Edward Burke, who stole some platinum from the Prof some time before. Batman tells the Prof to stay put and they'll be right there, but when the boys get there, the scientist is nowhere to be found. The Duo head to Burke's place and the ex-lab asst. admits he's been doing nothing since he was fired but reading the newspaper and listening to the radio; Bats works him over, demanding that the lazy bum hand over Professor Norbet. Burke pleads his innocence just as a bulletin screams out over the airwaves: "The Planet-Master, wearing a costume suggesting Saturn, has been seen at the Gotham Gold Refinery." Bats unhands Burke, admonishes him about the dishes in the sink and the dustballs in the living room, and hightails it, leaving Burke to scratch his chin and ponder a trip to his old boss's lab.

Batman and Robin arrive at the Gold Refinery and, sure enough, there's P-M dressed to the nines in a natty outfit resembling the sixth planet from the sun. The boys barely miss being sawed in half when P-M hurls his deadly rings. Realizing he's in a pickle, P-M nullifies gravity and propels himself through the air. Batman suggests to Robin that they head back to Norbet's to head off the master criminal. Meanwhile, at said laboratory, Burke finds the hidden closet just as Professor Norbet arrives, dressed as the Planet-Master! Burke hides and overhears Burke's expository: while opening up a meteorite, Norbet was exposed to an evil gas from another world, which overpowers his senses and makes him do bad things. Even though he has the wherewithal and time to design and manufacture nine different costumes and elaborate weapons, he also is granted full amnesia, so he doesn't even know he's a criminal by night.

Batman and Robin arrive and are, to say the least, nonplussed at the sight of the septuagenarian wearing tights. Burke takes advantage of the situation and explains to Norbet that together they can become the greatest crime force in the universe. Norbet agrees and then hurls a Saturn ring at Burke, directing Batman to take the man (who was, to be honest, a lousy lab assistant) to prison and claiming he knew nothing about his own evil deeds. Batman, becoming judge and jury on the spot, assures Norbet that he'll serve no time if he has anything to say about it. Everyone wins... except Burke!

"The Menace of the Planet-Master" is another masterpiece of excitement and lunacy, packed full of wild ideas and puzzling science facts. I love the twists and turns behind the true identity of the Planet-Master and it gives me some hope for my future that a 70+-year-old amnesiac can craft intricate toys and plots while juggling a full lab schedule. At least Bill Finger (?) addresses the age-old question, "Where does he get those fabulous toys?" when the Dark Knight discovers the Acme Criminal Weapon Plant stamp inside the P-M's "Growth-Dome." I only wish we had more pages to show us what Pluto could do.

Let's bring up a subject I usually avoid: the art. This is the first we've seen of Jim Mooney and it might just be the fact that it's an artist other than the bland and rote Sheldon Moldoff, but I really like our first look. The choreography is dynamic, the suits (as goofy as they may be) actually show a little originality, and the backgrounds are filled in with something other than a solid blue or yellow. There are things going on in these panels. I will say that the inking looks denser on pages 2, 3, 10, and 11; I'm not expert enough to say what's going on there, but it's a bold, refreshing look, and I hope we see more of it. For the sake of my sanity, if nothing else.

Once again, J'Onn J'Onnz must hide in the shadows and act as bodyguard for some poor sod, this time the gorgeous Diane Meade, who has been struck with temporary amnesia while investigating underworld boss, Biff Stearns Rocky Dawson. For some inexplicable reason, Diane's doctor thinks she should return to duty and that will jog her memory. This despite the fact, as J'Onn notes, Diane has forgotten everything she's learned about the judicial system and its practices. No red flags here! 

