All-Star Comics #23

(Winter 1944-5)

The Plunder of the Psycho-Pirate [introduction] (Table of Contents)

Justice Society of America / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gardner Fox

Pencils:

Joe Gallagher

Inks:

Joe Gallagher

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Justice Society of America [Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Dr. Mid-Nite; Spectre [Jim Corrigan]; Atom [Al Pratt]; Starman [Ted Knight]; Johnny Thunder]

Synopsis:

At their regular meeting, Chairman Hawkman brings to the member's attention the challenge issued by the newspaper, the Courier. It seems an individual called the Psycho-Pirate has been committing crimes based on emotions, and the Courier has been speaking out against him. The JSA visits the paper's editor, Mr. Morgan to inform him that they will help. Morgan shows a letter of challenge to them from the Psycho-Pirate just as Morgan's Secretary brings in telegrams addressed to the JSA members individually, challenging them to stop him. Morgan is relived to hear this as the only person before that gave encouragement and support in the fight was one of his his linotypers, Charley Halstead.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #5 (1999)

The Plunder of the Psycho-Pirate [chapter 1] (Table of Contents)

Justice Society of America / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gardner Fox

Pencils:

Sheldon Moldoff

Inks:

Sheldon Moldoff

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Hawkman [Carter Hall]

Synopsis:

Knowing that the Psycho-Pirate is going to use "love" as a weapon, Hawkman hurries over to the mansion of Heywood Carlson, wealthy industrial magnate. Carlson is notified that his daughter Betty his being held for ransom, not knowing the claim is false. But his love for his daughter is going to be his downfall until the Feathered Fury bursts in and over-powers the thugs demanding payment. Unfortunately, what has happened to Carlson can be a double-edged sword, as one thug tells Hawkman to lay off or something will happen to Shiera Sanders. He tells Hawkman where he can find her and he flies there quickly and frees her from her bonds, but then they both find themselves trapped in a room with the walls closing in on them. Hawkman uses Shiera's purse to gum up the works, they escape and Hawkman rounds up the thugs involved. He returns to Carlson's home to find out that the kidnapping of Betty was a ruse, so he decides to return to the Courier.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #5 (1999)

The Plunder of the Psycho-Pirate [chapter 2] (Table of Contents)

Justice Society of America / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gardner Fox

Pencils:

Stan Aschmeier

Inks:

Stan Aschmeier

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Starman [Ted Knight]

Synopsis:

The emotion "hate" figures into the picture when industrial magnate, Augustus Hemsley, receives a shock noting that a column in the newspaper by Hank Cannon calls him a crook. Hemsley then remembers a visitor he had a few days earlier that gave him a card advertizing the Hate Clinic, so he saunters over to it to enroll in the course they offer. Hemsley becomes a master swordsman, but discoverss that Cannon is enrolled in the same course....and only one of them will survive the duel to the death. Starman enters the picture and convinces the men that only the Hate Clinic will come out this....rucher, to say the least. The Astral Avenger then cleans house at the clinic, suddenly feeling hate towards his opponents. That leads to Starman falling into a trap, but he escapes and then settles the argument between Carlson and Cannon.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #5 (1999)

Indexer Notes

This is the last appearance of Starman in All-Star.

The Plunder of the Psycho-Pirate [chapter 3] (Table of Contents)

Justice Society of America / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gardner Fox

Pencils:

Stan Aschmeier

Inks:

Stan Aschmeier

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Dr. Mid-Nite

Synopsis:

Knowing that "fear" is the weapon the Psycho-Pirate will use next, the Man of Midnight races to Carse City, a wealthy sburb where something terrible is to happen. He runs into a few residents who are crying with fear, and they tell him that the entire city has been kidnapped! Visiting a few local officials, Mid-Nite is told that the Psycho-Pirate's men are going to drop living disease germs on the city. The Man of Night heads out to the address from where the ransom note was issued, dispatches a sharpshooter, and is ready to enter the premises when a sudden fear comes over him. But he overcomes that and wraps up the thugs inside, learning that the germ threat was only a hoax.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #5 (1999)

The Plunder of the Psycho-Pirate [chapter 4] (Table of Contents)

Justice Society of America / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gardner Fox

Pencils:

Stan Aschmeier

Inks:

Stan Aschmeier

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero; humor

Characters:

Johnny Thunder; Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt

Synopsis:

Johnny's problem, "conceit," was rather unusual since Johnny is rather conceited himself. The situation revolves around the Martin brothers, who manufactures safes that are burglar-proof. One day they get a call from the lighting company that they can't open the safe they sold them, so would they mind coming over and opening it for them. Once they open the safe, they find out that they have been had by a few of the Psycho-Pirate's men, who intend stealing the safe's contents. Johnny shows up and starts pounding on them until the crook's begin to flatter Johnny with conceit, a move which ends up putting the company officials and our hero locked inside the safe. The Thunderbolt offers to help and is rebuffed by brother John until Johnny figures out that the T-Bolt can get them all out of that place! Johnny then rounds up the gang....with a little help from Thunderbolt.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #5 (1999)

Meet J. Pachyderm Eliphunt, Jr. (Table of Contents)

Who's Who in Zooville / filler / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

R. Santi ?

Pencils:

R. Santi

Inks:

R. Santi

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Pervia Problem (Table of Contents)

text story / 1.66 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jay Mar (signed)

Pencils:

?

Inks:

?

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

The Plunder of the Psycho-Pirate [chapter 5] (Table of Contents)

Justice Society of America / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gardner Fox

Pencils:

Cliff Young

Inks:

Steve Brodie

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero; occult

Characters:

Spectre [Jim Corrigan]

Synopsis:

Greed plays a strange role in this saga, as wealthy collector, Ivar Mason, has in his possession one of the Grinning Guardians....and only two such pieces exist. He is suddenly visited by a mysterious person who asks if he'd like to own both. He does and the mystery person heads out to steal the other from collector Ephraim Smith. The Spectre arrives and tells Mason what that guy is trying to do, so the Ghostly Guardian sets a trap. But the mysterious visitor tells Mason that, unless he forks over his guardian, then he'll tell the Police that Mason bribed him to steal Smith's statue. Mason gives him the statue, but Spectre follows....and falls into a trap and is gassed. He escapes and recovers the Guardian and returns it to Mason.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #5 (1999)

Indexer Notes

This is the last appearance of the Spectre in All-Star.

Meet J. Groaner Crooner (Table of Contents)

Who's Who in Zooville / filler / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

R. Santi ?

Pencils:

R. Santi

Inks:

R. Santi

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

The Plunder of the Psycho-Pirate [chapter 6] (Table of Contents)

Justice Society of America / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gardner Fox

Pencils:

Joe Gallagher

Inks:

Joe Gallagher

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Atom [Al Pratt]

Synopsis:

The final emotion is "despair" and it in the offices of the Courier itself, as the Atom was left behind to protect Mr. Morgan from the Psycho-Pirate. Because of the problems this person has posed, Morgan has had to mortgage his home and taken out many loans. Suddenly, Morgan's Secretary tells him that the bank is going to foreclose on his home, the newsboys are out on strike, the paper is being taken over for non-payment, that his staff is quitting, that the newspaper guild wants to kick him out of the Union, and Charley Halstead then tells Morgan that his wife is suing for divorce. All that news is too much for Morgan and despair sets in. Suddenly the radio blares out that the JSA members have failed in their missions, but a telegram from the Psycho-Pirate tells the Atom that he can still save the day by coming to his lair and trying to free the captured members. The Atom bites and finds the members imprisoned....but they convince the Atom that it's no use fighting the Psycho-Pirate, and the Mighty Mite starts to give up any hope of success....until he finds out that the supposed JSA members are actually the Psycho-Pirate's thugs in disguise. He then mops them up, but is shot in the process!

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #5 (1999)

The Plunder of the Psycho-Pirate [conclusion] (Table of Contents)

Justice Society of America / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gardner Fox

Pencils:

Joe Gallagher

Inks:

Joe Gallagher

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Justice Society of America [Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Dr. Mid-Nite; Starman [Ted Knight]; Johnny Thunder; Atom [Al Pratt]; Spectre [Jim Corrigan]; Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt]; Psycho-Pirate [Charley Halstead] (introduction, villain)

Synopsis:

The JSA returns to the offices of the Courier, much to the surprise of Morgan, who tells them about the radio announcement and the Atom taking off to save the day. Suddenly, the voice of the Atom is heard through the ventilation ducts that he knows who the Psycho-Pirate is. But thugs find the Mighty Mite on the roof and toss him off to his doom. Fortunately, Johnny sees what is happening and orders the Thunderbolt to save Atom, which he does, and he brings Atom into Morgan's office....then grabs Charley Halstead! He protests and soon becomes the victim of his own emotions.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #5 (1999)