Golden-Age Greats Spotlight #4

([April] 2009)

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

Blue Beetle / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[Borgo, the Mirror Murderer] (Table of Contents: 2)

Blue Beetle / comic story / 15 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Sam Cooper (under house name Charles Nicholas) (sourced)

Inks

Sam Cooper (under house name Charles Nicholas) (sourced)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Smashing down upon the underworld rackets…

Genre

superhero

Characters

Blue Beetle [Dan Garret]; Joan Mason; Mike Mannigan; Ralph James (death); Frank James (death); Allan James (death); Fred James; Dell James; Dr. Frantz; Borgo (villain, introduction)

Synopsis

The Blue Beetle and Joan go after a vicious criminal mastermind, who seeks to murder the James brothers, a group of scientists who once fired him for stealing radium.

Reprints

• from Big 3 (Fox, 1940 series) #1 (Fall 1940)

The Inner Crime Ring (Table of Contents: 3)

Samson and David / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Al Carreño (under house name Alex Boon) (sourced)

Inks

Al Carreño (under house name Alex Boon) (sourced)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Out of the mists of history comes the mighty Samson…

Genre

superhero

Characters

Samson; David; Professor Brun; Dr. Blood (villain, introduction, death)

Synopsis

Samson has to battle the vicious Dr. Blood and his "Inner Crime Ring, which, because it needs capital, goes on a robbery spree, killing anyone who gets in their way.

Reprints

• from Big 3 (Fox, 1940 series) #1 (Fall 1940)

[The Jewel Smuggling Murders] (Table of Contents: 4)

Flame / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Basil Berold (house name)

Inks

Basil Berold (house name)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

A gang of jewel smugglers…

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Flame [Gary Preston]; The Water-Front Gang [Spike, rest un-named](villains, introduction, death for all)

Synopsis

The Flame battles a ruthless gang of jewel smugglers, saving a girl several times in the process, whose intent was to squeal to the District Attorney about the gang's activities.

Reprints

• from Big 3 (Fox, 1940 series) #1 (Fall 1940)

[The Shylock Menace] (Table of Contents: 5)

Flame / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Basil Berold (house name)

Inks

Basil Berold (house name)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Shylocks have been torturing…

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Flame [Gary Preston]; Spike and other gangsters (villains, introduction, deaths of all)

Synopsis

The Flame battles a murdering gang of money lenders, who are trying to bleed dry people who borrowed money from them.

Reprints

• from Big 3 (Fox, 1940 series) #1 (Fall 1940)

The Flying Dutchman Goes Modern (Table of Contents: 6)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Nathaniel Nitkin

Pencils

? (two illustrations)

Inks

? (two illustrations)

Letters

typeset

Characters

Captain Hetherington; Hardy; Captain Van Der Decken; Korvettenskapitan von Martz (villain); Oberleutnant von Seidorff (villain); Rothmann (villain)

Synopsis

German U-Boat U-134 found a likely target and rose to the surface to attack. But none of the shells had any impact on the ship, which they discovered, to their horror, to be The Flying Dutchman!

Reprints

• from Big 3 (Fox, 1940 series) #1 (Fall 1940)

[What a Team!] (Table of Contents: 7) (Expand) /

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

[The Ultimatum of Lobar] (Table of Contents: 8)

Cosmic Carson / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Michael Griffith (house name)

Inks

Michael Griffith (house name)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Cosmic Carson, ace rocket pilot.

Characters

Cosmic Carson; Lobar (villain, introduction, death); Gargantuans (villains, introduction, death)

Synopsis

In denying Lobar a base for his battle rockets on Earth, Carson must fend off an invasion force from the villain, who hopes to wipe out the earthlings and become ruler of the universe. All of Carson's rockets are destroyed except his, and he and his men are then strapped to tables by Lobar, and his scientists are set to inject them with a serum which creates a chemical gas that bloats the human body to three times its normal size before it explodes!

