Action Comics Weekly #602: "Another Fine War" Part 2

Action Comics Weekly #602
"Another Fine War" Part 2
1988

Written By: Mike Grell
Art By: Rick Burchett & Pablo Marcos
Lettered By : Steve Haynie
Colored By: Tom Ziuko
Edited By: Mike Gold

In the Singapore of 1947, Blackhawk has just had his bath interrupted by Zalecki and his three hoods. Fortunately for Janos, Zalecki had brought a knife to a gunfight, and almost lost his little finger in the bargain. As Jan reminds Zalecki that he was about to take something off of him, a female visitor enters the room, and is startled by the size of Blackhawk's "piece". Zalecki takes this opportunity to shove her into the object of her search.

The gunfight has now become a fistfight. WHAM

Janos is seized from behind, but manages to SMASH his attacker into a wooden chair. Another of Zalecki's goons WHACKs Blackhawk with a left to the jaw. The goon's right is cleverly deflected and Janos delivers a solid right to the jaw with a sharp KRAK. The first attacker rises for another round and is BASHed with another wooden chair. Behind Blackhawk, the second attacker charges, and tackles Janos against a dresser with a KA-WHAM. The two men are lost in a flurry of fists and kicks.

Blackhawk draws his right fist back and its firm delivery sends the second attacker CREESHing through the blinds. Janos turns and sees the oncoming figure of Zalecki. Unfortunately for Zalecki, his foot has found the bar of soap. Although he misses Blackhawk's oncoming fist, Zalecki will be seeing stars for a while after his head hits the damp floor. The remaining thug goes for the fallen gun, but is no match for a BASH to his head from a stool wielded by Blackhawk's visitor.

Janos admits she knows how to swing a mean stool. He pauses only to pick up his clothes, Zalecki's spare change, and leaves the girls a nice tip. As Blackhawk and his newfound friend run through an alley, he tells her how Zalecki had wanted him to pay the ten thousand dollars he had lost in last week's poker game. It turns out Zaleck was cheating! Janos knows this because he was cheating and Zalecki still managed to beat him.

Blackhawk will buy the two of them drinks... on Zalecki. Janos Prohaska only drinks whenever he is between wars... which makes him a teetotaller. Cynthia Hastings wants him to fly a mission for her. Before she gives him the details, he tells her he is not flying anywhere until he finds a new magneto, a few thousand gallons of fuel, and a box of Cuban cigars. The cigars are what it's going to cost him to bribe a certain official to look the other way when he takes off. There is also the matter of hangar fees.

She would like to know what he say if she could get him all of those things. He would say she is either very rich.. or she has got something to do with Claire Chenault of Air America. A quick peek shows that she is not wearing any dogtags. This does not mean much when you are dealing with a cloak and dagger group. Now that she has his undivided attention, she has a proposition for him.

It isn't his drink that is going to Janos Prohaska's head but Cynthia Hastings' hard right which sends him to the floor with a FWACK. If he would only start to listen with his ears instead of his groin, he may find what she has to say rather interesting. Right now, he is only interested in looking up her dress. The mission has to do with several million dollars in gold... and it's finders keepers!

Thanks to the Comics Code and the clever placement of his holster, readers are spared the sight of Blackhawk's piece.

Fallen pieces of wood and a carpet keeps the Comic Book Code's peace.

Zalecki hit the skids and one of his men proved to be a "stool pigeon".

Janos tells Cynthia that he owed Zalecki ten thousand dollars, when in the previous installment, Zalecki threatened to do some plumbing for forty thousand.

The Post-Crisis Blackhawk is a man of wine, women, song, and dance.

In certain ways, Janos Prohaska is channeling Guy Gardner rather than his Pre-Crisis self.

Once in the Singapore Sling Bar, Blackhawk is wearing his hat at a rakish angle, and Rick Burchett is channeling Gil Kane and Sid Greene's mastery with expressive facial expressions (especially around the eyes.)

Cynthia Hastings lands the "one punch" approach later employed by Batman against Guy Gardner in Justice League International.

Steve Chung
"Another Fine Review Part 2"

Action Comics Weekly # 601: "Another Fine War"

Action Comics Weekly #601
"Another Fine War"
1988

Mike Grell: Script
Rick Burchett: Pencils
Pablo Marcos: Inks
Steve Haynie: Letters
Tom Ziuko: Colors
Mike Gold: Edits

On August 9, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese City of Hiroshima, and V-J Day saw the unconditional surrender of the Japanese forces...

The warriors knew that peace was a temporary thing. It was only a matter of time before another war came along and they were back to work.

Until then, these soldiers joined the others... and tried to pretend that after Bastogne and Luzon and Normandy and Iwo Jima... life during peacetime was not as boring.

Their boredom lasted almost an entire year until French forces arrived at Haiphong... and their troops marched into Hanoi to secure for their French union the newly-established Republic of Vietnam. The Vietnamese had bitter memories of living under Vichy French rule and careful urging by the Vietminh Coalition soon fanned the embers of dissent into the flames of revolution.

By November of 1946, the French forces withdrew to the safety of their warships in Haiphong Harbor and shelled the city into submission. By December of that year, the Vietminh launched their counter-attack at Hanoi. By February of 1947, the warriors knew things were back to normal, and they headed back to work.

Elsewhere, things were far from normal. Janos Prohaska was reading Stars and Stripes and could not believe the news. Milton Caniff has left Terry And The Pirates to do another strip called Steve Canyon -- about a guy who flies a charter air service! Blackhawk figures reading this new strip will be about as exciting as watching paint dry. He can see it now... Steve spending a thrilling day searching for spare parts, arguing with his mechanic, and trading for fuel on the black market. Oh, and waiting around for the next job!

CRASH A burly visitor and his three men have kicked down Prohaska's door and shoved his two handmaidens aside. Then again, there is something to be said about waiting. Downstairs, a new arrival is looking for a man -- and is told to try the yellow house down the street. Upstairs, Zalecki is tired of waiting for his money. Prohaska owes him forty thousand dollars and he is going to take it out of his wallet... or cut it out from his pants. Downstairs, the new arrival says she is looking for a man called Blackhawk, and was told she could find him here. The owner of the establishment says Blackhawk already has girl. Sometimes he has three. He is probably too tired for her.

Upstairs, Blackhawk points out to Zalecki that only an idiot liek him would bring a knife... to a gun fight! BLAMM

The Blackhawk series in Action Comics Weekly picked up from Howard Chaykin's Prestige Format mini-series about two years later.

Mike Grell was working on his own Prestige Format mini-series at the time.

Rick Burchett had worked earlier at First and Eclipse.

V-J Day was re-enacted in the opening montage of the Watchmen movie.

There are hints of Kubert and Chaykin in the wartime art by Burchett.

Marvel's The 'Nam covered the consequences of what had occurred at Haiphong.

Blackhawk had been a hero, a "junkheap hero," and re-imagined in the Post-Crisis period at DC.

Janos Prohaska was the name of the stuntman whose creative work appeared on The Outer Limits and Star Trek.

Only Mike Grell would bring a clever movie line... to a weekly comic book!

As drawn by Rick Burchett, Blackhawk resembles none other than Cary Grant.

Steve Chung
"Another Fine Review!"

Blackhawk #56: "The War Wheel!"

Blackhawk #56
"The War Wheel"
September, 1952

Story: Unknown
Art: Reed Crandall

It came from the enemy camp, an aggressive spiky juggernaut, intent on smashing democracy! With its teeth, it tore a path of destruction through lines of defense! Even the Blackhawks saw their own plan of attack fail before the approach of ... The War Wheel!

The Blackhawks soar over European skies in their jetplanes for Malkaria, where the aggressor nation has just invaded it! At that very moment, the Malkarian Air Force is fighting a losing battle against the faster enemy planes! Help comes from the Blackhawks, who dive in, and get them on the run! With the air battle won, the Blackhawks prepare for battle with the invading army! They prove to be as sharp with their feet on the ground as they were in the air! "HAWKAA-AA!" The rallying cry of the Blackhawks gets the enemy infantry's attention! Andre does not take kind to having his handsome face smashed in and Hendrickson puts two enemy heads together until they have one brain between them!

Blackhawk fences with a bayonet-wielding enemy soldier, while Chop Chop proves quite clever with his cleaver! The Malkarians, inspired by the Blackhawks' example, charge at the retreating invaders! Later, the airmen receive the gratitude of Malkaria! The democratic nation has been given time to prepare for a swift victory! In a nearby house is the man who can assure his country of victory! Professor Dekker is one of the world's greatest inventors and scientists who turned down offers if he would come to the United States! He is working on plans for many secret weapons -- secret from even his own country! Tomorrow, at the council meeting, Dekker will present the plans for the first of his new weapons! The following day at the council chamber finds a messenger informing the members that Dekker is gone, and an envelope was left in his room!