So now the Martian Manhunter must follow the beautiful blonde around the city and save her as she wanders from one calamity to another. Eventually, Diane finds herself wandering by the van where Rocky Dawson bases his multi-million-dollar crime empire and, just as J'Onn is about to save her, a huge fire engulfs a nearby building and drains the Martian Manhunter of his powers. The alien hero must dig his way underground, setting off still more gas fires and destroying a vast number of water pipes before emerging through the flooring of Dawson's crime wagon and saving the day. Suddenly, Diane's memory comes back, just as John Jones walks the bad guys to prison. Diane is justifiably furious that she missed the collar. Jack brought up in our last visit how the Martian Manhunter does very little besides spin and hide. I agree. In fact, how did this dope get his reputation as a hero when he gives all the credit to everyone else? There's being a nice guy and then there's being a wallflower. You only hope that when the Martian Mutilator starts to dig, he's not under a hospital that just might need electricity and running water.

Aquaman and AquaKid come to the aid of some dim-witted coastal residents who are being forced to donate their valuables to a sea demon who lounges atop a huge sea horse and holds a trident that shoots bolts of electricity. In the end, Aquaman unmasks the demon as a con man, taking advantage of the village idiots. I'm not sure why, but every time the boys encounter a semi-sorta-supernatural force, Aquatoddler swallows the mirage hook, line, and sinker, despite the fact that in 97.5% of all their adventures (based on exhaustive research conducted by yours truly, the hardest-working comics scholar in the industry), the demons are unmasked as crafty hoods with a lot of extra money lying around to pay for elaborate special effects. If I were Aquaman, the next time Aquakid says something along the lines of "Hey boss, it's all true, this really is the ghost of Davey Jones!" I'd backhand the twerp. Shelly could learn something from Jack Miller (?)'s creature design.-Peter

Jack-The Aquaman story was a bit better than the one in the last issue, though not by much. I like Cardy's art, but these stories suffer from the problem of everyone being fooled by masks and "underwater cycles" (whatever they are) that look remarkably like demons and seahorses. The Martian Manhunter story is silly; here, the patrolwoman gets amnesia after a blow to the head, unlike Batman, who suffered blindness. Lucky for her, her memory returns without a second blow.

I agree about the promise of the Batman story, due to the arrival of Jim Mooney. The cover is penciled by Dick Dillin, who will eventually draw Justice League of America for years and years, and it looks more exciting than any of the many Moldoff covers we've seen.

Next Week...
Mort Drucker invites you into...
The Locked Room!

Hammer-Amicus Blogathon IV: Dracula Has Risen from the Grave

by Jack Seabrook

I have a long ago memory of being taken by my father to a grindhouse in Downtown Newark to see a double feature of It! with Roddy McDowall and Dracula Has Risen from the Grave. It must have been 1969 or 1970, which means I was six or seven years old, and I vaguely recall a few scenes from both movies. I also recall being so frightened that I had nightmares for a month.

It! recently showed up on TV one evening and I was able to catch bits and pieces of it. It was more silly than scary, so when the Hammer-Amicus Blogathon IV came along, it seemed like a good opportunity to revisit the other film from that double bill of over 50 years ago to see how it holds up. Fortunately, my local library had a Blu-ray of the Dracula film, so watching it again after all this time was easy.

The opening credits certainly set things up well, with blood dripping down the screen and a loud, orchestral score setting the mood. A dead woman is discovered hanging upside down inside a bell in a church tower in the opening scene; of course, she has two puncture wounds in her neck and there's a trail of blood, so you-know-who has been at it again.

A year later, a Catholic priest, depressed because no one comes to mass anymore (shades of 2023!), receives a visit from a monsignor, who questions the local pubgoers as to why they've stopped showing up. Learning that it's due to their fear of nearby Castle Dracula, the plucky monsignor grabs a large, metal cross and drags the parish priest along with him on a journey up a rocky mountain to the castle. The priest bails halfway up and, while the monsignor is attaching the cross to the castle's front door, the dopey priest manages to fall, tumble down among some rocks, and sustain a cut on his head. Dracula happens to be frozen in ice right nearby, having ended up there at the end of his last flick (Dracula: Price of Darkness) and, not surprisingly, blood from the priest's head trickles through a crack in the ice and reaches the vampire's lips. Voila! In the blink of a bloodshot eye, he's up and out of the ice, all warmed up and pointing at the priest with a hypnotic stare. Uh oh.

