Long-Lived Comic Series #2 - Ex-Mutants (Eternity / Amazing / Pied Piper / Malibu Comics)

Ex-Mutants is a comic book series that had a very convoluted publishing history, bouncing from one publisher to the next - and, sadly, during all those transitions, the stories themselves were affected, and ultimately, the entire premise of the series was laid to waste (sort of like the entire Earth was in the original stories).  I can remember back in the mid-1980s picking up the first few issues of this series published by Amazing Comics, as I was just starting to dive deeper into independent comics at the time.  I found the story interesting, but apparently not a lot of comic readers in my area did, as the comic store I frequented stopped carrying it, so I never picked up any more past those first few issues.  Flash-forward to present day, and after picking up a few issue from the fifty-cent bins at local conventions, I continued to scour those cheap comic boxes until I was able to put together an entire collection of the series (which was no easy feat due to its constant shifting of publishers and numbering), and finally had the opportunity to read the entire series.  Looking back, I think I would have been better off hanging on to my memory of those first few issues and never knowing what happened to this series after that...

The first issue of Ex-Mutants was published back in 1986 by a small company called Eternity.  Created by David Lawrence (writer) and Ron Lim (artist), the comic told the story of a post-apocalyptic Earth where the survivors were all mutated.  Once scientist was determined to restart humanity, and he began by changing five mutants back into their human forms - one male (Belushi) and four females (Angela, Erin, Lorelei, and Vikki).  For reasons unknown to me, another publisher, Amazing Comics, reprinted that first issue the same year with some expanded story pages (this is the first issue I bought), and continued the series with issues two through five.  The next year, issues six through eight were published by a company called Pied Piper Comics, along with a one-shot titled Ex-Mutants Micro-Series: Erin.  Based on some online research, it appears there was some kind of legal struggle, following which the series returned to Eternity Comics, which re-published issues six and seven and collected some of the issues into trades.

Ex-Mutants then saw a new series begin in 1988 under the Eternity imprint, titled Ex-Mutants: The Shattered Earth Chronicles.  This series lasted fifteen issues and also had an Annual, a Winter Special, as well as a Solo Ex-Mutants six-issue mini-series.  During this time, Eternity tried to expand the universe with spin-off titles, The New Humans, Wild Knights, and Shattered Earth.  (I did not collect any of the spin-off titles, so I have no idea as to the quality or stories in those titles.)  This series ended in 1990, only to come back in 1992 under the new Malibu imprint (who, by the way, owned Eternity).  This new series was full color (all previous series had been black-and-white) and was a complete re-boot of the comic.  Malibu's Ex-Mutants featured six ex-mutants - three males and three females.  Shortly into this rebooted series, the company did a cross-over with its other titles (Protectors and Dinosaurs for Hire), which completely changed the dynamic of the comic, even going so far as to give some of the characters super-powers and codenames!  The Malibu series only lasted eighteen issues, and in 1994, the story of the Ex-Mutants was put to rest.

The series started off back in 1986 pretty strong.  Lawrence's writing was fairly strong, and Lim's art was beautiful.  A mutant scientist, Dr. Cugat, is working to restore humanity to the human race.  He selects one male mutant and four female mutants and manages to degenerate them back to their human forms.  He sends them out into the mutated Earth to not only locate more power cells for his research facility (in the hopes that he can restore more mutants to their human form), but also to inspire the mutants out there, giving them hope of restoration.  The Ex-Mutants befriend a group of bikers known as the Wild Knights, and they defeat the villainous mutant who is in control of the population.  Even though the stories are definitely post-apocalyptic and deal with a lot of fighting and deaths, there is still a light-hearted tone.  Lawrence does a pretty good job of characterization with his five Ex-Mutants, and I actually grew to care about the characters over the course of those first eight issues.

When the series re-started as "The Shattered Earth Chronicles," a new creative team took over the chores.  Paul O'Connor was the new writer, and Marc Matos (with occasional help from others) was the new penciller and Jimmy Palmiotti (yeah, I know, right!) was the new inker.  It is here where the series starts to take its downward turn, as it deviates from the original concept.  At the end of the first series, Dr. Cugat sets off what he believes to be an atomic bomb, thinking he will just destroy everything - but, instead, he detonated a dimensional bomb that sends he and his Ex-Mutants to different dimensions.  Dr. Cugat ends up in a dark dimension where he becomes more evil and sets about to find a way to find a portal to the dimension where his Ex-Mutants were thrown.  Meanwhile, Lorelei has been separated from her teammates and is learning some form of mystical arts that allows her to control matter; the rest of the Ex-Mutants are in a different part of the Shattered Earth, where they are constantly facing one battle or another from various mutant tyrants.  Of course, it all eventually leads to a reuniting of the team and a showdown with their former mentor and creator, who has now evolved into a horrifically evil mutant monster.  The last issue of this series barely featured the Ex-Mutants, but rather, featured an annoying gnat of a mutant who gave the team nothing but trouble throughout this run basically just giving an overview of the final fate of the Ex-Mutants.

 

The Ex-Mutants Winter Special was one of the few good stories that came out of this second series.  Set at Christmas time (before Dr. Cugat went over to the dark side), it finds the Ex-Mutants off searching for a Christmas gift for the doctor, and they inadvertently discover a mall that has been untouched by the ravages of the shattered Earth.  It provides an opportunity for writer Tom O'Connor to delve into the characters a bit more, giving readers a chance to see a more personal side to each of them.  Sure, there are fights with mutants in the story, but there are also simple moments that reminded me of the film, Dawn of the Dead, when the surviving humans lock themselves in an empty mall to evade the zombies, and they spend some time going through the various stores.  I think this story is probably closest to the original concept that Lawrence and Lim had created for the book.

