All-Star Comics #34

(April-May 1947)

The Wiles of the Wizard! [introduction] (Table of Contents)

Justice Society of America / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gardner F. Fox

Pencils:

Irwin Hasen

Inks:

Irwin Hasen

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Justice Society of America [Johnny Thunder; Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Flash [Jay Garrick]; Atom [Al Pratt]; Wonder Woman; Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Dr. Mid-Nite]; The Wizard (introduction, villain)

Synopsis:

At the HQ of the Justice Society, the members read a notice in the newspaper from a W.I.Zard, who is offering them $1 million in cash as a reward for their on-going battle against crime. While the members realize that they cannot accept the money, they do realize that the money would be a tempting target for a new criminal calling himself the Wizard! Suddenly, Green Lantern and Hawkman spot an intruder in their HQ, and they chase after him for miles before losing him. When they return to their HQ, Johnny goes over to a window to open it and it disappears, being replaced by a porthole, and their emblem plaque has turned into a mounted fish. G.L. notices a note that wasn't there before, and when the Emerald Crusader reads it, they discover it's from W.I.Zard, telling them to reconsider his generous offer. At that moment, they connect the name W.I.Zard with Wizard, and now know why their meeting room has been turned into a ship. As they come up on deck, they notice that they are nearing an island....they come ashore to find a house with no doors or windows, which flames up and then abates, no revealing a front door in the structure. Entering, they see the Wizard, who explains that they can drop the pretense, for he has seen through their hoax of trying to convince the public that they are crime crushers instead of the criminals he knows them to be! As they advance on the Wizard, he disappears in a puff of smoke, they re-appears, doing a number of mystical stunts to impress them. Then he alights and informs them that he is giving them one final test to prove they are champions of truth and justice: he has planned five crimes for them to tackle....but if they fail in any one of those cases, their reputation will be shattered for all time. He then fades away.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 (2002)

Indexer Notes

The JSA meeting place moves from New York City to Gotham City.

The Wiles of the Wizard! [chapter 1] (Table of Contents)

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

Credits

Script:

Gardner F. Fox

Pencils:

Joe Kubert

Inks:

Joe Kubert

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Hawkman [Carter Hall]; The Wizard

Synopsis:

Burning with rage at the Wizard's insinuations, the Feathered Warrior zooms toward the Eberley Mansion, where the Wizard has promised to commit a crime. As he arrives, Hawkman notices that a party is in progress inside....then he spots some waiters filling balloons [with gas] and spitting buckshot at them to break them, thereby releasing the gas. As people begin collapsing, Hawkman, unable to reach the window, beats his wings rapidly to pull fresh air into the room, then he captures the two phony waiters. Just then, the Wizard, encased in a bubble, appears, and throws a peculiar powder into the Feathered Fury's face, causing his senses to reel, as he suddenly finds himself high in the mountains in a world of ice. Back at the party, the two waiters, noting the absence of Hawkman,go ahead and loot the guests of their valuables. Meanwhile, Hawkman is using his wings as protection from the cold, then realizes he can use some of them to start a fire to keep warm. As the fire melts the ice, he suddenly finds himself back at the manion and nabs the two waiters as they are making their getaway, and recovers the loot.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 (2002)

The Wiles of the Wizard! [chapter 2] (Table of Contents)

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

Credits

Script:

Gardner F. Fox

Pencils:

Frank Harry

Inks:

Frank Harry

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Dr. Mid-Nite; The Wizard

Synopsis:

A man named Mollon and his men have just rowed ashore at a dock, where they get out of the boat and head inside to listen to Mollon explain his latest robbery plot. He says that one week ago he had banked $50,000 at a local marine bank, and had informed the personnel that he, or someone representing him, would appear to cash in the entire amount that day. His plan is that he has made out four identical checks to have his men cash....all at the same time, thus walking out of the bank with a cool $100,000. A short time later at the bank, four men walk in and cash their checks with different tellers, but, before they can leave, Dr. Mid-Nite arrives on the scene and takes them on. Loose paper floating in the air suddenly becomes the Wizard, who motions at a pair of cutlasses on the wall, which fly off and pin the Man of Night's cape to a door, then they change into ropes, which binds him. The crooks then pick up the Caped Crusader and carry him out to a boat, which they row out a short distance and drop Dr. Mid-Nite in. He sinks to the bottom, but is able to detonate his blackout bombs in his utility belt, work loose the ropes and swim under the men's boat. He suddenly springs out at them, knocking them all in the water and over-turning the boat, which he tells the men to grab hold of and starting pushing the boat to shore, after which he takes them to jail.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 (2002)

The Wiles of the Wizard! [chapter 3] (Table of Contents)

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

Credits

Script:

Gardner F. Fox

Pencils:

Lee Elias (signed)

Inks:

Lee Elias (signed)

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Flash [Jay Garrick]; The Wizard

Synopsis:

In an isolated laboratory on the edge of a Western desert is concealed a formula of tremendous importance. As two of the Wizard's men lurk outside the lab, inside two of the scientists are ready to perform the final test, which blows up in their faces, knocking them out. In come the two thugs, who had an inside man switch wires for the test, causing the explosion and allowing the men to steal the formula. As they are looting the safe, in speeds the Flash, and hammers them into unconsciousness. As the Scarlet Speedster checks on the scientists, the Wizard appears, causing giant glass bubbles to encase the Flash,then the Wizard leaves the Crimson Comet to the wits of the thugs, who have since revived. They take the Flash's captive glass tube and put it into a kiln, and turn up the temperature to full power. As they loot the safe's formula, the Flash begins to rotate inside his glass enclosure and stamps down, forcing the tube to violently exit through the top of the kiln. He races out of the lab and after the car the thugs fled it, and, at ultra speed, pushes the car fast enough to cause it to disintegrate. He then returns the formula to the lab, escorts the crooks to jail and returns to JSA HQ.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 (2002)

