The Flash #139
"Menace Of The Reverse-Flash!"
September, 1963
Story: John Broome
Art: Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella
The Scarlet Speedster is on an urgent mission to deactivate a threat to the 25th Century and finds himself face-to-face with a new foe who use super-speed as a threat to law and order! How can the 20th Century Flash find an advantage to put an end to the "Menace Of The Reverse-Flash!"
A new type of satellite orbits the Earth, designed to travel not only in space but also through time! As the satellite orbits the world, it rotates on its own axis at a faster rate... then suddenly disappears from sight... News of its disappearance spreads across the globe... News of the amazing event is discussed on radio and television... A young physicist named Walter Drake constructed the time satellite as a time capsule so that it could be sent into the future directly rather than being buried as have previous time capsules!
An atomic clock, current books and music records, and a spare uniform of the Flash have been placed into the time satellite... which the Monarch of Motion provided at the request of Doctor Drake himself! The people of the future will have samples of our twentieth century civilization and Doctor Drake will be attending a special meeting of the Federation of Science tomorrow in Central City before the national press! At the press conference, Doctor Drake is presented as the man who created the time satellite! As the physicist takes the stage, he suddenly announces that he has nothing to say! The physicist dashes away from the stage, leaving a surprised audience behind...
Later that day, Iris West comments about Doctor Drake's bizarre behavior to her boyfriend, police scientist Barry Allen. He can't explain to her how he knows Doctor Drake -- as the Flash, and how he knows Drake would never do anything so rude! Barry excuses himself from Iris and tells her he has some police business to do! Once outside and in a hiding place, Barry activates his ring, causing a crimson costume to expand upon contact with the air...
At the home of Walter Drake, the physicist tells what he knows about the time satellite... and about the atomic clock -- which caused him to lock himself indoors... After checking over certain figures, he made a terrible discovery... A nucleonic change has come over the atomic clock and causing it to become an atomic bomb!
Doctor Drake has unknowingly created an atomic bomb which will cause terrible destruction once it arrives in the future! Millions of lives will be at stake and there is no way to retrieve the time satellite! The Flash brings his friend to where his cosmic treadmill is stored!
It takes some time for the necessary cosmic ray voltage to build up in the treadmill's power pack and the Scarlet Speedster does not know if there is enough of a charge to sent him all the way in the future! But he must try! After switching on the cosmic treadmill, the Flash move at incredible velocity... and the treadmill marker is set for five hundred years from now...
While the Scarlet Speedster seeks to gain the future -- our attention shifts to the year 2463 -- and Professor Zoom! He has always boasted he would become the greatest criminal in all history! Now there is no doubt he will attain his lifelong ambition! Who could possibly stop him -- now that he possesses super-speed? It all began yesterday when an ordinary thief with great imagination was ready for opportunity when it came a-knocking!
He was walking in Mid-Town when an object suddenly materialized out of thin air! The object fell to the ground and burst open... As hands began to reach for the various items within, the thief grasped the genuine Flash costume... The Scarlet Speedster has always been his favorite historical character because he stood for law and order -- and Eobard Thawne stood for the reverse! What he envied about the ancient hero was his super-speed! He had an idea to travel into the past -- to visit the 20th century!
Once there, he would use modern 25th century technology to take an impression of the Flash's super-speed wave patterns -- and amplify them -- to give himself super-speed! Unfortunately, he could never reach the past, and the past reached out to him... Eobard dashed home where he set up his equipment... The genuine Flash uniform contained super-speed wave patterns left over from the last time the hero used it! It was very faint, but unmistakable! Eobard Thawne's luck was holding out! After amplifying the wave patterns with a 25th century technique, he dyed the uniform so that it was now the reverse in color of the Scarlet Speedster's! He now wondered if he truly had super-speed and if his theories were correct --!
As he dashed back and forth across the room... he now had super-speed -- and his heartbeat remained normal! Due to his scientific knowledge, the authorities referred to him as the "Professor," and now with super-speed, he became Professor Zoom! He could now move so fast -- he became invisible to normal sight! There was now nothing to prevent him from achieving his goal of becoming the greatest criminal of all time! There was only one thing on Earth valuable enough to deserve his attention -- the Cribi Sculptures! Explorers from Earth in 2418 found striking metal sculptures and no sign of the civilization who made them centuries ago! It was later discovered that the metal of the sculptures would not tarnish, not be dented, or even analyzed! The sculptures were brought back to Earth where the mystery of their origin grew!
The value of the Cribi Sculptures have become astronomical and only the richest of people have been able to afford to own one -- until now, that is! Professor Zoom was now about to corner the market on Cribi Sculptures and his impending wealth would be beyond calculation! At the home of Bord Bal Samo, the richest man in the galaxy... atomic robot guards are watching over the Cribi! At that very moment... the Reverse-Flash vibrates himself through a wall --
CRAACK! ZZZZZZSSST! Professor Zoom is moving so fast that he manages to grab Balsamo's Cribi -- and take it away before the atomic robot-guards before they could release their deadly radiation! Outside, the 25th century police attempt to stop the fast-moving thief, who uses the Cribi as a shield against their rays! Now able to zoom away with the speed of an electron, he is soon back in his hideaway... intent on possessing all the Cribis in existence!
He makes a map showing each location and eyes the one pertaining to Ducland Phillips, the atom-power king who has his Cribi -- in a special building surrounded by a personal force-field! Now that he can move with super-speed, Professor Zoom will find a way to get past the deadly energy force-field! On a nearby street corner... the air begins to bulge -- and something comes into view --!
As the Reverse-Flash begins his assault, his heroic counterpart from the 20th century has arrived in the 25th century -- through the use of his own super-speed! He must maintain his internal vibrations all the time he is here or else -- he will return to his own time period! When a bystander comments about the strange objects from the past that came into view yesterday, the Flash learns that the time capsule has been taken to the nearby Science Center--!
At the Science Center, he sees the time capsule has been placed on display -- and that it crashed and broke apart shortly after landing... All items with the exception of two have been recovered -- his uniform and the atomic clock have been taken by looters -- Although he doesn't understand why someone would want his old uniform, the important thing right now is to retrieve the atomic clock! According to Doctor Drake, there is only one hour left before the clock explodes, and there is no time to broadcast a warning! The best thing to do is to search for the atomic clock himself -- by traveling through the entire city at super-speed!
As the Monarch of Motion passes a street corner... he sees a picture on a full-color newspaper of a criminal who has gained super-speed! Professor Zoom has broken into the building housing the second Cribi by vibrating up through the concrete floor and avoiding the force-field entirely! The Scarlet Speedster sees this Reverse-Flash is the reverse of himself! Instead of a crime-fighter -- he is a criminal!
Using the Flash's old uniform, Professor Zoom has given himself super-speed -- making him the most dangerous criminal of the 25th century -- and the authorities are trying to stop him! Since the Scarlet Speedster is responsible for his criminal activities -- he must stop him! For all the Flash knows, the Reverse-Flash has the atomic clock! As the Monarch of Motion pours it on... he barely catches up with Professor Zoom! They are both going so fast... that if the Flash makes the slightest movement towards him... to wrestle with him... he will slow him up... and fall behind in the blink of an eye! There is only one way to deal with this...
The Flash pulls ahead of the Reverse-Flash and this gives him a split-instant to grab -- empty air! In addition to super-speed, Professor Zoom is wearing electro-rockets to give him added acceleration whenever necessary! Professor Zoom has taken an advance course in the art of trickery! He doesn't realize the Flash can track the faint molecular agitation in the air left behind...
By moving at super-speed and vibrating externally at the same rate as the agitation -- the Scarlet Speedster can see it and follow it! The agitation trail leads to a certain house! He has enough time to notice how different houses look in the future! Inside the 25th century home, he catches Professor Zoom with his rockets off! The pair of rockets are eliminated, leaving the two combatants to duel each other man-to-man! As the two speedsters move against one another, a tremendous whirlwind is created -- and the house is wrecked in the powerful vacuum effect!
Professor Zoom flings a barrage of objects at the Flash -- fast enough to cut clean through him if they connect! The Scarlet Speedster makes his way through the deadly volley to reach close quarters with his foe! As the Flash grabs ahold of his foe -- the Reverse-Flash's fist moves at super-speed, and the Scarlet Speedster manages to roll with the blow!
Their speeds are equal and it appears to be a stalemate! When Professor Zoom comments on his using 25th century super-science to duplicate the Flash's aura by covering his uniform with a chemical coating -- his boast shows the Scarlet Speedster the way to beat his foe! The next moment finds the Flash lifting the Reverse-Flash off the ground and moving at an immeasurable rate... He must go faster than Zoom has ever gone before... faster than he has ever gone... and travel as if he had million-league boots...!
Professor Zoom is rendered momentarily helpless as his protective chemical coating is broken down! As the Flash's aura continues to protect him, he holds the Reverse-Flash out as far away as possible--! As they both reach hyper-velocity... Professor Zoom begins to burn up and begs the Flash to slow down because he is now truly beaten! Eobard Thawne is now a beaten man -- even though the Scarlet Speedster slowed down before any real harm occurred to him! The Reverse-Flash is defeated and the stolen uniform is removed before he is turned over to the authorities!
At police headquarters, truth serum is used to reveal that Thawne knows nothing about the location of the atomic clock! There is hardly any time remaining before disaster strikes! The Monarch of Motion begins his desperate rounds... until he finds the object of his search in a house on the outskirts of the futuristic city... He sees an elderly woman admiring the object, perhaps unaware of the authorities' request for its return! The atomic clock vanishes before her very eyes as the Flash moves at such speed to render both himself and the clock invisible! According to the atomic clock, he has only a second to locate a proper spot for the atomic explosion! Once the Sultan of Speed has reconnoitered the Arctic Circle, he lets go of the clock... and beats a hasty retreat to leave the mushroom cloud behind him!
Relaxing his internal vibrations, the Flash returns to his own time period, and tells Doctor Drake about his futuristic adventure! He attends to the important chore of burning his old uniform -- so that no one else can ever misuse it -- the way Professor Zoom -- tried to do! The following day at the coffee shop, Iris comments to Barry about how Doctor Drake is now a different man at today's press conference! The physicist answered all of their questions and was very cooperative as can be! The newshen finds this to be very mysterious... The police scientist reminds her that a man can have his moods! It seems to Iris that Barry acts as if sometimes he knows something, but she's certain it's just a pose to impress her!
This story was reprinted in The Flash #205 (April-May, 1971).
Actor John Wesley Shipp voiced Professor Zoom on an episode of Batman: The Brave And The Bold.
The Tardis is a device that can travel through time and space.
Being a reporter at Picture News, Iris West was present at the news conference when Doctor Drake made his mad dash from the stage.
The Cosmic Treadmill was first used in the "Conquerors Of Time!" story in Flash #125.
The Reverse-Flash has appeared on the new Flash TV series, most notably in "The Man In The Yellow Suit" episode.
Eobard Thawne's 25th century wardrobe suggests he thinks bowties are cool and that the Atom's pants and boots make quite a fashion statement.
The Invisible Girl can project force-fields.
Brainiac 5 has his own personal force-field.
The Flash must maintain his own internal vibrations during time-travel via his Cosmic Treadmill, unlike the objects sent in the time satellite.
The accident that gave Barry Allen his super-speed also surrounded him with a protective aura at the same time.
The Scarlet Speedster had to beat the atomic clock before disaster struck in the 25th century.
"Beat The Clock" was the title of an episode of the 1990 CBS Flash TV series.