Professor Dekker's note tells how he is convinced that democracy and capitalism are decadent and only bring on further wars. He is giving his inventions to Malkaria's enemies so that they can use them to bring about peace to the world. It is hard to believe that Dekker has become a traitor and his daughter is convinced that the letter must be a forgery! She insists that her father would die first before revealing his weapons, and would activate a hollow tooth filled with poison to take his secrets with him! Days pass as Malkaria awaits further attack from the enemy! Just as Blackhawk voices his suspicion that the enemy is up to something, the ground trembles, and an awesome sight comes suddenly into view!

The monstrously toothed wheel roars on, like an engine of destruction, and flattening everything that is in its path! Steel tanks that are used against the oncoming wheel are steamrolled as it continues to roll forward... Two of the largest Malkarian tanks are destroyed within a single minute! The Blackhawks get a shell into an artillery cannon, but the shell has no effect against armor that is several feet thick! It is now coming right at the Blackhawks, whose leader has just slipped on the mud, and who falls right into the path of the oncoming wheel! Hendrickson screams at the sight of the wheel going right over Blackhawk!

For one minute, the Blackhawks are shocked by the sight, and then something emerges from the mud! Blackhawk is alive because he had seen the spikes coming at him, and he dived into the mud, placing himself so that the spikes spanned him, but never actually touched him! The wheel's weight did not harm him because it only pressed him into the soft mud! Having had his own share of luck, Blackhawk wants to speak with Lilis Dekker about her father and this secret weapon! At the emergency council meeting, the wheel's appearance seems to prove that Dekker has joined the enemy and has shared his secrets with them! The War Wheel is but the first of more deadly weapons to come! Since they cannot hope to hold out against such weapons, Malkaria must admit defeat, and lay down their arms!

Blackhawk urges the council to reconsider and to hold off the surrender for one hour! Before he goes, Blackhawk asks Lilis for a picture of her father! A single Blackhawk jet flies high over the enemy stronghold! Andre hopes that Blackhawk knows what he is doing! He does and tells Andre to meet him at the rendevous point in half an hour! Blackhawk hits the silk with a black chute that is almost impossible to see at night! At a staff meeting of the invading military, Professor Dekker makes an appearance!

They stare in disbelief at his sudden appearance because they know he died by his own hand of poison when they captured him! As they prepare to make his death permanent, Blackhawk whips off his disguise! Having learned what he wanted to know, Blackhawk overturns a table and declines their hostile hospitality! Thanks to Lilis' photograph of her father, Blackhawk was able to pull off the masquerade! After eluding the search party, he meets Andre at the rendezvous point! They take off for the Malkarian council!

Lilis learns of her father's sacrifice for his country and the council realizes the War Wheel was an enemy invention! Dekker was kidnapped in an attempt to demoralize their war effort and wanted them to think that resistance was useless! The Malkarians are ready to fight and win, just as the ground shakes once more as the War Wheel appears once more! The Blackhawks get airborne to see what they can do with their aerial bombs! Once the bombs have been dropped over the spiked wheel of destruction, nothing happens because the wheel still rolls! There is only one thing left to do! The crew within the War Wheel watch a running figure heading for Dekker's secret workshop in the woods! The War Wheel follows Blackhawk into the woods!

Blackhawk is on the run, with the massive wheel at his heels, and if he makes a single slip, he'll be a goner! As Blackhawk swings across what appears to be an open stretch of ground, the War Wheel becomes stuck -- and as more speed is applied, the wheel begins to sink into the quicksand! The giant War Wheel has been swiftly defeated by Mother Earth and Blackhawk hopes that someday all warmakers will one day disappear without a trace, leaving a peaceful earth! The invaders are demoralized by the destruction of their weapon and flee in blind panic! Thanks to studying maps of Malkaria's terrain, Blackhawk employed strategy against the War Wheel, and won! "Where democracies make their stand, we come to lend a hand --- WE'RE BLACKHAWKS!"

On the cover of Blackhawk #56, the monstrous War Wheel bears down upon a helpless town, with Andre and Blackhawk firing their rifles against the armored juggernaut!

The enemy invaders' uniforms have purple tunics, green pants, and gold boots.

Blackhawk is no stick-in-the-mud, but it did help to save his life against the War Wheel.

Blackhawk employs a purple hat, a green cloak, a false beard, and glasses to pass himself off as Professor Dekker.

Blackhawk turns the tables on the enemy staff by overturning the table on them!

The crew aboard the War Wheel were among the quick and the dead in the quicksand.

The Blackhawk motion picture starring Kirk Alyn and Carol Forman was advertised in this issue.

Steve Chung
"The Review Wheel!"

Blackhawk #102, "The Doom Cloud!"

BLACKHAWK #102, July 1956; published by Quality Comics; Alfred Grenet listed
in the indicia as editor with Richard Arnold as Associate Editor;
cover-featuring "See the Fantastic Flying Airport in THE DOOM CLOUD!" Oddly, there's
not a cloud in the sky on the cover, but there's a lot of other stuff in the
sky, as a futuristic flying-wing type aircraft and some regular planes attack
a ship and the boat on which the Blachawks are riding with bombs and
gunfire. Blackhawk stands heroically shouting orders, to whom it's not clear, since
the Blackhawks are behind him firing a machine gun at the attacking aircraft.

Review by Bill Henley

Like a few of the reviews I've done, this one is technically off-topic,
since it's really pre-Silver Age rather than SA. I recently managed to acquire
DC's BLACKHAWK ARCHIVE volume, which I'd been wanting to get for a long time,
and it inspired me to pull out one of my collection of Quality BLACKHAWK
issues to review. There's little doubt that the first "Silver Age" issue of
BLACKHAWK was #108, Jan. 1957, the first DC published issue. This is a sign,
however, that "Silver Age" did not automatically mean "better comics" than
their predecessors of the Golden/Silver Age interregnum. The end of the Quality
run of BLACKHAWK may have been only a shadow of the days when Reed Crandall
led the team through WWII, but still these Cold War sagas are more interesting
and exciting than the Silver Age DC tales pitting the Blackhawks against
alien menaces and what Mark Evanier called "factory-second costumed villains".

There are no credits on these stories and I have no idea who the writers
were, but the art I'm pretty sure is by the regular team of Dick Dillin,
pencils, and Chuck Cuidera, inker (and, at least by his own account, creator of
Blackhawk).

On the splash page of the first story, the Blackhawks storm into a science
lab to find a white-coated scientist being held helpless by the tentacle-arms
of a robot mounted on tank tracks. The inventor screams, "EEEAHHH! You
wouldn't destroy your own creator? Where is your gratitude?" A voice emanating
from a nearby computer console coldly informs him, "I am only what you made
me....a THINKING MACHINE! I have no emotions!" The opening caption reads,
"ADAM X was an electronic brain... a complex marvel... in one hour it solved
problems that would take human brains a lifetime! It even had a solution for
the biggest problem of all...how to become ruler of the world! First, it
said, ELIMINATE THE BLACKHAWKS.... the ultimate machine that could become MASTER
OF MANKIND!"

As our story begins, a truck driver is making a regular delivery of brass
and copper and stainless steel to the lab of one Dr. Snye. The driver is
curious what the good (?) doctor is "cooking up"in his lab, and eager to make the
better acquaintance of "Vera, who works with him...boy, what a gal!" But
first he has to collect some cash, for it seems Dr. Snye has not paid yet for
his previous shipments of supplies. But when the driver knocks on the door, he
is met by a metallic creature who demands delivery and has no intention of
making a payment. While other robots unload the truck, the driver flees;
pursued by the lead robot. By happy coincidence, the Blackhawks just happen to
be passing overhead in their jets, and observing the drama below, Blackhawk
uses his guns while passenger Chop Chop enthuses, "Velly clack shot destloy
robot but not hit victim!" (Incidentally, Chop Chop here, while obviously still
a politically incorrect ethnic stereotype, is no longer quite the fat and
giganticaly bucktoothed monstrosity he was in the earlier Quality days. I used
to assume the humanization of Chop Chop was a DC innovation, but actually it
began in the latter days of the Quality run.)

Landing near the lab, the Blackhawks greet Dr. Snye, who emerges and thanks
them for preventing a possible tragedy. "I don't get this, Dr. Snye! You
talk as if you didn't have full control of your own robots!" Snye explains
that indeed he does not, as the automatons are under the direct control of Adam
X, his invention. "It isn't just another super-calculating machine. Adam X
can THINK!" And obviously not programmed for modesty, Adam X chimes in, "I
am Adam X-- world's greatest mind!" The Blackhawks respond with expressions
of amazement such as "Donnewetter!" and "Yumping Yudas!" They respond more
favorably to another occupant of the lab, Vera, Snye's shapely "niece and
assistant," especially Andre; "MMMM! Tres bien! Tres joli! Also oo-la-la,
M'amselle Vera!" Not one to be distracted by a pretty face, Blackhawk demands
further explanations, and Snye explains that Adam X is programmed to "select the
most direct solution" to any problem. In this case the problem was that
Snye had run out of money for supplies (what happened to those Pentagon research
grants?) and Adam concluded the most "direct solution" was to take supplies
without paying. Sternly, Blackhawk warns that Snye had better disconnect the
brain before it gets him in real trouble. Meanwhile, the still-panicky
truck driver is calling the cops.

