Popular Comics #80

(October 1942)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 1)

The Gumps / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Gus Edson (credited)

Pencils

Gus Edson (credited)

Inks

Gus Edson (credited)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

There's no living in this house since Bim found that baby on the doorstep last Sunday

Genre

drama; humor; domestic

Characters

Andrew Gump; Min Gump; Uncle Bim Gump [Benjamin Gump]; Millie Gump; Hortense De Stross; Little Napolean (a baby)

Synopsis

Bim's wife and mother-in-law leave him when he won't get rid of the baby he found on the doorstep.

Reprints

• from Gumps, The Sunday (Chicago Tribune-N.Y. News Syndicate, Inc.) 1937.11.28

Indexer Notes

On inside front cover in black, white and red.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 2)

Smilin' Jack / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Zack Mosley (credited)

Pencils

Zack Mosley (credited); Boody Rogers (art assistant)

Inks

Zack Mosley (credited); Boody Rogers (art assistant)

Colors

?

Letters

Boody Rogers

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Brakes do your stuff

Genre

adventure; aviation

Characters

Smilin' Jack [Jack Martin]; Fat Stuff; Downwind Jaxon; Mrs. Andrews; Woo-Woo Bali; Mary Smith; Mummy Smith (introduction)

Reprints

• in Four Color (Dell, 1942 series) #14 - Smilin' Jack (1942) [reprints pages 1-3]
which is reprinted
• in Gwandanaland Comics (Gwandanaland Comics, 2016 series) #445 - Smilin' Jack Volume 1 ([August] 2019)
• from Smilin' Jack (Chicago Tribune-N.Y. News Syndicate, Inc.) ?

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 3)

Terry and the Pirates / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Milton Caniff (credited)

Pencils

Milton Caniff (credited)

Inks

Milton Caniff (credited)

Colors

?

Letters

Frank Engli

First Line of Dialogue or Text

While Connie and Big Stoop are puzzling over their reward money

Genre

adventure

Characters

Connie; Terry Lee; Pat Ryan; Big Stoop; Reginald Smythe-Heatherstone; Miss Mokin; Weazel [M. Belette] (villain); Baron De Plexus (villain)

Synopsis

Connie and Big Stoop spend their reward money.

Reprints

• from Terry and the Pirates daily and Sundays (Chicago Tribune-N.Y. News Syndicate, Inc.) xxxx-xx-xx - xxxx-xx-xx

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 4)

The Owl / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Frank Thomas (credited)

Pencils

Frank Thomas (credited)

Inks

Frank Thomas (credited)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Scene - A clubhouse of the Police Athletic League

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Owl [Nick Terry]; Belle Wayne; Chief Murphy; Smitty; Victor Mason (first appearance; death); Bummy Mason (first appearance; villain)

Indexer Notes

Copr., 1942, by R. S. Callender

[Episode 43: A New Home] (Table of Contents: 5)

The Hurricane Kids / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Gaylord Du Bois (credited as Albert Hartje)

Pencils

Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely)

Inks

Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

After drifting for days on a life raft, Dave and Alan Burnham land on a jungle-fringed beach—

Genre

adventure

Characters

The Hurricane Kids [Alan Burnham; Dave Burnham]

Indexer Notes

DU BOIS IDENTIFIERS.

LANGUAGE/DIDACTICISM:

• ditty-box ("a receptacle for odds and ends, especially one used by sailors or fishermen" - Oxford Languages.)

• compsognathus ("Compsognathus is a genus of small, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur. Members of its single species Compsognathus longipes could grow to around the size of a turkey." - Wikipedia.)

ANIMALS:

Trout.
Compsognathus.
Marmot.

ENGINEERING PROJECT:

"We can build a tree house."

NATURE:

"If we have landed on an island, we'll soon come to the end of this river."

Copr., 1942, by R. S. Callender

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 6)

Don Winslow / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Frank V. Martinek (credited)

Pencils

Leon A. Beroth (signed as L. A. Beroth)

Inks

Leon A. Beroth (signed as L. A. Beroth)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

After rescuing Professor Lancton, Don heads back for the naval base.

Feature Logo

Don Winslow of the Navy

Genre

war; adventure; military

Characters

Don Winslow; Red Pennington; Betty Shipman; Mr. Shipman; Mrs. Shipman; Captain X (villain)

Reprints

• from Don Winslow of the Navy newspaper strip (The Bell Syndicate, Inc.) ?

[Yep, Nina, I've got to cork her"] (Table of Contents: 7)

Gasoline Alley / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Frank King (credited)

Pencils

Frank King (credited)

Inks

Frank King (credited)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

drama

Characters

Skeezix Wallet; Nina Clock; Tops; Jerry; Gootch; Whimpy

Reprints

• from Gasoline Alley newspaper strip (Chicago Tribune-N.Y. News Syndicate, Inc.) ?

The Sea Gull Gang! (Table of Contents: 8)

Gang Busters / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

crime

Characters

Chief John Winston; Harry (death); Joe; The Sea Gull Gang (villains); Pug Miller (villain); Fagan (villain)

Reprints

• in Four Color (Dell, 1942 series) #24 - Gang Busters (1943)

Indexer Notes

Copr., 1942, by Phillips H. Lord, Inc.

