MEDIA IN COMICS 002

Fictional books, fictional movies, fictional stage shows: it's media in comics time! 

Books:

Dexter, a friend of Ellsworth "the Sphinx" Forrester, has written a book titled Who's Who in Murder which is one of those grand exposes that causes everyone in crimedom to attempt to kill the author before they can publish. That's gotta be great publicity. (Exciting Comics 010, 1941)

While Guns Make Dust is very plot relevant in this Ellery Queen mystery, as a doped-up stamp thief hides his prize in one of three copies in a local bookstore and subsequently murders several people in search of the right one, we never learn much about the book itself. I think it's a Western, personally. (Crackajack Funnies 024, 1940)

We learn even less about Life of Lee, the book that gives DA Tom Kerry the idea that solves a big murder case. Could this be a biography perhaps? Of Robert E. Lee? (Big Shot Comics 007, 1940)

As we have established, there are many faux Hitlers in comics. Much more rare is the Hitler-alike who has written his own Mein Kampf analog, but such a one is Nargoff, aka the Leader, whose book The New Order is ultimately weaponized against him by the Spirit. (The Spirit, "The Leader," 29 December, 1940)

Magazines:

Roving photographer Fran Frazer works for Strife magazine, an obvious play on LIFE but one which neatly justifies the action-packed lifestyle of the comic book photog. (Top-Notch Comics 009, 1940)

Movies:

Real-life animal trainer Clyde Beatty plays some role in the fictional film Jungle Drama, but what it is we cannot say, other than the fact that it involves a lion. (Crackajack Funnies 023, 1940)

"Gabby Scoops" was a short-lived strip that was an awkward hybrid of goofy humour and crime action that ended after the titular hero went Hollywood and starred in the movie It's a Scoop! (Crackajack Funnies 030, 1940)

Shadow Devils, an espionage thriller with an unusual name, is one of those comic book movies that goes on shooting even after female lead Norda Noll is shot dead on-camera. Detective Charlie Chan eventually sorts it all out: it's all about horse racing somehow. (Big Shot Comics 001, 1940)

Dick Cole, aka the Wonder Boy, is roped into doing the stunts for a movie called Shining Star over his summer vacation. Interpersonal conflicts and murder attempts stretch the filming over a couple of issues, but it does eventually get made. It's even well received, despite being an incoherent hodgepodge of action setpieces! (Blue Bolt v1 005, 1940)

Theatre:

Like the movie that finishes production despite death an calamity, the play that continues its run while actor after actor is killed on stage is a real staple of the Golden Age mystery comic. Espionage is such a play, albeit with only one murder and a series of near-misses as the show's conductor fires poisoned darts out of his baton at those who he sees as standing between him and his love of the female lead. (Keen Detective Funnies v2 007, 1939)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 424: THE FIEND

(Keen Detective Funnies v2 011, 1939)

The Fiend is a mad scientist/ musician who has developed a supercharged organ capable of destroying structures such as the Brooklyn Bridge. And he does so, ostensibly as a showcase of his power in aid of his conquest of the world but possibly just as a whim - he's your classic erratic comic book madman. G-Man Dan Dennis tracks him down with relative ease and the threat of the Fiend is ended forever.

OR IS IT? No, it isn't, because the next issue features something that is missing from a lot of Golden and Silver Age comic books: geopolitical ramifications. Specifically, all the nations of the world prick up their ears at the potential acquisition of a powerful new weapon of mass destruction and start mobilizing spies and secret agents to get after the Fiend's technology. Including the US, whose attempt to negotiate with the Fiend for his schematics is foiled when some crooks make off with him.

What everyone forgot, of course, is that the Fiend is a raving megalomaniac who turns on all of them at the first possible moment. Dan Dennis has to catch him all over again! Sadly for me, this is the end of the tale - I know that I would love to discover a long serial comic about the FBI managing negotiations with an erratic organist over his WMD but it seems like the good people at Centar Publications weren't writing comics with me in mind.