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"Speed Saunders: "The Indian Oil Well Mystery"": Speed's car blows a tire while he is driving through Texas. It's soon clear to him that it wasn't just a random accident, as tacks were spread out across the road. The next thing he knows, he's being ambushed from behind by Indians and taken to

Quote1 I took two slugs, but they've patched me up pretty well -- Quote2
Larry Steele

Detective Comics #12 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 1938.

Synopsis for Speed Saunders: "The Indian Oil Well Mystery"

Speed's car blows a tire while he is driving through Texas. It's soon clear to him that it wasn't just a random accident, as tacks were spread out across the road. The next thing he knows, he's being ambushed from behind by Indians and taken to see the tribe chief! The chief, knowing of Speed's past detective work, asks him to help stop thieves that were stealing from the tribe's oil fields. He agrees, being an admirer of the Indian people, and they give him a horse to ride.

At a local saloon, Speed sits at the bar where he overhears men discussing a plan to tap the oil pipeline tonight, right under the Indians noses. When they leave, he attempts to follow them but is stopped by the gun-toting bartender. One well-placed punch lays the bartender out, letting Speed make a quick exit with his horse! He rides fast, following a faint trail, until he reaches the oil thieves sitting at a campfire. He takes them by surprise, leaping over the fire towards them! They grapple until one of the thieves falls onto the campfire, which makes the other think to run away. The crook dashes to the river and dives in, with Speed going right down after him! Both men continue fighting each other in the water. Speed finally manages to overcome his opponent, just as a canoe with two Indian braves comes drifting towards them.

The thieves captured, the chief thanks Speed for his help by offering for him to live with them, where he can own an oil well. But Speed turns the offer down, he had to get back home to New York.

Appearing in Speed Saunders: "The Indian Oil Well Mystery"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Oil Thieves (Pete named) (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Objaw-wa Indian Tribe (Single appearance)

Locations:


Synopsis for Larry Steele: "The Nick Orsatti Case (Part 3 of 3)"

Larry is trapped in Nick Orsatti's hideout where he's about to be killed by being tossed down into a lime pit. The sound of a siren from a cop car driving by outside momentarily distracts the gang, just what Larry needed. He grabs one of the gangster's guns, knocking the disoriented crook into the pit! Orsatti fires, shooting the detective in the arm and shoulder! But Larry finishes the gang-leader off for good with a bullet between the eyes! One more shot finishes off the last crook in the room. Stumbling from blood loss, he reaches the phone and contacts the police, managing to give them his location before passing out.

Larry wakes up later in a hospital. The police chief tells him that he just took down one of the biggest gambling rings in the city. All the men Nick Orsatti employed were placed under arrest. James and Laura Wilkes also visit Larry, to thank him for his help.

Appearing in Larry Steele: "The Nick Orsatti Case (Part 3 of 3)"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Nick Orsatti (Final appearance; dies)

Other Characters:

  • Laura Wilkes (Final appearance)
  • James Wilkes (Final appearance)

Locations:

Synopsis for Larry Steele: "The Jenks Kidnapping Case (Part 1 of 3)"

Larry takes on a case from a Mr. Jenks, whose daughter Nancy has been receiving mysterious letters and phone calls of late that've been upsetting her. Mr. Jenks fears she got herself caught in some extortion racket, or worse, and wanted Larry's help. Larry agrees. He tells Mr. Jenks to let him serve as a butler at his home for awhile.

First thing Larry does that evening is tap the Jenks' phone line. Then he steps into his new butler role, serving Nancy and her father at their behest. When a phone call comes in for Nancy, Larry goes to the other room and listens. A man's voice on the other end is ordering the distressed girl to bring fifty-thousand in cash to the park tonight. Larry waits until they hang up, then leaves to get ahead of them to the meetup spot where he'll wait. Nancy takes some jewels out of her safe, hoping it'll be enough, and tells her dad she's going out for a walk.

Once at the spot, Larry leaves his car parked and hides in some shrubbery. He then watches as Nancy is assaulted by two men with a chloroform-soaked cloth and taken into a dark sedan! He hops behind the wheel of his car and follows, firing his gun trying to hit the tires. The kidnappers return fire with a tommy gun, sending Larry's car careening off the road and crashing into a fence!

Appearing in Larry Steele: "The Jenks Kidnapping Case (Part 1 of 3)"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Kidnappers (Unnamed) (First appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Nancy Jenks (First appearance)
  • Mr. Jenks (First appearance)
  • Laura Wilkes (Mentioned only)
  • James Wilkes (Mentioned only)

Locations:

Synopsis for Bruce Nelson: "Murder In the Clouds (Part 1 of 2)"

A plane lifts off from the Great American Airport's runway. A man, the airport's manager Mr. Clifford, chases after the plane while lugging a suitcase, cursing the pilot for leaving without him. Suddenly, the plane explodes in the air! As the ground crew rushes towards where it crashed, Mr. Clifford is suddenly relieved he didn't make the flight. But he grew pale at the sight of a man in the crowd, who made eye contact with him. He then slinks back into the crowd of people.

