Number 480


Ghost Patrol in Spain


While on the same side as Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Spain kept itself a "non-belligerent" in the World War of 1939-45. That's where our ectoplasmic pals, the Ghost Patrol, save some prisoners. This story from is Flash Comics #35, November 1942. It's drawn by Frank Harry, who helped create the strip in Flash Comics #29.

Ghost Patrol was a popular second banana feature for DC in the 1940s, but made its last appearance in Flash Comics #104.

Number 378

Ghost Patrol is solid, man


This is the last of my Ghost Patrol stories, scanned from tear sheets. It's from Flash Comics #100.

In this story we find out that ghosts can be knocked unconscious when they're in their physical form, when they "solidify their ectoplasm." Thank god for comic book explanations, otherwise I don't know how I'd figure this stuff out. The crooks in the story make the same mistake every comic book crook since the first four-color comic book rolled off the presses has made...they've given the good guys the chance to get away. Instead of shooting the ghosts — which makes for an interesting theory on what happens when you kill a ghost — they tie them to a big spool and roll it at a train.

Ah, whatever. It's drawn by Carmine Infantino and Bob Oksner.

Number 355


The Ghost Patrol reinforces their ectoplasm!


Here's another fine DC back-up story, The Ghost Patrol in "The Hammer Man," from Flash Comics #99. It's drawn by Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs.

Number 286


Ghost Patrol

"Ghost Patrol" was one of those secondary features produced for DC Comics' titles. I appreciate these back-of-the-book strips, which made do with characters not strong enough to star in their own titles. Many of them were illustrated and written by the same top talent that was producing the star features. In this case, "Marked For Danger" comes from Flash Comics #98, August, 1948. Talk about top talent: it's drawn by Carmine Infantino and inked by Bob Oksner.

I like the ghost character playing baseball out in the universe, whacking meteorites!