After the Blackhawks depart, Dr. Snye is of two minds; he knows Adam X is a
threat, but "there is so much I need to know and only Adam X can give me the
answers1" Vera has no doubts about what should be done; "A brain without a
soul is....is evil!" Resolving to disconnect Adam, Snye goes to do so and
finds the brain is still cogitating on the problem of obtaining funds and has
decided on the ultimate solution; "Rule the world and everything you need is
yours for the taking!" Snye protests that he has neither the desire nor
ability to rule the world, but Adam has an answer for that too; "You have only
feeble human brain! Adam X has perfect mind! Adam X will rule world for you!"
Convinced at last that Adam must cease to function, Snye tries to pull the
plug, but too late, for Adam has had the robots rewire his control panel so
that anyone trying to disconnect him gets an electric shock. Pursued by Adam's
robots, Snye and Vera try to radio the Blackhawks for help. Meanwhile, the
local cops are mobilizing for action, having actually believed the truck
driver's wild story of rampaging mechanical men. And a gang of crooks, hearing
the reports on a police scanner, decides to try to beat the police to the scene
and seize the robots for their own criminal use. And Snye reaches the
Blackhawks and alerts them, just before the robots capture and silence him.

The criminal gang blocks the police by moving a disabled car across the only
road to the isolated lab. Observing the forces converging on the lab, Adam
X gives the order, "Destroy all police! Leave criminals alive till their
usefulness is over!" The Blackhawks land their jets, commenting, "Yas ban a
yigantic yoke on Dr. Snye!" "It will be a joke on the world, Olaf...a mighty
grim joke....if that mechanical genius takes over! And it could!" Rushing
towards the lab, the Blackhawks encounter the criminal gang; "The Blackhawks!
Now's our chance to get rid of them too and collect a fat bonus from the
boss!" But instead the black knights make short work of the gang, which flees,
only to be menaced by Dr. Snye's creations; "Yow! It's one of those roberts,
or whatever you call it!" "Robot, you fathead!" The crooks' getaway car
crashes into one of the robots and then is hurled over a cliff by the robot as
the crooks flee. Leaving the crooks to the finally arriving cops, the
Blackhawks hurry to Snye's lab. Eager to rescue "la belle Vera," Andre tries to
unplug Adam but is shocked into unconsicousness. "Dr. Snye! Compared to your
creation, Dr. Frankenstein was a two-bit piker!" Blackhawk sets out to try to
cut the cables feeding the brain power from outside, as the other Blackhawks
run interference by tackling the robots. Another squad of robots is foiled
in its mission to destroy the Blackhawk jets, as the Blackhawks have cannily
set the planes to take to the air again under remote control. Failing to
reach the outside cables, Blackhawk makes a try to reach the inside cutoff
switch using his "insulated boot" to protect against shock. One of the robots
blocks him, but Blackhawk somehow manages to grab it by the arm, swing it around
on its tank tread ("Wheee! Blackhawk play clack-the-whip!") and propel
the robot into Adam X's control panel, smashing the panel and short-circuiting
Adam X. All flee as the lab is destroyed by fire, and Dr. Snye mourns the
loss of his life's work, but there are no hard feelings on Blackhawk's part;
"You can start againon some safe project! We'll see that you get a spot and
funds to work with!" And as they take off in their jets, our heroes improvise
yet another verse of their endless song...."No evil mind can rule a land, as
long as we can take a hand! WE'RE BLACKHAWKS!"

Before continuing with the Blackhawks' adventures, we get a four-page filler
war story, "Critical Target!" Set during the recent Korean War, the story
tells of Squadron Commander Dawson, whose dilemma in picking aircrews for a
vital bombing strike on a North Korean target is particularly acute. His best
flight leader is Captain Carroll, a former friend who is now his romantic
rival for the same girl back home. Because of Carroll's abilities, Dawson has
little choice but to pick him to lead the dangerous mission, but Carroll is
convinced Dawson is scheming to get him killed so Dawson can get the girl. The
anger gets even worse when Dawson returns from his mission alive, only to be
told the higher brass have ordered a second strike on the "critical target",
and Carroll is to lead that too. Once again, Carroll makes it back but is
determined to punch Dawson in the jaw, until he learns that Dawson is missing
in action-- refusing to order others to take risks he will not share, he has
taken a place on one of the bombers, and it was the only one not to return
from the second mission. After Dawson manages to bring his crippled plane in
on one engine, the two men are reconciled as "firm friends".

After fighting a sci-fi menace on American soil in their first story, the
Blackhawks return to more familiar ground for these pre-SA yarns-- battling
Communists in foreign territory-- in the cover-featured "Doom Cloud!" On the
splash panel, Blackhawk leaps from his own jet toward a Red plane, as Chop Chop
bemoans, "Oh woe! Blackhawk jumpee without parachute!" (Oddly, neither the
cover scene nor this splash scene exactly appear in the story.) "It's okay,
Chop Chop! I'm sure this joker will lend me his!" The freighter Lulane,
bound for Formosa (aka Taiwan), with "munitions for the Nationalist Chinese
defenders", is puzzled by the approach of a cloud in the sky moving against the
wind. Puzzlement turns to terror as the cloud spits out a swarm of gliders
carrying bombs to blow up the ship's volatile cargo. The Lulane radios the
Blackhawks for help before being blown up and sunk. Arriving in their jets in
time to investigate and help rescue survivors, the Blackhawks are puzzled by
the report, since gliders can't normally operate out at sea without the heat
waves that rise over land. They fly through clouds but find no trace of the
gliders, then receive a report that now the sinister gliders are attacking
Fushan harbor. Again failing to find the attackers, Blackhawk concludes that
the Reds have created a flying aircraft carrier which somehow conceals itself
within a cloud and pulls back its fleet of gliders-- "soundless, cheap and
expendable"-- when their mission is done. The Blackhawks decide to sleep on
the problem, but during the night the silent gliders make a landing on
Blackhawk Island itself (which somehow at some point moved from its original
Atlantic Ocean location to the Pacific). , and the pilots emerge to spray their
barracks with rifle fire. But to no avail, for the Blackhawks have been alerted
by "electronic detectors"-- "Yiiii! They were only dummies!" "We thought
the same thing about you and your mob!" While the Blackhawks battle the Reds
and send them fleeing to their gliders, their smallest member has a
brainstorm; "Oh woe! Chop Chop has fine idea....so good it scares honorable self...
but must do same for sake of Blackhawk victory!" While the Blackhawks find the
Reds have blocked the air intakes of their own jets, Chop Chop takes the
pilot's seat of one of the Red gliders so that he will be drawn up with them and
discover their secret. "Chop Chop, you crazy, nervy kid! Break off and
land again!" "So solly, but cannot control glider! It climbs without power!
Will keep belt radio open on guide beam so Blackhawks can follow!"

Arriving at the gliders' base, Chop Chop discovers, as Blackhawk suspected,
that it is a giant aircraft carrier held aloft by helicopter rotors and using
an electromagnetic generator to lift the gliders. Though he is Asian like
the Red Chinese pilots, Chop Chop is betrayed by his glider's lack on an
identification signal. "I am Comrade Nichivo, inventor of the flying carrier!
And you are one of the stupid Blackhawks!" "So solly! I am stupid all by self
to thlust head into noose in most unhappy manner!" After seemingly foiling
Blackhawk pursuit by releasing tinfoil strips to foul their radar, Nichivo
tries to force information from Chop Chop, but "Chop Chop velly solly but have
been bitten by mad Red! Have bad case of LOCKJAW! Cannot talk!" "He's as
stubborn as all the Blackhawks! Get rid of him! I have no time to fool with
stupid tools of capitalism!" Nichivo orders. But as Chop Chop is is about
to face a Red firing squad, the Blackhawks land their jets atop the carrier--
having been guided by Chop Chop's radio despite the tinfoil ploy-- and rescue
him and capture the carrier for the Nationalist Chinese. Flying off again,
they sing, "We did our jobs...we met the foe...we think we have a right to
crow.... AS BLACKHAWKS!'

In the days before letter columns became common, the one or two page text
story, required by postal regulations, was a common feature in comic books, but
rarely did this token text story feature the comic's regular character.
BLACKHAWK was an exception (and I'll bet that because of it, more readers
actually read the text story than usual). In "Intercepted Peril", while carrying
out a mission in Zingra City, where "the formal duel is not only legal but
practically necessary", Blackhawk is repeatedly challenged to duels and realizes
there is a plot for him to be faced by one challenger after another until
one of them finally kills him. He goads all thirteen of the plotters into
challenging him at once, and, as the challenged party, sets the conditions;
himself alone against all 13 at once, with fists, in a darkened room. Even the
Blackhawks cannot believe their leader can win against such odds, and they are
amazed when he emerges unharmed while his foes are all battered and beaten.
Blackhawk explains he simply withdrew into a corner and let all the
challengers beat each other to a pulp trying to find him.