The Solo Ex-Mutants series, which ran for six-issues, was hit or miss.  This provided an opportunity for writers/artists to spotlight different members of the Ex-Mutants in stories of their own. None of the stories stood out for me, and it felt more like a way to cash in on the short-lived success of the Ex-Mutants rather than any actual purposeful stories.

After a two year break, the Ex-Mutants returned under the new Malibu logo of comics - and while some of the elements mirrored the original series, this was definitely a re-imagining of the concept updated for the craziness that was the 1990s.  New writers and a new artist (Paul Pelletier - some of his earliest work) gave the series an entirely different feel, and the full-color comic also changed the tone of the stories, with the bright flashy colors.  The series went from four women and one man to three women and three men (equal representation, I suppose), and the characters became nothing more than stereotypes.  Ackroyd (hmmm, a companion to the original male, Belushi, from the first series, perhaps?) is the super-strong jock that isn't necessarily so bright; Tanya is the skilled, fighting female; Bud is the young buck, always acting before he thinks; Shannon is the woman looking for love; Dillon is the leader, focused solely on the job at hand; and Piper is the innocent girl, always fending off Bud's amorous advances.  Dr. Cugat is exchanged for Professor Jonathan Kildare, a mutant cyborg.  After just three issues, the writers change, and after the tenth issue, the series becomes a part of the "Genesis" crossover that tied into Protectors and Dinosaurs for Hire.  This crossover drastically changes the title in a number of ways - new creative team (yet again!), new characters (two members of the Protectors super-hero team joins the Ex-Mutants, while other members of the team leave), and a new premise (as the Ex-Mutants find they have super powers), all of which turn the title into just another big-battle, super-hero comic book.  The final issue of the series (number 18) does not even feature any of its title characters on the cover, but rather, features the group of villains the Ex-Mutants are battling in the story.

It's a shame such a great concept was so horribly handled - but, I suppose as with many independent titles, once the original creators leave the title, it will never be the same.  And that definitely holds true for the Ex-Mutants.  Lawrence and Lim created something unique and fun for the time, and it's a shame whatever legal battle was going on took the title and characters away from them.  I can only imagine what might have been if the two of them had been able to stay with the characters they created - I wonder what stories might have been told!

Nearly fifty issues of story (not counting the duplicate issues by the various publishers), and yet, for me, only the first eight issues actually tell the REAL story of the Ex-Mutants.  As they say, you never know until you try something, and I gave this one a shot.  I guess I am grateful I did not pay full price for any of the issues, as I would have probably been more disappointed than I was.  

RATING:  5 samurai sword wielding humans out of 10 for the original five ex-mutants who actually stood out in a time of super-hero filled comic books as unique and interesting characters!

Kazu Jones and the Comic Book Criminal - a comic book store mystery

While I don't read the Kazu Jones series, I did pick up this second book in the series simply because the mystery centers around comic book stores (and I pretty much will pick up any book that features a story centered around comic books or comic book stores).  I had never heard of this series, nor did I recognize the author, Shauna M. Holyoak, but that did not stop me from buying the book.  The cover art is rather cute, with the main character and her four friends standing in front of a comic book store - I just wish there were internal illustrations (I mean, after all, this is about a comic book store, after all!); but, alas, I had to settle for a first-person mystery about a fifth-grade detective agency!

Kazu Jones and the Comic Book Criminal stars young Kazu Jones and her two friends March and CindeeRae, who have formed a sort-of detective agency to solve mysteries.  Their classmate, Madeleine, apparently helped them in the first book and is anxious to be involved in this latest case.  The mystery involves a vandal who is spray painting murals on the various comic stores throughout Denver, each mural sending a very pointed message about a character called Blood Eagle.  March is especially upset about it, because his uncle Owen runs a struggling store, and March hopes to work in the store once he is old enough.  Despite having faced serious consequences after solving the mystery in the previous book, the four fifth-graders decide to investigate, being very careful not to cross the line set for them by their parents and the police (i.e., not interfering in an ongoing police investigation!).

The story is definitely one about teamwork and friendship.  Each of the four young detectives has a special talent.  March knows computers.  Madeleine is a photographer.  Kazu is analytical.  And CindeeRae (CR) is the peacemaker.  Each is smart in their own right, but together, they make a formidable young mystery squad.  And while the murals being spray painted by the vandal may look "cool," they are the act of a criminal, and it's up to Kazu and her friends to figure out who it is.  Kazu and Madeleine believe if they can learn why the vandal is doing it, the who will reveal itself; but March is more focused on the who and believes searching for a reason is a waste of time - which, obviously, results in tension among the team's members and ultimately creates a division that Kazu wonders if it can be fixed.

And speaking of fixing things - while all of this is going on, Kazu has a whole other mystery to solve at home.  Her mother has been bedridden for several months, causing her grandmother to fly over from Japan to help run the household.  No one will tell Kazu what is wrong with her mother, so she sets about trying to uncover the truth on her own.  The clues are all there, and astute readers will easily discern what it is - but for Kazu, it takes a bit of research and hard questions before she finally learns the truth.  Admittedly, this subplot seemed a bit out of place in the story - it has no bearing on the vandalism story, and it doesn't serve as much of a catalyst for any other element of the story.  The only real connection I could see is that once Kazu learns the truth, it causes her to have some sympathy for the graphittist who is painting murals on all of the comic stores.