The movie then alternates domestic scenes with darkened scenes of Dracula and the hypnotized priest getting Dracula all settled in a comfy, second-hand coffin in the basement of a pub/bakery, where Paul--a Roger Daltrey lookalike--works. His girlfriend, Maria, is a knockout blonde who is so virginal that she sleeps with a doll. She is contrasted with the earthy, busty barmaid, Zena, who wears the standard issue Hammer low-cut blouse and bends over at every opportunity. Paul is a 1960s Swinging London guy in a movie set in 1906--he proudly tells the monsignor, who happens to be Maria's uncle, that he's an atheist, which is not the best way to ingratiate himself with her family.

Zena the busty barmaid ends up being chased through the woods one night by the priest, who drives a horse and carriage; she ends up panting and heaving her bosom in front of Dracula, who quickly puts the bite on her. Unfortunately for Zena, the vampire prefers blondes to brunettes and orders her to bring Maria to him. The gorgeous Maria barely avoids being bitten in the basement, and Zena is quickly disposed of by the priest at Dracula's request, tossed unceremoniously into a fireplace in the basement bakery.

That night, Dracula pays a visit to Maria and her dolly in her room, where he bites her neck. He's back the next night for more, but this time the monsignor pops into her room, holding a cross, and it's out the window for Dracula. The monsignor gives chase but receives a fatal head wound from the priest. On his death bed sofa, the monsignor charges young Paul with protecting Maria but, since Paul is an atheist, that presents a challenge. Paul must have one of the hardest noggins in England? Germany? Transylvania?, because he recovers quickly after being bashed in the noodle with a candlestick by the priest.

Paul orders the priest to take him to Dracula, which isn't hard, since the vampire is resting in his coffin in the basement of the pub/bakery. Paul plunges a stake into the vampire's chest but, because he won't pray (he's an atheist, remember), Dracula hops up, pulls the stake out of his own chest, and throws it at Paul! This is the scene I remember from over 50 years ago--it was frightening and baffling, since Dracula usually vaporizes the moment a stake enters his thorax.

Dracula escapes to the rooftops, where Maria approaches him. Things turn baffling from here on in, as Dracula drives pell-mell through the forest in his horse and carriage, with Maria at his side, while Paul rides equally hard on a horse, looking for him. Paul rushes into the pub (a different pub?) that had been seen at the start of the film, asking if there's a castle anywhere nearby where a vampire might hang out. I had thought the pub was atop Paul's bakery and that he lived upstairs, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Anyway, Dracula makes it to his castle and has Maria remove the cross from the door and toss it over a parapet; it falls to the rocks below and lands right side up, which is key. Paul appears and struggles with Dracula, causing both to fall over the parapet. Paul is fine, but Dracula is impaled on the cross! The priest shows up and must no longer be hypnotized, since he starts praying, which finishes off the vampire. Paul and Maria live happily ever after, with Paul crossing himself at the end, and Dracula disintegrates, though the budget must not have allowed for a shot of the process, since we see Dracula impaled, there is a cut away, and then we see just his cape and the cross, implying that he has turned to dust and scattered in the breeze.

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave benefits from the usual Hammer colors and supporting players, but the script is a bit weak. Christopher Lee does the staring thing that he does so well, and the action scenes are fine, though the ending is a bit rushed and rather confusing, seeming like the writer didn't know how to get all of the characters into place for the conclusion he had in mind. Still, Veronica Carlson is stunning as Maria, there are some good, bloody shots, and the 92-minute running time passes quickly. It's far from the best of the Hammer Draculas, but it's worth a look. And it's not nearly as scary as it was when I was seven years old!