Finally, in a regular comics story the Blackhawks discover "The Red
Professor's Secret!" In a castle courtyard, all the Blackhawks are covered by
purple-uniformed Red soldiers' guns, as Blackhawk moans, 'G-great guns, men! We've
blundered into a Red trap!" A beautiful woman named Fraulein Hegel is being
interrogated by West German law officers, but refuses to reveal vital
information to any lesser personage than Blackhawk. Accordingly, the Blackhawks
are summoned to the scene, with Hendrickson directed to handle relations with
the locals; "Ja, Blackhawk! Chermany is my old home!" (Hendrickson was
originally Dutch. I wonder when exactly he changed into an anti-Nazi German?)
The "distraught girl" reveals that her fiancee, physicist Professor Gartmann,
was kidnapped by Communist East German agents and is being held in a temporary
prison until he can be spirited behind the Iron Curtain Escaping
momentarily from his captors, Gartman called his fiancee on the phone and begged her to
obtain the help of the Blackhawks to rescue him, since only the famed black
knights can be trusted not to be Red agents. The Blackhawks agree to try to
rescue Gartmann from his prison at Todgraf Castle in the Bavarian Alps. On
the way, however, Blackhawk muses that he whole things seems a bit fishy;
maybe Gartmann is himself a Red who engineered his own "kidnapping" as a cover
for a plot. Nonetheless, they press on to Todgraf Castle, where they are
greeted by its master, Baron Von Horla, who seems to be hospitable and
cooperative-- until he springs a Red trap on our heroes. And the mastermind behind the
trap is none other than Fraulein Hegel herself-- she, not Professor Gartman,
is the Red spy. Gartmann is an innocent victim whom the Fraulein used as
bait to lure the Blackhawks, the Red's archfoes, into her trap (and so the story
title is in error, since he's not really a "Red professor".. Herded into a
cell along with Gartmann, Blackhawk incautiously drops a hint that rather
than being a mere pawn, Gartmann actually is developing a secret weapon for the
Allies. Intrigued, Fraulein Hegal demands that her former fiancee
demonstrate the weapon. But Gartmann has realized Blackhawk's real plan, and after
demanding "certain chemicals" in order to create his "weapon", he creates a
sudden explosion to catch the bad guys off guard. The Blackhawks subdue the
Reds with flying fists, and those who escape are caught by West German police
whom Blackhawk earlier alerted as a precaution. The Blackhawks win again, but
they don't sing about it this time, or at least we don't get to "hear" them.
(Earlier in the days of the Quality BLACKHAWK, the beautiful woman who turns
out to be an evil schemer was an almost invariable figure of the stories--
someone involved with the series must have been a real misogynist. This tale
is a throwback to that era.)

Blackhawk #242: "My Brother-My Enemy!"

Blackhawk #242
"My Brother-My Enemy!"
August-September, 1968

Script: Bob Haney
From A Plot By:
Marvin Wolfman
Art: Pat Boyette
Editor: Dick Giordano

On the outskirts of Washington, D.C. stands the headquarters of
G.E.O.R.G.E., the government's secret spy agency.  Even now, a stealthy
group of intruders are making their way through the defenses without so
much as triggering an alarm.  Now, the radar scopes are tracking their
every move, computer controlled laser beams focus in preparation to fire,
but as the alarms sound...nothing happens.  The sentries within the
installation have been given some deadly spansule drugs earlier, and now
the deadly substance has taken effect.  With all going as planned, the
thermo-charge is primed... and the order is given...

On a faraway island, Chuck, aka the Listener tells Chop-Chop to summon
Blackhawk, and tell him that G.E.O.R.G.E. isn't returning his call.  With
the G.E.O.R.G.E. transmitter off-line, the vacation of the Blackhawks has
reached its conclusion, and they are on the move within the next five
minutes.

Condition Red is sounded, with Andre and Olaf joining their leader.
Three hours have passed, with the Magnificent Seven surveying the quarter
mile crate, in awe at the sight of G.E.O.R.G.E. gone from the face of the
Earth.  Their records, their new fighting identities, all their fantastic
equipment is gone.  Nothing remains to show that the Blackhawks had ever
existed.  They can only wonder who was responsible for such an act.  The
answer to Blackhawk's question will be found when he meets with "My
Brother-My Enemy!"

What lurks from the smoking remains of G.E.O.R.G.E. over the lives of the
Black Knights?  Who is the mysterious foe who is now holding their fate
in his hand?  His presence will soon be felt in the here and now... when
the Blackhawks meet the Black Mask.  Hendrickson finds that one of the
surveillance cameras has remained intact, even as Blackhawk sees that the
thumbtacks had been disintegrated in the blast.

Its condition suggests that the camera was meant to be found, and Hendy
figures it was meant for their eyes only.  Since villains have large
egos, this baddie must have one as vast as the crater.  The Magnificent
Seven are seated, as the film begins to roll.  They see a masked figure
leaving them a warning written in flame.  Hendrickson doesn't know why
this Black Mask has decided to wipe out G.E.O.R.G.E., but the Blackhawks
have never turned away from a challenge, and they're not about to start
now.  The Black Knights are now donning their original uniforms at a
government storage depot.  Andre is unimpressed by the style, while Hendy
thinks that his uniform has shrunk, and Olaf wonders about his friend's
belt, too.

Since their newer outfits were destroyed with G.E.O.R.G.E., these will be
their uniforms from now on.  The Leaper, The Golden Centurion, M'sieu
Machine, Weaponsmaster, and the others are now officially dead.  They are
now back where they had first started, and the Black Knights will soon be
showing Black Mask that they're far from dead.  In a deserted valley,
they find the Hawk Kite, but wonder what has happened to Zinda.  They
find her aboard, and learn from Zinda that their foe has left them a
message.  "Blackhawk!  Rendezvous me alone Ft. Fear!  1800 hours!  Jack."

When Andre asks who Jack is, Blackhawk recognizes the handwriting on the
wall as being from someone who is long dead.  It was during World War II
that he and his kid brother were getting ready to hit the Nazi heavy
water factory.  Their drone ships were to be dropped by bombers some two
miles from their target.  Both he and Jack would lock in, then bail out
from the ships, with the explosives taking care of the job.  Nazi
fighters soon appeared, with Jack's drone ship being released far too
soon by the bomber.

Blackhawk watched in horror as his kid brother's drone flack and enemy
fire, but then his own drone was shot forward.  After locking on target,
he parachuted to safety, but Jack's ship was falling down from the sky.
Blackhawk confronts the General about his brother being used as a decoy
for enemy fire.  The military man hadn't known that Jack was related to
him, and learns that he was underage when the kid brother had enlisted. 

The painful memories have ended for Blackhawk, as he rides a motorcycle,
and wonders if somehow his kid brother is still alive as Black Mask.
Within the fallen confines of Fort Fear, he calls out to his brother, and
hears a familiar voice coming from a most unfamiliar form.

Jack Hawk is alive, and he is now known as Black Mask.  Unfortunately for
Blackhawk, Jack is no longer the man he had been before.  His own heart
has become as hard as the titanium helmet he now wears, and his need for
vengeance is as sharp as the rapier arm he now wears.  Jack had survived
both the Nazi fighters and the flak, falling into the icy waters before
his drone ship had exploded.  Broken in body, his was a world of pain,
and Jack wondered why his own brother had betrayed him.

With Bart no longer by his side, Jack Hawk was soon rebuilt by the
doctors into the Nazi warrior now known as Black Mask.  With his
allegiance to Hitler and his enemy now Blackhawk, the disfigured Jack
Hawk sought vengeance on his own brother.  At that very moment, the
Blackhawk Squadron appeared over the enemy airfield.

Blackhawk orders his men to open fire, with Hendy hitting the ice cliffs,
and burying the entire base under an avalanche.  The bombs had caused the
frozen wastes to head for the Nazis, with only a few escaping its icy
grasp.  The leader of the Blackhawks pauses only to remember that his own
brother had died at this very spot.

The Nazi base had been buried under tons of ice, as well as burying Black
Mask in a icy cocoon.  His own life had been preserved by the ice for
years, while his titanium helmet had protected him. Now awakened from his
long sleep, Black Mask begins to build his own army of outcasts, and
start his own campaign of evil.  The driving force behind his new lease
on life was to gain revenge on his own brother.  Bart Hawk tries to tell
his brother that he hadn't known about the decoy plot.  After his
brother's death, he had quit the Air Corps, and formed the Blackhawks.
Bart would have gladly died in Jack's place if he could, and had sought
such a fate in numerous battles against an awesome array of foes.  Black
Mask is unimpressed by his brother's sentiments, and will listen no more.

Blackhawk wants his brother to listen to reason, but all Black Mask wants
is for him to take a sword, and defend himself.  The masked villain
slices at his opponent, who does not even try to defend himself.  Now,
Black Mask is ready to send his brother on his final journey, but one
which is interrupted by the arrival of the Blackhawks.

The Black Knights leap upon their mysterious foe before he can deliver
the fatal strike, but cannot hold onto him.  After leaping onto a wall,
Black Mask tells them that he will be waiting for their arrival on
Blackhawk Island.

