The Phantom Lady - a Graphic Mystery Classic

I picked this book up earlier this year at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair down in St. Petersburg.  I don't often pick up pulp novels, but the title of this one caught my eye.  "Phantom Lady" happens to be the name of a Golden Age comic book character who debuted back in 1941 in Police Comics No. 1.  She was a rich socialite who created a secret identity to fight crime by using a special light that could "shoot" darkness at her opponents, momentarily blinding them.  She was later acquired by DC Comics and incorporated into a team called the Freedom Fighters, which originally hailed from an alternate Earth where the Nazis won World War II.  I loved the concept, and I loved the character.  So, when I happened across this book at the Book Fair, I could not say no.  I had to have it.

 

The Phantom Lady is a murder mystery written by William Irish, which is a pseudonym used by Cornell Woolrich (Dec. 1903 - Sept. 1968).  This book was originally published in 1942, but this Graphic Mystery Classic edition that I have was published in 1955 (and, sadly, it is abridged, so I'm not really sure what parts I missed out on).  Interestingly, this book was made into a film in 1944, directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, and Alan Curtis (but judging from the description of the movie, it appears there were some changes made to the story).  In any event, I was anxious to read the story based on the taglines on the back of the book:  HIS WIFE? Now she lay dead, murdered! HIS MISTRESS? She was ready to die to save him from the electric chair! THAT LOVELY BARROOM PICKUP? She holds his fate in her teasing hands.

The mystery centers around Scott Henderson, an unhappily married man who wants a divorce so he can marry his mistress, Carol Richman; however, his wife refuses to give him the divorce, seeming to revel in her husband's unhappiness.  One fateful night, Henderson plans to take his wife out to dinner and the theater before begging her once again for a divorce, but she refuses at the last minute.  He calls Carol to ask her to go, but she is not home. So, Henderson sets out on his own, winding up in a nondescript bar sitting alone at the bar, drinking away his sorrows.  Until the mysterious woman appears.  And the two agree to an anonymous evening together.  Henderson takes her to the restaurant where he had reservations.  And he takes her to the theater, where she becomes quite the spectacle by wearing the same exact hat as the main star in the play.  They go their separate ways, and Henderson returns to his apartment to discover it is filled with police - and a very dead wife!  

Thus, the mystery really begins, as the police accuse Henderson of the crime, but he insists his innocence, trying to convince them of the woman that is his alibi.  Only, he doesn't know her name.  And he can't really remember her features, other than her dark clothes.  And that hat - that ostentatious orange hat.  He leads the police to the bar, but the bartender remembers no woman.  Henderson takes the police to the restaurant, but the maitre d' and the waiter only remember him - no woman.  Finally, they go to the theater, where no one remembers the woman.  Henderson believes he is going crazy, and despite his insistence that the woman exists, he is tried, found guilty, and sentenced to the electric chair.  And so the countdown begins (and each chapter is actually headed by the number of days left until his sentence is carried out...)

Irish (Woolrich) gives readers a rather tense murder mystery that builds increasingly strong as the day draws closer to the execution.  The police detective in charge of the investigation eventually tells Henderson that he believes he is innocent, but cannot prove it.  His mistress stands by his side the entire time, believing his innocence.  His best friend, John Lombard, comes all the way back from South America to help find this mystery woman and prove Henderson's innocence.  But the closer they get to the truth, the worse things become - especially when one witness throws himself in front of an oncoming truck, another witness breaks his neck falling down stairs, and a third witness is thrown out the window of her high-rise apartment.  When the day of the execution arrives, the author gives readers some great excitement as a trap is laid for the mysterious woman to reveal herself, and the true murderer is revealed at last!

The story is a little hard to get into at first, as the opening chapter attempts to be mysterious by not specifically identifying Henderson or the mysterious woman, and the writing is a bit awkward.  But as that initial evening proceeds, the writing smooths itself out and you start to become invested in the characters, particularly when Henderson arrives home to be confronted by the police detective and his men.  From that point forward, you can't help but want to know exactly what did happen and whether this mysterious woman was real or just a part of Henderson's imagination.  Irish (Woolrich) definitely keeps the readers guessing, and while the ultimate reveal is a surprise, there are portions of it that don't make sense (since the author does give us some scenes from the killer's point of view - before we know this person is the killer - and the explanations of what took place and how/why Mrs. Henderson was killed and how the killer tried to cover his/her tracks do not match the scenes we read earlier).  I suppose the author was simply wanting to keep the killer's identity a surprise, but it gave me a sense of bait and switch, since we read scenes earlier that don't match the final revelation.

Otherwise, this was a great story, and readers do get a nice payoff in the end.  I'm going to have to check out the movie to see just how much difference there is between the book and the film.

RATING:  8 glasses of scotch untouched by water out of 10 for a murder mystery that will keep you on pins and needles, waiting to see if the protagonist really is innocent or not!

Crossed Trails in Mexico - the third Mexican Mystery Stories for Girls

I finally tracked down a copy of the third and final Mexican Mystery Stories for Girls by Helen Randolph, complete with dust jacket.  I always find myself hesitating to read a book that I know to be the last book in a series, particularly when I've grown to like the characters in the stories.  In the first book, I met Peggy and Jo Ann, who were visiting their friend, Florence, in Mexico and followed along as they investigated a mysterious window and uncover a hidden treasure.  In the second book, the three girls are still in Mexico, and they are able to reunite a young boy (Carlitos) with his real family and stop a thief from stealing the boy's rightful inheritance.  While neither book was exceptional, they were both fairly decent reads, and I did rather enjoy the characters.  So, now, I've had the chance to read their final adventure together, and I would say it pretty much measures up to the previous two books.

Crossed Trails in Mexico actually opens with the three girls in the United States, making their way to Mexico with young Carlitos and his spinster aunt, Prudence Eldridge (referred to as "Miss Prudence" throughout the story).  I did like the fact that the author, Helen Randolph (the pseudonym for two women - Virginia Fairfax and Helen Allan Ripley [according to Jennifer White's webpage, Helen Randolph]), continues the continuity from one book to the next, and in this one, Randolph provides a bridge between the books, explaining how after Carlitos was rescued in the last book, his uncle Edward Eldridge, brought the young boy to Massachusetts to live with Miss Prudence and learn English (pp. 10-11).  Readers are also treated to a brief synopsis, via dialogue among the girls, as to their school year at Evanston High in Mississippi, going so far as to admit the girls are "four or five pounds heavier" (p. 9).  I found this remark rather humorous, considering most girls never want to add weight, let alone admit it!  They are returning to Mexico for their summer vacation, using the car they were able to purchase at a bargain (p. 8), which is comically named "Jitters" (pp. 7-8).  The vehicle is a character in and of itself, as the girls are always concerned whether it will make the trip or not, and remarks are made about the fact it cannot travel very fast at all.  

Jo Ann is anxious for another mystery, and sure enough, one presents itself before they even get out of the United States.  While staying overnight at a hotel in Houston, Texas, Jo Ann overhears a man's phone conversation in another room.  The man's statement - "I'm afraid I'm going to lose my life before this is over" (p. 16) - sets off alarms in Jo Ann's head, and she begins to worry about what it means.  Is he a criminal or a detective?  What would cause him to lose his life?  She gets a good look at the tall, setalwart man wearing a broad-brimmed tan felt hat (p. 16) when he steps out of his room and catches her eavesdropping!  As fate would have it, when the girls leave the next morning, Jo Ann spots the man in a car going the same direction as them; unfortunately, though, Miss Prudence forces them to turn a different route, believing it not prudent to follow after a man who thinks he will be murdered (p. 20).  So, the girls think they have seen the last of this mystery man...

