Number 2350: Crusade of the Time Retarder

Rodney Kent and his boy companion, Mark Swift, get in their Time Retarder to travel to the days of King Arthur. But, ooops! The controls are “clogged,” which I interpret as stuck. Their time travel ends in the midst of the Crusades, and like many a comic book time traveler of fiction, they meet famous people. Their clogged controls have taken them to a battle between Saladin and King Richard the Lion-Hearted.

Kent uses his pistol, and just as quickly loses it during an act of treachery. You see, he has both interested the Lady Edith, and invoked the wrath of another swain, Sir Simrak. “Sir Kent” as they call Rodney, is a man of charm. When Lady Edith proclaims her interest in him by saying, “Never saw I a man like thee!” he responds with, “You’re not so bad yourself, Lady Edith!” I’ll bet Sir Kent would do well at a singles bar with that line. (Sarcasm, of course.) Sir Simrak pays back her lack of interest in him by going to the enemy with a nefarious plot in mind.

The feature is named after Mark, the youngster, and only lasted for the seven issues of Slam-Bang Comics, from Fawcett. I believe the title probably did not last because it had no costumed super heroes. Mark is a brave, resourceful boy, but I ask why his adult companion has put him in such mortal danger. Perhaps retarding time has affected Kent’s supposedly more mature judgment.

Writer and artist unknown by the Grand Comics Database; from Slam-Bang Comics #2 (1940):

Number 2084: Bring on the flying monkeys gorillas!

There is something irresistible to me in images of flying simians. Maybe it was goes back to when my mom took me to see a theatrical re-release of The Wizard of Oz in the mid-fifties, and I saw the Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys. It is no secret to longtime Pappy readers that I am one of those fans who bought comic books if they had gorillas and apes on the covers. A deeper psychological reason I don’t want to explore, but I still like the imagery in comics. In 2014 I showed another flying gorilla story. See the link below.

This 1940 story from Slam-Bang Comics #6, has a super villain, the Sky Demon, dressed in an “enchanted” cape and bright tights, up against sartorially impeccable magician hero, Diamond Jack. The Sky Demon uses his flying apes as henchmen, or henchapes, if you prefer. He prepares to arm them so they can go down to Earth and destroy all human life. I'm all for setting goals, but that seems a reach.

Gus Ricca is credited by the Grand Comics Database as artist.

As promised, more flying gorillas. Just click on the thumbnail

Number 2074: Mark Swift and the Time Retarder

Mark Swift,  no relation to boy inventor Tom Swift, is an orphan. He is taken care of by his elementary school teacher, Mr Kent, who just happened to invent a working time machine called the Time Retarder. Wow! Kent is wasting his time teaching. This was written and drawn in an era when it seemed okay to expose young children to danger. Mark, who looks about 10, and his “responsible” adult, Mr Kent, plop the Time Retarder down in the middle of a battle between King Darius of the Persians and Alexander the Great. I can only imagine what the Department of Child Services would have done if they had known that.

The feature was created by Jack and Otto Binder for Fawcett’s Slam-Bang Comics. Mark’s time (ho-ho) in comics was limited. Slam-Bang lasted only 7 issues, and after an inventory tale was published in Master Comics #7, Mark and his guardian zipped off to time and place unknown.

Grand Comics Database doesn’t guess at the artist or writer. From Slam-Bang Comics #6 (1940):