The Magnificent Seven have returned to Blackhawk Island, their original
base of operations, and one which has been deserted for some time.
Blackhawk knows that Black Mask must be somewhere on the island.  ROMMM
As they move inland, the Black Knights see the approach of the War Wheel.
Hendy had forgotten that the enormous weapon was one of the items stored
on the island.

Hendrickson and Blackhawk enter a nearby cave, where they climb into the
Flying Tank.  It turns out that the vehicle is still good for another
trip, and they see that the others are unable to fire at Black Mask's
men, with the War Wheel in the way.  With Blackhawk at the controls,
Hendy calls the shots, and the Flying Tank stays on course.

WHUMP  CRASH  The Flying Tank takes out the turret on the War Wheel, then
slides along the sandy beach to a stop.  With the way cleared, Andre
leads the other Blackhawks to the attack.  Now on Blackhawk Island, a
famous battle cry is heard once more ... HAWK-AA AAA!

Hendy emerges from the remains of the Flying Tank, with Blackhawk
determined to head off Black Mask before the others can reach him.  The
War Wheel has begun to move once more, with brother confronting brother
once again.  SOCK  Blackhawk delivers a left hook to Jack's jaw, but even
so, his kid brother insists that Black Mask is supreme.

Both men tumble out of the rampaging War Wheel, which crashed into the
side of a cave.  Seeing the prone body of his brother before him,
Blackhawk is caught off-guard when Black Mask zaps him with his
electrified sword.  The villain's evacuation copter has arrived, and he
bids farewell to his fallen brother.

Hendy arrives to see Black Mask getting away in the copter, when
Blackhawk asks for the bazooka he's carrying.  The older Blackhawk asks
his leader why he's holding his fire.  CLICK  It would seem to be a
misfire, but when Hendy aims it along the beach... BOOOM

The others have caught most of Black Mask's men, but Hendy wonders why
Blackhawk didn't want to stop their masked leader.  Andre reports that
the evil army have surrendered, but it's too bad that Black Mask made his
escape.  Blackhawk now knows what had happened to Jack, and finds himself
in a nightmare where his kid brother is now his enemy.

On the cover of Blackhawk #242 by Pat Boyette, the Black Knights have
made their triumphant return, and are just in time to confront the
mysterious Black Mask.

Bye, G.E.O.R.G.E., I think they got it! 

With the destruction of the secret spy organization, the Blackhawks have
been returned to their former glory.

The origin of Black Mask reminds me of what had happened with Captain
America and Bucky in Avengers #4.

After barely surviving the destruction of his drone plane, Jack Hawk is
rebuilt into a Nazi warrior, and is then placed into suspended animation
after an aerial attack from the Blackhawks.

The Flying Tank and the War Wheel were but two of the awesome weaponry
which had previously appeared in the pages of Blackhawk.

In the Blackhawk By-Lines Letters Page, Howard Leroy Davis of Pitman, New
Jersey writes:

"Dear Editor,

I miss Zinda in the stories.  She's not really the type to sit home on
that iceberg and knit!  Perhaps while she's been alone on the iceberg,
she has been becoming an expert in make-up and disguise!  Miss CHAMELEON
could be her code-name... maybe...

Anyway... how about some stories where BLACKHAWK needs a make-believe
wife as a spy cover?  Or a femme fatale to go along to gather
information?

I realize that Zinda is still recovering from her drug-inspired mental
illness which caused her to be QUEEN KILLER-SHARK, but I'm sure she wants
some action."

The editor replies:

"I bet she does!  And she'll get it, too, in future issues!  And that's a
solemn editorial promise, but first we have to lay the groundwork for
this new series of Blackhawk adventures.  Be patient."

For those who read Comic Effect #41, Howard Leroy Davis reviewed Charlton
Spotlight #1, which was dedicated to the late Pat Boyette.

Mr. Davis wrote about the time the artist was called by Dick Giordano to
keep Blackhawk from falling behind schedule, and did so by producing an
entire 23 page comic book (complete with penciling, inking, and
lettering) in a single weekend.  Pat had told Howard that he had done the
story so fast that the artist wasn't able to figure about what it was
really about! 

This particular review of mine was inspired both by that of Howard Leroy
Davis in C.E. #41 and Bill Henley's review of Blackhawk #197 by Arnold
Drake, Dick Dillin, and Chuck Cuidera with the introduction of the 1st
"New Look" Blackhawk.

Steve Chung
"My Brother-My Enemy-My Review!"

Blackhawk #197 (1st "new look" Blackhawk)

BLACKHAWK #197, June 1964; DC Comics; Murray Boltinoff, editor; featuring 

"The War Between the Blackhawks!"  Writer: Arnold Drake (no regular  credits,

but he is identified on the "Blackhawk By-Lines" letters page).  Artists: the

longtime Blackhawk team of Dick Dillin, penciller, and Chuck  Cuidera (who later

claimed credit for creating the Blackhawks), inker.  

On the cover by Dillin and Cuidera, six of the Blackhawks-- clad in 

unfamiliar red and green uniforms-- are pulling on the support beam holding up  the

roof of a cave.  Inside the cave, Blackhawk himself is menaced by a  glowing

pink monster.  A vignette is a closeup of Blackhawk's face,  self-sacrificially

urging his team, "It's the only way, men!  The moment I  lure him inside-- bury

us BOTH in the cave-in!"  The cover Blackhawk logo  is new, and the blurb

promises, "NEW uniforms, thrills and dangers await the  Blackhawks as they embark

on a NEW career!"

review by Bill  Henley

The comic-book series had a glorious Golden Age history during  which the

heroes fought mostly relatively realistic, down-to-earth foes in an  often gritty

"noir" atmosphere.  By the late 1950's, however, DC editor  Jack Schiff,

perhaps bowing to pressure from the Comics Code and DC higher  management, filled

the series with alien monsters, other science-fictional and  fantasy menaces,

and lame new costumed villains.  He also introduced a  female counterpart of

the heroes and a superintelligent pet.  This approach  worked well enough

sales-wise for a few years in the early Silver Age, but by  1964 sales were

slumping and DC management called for a new editor to bring in a  "New Look".....

If you hadn't read the subject heading you might think I  was talking about

Batman, but actually the description applies as well to  BLACKHAWK.  The main

difference is that the "new look" introduced by Murray  Boltinoff in this issue

isn't nearly as fondly remembered by fans as the "New  Look" introduced by

Julius Schwartz on BATMAN around the same time.

On  the splash page, the plane piloted by Blackhawk-- a nondescript green

prop  plane, not one of the regular Blackhawk jets-- is set afire by a giant

flaming  pink tortoise (!)  On the next page, Blackhawk and two of his crew are 

riding in an even more primitive craft, an Oriental junk, and trying to sneak

up  on an Asian shore.  But artillery fire wrecks their boat, and they have no 

choice but to surrender to the soldiers of Kieland.  As they march off with 

raised hands as prisoners, a turbaned officer berates them, "SPIES FROM 

SURBODIA!  Our military court will deal with you!"  Meanwhile, the  remaining four

Blackhawks invade the Presidential palace of nearby Surbodia to  take the

president prisoner-- but a single guard with a curved Asian sword,  takes them

prisoner as well.  The rescued president accuses them of being  in he pay of "the

militarists of Kieland".

"These men in strange uniforms  are certainly the Blackhawks-- but what are

they doing as INVADERS-- ABDUCTORS--  in the pay of opposing war makers?  How

did this sensational chain of  events come about?"  Well, it seems that

Blackhawk got a call from Mr.  Cipher, a blank-masked quasi-governmental figure

operating out of a "mysterious  building within the shadows of the U.N." (and

apparently introduced in an  earlier story I haven't seen).  He has a "very

dangerous assignment" for  the Blackhawks, to invade Surbodia and Kieland, two "new

Asian countries" on the  brink of war, and somehow "slow down their war plans"

while the U.N. tries to  mediate.  But if the Blackhawks are caught, they may

face death because  they can't implicate Cipher's non-existent organization

(shades of MISSION  IMPOSSIBLE) and indeed they dare not even be recognized as

the world famous  Blackhawks.  Which is why Blackhawk orders a new set of

uniforms for the  whole team-- red jackets with black trim, dark green pants, and

brown belts and  boots.  Andre is pleased with this literal new look-- "Very

sharp!   And the ladies, zey will be pleased, too!"-- but Blackhawk chides him,

"These  new uniforms aren't supposed to turn us into fashion plates!"  

(Incidentally, Chop-Chop gets the same red and green uniform in place of his old 

Chinese pajama outfit-- the first time, I believe, he is uniformed the same as 

the rest of the Blackhawks.) 