A chance meeting with a coast guard who tells the girls stories about smugglers sneaking things across the border from Mexico to the United States sets the girls off on an entirely different mystery.  The guard's stories become reality when the girls have to stop the car to find water for their overheating engine and happen upon another stopped car, empty except for the large quantity of pottery and baskets in the back of the car.  Jo Ann and Florence agree that the owner(s) of the car could very well be the smugglers the coast guard was telling them about earlier.  And, of course, it turns out they are.  So, it should come as no surprise that when the girls, along with Miss Prudence and Carlitos, make it to their final destination, not only do they discover a destitute Mexican woman who is making pottery and selling it to the smugglers, but they also spot that mysterious man again (who, it turns out, happens to be a detective on the trail of those smugglers).  The girls insinuate themselves into the investigation and ultimately aid the detective in luring the smugglers into the open and capturing them.  Their invaluable assistance warrants the government buying them a brand new car to replace Jitters (which was stolen by the smugglers and ran off a cliff!) - and they christen their new car "Prudence" after their chaperone, because the car is "so shining and spotlessly clean.  And besides, that name might help Jo to be more prudent - less reckless" (p. 249).

While all three girls play a part in this mystery, I found it odd that Florence is portrayed as very timid and fearful throughout the entire book.  I do not recall her being so afraid of everything in the previous books, and while Jo Ann has always been the more gung-ho girl of the trio, Florence was never one to back away from helping out.  That aside, I did enjoy seeing the couple who initially cared for Carlitos after his parents died, and it is amusing to watch them interact with Miss Prudence, who finds the accommodations in Mexico not quite what she is used to in her New England home, and so she sets about cleaning and brightening the adobe in order to make it more "acceptable" to her.  As Miss Prudence puts it, "a peon housekeeper's ideas of cleaning and an American's are two different things" (p. 102), once again reminding readers that this book was written in a very different time period!  At least this book seems to have a lot less racial slurs as do the prior volumes in this series.  But more surprising is the author's use of brand names, as Miss Prudence lists off the items she will need for cleaning purposes:  "I must fumigate this whole house, clean it with Old Dutch Cleansor, Lysol - -" (p. 98).  These series book rarely use brand names like that, so it was a shock to find them so casually referenced.

There is an instance in the story, though, that reminds of the later Stratemeyer books, where Harriet [Stratemeyer Adams] persisted in putting educational diatribes throughout the books she wrote.  When the girls are discussing the mine owned by Mr. Eldridge, Jo Ann mentions how eager she is to see how the "malacate" works.  When asked what that is, Jo Ann goes into an explanation of how that is "a windlass arrangement that draws the ore up out of the mine.  A rawhide bag is tied to the end of a long cable and let down into the shaft.  Using electricity is a vast improvement over the old way" (p. 179).  In English, the word translates to a "winch" or "spindle."  

For as beautifully painted as the cover art is, that sole interior illustration (in the Saalfield edition, which is what I have), which is intended to mimic the cover, is far from beautiful.  It is a half-hearted attempt to recreate the cover at best.  And since these books rarely identify the cover and/or interior artist(s), we do not know who to blame for the lesser quality work.

It's a shame the series ended with this book.  While definitely not the best series I've ever read, it was nowhere near the worst.  The three main characters are likable, with distinct personalities, and their adventures are rather enjoyable.  But, having put a stop to the smuggling ring, Jo Ann, Peggy, and Florence reached the end of their sleuthing career, and they will forever remain a memory of the distant past...

RATING:  7 pairs of Mexican sandals out of 10 for rounding out this series with a fairly decent mystery in keeping with the Mexican theme.

Penny Parker Mystery Stories No. 14 - Signal in the Dark

As we draw closer and closer to the conclusion of the Penny Parker series, I am finding that the mysteries are becoming more and more adult in nature.  From German spies in Voice from the Cave, to brass thieves in Guilt of the Brass Thieves, to a man claiming to have invented a device that will destroy enemy mines in this books, the mysteries have definitely steered into more adult/war territory and away from the standard haunted house, missing relative, lost inheritance, etc. that was the standard fare of children's series books in the 1940s.  Mildred Wirt (Benson) could easily have been writing these mysteries for adults rather than children, and with just a few tweaks, could have marketed these stories to an older audience.  It certainly leaves me wondering what I have in store for me over the last three books in the series...

Signal in the Dark is the fourteenth Penny Parker mystery, published in 1946.  This was the year after the end of World War II, the second great war having officially ended on September 2, 1945.  The memory of the years spent fighting enemy forces was still fresh in the minds of the American people, so it would only be natural that Wirt, who had been working as a reporter for the Toledo Times since the latter part of 1944, also still had the war in the back of her mind.  Thus, it makes sense that she would write stories that would have some sort of military involvement in them.  In this case, the story starts off focused on an explosion at the Conway Steel Plant and the possible saboteur who set off the explosion; however, Penny soon finds herself involved with a professor who claims to have created a laser (of sorts) that can use light beams to destroy mines some distance away!  And interestingly enough, although there are two mysteries, their only connection is one slimy, underhanded flunky who turns out to be helping two different criminals with two different crimes!

Salt Sommers actually takes center-stage with Penny in this mystery, even moreso than he did back in Danger at the Drawbridge.  The first mystery actually begins as a result of Penny talking her father into hiring her at the newspaper, where he is extremely shorthanded.  She is not happy about being paid $25.00 per week (p. 5), and I can imagine, since that equates to only $421.35 per week in today's dollars - that's not a lot!  In any event, before you know it, she gets the chance to actually cover a story when DeWitt asks her to accompany Salt to the Conway Steel Plant, where there has just been reported a massive explosion (pp. 15-17).  Salt unwittingly takes some damning photographs, and through a crazy set of circumstances, Penny is forced to throw his camera, with the film, into the backseat of a passing car in order to keep them from being damaged (p. 24)!  Luckily, she is smart enough to get the license plate (and it is this detail that actually leads Penny to become involved in the second mystery...)

I find it amusing that when Penny informs Salt of what she did, his response is, "Let's call the license bureau and get the owner's name..." (p. 26).  Because, sure, the license bureau is just going to give out that kind of information to anyone who calls them.  Although, who knows, maybe back in the mid-40s, information such as that was not necessarily as privileged as it is considered today.  Goodness knows, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys obtained information about people from government bureaus like this all the time!  In any event, Penny happens across the car with that license plate when she and Louise are picnicking near Blue Hole Lake (p. 86).  It belongs to a Professor and Mrs. Bettenridge - he is an inventor and says he has developed a "light ray machine which explodes mines ... expects to sell it to the Army or Navy" (p. 85).  Penny becomes suspicious when she sees a man named Webb (p. 96), who happens to be the same man she saw earlier that week down on the pier being thrown into the water (yes, that's a whole 'nother story - I guess you could say that is a THIRD mystery in this book involving the pier, a mysterious boat named the Snark, and exactly what kind of unsavory activity is going on with that boat - and how does it affect the disgraced reporter, Ben Bartell?).

As you may have figured out by now, there is a LOT going on in this book.  Not only does Penny want to figure out who caused the explosions at the Conway Steel Plant, but she wants to help the disgraced Bartell clear his reputation and get a job; she wants to figure out where Salt's camera and his photos are; she wants to uncover the truth about Professor Bettenridge's supposed light ray; and she wants to determine who is breaking into the newspaper's photo morgue and why!  And, oh yes, that's another odd thing about this story.  The photo morgue is apparently located on the top floor of the building in which the Riverview Star is located, because the room has a skylight (which is an odd thing to have over a room where you are keeping photographs that you don  Ver't want to fade or be damaged by light in any way) through which an intruder keeps entering.  That wouldn't be odd in and of itself, but the shack where good ol' Webb is doing his dirty work for the professor also happens to have a skylight that allows Penny and Louise, and later Penny and Salt to look down into and watch the unscrupulous activities!  Don't know that I've ever seen a shack on the edge of a lake have a skylight.  I guess it makes for a great plot device, but it is rather funny that Wirt utilized two skylights like this in the same story!

For those wondering about that "laser" that the professor uses, Wirt is not very detailed about its creation and how it works.  She does describe it as "a complicated mechanism of convex and concave mirrors which rotated on their bases" and "in the center was a small crystal ball" (p. 90).  When the professor is showing them the machine, he does not explain how it works, telling them, "a technical explanation would be too involved for you to understand (p. 91).  Which also means that Wirt herself likely was unsure exactly how a contraption like this would actually work were it real.  Now, in reading the story, one can easily see the device is sort of an early form of what we consider to be "lasers" today - "a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation" (Laser - Wikipedia).  Wirt's light ray in the story is more stimulated through the use of vibration and a tuning fork, but her descriptions of how it supposedly uses light to strike out at an object in the distance very much has the idea of a laser.

