Hit Comics #10 is an issue of the series Hit Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 1941.
Synopsis for Hercules: "Hercules Goes Hollywood"
Joe Hercules bare-handedly defeats the well-armed Giller Gang in a downtown melee, and becomes a local celebrity, getting awarded the Key To The City and so forth. Soon numerous reporters are annoyingly following him around, then attractive young ladies are flocking to him, until he flees in exasperation. Back at his hotel, before he even gets across the lobby, he gets two competing offers from two fight promoters, each wanting to be his manager. One of them persuades him to visit his gym for publicity purposes, and Joe goes along with that, but he soon gets grumpy and ties some barbells into knots, and spurns the whole boxing business, then leaves, by rope-climbing up to the skylight, busting it, and walking across the roof. But even back at his own hotel room, he gets fronted by a team of high-pressure salesweasel talent scouts, who fast-talk Joe into signing a movie contract.
Soon in Hollywood, Herky finds himself in a make-up studio, then on the set of a jungle action movie, dressed up in a very bad Tarzan-type costume. (Up until this point, Joe has been wearing his superhero costume the whole time, but he finds this outfit embarrassing.) He gets stage fright, and is a terrible actor, and can't do a proper Tarzan-type yell either. Promotional appearances in high-profile night clubs seems to bore and annoy him, but eventually the movie is finished and it's Opening Night. On the red carpet, while Joe in his tuxedo is being introduced, he faints. When he comes to, Joe freaks out, and flees the city entirely.
The movie is a big hit, and movie magnate G. G. G. Mogul urgently wants to get Joe back for a sequel. He sends squads of detectives out into the countryside to seek him out, and one teams finds him in the Rocky Mountains, quietly fishing. Joe's been having trouble sleeping, and he's in no mood for this harassment. He traps them in a gully with a big rock, and hikes away down the highway. Two cars full of these pests show up, and he firmly but nonfatally sends them rolling away. In the woods, he finds a boobytrap, a large camouflaged cage, which he breaks to pieces. Mogul sends a movie starlet to woo Joe and lure him back to civilization, but she ends up scaring him away. Joe runs and runs, until he reaches the State Penitentiary, then he breaks into it, and takes over a solitary confinement cell. One guard objects but Joe tells him that he's just now committed a crime by breaking into the prison, so now they have to keep him there, then he gets himself some much-needed sleep.
Appearing in Hercules: "Hercules Goes Hollywood"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- the Giller Gang (at least 14 well-armed gangsters)
Other Characters:
- the Mayor
- Joe Healy
- G. G. G. Mogul
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Betty Bates: "The Song Robbers"
Appearing in Betty Bates: "The Song Robbers"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- the young D.A.
- Officer Clancey
Antagonists:
- Morgan
- henchman
Other Characters:
- Lanny Cole
Synopsis for Dan Tootin: "Cold Germs"
Appearing in Dan Tootin: "Cold Germs"
Featured Characters:
- Dan Tootin
Synopsis for The Strange Twins: "His Lordship"
Appearing in The Strange Twins: "His Lordship"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Wing Low
Antagonists:
- Sir Vivian Ashton, student of Asian occult sciences (Dies)
- Shu, servant
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Lion Boy: "Eagle Attack"
Appearing in Lion Boy: "Eagle Attack"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Bimi
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Africa
- Jungle
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Bob and Swab: "Fiesta of Spies"
Appearing in Bob and Swab: "Fiesta of Spies"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- USS Scarab
Synopsis for The Red Bee: "Shanghai Joe"
On the waterfront of Superior City and on the open sea, Shanghai Joe and his gang are hijacking cargoes of war materials bound for China and diverting them to Japan. The Red Bee stows away on one such ship and fistfights his way to victory over this gang.