As we rejoin the adventure in  progress, the Kielanders demand to know why

Blackhawk, Andre and Olaf so  recklessly charged their artillery, and Blackhawk

reveals that they weren't  trying to attack the Kielanders-- they want to join

them, as highly skilled (and  well paid) mercenaries.  Somehow convinced that

the trio are worth the  price (despite their easy capture), the Kieland prime

minister agrees to hire  them.  Meanwhile, it is revealed that the robed,

sword-wielding guard who  "saved" the Surbodian president is none other than

Stanislaus, one of the  (unidentified) Blackhawks.  It was all a ploy, Chuck

explains, to show the  president why he needs four "professionals" like Chuck,

Stan, Hendrickson and  Chop-Chop to supplement his weak native guards.  The

president agrees to  hire them, but insists that he already has a formidable force. 

When the  "professionals" scoff at Surbodia's primitive army consisting of

spear-wielding  warriors riding elephants, the president declares, "We have a

SECRET WEAPON--  one so frightful, I tremble myself when I think of it!"  Back

in Kieland,  Blackhawk inspects that country's modern-equipped army, but

suggests that its  soldiers need additional training before they take on the

traditional enemy  Surbodia.  The disguised Blackhawks seem to be meeting their goal

of  delaying military action, despite the anger of a Surbodian general who

wants to  attack immediately.  But then the "mercenaries" discover in their

assigned  quarters a Hindu-style god statue that wasn't previously there. 

Suddenly,  the general and his soldiers charge in, smash the statue to find a hidden

radio  transmitter, and charge the three "mercenaries" with being spies in

contact with  the enemy.  "Sacre bleu!  Blackhawk, zis is one big FRAME-UP!"  

(Blackhawk is apparently too distracted to chew out Andre for blurting out his 

supposedly secret identity.) 

Before going on with Part 2, we get a  bottom-of-the-page house ad for the

Challengers of the Unknown (who would get  their own gaudier new uniforms in

about a year) and a full page ad for the  issues of BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS

introducing Batman's "New Look" (see, I  told you the two "new looks" happened

at about the same time).  In Part 2,  "The Walking Holocausts!", Andre and

Olaf are in a cell with Blackhawk,  disgusted with the apparent failure of their

plan to delay war....but Blackhawk  has a new plan, which involves contacting

the other Blackhawk team in Surbodia  by means of his hidden belt-radio. 

Shortly afterwards, at a Kieland state  banquet, the hostile general is presented

with a message by a shapely fan  dancer, inviting him to appear at a location

on Sochi Road. Suspecting more than  a romantic rendezvous is involved, the

prime minister insists on accompanying  the general to the site.   Suddenly a

plane appears and  parachute-drops bundles of counterfeit currency, apparently

meant to wreck the  Kieland economy.  The prime minister arrests the general,

despite his  (quite sincere) protests of innocence, and frees the three

Blackhawk  "mercenaries".  But the pilot of the plane was Chop-Chop, who reflects,

"It  is written, he who tries to frame another often hangs himself!!  With 

Blackhawk back in the good graces of the Kieland government, the prime minister 

agrees to postpone attack on Surbodia until the day "mercenary expert"

Blackhawk  says the troops are ready, and Blackhawk secretly thinks, "And that day

will  never come!"  But it may not matter, for suddenly the Surbodian president 

decides to strike first against Kieland with the aid of their new "secret 

weapon" -- not to mention their own team of red and green clad  "mercenaries". 

Hendrickson thinks, "Ach!  Unless ve stop this, ve  fail our assignment-- UND

END UP FIGHTING DER OTHER BLACKHAWKS!"  

Hendrickson leads his team on a quest to find, and presumably disable,  the

Surbodian "secret weapon".  Chop-Chop is curious about a giant statue  of a

tortoise, but Hendy warns him not to be distracted and leads the group to  the

palace basement where he has suspected something odd is going on.  They  find a

giant drill boring deep into the earth, but what kind of secret weapon is 

that?  They hide as the Surbodian president and his scientific adviser Dr. 

Verner appear; "You are certain this fantastic threat can be fully  controlled?" 

"Of course!  Would I endanger your people by releasing  it otherwise?"  After

they leave, Chuck impulsively shoots out the control  panel hoping to disable

the "weapon", but instead the drill rises from the  bowels of the earth and

brings with it a strange, glowing creature that  initially looks like a "Sherman

tank with a hot-foot", but reveals itself as a  giant, radioactive tortoise. 

"IT'S ALIVE!  Der secret weapon is a  LIVING THING!"  Breaking out of its

glass cage, the tortoise-monster  threatens the Blackhawks, and Chuck tries

unsuccessfully to stop it with his  pistol.  Stanislaus has a better idea, using his

great strength and the  help of the other Blackhawks to upend the tortoise

statue they saw earlier and  hurl it down on the back of the real tortoise.  To

no avail, however, as  the creature has a "fiery tongue" with which it melts

the statue.   "Dunder!  Der heat is unbearable!  It looks like der end!"  Not 

quite yet, for suddenly the monster turns away, and then Dr. Verner reappears,

driving a tank-like contraption.  He explains how a tortoise species, 

living underground in volcanic country, somehow evolved into this fiery  creature--

and how he found a way to unearth and control not only the one  monster, but

a whole pack of them.  And now he is ready to unleash them  against the enemy

Kieland.  "There is our TOTAL SECRET WEAPON!  A  whole family of the most

destructive creatures ever known!  They will  annihilate the Kieland army!"  "Und

we can't do anything to stop them  without exposing our real motives!" 

(Apparently Verner is so excited that  he doesn't even wonder why the four

"mercenaries" were fooling around with his  drill setup and releasing one of his

creatures.) 

Between Parts 2  and 3, we find a house ad for DOOM PATROl, a subscription

ad, and the  aforementioned "By-Lines" column which consists of capsule

biographies of Arnold  Drake and the other regular BLACKHAWK scripter, France Herron. 

Part 3,  "The Boomerang Blitzkrieg,"  As the primitive Surbodian army goes on

the  march, Chuck is contemptuous of the regular troops-- "Will you look at

that  excuse for an army?  I've seen better swords in a shishkebob

restaurant!"--  but nonetheless, with the giant flaming tortoises taking point, the

invasion  poses a deadly threat to Kieland-- and to the other team of Blackhawks.  

Warned by radio by Hendrickson, Blackhawk orders Andre to take charge of 

Kieland's  tank forces while Blackhawk himself and Olaf handle the  bombers. 

Andre is confident at first as the tank-like tortoise monsters  face real tanks

reinforced against flame blasts with asbestos.  But then  the tortoises cleverly

use their heat blasts to dig holes in the ground, causing  the advancing

tanks to fall helplessly in.  "Sacre bleu!  How is it so  smart to do zat?" 

Meanwhile, the "crude Surbodian army" charges with  swords in hand, chasing Andre,

and the Blackhawks on the other side watch,  unable to help for fear of being

exposed as "traitors"; "I never figured we  Blackhawks would be fighting a war

against each other!"  Then Blackhawk and  Olaf appear at the controls of a

Kielander dive bomber, trying to stop one of  the tortoise monsters with

rockets.  But the beast's fiery tongue sets the  plane afire, and the damaged plane

just barely regains enough altitude (before  exploding)  for our heroes to bail

out safely. 

Chuck decides  to seek out the controller of the giant tortoises and force

him to stop them,  but when he spots the control tank he finds in it not Dr.

Verner, the  mastermind, but Luki, his assistant,  Chuck and Luki scuffle with a

pistol,  and an accidental shot destroys the control panel; "Now I have no

control over  the creatures!"  The monsters promptly turn on their own "allies",

the  Kielanders, as well as the Surbodians.  At least this means that the two 

teams of Blackhawks can join forces openly, but to what avail, since they

have  no weapons that can stop the creatures?  Then Blackhawk and Olaf charge one

of the tortoises, seemingly recklessly, but with an ace in the hole-- 

fire-fighting foam from the wrecked bomber, which cools down and ultimately  kills

the flaming monster.  Obtaining more foam, the Blackhawks try to  destroy the

biggest monster, but for some reason it is annoyed but not  slain.  Blackhawk

puts a desperate plan into effect (as seen on the  cover)-- he lures the big

monster into a cave while ordering the rest of the  Blackhawks to collapse the

roof on it.  It works, but what of  Blackhawk?  "If he missed his timing by a

hair's breadth, he's DEAD!"   Fortunately, Blackhawk emerges out of the dust

of the cave-in unhurt.  Not  so fortunately, the rest of the smaller monsters

are still rampaging and seem to  be still under outside control.  Suddenly

realizing that he has been duped,  Blackhawk leads the team back to the first

monster that was "killed" by the fire  foam-- and hurls a gasoline bomb at the

"dead" creature.  As it bursts into  flame, out flees Dr. Verner.  The creature

was an artificial, fake monster,  made for the purpose of leading the real

monsters to obey Verner's will, while  Luki served as a decoy.  Captured and

subdued, Verner admits the ruse and  Blackhawk deduces his motive-- to "destroy

both nations' armies, and then, with  a handful of men, seize control of TWO

countries"!  Blackhawk forces Verner  to lead the tortoise-monsters back to their

underground home and then close the  drill hole forever.