The Wiles of the Wizard! [chapter 4] (Table of Contents)

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

Credits

Script:

Gardner F. Fox

Pencils:

Harry Lampert

Inks:

Harry Lampert

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Atom [Al Pratt]; The Wizard

Synopsis:

It is night and a truckload of immensely valuable platinum fox furs is making its way across a bridge. From the other end, several of the Wizard's band, in a truck of its own, suddenly stops and one of them jumps out and moves the lever, raising the drawbridge. They tie up the Ace Fur's drivers and begin to loot the stash of furs when the Atom arrives by airplane and swings down to the scene below. As he is rounding up the gang, the Wizard appears, and uses his magic to bind the Mighty Mite in ropes, and has his thugs tie him to one end of the bridge. The Wizard then operates the lever to lower the drawbridge, which will end up crushing the Atom. Meanwhile, Wizard's men have finished loading the furs into their truck and are about to depart. Thinking quickly, the Atom is able to swing his body back up over the edge of the bridge, and as the span closes, his ropes are severed. He jumps the thugs, captures them, restores the furs back to their original truck, locks it, and takes the Wizard's men to jail.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 (2002)

Fate Laughs Last! (Table of Contents)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Cliff Rhodes (signed)

Pencils:

?

Inks:

?

Colors:

?

Letters:

typeset

Content Information

Genre:

adventure

Indexer Notes

This text story was NOT reprinted in the Archive.

[Snowball Fight] (Table of Contents)

Cotton-Top Katie / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Harry Lampert [as Harrielle] (signed)

Pencils:

Harry Lampert [as Harrielle] (signed)

Inks:

Harry Lampert [as Harrielle] (signed)

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

teen

Indexer Notes

This strip was NOT reprinted in the Archives.

The Wiles of the Wizard! [chapter 5] (Table of Contents)

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

Credits

Script:

Gardner F. Fox

Pencils:

Paul Reinman (signed)

Inks:

Paul Reinman (signed)

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; The Wizard

Synopsis:

Two trains are on a collision course....when, suddenly, a hand reaches down, and hits a special switch to stop the MODEL trains! Yes, Mr. Farnsworth is playing with his model trains just as three of the Wizard's men enter unexpectantly. Bearing a "note" from one of Farnsworth's fellow train buffs, the old gentlemen lets down his guard and excited shows his new switch the them. One pulls a gun and demands the switch, just as Green Lantern flies in the window, and begins working the thugs over. Suddenly, one of the model trains sounds its whistle and a voice comes from it: the voice of the Wizard, who suddenly springs up out of nowhere. With a cane in hand, the master of black magic causes the cane to wrap around the Green Gladiator's body, shrinking him....then the Wizard, first taking the power ring which slipped off his hand, places G.L. on one of the train tracks and starts an engine toward him!. Meanwhile, the thugs grab the special switch of Farnsworth, and one of them accidently brushes up against G.L.'s ring, which had been placed by the Wizard nearby. As the train nears the Emerald Crausader, he reaches out his legs and makes contact with the ring, and uses a ray to divert the train. Green Lantern then frees Farnsworth from his captivity, locates the crooks and turns them over to the Police, keeping the stolen switch in his possession until Farnsworth can recover.

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 (2002)

The Wiles of the Wizard! [conclusion] (Table of Contents)

Justice Society of America / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gardner F. Fox

Pencils:

Irwin Hasen

Inks:

Irwin Hasen

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Justice Society of America [Johnny Thunder; Wonder Woman; Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Flash [Jay Garrick]; Atom [Al Pratt]; Dr. Mid-Nite; Green Lantern [Alan Scott]]; The Wizard (villain, origin)

Synopsis:

Johnny Thunder, furious because the Wizard didn't see fit to give him a case to work on, is complaining to Wonder Woman when the JSA arrives back to HQ. Suddenly, from a vase of flowers, the Wizard springs up, and uses his magic to convince the members that they are not actually back at their HQ after all. As they move about the room, trap doors begin opening up in the floor, and the Wizard materializes and warns them to watch their step. Then he explains about his background. As a youth, he was a stupid, trigger-happy, gunman who spent a great deal of time in jail. After his release, he journeyed to an obscure Lamasery in far-off Tibet, wher he will pay well to learn the magic arts, which he plans to use in a scheme of making crime big business. His apprenticeship was awe-inspiring, learning the complete art of hypnotism, astral projection and spirit projection. He learned enough to finally teach himself black magic, which he first used to kill his teacher. The JSA, however, finds it hard to believe al this nonsense until he explains that the shadowy figure they had spotted in their meeting room was indeed himself, and that the JSA had NEVER actually been in their HQ, but aboard a ship all the time! Having said enough, the Wizard now uses his deadly illusions to try and kill the members, turning into different grotesque monsters to accomplisg the feat. But it is the wits of Dr. Mid-Nite who sees through these illusions, and throws a blackout bomb to the floor, causing all the monster-illusions to disappear. And the Wizard, too, now realizes his mammoth error, now knowing the JSA members were indded champions of justice, and he throws himself down one of the trapdoors into a vat of acid he had arranged for the members. Still, the Flash muses: is the Wizard really gone?

Reprints: show reprint note before migration

• in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #8 (2002)