Pages

Midnight and the Riddle of the Cave Man Menace (pt. 2)

Smash Comics # 38 (December 1942)

Midnight feature (The Riddle of the Cave Man Menace)



We pick up the story from three weeks ago, where Dave Clark (alias Midnight) has just returned to his secret crime-fighting lair with Zor the Caveman.  Big City is in an uproar searching for the supposed hominid.  Though the latter-day polis is convinced Zor is a clear-and-present danger, Midnight suspects there's more to the story.

These skepticism is vindicated for the reader when we drop in on the avaricious Squinchworth meditating on how much money he will make when he re-captures and sells Zor.



Unfortunately for Squinchworth, one month passes...then two...and Zor never turns up.  Eventually, the potential buyer concludes that the story was nothing more than "fake news."

Just as the buyer (a "Mistah Dingling") is about to take his money and abandon Squinchworth, however, a special delivery announces Zor has been re-captured and is being held at the zoo. 

I am continually amazed at the lack of editorial attention to detail.  Two panels earlier, Squinchworth addresses this man as, "Mistah Dingling" yet here our (presumably) omnipotent narrator calls the man "Dingly."

Once at the zoo, however, Squinchworth spies no sign of Zor.  He approaches a figure in a green suit to ask if he might know where the notorious cave man is being kept, he is shocked to discover that the besuited chap is Zor!


At this, Mr. Dingling (or Dingly) walks away, convinced the whole story has been nothing but a swindle.

Once he's gone, Zor rolls up his sleeves and announces to the still-shocked Squinchworth, "Now Zor beat you!!"

The would-be human trafficker, however, manages to lay a guilt trip on the inexplicably gullible Zor.

While crocodile tears might work on the gentle giant, Midnight is not so easily dissuaded.  He emerges from the bushes, to give Squinchworth a thrashing.  At this, the villain bounds away.

Though Midnight fires the vacuum gun after Squinchworth, he misses and instead seizes our unnamed friend who, again, asks if Midnight has a spare moment.



Once again, Midnight puts the diminutive fellow off.

Midnight tracks Squinchworth to the latter's mountain ranch, where we learn Squinchworth is not so much a criminal mastermind as the cuckolded assistant to a woman who appears to be of a similar age, but whom he consistently refers to as "Mama."

When Midnight & company suddenly bust through the door, Squinchworth cowers behind "mama" who, for her part, pulls a sidearm and prepares to kill our azure-hued hero.

Unfortunately for the murderous mama, Zor is not exactly up to date on 1940s social conventions about men hitting women.

One wonders how Midnight's implied support of traditional gender roles would be received in the halls of major comics publishers today.

Midnight, Gabby, and Zor pursue Squinchworth to an adjacent room where he downs a bottle of pills in a suicide attempt.  When Gabby hears voices emanating from behind another door, our heroes discover the true depths of Squinchworth's and mama's depravity.



It turns out that they were financing their lifestyle by kidnapping, torture, and human trafficking.  In a vain attempt to cleanse his conscience, Squinchworth confesses to selling his victims to circuses.

Just as the reader is sensing a resolution to the story, however, Lady Squinchworth reappears brandishing a handgun and ordering her husband(?) to lock Midnight and his pals up in a strong room.

Next, Lady Squinchworth reveals her dastardly plot to restore their criminal fortunes:  Squinchworth will masquerade as Midnight and go on a crime spree.  Once the reward is sufficiently high, the Squinchworths will deliver Midnight to the authorities and collect the cash!

Though too squeamish to do the deed himself, Squinchworth recruits an underworld thug named Cueball to carry out the plan.




The murderous spree has its intended effect and "Midnight" seems on his way to becoming Public Enemy #1, when the perennially overconfident matron of mayhem leans in to mock our hero.  This is all the opening Zor needs.



With Lady Squinchworth out cold again, the heroes (somehow--the mechanism is never really explained) free themselves from their bonds and divvy up responsibilities for bringing in the three criminals.

Midnight sets off to intercept Cueball (who's been dispatched to destroy the Sterling Oil vats in his Midnight disguise).  On the way, our hero is again accosted by the unnamed stranger.


Meanwhile, Gabby--who's been sent to retrieve Sir Squinchworth--makes a brief side trip by the zoo, where he enlists the help of the zoo monkeys to "make up for letting Midnight down before."

Dave arrives at Sterling Oil just as Cueball is dousing the place in gasoline and proceeds to beat the bad guy senseless.



While Jack Cole is often recognized for his (for the time period) atypically dynamic artwork, Midnight's coup de grace on Cueball is so over-the-top it's endearing.

