Smash Comics #37

(November 1942)

Doc Wackey Goes Berserk! (Table of Contents: 1)

Midnight / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script

Jack Cole

Pencils

Jack Cole

Inks

Tony DiPreta

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure; superhero

Characters

Midnight [Dave Clark]; Doc Mortimer Wackey; Gabby; Skull Duggery; The Professor

Synopsis

The mysterious Professor returns for Doc Wackey's life, and uses Doc to create and test a super-speed formula. Wackey ends up with super speed, which he proceeds to dedicate to a life of crime! Midnight took the serum himself just to keep up with Doc, but it eventually wears off.

Indexer Notes

Inker revision from Cole to DiPreta by Craig Delich 2013-6-16 per Jim Amash in the Quality Companion.

[Rescuing Papa] (Table of Contents: 2)

Espionage Starring Black X / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Toni Blum ?; Otto Binder ?

Pencils

Alex Kotzky (signed)

Inks

Alex Kotzky (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

spy; adventure; war

Characters

Espionage [Black X]; Batu; Tinka Van Doorne (Peter's daughter); Peter Van Doorne

Synopsis

A little girl asks Black X to rescue her father who is being held by the Nazis behind enemy lines.

Indexer Notes

Writer credits by Craig Delich.

Will Eisner created the Espionage feature, and Will Erwin was a pen name used by Will Eisner (Erwin was Eisner's middle name), but it also became a house by-line after Eisner's tenure after 1940. Lane French wrote the feature in 1941, followed by Toni Blum (1942) and Otto Binder (1942-43).

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

Archie O'Toole / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Bernard Dibble

Pencils

Bernard Dibble

Inks

Bernard Dibble

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Sure, I know we need a queen...

Genre

humor; children

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

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

Script

Paul Gustavson (signed)

Pencils

Paul Gustavson (signed)

Inks

Paul Gustavson (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

Paul Gustavson (signed)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hey... flatfoot... is th' sidewalk so small y' gotta get yourself tangled up in me feet?!

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Jester [Chuck Lane]; Tough Tony; Dagger Joe (villain); Trigger (villain)

Synopsis

Chuck Lane asks that the toughest juvenile offender be paroled into his custody.

Indexer Notes

Gustavson credits from Terry Gustafson, son of Paul Gustavson.

Dean of Darkness (Table of Contents: 5)

Wildfire / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Robert Turner (signed)

Pencils

Jim Mooney (signed)

Inks

Jim Mooney (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Dean of Darkness; Wildfire

Synopsis

The Dean of Darkness tries to hold Carol Martin for ransom, not realizing she's Wildfire.

Indexer Notes

Last appearance of feature.
Final Golden Age appearance of Wildfire (Carol Vance Martin). Appears next in The Golden Age (DC, 1993 Series) #4 ([May] 1994).

The Kidnapping of Peter Percy Gotgelt III (Table of Contents: 6)

Bozo the Robot / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

George Brenner (credited as Wayne Reid)

Pencils

George Brenner (credited as Wayne Reid)

Inks

George Brenner

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

science fiction; superhero

Characters

Peter Percy Gotgelt III; Hugh Hazzard; Bozo; The Terrible Trio

Synopsis

A trio of kidnappers find a little boy too much to handle.

[The Frozen Lands of the Midnight Sun] (Table of Contents: 7)

The Ray / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Reed Crandall

Inks

Reed Crandall

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Ray [Happy Terrill]; Bud

Synopsis

The Ray searches for a spy who has ferreted out plans for an allied invasion of Norway.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 8)

Rookie Rankin / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Art Peddy (signed)

Inks

Art Peddy (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

A g-man is loose among the crooks, and Ma Rankin is loose among the cops...

Genre

detective-mystery

Characters

Rookie Rankin; Ma Rankin; Sgt. Burns; Artie

Synopsis

Rankin breaks up a counterfeiting ring that makes phony rationing coupons.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 9)

Wun Cloo / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Jack Cole

Pencils

Jack Cole

Inks

Jack Cole

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Wun Cloo think new Chinese restaurant cover up...

Genre

humor; detective-mystery

Characters

Wun Cloo (detective)

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

The Purple Trio / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Alex Blum (signed as S. M. Regi)

Inks

Alex Blum (signed as S. M. Regi)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The boys are off for a day at the zoo...

Genre

adventure

Characters

The Purple Trio [Rocky Hill; Warren; Tiny Todd]; Peters (villain)

Synopsis

A disgruntled zoo employee lets the animals loose to get revenge on the zoo director.

Indexer Notes

Last appearance.

Spy (Table of Contents: 11)

Jimmy Christian / text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

adventure

[The Undersea Wolf] (Table of Contents: 12)

Wings Wendall / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Vern Henkel (signed)

Pencils

Vern Henkel (signed)

Inks

Vern Henkel

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

aviation

Characters

Wings Wendall; Captain Kroll; Spinner Benson

Indexer Notes

last appearance

The Amazing Adventures of the Three Shadows (Table of Contents: 13)

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

Script

?

Pencils

Alex Koda (signed)

Inks

Alex Koda (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure; war; superhero

Characters

The Marksman [Baron Povalski, aka Major Hurtz]; Vorka; The Three Shadows (introduction for all); Schtuper (villain)

Synopsis

A Czech, an Austrian and a Pole escape from a concentration camp and join the underground as the Three Shadows, through whom the Marksman smuggles Nazi war plans to the British.