Steve Chung
"Review Of The Reverse-Flash!"
The archives of the Silver Age Reviews Yahoo Group, celebrating that classic era of comic books published between 1956 and 1972! (And occasionally beyond!)
Showcase #13: "The Master Of The Elements!"
Showcase #13
"The Master Of The Elements!"
March-April, 1958
Story: John Broome
Art: Carmine Infantino
Inks: Frank Giacoia
It was the most incredible fight on the planet! A duel between a criminal armed with natural element as his weapons -- and the Flash, whose super-speed was no match for the elemental weaponry of the "Master Of The Elements!"
At the Palladium Jewelry Store in Central City, staff and customers alike turn towards Mr. Element, who has chosen this particular place named for one of his favorite elements -- palladium! Argon and Radon keep them covered while Mr. Element moves to gather their loot! A clerk in the back room of the jewelry store picks up the phone to report the robbery! Meanwhile, police scientist Barry Allen is meeting Picture News reporter Iris West for their date. As she notes that he is the slowest man on two feet, Barry knows he can't move faster or else she would suspect he was the Scarlet Speedster!
The police radio of a passing patrol car alerts the police scientist to the jewelry store robbery, with Iris heading over there to cover the story for Picture News, and Barry lagging behind in order to change into his Flash uniform! The police scientist whirls at super-speed, activating the ring on his finger, and causing the crimson costume to spring forth at his touch, expanding upon contact with the air...
When she looks back, Iris notices that Barry is no longer behind her. The Flash arrives at the Palladium, where Mr. Element has been expecting him! The Scarlet Speedster is surprised to find himself being held back by gold wires -- stretched along the corridor -- When the Monarch of Motion finally gets past the golden barrier, Mr. Element has disappeared from sight!
In his underground hideout, Mr. Element prepares to divide the loot evenly, with half going to him -- and the other half to his gang! These six henchmen have been named after the six inert elements because they cannot make a single move without him! He then explains his being aware about his criminal career being possibly obstructed by -- the Flash! As a boy, he had been interested in the chemical elements, such as carbon, gold, silver, and platinum... When he became an adult, the future Mr. Element decided to use the elements against the Scarlet Speedster! After acquiring a hide-out and designing his own uniform, Mr. Element decided his emblem would be a carbon atom! Since his hide-out is among underground rocks, he wears an atmosphere-filter to breathe only pure oxygen!
He has already planned their next caper and addresses Krypton, Xenon, Argon, and the others --! As the Sultan of Speed makes his way through Central City, he soon sees a light in the Harrow Mining Company! The Flash uses his super-speed to race up the side of the building... aware that the Harrow Mining Company had received a large supply of platinum yesterday! A fraction of a second later, the Scarlet Speedster hears something going on behind a wall, and decides to pass through it at super-speed -- As the Monarch of Motion begins the maneuver, he is startled to learn he is unable to pass through the wall! Unbeknownst to the Scarlet Speedster, Mr. Element had already sprayed the wall with vanadium, the hardest of all metallic elements!
The Flash realizes intense heat can melt through any metal and rubs his heat-proof glove against the vanadium, and the heat resulting from the friction melts the metal! The melting point of 1710 centigrade is quickly realized and the Flash passes through the opening in the wall... As the Scarlet Speedster begins carrying Mr. Element to police headquarters, the cunning criminal drops a special sodium pellet as they cross Central River Bridge... and the element explodes upon contact with water! POW!
When the Flash regains his senses, Mr. Element has already left the scene! Now in his underground workshop, the cunning criminal works on new ways to use the elements to his advantage! He creates a special liquid to make iron rust quickly, a special magnesium flare to prevent anyone from seeing what he is doing, and silicon super-glass to be used on his getaway car! One night in a restaurant, Iris asks Barry what's on his mind, and he notices the fireworks overhead forming letters -- just like a neon sign -- which is an element --
The incredible message appears in the sky above Central City... "Flash, when we meet again tonight, it will be the last time for you! Mr. Element!" As the police scientist tells his date he has got a headache, she offers to give him an iron tonic... and the name of an element is enough to make Barry wince! As the Flash searches Central City for the elusive Mr. Element... he soon finds his quarry... who has stacked every element in his favor!
As the Fastest Man On Earth moves towards his foe... Mr. Element uses his newest discovery of elemento, a magnetic form of light to propel the startled Speedster faster and faster... Once Mr. Element has aimed his elemento beam skyward, the helpless hero is sent into outer space! He knows if he attains escape velocity, he will never be able to return to Earth! The Flash is now heading in the direction of the moon! If he hits it, it will be his end! If he misses it, he will continue traveling through outer space forever! As Mr. Element and his criminal cronies laugh in triumph...
Their triumph proves short-lived when the Flash drops from out of space... having been slowed down by Earth's atmosphere, the Sultan of Speed tackles Mr. Element and his gang! As the Master Of The Elements and his men are rendered helpless and unarmed, he asks how the Flash was able to avoid his fate in outer space. As the Scarlet Speedster hurtled off the planet, he realizes three possibilities... one -- he would collide with the moon... two -- he would by-pass the moon and continue to travel through outer space forever... and three -- he might make a curve around the moon -- the same way a comet circles the sun!
Using his own vibrations, the Flash was caught in the moon's gravitation, and swung completely around the satellite... heading back to Earth! He was traveling at the speed of light which lasts less than a minute -- and held his own breath in airless space, enabling his survival! As the Monarch of Motion is about to haul his captives to jail, Mr. Element announces his final trick of using a special radium bomb... operated via the hands of his wristwatch -- which has already had been removed at super-speed when the Flash noticed the dial's peculiar glow mere moments ago! The following night finds Barry visiting Iris, who shows him her article about the Flash's capture of Mr. Element, and comment about wishing to know how the Scarlet Speedster managed that particular feat... unlike a certain police scientist she knows! Barry smiles and tells her there is a certain element of truth in what she just said!
This story was reprinted in Flash Annual #1 (1963).
The Master Of The Elements later returned as Dr. Alchemy.
Rex Mason is the Element Man known as Metamorpho.
The Beatles once appeared at the London Palladium.
Gold was plentiful on planet Krypton.
Gold, Platinum, Iron, Mercury, and Tin are members of the Metal Men.
Mr. Element's vanadium trap rubbed the Scarlet Speedster the wrong way, so the Flash returned the favor, and foiled his trap.
Mr. Element's atmosphere-filter makes me wonder if younger readers seeing the character referred to him as "Mr. Elephant!"
Escape velocity is seven miles a second -- the necessary speed for an object to break free of the Earth's gravitational pull!
Mr. Element had to learn to watch the time because the Monarch of Motion foiled his special radium bomb by taking his time, and ensuring he would soon be doing time in prison.
Steve Chung
"The Master Of The Reviews!"
March-April, 1958
Story: John Broome
Art: Carmine Infantino
Inks: Frank Giacoia
It was the most incredible fight on the planet! A duel between a criminal armed with natural element as his weapons -- and the Flash, whose super-speed was no match for the elemental weaponry of the "Master Of The Elements!"
At the Palladium Jewelry Store in Central City, staff and customers alike turn towards Mr. Element, who has chosen this particular place named for one of his favorite elements -- palladium! Argon and Radon keep them covered while Mr. Element moves to gather their loot! A clerk in the back room of the jewelry store picks up the phone to report the robbery! Meanwhile, police scientist Barry Allen is meeting Picture News reporter Iris West for their date. As she notes that he is the slowest man on two feet, Barry knows he can't move faster or else she would suspect he was the Scarlet Speedster!
The police radio of a passing patrol car alerts the police scientist to the jewelry store robbery, with Iris heading over there to cover the story for Picture News, and Barry lagging behind in order to change into his Flash uniform! The police scientist whirls at super-speed, activating the ring on his finger, and causing the crimson costume to spring forth at his touch, expanding upon contact with the air...
When she looks back, Iris notices that Barry is no longer behind her. The Flash arrives at the Palladium, where Mr. Element has been expecting him! The Scarlet Speedster is surprised to find himself being held back by gold wires -- stretched along the corridor -- When the Monarch of Motion finally gets past the golden barrier, Mr. Element has disappeared from sight!
In his underground hideout, Mr. Element prepares to divide the loot evenly, with half going to him -- and the other half to his gang! These six henchmen have been named after the six inert elements because they cannot make a single move without him! He then explains his being aware about his criminal career being possibly obstructed by -- the Flash! As a boy, he had been interested in the chemical elements, such as carbon, gold, silver, and platinum... When he became an adult, the future Mr. Element decided to use the elements against the Scarlet Speedster! After acquiring a hide-out and designing his own uniform, Mr. Element decided his emblem would be a carbon atom! Since his hide-out is among underground rocks, he wears an atmosphere-filter to breathe only pure oxygen!
He has already planned their next caper and addresses Krypton, Xenon, Argon, and the others --! As the Sultan of Speed makes his way through Central City, he soon sees a light in the Harrow Mining Company! The Flash uses his super-speed to race up the side of the building... aware that the Harrow Mining Company had received a large supply of platinum yesterday! A fraction of a second later, the Scarlet Speedster hears something going on behind a wall, and decides to pass through it at super-speed -- As the Monarch of Motion begins the maneuver, he is startled to learn he is unable to pass through the wall! Unbeknownst to the Scarlet Speedster, Mr. Element had already sprayed the wall with vanadium, the hardest of all metallic elements!
The Flash realizes intense heat can melt through any metal and rubs his heat-proof glove against the vanadium, and the heat resulting from the friction melts the metal! The melting point of 1710 centigrade is quickly realized and the Flash passes through the opening in the wall... As the Scarlet Speedster begins carrying Mr. Element to police headquarters, the cunning criminal drops a special sodium pellet as they cross Central River Bridge... and the element explodes upon contact with water! POW!
When the Flash regains his senses, Mr. Element has already left the scene! Now in his underground workshop, the cunning criminal works on new ways to use the elements to his advantage! He creates a special liquid to make iron rust quickly, a special magnesium flare to prevent anyone from seeing what he is doing, and silicon super-glass to be used on his getaway car! One night in a restaurant, Iris asks Barry what's on his mind, and he notices the fireworks overhead forming letters -- just like a neon sign -- which is an element --
The incredible message appears in the sky above Central City... "Flash, when we meet again tonight, it will be the last time for you! Mr. Element!" As the police scientist tells his date he has got a headache, she offers to give him an iron tonic... and the name of an element is enough to make Barry wince! As the Flash searches Central City for the elusive Mr. Element... he soon finds his quarry... who has stacked every element in his favor!
As the Fastest Man On Earth moves towards his foe... Mr. Element uses his newest discovery of elemento, a magnetic form of light to propel the startled Speedster faster and faster... Once Mr. Element has aimed his elemento beam skyward, the helpless hero is sent into outer space! He knows if he attains escape velocity, he will never be able to return to Earth! The Flash is now heading in the direction of the moon! If he hits it, it will be his end! If he misses it, he will continue traveling through outer space forever! As Mr. Element and his criminal cronies laugh in triumph...
Their triumph proves short-lived when the Flash drops from out of space... having been slowed down by Earth's atmosphere, the Sultan of Speed tackles Mr. Element and his gang! As the Master Of The Elements and his men are rendered helpless and unarmed, he asks how the Flash was able to avoid his fate in outer space. As the Scarlet Speedster hurtled off the planet, he realizes three possibilities... one -- he would collide with the moon... two -- he would by-pass the moon and continue to travel through outer space forever... and three -- he might make a curve around the moon -- the same way a comet circles the sun!