That issue aside, the underlying story about the "comic book criminal" is actually rather fun.  It's clear the author has familiarity with the subject matter (and based on her "Author's Notes" at the end, that is DEFINITELY the case), as there are not only references to a number of comic book related characters, companies, and books, but the role-playing and deck-card gaming and comic-convention attending scenes are so spot-on, they brought a huge smile to my face.  And Holyoak definitely captures the reality of what it's like to be a "geek" or "nerd" on pages 157-58, as Kazu finally realizes the importance of the comic book convention for her friend, March:

At school he was the lone nerd, the walking comic book know-it-all who was usually mocked whenever he talked about the things that excited him.  Here, he was one among many, surrounded by warrior geeks who proudly paraded their unusual obsessions.  I had understood why March was so upset by the idea of the Super Pickle closing, but for the first time I really felt how devastating it must be for him. ComiCanon was only once a year.  But the Super Pickle was there whenever he needed it.  There may not be crowds of cosplayers, but Owen and his customers liked what March liked and would never make fun of him for it.

EXACTLY!  Holyoak hit the nail on the head with this paragraph, and even today when Marvel and DC movies and television shows have become so popular with non-comic book fans, there is still a stigma, to a certain extent, with those comic book "geeks" that leaves us feeling much more comfortable when we are in our own element, surrounded by others who share the enthusiasm and love for these characters and stories that will never exist outside of the comic stores and comic conventions.  So, kudos to Holyoak for recognizing and acknowledging this truth!

The resolution of the mystery also fits in with the comic book theme of the book.  [WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD - DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED!!!]  A comic book creator whose creation is stolen and who gets no credit for the character, while the one who stole the idea is making tons of money from the success of the book and the upcoming film.  An untimely death that leaves behind a child who is determined to find justice for their parent, who was wronged so horribly.  It all comes straight out of a comic book story (and real life as well, similar to the Shuster & Siegel battle with DC over the rights to Superman).  And, at least the criminal in this book does have to pay for their crime - they don't get a free pass simply because of the hardship they faced with their parents' dying.

Again, this being a comic book themed story, I would have loved to have seen some comic book pages within the story - perhaps each time the vandal struck, we could have had a page or two of comic book panels that shows the murals - it would have been a fun way to put the reader into the story and given them an opportunity to look for clues in the murals right along with Kazu and her gang!  But, alas, that wasn't the case, so I think it was a missed opportunity on the part of the pubisher.

The story was a fun read, but I doubt I'll be running out to pick up any other books in this series - I collect so many series as it is that I can't keep up with, I certainly can't add another one to the stack.

RATING:  8 six-packs of grape soda out of 10 for giving readers a refreshingly new group of young detectives, as well as a fun comic book-related mystery!

Domino Patrick: Daughter of the Domino Lady

I first discovered "Domino Lady" in the comic books published by Moonstone some years ago.  I have purchased and read all of the comics published about her, and I've picked up and read the several books starring the pulp heroine.  Recently, Moonstone published an anthology about Domino Lady's daughter, Domino Patrick, set some twenty years after the adventures of Domino Lady herself.  I recognized a few of the authors (Mel Odom, Trina Robbins, and editor Nancy Holder), so I figured it had to have some good tales in it.  And I was right!

Domino Patrick: Daughter of the Domino Lady has ten short tales about the adventures of Domino Patrick, a private investigator in Los Angeles.  While she has her mother's beauty and charms, as well as her mother's love for adventure, Domino Patrick does not don a costume and mask to fight crime; rather, she has earned her P.I. license and helps people out within the confines of the law (well, to a certain extent).  She has her own contact within the police department, and she has definitely learned how to use her womanly wiles, just like her mother, to help district and defeat the hard-nosed criminals of California and beyond.

The stories vary in length, style, and subject matter.  From blackmail and strip clubs to wild west theme parks and sabotage to mobster daughters on the run and secret, forbidden relationships that end in death, Domino Patrick faces them all.  Some of the stories are told from first-person point of view, while others are third-person, and the final story, guest-starring the Green Hornet, is told from a mixed POV - Domino's side of things are told from third-person, while Green Hornet's portions are first-person (and, surprisingly enough, it does not make it more difficult to read).  Honestly, none of the stories are bad - they are all engaging in some form or fashion; however, I will readily admit that I definitely liked some more than others. 

"Number One with the Bullet" by Trina Robbins is probably my favorite of the bunch.  Not only is Domino hired to provide protection to an up-and-coming singer who is being stalked, but the story provides a very interesting mystery of who killed the stalker?!  When the woman stalking the lead singer of the band winds up dead at her table in the middle of a crowded restaurant, it's up to Domino to figure out whoddunnit.  There's a lot of drama going on - the back-up singers are upset the lead singer is leaving them; the lead singer has fallen for a local band boy with the intent of starting a new career with him; and the singer's manager is hellbent on making sure she doesn't lose her money-making client.  Lots of motives and lots of means, but only one of them did it - the question is, which one?

"The Education of Domino Patrick" by Colin Harvey comes next in my line of favorites, as it is a very different kind of story.  A teacher at a private school commits suicide, and his wife is confident that a fellow teacher persuaded him to do it.  It seems her husband discovered the other teacher in a compromising position with a female student, and to protect his career and the girl's reputation, he badgered the woman's husband until he killed himself.  So, Domino goes undercover as a substitute teacher to uncover the truth - but what she finds is something far different than what the widow could have ever suspected - a truth that, in the 1960s, would have had dire consequences for all involved.  It's actually a touching story of love, from a number of different angles, and how that love can affect those left behind.

"Everyone Knows It's Windy" by Tim Lasiuta is a fun story, probably one of the shortest in the book, but definitely Domino in style all the way.  While shopping at her favorite clothing store, Domino faces down a crew of thieves who have been holding up a number of shops in the area.  Only, this time, they have to face Domino and her unique style of bringing down the bad guys.  This story features a bit of humor along with the obligatory fight scenes, and it's brief and to-the-point, so that Domino can get on with her day.