Reprints

• from Big 3 (Fox, 1940 series) #1 (Fall 1940)

[The Submarine City] (Table of Contents: 9)

Dr. Doom / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Dick Briefer (under house name Richard Crater)

Inks

Dick Briefer (under house name Richard Crater)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

In a laboratory miles from civilization…

Characters

Gordon; Wanda; Jan; Jim; Dr. Doom (villain); Venusians [Jarg, rest un-named](villains, introduction)

Synopsis

Jan and Wanda enter a weird underwater city, inhabited by Venusians, who plan to conquer the Earth as soon as Dr. Doom changes the Earth's atmosphere to that of Venus.

Reprints

• from Big 3 (Fox, 1940 series) #1 (Fall 1940)

[The Blue Beetle Coast to Coast] (Table of Contents: 10) (Expand) /

Blue Beetle / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

What Was Big 3 Comics? (Table of Contents: 11)

text article / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Black (credited)

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

With two reprinted illustrations.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 12)

Yarko / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

? [as Anthony Brooks] (signed)

Inks

? [as Anthony Brooks] (signed)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

In a cheap downtown actors hotel.

Genre

superhero

Characters

Yarko; Mazie White (introduction, death); Slick Snead (villain, introduction); Tricks Todd (villain, introduction)

Synopsis

A couple of crooks decide to cash in on the fame of Yarko. One of them poses as the famed magician and robs audience patrons blind during the act.

Reprints

• from Wonderworld Comics (Fox, 1939 series) #9 (January 1940)

[The Undersea Tanks] (Table of Contents: 13)

Navy Jones Underseas / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Bert Whitman (under house name Frank Pensley)

Pencils

Bert Whitman

Inks

Bert Whitman

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

A delicate undersea operation has re-created Navy Jones…

Genre

war

Characters

Navy Jones; Princess Coral; Captain Nemo; Dictator of Europe (villain, introduction); General Von Rothmann (villain, introduction, death)

Synopsis

After having a delicate undersea operation, allowing him to become a waterman, Jones and his companions must find a way to battle a large fleet of underseas Army tanks advancing on the U.S. off the Florio Coast.

Reprints

• from Weird Comics (Fox, 1940 series) #8 (November 1940)

[The Death of Khan Gen-Kee] (Table of Contents: 14)

Dr. Fung / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Bob Powell (signed as Arthur Dean)

Pencils

Bob Powell (signed as Arthur Dean)

Inks

Bob Powell (signed as Arthur Dean)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

In a palatial Burmese home, Loti Gen-Kee…

Genre

adventure; detective-mystery

Characters

Dr. Fung; Lotus Flower (introduction, death); Khan Gen-Kee (villain, introduction, death); Loti Gen-Kee [called Lio-San in this story] (villain, introduction)

Reprints

• from Wonderworld Comics (Fox, 1939 series) #6 (October 1939)

[The Kidnapping of Mary Sloan] (Table of Contents: 15)

Mob Buster Robinson / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

? [as Larry Vance] (signed)

Pencils

George Tuska

Inks

George Tuska

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Mercilessly do these leeches of society…

Characters

Mob Buster Robinson (District Attorney); John Sloan (death, Mary's father); Mary Sloan; Nick Dixon (villain, introduction, death)

Synopsis

D.A. Robinson, after hearing that a young girl has been kidnapped for ransom, but the father can't pay it and is killed, gets on the trail of the girl, but nearly loses his own life in the process.

Reprints

• from Wonderworld Comics (Fox, 1939 series) #6 (October 1939)

The Devil's Hatchet Men (Table of Contents: 16)

The Green Mask / comic story / 10 pages (report information)

Script

? [as Walter Frame] (credited)

Pencils

Arturo Cazeneuve (signed as Walter Frame)

Inks

Arturo Cazeneuve (signed as Walter Frame)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

A grim mystery hangs like a pall…

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Green Mask [Michael Shelby]; Domino the Miracle Boy [Don]; Olivia Tracy (Shelby's girlfriend); The "Devil" [Larchmont] (villain, introduction, death?); the Hatchet Men (villains, introduction, some die)

Synopsis

A man disguises himself as The Devil in order to get the Chinese merchants to pay him tribute.

Reprints

• from The Green Mask (Fox, 1940 series) #9 (February 1942)