Using his own vibrations, the Flash was caught in the moon's gravitation, and swung completely around the satellite... heading back to Earth! He was traveling at the speed of light which lasts less than a minute -- and held his own breath in airless space, enabling his survival! As the Monarch of Motion is about to haul his captives to jail, Mr. Element announces his final trick of using a special radium bomb... operated via the hands of his wristwatch -- which has already had been removed at super-speed when the Flash noticed the dial's peculiar glow mere moments ago! The following night finds Barry visiting Iris, who shows him her article about the Flash's capture of Mr. Element, and comment about wishing to know how the Scarlet Speedster managed that particular feat... unlike a certain police scientist she knows! Barry smiles and tells her there is a certain element of truth in what she just said!
This story was reprinted in Flash Annual #1 (1963).
The Master Of The Elements later returned as Dr. Alchemy.
Rex Mason is the Element Man known as Metamorpho.
The Beatles once appeared at the London Palladium.
Gold was plentiful on planet Krypton.
Gold, Platinum, Iron, Mercury, and Tin are members of the Metal Men.
Mr. Element's vanadium trap rubbed the Scarlet Speedster the wrong way, so the Flash returned the favor, and foiled his trap.
Mr. Element's atmosphere-filter makes me wonder if younger readers seeing the character referred to him as "Mr. Elephant!"
Escape velocity is seven miles a second -- the necessary speed for an object to break free of the Earth's gravitational pull!
Mr. Element had to learn to watch the time because the Monarch of Motion foiled his special radium bomb by taking his time, and ensuring he would soon be doing time in prison.
Steve Chung
"The Master Of The Reviews!"
Showcase #13: "Around The World In 80 Minutes!"
Showcase #13
"Around The World In 80 Minutes!"
March-April, 1958
Script: Robert Kanigher
Pencils: Carmine Infantino
Inks: Joe Giella
The Flash, the Fastest Man On Earth travels to Paris, to the Sahara Desert, to Tibet -- and to the Pacific Ocean! Join him as the Scarlet Speedster travels "Around the World in 80 Minutes!"
As police scientist Barry Allen and news hen Iris West exit a showing of "Around The World In 80 Days" at the Central City Cinema, she asks him how long it would take to circle the Earth now! Barry tells her it takes about ninety minutes via space-satellite! She then wonders how long it would take the Flash to accomplish such a feat! When the police scientist says that maybe the Scarlet Speedster will show them one day, Iris asks that he try to remember to meet her for their date tomorrow, and not to be late! After promising Iris to be on time, Barry Allen is back at the police laboratory, and is picking up a police signal from the radio-reception watch he has been working on! He is now able to keep in touch with police signals from all over the world! Barry wonders what signals he will soon be picking up!
The following day at 11:30, the police scientist calculates it is about twenty minutes from police headquarters to the Plaza Fountain for his lunch date with Iris -- but he will leave now -- to give himself plenty of time! TING -- TING! The radio-reception watch is picking up a Paris surete signal regarding an emergency at the Eiffel Tower! Barry Allen activates his ring, revealing the crimson costume which expands upon contact with the air... VROOOSH! The Scarlet Speedster has got eighty minutes to learn what is happening in Paris -- and to return to Central City for his lunch date with Iris West!
As the Monarch of Motion passes by the Plaza Fountain, he sees Iris snapping photos, and decides to kiss her on the cheek at super-speed! As the news hen notes how windy it suddenly got around her, the Flash is propelled across the Atlantic via his own vibrations... Once in Paris, he notes how bad the traffic is than in Times Square and spots the Eiffel Tower straight ahead!
Le Chat Noir is heading to the top of the tower in the elevator and is carrying an atomic bomb! The Sultan of Speed pasts unseen beyond the police cordon... he knows the Black Cat has got a live atomic bomb for Paris and is now a threat to the city! The Flash hurtles up the tower's framework and chases after the rising elevator... Nine-hundred and eighty-four feet are reached in the fraction of a second... where the Flash must save a female hostage from Le Chat Noir! If the Scarlet Speedster takes another step, he will be fatally scratched by an atomic claw!
As Le Chat Noir moves forward, the Flash and the female hostage hurtle over the side, and the Scarlet Speedster creates an updraft by whirling one of his hands... The hostage is safe, but there is still the matter of the Black Cat! With his other hand, the Flash creates a downdraft beneath Le Chat Noir to draw him downward...
With the fate of the city of Paris depending on him, the Flash uses his sense of balance, and trims Le Chat Noir's claws by seizing the atomic bomb! As the Black Cat is led away and the atomic bomb is disarmed, the Scarlet Speedster receives a kiss on the cheek from the former hostage! BONG! BONG! BONG! Hearing the tolls of Notre Dame, the Flash realizes he must cross the Atlantic once more for his date with Iris!
His radio watch picks up a Cairo Police signal concerning Princess Tara at the Khufu Pyramid! The message is cut off and the Scarlet Speedster must travel to Egypt! Once he is at the base of a pyramid, the Flash sees the princess at the top! As captor of the princess, El Claw is confident the Sultan of Speed will be spending the rest of his life running in place! The blocks of the pyramid have been coated with oil and the faster the Flash goes -- the faster he slips behind! It is as if he is running in place!
At the top of the pyramid, El Claw demands to learn the location of the hidden jewels from the princess! As Princess Tara says the jewels were to be sold for money to be used for a local children's hospital, the Flash decides to make the pyramid come down to him! Whirling around the pyramid at super-speed, the Monarch of Motion's vibrations causes the large blocks to tumble out of place! RRRUMBLE! He is swifter than the desert hawk in catching Princess Tara! The bandits have been swept off their feet and so has the princess, who kisses her handsome rescuer!
The Flash's work is not done, as he races around the huge blocks... the pyramid is erected once more in mere seconds! Once El Claw and his men have been taken into custody, the Scarlet Speedster apologizes to the princess, and mentions he only has about forty minutes to cross the Atlantic Ocean... His watch broadcasts another plea for help... The lookout station at Mount Everest is in the path of a giant avalanche!
The Flash turns his speed eastward towards Tibet... where he spots the lookout station and heads into the heart of the avalanche itself... The friction of his super-speed causes the snow to melt -- but now the lookout station is being threatened by a tidal wave! More friction transforms the water into steam... SSSSSSSS! Now maybe he won't be delayed any further by a girl! When the lookout emerges from the station, she gives the Scarlet Speedster a warm hug! Now he has got only twenty minutes to keep his date in Central City!
The Fastest Man Alive is running eastward across the Pacific Ocean when he comes across the Viking, a ship carrying gold bullion, under attack by a pirate submarine! He could ignore the signal and be on time for his date with Iris... but he cannot refuse a cry for help! The pirate submarine has fired off another torpedo at the Viking! The Monarch of Motion speeds across the torpedo's path and makes it swerve away from the ship! Now the torpedo is pursuing him -- and it is only a matter of time before it hits him! Now underwater, the Flash spots the pirate submarine -- and the torpedo is closing in fast!
The Sultan of Speed re-surfaces for air, just as WHAAM! The pirate submarine was unable to get out of the way of its own torpedo! A lifeboat from the Viking comes up alongside the Flash and its Captain gives her thanks in the form of a kiss! When she mentions that today is Tuesday, the Monarch of Motion realizes he left on Monday, and has lost a day on his world tour!
Now back in Central City, the Scarlet Speedster has changed back to the police scientist, and knows that Iris will never forgive him for missing their date! Barry is surprised when she tells him he is on time for their date and takes his picture for her article! He will be able to see himself in Tuesday's edition of Picture News! The police scientist suddenly realizes he crossed the international date line from west to east -- regaining the day he had lost! The Flash has gone around the world in eighty minutes! As Iris congratulates him on keeping their appointment, Barry is starting to see some new possibilities!
This story was reprinted in 80 Page Giant #4 (October, 1964).
"Around The World In 80 Days" starred David Niven, Cantinflas, and Shirley Maclaine.
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen had his very own signal-watch given to him by the Man of Steel himself.
Linda Turner and Felicia Hardy were both known as the Black Cat.
The Man of Steel once saved Lois Lane from danger on the Eiffel Tower in Superman II.
Robert Kanigher wrote the adventures of Mademoiselle Marie.
Prince Khufu died and was reincarnated as archeologist Carter Hall, the Golden Age Hawkman.
Iris West would be pretty steamed if she saw the Flash being thanked by the Tibetan lookout.
Pirate torpedoes are purple and gold with skull and crossbones etched in white on the front.
The Scarlet Speedster gives new meaning to speed-dating during his world tour conducted in a mere eighty minutes.
Barry Allen got the picture when Iris informed him he managed to keep their date and he now had plenty of time to mull it over.
Steve Chung
"Around The Review In 80 Minutes!"
March-April, 1958
Script: Robert Kanigher
Pencils: Carmine Infantino
Inks: Joe Giella
The Flash, the Fastest Man On Earth travels to Paris, to the Sahara Desert, to Tibet -- and to the Pacific Ocean! Join him as the Scarlet Speedster travels "Around the World in 80 Minutes!"
As police scientist Barry Allen and news hen Iris West exit a showing of "Around The World In 80 Days" at the Central City Cinema, she asks him how long it would take to circle the Earth now! Barry tells her it takes about ninety minutes via space-satellite! She then wonders how long it would take the Flash to accomplish such a feat! When the police scientist says that maybe the Scarlet Speedster will show them one day, Iris asks that he try to remember to meet her for their date tomorrow, and not to be late! After promising Iris to be on time, Barry Allen is back at the police laboratory, and is picking up a police signal from the radio-reception watch he has been working on! He is now able to keep in touch with police signals from all over the world! Barry wonders what signals he will soon be picking up!
The following day at 11:30, the police scientist calculates it is about twenty minutes from police headquarters to the Plaza Fountain for his lunch date with Iris -- but he will leave now -- to give himself plenty of time! TING -- TING! The radio-reception watch is picking up a Paris surete signal regarding an emergency at the Eiffel Tower! Barry Allen activates his ring, revealing the crimson costume which expands upon contact with the air... VROOOSH! The Scarlet Speedster has got eighty minutes to learn what is happening in Paris -- and to return to Central City for his lunch date with Iris West!
As the Monarch of Motion passes by the Plaza Fountain, he sees Iris snapping photos, and decides to kiss her on the cheek at super-speed! As the news hen notes how windy it suddenly got around her, the Flash is propelled across the Atlantic via his own vibrations... Once in Paris, he notes how bad the traffic is than in Times Square and spots the Eiffel Tower straight ahead!
Le Chat Noir is heading to the top of the tower in the elevator and is carrying an atomic bomb! The Sultan of Speed pasts unseen beyond the police cordon... he knows the Black Cat has got a live atomic bomb for Paris and is now a threat to the city! The Flash hurtles up the tower's framework and chases after the rising elevator... Nine-hundred and eighty-four feet are reached in the fraction of a second... where the Flash must save a female hostage from Le Chat Noir! If the Scarlet Speedster takes another step, he will be fatally scratched by an atomic claw!
As Le Chat Noir moves forward, the Flash and the female hostage hurtle over the side, and the Scarlet Speedster creates an updraft by whirling one of his hands... The hostage is safe, but there is still the matter of the Black Cat! With his other hand, the Flash creates a downdraft beneath Le Chat Noir to draw him downward...