With Cueball safely put away, we're treated to some comedic schadenfreude as the reader learns how Gabby and the monkey squad will make amends.

Even though Gab is standing next to a fruit bowl, you'll notice that it's not obvious that he's holding any fruit, nor do any of the splats on the wall or Squinchworth's face look particularly fruit-like...at least, not like undigested fruit. 😀

In the final line of the comic, our little unnamed chap finally gets to talk with Midnight.  Turns out, he's not an autograph-seeker, like Midnight had assumed but a messenger...and an ominous one at that!



FNF (Round 1): M8 results and Le Peregrine vs. Captain Boomerang

Round 1, Match 8 results

The Jester vs. The Cardinal was, in some ways, the most difficult I've had to pick.  First, there were no outside votes. Second, the fight pitted two characters who've never really done a lot of fighting (in Jester's case, because he seems to have made one whole appearance; and in Cardinal's because creator Kurt Kolka wanted him to be more a character development/moral-inspiration type figure).

Given these constraints, however, here's the best pick I could make.  While Jester never actually engages anyone in Black Cat #7, Cardinal at last finally goes up against a demon and wins!  Based on what we have to work with, I've gotta give the nod to ole Rich Benton if for no other reason than simply that he shows up and fights!  Cardinal goes to the next round!





Best of Others' Work: A brief overview of DC's Super Powers mini-series

Due to some craziness in my personal life, I had to skip last Friday's post and I've still not finished up my review of Midnight and the Riddle of the Cave Man Menace

So, I'm going to once again recommend another post I found interesting.  Over at DC in the 80s I found an interesting little post on a five-issue miniseries DC put together to showcase their SuperPowers toyline. 



While I only ever got one of these figures (Hawkman, by the way...and yes, I do still have him), I was still pretty excited to learn about this miniseries.  I'll have to add it to my wishlist.

Best of Others' Work: Desiato on Superman

I had planned to put up the remainder of Midnight's adventure Smash Comics #38, but life got in the way. 

Consequently, I'm going to suggest you take a look at a nice post from one of the blogs I regularly follow, 13th Dimension.

Today, Anthony Desiato reminds us of all the reasons that Superman remains a great hero!

FNF (Round 1): M7 results and The Jester vs. The Cardinal

Round 1, Match 7 results

Razor Fist vs. Doc Savage


Though Razor Fist wins the only combat he engages in during the specified title appearance, Marvel Comics Presents #4, it's also the case that he was fighting a severely weakened Wolverine at that point.  Subsequently, ultimately, everyone's favorite feral X-Man came back to trounce Razor Fist.

When you compare that to the fact that Doc Savage won all the fights (including more than one where he was wildly outnumbered) in the linked Doc Savage Annual. AND you factor in that the one vote I picked up from the Superhero Fantasy Fights FB group gave the win to Savage, this seems like a no-brainer.

Savage goes to the next round!





Midnight and the Riddle of the Cave Man Menace (pt. 1)

Smash Comics # 38 (December 1942)

Midnight feature (The Riddle of the Cave Man Menace)

 


This story opens with yet another awesome Cole splash page.  (Though, it does bother me that the size of the "cave man" alters dramatically throughout the course of this story.)

On the first page of the story proper, we find Midnight and Gabby pummeling nameless Big City thugs.  This comes to a screeching halt, however, when Gabby announces, "Migosh!  It's eight o'clock!!" Immediately, our heroes (along, it seems, with everyone else in the city) drop what they're doing and rush to the airport.  

As he nears the field a short nondescript man makes his first appearance.  This guy and his attempt to get Midnight's attention will become a running gag throughout the story.

This recurring, yet unnamed, character reminds me of the "professor" who appeared in Smash Comics #36-37

The reason for this impromptu city-wide sabbath is the return of Sir Squinchworth, a famed-British-lord-exploring-the-dark-corners-of-the-world type character.  Squinchworth announces the "most stupendous" find of all time:  Zor the Caveman--a neanderthal discovered inside a Siberian glacier!   


Unfortunately, while Squinchworth is regaling onlookers with tale of how he thawed Zor out, the latter manages to break free from his cage and begin running amok!

 Owing to Dave's delayed response to the crisis arising from his radio duties, Wackey and Gabby come up with the hare-brained idea that the Gabster will "hold off the brute" until Midnight is free.

Ummm...yyyeeeah...  That's a rock-solid plan there guys.  No way anything could go wrong.

Also, one wonders where Zor acquired this spiked club from?  Is this the kind of thing just laying around Big City, or was Squinchworth actually stupid enough to imprison a cave man with his weapon?

