Alors! It is much better this way! It would be so unfair for this aging one to win ze hand of ze beautiful Maria while I persist in lonely bachelorhood! 
- — Andre
Blackhawk #36 is an issue of the series Blackhawk (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1951.
Synopsis for "The Prison of Despair"
Tarya, the new dictator of Jinnestan, backed by two world powers, has been dropping bombs on civilian targets in Khartoor. An impenetrable jungle, between the two nations, precludes a land invasion, but the air raids are devastating. The new king of Khartoor, son of an old friend of the Blackhawks, calls on them for help, and they soon arrive.
That evening a Jinnestani air raid is intercepted by the Blackhawk Squadron; some are destroyed and the rest flee, and are pursued. At the airbase in Jinnestan, Blackhawk's F-90 catches some antiaircraft fire, and he ejects. On the ground, he gets captured, and is marched into the ruler's palace for some questioning by Tarya. Her bodyguards work him over with rifle butts, then are sent away, and Tarya tries romancing him. He spurns her blandishments and then has a brawl with the returning bodyguards, which he's winning, until she shoots him. The bullet hits his shoulder, enabling her troops to overpower him, and throw him in the Prison of Despair.
Days go by, with no food or water. Then he hears tapping, from the wall, and recognizes Morse Code, and deciphers instructions about where to dig, finds some soft dirt behind the wall stones, and eventually tunnels thru the wall. He meets a fellow prisoner, it's Gandor Ras, the deposed leader of Jinnestan! Their conversation is interrupted by a bombing raid which shakes the entire prison, and some of the cell walls fall down. They assume (correctly) that this bombing is the work of the remaining Blackhawk fliers. They escape, and emerge on an unguarded street. The Blackhawks have got two captured Jinnestan bombers, and have by now leveled much of the capital city, including the palace. They spot Tarya and her chief of staff fleeing on foot; Blackhawk dukes it out with the military man; Gandor Ras tries to capture Tarya. She has a stilleto but no skill, and gets stabbed with it herself. She's captured alive, along with her top stooges, and the people of Jinnestan soon rally around their old national leader, Gandor Ras, who vows to reestablish his old government, and immediately end the war with Khartoor. Chuck explains the details of how the team captured two of the enemy's bombers, while he flies Blackhawk back to the Island to get his wounded shoulder looked at.
Appearing in "The Prison of Despair"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Tarya, New Leader of Jinnestan
- her chief of staff
- Jinnestan's Air Force
- Jinnestan's soldiers
- Tarya's unnamed sponsors
Other Characters:
- Gandor Ras, Former Leader of Jinnestan
Locations:
- Pacific Ocean
- Blackhawk Island (Mentioned only)
- East China Sea
Items:
- New King of Khartoor
Vehicles:
- Blackhawk Lockheed F-90Bs
- Jinnestani 2-prop-engine bombers (at least eight destroyed)
Synopsis for "The Air Raiders"
Appearing in "The Air Raiders"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Kate Royle
- her Air Raiders
- Mr. X, Royle's sponsor, secretly W.C. Larkin, Trans Freight owner
Other Characters:
- Jim, cargo pilot
- Bill, cargo co-pilot
- cargo aircrew
- Harlan, International Insurance manager
- Tom, cargo co-pilot
- Sparks, cargo radioman
Locations:
- South Africa
- South Atlantic Ocean
- Air Raiders' island airbase
- International Insurance offices
Vehicles:
- Trans Freight 4-engine cargo plane
- at least four Air Raiders jet fighters, manufacturer unknown
- Blackhawk Lockheed F-90Bs
Synopsis for "The Clock Tower in Novota"
Appearing in "The Clock Tower in Novota"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Count Renzla (wears a monocle)
Other Characters:
- Mayor of Novota
- Night Watchman (dead)
- Constable (dead)
- Maria Bordo
Locations:
- Novota, an old town in Central Europe
Items:
- sack of jewels
Vehicles:
- Blackhawk Lockheed F-90Bs
Synopsis for Chop Chop: "Chop Chop and the Veiled Princess"
Appearing in Chop Chop: "Chop Chop and the Veiled Princess"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Sultan of Chichiku
- Men at Arms
Other Characters:
- Princess of Chichiku
- Lady in Waiting
- her boyfriend
Locations:
Vehicles:
- one Blackhawk North American F-86 Sabre Jet
Synopsis for "The Legion of Corpses"
Appearing in "The Legion of Corpses"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Captain Kropp (ex-S.S., wears a monocle)
- his Bedouin Raiders
Other Characters:
- Foreign Legion General
- Yvette
Locations:
- French Algeria
- French Foreign Legion Headquarters (@ Sidi-Bel-Abbes)
- French Foreign Legion Fort at Ridi-Bel-Abbes
Vehicles:
- Blackhawk Lockheed F-90Bs
Notes
- Prison of Despair
- Blackhawk's plane is shot down, for the seventeenth time.[1]
- Blackhawk also gets a bullet wound in this story, for at least the seventh time.[2] He endures prolonged severe torture, for at least the fourth time.[3] Being a Blackhawk is dangerous.
- Chop Chop and the Veiled Princess
- About 3/4 of this story's plot is re-used in the Chop Chop story in Blackhawk #63, with the elopers going to "Manoa Island".
- The whole story is re-printed in Blackhawk #78.
- Legion of Corpses
- Hendrickson doesn't understand spoken Arabic.
- Also appearing in this issue of Blackhawk was: "Spider Man" (text story).
See Also
Links and References
- ↑ Military Comics #6, Military Comics #13, Military Comics #14, Military Comics #19, Military Comics #28, Military Comics #33, Blackhawk #9, Military Comics #39, Military Comics #42, Modern Comics #44, Blackhawk #10, Blackhawk #12, Blackhawk #13, Modern Comics #69, Blackhawk #18, Blackhawk #21 4th story, & Blackhawk #36 1st story
- ↑ Military Comics #27, Military Comics #31, Military Comics #35, Modern Comics #65, Blackhawk #20, Modern Comics #78, & Blackhawk #36
- ↑ Military Comics #4, Military Comics #5, Military Comics #28, Blackhawk #36 1st story, Blackhawk #57 1st story