With the fate of the city of Paris depending on him, the Flash uses his sense of balance, and trims Le Chat Noir's claws by seizing the atomic bomb! As the Black Cat is led away and the atomic bomb is disarmed, the Scarlet Speedster receives a kiss on the cheek from the former hostage! BONG! BONG! BONG! Hearing the tolls of Notre Dame, the Flash realizes he must cross the Atlantic once more for his date with Iris!
His radio watch picks up a Cairo Police signal concerning Princess Tara at the Khufu Pyramid! The message is cut off and the Scarlet Speedster must travel to Egypt! Once he is at the base of a pyramid, the Flash sees the princess at the top! As captor of the princess, El Claw is confident the Sultan of Speed will be spending the rest of his life running in place! The blocks of the pyramid have been coated with oil and the faster the Flash goes -- the faster he slips behind! It is as if he is running in place!
At the top of the pyramid, El Claw demands to learn the location of the hidden jewels from the princess! As Princess Tara says the jewels were to be sold for money to be used for a local children's hospital, the Flash decides to make the pyramid come down to him! Whirling around the pyramid at super-speed, the Monarch of Motion's vibrations causes the large blocks to tumble out of place! RRRUMBLE! He is swifter than the desert hawk in catching Princess Tara! The bandits have been swept off their feet and so has the princess, who kisses her handsome rescuer!
The Flash's work is not done, as he races around the huge blocks... the pyramid is erected once more in mere seconds! Once El Claw and his men have been taken into custody, the Scarlet Speedster apologizes to the princess, and mentions he only has about forty minutes to cross the Atlantic Ocean... His watch broadcasts another plea for help... The lookout station at Mount Everest is in the path of a giant avalanche!
The Flash turns his speed eastward towards Tibet... where he spots the lookout station and heads into the heart of the avalanche itself... The friction of his super-speed causes the snow to melt -- but now the lookout station is being threatened by a tidal wave! More friction transforms the water into steam... SSSSSSSS! Now maybe he won't be delayed any further by a girl! When the lookout emerges from the station, she gives the Scarlet Speedster a warm hug! Now he has got only twenty minutes to keep his date in Central City!
The Fastest Man Alive is running eastward across the Pacific Ocean when he comes across the Viking, a ship carrying gold bullion, under attack by a pirate submarine! He could ignore the signal and be on time for his date with Iris... but he cannot refuse a cry for help! The pirate submarine has fired off another torpedo at the Viking! The Monarch of Motion speeds across the torpedo's path and makes it swerve away from the ship! Now the torpedo is pursuing him -- and it is only a matter of time before it hits him! Now underwater, the Flash spots the pirate submarine -- and the torpedo is closing in fast!
The Sultan of Speed re-surfaces for air, just as WHAAM! The pirate submarine was unable to get out of the way of its own torpedo! A lifeboat from the Viking comes up alongside the Flash and its Captain gives her thanks in the form of a kiss! When she mentions that today is Tuesday, the Monarch of Motion realizes he left on Monday, and has lost a day on his world tour!
Now back in Central City, the Scarlet Speedster has changed back to the police scientist, and knows that Iris will never forgive him for missing their date! Barry is surprised when she tells him he is on time for their date and takes his picture for her article! He will be able to see himself in Tuesday's edition of Picture News! The police scientist suddenly realizes he crossed the international date line from west to east -- regaining the day he had lost! The Flash has gone around the world in eighty minutes! As Iris congratulates him on keeping their appointment, Barry is starting to see some new possibilities!
This story was reprinted in 80 Page Giant #4 (October, 1964).
"Around The World In 80 Days" starred David Niven, Cantinflas, and Shirley Maclaine.
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen had his very own signal-watch given to him by the Man of Steel himself.
Linda Turner and Felicia Hardy were both known as the Black Cat.
The Man of Steel once saved Lois Lane from danger on the Eiffel Tower in Superman II.
Robert Kanigher wrote the adventures of Mademoiselle Marie.
Prince Khufu died and was reincarnated as archeologist Carter Hall, the Golden Age Hawkman.
Iris West would be pretty steamed if she saw the Flash being thanked by the Tibetan lookout.
Pirate torpedoes are purple and gold with skull and crossbones etched in white on the front.
The Scarlet Speedster gives new meaning to speed-dating during his world tour conducted in a mere eighty minutes.
Barry Allen got the picture when Iris informed him he managed to keep their date and he now had plenty of time to mull it over.
Steve Chung
"Around The Review In 80 Minutes!"
Showcase #14: "Giants Of The Time-World!"
Showcase #14
"Giants Of The Time-World!"
May-June, 1958
Script: Robert Kanigher
Pencils: Carmine Infantino
Inks: Frank Giacoia
The Scarlet Speedster battles aliens who grow larger every second... "Giants Of The Time World!"
In Central City, Picture News photographer meets her boyfriend, police scientist Barry Allen... As they sit at their table at Pardy's, Iris wonders why she puts up with his slowness -- especially when the man she admires most is the Flash -- the Fastest Man On Earth! Barry sees a glass of water fall off of a waitress' tray and his hand reaches out at super-speed... VOOSH! He reverses the falling glass... ZIIIP! Barry catches the falling water before it can reach the floor... VROOOOOOOSH!
As the waitress stoops over to pick up the glass, she is puzzled that not a drop of water has left the glass! After lunch, Iris tells Barry she is scheduled to take a fast ship up to take photographs of Central City at sunset! She will let him know her call letters! The police scientist hopes she doesn't go crashing through any sound barriers and heads back to the police laboratory, where he turns on his wrist-TV set... IB-17 calls Photo Field and informs them everything is normal... As Barry zooms in for a closer shot, an unidentified flying object approaches her aircraft at tremendous speed! A FLYING SAUCER! IB-7 is going to try to get near enough to take a picture of the u.f.o.!
The police scientist watches as Iris sends her aircraft towards the mysterious alien ship... CRAAAAAACK! Her aircraft has just crashed through the sound barrier and is closing in on the flying saucer! When they hear the click of the shutter -- it will mean Iris West has just gotten the picture of the century! At that very moment, a burst of light envelops the Picture News photographer's plane and... In the police laboratory, Barry Allen has just seen what has happened and the police scientist activates the ring... causing the crimson costume to expand upon contact with the air... There is only one man fast enough to reach her -- the Flash!
The Monarch of Motion heads to the missile proving grounds in an instant where... he is grateful for Iris telling him about the new rocket being launched! VROOOSH! The Fastest Man Alive rides the rocket as if it were Pegasus... The first stage drops off -- its speed is increasing -- and he should be in sight of the flying saucer! There it is! WHOOOOSH! To the Scarlet Speedster's dismay, as the rocket reaches its maximum speed from the boost of the final stage... the flying saucer is leaving him behind -- as if the rocket were standing still -- and there is no sound of power coming from the alien craft!
The Sultan of Speed is riding the rocket towards its landing area... The speed of the unidentified flying object must mean it comes from an alien civilization -- from another world -- or even another dimension... The thought of another dimension gives the Flash an idea! He must try anything and everything that might give him the slightest chance of rescuing Iris! The Scarlet Speedster begins his desperate race on the flat sands of an empty beach... He has broken through the sound barrier! CRAAAAAAAAK! But -- that is not -- fast enough!
The Monarch of Motion moves even faster through space... breaking through the thermal barrier... but even that is not -- fast enough! WHOOOOOOSH! Drawing on his untapped reserves, the Fastest Man Alive unleashes enough speed to break through -- the time barrier! His mighty effort causes him to black out for what seems like mere minutes... The Flash suddenly realizes more time must have passed than he had thought for him to have been staked down by a group of Liliputians! Has he landed elsewhere in the time dimension?
Ahead of him, the captive Speedster sees a flying saucer landing field filled with saucer launching sites all aimed in one direction! The solar-explosive saucers are all timed to be fired on his world in one hour from now! Their scouting saucers have given them all the information they need to destroy Earth's defenses! It has taken them a century to erect these sites, but in an hour, the world will belong to them! These emerald-skinned aliens are growing -- getting bigger -- with each passing second! These inhabitants of the fourth dimension of time will conquer the Earth! Each hour finds them passing through an entire life cycle - tiny -- then bigger -- then gigantic as the hour ends!
Before the Sultan of Speed's very eyes... he realizes he is not dreaming... as each second transforms the fourth-dimensional inhabitants into GIANTS!
A massive emerald hand frees the Flash from his bonds... as he learns their last scouting saucer has just returned with a three-dimensional specimen for their museum of captured worlds! Iris will join him in the giant hour glass -- to be the sole survivors of the conquered Earth! He watches as they bring her out! The Scarlet Speedster vibrates out of the giant hour glass... and the emerald giants of the fourth dimension of time begin to leap up and down!
The ground beneath the Monarch of Motion quivers and shakes... THUD! THUD! THUD! The Flash hurtles himself upwards and hops into one of the giant alien's boot cuffs! The pounding of giant feet stops at the command of their leader's signal. They head for the saucer -- where the other three-dimensional inhabitant is located! They will find him there! As they stand guard, the Flash sees Iris -- just out of reach! How can he get her out of the giant's grasp! The Scarlet Speedster leaps onto the alien giant's boot... It is only a matter of moments before they spot him!
The Flash vibrates his hands against the giant shoe until smoke begins to rise! This is the first fourth-dimensional hot-foot in history! During the confusion... he retrieves Iris and must now dispose of the explosive threats aimed towards Earth! As he frees Iris from her captive container, they see the giants reducing in size, and this means an hour has passed -- and the explosive flying saucers are scheduled to be fired at Earth! Tapping undreamt reserves of speed within him -- the Scarlet Speedster races across the launching site... the saucers have been fired, but the Flash isn't stopping yet! WHOOOSH!
As the Crimson Comet dashes at incredible velocity around the launching pad... WHAAM! WHAAM! WHAAM! WHOOOOOOSH! The flying saucers explode from the vibrations he has set up -- before they can crash through the time barrier -- into Earth! The Flash hurls himself and Iris forward with a tremendous burst of speed... they manage to avoid the blasts by crashing through the time barrier WHAAAM! CRAAACK! the heat barrier! CRAAACK! the sound barrier! BLAAAM! They are now back in Central City, where Iris asks the Flash to meet a friend of hers -- Barry Allen! The police scientist is very sweet -- but slower than a turtle with lumbago! Perhaps he could help him learn how to speed up a little bit? This sounds like an impossible task for the Flash!
This story was reprinted in 80 Page Giant Magazine #4 (October, 1964).
One giant step for the fourth-dimensional aliens means the end of the Flash and our world!
The Scarlet Speedster has got his own signed portrait at Pardy's.
The police scientist caught a waitress' tray in Showcase #4.
It's interesting to note that Iris West is a fully-qualified pilot.
Iris' pilot helmet resembles the villainous headgear of Mr. Element.
Dick Tracy should have gotten a patent on Barry's wrist-TV set.
In later stories, the Flash used the Cosmic Treadmill to travel through time and space.
The Flash and Kid Flash traveled to the "Land Of The Golden Giants!" in The Flash #120 (May, 1961).
Like sands through the giant hour glass, these are the last moment's of Flash's life.
Luckily for the Monarch of Motion, the giants are slow on their feet, and are unable to make one leap for one small man.
The Flash has saved the planet from destruction and the only barrier left to breach is the one to make police scientist be on time for his date with Iris West.
Steve Chung
"Review Of The Time-World!"