Back at the headquarters of Mr. Cipher, the  Blackhawks line up to be

congratulated by the blank-faced mastermind, who  reports that Surbodia and Kieland

have agreed to settle their differences  peacefully.  Our heroes are still clad

in their red and green "mercenary"  uniforms, but with an addition--

Blackhawk emblems, a big chest emblem for  Blackhawk himself, and smaller shoulder

patches for the rank and file.   "Zat is more like it!  I didn't feel fully

dressed without the Blackhawk  insignia!"  clotheshorse Andre declares. (Which is a

little odd, since with  the old uniform design Andre didn't have a Blackhawk

emblem anyway-- only  Blackhawk himself did.)   "My friends, zis is one

smart-looking  uniform!  Why don't we keep it?"  Blackhawk suggests a vote, and the 

unanimous vote is "AYE!"  If old-line Blackhawk fans had gotten a vote, 

though, the result might have been diffferent.  There was nothing actually 

particularly wrong with the new uniforms, escept that they didn't have much  black

on them, and the team didn't change its name to "Red and Green  Hawks". 

However, let's face it, the new uniforms just didn't have the  class, not to mention

the tradition of the old ones.  (On a side note, I  recently read a

commentary on the BLACKHAWK strip which mentioned it was ironic  that the original

blue-black, spit and polish uniforms of the Blackhawks  somewhat resembled those

of the Nazi SS guards they supposedly fought in  WWII.  I thought that was an

ironic comment itself, since Will Eisner--  Cuidera's rival claimant as creator

of the Blackhawks-- was once quoted as  saying that he did that

deliberately-- he thought the SS military look was so  snazzy looking that he didn't see

why the bad guys should have a monopoly on  it.) 

Likewise, the new BLACKHAWK cover logo introduced with this  issue didn't

actually look bad, but it lacked the classic quality of the  previous logo (not

actually the "original" logo, but introduced in the late 40's  by Quality

Comics).  As for the actual stories, this and succeeding ones  were actually (IMO)

a slight improvement over the Schiff-edited issues that  preceded them.  But

only slight. One could wish that-- as Julie Schwartz  dropped the Schiff sci-fi

monsters from Batman and got more back to classic  villains and detective

cases,-- Boltinoff and later George Kashdan had dropped  the monsters and

returned to stories of international intrigue and paramilitary  combat as in the old

Quality days.  But for whatever reason, the new  editors didn't feel they

could go cold turkey on the monsters and sci-fi stuff  in BLACKHAWK.  (Later,

starting with issue #228, the series reached what is  generally considered the

absolute low point of its run, with the so-called "New  Blackhawk Era" in which

the members, except for Blackhawk himself, adopted  clunky mechanically-powered

"superhero" identities.

In general, again  IMO, almost the whole run of Blackhawk at DC-- the main

exception being the  1980's Evanier/Spiegle revival-- supports my view that DC

just doesn't do well  at taking over other companies' characters   Plastic Man,

Captain  Marvel, the Charlton "action-heroes".... I think many fans would

agree that DC  never really succeeded in making these characters work for a new

generation the  way they did with their own characters such as Flash and Green

Lantern.   (And I'm kind of grateful that that proposed DC revival of the

THUNDER Agents--  as opposed to Archive reprints of the original stories-- fell 

through.)

Blackhawk #55; August 1952

Blackhawk #55

August 1952
cover: pencils/inks: Reed Crandall

"Red Ransom!"
script: ?
pencils: Reed Crandall
inks: Chuck Cuidera
letters: Sam Rosen
editor: Alfred Grener

The Blackhawks are "in America," finishing a meal at the table of Chop
Chop's cousin. His name is Wah Jung, and he is downcast. Recently, Red
China sent him a bill for $4,000 to cover taxes owed them by his uncle! "Uncle
Wah Po is only poor kite maker! How can he owe $4,000 tax? Is clazy!"
exclaims Chop Chop. Wah Jung laments that unless he sends the money,
Uncle will be executed! Blackhawk observes that this is a racket for milking
the off-shore kin of people still living in China. He sets his jaw and declares
that the only way to stop this is to go there, fight it, and get Uncle Wah Po out!

Many hours later, as the Blackhawk jets reach Red China, they take the step
needed to keep the mission secret: they watch for plane spotters! Then, a few
miles from the city where the kidnap victims are held, Blackhawk notices a
small village. After the team lands, they attack the occupying troops.
Blackhawk's gun is drawn, but the battle is fought with only their fists. They
then hide the jets in the village barns. Chop Chop drafts an ox-pulled hay cart
into service, and drives it into the city. There, he talks loudly with a farmer
about his envy for his rich brother in the USA. Some soldiers overhear this,
and haul Chop Chop down from the cart. They arrest him for tax evasion,
while impounding the cart as partial payment. Once the cart is in a storage
building within the prison compound, the Blackhawks emerge from the straw.
They subdue the prison's lone guard, and Chop Chop quickly locates his
uncle. Blackhawk sighs: "I wish we could help those other people, but there's
nothing we can do... at least for now!"

Their rush from the prison disturbs a flock of pigeons, who fly wildly and emit
strange whistling sounds! Chop Chop explains that it is a custom to fit
bamboo flutes to the pigeon's tails. The music attracts some guards, who take
our unarmed guys before their General Klang. The General chortles that he is
not fooled by their prison-busting. Blackhawk objects, but Klang continues
that Blackhawk knows very well that he, Klang, a much-decorated soldier, is
one of the few generals trusted with the location of the new secret weapon
that the Russian scientist Strogoff is building there in China. This weapon will
destroy the democratic nations! Klang will get another medal! He has the
team (and Wah Po) bound with ropes and sent by river boat to the High
Command. While en route, Blackhawk notices the fireworks that mark the new
year. This gives him an idea, and, pulling out his cigarette lighter (!), he sets
fire to the junk's low-hung sail. As the guards scramble to extinguish it, he cuts
his bonds on a fallen rifle's bayonet , then sets loose the team. They knock out
the guards. The junk soon drifts to the docks of a town. The team evades their
captors under cover of the paper mache New Year's parade dragon.

Soon they make their way to the local prison, where they see General Klang's
car parked outside. If they could trick him into driving to the weapon's location
tonight, one of them could tag along on top of his car and direct the others via
their belt radios. Uncle Wah Po volunteers, as it is an "honorable" custom
among his people to pay debts before the new year ceremony ends. This is
his chance to pay a part of the great debt owed to "you great fighters for my
country's freedom." Blackhawk assents, and lays out his plan. Since the
General has a thing for medals, he and the boys overtake one of the sentry
posts (using rifle butts as clubs... no shooting!) and comandeer its phone.
Presumably affecting a Russian accent, Blackhawk phones General Klang
and identifies himself as Professor Strogoff! "Stalin has heard of your service
to the Red Army and wishes to award you a medal here tonight!" The
General's car leaves at once, with Wah Po riding the roof. Much later, Wah Po
radios in from within the factory's storeroom, and gives general directions.
However, the factory is camouflaged and cannot be seen from the sky!
Blackhawk laments unless they can spot some sort of marker, they cant make
a direct hit... and only a direct hit can wipe out the factory. Wah Po tells  him to
watch the sky for a white bird, as it will tell him where to bomb. The boys have
no idea what to make of this comment, but they take their jets to the skies
anyway. When they reach the vicinity of the factory, a gleaming winged shape
rises skyward! Wah Po has made a bird-shaped kite of luminous paper!
Blackhawk is not eager to bomb the place, as Uncle is there flying the kite, but
Chop Chop assures him that Uncle is glad to give his life in the name of
saving many others. So, as his bomb bay doors open, Blackhawk declares,
"So long, Wah Po! You're one of the bravest little guys I ever met!" He goes on
to praise the brave Chinese nationalist resistance fighters, and the guys sing,
"We salute all men who bravely fight, For freedom that is theirs by right...
WE'RE BLACKHAWKS!" The end!


Chop Chop is featured in a four page big foot humor story. While laboring
over a hot stove in the Blackhawk kitchen, Chop Chop gets a telegram. He's
inherited money from a distant relative in the old country, too much money to
count easily. A celebration banquet is held, but he's not concerned about the
tab. The inheritance attorney's bill, likewise, gives him no pause... until the old
Chinese bank notes are tallied. They're worth about 1/4 of what he's spent.
He ends up at a hot stove at the hotel, musing philosophically: stew pot is
better than jackpot... much less trouble! The end!