Perhaps Wirt was aware of the principles surrounding lasers, the groundwork for which was actually laid back at the turn of the 20th century with Max Planck's theory that "energy is emitted and absorbed in discrete chunks called 'quanta,' upon which Einstein further built, predicting that "photon emission could be stimulated by the passage of other photons" (History of the Laser).  The actual first laser was not built until after the mid-20th century, when Theodore Maiman began studying infared "optical masers" based on theoretical work by Charles H. Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow (Laser - Wikipedia).  And the actual term, LASER (which was an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation), was not actually used until 1959 by Gordon Gould.  Thus, one could certainly say (as Geoffrey S. Lapin would agree!) that Wirt put forth a very early example, if not one of the earliest, of a form of laser (even if the one in the book is fictional and actually turned out to be a fraud - the concept behind the mechanism is still the idea that would one day develop into the actual laser!).  Very forward thinking of Wirt, indeed!

But, enough of the mechanics and science of things.  Another aspect (besides that) that gives this book the feeling of a more adult story is the descriptions of violence in the story.  Ben Bartell, the disgraced reporter, is at one point found bound and gagged in the bottom of a boat, and upon being rescued, Wirt describes his face as being "bruised, his hair matted with blood, and one eye was swollen almost shut" (p. 195).  Salt and Webb get into a physical fight on board of a moving train, and when one is pushed and the other jumps from the train, Wirt writes that "Webb's face was a sorry sight" and that his nose was crimson, both of his eyes were blackened, and his lips were bleeding (p. 185).  Even worse, when Penny is at the steel plant asking questions about the explosion, she learns that two men were killed, and three or four more were injured (p. 20).  Unlike the Nancy Drew series, which rarely, if ever, actually refers to a death, unless it is something that has already happened in a non-violent way - such as Josiah Crowley's passing in The Secret of the Old Clock - Wirt has no problems including deaths and bloody beatings into her stories!

And with all of these things going on, we must not forget that one little subplot that has absolutely nothing to do with any of these mysteries, but which is probably one of the most fun parts of this book - and that is the venomous villainy of Elda Hunt - the reporter wanna-be at the Riverview Star who is upset at Penny being hired, sure that because she is the boss's daughter, she will be paid more, get all the best assignments, and will be promoted before anyone else!  Described as "blond, with heavily-rouged cheeks with rigid rolls of hair" (p. 6), Elda reminds me very much of Lettie Briggs from the Dana Girls Mystery Stories.  Elda does her best to sabotage Penny's work at the paper, but her own attempts backfire, and ultimately Mr. Parker sees through her and by the end of the book fires her (p. 209).  Which, in a way, is a shame, because Elda would have made a good nemesis to foil Penny's work at the paper now and again, and she certainly would add a nice humorous element to the series!

Before signing off, I should mention that we do get a quick mention of Jerry Livingston, who fans will recall went off into the Army Air Force to serve his country.  Not only does Penny see his empty desk and feel sad about his not being there (p. 11), but she gets a letter from him that reveals he is expected to fly a big bomber to Hawaii (p. 75) - which is interesting, since by this point, the war was already over, so why hadn't Jerry come home yet?  I'm anxious to see if he returns in the next book.

Overall, this was a pretty good read - not one of the best in the series, but it definitely rates up there as one of the good ones.

RATING:  8 cracked plates of bacon and fried potatoes out of 10 for an interesting mystery of science, sabotage, and secrets!

Freedom Agent a/k/a John Steele, Secret Agent - a Gold Key comic

Back in 1963 and 1964, Gold Key comics put out two comic books starring an American spy by the name of John Steele - a secret agent who initially went by the name "Freedom Agent."  Both comics had stories written by Paul S. Newman and drawn by Giovanni Ticci and Alberto Giolitti.  They both featured beautifully painted scenes on the covers, which scenes also appeared on the back cover without any title, logo, or taglines.  Now, these comics should not be confused with the other "John Steel" (without the additional "e" at the end of his last name), who was a British spy and whose stories appeared in issues of Thriller Picture Library in the early to mid-1960s.  Gold Key's John Steele is an all-American spy who is fighting the enemies of the United States, whether it be behind the Iron Curtain or high in the mountains of the Himalayas.

The first issue to be published was titled Freedom Agent, with a cover date of April 1963.  The indicia at the bottom of page one indicates this is issue 1 and states it is "[p]ublished quarterly by K.K. Publications, Inc."  I find it odd they would give a publication schedule for the book, when it was a single issue that had no subsequent issues published (at least, not under the name Freedom Agent).  Not sure if more issues were planned, but they were scrapped when this book did not sell well, or if that language was simply used in the indicia for all of Gold Key's comics, regardless of whether it was a one-short or a series.  In any event, this first issue contains two stories - "The Giant Makers," a 15-page tale about a scientist behind the Iron Curtain who has developed a serum that can increase the size of animals; and "Escape From the Top of the World," an 11-page tale about a mysterious 'fireball' that crashed into the Himalayas that could be a dangerous weapon.  In-between these two stories is a 4-pager titled "Behind Enemy Lines: The Heavy Water Raid," which tells the World War II efforts to prevent the Germans from developing any atomic weapons.  I'm not sure of the purpose of the 4-page historical account, unless it was to give readers a dose of reality between the action stories of John Steele.

The first story is highly fantastical, since it is pure science fiction to think that a serum can be developed that would change the size of animals and humans.  But Steele is sent into an unnamed area behind the Iron Curtain to retrieve the scientist who created the formula, and he ends up becoming a guinea pig for the experiment - causing him to grow into a giant!  Of course, this gives him the needed strength to overcome the soldier and help the scientist escape; yet, the scientist is killed by a crashing helicopter, but lives long enough to give Steele an antidote before dying, taking the formula for the serum with him.

The second story is a bit more grounded, as Steele is sent to Tibet to discover what the mysterious 'fireball' is.  He has to sneak into the country and utilize disguises to get close to the object, which turns out to be a small space satellite.  Steele manages to take out the guidance and radio systems before he is nearly caught, and he has to claw his way to the top of one of the mountains (at 18,000 feet up!) in order to be rescued by an American plane.

The second comic Gold Key published was the self-titled John Steele, Secret Agent, which came out in December 1964.  Interestingly, neither the indicia nor the cover give an issue number for the comic, nor a date, and the indicia merely says this comic is "[p]ublished by K.K. Publications, Inc." without indicating the frequency.  Perhaps by this point, more than a year after the other issue hit the comic racks, the publisher realized it was better to leave out the publication frequency in order to avoid any problems if no further issues were published.  Like its predecessor, this comic features two Steele tales - "The Unseen Foe," a 14-page story about invisible saboteurs; and "Double for Danger," a 13-page story about impersonating a dictator to prevent a dangerous alliance.  The comic also features another 4-page "Behind Enemy Lines" historical account, this time titled "Blow Up the Bridge," which details the mission to destroy a rail bridge to prevent supplies from reaching Germany during the war.

As with the first comic, the first story in this issue is a bit sci-fi in nature.  Steele finds himself sent on a mission to uncover how enemy agents are creating havoc and stealing top secret information without anyone seeing them - not even on camera!  Steele, of course, uncovers a plot to displace American agents from England by the use of enemy spies dressed in specially treated material that makes them "invisible" except under infared light!  The story sounds like something right out of a James Bond film.

The second story is definitely more realistic, as Steele dons the disguise to take the place of a dictator of a small country, to keep them from allying themselves with China.  He must fool the dictator's brother, who seems very involved in the scheme to ally with China, and when Steele's cover is nearly blown, it leads to an explosive escape in which the brother is forced to gun down the dictator - but was it Steele or his own brother that he kills?  It's actually a pretty great little tale, fast-moving  and an adventure that would actually make for a great plot of a movie.

