Number 2344: The Blue Tracer and The Thing

The Blue Tracer, created, written and drawn by comic book veteran and journeyman, Fred Guardineer, was a feature in Quality’s Military Comics. Guardineer had been in comic books since they began, and before that did illustrations for pulp magazines. During his career he did a wide variety of comic book characters, all done with his precision style of drawing. Guardineer’s work is easy to spot...just look for the lines that appear to be drawn by a machine.

Fred Guardineer quit comic books in about 1954, then went to work for the United States Post Office. They offered a pension. As a former freelancer for his years in comic books, the idea of a pension seemed good to him. As it was he lived a long time, and probably enjoyed that pension. Born in 1913, he died in 2002, just short of his 89th birthday.

There are some racial insults hurled at the Japanese in this story. It is representative of feelings toward America’s enemies in World War II. But the story also has a giant robot called The Thing, and giant robots I cannot pass up. It appeared in Military Comics #12 (1942).

Number 1944: Jack Cole on Death Patrol

Plastic Man creator Jack Cole is credited with creating Death Patrol for Quality’s Military Comics. The whole magazine was produced by the Eisner-Iger Studio and so I am not sure who had what amount of input into each feature. Blackhawk was the star, and Death Patrol was a filler, lasting until 1946 when it was dropped for Torchy! If ever a feature was sacrificed for the greater good, it was Death Patrol giving it up for Torchy.

Death Patrol reaches a bit by introducing so many characters for only 6 pages, but that was the comics biz of the early years...although the Patrol consists of a millionaire playboy (yawwwnnnn), and some escaped convicts, the introductions are short because it was important to get right to the action. The kids who were reading this didn’t really care much about individual motivation...they just wanted to get to the butt-kicking.

In its initial run Cole left Death Patrol after three episodes.I am showing the first two here.

From Military Comics #’s 1 and 2 (1941):

Number 1908: Blackhawk, Red Laura, Nazis...and ratty Scavengers

This very early Blackhawk story looks a lot like Will Eisner’s work, but is signed by Chuck Cuidera. Eisner is credited with creating the feature, and Cuidera drew the origin in Military Comics #1. In this story, from Military Comics #5 (1941), the resemblance of Blackhawk, shirtless and tied to a whipping post, and the Spirit in many stories penciled by Eisner, is striking.

It also has some other Eisner hallmarks, including grotesque villains (the rat-like Scavengers) and a beautiful bad girl, Red Laura. Cuidera handled the feature until he entered military service, then returned after the war to become Quality Comics’ art director, and among other assignments, inker of Blackhawk. He went with his penciler, Dick Dillin, to DC, when Quality publisher Everett “Busy” Arnold sold his entire line to his former competition. Blackhawk continued on until 1968 with the Dillin and Cuidera team.

I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point out Chop Chop. In this story he’s almost as ugly as the Scavengers. Cuidera was with Blackhawk long enough that later the depictions of Chop Chop became human. He was even a member of the team, not just a cartoon buffoon. But this early entry in the Blackhawk saga has Chop Chop in his full-on racist version. It was the times, folks...and we show 'em as they were.

In 2013 I showed the last Blackhawk story published by Quality, followed by the first story done by DC. You can see them by clicking on the thumbnail.

Number 1885: The enemy of my enemy: the Blue Tracer and the Soviets

The Blue Tracer was a feature about a super tank, created and drawn by Fred Guardineer. The Tracer could do anything: it had weapons, it could fly, go underwater, on land...and it was built by two guys, “Wild Bill” Dunn and “Boomerang” Jones. The feature did not last too long, from Military Comics #1 (1941) through #16 (1943).

In 1975 Fred Guardineer re-drew the first episode. I showed it in 2009 from its appearance in Cartoonist PROfiles magazine. Just look for the link below.

This episode is from Military Comics #13 (1942). The Tracer is going up against a Nazi version of the supertank. Our heroes have the help of the Russians, who before the end of the decade became the bad guys. At this late date I'm still reading about differences we have with Russia.* Sheesh.

From Cartoonist PROfiles #31. Just click on the thumbnail.

*C'mon, people! Let’s work together!

Number 1857: Yea, though he walks through the Valley of Death...

The Sniper finds himself in the Valley of Death, and despite its biblical connotations, this Valley of Death is full of Japanese soldiers and poison gas.

Dressed in his stylin' Robin Hood attire, armed with his sniper rifle, the Sniper is able to fix what the U.S. Army and Air Force can’t. The story is from Military Comics #28 (1944), and is drawn by Vernon Henkel.