Comic Cavalcade #21 is an issue of the series Comic Cavalcade (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1947.
Synopsis for Wonder Woman: "The Siege of the Flying Mermaids"
Despite the efforts of Wonder Woman and Paula to get Gerta to submit to and listen to authority willingly, and despite her seeming to agree to stop conducting experiments unsupervised, Gerta sneaks into the laboratory and invents a serum, with which she turns a batch of young sharks into mermaids. While Gerta and the mermaids are moved to Paradise Island for better supervision, Gerta's continued observation and study of the mermaids leads them to despise her and the Amazons, for treating them as less than human, and they plot their vengeance by attacking a Amazonian ceremony.
Appearing in Wonder Woman: "The Siege of the Flying Mermaids"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Paula von Gunther
- Gerta von Gunther (Final appearance)
- Amazons of Paradise Island
Antagonists:
Other species:
- Winged Mermaids, grown from baby sharks, at least seven of them
- Swordfish, natural enemies of sharks
Locations:
Items:
- Chlorofleur Vines
- Gerta's Supervitalitee Solution
- Gerta's Humanizing Solution
- Venus Girdle
- Wonder Woman's Tiara
- Lasso of Submission
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Just a Story: "Behind the 8-Ball"
Appearing in Just a Story: "Behind the 8-Ball"
Featured Characters:
- Percival Drizzle
Antagonists:
- Gilmore, brother in law
- Random Hoodlum
- Gang of Thieves
Other Characters:
- Bertha Drizzle
- Mr. Stout, boss
- The Great Ziggenfoos, hypnotist
Locations:
- Ajax Metal Co.
Synopsis for Flash: "The Making of a Reporter"
Appearing in Flash: "The Making of a Reporter"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- "Big Boss" Edwards (Courier managing editor)
- his hijacking mob
Other Characters:
- J. Rocky Kummer, Courier publisher
- Ken Kummer, Courier writer
- Marge, friend of Joan
Locations:
- Keystone City
- The Courier Offices
- Lower East Side
- Warehouses
- Slum Saloon
- Photography Shop
- Hastings Road
Items:
- Ken's Infra-Red Camera
Synopsis for Hop Harrigan: "Mixy Pixy Brews a Bruiser"
Appearing in Hop Harrigan: "Mixy Pixy Brews a Bruiser"
Narrator:
- Mixy Pixy
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Tank Tinker
- Miss Snap
Antagonists:
- corrupt security guard
- Sir Sam, burglar (wears a monocle)
- Morpheus, burglar
Other Characters:
- Doc Groan
- McGooch, antique appraiser
- Sinkovitch, antique appraiser
Locations:
- Harrigan Aerodrome
- Hoosic Falls
- Warehouse
Items:
- Packet of old letters
Vehicles:
- Hop's Helicopter
- Burglars' Cargo Helicopter
- Burglars' Furniture Truck
Synopsis for O'Malley, of the Fourth Precinct: "Big Dipper & Little Dipper"
Big Dipper and Little Dipper escape from the Fourth Precinct, steal the cell door on their way out, and embark on a pocket-picking spree. The Chief calls in Long John O'Malley and sends him after them. Completely by accident he crashes into them at the skating rink, then punches them out and hauls them back to the station house. In the holding cell he has a big laugh at their expense but when he leaves, without him noticing, they've stolen his trousers.
Appearing in O'Malley, of the Fourth Precinct: "Big Dipper & Little Dipper"
Featured Characters:
- Long John O'Malley
Supporting Characters:
- Chief
Antagonists:
- Big Dipper
- Little Dipper
Other Characters:
- two robbers
- two stick-up victims
Locations:
- Fourth Precinct
- Skating Rink
Synopsis for Green Lantern: "The Man Who Couldn't Fail"
Alan Scott is called back to his alma mater, Hale U, by his math professor, who asks him to broadcast an appeal on WXYZ, for help... with a math problem. Someone had left a perplexing formula on his desk and the professor has been unable to solve it, but also unable to think of anything else. It's driving him mad. He asks Alan to use his broadcast to contact, and request for help from, the long-missing prodigy, Ira Selby, who famously graduated from Hale at age eleven, 20 years earlier.
It turns out that Selby, despite being renowned as a child prodigy, was unable to get any academic positions because of his age. And because he had no practical skills, he found no other employment besides playing bit parts in stage plays, where he mastered the art of disguise. Now Selby was working as a lowly janitor at the university, plotting revenge. He was the one who planted the all-consuming formula, allowing his gang to rob the professor's house without being noticed. Alan and Doiby are nearby and intervene, but Selby bumps into them while disguised as an old professor, giving his men time to escape. Green Lantern mentions the faux professor's name to his old professor and is told there's no "Professor Ybelsari" working for Hale, but when he tries to pick up the trail only finds Selby back in his role as the campus janitor.
Later Alan also finds one of those perplexing formulas, this one being about radio broadcasts, and soon can't think of anything else. Fortunately he has his sidekick Doiby around to dump cold water over his head and shock him out of it. This also helps him clarify his mind, to figure out that "Ybelsari" is "Ira Selby" backwards, and that the former prodigy is the cause of the recent campus deviltry. Lantern and Doiby attack, but Selby warns the heroic duo off, saying he's the only one who can solve the problems, which are driving many professors on campus crazy. Selby and his henchmen leave the two tied to a pipe in the basement, unguarded. Green Lantern easily frees them with his ring and flies off to stop Selby from using the university's cyclotron to create an atomic blast that would level the school.
To make up for Selby's neglect, the university agrees to give Selby a professorship, after he's served his prison term. Later, as Alan and Doiby are driving home, the cabbie remarks being around all those professors made him feel dumb, but Alan praises his practical smarts for the cold water trick that ultimately saved the day.
Appearing in Green Lantern: "The Man Who Couldn't Fail"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Ira Selby (former genius child) (Flashback and main story)
- his henchmen
Other Characters:
- Professor Daly (math professor)
- Professor Dean Mook (professor of Greek)
Locations:
- Hale University
- Employment agency (Flashback only)
- Travelling stock company (Flashback only)
Items:
- Alan Scott's Power Ring
- Alan Scott's Power Battery
- WXYZ Radio portable transmitter
- Hale University's cyclotron
Vehicles:
Notes
- Published bi-monthly by National Comics Publications, Inc. This 76-page magazine sold for fifteen cents a copy, in an era when almost all other comics were 64 pages, for ten cents.
- Alan Scott was originally mentioned as having attended Hale University in All-American Comics #83.
- O'Malley, of the Fourth Precinct wears a fedora and smokes a cigar, in bed.
Trivia
- Also appearing in this issue of Comic Cavalcade were:
- Editorial Advisory Board (promotional text)
- Table of Contents
- Mutt & Jeff (newspaper strip reprints) by Bud Fisher
- "The Changeling" (full-page black & white ad for the current issue of Flash Comics #84)
See Also