From what I can gather online, all four stories were written by Paul Newman (not the actor!), and the art was by Giovanni Ticci and Alberto Giolitti.  Although uncredited in the issues themselves, the art is consistent throughout all four stories, making me believe the same artists worked on them all.  The art is nice - nothing super-spectacular, and far from detailed (many panels have blank backgrounds), but there is no strange style to it, making it an easy read.  The action sequences are a bit stiff at times, but over all, I would say the art fit the stories fairly well.  And with only 11 to 15 pages to work with, Newman's stores move along quickly, with little space for deep characterization.  Thus, we learn literally nothing about Steele's past or about any of the supporting characters other than what is necessary to fit the story.  And, with only two comic books featuring this daring spy, we are destined to never know anything more about him...

The cover art is beautiful, and I'm glad Gold Key publishing the full, clean paintings on the back of each issue - unobstructed by the title, the Gold Key symbol in the upper left-hand corner, or the taglines on each issue.  They would make great poster art - I just wish I knew who did the art.

Not anything spectacular, the if you enjoy spy or adventure stories, then these two John Steele comics would likely give you a good read.

RATING:  7 giant chickens, rabbits, and mice (oh, my!) out of 10 for taking not one chance, but two, on a non-costumed, non-super-powered hero.

Ravenkill - a novel in the Gothic tradition

A young woman travels to a small, coastal town in New England to take a job with a family she has never met - in a dark, foreboding mansion set high atop the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic - to a place she's never been, with people she has never seen - but who will soon fill all the days and nights of her tomorrows.  Boy, that sure sounds like the opening scene to Dan Curtis' first episode of Dark Shadows that aired on June 27, 1966.  Interestingly enough, though, that description is for a book that was published in 1965, a year prior to Dark Shadows hitting the small screen!  Coincidence, or something much darker?  Well, we are talking about gothic novels, and let's face it - there are only so many variations to the same plot that can be written!  So, while Dan Curtis had young Victoria Winters heading off to Collinsport to become the new governess at the Collins' homestead high atop Widow's Hill, author Paulette Warren gave readers a different cast of characters for that same plot.

Ravenkill is the story of Jennifer Wonderly, a 25-year old librarian from the Midwest who receives a strange invitation to go to Maine and help sort out a wealthy recluse's personal library of books in his gloomy Maine mansion known as "Ravenkill."  The man in question, John Belaman, happens to have lived briefly in Jennifer's hometown, years before she was born, and he knew Jennifer's mother.  But he never met her, and he could not have been aware that Jennifer's mother recently died.  So how did he know where to find her?  How did he know she was a librarian?  And how did he know his invitation would fill her with so much curiosity that she could not help but go to the cliffside house in Maine?  If she thought she would receive answers to any of those questions, she was sorely mistaken!  This is a gothic tale, after all, and it would not be complete without an air of mystery, a hint of supernatural, and a whole lot of suspense!

The tale takes Jennifer to a "mansion of cripples," as the author refers to it more than once in the book.  This was the 1960s, so making such a statement would not have been as offensive as it is now.  Instead, the term is used to instill a certain level of uncertainty and fear, as Jennifer must adjust to living in the same house as a misshapen small person, a regal beauty with a damaged leg, and that woman's young daughter who is mentally disabled.  To make matters worse, Gaspar (the little person) and Agatha Pate (the beautiful housekeeper) clearly do not want here there!  Then there is the fact that her host - John Belaman, the man who invited her there - remains secluded away in the mansion somewhere and will not come out to see her.  And what is up with the weird music she hears at night as she drifts off to sleep?  Belaman is a former pianist, so is he playing late at night, or is it something more sinister?  Something to do with his sister and her husband, who fell to their deaths from the cliff behind Ravenkill some years ago...

Warren does not forget to include a hero (or, at least, a character who appears to be a hero) in the form of Garth McCroy, an artist who lives in a small shack on the beach, down at the bottom of the cliffs.  He takes an instant liking to Jennifer, and she finds herself attracted to him.  But he has secrets of his own, connections to Ravenkill and the people in that house that could spell disaster for Jennifer!  Throw in a ghostly apparition in white that visits the lonely grave of Belaman's deceased brother-in-law in the dead of night, placing fresh roses on his grave.  Is it a ghost, or is someone from Ravenkill simply trying to frighten her away?  Again, so many questions, and for Jennifer, the answers may not be what she is expecting.

The name of the author, Paulette Warren, is a pseudonym, as so many for these gothic novels are.  In this instance, the real author is Paul Warren Fairman (1916 - 1977), a rather prolific writer who published stories in any number of genres - from detective stories to science fiction tales to western adventures to gothic novels.  The gothics he wrote under the female pseudonym of "Paulette Warren" (a feminization of his first name and then using his middle name for her last).  This is the first gothic I've read from this author, and I will say I found the story engaging - and I can't really say he ripped-off Dark Shadows, since this actually came out first - making one wonder if Dan Curtis read this novel, or perhaps his wife told him about it, and it inspired the "dream" he allegedly had of a girl heading off to a mysterious house that was the beginnings of his gothic soap.

Something I did find somewhat odd about the book is that the author changes the point-of-view several times throughout the story.  Chapter One is told from Jennifer's POV, and contains five lettered sub-parts; then Chapter Two is told from Gaspar's POV, with only two lettered sub-parts.  Chapter Three reverts back to Jennifer, with Chapter Four also from Jennifer's POV, while Chapter Five turns once again to Gaspar.  This reminds me of the Hardy Boys books that have been published since the early 2000s, where the first person point-of-view alternates between the two brothers with each chapter.  I had never seen that before, but clearly there is precedent, since this book was published some 40 years before the Hardy Boys, Undercover Brothers and Hardy Boys Adventures series were ever imagined.  What this does for the story, though, is give the reader insight into Gaspar and some of the inner-workings of what is really going on at Ravenkill - although, I give Warren (Fairman) credit, as he does not spoil some the surprises at the end - those twists are only somewhat hinted at, so that their revelation comes with a bit of a shock.

Definitely worth the read, and it makes me want to read more of Paulette Warren's books.

RATING:  9 cups of coffee at the kitchen table out of 10 for a creepy, twisted gothic tale that is not afraid to go beyond what some may considerable normal boundaries to tell a tragic, horrifying story!

Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity - a Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery #5

Well, it appears with the fifth Myrtle Hardcastle, another great series has come to an end.  It is always disappointing to be reading and thoroughly enjoying a well-written series, only to buy and read a book and discover by the end of the story that you have reached not only the end of the book, but the end of the series!  The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, the Devil Quick mysteries, Aggie Morton Mystery Queen, the Curious Cat Spy Club, and so many others.  Now, I guess, I can add the Myrtle Hardcastle mysteries to this ever-growing list of finite series that has reached its conclusion.  Which is a real shame, as Elizabeth C. Bunce has given readers a truly wonderful young sleuth with Myrtle and her governess, Miss Judson, and while the ending to this story provides readers with a payoff that has been building since the first book, it still leaves the reader wanting for more!

Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity takes Myrtle, her cat Peony, and the Hardcastles' cook on a trip with Miss Judson to a Scottish isle where the young governess has unexpected inherited an estate from an uncle she did not even know she had.  An estate that consists of a lonely, isolated castle on an island with very limited access by boat.  A castle that is home to Jessie Craig, the mistress of the hounds of Rockfforde Hall; Jessie grandmother Mrs. Catriona Craig, the head housekeeper of Rockfforde Hall; young Muriel, the skittish and superstitious maid; Dougal Alastair Manro (a/k/a "Mac"), Mrs. Craig's grandson and all-around handyman for Rockfforde Hall; and, oh yes, lest we forget, there is also the Grey Lady, otherwise known as the ghost that haunts the halls of the great manor!  Jessie and her grandmother are none too happy that the English crew have invaded their territory, and it is clear there is more to their animosity than simply cultural differences.  One of those happens to be the missing treasure - the Brooch o' Clan MacJudd, which could restore the family's heritage and set things right.  But the brooch has been missing for many decades, and with the condition of the castle and its grounds, it seems selling the property to a fishing company on the mainland might be the only way to go.  It's what the family attorney is pressing for.  It's what the overly friendly Lt. Smoot is encouraging the to do.  But it is exactly what the Craigs do not want to see happen.  And last, but not least, there's the question of whether Augustus Horatio MacJudd (Miss Judson's uncle) died of natural causes or was murdered.  Everything is in place for a fantastic gothic mystery!