May-June, 1958
Script: Robert Kanigher
Pencils: Carmine Infantino
Inks: Frank Giacoia
The Scarlet Speedster battles aliens who grow larger every second... "Giants Of The Time World!"
In Central City, Picture News photographer meets her boyfriend, police scientist Barry Allen... As they sit at their table at Pardy's, Iris wonders why she puts up with his slowness -- especially when the man she admires most is the Flash -- the Fastest Man On Earth! Barry sees a glass of water fall off of a waitress' tray and his hand reaches out at super-speed... VOOSH! He reverses the falling glass... ZIIIP! Barry catches the falling water before it can reach the floor... VROOOOOOOSH!
As the waitress stoops over to pick up the glass, she is puzzled that not a drop of water has left the glass! After lunch, Iris tells Barry she is scheduled to take a fast ship up to take photographs of Central City at sunset! She will let him know her call letters! The police scientist hopes she doesn't go crashing through any sound barriers and heads back to the police laboratory, where he turns on his wrist-TV set... IB-17 calls Photo Field and informs them everything is normal... As Barry zooms in for a closer shot, an unidentified flying object approaches her aircraft at tremendous speed! A FLYING SAUCER! IB-7 is going to try to get near enough to take a picture of the u.f.o.!
The police scientist watches as Iris sends her aircraft towards the mysterious alien ship... CRAAAAAACK! Her aircraft has just crashed through the sound barrier and is closing in on the flying saucer! When they hear the click of the shutter -- it will mean Iris West has just gotten the picture of the century! At that very moment, a burst of light envelops the Picture News photographer's plane and... In the police laboratory, Barry Allen has just seen what has happened and the police scientist activates the ring... causing the crimson costume to expand upon contact with the air... There is only one man fast enough to reach her -- the Flash!
The Monarch of Motion heads to the missile proving grounds in an instant where... he is grateful for Iris telling him about the new rocket being launched! VROOOSH! The Fastest Man Alive rides the rocket as if it were Pegasus... The first stage drops off -- its speed is increasing -- and he should be in sight of the flying saucer! There it is! WHOOOOSH! To the Scarlet Speedster's dismay, as the rocket reaches its maximum speed from the boost of the final stage... the flying saucer is leaving him behind -- as if the rocket were standing still -- and there is no sound of power coming from the alien craft!
The Sultan of Speed is riding the rocket towards its landing area... The speed of the unidentified flying object must mean it comes from an alien civilization -- from another world -- or even another dimension... The thought of another dimension gives the Flash an idea! He must try anything and everything that might give him the slightest chance of rescuing Iris! The Scarlet Speedster begins his desperate race on the flat sands of an empty beach... He has broken through the sound barrier! CRAAAAAAAAK! But -- that is not -- fast enough!
The Monarch of Motion moves even faster through space... breaking through the thermal barrier... but even that is not -- fast enough! WHOOOOOOSH! Drawing on his untapped reserves, the Fastest Man Alive unleashes enough speed to break through -- the time barrier! His mighty effort causes him to black out for what seems like mere minutes... The Flash suddenly realizes more time must have passed than he had thought for him to have been staked down by a group of Liliputians! Has he landed elsewhere in the time dimension?
Ahead of him, the captive Speedster sees a flying saucer landing field filled with saucer launching sites all aimed in one direction! The solar-explosive saucers are all timed to be fired on his world in one hour from now! Their scouting saucers have given them all the information they need to destroy Earth's defenses! It has taken them a century to erect these sites, but in an hour, the world will belong to them! These emerald-skinned aliens are growing -- getting bigger -- with each passing second! These inhabitants of the fourth dimension of time will conquer the Earth! Each hour finds them passing through an entire life cycle - tiny -- then bigger -- then gigantic as the hour ends!
Before the Sultan of Speed's very eyes... he realizes he is not dreaming... as each second transforms the fourth-dimensional inhabitants into GIANTS!
A massive emerald hand frees the Flash from his bonds... as he learns their last scouting saucer has just returned with a three-dimensional specimen for their museum of captured worlds! Iris will join him in the giant hour glass -- to be the sole survivors of the conquered Earth! He watches as they bring her out! The Scarlet Speedster vibrates out of the giant hour glass... and the emerald giants of the fourth dimension of time begin to leap up and down!
The ground beneath the Monarch of Motion quivers and shakes... THUD! THUD! THUD! The Flash hurtles himself upwards and hops into one of the giant alien's boot cuffs! The pounding of giant feet stops at the command of their leader's signal. They head for the saucer -- where the other three-dimensional inhabitant is located! They will find him there! As they stand guard, the Flash sees Iris -- just out of reach! How can he get her out of the giant's grasp! The Scarlet Speedster leaps onto the alien giant's boot... It is only a matter of moments before they spot him!
The Flash vibrates his hands against the giant shoe until smoke begins to rise! This is the first fourth-dimensional hot-foot in history! During the confusion... he retrieves Iris and must now dispose of the explosive threats aimed towards Earth! As he frees Iris from her captive container, they see the giants reducing in size, and this means an hour has passed -- and the explosive flying saucers are scheduled to be fired at Earth! Tapping undreamt reserves of speed within him -- the Scarlet Speedster races across the launching site... the saucers have been fired, but the Flash isn't stopping yet! WHOOOSH!
As the Crimson Comet dashes at incredible velocity around the launching pad... WHAAM! WHAAM! WHAAM! WHOOOOOOSH! The flying saucers explode from the vibrations he has set up -- before they can crash through the time barrier -- into Earth! The Flash hurls himself and Iris forward with a tremendous burst of speed... they manage to avoid the blasts by crashing through the time barrier WHAAAM! CRAAACK! the heat barrier! CRAAACK! the sound barrier! BLAAAM! They are now back in Central City, where Iris asks the Flash to meet a friend of hers -- Barry Allen! The police scientist is very sweet -- but slower than a turtle with lumbago! Perhaps he could help him learn how to speed up a little bit? This sounds like an impossible task for the Flash!
This story was reprinted in 80 Page Giant Magazine #4 (October, 1964).
One giant step for the fourth-dimensional aliens means the end of the Flash and our world!
The Scarlet Speedster has got his own signed portrait at Pardy's.
The police scientist caught a waitress' tray in Showcase #4.
It's interesting to note that Iris West is a fully-qualified pilot.
Iris' pilot helmet resembles the villainous headgear of Mr. Element.
Dick Tracy should have gotten a patent on Barry's wrist-TV set.
In later stories, the Flash used the Cosmic Treadmill to travel through time and space.
The Flash and Kid Flash traveled to the "Land Of The Golden Giants!" in The Flash #120 (May, 1961).
Like sands through the giant hour glass, these are the last moment's of Flash's life.
Luckily for the Monarch of Motion, the giants are slow on their feet, and are unable to make one leap for one small man.
The Flash has saved the planet from destruction and the only barrier left to breach is the one to make police scientist be on time for his date with Iris West.
Steve Chung
"Review Of The Time-World!"
Classics Illustrated: Food of the Gods
Classics Illustrated #160: FOOD OF THE GODS
First Published January 1961
Digital comics are wonderful in a lot of ways. A few clicks at Comixology, a link to PayPal, and I'm another twenty in arrears.
Recently I picked up the Classics Illustrated version of H.G. Wells' "Food of the Gods." I would recommend it only to Wells completists. The cover by Gerald McCann, of a gigantic hen picking up a young human by his pants, captures the appeal of the root story instantly. The adaptation by Alfred Sundel does its job without calling attention to itself. The interior art is by Tony Tallarico, and for many of you that's all you needed to hear.
Tony Tallarico has had a long and varied career. He's done comics, art instruction books, greeting cards, trading cards, activity books and I don't know what all. His versatility almost makes up for his lack of inspiration. Give him two ways to illustrate a scene and he will create a third, duller, option. If you're feeling generous, you might call him a journeyman; if not, well, the word starts with "H" and rhymes with "gack!"
The plot in brief: Two British amateur scientists create a new chemical that, when fed to any organism from infancy, makes it grow to kaiju size. (And, of course, the Inverse Square Law need not apply.)
One of the scientists, Bensington, buys a farm in the country and hires a couple named Skinner to run it. He tests the new wonder food on chickens and the baby chicks grow to six or seven times normal.
Which is good. What's not so good is the slovenly conditions where the food is prepared. Wasps are getting in the kitchen and there's more than one rathole. (In a movie the scene with the wasps would call for a musical sting.)
They're not done testing, but somehow they're already marketing the stuff, as "Boomfood." We don't see any packaging. I bet Kevin O'Neill designed some.
Back in London Bensington is conferring with his partner, Redwood. (Wells could be as "on the nose" as anybody.) Redwood admits that he gave some Boomfood to his sickly infant son. And here is where the Tallarico anti-magic comes into play: we get this news in six panels of talking heads. Of course he varies the angles but that's about it. With all this talk of the boy, who'll become quite important later on, it would be nice if we could see him.
Now things start to turn sour. A hunter brings down a wasp as big as a barn owl and soon others are sighted. The stinging nettles around Bensington's farm grow bigger as you watch. No rats have been sighted, but it's only a matter of time. Mrs. Skinner can't take it any more and leaves for her married daughter's place. But before she goes she thoughtfully unlocks the chicken coop so the poor things won't starve.
What follows is something right out of P.G. Wodehouse, or perhaps Mack Sennett. Giant chickens invade a small English village. The small boy is pecked up, as per the cover, but soon rescued. The vicar, brandishing a croquet mallet, chases the chicken out of the yard. A giant chicken alights next to an invalid in a wheelchair, who jumps up and runs indoors.
Back in London, Bensington and Redwood are commiserating about the hens and wasps.
"By the by, how is your boy?"
"Growing. Weighs nearly fifty pounds. And only six months old. Naturally, rather alarming."
"Healthy?"
"Vigorous. His nurse is leaving because he kicks so forcibly. And everything, of course, is shockingly outgrown."
[snip]
"He'll grow, as far as I can calculate from the hens and wasps, to the height of about five-and-thirty feet."
"Confound it, man! Think of his clothes!"
And, of course, this is once again done by talking head shots. With Tallarico, it's "Tell, Don't Show."
At this point the worst news of all -- giant rats have been sighted. Some of them attacked a doctor and killed his horse.
We're about a third of the way through the story and a new protagonist shows up: Cossar, billed by Wells/Sundel as "a well-known civil engineer," but really he's a man of action, standing in for Allan Quatermain or Professor Challenger. (Sean Connery would play him in the movie. Well, thirty years ago.)
Cossar gets men and weapons and accompanies the scientists back to the countryside. They kill the wasp's nest, which is twice as big as a man, but about as threatening as a soggy piñata. (At least the way Tallarico draws it.)
Next come the rats. We never see them ourselves, but witnesses point to a gigantic hole in a gully. Cossar and his best man take rifles and lanterns, head into the hole, fire a few times, and come back out.
Let's go over that.
Two men, with rifles, against six man-sized rats, in an underground passage lit only by flickering lanterns.
And Tallarico keeps all that OFFSTAGE?
In fairness, that might not be (completely) Tallarico's fault. Classics Illustrated was known to downplay some of the more sensational aspects of the literature they adapted. That's why it was funny when Pete Von Sholly did a mock CI cover for "The Dunwich Horror." CI was no more likely to cover that book than "The Scarlet Letter."
Back to "Food of the Gods." Cossar proposes to get rid of the nettles and the dead rats at one and the same time. "Burn everything. Burn the ground and make a clean sweep of it."
A clean sweep, right. We find out later he saved some of the food and started feeding it to his kids. Who would suspect the British Upper Classes of such utter duplicity?