"Menage a Trap" by David Boop is the longest of the stories in this collection, and it is the last story in the book (probably due to its length). This is the story that features a team-up with the Green Hornet and Kato, as Domino Patrick travels to Detroit at the request of newspaper man, Britt Reid, who wants her to help him uncover the identity of the Green Hornet (and, of course, she has no idea Britt is actually the masked vigilante!).  It's all a test to see just how secure his secret identity really is, and as Domino goes about trying to unmask the green-cloaked man, she slowly becomes aware that nothing is what she thought it was.  As can be expected, the two eventually team-up to battle the mysterious Mr. X in a climatic battle in the harbor that leads to the destruction of a bridge, the capture of a number of Mr. X's minions, and a friendship borne out of adversity between two next-generation heroes.

There are six other tales within the book, all of which have their own good qualities to them and are worth the read.  I hope this is not he last we see of Domino Patrick, and hopefully Moonstone will publish more stories about this luscious P.I. (maybe even a team-up with her mother, the Domino Lady herself!).

RATING:  9 old, beat-up photo albums out of 10 for good, old-fashioned pulp-style stories with another strong female lead - because, let's face it, we can never have enough strong female detectives out there!

Shadow Cove Mystery - a mystery by Mary Constance du Bois

It seems I've been reading more and more books that are not a part of any particular series than I normally do - however, this book I can sort of shoe-horn into a "series," as I discovered after reading it that the same author wrote a previous book that actually featured one of the characters from this book - thus, I could consider this the second book in a "series" about this particular character (yeah, I know, that's probably stretching it a bit).  Anyway, I picked this up from a local antique mall a couple of years ago for several reasons - (1) it was a vintage mystery book aimed for young adults; (2) the cover art with the three girls reminded me of Nancy, Bess, and George (if you don't recognize those names, then you haven't been reading this blog!); (3) the description of the story on the inside flap of the dust jacket intrigued me; (4) it offered some very well drawn internal illustrations; and (5) on the title page, written in pencil along the left side of the page, were the words: "Review Copy - February 1940."  With all of those reasons, there was no way I could pass up this book (especially when it was priced at a mere $6.00!).

Published in 1940 by D. Appleton-Century Company, Shadow Cove Mystery is written by Mary Constance du Bois.  Personally, I have never heard of this author or this publishing house, but the back cover of the dust jacket lists eight other books written by the author and published by Appleton-Century, so apparently this was not a one-off book by the author.  As far as the publisher goes, a look online reveals this company published the first U.S. edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland back in 1865, as well as The Red Badge of Courage in 1895, along with a number of scientific and literary books over the course of its history.  So, apparently, this was no fly-by-night company that published a few things and then disappeared.  At any rate, let's take a look at the story and its characters, shall we.

The story features three main characters - "[t]hree girls, but not three sisters" as the author describes them - Patricia Goodwin (Patsy), Janet West, and Helen Elizabeth Nelson (Nelcie).  It is Nelcie's family who has rented the cabin in Shadow Cove.  The cabin is right on Lake Charney, which was named after the first Charney who discovered the lake so long ago - and whose descendant Nelcie is!  The mystery begins when the three girls go exploring and come across a deer park, where they meet a timid young girl who runs off before they can catch her name.  They later discover she is a waitress at a nearby Inn and learn her name is Nura - a nickname for Anna Voronkova.  She relates her sad backstory, telling the girls she and her younger brother and sister are orphans, their parents having died after coming to the States.  She was cared for by a family friend, but he married a woman who wants nothing to do with the children and wants to adopt them all out to separate homes!  So, Nura took her siblings and ran away, finding work at the Inn to support her little family - but, as fate would have it, she lost the job and is now faced with the threat of being forever separated from her siblings!

This turns out to be only one mystery in the book - the girls are also given a very special (and quite possibly expensive ring) from an old hermit (Dan Boone) who lives in the woods around Lake Charney.  No one knows who it belongs to, but when Nelcie loses the ring, the search is on!  It ultimately is returned to the girls under the most mysterious circumstances - a phantom appears in the early hours of the morning to leave it with the Nelcie as she is sleeping.  The phantom disappears as quickly as it appeared, leaving the girls to wonder who - or what! - it was.  Then, the girls and their friends are left with the task of finding Nura and her siblings when the three of them disappear without a trace!  It's a race against time, as they must find outrace a forest fire that has begun to spread in the area in order to find the missing family before it's too late.

The book is 310 pages in length and is, more often than not, rather slow moving.  du Bois spends a great deal of time describing the girls' treks through the woods, providing considerable exposition on the beautiful wooded area, the lake, and the Inn.  And when Patsy takes a job at the Inn to earn money to help Nura and her family, the story focuses on Patsy's adventures in waitressing, none of which has any actual bearing on the story or any of the mysteries.  The author seems to teeter back and forth between a mystery story and a simple "day-in-the-life" type of tale, and it's unclear whether the mystery elements are just incidental to the story, or if the day-in-the-life elements were included to lengthen the tale.  Regardless, there are a number of moments in the book that are less than exciting and seem to drag.

This is not the say the whole story is a loss.  I did rather enjoy the character of Dan Boone.  du Bois fleshes him out quite nicely - the girls are first warned that he is an odd character, one to be avoided; but after meeting him, they learn he is just a loner who happens to have a stutter, making it difficult for him to talk.  They make friends with him, and when they eventually learn he has been helping Nura and her brother and sister, it only endears him to the girls (and the reader!) all the more.  There is also J. Harrington Hart (Harry), a young man whose family owns the deer park.  He is a fun character, who take an instant liking to Nura, even though he can never quite seem to meet up with her (they inadvertently keep missing one another).  He provides the girls with plenty of assistance throughout the story, and his lighthearted nature makes him instantly likable.  