Bunce creates a number of stressful situations for poor Myrtle in this book.  First, she must not forget her father's request to make sure Miss Judson does not become too attached to Scotland, as he wants her to come back home (perhaps something to do with the ring he has in that small box in his desk drawer?).  Second, she is determined to find out the truth behind Augustus MacJudd's death, which will not be easy with everyone in the house so distrusting.  Third, she is reluctant to admit that the strange noises, the eerie moans, and the glowing lights throughout the dark house are leaving her very unsettled.  Fourth, with no indoor plumbing whatsoever, she is appalled at the thought of having to use a chamber pot for ... well, you know.  And fifth, and probably most important, she must uncover the identity of the person or persons who killed the family's attorney!  Yes, a body turns up in the dried out fountain in front of the house, and with all the boats gone and no way off the island, and with no phone service to call for the police, Myrtle realizes they are quite possibly trapped with a killer in their midst!

There are any number of suspects, including a neighbor they have not seen, yet who has no problems setting traps in the woods to kill the innocent wildlife - would he also kill a man?  There is the enigmatic Lt. Smoot, who seems to appear just after any sign of trouble, and who disappears without a trace thereafter.  There is also the unseen Mr. Balfour, who is believed to have taken off shortly after MacJudd died; yet, did he really leave the island, or is he merely hiding, hoping to stake his own claim to the missing treasure?  And is Jessie truly without guilt - would she kill in order to take her believed rightful place as the heir to Augustus MacJudd?  And what life-changing secrets is Mrs. Craig keeping from everyone under that gruff exterior?  And, of course, there's Mac, who has the strength of several men and could easily end one's life if he so chose.  And who is the mysterious stranger that is hiding in the upper rooms of the house?

Such a wonderful mystery, so perfectly written, and so grandly filled with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.  Sure, this is a children's mystery, but the plot is definitely worthy of some of the top mystery writers of our time, including Agatha Christie herself!  I was so caught up in the story that I did not want to put it down until I was finished.

There were a couple of things that did catch my eye as I was reading, though.  On page 4, there is what appears to be a typographical error where Bunce is describing Mr. Hardcastle's latest client:  "Viscountess Snowcroft, was the source of more work than he could handle on hwwis own..." (p. 4).  "Hwwis"???  Not sure where the two w's come from, and while some of the Scottish words in the story have double letters, I do not thing this was an intentional spelling.  The second item is not an error, but more the smile that came to my face when I read the name of one of the witnesses to Augustus MacJudd's new will he made out right before he did.  Alan Balfour was the first witness, and the second was a man by the name of Dr. Paul McGann.  I mean, seriously - the fact that Bunce even specified him as a "Doctor" clearly defines this as an obvious nod to the eighth actor to play the time-traveling doctor of the famous British television show.  Doctor who, you ask?  Exactly!

I suppose if the series had to come to an end, this was definitely a powerful way to bring it to conclusion.  It just seems a shame to end Myrtle Hardcastle's sleuthing career, when she's only had five opportunities to show just how clever she is when it comes to solving crimes.  But, alas, as it plainly says on the last page of the story:  "Finis."   (Then again...)  Hope springs eternal!

RATING:  10 sgian dubhs out of 10 for a wonderfully gothic-filled mystery with secret passages, bumps in the night, and all the elements needed to make a superb story!

A Zebra Mystery Puzzler #3 - Devil Mask Mystery

Now, right off the bat, I will say that this book instantly intrigued me based on the title alone.  It is of the same style and nature as the titles to the classic Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books from back in the day.  You remember those days - "The [adjective] [noun] Mystery" or "The Mystery of the [adjective] [noun]" and the like.  From the title alone, you had a pretty good idea of what the mystery was going to be about.  Well, author Josephine Kains, in the first Zebra Mystery Puzzler starring her TV newswoman, Terry Spring, offers up a tale that centers around the very thing mentioned in the title - and also happens to be set in a small community theater!

Devil Mask Mystery (I keep wanting to type the word "The" in front of that title!) attempts to be a spooky murder mystery that hints at involvement of witches and Satan worshipers!  Set in the fictional town of Grimshaw at Halloween, the story finds Boston TV newswoman Terry Spring, along with her assistant Jess Berkeley and her cameraman Janeiro Chavez, heading to the New England town to film a story about the town's latest play - a melodrama about the nineteenth century witch hunts that made the town famous.  Terry is less than thrilled with the assignment, but she and her crew head over to Grimshaw to see what they can put together.  Little do they know they are going to have to solve a murder in which all of the suspects are known for acting - whether on the stage or in real life.

The story does not open with our protagonist; rather, the author opens this mystery with a young woman (Elizabeth Tanner) facing down the fear of a devil-faced creature.  But by the second page, the reader learns that this is merely a hypnotic vision she is being coerced to see by a self-proclaimed witch by the name of Annabelle Winn.  Also present are Laura Cross and Julius Wigransky, who both happen to be part of the play that Terry and her crew are coming to town to spotlight.  Quickly enough, on the fourth page, the story shifts to a scene where an unidentified man is taking  heavy metal box and hiding it behind a sliding panel in the wall.  Oddly enough, this is a scene the publisher decided to provide an illustration of, so while we get an image of the man, the reader has no idea who he is. The scene this shifts again on the sixth page to a mysterious person who is painting a wooden mask of Satan!  All of that in the first chapter alone.  It's not until the second chapter do we get to meet the pretty, young television reporter, Terry Spring, who is described as slender and having "long auburn hair" (p. 10).  And isn't it funny how Max, the Hollywood gossip columnist from the first book in this series also had red hair?  Makes me wonder how many more sleuths in these Puzzlers will have red/auburn/titian hair - maybe it's a nod to a certain teen detective who has become such a huge pop culture icon when it comes to female sleuths?

Anyway, we get introduced to even more of the ever-growing cast of characters in chapter four - Alan Roderick, yet another actor in the play, and Claudia Merritt, an older woman in a wheelchair who is assisting with the play.  In addition, there is Garrett Brooks, a stodgy actor who is not only playing a major role in the production, but he also seems to have made quite a number of enemies among the cast and crew - meaning ... yes, you guessed it!  Mr. Brooks becomes the victim when someone dressed up in a cloak and devil mask comes onto stage during a dress rehearsal, literally stabs him in the back, and runs out, disappearing backstage...and thus, the stage is set (yes, pun fully intended) for a murder mystery that only Terry Spring can solve.

The killer's identity is not really hidden, and in fact, there is one scene a little over half-way through the book in which Terry (as well as the reader) figures out who the killer is - which kind of spoils the whole "last chapter sealed" gimmick, since, if we already know who the killer is, why bother sealing up that final chapter?  While the overall story is okay, and I like Terry and her crew (Chavez is a hoot, always eating candy and making snarky remarks), the opening chapters are somewhat clunky as the author tries to bring in all of the characters as quickly as possible without allowing the reader an opportunity to really get a feel for who any of them are before moving on to the next ones.  It took me until I was about one-third of the way through the book before I finally was able to sort through all of the names and figure out who was who. And I do like the added "abandoned mansion on the hill" aspect of the story, with hidden passages and secret tunnels under the house.  Between that and the occult aspects to the story, one could almost think of this as a mild gothic tale of suspense.

 

Something I thought was rather interesting is that this is not Terry Spring's first time solving a murder (at least, according to her crew).  Several times throughout the story, Jess mentions the fact that Terry is rather well known for solving murders, and even Terry herself raises the point.  Sadly, there are not specific mentions of her prior cases, just the general statements that she is known to be an amateur sleuth, and that she has excellent detecting skills.  Makes me wonder if any of the other Zebra Mystery Puzzlers featuring Terry will give us the back story on these adventures, or if they will forever remain an unsolved mystery!

