Showcase #77 is an issue of the series Showcase (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 1968.
Synopsis for "Angel and the Ape"
As the sun rises over the city, an injured man ducks a series of attacks, from bullets to knives, crying out that he needs help. He drags himself to O'Day and Simeon Private Investigators, introducing himself as Trumbell to Angel O'Day. He explains that he broke his leg while on vacation, and a Swiss doctor set his leg in a cast. After that, multiple attempts on his life had been made.
Two thugs, Barney and Clyde, break into the office and attack Trumbell, but Sam Simeon stops them, tossing Barney out the window and Clyde down the stairs. Sam tries to go back to his cartoonist job, but Angel tells him that their newest client Trumbell is marked for murder. They receive a death threat against helping Trumbell, but decide to help anyway.
Angel acts as Trumbell's guard on the streets, fighting off multiple attackers. Sam heads to Brainpix Publications to give his art to his employer, Stan Bragg. Attempting to undersell Sam, Bragg insults the drawings, asking if Sam had ever seen a gorilla before in his life (Sam ironically being a gorilla). Bragg pulls in his head artist, Tex Bumblewell, who tries explaining that to draw a gorilla, one must visualize "something big, ugly, stupid." Insulted, Sam knocks Bumblewell off his feet and leaves.
Sam heads home to his bachelor pad, where he decompresses through painting, playing guitar, and swinging from a tire swing. However, his relaxation is cut short when he gets a call from Angel that Mr. Trumbell has been kidnapped. He rushes down, getting stopped by his near-sighted landlord. Unable to find Angel, he picks up her scent and follows it to the city zoo and the Seal Pond. He finds a trap door down at the bottom of the pond.
Trapped in a snake pit beneath the door, Angel and Mr. Trumbell are tied. Mr. Trumbell wishes he had his ocarina to charm the snakes, but Angel tells him that snakes are deaf and it's the movement of the fakirs that hypnotizes them. Moving her body, Angel manages to stops the snakes' approach long enough for Sam to find them. He chases off the poisonous snake, but another door opens, releasing boa constrictors, Angel's movements being ineffective against them. Mr. Trumbell is taken through yet another trap door, and Angel and Sam pursue him.
Outside, Sam stops to ask a gorilla if he saw where Trumbell was taken. However, upon seeing Sam, the zoo keepers sound an alarm that a gorilla has escaped its cage. Sam begins fighting off the keepers until Angel tells him to show his detective's license. Finding a trap door in the lion's cage, Sam is cornered by lions and tigers. As Sam fights the animals, Angel takes out the armed guards and the two hurry to find Mr. Tumbell.
They find him cornered by the zoo keeper who sounded the alarm on Sam. Angel is able to deduce that he planned to dissolve Trumbell's cast, as it was actually plans for a super rocket and Trumbell was the carrier for the Swiss doctor, who was actually an American counterspy. Further inspection of the plans actually revealed the rocket to be designs for a ride at Disneyland, California.
As thanks, Mr. Trumbell offered his credit to the most expensive restaurant in town, the Waldorf Ritz. Initially, the waiter tries to turn them away for Sam being underdressed. After roughing past him, Angel and Sam head inside to celebrate a successful case.
Appearing in "Angel and the Ape"
Featured Characters:
- Angel and the Ape
- Angel O'Day (First appearance)
- Sam Simeon (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Mr. Trumbell
Antagonists:
- Barney & Clyde
Other Characters:
- Swiss Doctor
- Brainpix Comics
- Stan Bragg
- Tex Bumblewell
Locations:
- Fun City
- The Waldorf Ritz
- The Waldorf Ritz
See Also