Hit Comics #23 is an issue of the series Hit Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of August, 1942.
Synopsis for Stormy Foster, The Great Defender: "Ah Choo versus the Japanese"
Ah Choo clarifies, to the satisfaction of all concerned, once and for all, that he is Chinese, not Japanese.
Doc Vaughn (*1) develops an anti-Lewisite spray (*2), and a German spy steals it, leaving an insulting note in its place (*3) (*4). Stormy Foster vitamins up, changes clothes, and pursues him (*5), wrecking his car, beating up the spy and his driver, then crates them up, and leaves them on a loading dock, addressed to the FBI; he also recovers the stolen sample of the spray. Meanwhile Doc Vaughn has wrongly formed a suspicion about Ah Choo looking more Japanese than Chinese, and he jumps to the wrong conclusion when the anti-Lewisite goes missing, but Stormy points out the swastika on the note and allays that suspicion. Also meanwhile, Ah Choo gets kidnapped by two Japanese spies (*6), who threaten his venerable grandfather (Ah Huy) back in the home country unless he steals Doc Vaughn's formula.
The next day, Ah Choo comes in to work morose and gloomy, skulks into the back room, pours some nitroglycerin into an anti-Lewisite bottle, and sneaks out of the store, but is spotted by both Vaughn and Foster; Foster follows him. Ah Choo delivers the nitro to the spies, who now propose to test it by spraying him, first with Lewisite then with the antidote. The Great Defender crashes onto the scene and doles out some thrashings, during which the small bottle of nitro almost gets broken several times before Ah Choo catches it. The spies back themselves against a blank wall, which spins on a pivot; this was a prearranged escape route; Ah Choo hands the "antidote" bottle to t.G.D. and tells him to throw it, whammo, the trick wall and the building behind it collapse (*7).
Appearing in Stormy Foster, The Great Defender: "Ah Choo versus the Japanese"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Doc Vaughn (spelling has changed)
- Ah Choo
Antagonists:
- German spies, two
- Japanese spies, three
Locations:
- Southern California
Items:
- anti-Lewisite spray
Locations:
- Southern California
Synopsis for "Betty Bates, Lady at Law"
Caption: "A routine case involving a change of will throws Betty into a whirlwind of adventures, with murder and the unknown playing the leading roles."
Appearing in "Betty Bates, Lady at Law"
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Synopsis for Comet Kelly: "Send Us Planes..."
After shooting down four Japanese bombers, and running out of fuel, Comet Kelly lands on a bumpy road near General McArter's endangered position, bringing along some spare Tommy guns to help defend it. A light Japanese tank arrives; Kelly breaks into it, throws out the crew, steals its gas, refuels his plane, evacuates Gen. McArter and flies him to safety.
Appearing in Comet Kelly: "Send Us Planes..."
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Imperial Japanese soldiers, sailors, and airmen
Other Characters:
- General McArter
- his U.S. Marines
Locations:
- Pacific Ocean
- unnamed island
Vehicles:
- Kelly's Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
- Japanese dive bombers & fighters (four destroyed)
- Japanese tank
Synopsis for "Bob and Swab"
Appearing in "Bob and Swab"
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Synopsis for The Red Bee: "Joe Phillips"
Rick Raleigh successfully prosecutes Joe Phillips for murder. Phillips's girlfriend bursts out weeping in the courtroom, and later visits him in prison; Joe claims to have been framed by the Gordon gang. Rick investigates, then the Red Bee follows up, bursting into the Gordon gang's hangout (12 Bell St.) and starting a fistfight, and leaving when Gordon starts shooting. He changes back to Raleigh and recruits his friend Mac, an expert lip reader, to spy on Gordon with binoculars, and tell him what's being said. It turns out that Gordon did frame Phillips. Rick changes clothes again and revisits Gordon's place, but this time he gets knocked out, just as the gang is leaving for the airport. These geniuses leave T.R.B. unkilled, untied, and unguarded; he soon rallies up and races to the airport, arriving just as their small single-engine plane is taking off. Red Bee releases Michael, who overtakes and enters the plane, stinging the pilot, who loses control and crashes onto the ground and into a tree. The whole gang is still alive but only one is still conscious, the Red Bee punches him out, then finds some of the stolen money on the plane, so according to him this will be evidence against Gordon. Gordon briefly wakes up and tries to fight but gets punched right back out, then the Red Bee borrows a car from somebody who just happens to pass by right then, and takes the whole gang into town and turns them over to the police. He follows up by getting Joe Phillips released.