The author, Josephine Kains, as so many of these Zebra books, is a pseudonym.  It seems many a male author hid behind female pseudonyms when writing books with female leads.  In this instance, the real author is Ronald Joseph Goulart, who apparently wrote under quite a few pseudonyms back in the day - Kenneth Robeson, Chad Calhoun, Ian R. Jamieson, Jillian Kearny, Howard Lee, Frank Shawn, and others.  He also ghosted books starring pulp characters such as Flash Gordon, the Phantom, Vampirella, and the Avenger, as well as two books in Marvel Comics' series of novels back in the late '70s.  And based upon what I could find, the author used the pseudonym "Josephine Kains" only for the books he wrote in this Zebra Mystery Puzzler series - that name was not used for any other books he wrote.

As far as the art in this book goes, there is no credit given to either the cover artist or the interior artist, and none of the internal drawings are signed.  However, comparing the art with that in the first book in the series, and it appears to be the same artist - it's the same style, the same type of shading, and the same appearance in the people drawn.  And, like in the first book, the way the internals are drawn, there is really no way to discern any clues from the illustrations.  Further, the internals do not necessarily match the description on the story, which is the issue I had with the illustrations in the first book.  However, there were sufficient clues in the story itself to help me identify the murderer, so while the illustrations were nice to look at, they were not really needed to solve the mystery.

I would have to say of the three Zebra Mystery Puzzlers I've read thus far, this one probably comes in last.  That is not to say I did not enjoy it; rather, I just think the second book was definitely the most well-written, while the first one definitely provided stronger characterization than this one.  We will have to see what Kairns next book (#7 - The Curse of the Golden Skull) holds in store before I make any definite judgment calls on whether this is just a one-off, or whether it's truly the author's writing style.

RATING:  7 spilled cans of green paint out of 10 for providing a few somewhat surprising twists to the story and the characters to keep the solution from being too easy to solve!

Love on the Racks - a History of American Romance Comics

I developed a love for comic books ever since my dad bought me my first comic book back in 1979 - an issue of Super Friends based on the Saturday morning cartoon.  For years after that, I can remember going to the nearby convenience store (Magik Mart, if I recall correctly), as well as the Walgreen's located in the local mall, to comb through all the comics on the spinner rack and pick out which ones I wanted to read next.  Needless to say, it was those colorful superhero titles that caught my eye and quickly filled up my ever-growing collection.  Never in a million years would I have considered buying, let alone even picking up and paging through, a romance comic.  Yuck!  Those were for girls!  So, flash-forward more than four decades, and suddenly I have discovered the beauty of the stories and art that fill the pages of many romance comics from the '50s, '60s, and into the '70s. With today's comics becoming more focused on splash pages and "pretty art," and less about the story, I find myself gravitating back to the yester-years of comic books, where each issue was filled with tons of story, making each comic book well worth the price paid.  In recent years, I've developed an interest in and appreciation for romance comics, which, often times, were written and drawn by talented creators who later went on to make a name for themselves in the industry - people like Dick Giordano, Jack Kirby, Gene Colan, Kurt Schaffenberg, Gil Kane, and countless others. So, this book offered me a chance to go beyond the stories themselves and find out more about the behind-the-scenes drama that went on with America's romance comics.

Love on the Racks is the first in-depth study of romance comics in America, looking at the entry of romance stories into comics in the late 1940s all the way through to the demise of romance comics in the late 1970s.  The author, Michelle Nolan, was a newspaper and magazine writer who has also spent time as a comic and pop culture historian.  With this book, Nolan offers fans of romance comics an opportunity to read a chronological history of the comics, learn about the driving force behind the expansion and collapse of the genre during the 1950s, see what affect the Comics Code Authority had on the books and their publishers, and consider the reasons why romance comics finally left the market entirely by the end of the 1970s.  The book also contains numerous examples of romance covers, as well as some interior pages, with eight color pages showcasing some of the important covers throughout the thirty-year period.

Nolan opens the book with a look at what existed before the advent of romance comics, to wit: the romance pulp!  I had already read about a lot of these romance pulps in The Art of Pulps Illustrated History book that I reviewed previously; but it was enlightening to see how a lot of these stories and magazines were just one step on the path to romance comics.  The next chapter gives readers a brief glimpse of the early teen humor comics (such as those published by Archie), as well as some of those early Marvel comics (such as Patsy Walker), which featured romance, but were more focused on the humor side of things.  It's eye-opening to see just how politically incorrect comic humor was back in the day, with Nolan showing "Moronica" (otherwise known as Miss Nitwit) as a prime example.  Personally, I think the strip still holds humor when read and appreciated for the time period it was created.  It's so easy to look at comics from the past through today's lens and condemn them; but it takes a true fan and collector to see and read the comics with an understanding of when it was written and drawn to be able to grasp the full impact of the strip.

Nevertheless, with Chapter Three, Nolan begins to study of romance comics with the publication of Young Romance #1 in 1947 from Crestwood Publications by two creators who eventually hit it big in the comics industry:  Joe Simon and Jack Kirby!  From this one comic spawned three-decade boom of romance comics that flooded the market (and perhaps over-saturated the market) and took the publishers, retailers, and fans by surprise.  Nolan goes into each of the first four issues of this comic, providing details of the stories contained within those issues.  Then she moves on to the second romance title, My Romance, which was published by Marvel Comics in 1948, who was hoping to cash in on the success it saw in Young Romance.  An odd romance comic also came out from Marvel that year called Venus, which starred the goddess of love herself; however, only certain issues actually fit into the romance genre.  Nolan indicates the title underwent numerous changes during its 19-issue run, from science-fiction to fantasy to others.  This was followed by Fawcett Comics, who published Sweethearts in late '48, oddly enough starting it with issue 68 (see below for a discussion on the whole numbering of romance comics during their heyday).  Sweethearts, it seems, was the first romance comic to be published monthly - its precursors were bi-monthly or quarterly.  This, according to Nolan, was a big chance to take, since the romance genre was still so new to comics.

 

Each chapter thereafter looks at the succeeding years and how the realm of romance comics grew exponentially, then contracted, and then expanded once again, gaining considerable popularity to the point where there were periods when nearly 1 in every 5 comic published was a romance title!   I have to say, Nolan educated me on quite a bit regarding the history of romance comics - I never realized just how many comic publishers existed at the time, and how many non-DC/Marvel publishers were out there, pushing out books each month.  It was surprising to learn that some smaller companies only published a few titles a month, and one company only published one book!  Yet, from 1947 to 1977, just about every company out there that published comics joined the bandwagon and pushed out title after title of romance books.  If one failed, they would throw another one out there.  Titles ranged from Secret Loves to Girls' Romances to Thrilling Romances to Love Diary to Sweet Love and so many others.  Of all the companies, though, it was Charlton comics, who entered the game late, that published the most romance comics of any company - more than 1,400 individual issues in all!  The only company who got anywhere close to that many was DC Comics, who came in at only 931 individual issues over the three decades.  

Thankfully, Nolan has a "Catalogue of Romance Comics" that she, along with other romance aficionados Dan Stevenson and Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., compiled, listing virtually every known romance comic to have ever been published.  The list is sorted by publisher, and it lists the titles, the number of issues published in each title, and the total number of individual issues published by each company.  This is an excellent guide, because as mentioned above, a number of companies did not start their series with issue 1; rather, if another series they published was cancelled, they would simply pick up the numbering with a new and different title, even if it was a completely different genre (for example, some companies switched science fiction or super hero titles to romance titles, continuing the number, but renaming the book and changing the content!).  According to Nolan, this happened many times because the publisher wanted to avoid having to set up new books with the postal mailing requirements; if they simply changed the title, but kept the numbering, they could try and slide it in under the old application with the post office and not have to pay any new fees for a new title!  I had always wondered why companies back in the day would do that.  This results in a number of romance titles that never saw an issue 1!  Charlton was really bad about this - Career Girl Romances began with issue 24; Romantic Secrets began with issued 5; Hollywood Romances began with issue 46; Summer Love began with issue 46; and so on. Today, with the internet, it's easy to find out exactly what issue a particular series started and ended with; but back when these comics were first published in the '50s, '60s, and '70s, I'm sure a lot of fans were frustrated when they could not find any "early issues" of these series!