Boomfood's influence isn't diminishing, oh no. On page 22 of this digital edition we hear the latest rumors:
"There are giant beetles at Keston."
"It's flies and red spiders at Ealing."
"I heard great eels came ashore at Sunbury and killed sheep."
We hear it, because Heaven forfend Tallarico draw it. Which would you rather see, a giant eel attacking a sheep, or NPC's from My Fair Lady?
Now we flashback to Mrs. Skinner, the housekeeper. She took along two tins of Boomfood for her young grandson, because what else. A twelve-foot-tall eight year old proves hard to manage:
"He was troublesome and out of place. He could not go to school or church, although he sometimes sat outside and listened."
We see him outside a church, listening. This would be oh so easy to do in live action: find a small hill several yards away from the church and take your shot from low down. This is called "forced perspective" and is very popular among cheapo filmmakers. (See Full Moon's Dollman series.)
If you're a cartoonist, and you can't outdo Bert I. Gordon in the FX department, well, there's nothing more to say.
Young Coddles (no other name given) is put to work in the quarry to keep him out of trouble. Dressed in castoffs and patches, he gets to thinking, "If it's good to work, why doesn't everyone work? What's work for? Why should I work in the pit day after day? Why should I be refused all the wonders of the world beyond?" Man, even at this remove, Wells' socialist tendencies come through.
Coddles gets fed up with his life and marches into town. Things get out of hand very quickly and before day's end he goes down in a hail of bullets.
Concurrent with the Coddles continuity we hear from Redwood's kid, among other so-called Children of the Food. They're having as hard a time of it as Coddles. At least young Redwood catches a break when he meets the foreign princess, herself a Boomfood eater, and she's as tall as he is.
Before I wrote this, I re-watched the MST3K episode Village of the Giants, which was based on "Food of the Gods" ("In that they're both in English!" -- Crow) One plot point the stories share: the giant kids have a sense of privilege as big as the rest of them.
Young Redwood, the Cossar boys, the Princess and the others get to talking and decide they should run things to suit them. This does not sit well with the previous generation and by story's end the battlelines are being drawn. I don't know about Wells' original, but here the advantage is presumed to lie with the giants.
But does it, really? We only see one female among more than a dozen males. Plus the authorities have already killed the only one used to manual labor. (Actually they don't say outright if Coddles has been killed, but we never see him again.) Human instinct is to get on the good size of the bigger guy -- that's why Cossar and Mrs. Skinner got Boomfood for their descendants, however much they decry its use by others.
A text piece at the end says that Tallarico undercuts the story's fantastic aspects with his matter-of-fact art. I'd say Wells' philosophizing undercuts the story plenty as it is; I'd like to see this story with a more exciting artist, myself.
Green Giant #1
Karabear Comics Reprints Green Giant Comics #1
Originally published 1940 by Pelican Publications
Bob's link to this book reminded me I wanted to write about it. I shelled out 99 cents at IndyPlanet for the electronic version, when of course I could've used his link to get it for free! Ah well… At least I didn't get the Print-on-demand version. Unless it's cleaned up, I can't see this book selling to a wider audience than diehard fans. Various articles say that no more than 12 or 15 copies were sold during its original run! It has to have a wider circ in its afterlife.
Let's make one thing clear: this isn't a good book. It's only two years after the debut of Superman, after all, and there are still plenty of growing pains (pun not intended) on display here.
The Green Giant (no connection to the frozen vegetable firm) leads off with a full-color story, credited -- if that's the word -- to George Kapitan and Harry F. Sahle. Mr. Brentwood (no first name given) runs a brokerage firm on "Hall Street." He starts to run across counterfeit stock certificates and decides to root out the perps. I like that, when he touches his special belt to grow several stories tall, the caption says, "The Green Giant Lives Again!" when this is his first appearance. Anything to build credibility.
GG's powers are remarkably fluid: he grows (and shrinks), he flies, he's super-strong and invulnerable, all seemingly at random. Even worse than his power set is his slapdash attitude towards crimefighting: Twice he threatens underlings with being squeezed in his gargantuan fist, and once they squeal, he lets them scamper away with no concern that they'll sound the alarm. The head of the counterfeiting ring proves elusive but no real threat and is tossed summarily into police HQ.
The final caption says, "Another Green Giant story in the next issue of this magazine." But of course there was no next issue. It's hard to imagine there would be many crimes in the financial district that could be solved by a size-changing superhero. Although a hero who's also a broker might do well in this "Wolf of Wall Street" era. (I understand that the character of Greent Giant, which is in the public domain, was brought back in AmeriComics FemForce title, but I've never seen those issues so I can't comment.)
The next story is titled, "Dr. Nerod, Super-Scientist." The splash picture is signed Kiefer, if that means anything to anybody.
"While soldiers march across battlefields," goes the opening caption, "scientists devise new military torments to afflict suffering humanity." And we see planes dropping bombs and poison gas on civilians. Ships blow up, planes are shot down, a destroyer plows into a submarine.
Against all this carnage, "Doctors patch up the heroes….. FOR WHAT?" (Boy, does that resonate these days!)
Anyway Dr. Nerod is beavering away in his mountain stronghold and is now ready to spring his Big Idea on the generals. The military men are hungry for a new explosive, but Nerod says he has a more humane way: Flies. He exposes an ape to a fly infected with sleeping sickness. "Within an hour he sinks into a coma." "The ape will die in sixty days unless I treat him," says Nerod, "for only I know the cure!" He also has special infra-red rays that not only kill the flies but render them sterile. (Sounds like overkill.)
Nerod lays out his plan: "We will put the enemy to sleep, take them prisoners, and only cure them if they promise never to fight again!" And it's probably not giving anything away to say that the rest of the story follows Nerod's plan exactly, with no hitches. What the story lacks in tension, it tries to make up in scope: we see platoons of soldiers building arrays of infra-red lamps, bunny-suited technicians assembling the sleep bombs, planes and ambulances standing ready.
The enemy soldiers (no nationality given) refuse to believe the democracies have such a wonder-weapon, and as a result, they drop like, well, flies. Ambulances gather up the enemy fallen for treatment. Doc Nimrod, I mean Nerod, says, "anyone who escapes will be dead in sixty days -- all prisoners who sign the Peace Pledge, will be released when cured." Not surprisingly, all the foot soldiers sign. Their leaders -- again, no recognizable faces -- are exiled to an island, with flies waiting to be released in the event of escape.
Nerod is barely a cardboard cutout here, and of course there's no place in this story for someone like Jeff Goldblum's character from Jurassic Park, to point out how chancy relying on biological warfare is. Don't forget, this story was published in 1940, and the war in Europe was very much on people's minds. A story like this would have been wish fulfillment in its purest form.
Now the book goes from full color to two-color, red and black. The next story is "Mundoo of the Northwest," by John E. Pierotti. Mundoo is a wolf-German shepherd mix, clearly aiming at the Rin-Tin-Tin / King of the Frozen North crowd. Every page has a fresh title panel; either these are repurposed Sunday comic strips or are meant to suggest them.
Next is Kar Toon and his Copy Cat, by Martin Filchock. (Anybody ever hear of these people?) An example of the variety of features found in a Golden Age book, Kar is clearly influenced by Fleischer and Warners cartoons. We get four pages of Kar Toon's cartoons jumping off his drawing board. His mean old uncle is at the door! "More next issue!" Odd that the humor feature has the cliffhanger.
"Master Mystic" could have been done by Fletcher Hanks or Basil Wolverton. Both Master Mystic and his opponent Rango have unlimited powers. Rango commits genocide (apparently -- he knocks down skyscrapers and starts fires, but we never see any dead bodies). This story doesn't end so much as stop; Master Mystic gets fed up and melts Rango like a candle.
We jump back to full-color with "The Black Arrow," a shot across Spy Smasher's bow. Then cowboy action with "Lucky Lane" by Grant Evers. This story also ends on a "to be continued."
The next story, by Frank Thomas, features a debonair hero who combines the style of James Bond with the inventions of Q. He defeats a foreign spy with his x-ray flashlight, his paralysis ray and remote-controlled automobile. And the name of this escapee from a pulp novel?
The Researcher.
Really, the Researcher. No other name given. And I thought Jade and Obsidian were dumb hero names…
Sheriff of Tombstone! (selected stories)
Review of selected stories from SHERIFF OF TOMBSTONE, a Charlton Comics publication that ran 17 issues from 1958-61. Pat Masulli was credited as Executive Editor on the indicia, and all the stories reviewed here were drawn and signed by Jack Keller, otherwise best remembered as the longtime artist of KID COLT OUTLAW over at Atlas/Marvel. (The drawing here seems a little bit cruder than the KID COLT issues I've seen by Keller. This could be explained by Keller putting less effort into the pages since Charlton paid less for them. It's still pleasing enough artistic storytelling, though.) There are no writer credits and the Grand Comicbook Database doesn't identify the writer, though it seems likely enough to be Charlton mainstay Joe Gill; at least, the stories carry his authorial trademark of captions written in past tense rather than present tense.
Review by Bill Henley
I picked up somewhere, years ago, a few issues of this obscure Charlton Western title, and have had in mind for a while reviewing one of them, But on looking over the issues I have, I decided to review one story each from three of them, rather than any one complete issue. In this series, the Sheriff of Tombstone is named Luke Spade.(Over at Marvel, the sheriff of Tombstone was a guy named Brett, but most of the lawman stuff was done by the masked and costumed Two-Gun Kid.) Back-story references indicate Luke Spade is the son of a previous sheriff, now deceased. Like the original Atom-- or the Rawhide Kid, in the early Lee/Kirby stories-- Luke Spade is kind of a runt, and often has to prove with his guns and fists his ability to handle rough tough Westerners that are bigger than he is. (The baby-blue colored vest and jeans he wears in these stories may not help in maintaining an image of manhood.)
"No Law in Tombstone" is the lead story in SHERIFF OF TOMBSTONE #3, and the first SOT story drawn by Jack Keller (the GCD indicates the first two issues were drawn by Rocco Mastroserio). As the story begins, the Sheriff faces down a gang of three "owlhooters", led by Taos Smith and bent on bank robbery. Like apparently all Code-approved Western good guys, Luke Spade never shoots to kill, but in this case he does deal a serious wound to one of the gang members named Macready. Luke brushes aside the congratulations of an onlooker as he rushes to provide first aid to the wounded badman, but the man growls, "Lemme alone, Sheriff! You did enough to me-- don't make it worse!" "I tried not to hurt yuh too bad, Macready!" Later, after Macready's wound is treated and all three are locked in jail, gang leader Taos Smith charges, "You LIKE hurtin' hombres like us! Yuh ENJOY doin' it, Spade! Don't go sayin' how sorry yuh feel after the gunsmoke clears!" Doc Hartley, the local medic, is startled to observe that Sheriff Spade seems to be taking this accusation to heart. "He COULD be right about why I wear this badge! I think it's to protect the decent folks in this town... but I might be foolin' myself!" The Doc urges the Sheriff to take a few days off, and Luke does, but instead of relaxing, he stews about his job. "If I keep wearin' this badge, I'll get careless! But will it be an accident when it happens? Will I miss when I shoot to hit the gun or will I really want to hurt a man?" (Not that I have any personal experience, but to my understanding, NOBODY in real life "shoots to hit the gun". Anyone being trained to use a gun in self-defense or line of duty, is told to shoot to kill or else don't shoot at all. But the Comics Code, apparently, had different ideas.)
