That's right, Captain Marvel, Jr.! The first few weeks he did nothing but try to escape! Suddenly he turned into the meekest inmate here! We assigned him to cut logs which we sell to the people in the neighborhood and he cut more than the rest of the boys put together! I can't believe it! It's most unusual! 
- — State Reform School Warden J.J. Waterman
Master Comics #104 is an issue of the series Master Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1949.
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and The Menace of the Smoke Men!"
Freddy Freeman gets some mail at his Newsstand for Captain Marvel, Jr. and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to open it, finding it's from the Warden of the Reform School JJ Waterman, who says that Sivana, Jr. is behaving “queerly,” even for him: he's doing nothing! He's become complacent, quiet and just chops wood all day. Junior offers to try talking to him and staying by for a few days to keep an eye on him. Junior helps to deliver some of the wood to Mr. Aiken, a banker, and Prof. Smithsonian, the famed scientist. However, when the rich Van Pouts put some of the logs on the fire, it creates solid people out of smoke who bludgeon Mr. Van Pout with an andiron and steals Mrs. Van Pout's diamond necklace before jumping into the fireplace again and escaping up the chimney. Junior tells Warden Waterman that nothing happened that day but when Junior hears about the Smoke Men being around and Warden Waterman presumes they just were mistaken. Junior finds out from the Van Pouts that the doors and windows were locked and bolted, meaning no human could've managed a crime like this. In his cell, Sivana, Jr. turns a dial on a box, which summons a necklace-bearing Smoke Man, which he then quickly destroyed by misting it with water. Further, he relays how he creates them by putting a special water-soluble chemical on the logs. That night, Aiken's wife asks him to deposit $10,000 in his bank that morning that she got from the racehorse he bought her. He sets another log on the fire and a very sad-looking Smoke Man steals the $10,000. Junior goes to ask Aiken about things and sees the Smoke Man exiting their chimney and soon chases it through a brick wall (by punching through it) before the Smoke Man dives into a windmill, destroying himself. Junior picks up the money to return it to the Aikens, but is still pretty confused as to what happened there. Finally, he goes check on Prof. Smithsonian, who has already used the logs and is missing a bottle of nitroglycerin, likely to blast open the wall so Sivana, Jr. can escape. Junior finds Sivana, Jr. about seconds after he leaves his cell through the large hole in the wall, punches him over and drags him back into reform school. Sivana, Jr. is alack to find that the Smoke Man Machine was destroyed in the blast and he doesn't remember how to make it twice. Junior promises he'll have time to think about it in solitary.
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. and The Menace of the Smoke Men!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- State Reform School Warden J.J. Waterman
Villains:
- Sivana, Jr.
- The Smoke Men (Destroyed)
Other Characters:
- Mr. Aiken
- Mrs. Aiken
- Mr. Van Pout
- Mrs. Van Pout
- Prof. Smithsonian
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Freddy's Newsstand
- The State Reform School
- Aiken's House
- New York City
Items
- Sivana, Jr.'s Smoke Man Machine (Destroyed)
- A Vial of Nitroglycerin
- A Diamond Necklace
- Chemically-Treated Firewood (Destroyed)
Synopsis for Nyoka the Jungle Girl: "Nyoka the Jungle Girl and the Curse of the Snake!"
Appearing in Nyoka the Jungle Girl: "Nyoka the Jungle Girl and the Curse of the Snake!"
Featured Characters
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Tom Mix: "Tom Mix and The Doctor's Dilemma!"
Appearing in Tom Mix: "Tom Mix and The Doctor's Dilemma!"
Featured Characters
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Dobie
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Bulletman the Flying Detective is on hiatus this issue. Though it'll return next issue, it is canceled after Master Comics# 106.
Trivia
- Despite the cover, the Smoke Men are not bright purple, but instead a very pastel pink to just grayand don't seem to have green eyes.
See Also
Links and References