The forest fire element of the book, along with the fire tower where the ranger keeps a lookout for fires, definitely reminded me of those very same elements from Mildred Wirt's Timbered Treasure (1937), the third book in her Trailer Stories for Girls series.  That book was published three years prior to this one, making one consider that perhaps du Bois had read Wirt's story and those plot elements were on her mind when she wrote this book.  I also found it interesting that the story take place just south of the Canadian border (as there are many references to Canada and crossing the border in the book).  Wirt's books are often set close to the Canadian border, or even in Canada, and I found that to be an odd coincidence.  

 

One of the most interesting elements, however, is the Russian connection.  Nura a/k/a Anna (Anya) Voronkova is the daughter of Russian immigrants, who was born in France.  Nura's father was in the Great War in Russia, and escaped from the Red Terror to France, and ultimately to the United States (p. 93).  This has similarities to the original plot of the Nancy Drew mystery, The Clue in the Jewel Box, which was published in 1940, just three years after this book hit the shelves. Even though Jewel Box does not reference Russia, it is plainly obvious from that story involving refugees and lost treasures that the story is based on Russian events, just as this one is.

 

There is a fun little scene in the book where Chips does everything he can to encourage Patsy to attend the masquerade ball, and not just serve punch - even going so far as to offer "to strip his bedroom window of its curtain, aflame with scarlet poppies, that she might wear it as a domino" (p. 172)!  I found this humorous, because when Carol Burnette did a spoof of Gone With the Wind on her comedy show, her character took down the curtains from a window (curtain rod and all!) and turned it into a dress ("I saw it in the window, and I just couldn't resist it" she says!) - just as Chips wanted to do for Patsy!  And the fact the curtains in the book are "aflame with SCARLET poppies" makes it all the more amusing since Scarlett was the name of the character Carol was parodying in her skit!

While not necessarily the best book I've ever read, I would say it was worth the purchase.  And it did catch enough of my interest to make me want to find its precursor, Patsy of the Pet Shop, which is described as the "delightful story of a young girl whose love for dogs won her many friends in a strange city and placed her in the midst of a baffling mystery."  This is the same Patsy from this story, as she describes her job at the pet shop to the manager at the Inn when she applies for the waitressing job (p. 106).  I'm curious to read about Patsy's experience in the pet shop and what "baffling mystery" comes her way.

 

Before I take leave, I have to give credit to Elise Parks, who provided the wonderful illustrations in the book.  All seven illustrations (the frontispiece, plus six illustrations throughout the book) are beautifully rendered and remind me greatly of the Nancy Drew internals from the 1950s and early '60s.  The scenes are detailed, and the characters' expressions are dead-on (especially the one on page 157, where the customer at the Inn is more than angry at being served a most unexpected meal!).  

RATING:  7 hard brown mounds of dog biscuits out of 10 for confirming the fact that, when solving mysteries, three heads are always better than one!

Short Lived Comic Series #26 - Soap Opera Romances (Charlton Comics)

While Charlton's other "Soap Opera" title only lasted three issues, this other "Soap Opera" comic book actually made it to give issues before it was cancelled.  And just as Soap Opera Love was a reprint title, so is Soap Opera Romances.  While Soap Opera Love reprinted stories from Charlton's earlier Just Married title, Soap Opera Romances reprinted tales of Nurse Betsy Crane, who had her own title some years prior.  Soap Opera Romances was actually the earlier of the two Soap titles, as it began its run in 1982, with its first issue boasting a July 1982 cover date.  It ran bi-monthly for five issues, ending with the March 1983 issue, which was just one month after Soap Opera Love premiered in February 1983.  Confused yet?  Well, it's obvious the comic world was not really open to romance titles in the early '80s, but I have to give Charlton kudos for least giving it a try.

 

Soap Opera Romances was headlined by Nurse Betsy Crane, a career nurse who seemed to have considerable difficulty when it came to romance.  Nurse Crane first appeared back in 1961 in My Teen Diary #11, and apparently was so popular, the next issue of that title was re-named Nurse Betsy Crane!  That book continued under her name from issue 12 all the way through issue 27 before it was cancelled in 1964.  She made a few appearances after that and then disappeared into comic book limbo until nearly 20 years later when Charlton tried to revive her stories and character with this book.

Because these are stories reprinted from the 1960s, they sadly do not provide the credits for writers and artists.  Some online searches revealed that Charles Nicholas provided pencils for some of the stories, and comic greats Dick Giordano and Vince Colletta provided some of the inking.  As far as the writing goes, that's a mystery.  Which is a shame, because the stories are not really all that bad (well, let me re-phrase that - the Nurse Betsy Crane stories are not that bad - some of the short stores and one-page tales are a bit over-the-top and cliche).  Yes, the stories feature standard romance comics fare, and they are fairly simple and straight-forward; but it's their simplicity that makes them enjoyable.

"Once in a great while ... there appears on the screen of life ... a person so exceptional ... so captivating ... so exciting ... that you can never forget her ... this is ...  NURSE BETSY CRANE"  This cover blurb on the first issue was obviously meant to draw readers in, advertising the main character of this series as an exciting, captivating person who could not possibly be forgotten.  And, perhaps, that is how the powers-that-be at Charlton felt, since this was a character that previously had her own series two decades prior.  Obviously someone at Charlton still remembered her, and with these reprints, hoped that they could bring the character back to life - or, simply cash on by reprinting old stories and not having to pay for new stories and art.  Whatever the reason, it obviously didn't work, as the cancellation after only five issues proves.

