Something big's doin'! -- I can sense that all right! But I seem to be gettin' dense. So tell me, -- slowly of course, -- just what is in the wind? 
Detective Comics #21 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1938.
Synopsis for Speed Saunders: "The Glass of Poison"
Appearing in Speed Saunders: "The Glass of Poison"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- NYPD
Antagonists:
- Big Shot Bettini (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Betty Palmer (Single appearance)
- Phillipa Rowen (Appears only as a corpse)
Locations:
Synopsis for Larry Steele: "The Accident Racket"
Appearing in Larry Steele: "The Accident Racket"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Tony Hayworth (Single appearance)
- Doctor Avery (Single appearance)
- Colby (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Paula (Single appearance)
- Tom Harrison (Single appearance)
Synopsis for Buck Marshall: "Bullet Trap"
Appearing in Buck Marshall: "Bullet Trap"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Pepper
- Sheriff
Antagonists:
- Deputy (Single appearance)
- Smythe (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Lank Devitt (Single appearance)
- Doctor (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Western United States, 19th Century
- Sage City
- Sage City
Synopsis for Bart Regan, Spy: "The Affair of Baron Von Muldorf"
Appearing in Bart Regan, Spy: "The Affair of Baron Von Muldorf"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Baron von Huldorf (Single appearance)
- Lorenzo Rica (Single appearance)
Synopsis for "The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu"
Appearing in "The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu"
Featured Characters:
- Denis Nayland Smith
Supporting Characters:
- Dr. Petrie
Antagonists:
- Fu Manchu
Other Characters:
- Inspector Weymouth (First appearance)
- Detective Cadby (Appears only as a corpse)
- Sir Crichton Davey (Flashback only)
Locations:
- London
- Limehouse District
- Limehouse District
Synopsis for Bruce Nelson: "The Song of Death (Part II)"
Appearing in Bruce Nelson: "The Song of Death (Part II)"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mrs. Warren (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Ned Renick
- Billie Bryson
- Opal Jackson
- Johnny Purvis (Mentioned only)
- Great Zambini (Mentioned only)
Synopsis for The Crimson Avenger: "Mystery at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery"
Appearing in The Crimson Avenger: "Mystery at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Miller (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Ann Stevens (Single appearance)
- Charlie (Single appearance)
Locations:
- New York City
- Globe Leader, newspaper office
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
Synopsis for Steve Malone: "The Pigeon Smugglers"
Appearing in Steve Malone: "The Pigeon Smugglers"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Ferrini's gang (Final appearance)
- Luigi Ferrini (Final appearance)
Other Characters:
- Jeanne
- Big Jim
Synopsis for Slam Bradley: "Seth and the Slave Ring"
In the Royalty Penthouse Suite of a top-tier hotel, Slam Bradley, blindfolded, throws a dagger at a map of the world, randomly selecting a destination, which turns out to be Egypt. Slam and his partner Shorty Morgan are checking out and traveling, to the great dismay of the hotel manager, who had also got quite a fright during that knife-throwing stunt. Slam and Shorty have run through their last $10,000 in the past week, and now must go get a new pile of money.
Their voyage to Cairo takes over a week. Slam and Shorty have both been to Cairo before, in fact, a loitering Arab gangster recognizes Slam, and sends a colleague to warn their boss (Seth, the Slave Trafficker) that his old enemy is back in town. Seth sends two knife-wielders to jump Slam and Shorty, in an alley, but they just get punched out. Wait, there's a third knife-man behind Slam, wait, a fourth Arab, in a business suit and a fez (Kathos), gets behind the knife-man and strangles him with a cord. The police are on their way, so Kathos leads Slam and Shorty to a good hiding place, from which they see one of the knocked-out assassins regain his wits, and swallow a pellet, then die in shrieking, foaming agony. Kathos then leads them to the British Embassy, where the Consul turns out to be Slam's old pal, Lord Atherton, for whom he's done a number of delicate jobs, incognito.
It turns out that their mutual old enemy Seth, despite being driven out of the drug trade and seemingly killed, is back in Cairo, and can't be found by Atherton's agents, some of whom have mysteriously disappeared. Slam walks around in Cairo, shadowed by Shorty, and soon a horse-drawn carriage comes along, with a veiled harem girl inside, who kidnaps Slam at gunpoint, much to Shorty's amazement. Inside the carriage, Slam snatches the gunwoman's veil off, and plants a big kiss on her. She likes it.
The carriage soon arrives at a palatial, walled estate, and Shorty is still following but now is locked out. Slam is roughly escorted into Seth's presence, insults are exchanged. Shorty gets caught sneaking over the wall, and is thrown into a cell. Seth offers to hire Slam, gets rudely rebuked, and tells his muscular henchman Hassan to crush the detective. There's a full page of fighting, at the end of which Hassan is unconscious, so Seth orders his gunmen to shoot Slam. A hand reaches into the room, through a curtain, and gives Slam an automatic pistol, with which he disarms one gunman, while the rest flee. Slam yanks aside the curtain, and the pistol-giver turns out to be the veil-less harem girl, who has now switched sides. Slam takes down a scimitar-wielding bodyguard, and then chases Seth through his own mansion. Seth ambushes Bradley and breaks a lamp over his head; this completely fails to faze him. Slam chokes down Seth until he tells where his incriminating records are, then while Slam is looking over this treasure-trove of evidence, Seth presses a hidden button and opens a trapdoor under Slam. He catches the edge of the hatch with one hand; below are several score of sharpened stakes. While Seth gets ready to stomp on Slam's fingers, the rebellious harem girl runs in and jumps on Seth's back, which works out badly for them both, as they tumble into the trapdoor, and are killed.
Slam gets an $8000 reward from Lord Atherton, and several weeks later he and Shorty are back at the hotel, wanting their old suite back.
Appearing in Slam Bradley: "Seth and the Slave Ring"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Shorty Morgan
- Girl (Single appearance; dies)
Antagonists:
- Seth (Single appearance; dies)
- Hassan (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Kathos (Single appearance)
- Lord Atherton (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Egypt, Cairo
Vehicles:
- passenger steamship
Notes
- Published by Detective Comics, Inc.
- After this issue, Buck Marshall drops out, but returns in Detective Comics #23.
- Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise is absent this issue, but returns next issue.
- Steve Malone returns this issue; it was last seen in Detective Comics #19.
- Also appearing in this issue of Detective Comics was:
- "The Crime In Stone" (text story), by Gardner Fox
See Also
Links and References
Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.