I particularly enjoyed reading about how the implementation of the Comics Code Authority affected the stories and covers to the romance comics.  Nolan cites to a number of examples of how covers were changed, with woman no longer allowed to show cleavage, and how the "drama" depicted changed from physical altercations or sexual insinuations to the more generic girl crying as she sees her man being tempted by another woman (no sex indicated, of course!).  Nolan also provides an example of a story from First Love #27 (April 1953) titled "Sinful Surrender" was altered when it was reprinted just three years later in First Love #61 (February 1956) to "Foolish Dream," with certain suggestive dialogue removed to avoid any sexual context,.  And yes, as the romance period went on, it seems more and more comics began to reprint older stories in order to fill out content for the considerable numbers of books that were being published.  Gradually, though, the Code began to loosen its grip, as many of DC Comics' later titles in the '70s began to feature stories with what might be considered somewhat "risque" at the time, including the free-love of the hippie years, interracial romances, and even some darker teen angst.  

Sadly, by 1977, the romance genre had reached its ever-lovin' end, and DC Comics' Young Love #126 (July 1977) was the last romance comic to hit the stands.  Oddly enough, this book was one of the books DC purchased from Crestwood when that company went out of business, along with Simon and Kirby's Young Romance (the book that started it all!).  Young Love made its debut in 1949, and was a sister title to Young Romance.  It was created by Simon and Kirby as well, so I suppose it is only fitting that this tremendous team that created the first romance comic would have one of their original series also serve as a closing book end to the era.   

Nolan does an outstanding job of detailing the history of romance comics, and while there is a bit of repetition here and there throughout the book, as she mentions some of the same titles and publishers over and over, it does not get monotonous nor annoying - in fact, the repeated statistics and information serves as a great reminder as the reader is trudging through this thirty-year period of just how much these comics played an important part of comics history - even if they are nearly forgotten by today's fans!  And for a fan like me, who only recently came into the genre, this is a spectacular resource that will provide invaluable aid in my search for issues to complete various series.  This book is a definite must-have for any fan of romance comics!

RATING:  9 romantic photo covers out of 10 for providing unbelievable details about the nearly forgotten and sordid history of romance comics and the impact it had on the comics industry!

Barbie Lane and the Mystery of the Egyptian Museum - a Triple Nickle Book (No. 5)

This is a book that I had been searching for high and low for a number of years.  I honestly cannot recall when I first stumbled across this, but I think it was when I was doing a search on Amazon for "Barbie" and "mystery" to find some of the old Random House books published about Barbie (the doll) solving mysteries.  I had never seen this before and knew nothing about it, but the title and cover art caught my interest.  Of course, at the time, the book was listed as "unavailable" on Amazon, so I started expanding my search to eBay, Abe, etsy, and other sites.  I later learned from some of the online book collecting groups to which I belong that these Triple Nickle Books are a sought-after item and not easily found.  Apparently the publisher also put out some Power Boys novels in this format, as well as books about Wild Bill Hickok and Davy Crockett.  Well, after several years of combing through auction sites and scouring through used bookstores, I finally found a copy on eBay last year and was able to get it at an unbelievably great price!

Barbie Lane and the Mystery of the Egyptian Museum is the first (and only!) mystery in the Barbie Lane series.  The book identifies "Lucy Carlton" as the author, but I'm guessing that is likely a pseudonym.  I'm unable to find any information about an author by this name, even connected with this book, and since the Powers Boys stories published by Triple Nickel (which, apparently, are unrelated to the later Powers Boys series published by Whitman) were also written under a pseudonym, this seems a likely assumption.  The story itself is 63 pages in length, with twelve chapters with an illustration at the head of each chapter and a few small illustrations scattered throughout the story. The chapters are relatively short, but the pages are formatted with two-columns, like you will find in magazines.  As such, the story moves at a pretty quick pace, and similar to the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and other children's series books of that time, each chapter ends with a cliffhanger to encourage the reader to keep on reading and find out what happens next.

Barbie Lane is a sixteen-year old redhead whose father, Richard Lane, is a "celebrated freelance photographer" (p. 2).  The inside front cover introduces readers to the main character with the tagline: "Meet Barbie Lane!"  Describing her as "the most adventurous teen-ager you've ever known," the introduction explains that Mr. Lane "takes his brave daughter with him ... and the red-headed girl finds herself in the midst of more exciting mysteries than you could imagine."  Surrounding the introduction are a number of line drawings of Barbie's head, which in many instances are very reminiscent of the original Barbie doll (leaving one to wonder if the artist used the doll as a model of sorts, particularly considering the doll and this young sleuth share the same first name).  The illustrations are signed by "Mort Leav" (more on him below).

 

As the book opens, she and her best friend, Joan Webster, who is a year younger, are on a bus headed to Collins City to join Mr. Lane for a vacation.  Mr. Lane is actually there to photograph a new Egyptian exhibit set to open at the Collins City Museum of Art, and Barbie and Joan are anxious to see the exhibit.  As fate would have it, the bus has a slight mishap, and the girls find themselves in the small village of Milltown.  Visiting an antique shop, the girls run into Mr. Wilson, a fellow passenger on the bus - and this is where the strange events begin to take place.  A wiry, red-haired man comes storming out of the back, pushing his way past the girls, losing a button in the process (p. 5).  Then Mr. Wilson accuses Barbie of stealing his wallet, which is later discovered by the shop owner on the floor beneath an old spinning wheel (p. 7).  Because of this delay, the girls miss their bus and have to contact Mr. Lane to come get them.  When he picks them up, Mr. Wilson joins them on the ride to Collins City, as that is where he is heading.  The girls ask excitedly about the exhibit, and Mr. Lane reveals rather reluctantly that it may not open due to some trouble at the museum - which prompts Mr. Wilson to warn him about "the Curse of Rama-Khan!" (p. 10).

The mystery immediately ramps up, as the girls discover that certain artifacts have been stolen from the museum, despite the fact that the museum has been locked up tight, and only a few people have access, all of whom are thoroughly trustworthy.  The girls begin to observe mysterious events, such as Mr. Wilson pushing a veiled woman in a wheelchair; the red-haired man from the antique shop hanging around town; and strange shadows and noises in the museum.  When the girls get accidentally locked inside the museum overnight, they discover how the criminals have been getting in and out to steal the artifacts, and they also learn why the criminals have been vandalizing the left hands of various statues and mummies!  It's actually a fairly interesting tale, and the author throws in a couple of surprising twists (although careful readers will easily spot one of the villains pretty early on).  The author does have the villains manhandle the two girls rather roughly, putting them in some very precarious situations - but, as with any good sleuth, some pure luck and fortunate coincidences lead them to safety and a satisfaction resolution. 

The final page of the book (p. 64) is actually a letter column, similar to what you would find in old comic books or some magazines.  I was surprised to see this, particularly since the letters all refer to either Triple Nickel Books in general, or specifically to other books (such as the two Power Boys books).  Only one of the letter-writers is identified by age (15-years old), raising the question as to whether the other writers may have been adults, or they simply did not include their age when sending their letters.  Since the cover to this particular book has "No. 5" just below the title, it makes me believe this was the fifth Triple Nickel Book published, and that regardless of the main character in the story, the books were simply numbered in the order of their publication.  There is a Davy Crockett book, Danger from the Mountain, that is identified as No. 2, while another titled The Adventures of Davy Crockett has No. 1 on the cover.  I've been able to see the cover to The Life of Wild Bill Hickok, and it shows No. 3 on the cover.  Since I've never seen either of the Power Boys books, I can only assume one of them might be No. 4, and perhaps the other is No. 6. I did notice on the Davy Crockett and Wild Bill Hickok books, they are labeled "For Boys" on the cover, while this book is labeled "For Girls."  They were certainly making it clear the audience they were targeting for each story!

The inside back cover is an advertisement for all of the "Brand New Exciting Triple Nickel Books" available for purchase, including the two Davy Crockett stories, the Wild Bill Hickok tale, and the two Power Boys mysteries.  At the bottom is a preview of titles that were to be "Coming Soon!" - a second Barbie Lane mystery titled The Riddle of the Glowing Marble; a third Power Boys adventure, and a third Davy Crockett story.  I know the Barbie Lane book was never published, so I'm guessing the other two likely never saw publication either (although I could be wrong).  I have to wonder what that second Barbie Lane story would have been about, as I can't imagine a glowing marble making a very exciting mystery!