As Luke Spade wrestles with his qualms, the word somehow starts to get out among the townspeople of Tombstone that he has "lost his nerve"! This seems to be confirmed when he emerges from his dwelling without wearing his guns! Meeting the town mayor, he announces his intent to quit as sheriff. The mayor urges Luke to at least stay on until another man can be found for the job, but, "I just can't do any more shootin' here in the street! I've got a right to live in peace! My dad gave his life to the job... it's not gonna get me like it got him!" Soon, Luke Spade, Private Citizen of Tombstone, is sitting on a porch relaxing with "no fears, no worries"-- at least until a local bully named Boots Doyle, with a grudge against the ex-sheriff, kicks him and knocks him down! Luke rises, prepared to defend himself with his fists, but then "started to swing-- and lost heart for the fight before it landed!" Left defeatd on the ground, Luke reflects that the city fathers had better find a new sheriff soon, or "gunnies like Boots Doyle will take over!" Soon, indeed, "the town was a dangerous place to live. Without Luke Spade to keep them in line, the owlhooters and gunslicks ran wild!" When he observes a mother and young boy caught in the line of fire between two rival gunslingers, Luke rouses himself to dodge bullets and knock one of the shooters down with a punch! But the boy keeps on crying, not out of fear for himself, but because of the fall of his idol, Sheriff Spade! Luke admits that maybe he's lost his nerve, but the mother has other ideas; "You're as good a man as you ever were! You just turned lazy, that's all!"
The local leading citzens argue over which famous gunfighter the town should send for to become the new sheriff-- Bat Masterson or Tom Smith, or Wyatt Earp! (In real life, of course, Wyatt Earp fought the gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, but he wasn't the sheriff-- in fact, the sheriff, Johnny Behan, was one of his enemies.) The Mayor refuses to send for any of them, saying, "Luke Spade is as good as any of them, or better! He's still the Sheriff of Tombstone, even if he doesn't know it right now! He'll be around when real trouble hits-- wait and see!" That time of trouble may come when gang boss Taos Smith, still in jail, comes to trial! He's guarded by Luke Spade's deputies. They're still on the job, but are described as "the type that needed a leader..." Taos' henchmen hatch a plan to break him out of jail while they set off explosives at the bank to create a diversion. While his deputies rush to the bank, Luke Spade deduces what is really going on-- and the little boy Jimmy is playing near the jail, which is about to become the scene of violence! Luke seizes a gun from a bystander, and, after pushing the boy out of the way to safety, he shoots the guns out of the gang members' hands! As Luke dons his sheriff's badge once again, Taos complains that "Yuh said yuh were tired of shootin' people, causin' trouble and pain!" But Luke now understands who is really at fault; "I'm not the cause of the trouble or pain! It's a job someone has to do... if I didn't, yuh'd hurt innocent people, women an' kids! I still won't like some things that go with wearin' a badge-- but I'll do 'em anyhow!"
"Texas Guns" is the lead story in SOT #7, Jan. 1960. As the story begins, Luke Spade is calming a "ruckus" in a barroom, started by a group of cowboys from Texas. He lays one of them out with a punch, and when two other Texans go for their guns, Luke shoots them out of their hands! He orders the remaining cowpokes to leave their guns with the barkeeper and have a good time without causing trouble. The headman of the Texas crew, Bat Evans, is outraged and warns, "I'll spead the word to steer clear of this rotten town!" Soon, however, Sheriff Spade receives a visit from the town council, led by Banker Wheeling. They order Luke to stand down and leave the rowdy cowboys alone! If Bat Evans carries out his threat to warn other cattle-drive crews away from Tombstone, the town may go bankrupt! "The money they spend is our life's blood!" Spade replies, "You don't know what blood is until you turn those tough gunnies loose on an unprotected town!" But as sheriff he is under the authority of the council, and Luke has to agree to their demands, "until you realize your mistake!"
(In another Western locale, this plot line would make sense. At least, from things I've read about the real-life West, there were "cow towns" like Abilene and Dodge City where the local economy depended on cattle drives passing through, and local officials had to strike a balance between encouraging visiting cowboys to run wild with their money, and restraining them from violence. However, Tombstone, Arizona was primarily a mining town, with ranches in the surrounding area, but wasn't on any major cattle drive routes. Also, normally, a sheriff is an elected county official and wouldn't be under the direct orders of a city council. As I alluded to, the real-life "OK Corral gunfight" was driven by conflicts between town officials, including deputy marshal Wyatt Earp, and the county sheriff, representing opposing political factions.)
Soon (in the story), the streets of Tombstone are the scene of cowboys wildly stampeding their horses and engaging in violent fistfights! And Sheriff Luke Spade is forbidden to do anything about it! His only hope is that, once they see the results of their orders, the councilmen will learn their lesson and "never interfere with my duties again!" One of them already seems to be repenting; he is Boswell, a businessman, who wants the Sheriff to provide an armed escort as he makes a deposit of new cash at the bank. The cowboys fire shots close to the sheriff and Boswell as they walk the chaotic streets, but Luke refuses to take any action against them, citing the council's orders. Soon, however, the councilmen are singing a different tune! One of them reports that his child has been wounded by stray gunfire! Another announces that the bank has been robbed! Now they want the Sheriff to restore law and order by any means necessary! Luke thinks about the gun-happy cowboys, "They've got the bit in their teeth! It would have been easy to stop before it started... now it's going to be tough..." Luke figures the way to do it is to start with the boss of the cowboys, Bat Evans. On the way to confront him, the sheriff is threatened by another cowboy, but lays him out with a mighty punch. Entering the saloon where Bat Evans is presiding, Luke orders him to be jailed until it is learned who robbed the bank and did other damage in town. Laughing that he will shoot the Sheriff and then tar and feather him, Evans goes for his gun, as does one of the other cowboys! But Luke Spade shoots the guns from both of them. He drags the three violent cowboys off to jail and orders the rest of the cowhands to go quietly back to their camp.
Banker Wheeling apologizes for his and the other councilmen's foolishness, and invites Sheriff Luke to have a drink to show there are no hard feelings. The banker pays for the drink with a crisp new bill. Boswell points out that the Sheriff still needs to identify who robbed the bank and recover the stolen funds. The Sheriff replies that he already knows who robbed the bank. It was banker Wheeling himself! "You talked the councilmen into leaving the Texans alone! You knew anything could be blamed on them once they went wild!" His proof is the new bills, out of Boswell's bank deposit, which Wheeling now has in his possession. "The town is quiet as the new day begins! It will stay quiet (well, at least until the next story, anyway) because a little man with two guns and a gleaming badge walks the streets... the Sheriff of Tombstone!'
Issue #11, Sept. 1960, leads off with "The Miner's Mutt!". in which the intrepid Sheriff of Tombstone proves that he is on the alert not only for bank robbery, gunplay in the streets and other crimes against people, but also for the crime of animal cruelty! As the tale begins, we see a small, cute dog hanging around a bar-room, and the caption tells us, "The mongrel dog wouldn't eat-- he wouldn't go to anyone who tried to feed him in Ham Ogden's Palace Bar! He just hung around staring at the stairs to the balcony and at Ham Ogden!" Finally, one afternoon,Ogden gets tired of the growling mutt and aims a brutal kick at him! The kick misses, so Ogden pulls a gun with the apparent intent of shooting the dog! But Sheriff Luke Spade is on hand and knocks down Ogden with a punch. The dog picks up Ogden's fallen gun in his mouth and brings it to the Sheriff. "You're a pretty useful pardner!" Ogden warns that Luke had better get the dog out of his bar or he will be within his rights to shoot him (the dog, not the sheriff). As Luke tries to coax the reluctant dog to leave the saloon, he hears Ogden muttering that the dog is just as crazy as its missing owner, a miner named Simon Benz. Others in the saloon respond that if Benz was crazy, it was for selling Ogden a valuable mine for a tenth of its real value. Then Benz vanished, and now the dog keeps hanging around Ogden's saloon.
Sheriff Luke carries the dog to a nearby restaurant and treats the mutt to "the best steak in the house!" As the dog gnaws the steak down to the bone (he seems to have lost his reluctance to eat), Luke explains to the waiter that the dog is going to help him get the goods on Ham Ogden, which he has been trying to do for a long time! Back at the saloon, Ogden's Hispanic henchman Pico asks why he is still keeping Simon Benz around instead of getting rid of him! Ogden explains that "that tough little runt sheriff" has been watching his place too closely for him to risk doing away with Benz. His plan was to have Pico sneak Benz away from Tombstone and down to Mexico where he can be safely disposed of. But in the meantime, Ogden wants Pico to kill the dog, and the Mexican promises to do that. That night, Pico reaches through the jail window bars to shoot at the dog, who is staying with the sleeping sheriff in his office, but the dog's barking awakens Luke and he shoots the gun out of Pico's hands. Luke lets Pico flee for now, planning to get him later. The next day, Luke does some investigative work at the bank and the mining assay office. He confirms that the Benz mine contained valuable ore worth much more than the price Ogden reportedly paid, and that Ogden, who had been short on cash, didn't withdraw any money from the bank before supposedly buying the mine.
And so, the sheriff brings his doggy deputy back to Ogden's bar to complete his investigation. Ogden protests, but Luke says, "The dog got homesick! He's not MY animal-- he's got ideas of his own! Go find 'im, boy! Go find Simon!" The dog darts up the stairs and barks before one of the upstairs rooms. Luke kicks the door down and finds Simon Benz tied to a bed! "I thought you'd never find me, Sheriff!" "I didn't, Simon-- the dog did!" Ogden appears in the doorway and pulls his gun, but Luke shoots the gun from his hand as the dog bites the miscreant's leg. Dog and master have a rapturous reunion, and Benz comments, "Ogden wouldn't have been caught if he just fed my dog! He was barking at my room up here because he wanted food! That's how he always barks when he's hungry!" (But wait... didn't that opening caption say the dog was refusing to eat even when people were trying to feed him?)
These stories -- at least the first two-- seem a bit more like events that might have occurred in the real Old West, than most of the gimmicky DC Western stories of the 50's, or the melodramatic Marvel Westerns. On the other hand, they also seem like they might have been plots for "Gunsmoke" or some other TV Western show of the period. Maybe they originally were.
Review by Bill Henley
I picked up somewhere, years ago, a few issues of this obscure Charlton Western title, and have had in mind for a while reviewing one of them, But on looking over the issues I have, I decided to review one story each from three of them, rather than any one complete issue. In this series, the Sheriff of Tombstone is named Luke Spade.(Over at Marvel, the sheriff of Tombstone was a guy named Brett, but most of the lawman stuff was done by the masked and costumed Two-Gun Kid.) Back-story references indicate Luke Spade is the son of a previous sheriff, now deceased. Like the original Atom-- or the Rawhide Kid, in the early Lee/Kirby stories-- Luke Spade is kind of a runt, and often has to prove with his guns and fists his ability to handle rough tough Westerners that are bigger than he is. (The baby-blue colored vest and jeans he wears in these stories may not help in maintaining an image of manhood.)