The first issue featured a 20-page lead story titled "Scratch of Death."  As many of the comic stories did back in the '60s, it opens with a splash page of danger - in this case, Nurse Diane Malvern bringing her boyfriend to Nurse Betsy Crane, holding him up as he seems about to collapse!  The next page flashes back to give readers the story leading up to that moment - an effective storytelling technique of capturing the readers' attention before providing the backstory that may not be as exciting as that moment.  In this case, we learn the story of how Diane met widower Jeff Wilson and his young daughter - and we see how Jeff gradually turns rude and downright mean, even to Diane, which seems quite out of character.  Of course, Nurse Crane is the one who realizes what is going on - Jeff has hydrophobia, which Diane recognizes as a symptom of rabies!  Nurse Betsy Crane saves the day, and Jeff and Diane walk into the sunset to live happily ever after.  This first issue also features a three-page promotion for nursing as a career, describing in text and pictures just how wonderful a career in nursing is for a woman (which goes to show just how outdated this reprint was, since by the1980s, men was entering the nursing career as well!).  The issue closes out with a one-page story titled "Lady in Distress," the art and story for which are so "totally" '60s, it makes the story comical.

Issue two features two, ten-page Nurse Crane stories:  "Rebound" and "Fight for Sight."  The first story finds Betsy falling for a doctor who is heartbroken when the woman he loves marries another.  Doctor and Nurse take off for Mussar for a tour of duty to help the natives in that far country, where he begins to fall for Betsy and even asks her to marry him! But Betsy is the one heartbroken when the doctor learns his former love's husband has died, and she is free to return to him.  "It's not easy to give up someone you love," Betsy thinks at the end of the tale, "but I have my life to live .. and now I must find a new love!"  The second tale finds Betsy working hard to help a nurse who only wants perfection in a man to see just how fortunate she is to have the love of a man who may be losing his eyesight - if only she could overcome her desire for perfection!  The stories are both very cliche, but definitely fit for the soap opera theme of the comic.  In this issue, we also get a three-page story about a married couple's first fight, as well as a one-page tale titled "destination Paradise" - which was actually rather cute, as it seems a bit stereotypical in the first couple of panels as a man and woman meet on a cruise ship and fall in love at first sight - but as the final panel reveals - it's a re-enactment of the couple's first meeting that they continue to celebrate every year.  I think in this one page there is more "romance" than any other story in the series!

The third issue definitely has my favorite cover (and probably my favorite story from this series).  With this issue, we return to the longer lead-in story, with Nurse Betsy Crane starring in a 20-page tale called "The Dark Closet."  The cover hearkens back to the old Gothic tales, with the shadowy figure coming in on Betsy, as she tries to help a man who is clearly troubled.  Even the cover blurb - "What was the secret of the Old Lange Mansion?  What terror lay hidden in The Dark Closet?" - is reminiscent of the Gothic comics of the past.  The story features Betsy heading up to the Lange mansion on a stormy night, alongside a young doctor (none of these stories have the same supporting cast - there are always different doctors and nurses with whom Betsy works), to provide medical attention to Mrs. Lange.  I found this melodrama at the beginning rather humorous, as the woman was merely having an asthma attack - and as one with asthma, I know what an attack can feel like, but I've never had one so severe that I needed a doctor and his nurse to come out to my house!  (Of course, the revelation about Mrs. Lange's illness at the end of the story explains the overly dramatic nature of Mrs. Lange.)  Nurse Betsy Crane remains at the house in case Mrs. Lange needs further help, and she quickly realizes something odd is going on between the woman and her son.  She eventually discovers that Mrs. Lange is faking all of these illnesses to keep her son at home and away from a woman he loves and wants to marry.  Betsy, as usual, opens everyone's eyes to the situation, and the son finally has the opportunity to chase after the love of his life.  The three-page tale in this issue is a bit weird - a flirtatious woman flirts with the wrong man; but even after he punches her boyfriend, she still walks off with him - and when she reunites with her boyfriend, instead of dumping her, he merely asks her to flirt with men his size so he has a fair chance to beat them up!  Definitely not a lesson you would want to teach young people about dating!  Even the one-page story is bizarre - "Happy Birthday" sees a women kissing the birthday boy - and when the date she came with tries to intervene, she brushes him off and returns to kissing the birthday boy!  Not sure what these writers were thinking, but the morals of these characters are definitely lacking!

Issue four has a rather interesting cover - instead of a single scene, it actually utilizes three panels from the story, dialogue and all!  Now, granted, it is a rather dramatic scene, with Nurse Betsy Crane and a military man trying to fight their way through a dangerous flooded area to rescue a man (lifted straight from page 15 of the story) - but it leaves me wondering if perhaps Charlton simply didn't have a cover for this issue in time for publication, so simply used the inside panels as a quick way of getting the issue out.  "Medals are for Heroes" is the 20 page story this time around, wherein Betsy and two other nurses head off to Harpersville to help out at an emergency center set up for the flood victims in the area.  Betsy, though, finds the problem is not with the victims or even the flood - rather, it is with Corporal Kalin, who spends more time distracting the nurses than anything else.  When she gets stuck with Corporal Kalin on a trip into town to help a young girl and search for her grandfather, Betsy learns there is more to Kalin than she first thought - and she ultimately helps him overcome a fear that has been causing him to act so recklessly.  This issue does not have the standard three-page and one-page tales; rather, it closes out with a four-page story titled "The End of Love."  With a title like that, one would expect a rather depressing tale (which it seems to be in the first three pages); however, the conclusion gives readers a great reminder that an ending of one story may only just be the beginning of a brand new one...

