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Wednesday, July 02, 2014

Number 1599: “I’m a lumberjack, and I’m not okay...”

There should be a lesson in this crime story from Boy Comics #32 (1947) but I'm darned if I know exactly what it is. Regarding the two college dropouts who ride the rails to a logging camp looking for a meal and end up with jobs, it could be there is danger there, and not just because being a lumberjack is a really dangerous job. It also has to do with not messing with the boss's wife, especially a blonde who dresses in nylons and high heels in a logging camp and longs to see the sights of New York. Or it could be the lesson that some people — like the boss's wife — will stab someone in the back. Literally. Finally, it could be that an executed prisoner should be checked for signs of life before putting him in a coffin.

Crimebuster, the titular hero of the tale, pops up here and there throughout most of it. He doesn’t show up until page 7.

This is a tale of a wrongful conviction, and there is probably a lesson there, also. Police should always take a closer look, and not just the word of the hot blonde and a guy about to run off with her. It is nicely illustrated by Norman Maurer.
















2 comments:

Daniel [oeconomist.com] said...

The lesson that I draw is that, when the evidence begins to show that one is in a story written by Charles Biro, it's important to avoid becoming more than an incidental character.

(Even as an incidental character, one's fate might be unpleasant, but people such as the bartender seem to escape uninjured.)

Pappy said...

Why, Dan'l, you have given a pretty good description of how I conduct myself:

I lie low. I do not stand out in any way. I do not use my real name.

I can't say it's guaranteed, but so far it has managed to keep me out of jail.