As the tale of "The Circus Mystery" (Smash Comics # 24 : July, 1941) begins, Dave Clark tells sidekicks, Gabby the talking monkey and Doc Wackey, that he'll be attending a local circus (with a heretofore unnamed "Miss Taylor") for the purpose of gathering intel on a gang of pickpockets. When Gabby asks to tag along, Dave turns him down with the explanation that anyone seeing them together would realize Clark's secret identity as the man called Midnight.
Wackey, perceiving an excellent opportunity to test his new mind-reading device, suggests that he and Gabby attend the circus anyway to launch their own investigation.
At the circus, Clark and Taylor are mesmerized by the feats of Alonzo Schtunk, "the world's greatest animal trainer." The entertainment comes to a screeching halt, however, when audience members begin announcing their valuables have been stolen. Upon discovering that he, too, has been victimized, Dave tells Miss Taylor he's setting off to "get the mug who bit on [my] wallet..."
Slipping underneath the stands, Clark discovers the thieves are not people at all, but monkeys! "Turning his reversible suit inside out," he sets out to pursue the fur-bound felons as Midnight. I must say that's quite a bold move for Mr. Clark. It's one thing to just have a reversible jacket, but a fully reversible suit implies he's gotta turn his pants inside out as well. How much pursuit time do you suppose he would lose doing this? Plus, wouldn't it make for a pretty awkward moment if anybody else should happen to spot him? "Hiya, buddy...ummm...so...why, exactly do you have your pants off under the bleachers at a public event?"
On a related note: This particular story is a great illustration of the question surrounding the actual color of Clark's Midnight suit addressed in the first post on this blog. Here, Clark definitively pronounces the Midnight-side of his suit "black." Many of the panels in the remainder of this comic look like you could make as good a case for the suit being blue as black.
Meanwhile, Gabby and Doc have independently discovered the identity of the pickpockets, and Gab volunteers to infiltrate the fleeing gaggle. The monkeys regroup inside Schtunk's wagon. As the astute reader will have already guessed, Schtunk is the mastermind behind the pickpocketing ring. Enraged with his minions for having been caught, Schtunk takes out a whip and commences to beat the little creatures.
At this moment Midnight bursts upon the abuse and--in a scene reminiscent of the time Midnight saved an orphan from being beaten by the corrupt Mr. Dobbs--proceeds to turn the tables by delivering a little eye-for-eye justice.
Schtunk is saved at the last minute by his gorilla, Tagu, who seizes and ties up Midnight & Doc. Tagu is left to guard the crime-fighters, while Schtunk and company flee.
Thanks to having infiltrated the monkey-thieves, after Schtunk leaves, Gabby is able to release his partners and converse with Tagu in "monkey language," convincing him to allow Midnight to pursue Shtunk.
There's so much here to chuckle at: "monkey language?" Oh Golden Age of comics, you fabulous, ridiculous, gloriously-wide open time!
Since they're at a circus, naturally, the bad guys decide to flee on an elephant. The circus' environs are said to be surrounded by miles of swamp which "no posse [could] follow us through!" No word on exactly how the elephant--a creature of the savannah-- is supposed to have a sudden miraculous adaptation to swampland flight.
What most modern readers will notice is the patronizing racial caricature of a young black boy responsible for the elephants. When Schtunk flees, he shoves the boy aside referring to him as "Sambo." Similarly, when the nameless boy informs the circus owner--one Mr. Dingle--that Schtunk has fled with the stolen payroll, he is dismissed until Midnight confirms the story.
While it's admirable that Midnight treats the boy with a respect not paid him by Mr. Dingle, it is a bit odd that the crimefighter hurls the juvenile bystander onto the remaining elephant (presumably to drive the creature in pursuit?) without bothering to ask either him or his employer for permission. During the Golden Age, it was common to insert young characters into superhero stories, in the effort to appeal to younger readers. Typically, this played out with the superhero taking on a kid sidekick (e.g., Batman & Robin, Captain America & Bucky, The Human Torch & Toro, Aquaman & Aqualad, etc.). Jack Cole, however, seems to have avoided the kid sidekick motif (both with Midnight and with his more famous creation, Plastic Man). That makes his use of this boy in this particular story all the more curious to me.
In any event, during the swamp pursuit we witness another instance of Midnight's near super-human agility, as he effortlessly leaps from one moving elephant to another in the face of point-blank gunfire, and swiftly disarms three assailants without suffering so much as a powder-burn.
Upon returning to the circus w/the would-be thieves and their loot, Gabby whispers into Schtunk's ear to the effect that the monkeys are on to him, and they will be seeking revenge. For some reason, this singular event not only convinced Schtunk that he's going insane (an understandable reaction) but also prompts him to confess to the crimes of which he is accused. Personally, I'm a bit baffled as to why fear of encroaching mental illness would prompt a hardened criminal to confess. Unless this partakes of some kind of subconscious theological themes (e.g., "Confession is good for the soul," or the notion that Gabby represents a recapitulation of Balaam's ass, etc.)