"No Law in Tombstone" is the lead story in SHERIFF OF TOMBSTONE #3, and the first SOT story drawn by Jack Keller (the GCD indicates the first two issues were drawn by Rocco Mastroserio). As the story begins, the Sheriff faces down a gang of three "owlhooters", led by Taos Smith and bent on bank robbery. Like apparently all Code-approved Western good guys, Luke Spade never shoots to kill, but in this case he does deal a serious wound to one of the gang members named Macready. Luke brushes aside the congratulations of an onlooker as he rushes to provide first aid to the wounded badman, but the man growls, "Lemme alone, Sheriff! You did enough to me-- don't make it worse!" "I tried not to hurt yuh too bad, Macready!" Later, after Macready's wound is treated and all three are locked in jail, gang leader Taos Smith charges, "You LIKE hurtin' hombres like us! Yuh ENJOY doin' it, Spade! Don't go sayin' how sorry yuh feel after the gunsmoke clears!" Doc Hartley, the local medic, is startled to observe that Sheriff Spade seems to be taking this accusation to heart. "He COULD be right about why I wear this badge! I think it's to protect the decent folks in this town... but I might be foolin' myself!" The Doc urges the Sheriff to take a few days off, and Luke does, but instead of relaxing, he stews about his job. "If I keep wearin' this badge, I'll get careless! But will it be an accident when it happens? Will I miss when I shoot to hit the gun or will I really want to hurt a man?" (Not that I have any personal experience, but to my understanding, NOBODY in real life "shoots to hit the gun". Anyone being trained to use a gun in self-defense or line of duty, is told to shoot to kill or else don't shoot at all. But the Comics Code, apparently, had different ideas.)
As Luke Spade wrestles with his qualms, the word somehow starts to get out among the townspeople of Tombstone that he has "lost his nerve"! This seems to be confirmed when he emerges from his dwelling without wearing his guns! Meeting the town mayor, he announces his intent to quit as sheriff. The mayor urges Luke to at least stay on until another man can be found for the job, but, "I just can't do any more shootin' here in the street! I've got a right to live in peace! My dad gave his life to the job... it's not gonna get me like it got him!" Soon, Luke Spade, Private Citizen of Tombstone, is sitting on a porch relaxing with "no fears, no worries"-- at least until a local bully named Boots Doyle, with a grudge against the ex-sheriff, kicks him and knocks him down! Luke rises, prepared to defend himself with his fists, but then "started to swing-- and lost heart for the fight before it landed!" Left defeatd on the ground, Luke reflects that the city fathers had better find a new sheriff soon, or "gunnies like Boots Doyle will take over!" Soon, indeed, "the town was a dangerous place to live. Without Luke Spade to keep them in line, the owlhooters and gunslicks ran wild!" When he observes a mother and young boy caught in the line of fire between two rival gunslingers, Luke rouses himself to dodge bullets and knock one of the shooters down with a punch! But the boy keeps on crying, not out of fear for himself, but because of the fall of his idol, Sheriff Spade! Luke admits that maybe he's lost his nerve, but the mother has other ideas; "You're as good a man as you ever were! You just turned lazy, that's all!"
The local leading citzens argue over which famous gunfighter the town should send for to become the new sheriff-- Bat Masterson or Tom Smith, or Wyatt Earp! (In real life, of course, Wyatt Earp fought the gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, but he wasn't the sheriff-- in fact, the sheriff, Johnny Behan, was one of his enemies.) The Mayor refuses to send for any of them, saying, "Luke Spade is as good as any of them, or better! He's still the Sheriff of Tombstone, even if he doesn't know it right now! He'll be around when real trouble hits-- wait and see!" That time of trouble may come when gang boss Taos Smith, still in jail, comes to trial! He's guarded by Luke Spade's deputies. They're still on the job, but are described as "the type that needed a leader..." Taos' henchmen hatch a plan to break him out of jail while they set off explosives at the bank to create a diversion. While his deputies rush to the bank, Luke Spade deduces what is really going on-- and the little boy Jimmy is playing near the jail, which is about to become the scene of violence! Luke seizes a gun from a bystander, and, after pushing the boy out of the way to safety, he shoots the guns out of the gang members' hands! As Luke dons his sheriff's badge once again, Taos complains that "Yuh said yuh were tired of shootin' people, causin' trouble and pain!" But Luke now understands who is really at fault; "I'm not the cause of the trouble or pain! It's a job someone has to do... if I didn't, yuh'd hurt innocent people, women an' kids! I still won't like some things that go with wearin' a badge-- but I'll do 'em anyhow!"
"Texas Guns" is the lead story in SOT #7, Jan. 1960. As the story begins, Luke Spade is calming a "ruckus" in a barroom, started by a group of cowboys from Texas. He lays one of them out with a punch, and when two other Texans go for their guns, Luke shoots them out of their hands! He orders the remaining cowpokes to leave their guns with the barkeeper and have a good time without causing trouble. The headman of the Texas crew, Bat Evans, is outraged and warns, "I'll spead the word to steer clear of this rotten town!" Soon, however, Sheriff Spade receives a visit from the town council, led by Banker Wheeling. They order Luke to stand down and leave the rowdy cowboys alone! If Bat Evans carries out his threat to warn other cattle-drive crews away from Tombstone, the town may go bankrupt! "The money they spend is our life's blood!" Spade replies, "You don't know what blood is until you turn those tough gunnies loose on an unprotected town!" But as sheriff he is under the authority of the council, and Luke has to agree to their demands, "until you realize your mistake!"
(In another Western locale, this plot line would make sense. At least, from things I've read about the real-life West, there were "cow towns" like Abilene and Dodge City where the local economy depended on cattle drives passing through, and local officials had to strike a balance between encouraging visiting cowboys to run wild with their money, and restraining them from violence. However, Tombstone, Arizona was primarily a mining town, with ranches in the surrounding area, but wasn't on any major cattle drive routes. Also, normally, a sheriff is an elected county official and wouldn't be under the direct orders of a city council. As I alluded to, the real-life "OK Corral gunfight" was driven by conflicts between town officials, including deputy marshal Wyatt Earp, and the county sheriff, representing opposing political factions.)
Soon (in the story), the streets of Tombstone are the scene of cowboys wildly stampeding their horses and engaging in violent fistfights! And Sheriff Luke Spade is forbidden to do anything about it! His only hope is that, once they see the results of their orders, the councilmen will learn their lesson and "never interfere with my duties again!" One of them already seems to be repenting; he is Boswell, a businessman, who wants the Sheriff to provide an armed escort as he makes a deposit of new cash at the bank. The cowboys fire shots close to the sheriff and Boswell as they walk the chaotic streets, but Luke refuses to take any action against them, citing the council's orders. Soon, however, the councilmen are singing a different tune! One of them reports that his child has been wounded by stray gunfire! Another announces that the bank has been robbed! Now they want the Sheriff to restore law and order by any means necessary! Luke thinks about the gun-happy cowboys, "They've got the bit in their teeth! It would have been easy to stop before it started... now it's going to be tough..." Luke figures the way to do it is to start with the boss of the cowboys, Bat Evans. On the way to confront him, the sheriff is threatened by another cowboy, but lays him out with a mighty punch. Entering the saloon where Bat Evans is presiding, Luke orders him to be jailed until it is learned who robbed the bank and did other damage in town. Laughing that he will shoot the Sheriff and then tar and feather him, Evans goes for his gun, as does one of the other cowboys! But Luke Spade shoots the guns from both of them. He drags the three violent cowboys off to jail and orders the rest of the cowhands to go quietly back to their camp.
Banker Wheeling apologizes for his and the other councilmen's foolishness, and invites Sheriff Luke to have a drink to show there are no hard feelings. The banker pays for the drink with a crisp new bill. Boswell points out that the Sheriff still needs to identify who robbed the bank and recover the stolen funds. The Sheriff replies that he already knows who robbed the bank. It was banker Wheeling himself! "You talked the councilmen into leaving the Texans alone! You knew anything could be blamed on them once they went wild!" His proof is the new bills, out of Boswell's bank deposit, which Wheeling now has in his possession. "The town is quiet as the new day begins! It will stay quiet (well, at least until the next story, anyway) because a little man with two guns and a gleaming badge walks the streets... the Sheriff of Tombstone!'
Issue #11, Sept. 1960, leads off with "The Miner's Mutt!". in which the intrepid Sheriff of Tombstone proves that he is on the alert not only for bank robbery, gunplay in the streets and other crimes against people, but also for the crime of animal cruelty! As the tale begins, we see a small, cute dog hanging around a bar-room, and the caption tells us, "The mongrel dog wouldn't eat-- he wouldn't go to anyone who tried to feed him in Ham Ogden's Palace Bar! He just hung around staring at the stairs to the balcony and at Ham Ogden!" Finally, one afternoon,Ogden gets tired of the growling mutt and aims a brutal kick at him! The kick misses, so Ogden pulls a gun with the apparent intent of shooting the dog! But Sheriff Luke Spade is on hand and knocks down Ogden with a punch. The dog picks up Ogden's fallen gun in his mouth and brings it to the Sheriff. "You're a pretty useful pardner!" Ogden warns that Luke had better get the dog out of his bar or he will be within his rights to shoot him (the dog, not the sheriff). As Luke tries to coax the reluctant dog to leave the saloon, he hears Ogden muttering that the dog is just as crazy as its missing owner, a miner named Simon Benz. Others in the saloon respond that if Benz was crazy, it was for selling Ogden a valuable mine for a tenth of its real value. Then Benz vanished, and now the dog keeps hanging around Ogden's saloon.
Sheriff Luke carries the dog to a nearby restaurant and treats the mutt to "the best steak in the house!" As the dog gnaws the steak down to the bone (he seems to have lost his reluctance to eat), Luke explains to the waiter that the dog is going to help him get the goods on Ham Ogden, which he has been trying to do for a long time! Back at the saloon, Ogden's Hispanic henchman Pico asks why he is still keeping Simon Benz around instead of getting rid of him! Ogden explains that "that tough little runt sheriff" has been watching his place too closely for him to risk doing away with Benz. His plan was to have Pico sneak Benz away from Tombstone and down to Mexico where he can be safely disposed of. But in the meantime, Ogden wants Pico to kill the dog, and the Mexican promises to do that. That night, Pico reaches through the jail window bars to shoot at the dog, who is staying with the sleeping sheriff in his office, but the dog's barking awakens Luke and he shoots the gun out of Pico's hands. Luke lets Pico flee for now, planning to get him later. The next day, Luke does some investigative work at the bank and the mining assay office. He confirms that the Benz mine contained valuable ore worth much more than the price Ogden reportedly paid, and that Ogden, who had been short on cash, didn't withdraw any money from the bank before supposedly buying the mine.
And so, the sheriff brings his doggy deputy back to Ogden's bar to complete his investigation. Ogden protests, but Luke says, "The dog got homesick! He's not MY animal-- he's got ideas of his own! Go find 'im, boy! Go find Simon!" The dog darts up the stairs and barks before one of the upstairs rooms. Luke kicks the door down and finds Simon Benz tied to a bed! "I thought you'd never find me, Sheriff!" "I didn't, Simon-- the dog did!" Ogden appears in the doorway and pulls his gun, but Luke shoots the gun from his hand as the dog bites the miscreant's leg. Dog and master have a rapturous reunion, and Benz comments, "Ogden wouldn't have been caught if he just fed my dog! He was barking at my room up here because he wanted food! That's how he always barks when he's hungry!" (But wait... didn't that opening caption say the dog was refusing to eat even when people were trying to feed him?)
These stories -- at least the first two-- seem a bit more like events that might have occurred in the real Old West, than most of the gimmicky DC Western stories of the 50's, or the melodramatic Marvel Westerns. On the other hand, they also seem like they might have been plots for "Gunsmoke" or some other TV Western show of the period. Maybe they originally were.
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