Number 1890: “A mania for melodrama”

“The Man With the Mirror Eyes” stars private investigator, Detective Dareall. He gets a challenge from the villain, told to come to an address, and goes alone with only “two guns, for double protection.”

Another crazy story from the mid-'40s, resurrected by IW Comics reprints in Great Action Comics #1 (1958). It was originally published in a giant anthology, Gold Medal Comics, in 1945, and hero Dareall made his one-and-done appearance in comics. The name, Dareall, looks inspired by dime novels of the 19th and early 20th centuries, starring heroes with descriptive names like Fred Fearnot and Dick Dauntless. The Dareall story involves an extortion plot which describes to us readers “an old magician’s trick.”

The Grand Comics Database doesn’t credit any writer or artist, but artist Manny Stallman signed the splash panel. If the writer did anything more than this story I hope he or she got better.

Number 1673: No truth to Captain Truth

The truth about Captain Truth is I know nothing about Captain Truth. Beyond the obvious and what the Grand Comics Database tells me, that is. He originally appeared in a 128-page giant comic called Gold Medal Comics (1945), edited by the Bernard Baily Studio. The story may have been written by Bruce Elliott (whose name appears with a ? after it); it was drawn by Bob Fujitani.

It was reprinted in a standard 36-page comic called Great Action Comics (1958), one of those three-for-25¢ bagged comics published by IW Comics.

Another truth I don’t know is why Captain Truth wore a foppish cavalier hat, red trunks, yellow cape and buccaneer boots, and was otherwise bare. When John Severin was hired to do the cover for this comic he put more standard superhero tights on him to make him look just a bit less of an exhibitionist.

The last truth I don’t know is if this was Captain Truth’s only appearance. He may have been a one-hit wonder, twice-printed.