Now if the prospect of an unarmed talking monkey holding off a giant prehistoric hominid armed with a spiked club did seem questionable enough, Cole kicks things up a notch when Gabby--in the midst, mind you, of pursuing this threat through the streets of Big City--cuts through the zoo and gets caught up in a little monkey small talk.



While the suddenly, profoundly, irresponsible Gab catch up on the latest monkey gossip, Zor breaks into the leopard cage, clubs it to death and apparently eats the whole thing.

Now, either Zor eats really fast, or Midnight is really slow because by the time he shows up at the zoo, Zor has picked the leopard bones clean and is just laid back on the grass looking for shapes in the clouds (or something).  As Midnight approaches and finds the caveman seemingly blissful and serene, he speculates whether the "savage" may actually have been purposefully starved to turn him vicious!

About this time, a mob of suit-wearing Big Citizens (I guess that's what we should call them) show up at the zoo prepared to kill Zor.  Midnight grabs his new friend and beats a hasty retreat.

As luck would have it, during the strategic withdrawal, Midnight runs across Gabby who has--it seems-taken up the cause of unionized monkeys...

Who knows?  It was the 1940s.  FDR was in the White House and I guess all things socialist were hip?

Back at the lair, Wackey has a moment of fright when Midnight shows up with the Cro-Magnon crusher in tow.  Dave reassures the Doc they'll have nothing to fear from Zor so long as he's kept well-fed.  He then tells the inventor to "simmer down and listen to my plans."



FNF (Round 1): M6 results and Razor Fist vs. Doc Savage

Round 1, Match 6 results


The Veiled Avenger vs. "the heroine"

This was a tough one.  These ladies are generally pretty equally-skilled.  Similarly, it's hard to see how the defined Mordor-like setting would necessarily favor one or the other.

In the end, the outcome was determined by the specified issues.  If we compare the gun-toting heroine from "The Dingus" to the mistress of the whip from Red Seal Comics #16, I think the latter comes out on top.

While Staton's "heroine" is capable of some pretty fancy shooting, she doesn't necessarily demonstrate that in The Dingus.  The Veiled Avenger, however, proved herself more than competent to bring a whip to a gun-fight.

So once again, congrats to our Golden Age competitor:  The Veiled Avenger proceeds to the second round!

The Veiled Avenger as depicted in Red Seal Comics #16



From the Eye to the visoscope: a theological theme in Golden Age comics

In working through Midnight's Golden Age adventures, I've tried to point out when and where biblical themes seem to come up.  Today's post ponders the question of whether one such theme lies behind a repeated deus ex machina of the early Midnight stories.

The visoscope debuted in Smash Comics #25.  It was a surveillance machine that would've make Big Brother green with envy.  All Midnight and his cohorts had to do was "select a location," and they could see whatever was going on--even see inside closed buildings!  This was no mere proto-satellite.  The visoscope provided an almost "god-like" perspective. 


Smash Comics #25 (Aug 1941)

The visoscope would turn up at least four more times (Smash Comics # 26, 27, 29, 30),but then seems to have sort of fallen away.  Perhaps Cole feared he'd written himself into too much of a corner.  After all, if Midnight & co. could really view everything, everywhere, all the time, how would they experience the uncertainty necessary to heighten tension and keep little kids turning comic pages? 



As problematic as the visoscope might've been, it was really nothing compared to the Eye, an even more-obviously God-inspired character put out a few years earlier by Centaur Publications.  More than a mere machine, the Eye was a conscious agent sporting an even more-expansive powerset (e.g., immortality, teleportation, ability to work miracles, et al.) And if this weren't enough, the Eye pointedly had no origin story...ever...not even really an allusion to one.

My speculative hypothesis is that the Eye, and later the visoscope, were both influenced by the idea of the "all-seeing eye of God."  This was, of course, an ancient concept...but the imagery of God's all-seeing eye was part and parcel of at least the Low Church Protestantism of the time.  Perhaps the best example of this is the 1919 son by J. M. Henson, "Watching You".

 













BONUS POST: When your church believes in your kid...

Recently, our church engaged in an unusual practice.  Instead of passing the plate for a contribution, we did so for a distribution. 

To help fund the expansion of our building's new children's wing, baskets of cash got passed around and everyone was invited to take out as much a they thought they would need to invest in their own talents and skills.  The church was then charged with turning a profit on that money as their talents and vision allowed. The resulting profit, then, is to be returned to the church within about two months' time. (Think Matt. 25:14-30)

Anyway, my middle child chose to make clay figurines.  While he personally enjoys Disney characters more, I was able to prevail on him to do a custom special of Big City's avenger just for his dear ole' dad.  (To say that I'm proud of both my son, AND my church family would be a gross understatement.)