Marvel Mystery Comics #24

(October 1941)

[Back comes the dreaded Red Skull] (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

Captain America / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Meet The Parrot (Table of Contents: 2)

Human Torch / comic story / 15 pages (report information)

Script

Carl Burgos (signed)

Pencils

Carl Burgos (signed)

Inks

Carl Burgos (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Human Torch [Jim Hammond]; Toro [Thomas Raymond]; Warden Thomaz; Bob (a guard); Tom (a guard); Inspector Riley; The Parrot (villain); Culflam (villain, death); Luther (villain)

Universe

Marvel : mainstream

Synopsis

The Parrot escapes jail and sends a message to the Torch via, what else?, a parrot, that he's planning to attack the opera. Torch and Toro attend the opera that evening, when suddenly gas is pumped out from behind the curtain, knocking out the guests. Parrot's men move amongst them relieving the ladies of their jewelry. Torch enters the fray, but the Parrot knocks him out and places him in a guillotine. Toro saves him, and afterwards, Torch grabs the Parrot's feet while Toro binds his hands. Torch threatens him with the electric chair, but the Parrot says he isn't worried.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics (Marvel, 2004 series) #6 ([September] 2011)
• in Timely's Greatest: The Golden Age Human Torch by Carl Burgos Omnibus (Marvel, 2019 series) (2019)

[The Young Allies Comics] (Table of Contents: 3) (Expand) /

Young Allies Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Battles The Undersea Blitzkrieg (Table of Contents: 4)

Namor the Sub-Mariner / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Everett (signed)

Pencils

Bill Everett (signed)

Inks

Bill Everett (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Sub-Mariner [Prince Namor][as Amer]; Dorma; Princess Fen; Simma; Daka (villain); Lt. Geeresse (villain); Lonu-Ne (villain, Chancellor); the Seal People (villains); the Nazis (villains)

Synopsis

Namor decides to return to his kingdom to see how things are going, but discovers that he has been declared a traitor and ordered executed by Daka, who has overthrown Princess Fen and joined forces with the villainous Seal Men.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics (Marvel, 2004 series) #6 ([September] 2011)
• in Timely's Greatest: The Golden Age Sub-Mariner by Bill Everett - The Pre-War Years Omnibus (Marvel, 2019 series) (2019)

Indexer Notes

Story in Tales to Astonish #70 bears marked similarities. The Masterworks edition credits an unknown artist working with Bill Everett on this story.

[Mystery In the Maine Woods] (Table of Contents: 5)

Terry Vance, the School Boy Sleuth / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Ray Gill (signed)

Pencils

Bob Oksner (signed)

Inks

Bob Oksner (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

detective-mystery

Characters

Terry Vance; Dr. Watson (a monkey); Deadline Dawson; "Bull" Dawson (Deadline's father, lumber mill owner); Jeff Cramer (villain)

Synopsis

Terry and Deadline head north to investigate why Deadline's father isn't providing paper pulp to the newspaper on time, and discovers that a rival of Dawson is responsible.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics (Marvel, 2004 series) #6 ([September] 2011)

Who Robbed the Carter Bank?, or, How Good a Detective Are You? (Table of Contents: 6)

Terry Vance, the School Boy Sleuth / text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Stan Lee (signed)

Pencils

Bob Oksner

Inks

Bob Oksner

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

adventure; detective-mystery

Characters

Terry Vance; Dr. Watson (a monkey); Deadline Dawson; Hi Smithers (night watchman); Police Commissioner Henderson; Lieutenant Jackson; Charlie Biswell (Carter's private secretary); Jake Walters; Lemuel Carter (villain, bank President)

Synopsis

Terry Vance takes the reader step by step, clue by clue, on a case involving a bank robbery and allows the reader to become their own sleuth and figure out the guilty party.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics (Marvel, 2004 series) #6 ([September] 2011)

Indexer Notes

Art credits from the Masterworks edition.

[The German Peacemonger] (Table of Contents: 7)

The Patriot / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Ray Gill ?

Pencils

Sid Greene (signed)

Inks

Sid Greene (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Patriot [Jeffrey Mace]; Casey; Fritz (villain); Herr Huss (villain, Deputy to Hitler); John Garrett (villain; millionaire); Garrett's butler (villain)

Synopsis

Hitler's Deputy flies unauthorized to New Jersey to arrange a treaty of peace between the British and Germany, and convinces the Patriot to take him to the estate of a millionaire friend of his.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics (Marvel, 2004 series) #6 ([September] 2011)

Indexer Notes

Story is continued next issue. This story is based somewhat loosely on the true story of Hitler's Deputy, Rudolf Hess, who, indeed, flew unauthorized to England in 1941, wanting to arrange a peace between England and Germany, and Hitler branded him a traitor.

[The Stronghold of Ali Hamud] (Table of Contents: 8)

Ka-Zar the Great / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Ben Thompson ?

Pencils

Ben Thompson

Inks

Ben Thompson

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

jungle

Characters

Ka-Zar [David Rand]; Prince Ali Hamud (villain); Capt. Ollendorff (villain); un-named giant (villain, death)

Synopsis

Ka-Zar lands at a camouflaged Nazi field and is welcomed by Prince Hamud as a Nazi agent, and he learns that the Prince is attempting to refuel Nazi planes en route to strike at Britain's southern African colonies.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics (Marvel, 2004 series) #6 ([September] 2011)

Indexer Notes

Story is continued next issue. The full title of this strip is "Adventures of Ka-Zar the Great". The Masterworks edition credits Frank Frollo with the art [the Who's Who does NOT have Frollo doing any work for Timely/Marvel]. A ? has been placed behind the writer's name as the Who's Who states that Ben Thompson wrote none of the features he did for Timely.

[Grosso of the War-Dust World] (Table of Contents: 9)

The Vision / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Jack Kirby ?; Joe Simon ?

Pencils

Jack Kirby; Fred Bell ? (see notes)

Inks

Fred Bell ?; Al Avison ?; ? (see notes)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Vision [Aarkus]; Grosso (villain, death)

Synopsis

The Vision must battle the evil Grosso, who is attempting to destroy America's national defense industries.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics (Marvel, 2004 series) #6 ([September] 2011)
• in Timely's Greatest: The Golden Age Simon & Kirby Omnibus (Marvel, 2019 series) (2019)

Indexer Notes

The Masterworks edition credits Al Avison and another unknown artist as doing the inks for the story.
Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr and Hames Ware believe that the inker/finished penciler here over Jack Kirby layouts is most likely Fred Bell. Whether or not he ever worked directly for Timely as a freelancer instead of through Jacquet is not known.

The previous credit for Joe Simon as the inker is untenable. These are not Simon's inks.

[The Eye Thief] (Table of Contents: 10)

The Angel / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Alan Mandel

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Angel [Tom Halloway]; Mr. Blakely; Mr. Keene (artist); Dr. Hyde (villain)

Synopsis

A great eye surgeon gets drunk one night, but has to perform delicate eye surgery. He bungles the job, and swears revenge by taking away people's eyesight, then ransoming the victims in order for sight to be restored.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics (Marvel, 2004 series) #6 ([September] 2011)

Indexer Notes

The Masterworks edition credits Alan Mandel with pencils and unknown artist with inks.
Previous indexers have credited Al Avison pencils and Al Gabriele inks, but this is definitely NOT their work. Both DocV and JVJ & Hames Ware believe this to be Alan Mandel and an inker.

[The great new comic magazine you demanded!] (Table of Contents: 11) (Expand) /

Namor the Sub-Mariner / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)