The next day, while sitting in his chair with the morning paper, Bruce Nelson receives a call from Mr. Clifford asking for his assistance with a matter of blackmail. Bruce agrees on the condition that he also bring the chief detective along. When Bruce arrives at Clifford's office, detective Harrison and Airline President Long were already there. There has been a previous incident with a plane that blew up, making this the second one in a month. Harrison believes it's the work of a crazy bomber, though Bruce points out that there would have to be more than one in that case, and madness doesn't usually share company. Mr. Clifford and President Long, however, have reason to think it's blackmail. In both instances, the plane that blew up was one that Clifford was meant to board. That, and a telegram sent to him, not so subtly asking him to pay fifteen thousand dollars. Long recognizes the name on the message. Harry Ward. A man who had a bad reputation... there was no chance of catching him on a blackmail or extortion charge, he only ever hinted how much his victims needed to pay. Clifford offers five thousand to the first man that captures Ward. Bruce throws his hat into the ring at that, asking for a passenger list from the two planes that exploded. Right after he leaves the office, a shady man brushes past him and heads inside. He recognized his face as a suspect in some past cases, Shifty Levis. Out of curiosity, he turned around and headed back in, but Levis was gone, having probably left through another door. He did deliver another telegram to Clifford, who showed it to Bruce. Another plane had gone down near Denver. Bruce asks for the passenger list for that one, too.

Going over the passenger names in his apartment, Bruce takes note of how many were wealthy individuals. It was likely at least some of them had gotten a similar telegram from Ward and tried to run. He's then visited by a friend, Paul, who just received a telegram from Ward. Bruce tells Paul not to board any flights, and to just pay the amount mentioned. In the meantime, it was time to pay Harry Ward a visit. Bruce drives down to the Charlton Arms apartments, where Ward is known to spend his time. Sure enough, he finds Ward at his apartment, and Bruce is invited in for a glass of ginger ale. Harry wasn't worried, since he knew his way of sending the message couldn't incriminate him. But, Bruce tells him he made a mistake this time, because Paul was a friend of his. He wanted to ensure his safety by forcing Ward to take the same flight Paul was meant to take, at gunpoint if necessary. Or, Bruce says he can just confess the whole thing to him now, and avoid the flight altogether. Angered, Ward quickly pulls out his pistol and points it at Bruce, who calmly takes another sip of ginger ale.

Appearing in Bruce Nelson: "Murder In the Clouds (Part 1 of 2)"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Harry Ward (First appearance)
  • Shifty Levis (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Mr. Clifford (First appearance)
  • Steve Harrison (First appearance)
  • President Long (Single appearance)
  • Paul Crandall (Single appearance)

Locations:

Synopsis for "The Adams Case"

When Old John Adams is found dead in his home, the police are baffled as everyone had an alibi. They call in One-Clue McCarty to find the killer. It turns out that Adams had a will that said his nephew was to inherit everything upon his death. The nephew was coordinating with the housekeeper, Mrs. Watson, to kill his uncle. She'd be given twenty-five grand for her trouble. But thanks to One-Clue, who noticed John Adams' only half smoked cigar, it was deducted she had killed him prior to when her alibi checks out.

Appearing in "The Adams Case"

Featured Characters:

  • One-Clue McCarty (Single appearance)

Antagonists:

  • Henry Adams (Single appearance)
  • Mrs. Watson (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • John Adams (Appears only as a corpse)
  • Old Simms (Single appearance)
  • Uncle Joe Sparks (Single appearance)

Synopsis for Bart Regan, Spy: "Assassins in the Rue Molin"

Bart and Sally, romantic spy duo, visit the Paris branch of the U.S. Secret Service headquarters. The chief there wants them to find an infamous assassin who has murdered many diplomats and put an end to him however they can. The man they are looking for, Rene D'Arnot, has been known to frequent an underworld dive, so they begin the search there.

Dressed as a pair of troublemakers, Sally and Bart infiltrate the tavern. They had barely sat down when two men at another table get into a heated argument over their card game. One of them was D'Arnot, who breaks a glass bottle over his opponent's head because he called him a cheat. The unfortunate man was carried away, while most of the patrons had paid no attention to the ruckus at all. Bart and Sally watch as D'Arnot joins some stately looking men in a back room. When Sally tries to move closer to hear what they're saying, the door opens and she's pulled inside! She plays on the assassin's ego by explaining how impressed she was when he won that brawl, after which she simply had to meet him. D'Arnot is prideful over his natural ability to charm the ladies. He even lets Sally tag along with him on his next assassination job.

Later, they wait around at the front of the French Embassy, the target was Ambassador Hanley, who is due to show any minute now. Sally's attempts to talk D'Arnot into giving up are fruitless. He shushes her now, as a bearded gentleman comes up the stairs. D'Arnot charges with a knife, when suddenly the ambassador whips out a gun and shoots the assassin dead! As the gendarmes arrive, the man removes his fake beard; it was Bart! He had overheard the conversation when Sally got caught, immediately phoning Hanley to warn him. Due to the danger, the ambassador allowed Bart to take his place today. Now Rene D'Arnot will never harm anyone again.