The fifth and final issue of this short-lived series has a story that is probably the closest to a soap opera storyline of any in this series.  "Memories of the Past" finds Nurse Betsy Crane acting uncharacteristically - because when she comes face-to-face with Dr. Gil Roberts, a man from her past, she doesn't know how to react!  Dr. Roberts is brought into the hospital where Betsy works with a life-threatening condition, and when Besty see him, her memories of him are triggered - and readers are treated to flashbacks of their whirlwind romance and how that relationship ended when they each had to chase after the careers of their dreams.  Now, with Dr. Roberts back in her life, Betsy isn't sure what to do.  The one thing she can do (and does!) is locate donors with his rare blood type so that he can undergo surgery to save his life.  Once he recovers, Betsy talks with him, and they both come to realize that despite their past love, they have both grown up and moved on, and that they both found happiness in their careers - which is a good thing for that hospital, because as the head nurse thinks in that last panel, "I don't know what I'd do without that girl..."  We see a return of the three-page and one-page back-up tales in this issue - the three-pager is nothing spectacular, with a girl from the States falling for a Londoner, who reveals in the end he is heading for the States and they can have a relationship there.  It's the one-pager, "Never Again," that features a great little moral - don't be too quick to judge someone's actions, because it might not be what you suspect!  

And with that, Charlton's first (second?) soap opera title reaches its conclusion.  At least this title, unlike Soap Opera Love, featured one-off tales and did not have an ongoing tale that was left unfinished (well, technically not unfinished, since I could go back and find the original comics from which those stories were taken and read the rest of the stories).  Nurse Betsy Crane kind of reminds me of Cherry Ames, a children's series (1943-68), which featured a nurse that job-hopped from one nursing position to another.  I'm not sure about the original Nurse Betsy Crane comics, but based on these few stories, it seems Betsy follows in that same tradition.  

It's a shame these titles didn't take off.  I can only guess that Soap Opera Love and Soap Opera Romance where an attempt to cash-in on the popularity of soap operas in the early to mid '80s (what with General Hospital, Santa Barbara, All My Children, and the others).  I'm not sure how many soap opera fans were actually reading comics in those days, and with all the super hero comics hitting the shelves at that time, as well as the rise of independent publishers and direct-market comics, these two titles really didn't stand much of a chance.  I would love to find out who authored these stories, just to see if we could get any insight as to whether the writer was just churning out stories for a paycheck, or if he (or she!) was writing stories he actually enjoyed writing.  I guess at this point (more than half a century later!) we will never know.

RATING:  7 infected scratches out of 10 for at least attempting to revive the romance genre in a time when superheroes had cornered the market!

Death is a Tory - a political murder mystery

A good friend gifted me this book some months ago for a very specific reason.  I'm not one to normally pick up a book that is not a part of a series; but if the book has a connection to a series, then I might be apt to do so.  And this book, well, it just so happens that the author also wrote three books in the original Nancy Drew series back in the 1930s.  You might not recognize the name "Keats Patrick," but if I told you that name was nothing more than a pseudonym (just as "Carolyn Keene" is a pseudonym), then you might begin to wonder.  Well, according to my friend (as well as other sources online), "Keats Patrick" is a pen name for Walter Karig, the author of books 8 through 10 of the Nancy Drew series, as well as books 3 and 4 of the Doris Force series and books 2 through 4 of the Perry Pierce series.  My friend also shared with me that the pen name "Keats Patrick" is derived from Karig's two daughters, Keating and Patricia.  So, with these things in mind, I figured I'd sit down and read Walter Karig's political murder mystery and see how it fares.

Death is a Tory is definitely a far cry from Karig's Nancy Drew and Doris Force stories.  Published in 1935 (two years after his Nancy Drew stories were published), the book centers around a double murder in Washington, D.C.  In a nutshell - Tom and Homer are newspapermen in 1930s' D.C.  Homer takes a call at the office intended for Tom from Marshall Rich.  Marsh says that he just killed Cactus and Felix.  It turns out Cactus is his wife, and Felix is her lover.  Marsh says he came home early and found them together, so he killed them and intends to kill himself.  Tom stops him in time, but cannot prevent him from being arrested for the double homicide for which he has confessed.  Tom and Homer (and their wives) are shocked by these events, but not so shocked as Sally Shaftoe, a columnist who has a habit of sticking her nose where it doesn't belong.  Throw into the mix a congressman, A. Gilligan Lightfoot, who knew Cactus when she was just a kid, and you've got all the makings of a crafty little murder mystery.

I have to give Karig credit.  He definitely sets it all up.  The clues are all right there in front of your face, if you just know what to look for.  There's the simple fact that there were two guns at the scene - the one Marsh was holding and the one found down in the creek behind his house.  There's also the fact that Cactus was killed with one shot, while Felix's body had two - the same number of shots that happen to have been fired into the fountain in Marsh's back yard.  Then there's the fact that Marsh is proven to have been at work at the time of the murders, and he was seen by several people on his way home after the murders took place. Which all lead to the question - why in the world would this man confess to a crime there is no way in the world he could have committed?

While Sally seems to be the amateur sleuth in the story (I guess poor Karig just couldn't get away from writing those female detectives!), Tom and Mildred, along with Homer and Prentice, spend a good portion of the book going over the facts, proposing different scenarios, and discussing plenty of "what ifs."  As much as they try to stay out of it ... as much as they keep saying they don't want any part of it and want their lives to go back to normal ... they just can't seem to let go, especially once they decide that poor Marsh is innocent.  But, if Marsh is innocent, then that begs the question - who is the real killer?