Appearing in The Red Bee: "Shanghai Joe"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Tom Darrow, District Attorney
- Michael the Red Bee's bee
Antagonists:
- Shanghai Joe
Locations:
Vehicles:
- cargo ship
Synopsis for Tommy Tinkle: "The Scarlet Terror"
Appearing in Tommy Tinkle: "The Scarlet Terror"
Featured Characters:
- Tommy Tinkle
Synopsis for Neon the Unknown: "The South American Terrorists"
In Morocco, Tom Corbet's Legionnaire pals try to persuade him to stick around, but he's got important stuff to do, and flies away. He zooms across the ocean and lands in a little town at the mouth of the Amazon River, where he immediately steals a jacket and a sombrero from the first peon he sees, then steps into the first cafe he sees, to eavesdrop on whoever happens to be in it. He observes as Pepita learns some important information from Pedro, suddenly leaves the cafe, and gets gunned down, then watches as the gunman, Pedro's boss, hustles Pedro out of the place. Pepita stays alive at least long enough to direct Neon to Quano, then is not seen again.
Neon follows the bad guys to their airplane, then flies along after them, for half an hour, to their jungle hideout, which looks like an old Portuguese fort. Neon prowls around and finds a lot of munitions stashed throughout the old place, while outside the foreign official gives some marching orders to his allies (5 or more chiefs of various Indian tribes): burn and loot some towns out in the far corners of the country. Right then, Neon makes his appearance, with a big fireworks show to awe the tribal chiefs, then a big punch in the chin for the boss. Two henchmen empty their guns at Neon, in vain, as a Neonic Screen protects the Man of Unknown Power. Neon lectures the thoroughly cowed chiefs about the virtues of peace, while the two gunmen flee on foot. But as soon as they've reached their airplane and taken off, he sends a strong Neonic Beam which sets the plane afire; the bad guys bail out. Neon grabs their chutes and causes them to land in the jungle, amid a large number of wild beasts. Neon has one more conversation with the local Indians then flies away.
Appearing in Neon the Unknown: "The South American Terrorists"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- a foreign official
- Pedro
- two Euro-looking henchmen (Apparent Death)
- Indian Tribal Chiefs, 5 or more
Other Characters:
- Pepita (Apparent Death)
Locations:
- Morocco
- Foreign Legion outpost
- Brazil
- unnamed small town at the mouth of the Amazon
- Quano, a jungle village 5 miles north of the small town (Mentioned only)
- old fort in the deep forest
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Blaze Barton: "Captain Garin and the Gold Strike"
In the year 50030, Professor Solis, Scientist President of the newly reconstructed Earth, experiments busily in his laboratory. Meanwhile and elsewhere, evil Captain Garin is plotting to steal a large amount of gold and use it to buy the loyalty of Jupiter, then attack the Earth, and become Master of the World. Blaze Barton puts an end to his mad scheme by dumping him out of an airborne spaceship.
Appearing in Blaze Barton: "Captain Garin and the Gold Strike"
Featured Characters:
- Blaze Barton
Supporting Characters:
- Professor Solis
Antagonists:
- Captain Garin (Dies)
- henchmen
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Jupiter (Mentioned only)
- Carson
- new gold mine site
Items:
- Solis's Metalometer
Vehicles:
- Garin's minions's Capsule Car
- two interplanetary airships
Synopsis for G-5 Super Agent: "Mystery of the Red Lantern"
Fifth-columnist agents have infiltrated a small fishing village and are passing shipping schedules to a U-Boat stationed offshore. G-5 speaks excellent Basque, and infiltrates this village, finds the enemy infiltrators, dukes it out with them, and reports their whereabouts to British Intelligence.
Appearing in G-5 Super Agent: "Mystery of the Red Lantern"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Old Carlos
- gang of fifth columnists
Other Characters:
- M. Michel, fisherman
Locations:
- France
- French Pyrenees
- Basque fishing village
- French Pyrenees
Items:
Vehicles:
- "La Belle Vie" fishing smack
- U-Boat "U-5"
Synopsis for The Old Witch: "The Lorelei Song"
Appearing in The Old Witch: "The Lorelei Song"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Don Glory: "This is Our War"
A greedy munitions manufacturer stirs up warmongering sentiment in the population until Don Glory stops him by thrusting a saber thru his chest.
Appearing in Don Glory: "This is Our War"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Malcolm Lyor (Dies)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- "The Lorelei Song" is believed to be the first professional work by Reed Crandall.
- Also appearing in this issue of Hit Comics was:
- "Swamp Magic", a text story by Tony Boone
Trivia
- Joe Hercules is called "Herky" in a caption, once.
See Also