Mosquito Boat Raid (Table of Contents: 9)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Gaylord Du Bois

Pencils

Bill Ely

Inks

Bill Ely

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Offshore where the fog curled in gray streamers over the water, Dean Haslam cut the catboat's motor and hoisted the sail.

Characters

Dean Haslam (a teenage American boy); five dozen blue foxes; Mom (referenced); a swarm of Japanese soldiers on the beach; Lieutenant Birch (U.S. Navy, mosquito boat skipper); Mr. Hardy (Dean Haslam's father); mosquito boat crewmen; Japanese seamen in the water (survivors of their sunk destroyer); Wilson (mosquito boat crewman killed by Jap bullets)

Synopsis

While setting the blue foxes out to forage for themselves on Tubal Island, Dean spots enemy Jap vessels. He alerts Lt. Birch back at the dock, who radios for support. Upon his offer, and with his dad's permission, Dean guides the mosquito boat through a secret pass. They engage the enemy until the Navy cruiser arrives and sinks them. Dean is emotional that he has briefly been one with with his country's real fighting men, accepted by them, sharing their victory.

Indexer Notes

Du Bois writer and Ely artist identifications by David Porta, November 2021.

Du Bois identifiers:

The first Du Bois identifier is that The Five Ws (who what when where why) are established in the first two paragraphs, five sentences.

Then, there's a cornucopia of nautical terminology from former Coast Guard seaman Du Bois (who also wrote three "Don Winslow U.S. Navy" novels, and "The Hurricane Kids on the Lost Islands" novel). Whenever Du Bois wrote a story that could use nautical terminology, he used it.

Likewise, abundant references to nature and natural features (there among the islands) appear in the story; it's another Du Bois identifier.

Animals usually play a significant role in a Du Bois story. Here, blue fox farming is a crucial plot point. "With the wind behind him, he spared a glance at the five dozen blue foxes that cowered in the crates up forward." Dean Haslam's taking the foxes out to a uninhibited Tubal Island is how he happens to spot the Jap vessels.

Compare the appearance of the blue foxes here to another Du Bois WWII story set in the Aleutian Islands, "Attu Caverns," The Fighting Yanks 6 page comic story in Red Ryder Comics #19 (May June 1944) on-sale 1944-04-14, in which a blue fox points the way. It follows the Little Beaver text story written by Du Bois.

It may be noted here that it was apparently editor Oskar Lebeck's policy, in assembling a comic, that a Du Bois text story was immediately followed by a Du Bois comics story, (if Lebeck had assigned Du Bois a text story and a comics story for the issue, which he usually did).

In this case, an episode of the Du Bois "Cyclone" strip follows on the feet of this Du Bois text story.

An unusual story element here tallies with Du Bois's own personal life:

Without explanation as to the differences in their last names, Mr. Hardy is introduced in the narrative as Dean Haslam's father.

On her Amazon author page, Du Bois's daughter, Miriam DuBois Babcock, writes of Du Bois (her second step-father), "In 1937 my mother married Gaylord DuBois (1899-1993), who immediately adopted me."

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 10)

Cyclone / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Gaylord Du Bois

Pencils

John Hampton (credited as J. Wade Hampton)

Inks

John Hampton (credited as J. Wade Hampton)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

After many hair-raising adventures in South America

Genre

western-frontier

Characters

Cyclone; Midge; Calico (a horse); Cal Grant (first appearance); Scarface Gowdy (first appearance; villain)

Indexer Notes

Copr., 1942, by R. S. Callender.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 11)

Smokey Stover / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Bill Holman (credited)

Pencils

Bill Holman (credited)

Inks

Bill Holman (credited)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I've tried every means known to science and haven't grown any hair yet!

Genre

humor

Characters

Smokey Stover; Chief Cash U. Nutt; Spooky (a cat)

Reprints

• from Smokey Stover newspaper strip (Chicago Tribune-N.Y. News Syndicate, Inc.) ?

[What in blazes do you think Chief Cash U. Nutt and Smokey are up to now"] (Table of Contents: 12)

Smokey Stover / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Bill Holman (credited)

Pencils

Bill Holman (credited)

Inks

Bill Holman (credited)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

humor

Characters

Smokey Stover; Chief Cash U. Nutt; Spooky (a cat)

Reprints

• from Smokey Stover newspaper strip (Chicago Tribune-N.Y. News Syndicate, Inc.) ?

The Return of Robin Hood [Episode 2] (Table of Contents: 13)

Robin Hood / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Gaylord Du Bois

Pencils

Jon Small

Inks

Jon Small

Colors

?

Letters

?

Feature Logo

The Return of Robin Hood

Genre

adventure; historical; history

Characters

Robin Hood; Sir Harry Gamwell

Indexer Notes

Gaylord Du Bois script credit for Return of Robin Hood [episode 2] as per page 786, "Catalog of Copyright Entries 1942 Pamphlets, Leaflets, Etc. New Series Vol 39 Pt. 1."

This second episode of the feature's ongoing story was illustrated by Jon Small, Art spotters on the GCD Main list agree (May 2011). (Corollary to that: Jon Small is credited in Popular Comics #79 as artist for first episode or chapter of this story which appeared in that previous issue.)

12 Big Issues of Popular Comics Now Only $1.00 (Table of Contents: 14)

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

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Indexer Notes

On inside back cover in black, white and red.

Choose Your Prize! Get it the American Way (Table of Contents: 15)

American Specialty Co. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Indexer Notes

Back cover.