Appearing in Bart Regan, Spy: "Assassins in the Rue Molin"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Rene D'Arnot (Single appearance; dies)

Other Characters:

  • Spy Chief

Locations:

Synopsis for Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise: "The Sabotaged Newspaper"

At an exclusive restaurant in New York City, Cosmo is having lunch with Colonel Towne, a wealthy publisher of the Globe newspaper. Their conversation about the upcoming city-council election is rudely interrupted when a man enters and begins yelling at Towne. He was Henry Braddock, one of the candidates, whom Towne's paper had written a very unfavorable article about. Braddock yells libel, but Towne retorts that his paper only publishes the truth. The infuriated candidate picks up a nearby vase, meaning to strike the Colonel with it, but is stopped by a punch from Cosmo. Braddock is escorted out of the restaurant by waiters, shouting that he'll get even with them. As Cosmo and Colonel Towne leave, they run into Towne's managing editor. Together, the three men drive back to the newspaper plant.

Days later, Cosmo is invited by the Colonel to his office to show him something. A message came through the mail, with a threat to cause harm if he published anymore negative articles about Henry Braddock. One of the presses had also been tampered with. This doesn't deter Towne one bit, he's only more determined to expose Braddock for the crook he is. Over the days that follow, more incriminating articles are printed about Braddock. As a result, papers get destroyed, news stands overturned, and other atrocities occur around the city. The violence against the Globe hits a climax when a truck driver delivering papers is pulled from his vehicle and beaten to death!

Colonel Towne asks Cosmo for help, so the phantom of disguise takes a job at one of the Globe's printing presses. While working on the latest edition, the lights go out! A small package is tossed through the window, Cosmo grabs it quick and douses it in water. A car takes off, so Cosmo hops in his vehicle and chases after them. When it parks in front of the Daily Express headquarters, a rival newspaper, the pieces fall into place. Cosmo enters the office of the publisher armed with his gun. There, as he suspected, was Clark Davis, the Globe's managing editor. The police are called, and so is Colonel Towne. Cosmo explains that Davis was also on the Express' payroll, and after seeing Henry Braddock's fight with the Colonel at the restaurant, it gave him an idea. He wanted to get the Globe shut down to eliminate the competition, while using the unaware Braddock as a scapegoat!

Appearing in Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise: "The Sabotaged Newspaper"

Featured Characters:

  • Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise

Antagonists:

  • Henry Braddock (Single appearance)
  • Clark Davis (Single appearance)
  • Reddick (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Colonel Jefferson Towne (Single appearance)

Locations:

Synopsis for Slam Bradley: "The Lumberjacks"

Slam and Shorty are going to the Delmar logging camp to find out why the work quota has dropped recently, on the request of Mr. Delmar himself, who suspects dirty work. On the way, a large tree falls all of a sudden, nearly crushing them! Slam notices axe marks on the tree, meaning it wasn't an accident! A short distance away, a man runs from the scene.

When they get to the logging camp, Slam and Shorty show the foreman their letter of introduction. He accepts it, though has his doubts about Shorty being able to do much, due to his size. Pierre, one of the loggers, has some fun with Shorty and steps on his foot. Slam intervenes, delivering a jab to Pierre's chin. Fuming, the logger snatches a hatchet and rushes towards Slam! But Slam launches himself into Pierre in a flying tackle, hoists him up, and tosses him into the river!

Weeks pass as it becomes life as usual at the logging camp. Slam and Shorty haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Hogarth hears from Pierre that a train carrying their logs has derailed again. It looks like the tracks have been tampered with. The foreman orders the others to keep their eyes peeled for anyone behaving suspiciously. Shorty, meanwhile, is chopping up a log when he notices Pierre slipping into the woods. He follows Pierre, taking cover when he sees Hogarth waiting. Shorty then overhears the foreman congratulate Pierre for derailing the train. They wanted Mr. Delmar to give up and sell the camp, so their own secret employer can then buy it at a dirt cheap price. Shorty accidentally makes a noise, and next thing he knows is he's being chased by the two dirty crooks! When he comes to a river full of logs, there's no choice but to jump in! Hopping across the drifting logs, evading his pursuers, Shorty doesn't see the waterfall until it's too late! However, Slam rescues his pal mid-fall by swinging out on a vine. It's just lucky he had noticed Shorty's absence and went looking! They swing back around to where Pierre and Hogarth were perched, and Slam delivers a swinging kick to their faces.

The sheriff takes care of Hogarth and Pierre, having a cell ready just for them. Back home, Mr. Delmar rewards Slam and Shorty with a $10,000 check!

Appearing in Slam Bradley: "The Lumberjacks"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Niles Hogarth (Single appearance)
  • Pierre (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Mr. Delmar (Single appearance)

Locations:

Notes

  • Published by Detective Comics, Inc..
  • This issue Buck Marshall is absent, but returns next issue.
  • This issue Larry Steele appears in two 6-page stories, finishing one 3-part serial and starting a new one. Larry gets two bullet wounds in the first of those.
  • Also in this issue:
    • "Counterfeit", a text story by Vincent Sullivan.
    • "Floyd Stimson: Official Parachute Tester", a one page comic by Will Ely about Floyd Stimson.



See Also


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