The story ends as Dave and the lovely Miss Taylor are "hit up" by Doc Wackey for change for his performing monkey. Naturally, Wackey does this in a highly-affected broken English meant to imply Italian background. Dave declines with the explanation that he "never helps tramps" eliciting a mild scolding from the stereotypically gentler Taylor (as well as eternal opprobrium from contemporary self-appointed social justice warriors).
Wackey, perceiving an excellent opportunity to test his new mind-reading device, suggests that he and Gabby attend the circus anyway to launch their own investigation.
At the circus, Clark and Taylor are mesmerized by the feats of Alonzo Schtunk, "the world's greatest animal trainer." The entertainment comes to a screeching halt, however, when audience members begin announcing their valuables have been stolen. Upon discovering that he, too, has been victimized, Dave tells Miss Taylor he's setting off to "get the mug who bit on [my] wallet..."
Slipping underneath the stands, Clark discovers the thieves are not people at all, but monkeys! "Turning his reversible suit inside out," he sets out to pursue the fur-bound felons as Midnight. I must say that's quite a bold move for Mr. Clark. It's one thing to just have a reversible jacket, but a fully reversible suit implies he's gotta turn his pants inside out as well. How much pursuit time do you suppose he would lose doing this? Plus, wouldn't it make for a pretty awkward moment if anybody else should happen to spot him? "Hiya, buddy...ummm...so...why, exactly do you have your pants off under the bleachers at a public event?"
On a related note: This particular story is a great illustration of the question surrounding the actual color of Clark's Midnight suit addressed in the first post on this blog. Here, Clark definitively pronounces the Midnight-side of his suit "black." Many of the panels in the remainder of this comic look like you could make as good a case for the suit being blue as black.
Meanwhile, Gabby and Doc have independently discovered the identity of the pickpockets, and Gab volunteers to infiltrate the fleeing gaggle. The monkeys regroup inside Schtunk's wagon. As the astute reader will have already guessed, Schtunk is the mastermind behind the pickpocketing ring. Enraged with his minions for having been caught, Schtunk takes out a whip and commences to beat the little creatures.
At this moment Midnight bursts upon the abuse and--in a scene reminiscent of the time Midnight saved an orphan from being beaten by the corrupt Mr. Dobbs--proceeds to turn the tables by delivering a little eye-for-eye justice.
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| Smash Comics #19 |
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| Smash Comics #24 |
Schtunk is saved at the last minute by his gorilla, Tagu, who seizes and ties up Midnight & Doc. Tagu is left to guard the crime-fighters, while Schtunk and company flee.
Thanks to having infiltrated the monkey-thieves, after Schtunk leaves, Gabby is able to release his partners and converse with Tagu in "monkey language," convincing him to allow Midnight to pursue Shtunk.
There's so much here to chuckle at: "monkey language?" Oh Golden Age of comics, you fabulous, ridiculous, gloriously-wide open time!
Since they're at a circus, naturally, the bad guys decide to flee on an elephant. The circus' environs are said to be surrounded by miles of swamp which "no posse [could] follow us through!" No word on exactly how the elephant--a creature of the savannah-- is supposed to have a sudden miraculous adaptation to swampland flight.
What most modern readers will notice is the patronizing racial caricature of a young black boy responsible for the elephants. When Schtunk flees, he shoves the boy aside referring to him as "Sambo." Similarly, when the nameless boy informs the circus owner--one Mr. Dingle--that Schtunk has fled with the stolen payroll, he is dismissed until Midnight confirms the story.
While it's admirable that Midnight treats the boy with a respect not paid him by Mr. Dingle, it is a bit odd that the crimefighter hurls the juvenile bystander onto the remaining elephant (presumably to drive the creature in pursuit?) without bothering to ask either him or his employer for permission. During the Golden Age, it was common to insert young characters into superhero stories, in the effort to appeal to younger readers. Typically, this played out with the superhero taking on a kid sidekick (e.g., Batman & Robin, Captain America & Bucky, The Human Torch & Toro, Aquaman & Aqualad, etc.). Jack Cole, however, seems to have avoided the kid sidekick motif (both with Midnight and with his more famous creation, Plastic Man). That makes his use of this boy in this particular story all the more curious to me.
In any event, during the swamp pursuit we witness another instance of Midnight's near super-human agility, as he effortlessly leaps from one moving elephant to another in the face of point-blank gunfire, and swiftly disarms three assailants without suffering so much as a powder-burn.
Upon returning to the circus w/the would-be thieves and their loot, Gabby whispers into Schtunk's ear to the effect that the monkeys are on to him, and they will be seeking revenge. For some reason, this singular event not only convinced Schtunk that he's going insane (an understandable reaction) but also prompts him to confess to the crimes of which he is accused. Personally, I'm a bit baffled as to why fear of encroaching mental illness would prompt a hardened criminal to confess. Unless this partakes of some kind of subconscious theological themes (e.g., "Confession is good for the soul," or the notion that Gabby represents a recapitulation of Balaam's ass, etc.)
The story ends as Dave and the lovely Miss Taylor are "hit up" by Doc Wackey for change for his performing monkey. Naturally, Wackey does this in a highly-affected broken English meant to imply Italian background. Dave declines with the explanation that he "never helps tramps" eliciting a mild scolding from the stereotypically gentler Taylor (as well as eternal opprobrium from contemporary self-appointed social justice warriors).
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