"The Rocketmen!"
Script: ?
Pencils: not Dick Dillin
Inks: Chuck Cuidera
Letters: Sam Rosen

Actually, they're wearing harnesses attached to small rotor blades. The
splash shows the Rocketmen firing their automatic weapons at the team, who
are firing back. Nobody is getting hit. As the story opens, the team is paying a
social visit to the "remote mountain republic of Kahara". Blackhawk comments
to the President that the citizens aren't worried about the danger of invasion.
The President replies that theirs is rugged terrain, with few flatlands where
enemy planes could land. The airstrip is well guarded. Parachutists are no
danger, either, for any raiding party would be trapped. Yes, their little republic
is safe. (By implication, there are no roads!) But, suddenly...! An explosion
destroys the arsenal! The raiders are wearing parachute jumpers' uniforms
and carry automatic rifles! The Blackhawks run to the arsenal, which is
conveniently across the street from the Presidential building, and punch the
raiders half senseless. But, the invading commander shouts an order and the
raiders retreat swiftly behind a nearby hill, where their rigs are parked.
Strapping them on, they zoom vertically skyward, giving the Blackhawks a
good strafing along the way. Our guys race to their jets and give chase, but
the Rocketmen have the advangage of maneuverability. For good measure,
they throw containers of an inky fluid over the jets' canopies. The guys have
no choice but to set their "jet robot controls" for automatic landing. Blackhawk
has slid his canopy open, and sees that one of the rotor rigs is flying sans
Rocketman! They must have shot him before he was strapped in! The things
must be remote controlled. Blackhawk then leaps from his cockpit across to
the gizmo!.. secure in the knowledge that Chop Chop, who flies with him, can
take over.

As the rotor flies back to the secret base atop a mountain, Blackhawk hangs
on. He is finally noticed and put under guard. He is then taken to their leader,
who is dressed in Renaissance garb and is busy painting his model, Lisa, she
of the enigmatic smile. Blackhawk asks if he's the one who invented the
rocket suit, but the leader demurs. He had only improved on DaVinci's 15th
Century winged flight machine, though he had also taken the name.
Blackhawk argues that he's slinging mud on the name of a great painter,
inventor and humanitarian. This new-age pirate DaVinci is bored now, and
has Blackhawk taken away. DaVinci returns to his painting, and asks Lisa
what her strange smile may mean. She replies that soon, he shall know.

Later, in his cell, Blackhawk muses that his captors have taken his belt radio,
leaving him no way to get word to the men. Suddenly, outside the cell, Lisa
clocks the guard and gives Blackhawk his belt and radio, while urging him to
get the team there quickly. He radios them with a plan to stop the Rocketmen
for good. Sometime later, a guard alerts DaVinci that the Blackhawks are on
the way, and he sends the Rocketmen to finish them off. But, the team has
slung nets between their planes and they scoop the raiders from the sky.
DaVinci is furious, and is further surprised to discover that Lisa has freed
Blackhawk. She fumes that she freed him because her husband was
murdered by DaVinci when he saw she resembled historic DaVinci's model.
She had sworn to ruin him when the time was right. Her smile simply masked
her contempt, and dreams of revenge! She and Blackhawk have come too
near their captor, though, and he shoves them off balance. This gives him a
moment to strap on a nearby rotor suit. From above, he takes a shot at them,
prompting Blackhawk to strap on a rotor and follow. They fire at each other! As
DaVinci leans to one side, he exposes his fuel tank, and it takes the shot. As
the madman falls in flames to the ground, Blackhawk thinks, "Perhaps it was
justice after all!" The boys fly away singing yet another stanza of their song.
The end!


"The Horror Bomb!"
Script: ?
Pencils: not Dick Dillin
Inks: Chuck Cuidera
Letters: Sam Rosen

"Once the mighty Voda Armament Works had been an arsenal of the free
world! Then the black ominous shadow of the Iron Curtain dropped over it!
What was the carefully guarded secret of the super-weapon being
manufactured in the Voda Armament Works?" No, this isn't the other side of
the first story. In the radio room on Blackhawk Island, Chuck intercepts a
message, with no identifying call letters, from a secret transmitter somewhere
in Rugaria! "Need your help at once. Voda will launch new secret weapon
tomorrow! The last time I saw--" at which point it breaks off, signed Klev.
Chuck wonders why it breaks off in mid-sentence, and Blackhawk figures it's
deliberate. Since Klev assumed the message would be interecepted, he
couldn't give a location. The Secret Police would have been able to drop in
before the team could arrive. Therefore, Klev sent the first line of a song that
would be well known in America, but just gibberish to any Rugarian
interceptor. The significant missing word is... Paris! Andre comments that,
were they fly to Rugaria, they would not be permitted to land. Blackhawk
figures this will work to their advantage, since, as hostile aircraft, they will in
fact be welcomed... as prisoners!

Soon, as they fly over Rugarian airspace, Olaf frets, an attitude soon justified
with the arrival of antiaircraft fire! Blackhawk determines he's not ready to land
yet, and doesn't mind if the Rugarians want to waste their ammunition. As the
flak starts to come closer, Blackhawk figures it's time to surrender, particularly
as they've flown near the Rugarian capitol. Seeing a convenient cloud bank
below, and content it will be up to the team to be prisoners... Blackhawk bails
out! Upon landing, he changes into the "peasant clothes" he'd brought along.
As he wanders the capitol, Blackhawk muses that the place is called the Paris
of the Eastern world. Presumably, this is where Klev is to be found. After
wandering for a couple of hours, Blackhawk figures he's found the place... an
inn out of whose upper windows wafts "The Last Time I Saw Paris." At the
apartment door, Blackhawk is greeted by an attractive woman in a tight red
dress. To her visitor's surprise, she responds that women can also be patriots.
She had been an engineer at Voda for several years before tyrants seized the
country! She knows she's not trusted anymore. It was only days ago she
learned about the "monstrous weapon" being made there. It defies
description, but is larger than any such explosive ever made. Tomorrow, it is
to be launched against Yugovia, the next country over! This will be the
beginning of a new world war! Blackhawk determines that the bomb must not
be launched. If she can smuggle him into the Voda Armament Works, he''ll
take over from there.

The following morning (shades of Howard Chaykin), Klev, wearing the same
red dress, and Blackhawk walk toward Voda. A nearby newsboy shouts that
the Blackhawks has been captured, with a huge ransom demanded. (From
whom? These guys have always been self-directed!) Blackhawk is glad they
landed safely, as he knows he's going to need the backup. Klev walks them to
a heavily fenced-in area. Only the most trusted workers are permitted near it.
Blackhawk approaches the lone sentry, who asks for his credentials;
Blackhawk punches his lights out while grabbing his rifle. Another sentry
approaches, but Blackhawk shoots him in the chest. As they enter the formerly
secure area, they see a rotund rocket about half a city block long. The pair
climb the two-story gantry, push a guard to the ground, and enter the control
room. Klev thinks she can operate the controls. Blackhawk replies that he`d
just as soon die one way as another, and that they'd better leave pronto! The
enormous missle is quicky aloft.

Klev is of the opinion that Rugarian planes will soon pounce, so Blackhawk
radios the guys to cut short their visit. Olaf then crosses the cell to its door ("By
Yudas! It's about time!"), grabs the guard... who'd obligingly had his back to
them... by the throat, and yanks his skull against the metal bars. Chuck grabs
the key ring from the guard's belt. Exiting the cell, Andre and Hendy punch
their way past a couple more guards, and the guys too are quickly aloft. Soon
they catch up with the big bomb, and win the dogfight with the Rugarian
planes. As the bomb passes the Rugarian border, Blackhawk sets its autopilot
to take it back where it came from. He and Klev bail out, secure in the
knowledge that Rugaria will never again attack its peaceful neighbors. She
seems to be left to her own devices where they landed, in an open field miles
from nowhere, while the Blackhawk jets soar away to the tune of yet another
stanza. The end!


Twenty-eight pages of illustrated story and an unrelated two-page text story
for one thin dime! DC comics were still 52 pages thick in 1952, but I'd say this
was still a good value.

There had been reviews of some later Blackhawk issues the last time I was
hanging out here, and I thought an earlier look back might be informative.

This inbetween era saw some surviving heroes turn into commie busters. The
mighty Blackhawks had always been sticking their noses into other countries'
business, so the Reds were just another regime to overcome. The peculiar
fighting machines were not yet the dominant theme, though the War Wheel
would be the cover feature for the next issue. The series would lean in that
direction for the rest of the Quality days. DC, who took over in January `57,
made it a central thrust.

Chop Chop remained a weird caricature until about January  `56! One
wonders if his makeover had anything to do with DC's imminent assumption
of the series. Meanwhile, his cousin is depicted as an ordinary looking guy, as
are every one of the Chinese troops and villagers.

The stories are lively and, interestingly, get more violent as the comic
progresses. The rest of the team are given very little to do at first, to the point
that it's mostly down to Blackhawk and Chop Chop, but that third story does
expand their roles enough to pepper in their trademark, heavily accented
catch phrases.

Crandall's art here is very strong. A great many Quality comics from April `41
until early `53 featured his covers. Then, abruptly, he shifted entirely over to
EC. As a big-time Blackhawk fan, I took a lot of pleasure in seeing his
approach evolve. Earliest, it ran to high drama mixed with comedy. Within
those dozen years, though, it became highly naturalistic. This sometimes
worked against the fight scenes, as he would often freeze the action, omitting
the customary speed lines. The result could be stilted, but it gave his imitators
at Quality an easy way to affect his look. This has led to a lot of very likely mis-
attribution. The situation has been compounded by the fact that Crandall was
sometimes inked by Chuck Cuidera, whose job, of course, was to bring his
imitators' similarities to the fore. Well, there were worse people to copy.