Number 1066


The "forgotten" attack on Pearl Harbor, 1940!


Pep Comics #4, 1940, tells the story of an attack on Pearl Harbor, almost two years before the attack by the Japanese, 70 years ago today.

The story is not that that surprising or even prophetic fiction. It was common knowledge at the time that Pearl Harbor, where the U.S. Pacific Fleet was stationed, was a likely enemy target. The Shield, America's first patriotic hero, kicks some butt. The fictitious Musconians are standing in for countries with which we were not yet at war.

Irving Novick drew the story, and Harry Shorten wrote it. The story features a crossover with the Wizard and Keith Kornell, the West Point cadet. As we learn at the end of the Shield's engagement with the Mosconian enemy, the Wizard and Kornell would be picking up the fight in the "current issue of Top-Notch Comics." I can figure out the ending of the saga without seeing it, but maybe the crossover worked in 1940 to separate some kids from their dimes.











The panel on page three showing a sailor identifying the Shield as "the guy what done a Steve Brodie!" threw me. Steve Brodie is the name of an inker for DC, whose work has shown up in four Boy Commandos stories on this blog. I did some research. The Steve Brodie referred to in the Pep Comics story was a daredevil who claimed to have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge (and lived) in 1885. He died in 1901. You can read about that Steve Brodie here.

Number 1065


The Phantom's treasure


I've been a Phantom fan my whole life, as have a lot of other people. The character first showed up in newspaper comics in 1936. Created by Lee Falk, drawn by Ray Moore, The Phantom was a worldwide hit.

But, lots of things about the Phantom bother me: a line of fathers and sons for all those generations (400 years worth) that are capable of being the Phantom; running around the jungle wearing a tight, hooded costume in the heat and humidity; superstitious "natives" who think he is a ghost walking. I enjoy the Phantom for the Golden Age fun, and try not to think too much about it.

Falk was a good plotter and could keep the action going. Ray Moore captured the Phantom's environment, and had that mid-'30s art style that is still enjoyable. I think of the Phantom as being the Lone Ranger of the jungle. They're two-fisted and quick-witted, noble to the point of being unbelievable.

"Curse of The Phantom's Treasure" is from the first Harvey Comics Phantom reprint, Harvey Comics Hits #51, 1951. The cover is by Al Avison.

Number 1064


The Yellow Claw


The Yellow Claw* is part of an outdated genre of fiction, popular for decades, about sinister Asians. I'm not sure why it flourished, except that cultural differences between Americans and Asians were probably seen as fair game by fiction writers. By 1956, the time of The Yellow Claw comic book, China was communist, and we'd had a war with them. This comic reflects that. Unusual for its era is that Chinese-American Jimmy Woo is the FBI special agent hero of The Yellow Claw.

Apologies to any readers offended by racial insensitivity. The Yellow Claw has historic value as a comic book: it was drawn by the great Joe Maneely, and it was written by Al Feldstein, who edited and wrote much of the infamous EC Comics line of the early '50s.

Beyond this one comic book I don't know how much work Feldstein did for other publishers after EC went to one title, Mad, and before publisher Bill Gaines re-hired him to replace the departing Harvey Kurtzman.

The Yellow Claw lasted for four issues. This was the only issue drawn by Maneely. It was turned over to Jack Kirby, who made it into a Jack Kirby comic featuring inventive Jack Kirby concepts.



















*Not to be confused with the Lev Gleason Daredevil Comics character, the Claw, featured in Pappy's #963.

Number 1063


Bob Powell's TERROR


The latest in Craig Yoe's fantastic series of comic book retrospective reprints is Bob Powell's TERROR, book two of Craig's series, The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics.

TERROR is full of Powell classics. With the aid of his crew of assistants (explained and identified in an informative biography of Powell, born Stanley Robert Pawlowski in 1916), Powell turned out a tremendous amount of comic book work in the 1940s and 1950s. He worked in all genres, but his special love seemed to be horror, where he lavished considerable skill in making his stories into the highlight of any comic in which they appeared. Craig has chosen well, but then, he had a lot to choose from. Fawcett and Harvey published most of his work during the horror comics boom of the early 1950s, and so a lot of Powell stories are available.

Craig has reproduced two of Powell's best from the original art: "The Rat-Man" is a classic from Tomb Of Terror #5 in 1952, with its bizarre and creepy premise: "It...it is Bennie! He's turned into a real rat!" The other original is "Pit Of the Damned!" from Chamber of Chills #7, also 1952. Powell pulled out the stops with stories with the devil, or those showing hell. Was Powell religious, or raised in the church? I don't know, and Yoe doesn't say, but there is something of a religious fervor to panels of souls writhing in eternal damnation.

The book is uniform in size to the other books of Craig's, and you can see his catalog with his other titles at Yoe Books. Yoe's books are available from the publisher or the usual booksellers. Production on the volume is up to Yoe's standards, made to exacting specifications, quality paper and binding. You buy one of Craig's books, you know if you keep it in the family your great-grandkids will be reading it long after you're gone. I'm giving Bob Powell's TERROR my highest recommendation whether you're buying it for yourself or the Golden Age comic book fan in the family. It's priced affordably at $24.95.

Long time Pappy's Golden Age readers know that Powell is one of my favorite Golden Age artists, and I've had 37 prior posts with his work. The story I'm showing today is not in Craig's book. "Shrunken Skull" appeared in Harvey Comics' Chamber of Chills #5, but is just about the only one of my favorite Powell horror stories that Craig didn't show. Heritage Auctions sold the original art for "Shrunken Skull" in 2004, but only showed five of the eight pages, so I have included pages from the comic.