I'll give you a hint.  Once of these people in the story is not really who they pretend to be!  You might say, "Well, the story is set in Washington, D.C. - is there anyone in that city that ever really tells the truth?"  And you'd be right.  But that's not how this story goes.  Karig writes the narrative as if he himself were a reporter simply telling us (the reader) the story of everything that happened.  He even gets sidetracked a few times and has to reign himself in (which makes for some interesting reading, as it leaves one to wonder if these side trips are Karig actually spilling some of his personal opinions, or just a fancy narrative meant to distract the reader from the clues planted in the story).  But the casual way in which the story is told is actually part of what draws the reader in - you don't feel like you are reading a formal mystery; rather, you feel like you're listening to a friend tell you what's happened.

Oh, and did I mention Mildred's sister, Katherine O'Day (better known simply as "Ka") plays a big part of the story?  And that she, Sally, and the congressman find themselves entangled in a love triangle (whether they want to admit it or not)?  Plus, there are the anonymous letters sent to Marsh while he is in prison, with Bible verses written on them ... and the poisoned candies sent to Sally ... and the dead dog ... and the sheriff who seems to be able to memorize anything he reads.  

I honestly thought I had it all figured out, but Karig threw in a rather interesting twist there near the end - and an even BIGGER twist in those final pages!  I was quite impressed, because it takes a lot these days for  murder mystery to surprise me as much as this one did.  Of course, once the killer is revealed, it all made perfect sense - which just goes to show that Karig had the writing skills to tell a marvelously engaging adult mystery.  This book may never have been one I would have picked up and read on my own, but I definitely thank Geoffrey for gifting it to me, as it is now a treasure on my bookshelf in the library!

RATING:  9 wadded up envelopes in the trash out of 10 for a murder mystery truly unlike any other I've read - one that manages to keep you guessing literally up to the very end!

Samantha Wolf Mysteries, Book Nine - The Mystery of Old Gully Trail

After the rather turbulent events in the last book, author Tara Ellis tones down the mystery a bit for the ninth book in the Samantha Wolf series. It's actually been kind of nice to read a series where the characters grow, not only physically, but emotionally and intelligently as well, and where the mysteries vary, so that there is not just a standard, formulaic plot in each book.  Samantha and her friends, Ally and Cassy, have matured as the series has progressed, having learned from experience - and Sam has even learned to accept the punishment her parents dole out each time she breaks the rules to solve a mystery (even if she breaks the rules for a good cause!).  It's actually rather refreshing to read a series where actions actually do have consequences (as they would in the real world), so I give Ellis props for keeping it real.

The Mystery of Old Gully Trail opens at the end of the school year, with the girls helping Cassy's aunt clear out some trails for her horse-riding classes.  They happen across a young girl, who is rather precocious and who happens to be lost (not that she will admit that).  It turns out she is a descendant of Old Man Gully, who owned a house set deep in the woods, and about whom are plenty of stories told in town that keep the kids away from the place!  Of course, it's not really haunted, and the young girl lives there with her aunt and uncle.  Her name is Penelope Gully, but everyone calls her Penny for short.

Now, let's stop a moment and think about that name.  "Penelope."  That is not a generally used name for girls, and yet when it comes to children's mystery series, there are two series from back in the day that used this same name for the title character (and both series happened to be written by the same author - Mildred Wirt Benson!).  Penny Nichols and Penny Parker.  The formal name for both characters was Penelope, and yet both went by the name Penny to all who knew them.  I find it very interesting that Ellis would chose this name for the character, and have to wonder if perhaps Ellis is familiar with those series by Benson and inserted the name as a way to pay homage to those characters from the '30s and '40s.

In any event, let's get back to the story, shall we?  Penny, as the descendant of Old Man Gully, inherited the property, including all of the riding trails on the property, and her aunt is managing her affairs until she turns legal age.  Everything seems just fine, until her aunt reveals that someone is trying very hard to buy the property, and they are taking legal action to prove that the property never really belonged to Old Man Gully in the first place - meaning Penny could lose everything, including the elaborate tree house on the back of the property that Penny and her mother used to use.

The mystery of who is behind the legal action ties into the town's Founder Day celebration, as the citizens prepare to dig up and open a time capsule buried by the town's founders 100 years ago.  And, needless to say, one of those founders was Old Man Gully, and Sam, Ally, and Cassy are anxious to see what the old man buried in the capsule, as they are hoping it will provide evidence that Gully owned the property after all.  Along the way, there is a stolen medallion from the town library, an overheard conversation between two men about being double-crossed, and a hidden key that unlocks a box hidden deep within the woods, and you've got a fairly decent (and somewhat tame) mystery for the girls to solve.  Add into this the fact that young Penny is known for telling tall-tales, leaving them with the question of what to believe and what not to believe when she tells them something ("The Boy Who Cried Wolf" anyone?), and it provides a nice build up to a chase through the woods, a false accusation, and a surprising reveal as to who is trying to take the property from Penny!

Again, there's not really much danger in this mystery, but that's okay.  Ellis provides plenty of riddles to be solved and treasure hunts through the woods, and there is a scene involving Sam and Ally being chased through the woods by one of the bad guys that is rather humorous (and shows not only Sam's ingenuity and quick thinking, but also Ellis' talent for foreshadowing).  The final chapter provides a nice wrap-up to the story as Sam celebrates her birthday with her family and friends and receives a birthday gift surprise that she has been wanting for a while!

Aside from the "present-tense" story telling (not sure why that bothers me so much, but I still have difficulty with it and basically read it in past tense, regardless of how it is written), it's another great tale of Samantha Wolf and friends that is worth the read.

RATING:  8 "x"es that mark the spot out of 10 for keeping the variety in mysteries so each story is different and enjoyable!