While the artist is not specifically given credit in the book, the illustrations are all signed by"Mort Leav."  This leads one to suspect that it is referring to Mortimer Leav (1916-2005), who drew comics back in the first half of the 20th Century (including Sally O'Neil, Policewoman stories for National Comics).  His history with comic books can be seen in the illustrations in this book, as the scenes depicted are either heavy on the action or scenes that find Barbie and Joan in some dangerous position.  The cover painting is not signed, so I have no way of knowing if Leav did the art for the cover, or simply for the interiors.

Triple Nickel books are very hard to come by.  Some research online reveals that the Triple Nickel line of books were published by Solomon & Gelman in the 1950s, and they were labeled as "Triple Nickel Books" because they only cost 15 cents.  The back cover to the book guaranteed the stories were "the finest in wholesome adventure novels for boys and girls," and even went so far as to set forth the members of an advisory board who allegedly supervised the writing and editing - a university dean, a director at the National Hospital for Speech Disorders, and consulting psychologist!  Apparently they wanted to make sure parents were fully satisfied that these stories were safe to read.  This could possibly stem from the fact that around this time, the mid-1950s, a psychiatrist by the name of Frederic Wertham was on a warpath against comic books, campaigning for the books to be censored, as he claimed the stories and art encouraged bad behavior in children, leading to juvenile delinquency.  A Congressional inquiry was even begun into the matter, which led to the formation of the Comics Code Authority, which would monitor and censor comics to ensure the material did not depict overt scenes of violence, sex, and other "harmful" things.  Perhaps by advertising the advisory board on the back of their books, Solomon & Gelman were hoping it would help sell the books!

 

Sadly, these pulp-style mysteries for juveniles have faded into obscurity, and while I finally saw a second copy of this sell on eBay recently, they are definitely few and far between.  I did enjoy the story and only wish more had been produced.  

 

RATING:  9 old abandoned sewer tunnels out of 10 for a fast-paced, fun mystery and a great new sleuth that sadly didn't get to experience any more adventures!

Becky Bryan's Secret - a Goldsmith Book for Boys and Girls

This book was an unusual pick for me.  The title is certainly not the typical "mystery" title of children's series books from back in the day, and for that matter, it was not a part of any particular series (unless you could the "Goldsmith Books for Boys and Girls" a series of sorts).  But it was one of the number of books I picked up at the estate sale down in Melbourne last year, and so it is another keepsake from the home / bookstore of a dear friend.  To be honest, knowing nothing about the book, I wasn't sure if it was really a mystery at all, because it seemed like more of a typical "girl at school" book that featured daily problems faced by young girls than a mystery itself.  But, since I bought it, figured I might as well read it.  And honestly, it gave me a bit of a surprise.

Becky Bryan's Secret is one of three books written by prolific children's book author Betty Baxter Anderson under the name of "Betty Baxter" (which is rather humorous, that the alliteration of her name matches the alliteration of her character's name!).  Anderson wrote two books under the name "Alice Anson," three under the name "Betty Baxter," and thirteen books under her given name of "Betty Baxter Anderson."  Interestingly enough, Anderson graduated from University of Iowa, the same university from which Mildred Wirt Benson graduated a few years earlier!  Apparently that university has a habit of producing some great children's book authors.k

The plot for this story should come as no surprise, as it centers around the secret Becky Bryan is keeping from everyone around her. A new student in the Junior class at Kent High School, Becky is anxious to make new friends and fit in at this new school.  Hilary Porter takes an instant liking to the new girl, as does the school's football star, Tad Middleton.  The Junior class's most popular girl, Victoria Heath, though, dislikes her from the start, and the reader knows she is going to be trouble (just think of Lettie Briggs from the Dana Girls Mystery Stories, and you'll have an idea of what Victoria is like!).  Everyone is interested in knowing more about Becky, but she manages to sidestep questions about her past - as she tells her Aunt Margaret, with whom she is living, "It's just got to work, this time, Aunt Margaret" (p. 26).  The question the reader asks is - what has to work?  Why is Becky not wanting to talk about her past?  What exactly is Becky Bryan hiding?  What is her secret?

I give Baxter credit - the story is rather engaging, even where the main mystery is simply what is Becky Bryan's secret.  She plants a number of clues along the way that could mean different things ... Becky rescuing her new friend's young sister by walking along a telephone wire to the side of a building (which is represented on the cover art); a slip of the tongue when she makes reference to the "Royal" family; her ability to handle the town stable's most untamed horse; and her excitement of having her father in Florida look for information, when she told everyone she was visiting her father in Chicago for the Christmas holidays.  I'll admit, I was going back and forth between several theories - was it simply that her family was rich?  Was her family in the circus?  Was her family some sort of royalty from another country?  And Victoria's constant attempts to discredit Becky before all of the Juniors ultimately force Becky to reveal the truth.

But that truth does not come out until after Becky and Hilary are faced with an actual mystery.  A little over half-way through the book, the girls get trapped in a sudden snow storm (which, incidentally, is a scene that is depicted on the spine of the dust jacket!), and they take shelter in a small cavern they discover, which has been converted into a rather comfortable living space.  It turns out the "man-cave" belongs to Aloysius Kent, who Hilary reveals died before she was ever born and whose father is the man who founded the city of Kent, where they live (p. 182).  Hilary reveals when Aloysius died, it was believed he had money, but his wife found herself penniless, so she sold their home and moved to Florida.  While in the man-cave, the girls uncover a secret panel behind a bookcase, which contains a box that holds a large number of stocks and bonds! The girls hope these will be worth a fortune to help poor Mrs. Kent, who believed her husband resented her by leaving her nothing when he died.  It is Mrs. Kent that Becky has her father locate (and it is that final act that ultimately leads to Becky having to reveal the truth about herself to her classmates).

Baxter also includes within the story a competition among the Junior class members for a spot as editor on the school newspaper when they go into their Senior year.  The competition is between Victoria and Becky, and as expected, Victoria is not above doing some underhanded things in order to get Becky kicked out of the competition.  Baxter also throws in some important football games for the school, as they do their best to make it to the state competition, and an inadvertent accident at Becky's Halloween party leaves poor Tad with a sprained ankle, unable to play - which only leads to more gossip and tricks from Victoria.  As can be expected from a book from this era, things manage to all work out in Becky's favor, and she even makes the decision to stay in Kent and finish her Senior year with all of her newfound friends.

A couple of notes about the book.  First, I was surprised when Hilary makes the exclamation, "Oh, my great and sainted Aunt Harriet!" (p. 93).  I had never seen a phrase such as this before reading the Penny Parker series, where Wirt uses that exclamation in several of her books. From what I and my fellow book club members were able to learn, the phrase "my great aunt" originated in British novels and short stories from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and it is an expression of surprise or consternation.  What's funny in this book, though, is Baxter actually has Becky respond to that exclamation in a manner that shows she has never heard it before, as Becky says, "Her name is Margaret [referring to her actual aunt], not Harriet, and she's my aunt, and not sainted" (p. 93).  That response made me laugh out loud.

Second, when Victoria and her cronies are continuing to decry Becky for not revealing her past, Hilary provides a sarcastic response, telling them that "Becky is really a princess of the banished royal house of Russia, who was stolen from her crib by the gypsies.  She was brought to this country by the Canadian Mounted Police, and thrown into a dungeon as a danger spy - " (p. 108).  I thought this to be amusing, as it made me think of The Clue in the Jewel Box, which dealt with Russian royalty (of a sort).  This book was published in 1937, more than five years before Jewel Box; however, the book was published well after the events surrounding Anastasia Nikolaevna, so it's likely this was a subtle reference to that whole situation with the Russian royal family.

Overall, a pretty good read, even though light on the mystery side of things, and I'd recommend it.

RATING:  8 green lights hung over the barn door out of 10 for a fun, adventure-filled story with a mix of mystery, competitiveness, and small-town fun!