Number 906
Smalle world
I like this story from Strange Adventures #4, 1950; it's fairly typical of Julius Schwartz-edited science fiction comics. Edmond Hamilton wrote it, and the title describes it: "The Crime Chase Through Time."
Ed Smalle drew it. He's another comic book journeyman. I haul out guys like Smalle to present to you because after all, these were the guys who were the backbone of the industry. Smalle was one of the early comic book artists, working for the Harry "A" Chesler shop in the 1930s, and continuing in the comics field until the mid-'50s. Information I have on Smalle says he died in 1957.
My favorite is the splash page, with the symbolic climbing from century to century. Schwartz used these types of symbolic splashes occasionally, because of their strong graphic images.
Wait. Wait! WAIT! AD 2950? The relevant statutes of limitations would apply!
ReplyDeleteIt's not utterly impossible that Rafferty's seizure of Wilson on the hill, to force his return to 1950, was somehow in keeping with the law of 2950, but it's highly unlikely. And even if it were legal then, the resultant legal knots probably come apart with Wilson going free in 1950.
(Had Wilson simply returned to 1950 of his own free will, it would have been another matter.)
I'm not sure what they'll be doing about crimes committed in 2950, but I think that Rafferty's best law-abiding bet was to seek prosecution then.
Daniel, since we're talking about a hypothetical situation based on the impossible (time travel) I guess we'll never know how a court would view extradition back to his own time of a criminal who escaped into the future world.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you think these things through, though. I wonder if you were on the debate team in school?
I tend to see those who participate in debate clubs as eristics, as they are looking to make the most persuasive case for a proposition, rather than necessarily the most reasonable case.
ReplyDeleteAs to time travel, the law might well be revised in its face, but this would have been a case where the law would not have caught-up.