Appearing in The Red Bee: "Joe Phillips"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Michael, the Red Bee's bee
- the District Attorney
Antagonists:
- the Gordon gang
- Gordon's private pilot
Other Characters:
- Joe Phillips
- Phillips's girlfriend
- Matty, reformed gangster and informant
- Mac, Rick's friend, an expert lip-reader
Locations:
Synopsis for "Ghost of Flanders"
The Ghost of Flanders flies his antique pursuit plane to the Pacific coast, where a Japanese spy named Toko is planning some mischief at a dance and reception sponsored by the "American Born Japanese Society," to be held on July 6th 1942. Toko has a giant henchman named Grotz, (who looks exactly like the lumbering Haggenschmidt from Hit Comics #20, only with black hair, a Mohawk haircut, and a hitler mustache). Grotz really really hates American soldiers. Toko's plan is to serve drugged refreshments at the soiree, leaving many U.S. officers incapacitated the following morning, when some new Japanese attack is scheduled. The Ghost of Flanders finds out about this by absolutely pure luck, meeting a wounded soldier who saw the same thing happen back on December 6th of the prior year, at Pearl Harbor. By story's end, Grotz has gotten beaten up twice, and Toko once, by the Ghost of Flanders, and we never find out what kind of attack is planned, or where.
Appearing in "Ghost of Flanders"
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Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Toko
- Haggenschmidt
- the "American Born Japanese Society"
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- Ghost of Flanders' antique biplane
Synopsis for Captain Flagg, Leatherneck: "Look Westward, America!"
Flagg's Marines deploy, in P.T. boats, from the battleship USS Liberty in Takayi Harbor, and sink a large Japanese warship, then are counterattacked by a twin-engine bomber, which destroys the P.T.s. Flagg survives and wades ashore in Japanese territory, fights one infantryman and steals his rifle, finds an arsenal disguised as a rice storage building, and creates a time-delay fire-starter from his binoculars, blowing up the ammo. By very good luck, he finds a secret airbase, with Japanese paratroops embarking onto a transport plane, and by very very good luck, he finds a straggler, jumps him, steals his uniform and chute, and scrambles to board the plane. These paratroops are raiding an American base, and Flagg jumps out right along with them, then on the ground he's able to isolate their commander, take him down, and otherwise cause enough trouble to discombobulate the attack, enabling the outnumbered defending Marines to win the ensuing firefight. The Marines capture the mis-uniformed Flagg who confirms his nationality by reciting the Constitution, then returns to duty aboard the USS Liberty.
Appearing in Captain Flagg, Leatherneck: "Look Westward, America!"
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Antagonists:
- Imperial Japanese soldiers, sailors, and airmen
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Vehicles:
- USS Liberty
- PT Boats
Synopsis for "The Strange Twins"
Appearing in "The Strange Twins"
Featured Characters:
- Strange Twins
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Synopsis for Swordfish: "Wait Till the Mikado Hears About This Sinking!"
Admiral Nogooda packs an obsolete warship with a hull full of explosives, to booby-trap the Swordfish, but Smith on that day is experimentally changing tactics, and sinks this thing with an unmotorized torpedo, towed on a cable. The trap partly works, as the sinking ship snarls the cable, dragging the Swordfish toward the bottom, but Smith is able to cut the cable with the propulsion screw, and escapes. Admiral Nogooda is disgraced, and ultimately performs seppuku.
Appearing in Swordfish: "Wait Till the Mikado Hears About This Sinking!"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Admiral Tojo
- Admiral Nogooda (Dies)
- his troops and crews
- Admiral Nogooda (Dies)
Locations:
Items:
- cable-towed torpedo
Vehicles:
- The Swordfish
Synopsis for "Don Glory"
Appearing in "Don Glory"
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Notes
- Comet Kelly now flies a blue P-40, with a comet insignia.
- The Red Bee is headkonked unconscious with a broken wooden banister piece, the (at least) 13th concussion of his career.
- The D.A. now is blond, and has no mustache.
- Stormy Foster
- 1/ Throughout this story, Doc Vaughan's name is consistently spelled "Vaughn."
- 2/ Lewisite is a poison gas, a blister agent. Doc Vaughn's antidote is effective.
- 3/ The swastika on the insulting note is backwards, so this spy may be from yet another of the fake-Germany countries.
- 4/ Stormy Foster gets head-konked with a pistol butt, (the 3rd concussion of his career).
- 5/ On the last two panels of p.4, The Great Defender is flying, Superman-style. No caption or dialogue indicates that he thinks he's flying, but the art is crystal clear; his feet both point straight back behind him, and he's changing direction in mid-air, which can't be done by leaping. He's flying low enough above the street that if he felt like it he could be running, but he's flying. It's never mentioned again.
- 6/ Both of the threat-making spies are the the back seat with Ah Choo but the car is moving so there must be a third spy driving it. We never see him.
- 7/ The spies in the blown-up building are not seen again; their fates are unknown.
- Swordfish
- The Japanese scouting plane pilot's face is a close-up as he gets shot in one eye and blood spurts out of his mouth.
- This issue of Hit Comics also featured:
- Dan Tootin, by Jack Cole
- Tommy Tinkle, by Arthur Beeman
Trivia
- Fred Guardineer signed his Swordfish story as "Perry Scope."
See Also