Star-Spangled Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1942.
Synopsis for Newsboy Legion: "Kings for a Day"
The city holds a special event where four kids will be chosen to run key positions in government for the whole day! Thanks to Jim Harper's recommendation, those four kid turn out to be the Newsboys. Big Words gets to be mayor, Gabby becomes the district attorney, Scrappy the police commissioner, and Tommy, while not being too happy with his position, makes the best of his role as Commissioner of Sanitation. But it turns out that the boys will be doing little more than observing and following pre-set schedules. They're disappointed, of course.
Gang boss Mark Mangle and his men commit a series of crimes near where the boys are "leading," not thinking they'd be stopped while a bunch of kids are in charge. But each of the boys finds themselves involved, albeit accidentally, in foiling each crime, making them heroes in the news media. When Mangle has his men kidnap the newsboys, it's Jim Harper's turn, as the Guardian, to play the hero role. He goes to the mob boss' hideout where the boys are kept, and starts fighting off the gangsters in his way. Tommy is the first to break out of his ropes, so he unties his pals. The kids all tackle a thug with a gun pointed at the Guardian, saving his life!
The next day, life has returned to normal for the newsboys. Patrolman Jim Harper comes along to check on them. The kids try to trick him into revealing his secret identity by shaming him, saying the Guardian always fights all the crime while he doesn't do anything. Jim just replies that by walking his beat all day and sleeping all night, he doesn't have time to do anything else.
Appearing in Newsboy Legion: "Kings for a Day"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mark Mangle (Single appearance)
- Mark Mangle's gang
- Crawler (Single appearance)
- Gunner (Single appearance)
- Handy (Single appearance)
- Spike (Single appearance)
- Tiny Turkin (Single appearance)
- Tops Malone (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- The Mayor of Central City
- the Police Commissioner
- the District Attorney
- the Commissioner of Sanitation
Locations:
- Central City (see Notes)
Items:
Synopsis for Star-Spangled Kid: "The Education of East-Side Egbert"
Pat Dugan is taking a class at night school. In the same class is East-Side Egbert and two members of his gang. Pat gets suspicious when they leave for the fifteen minute recess and a house gets robbed. But when he tells this to Sylvester back home, the boy genius explains that due to the distance it'd be impossible for Egbert to get to that house and back in fifteen minutes. Still, the two go out on patrol the next night as the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy.
Another robbery in the library! This time the Kid and Stripesy are there to fight the three crooks off, but a fire prevents them from giving chase. At his class, Pat notices the bruises on Egbert and his thugs' faces. Accidentally, he picks up Egbert's bag instead of his own and heads home. He and Sylvester make a startling discovery; the bag is full of stolen jewelry! The East-Side gang shows up at the Pembertons' house and tie up Pat and Sylvester, leaving them under the bumper of a running car hoping the carbon monoxide emissions will suffocate them. Pat knocks his head against the brake light so they can use the broken glass shards to free themselves.
The American duo follow the gang's trail to a subway entrance. Suddenly, Sylvester understands how the crooks were able to get to the robberies and back to school in such short time. The new crosstown subway being built had tunnels leading all over the city. The gang could have used a handcar to get anywhere within five minutes. The Kid and Stripesy chase Egbert and his East-Siders down the subway track to finish the fight. The criminal trio are no match for their combat skills. Stripesy even finds an air-hammer to use against one of the thugs. The battle ends with the East-Side gang down for the count. The heroes return to the surface to call a policeman, but Pat sees his teacher with a truant officer and runs for it.
Appearing in Star-Spangled Kid: "The Education of East-Side Egbert"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- The East-Side Gang
- East-Side Egbert (Single appearance)
- Lefty (Single appearance)
- Billy (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Miss Hatchet (Single appearance)
Locations:
- New York City Area
- Acme Night School
- Pemberton Mansion
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Tarantula: "Four on a Web"
Fresh out of prison, Buggsy Bonner forms a new gang with bug themed names for a plan to frame the Tarantula. Miss Moth seeks the crime fighter out to tip him off about a payroll robbery. When the costumed hero arrives at the location given, the gang ambush him and knock him out! Scorpion Sykes dresses up in his own Tarantula costume, and when the agent's car arrives, he and the gang hold them up at gunpoint. They pretend to fight over who gets the payroll, and "Tarantula" runs off into the bushes with the gang chasing after him. The police arrive on the scene and conduct a search around the area, where they find the real Tarantula lying unconscious behind the bushes with a bag of money sitting next to him. It's assumed his companions caught up to him and beat him up for taking their share. That's not the truth, but Tarantula doesn't have time to explain right now. He escapes the police, following the trail of Buggsy's gang to a cabin in the woods.
With the help of his trusty Webgun, Tarantula busts in the door and trusses up the gang and their boss. He places a call to the police, explaining what happened and where to find a convict that needs to be returned to prison with some new friends.
Appearing in Tarantula: "Four on a Web"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Buggsy Bonner (Single appearance)
- Scorpion Sykes (Single appearance)
- Cricket Crode (Single appearance)
- Miss Moth (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
- Webgun
- Scorpion's Sting
Synopsis for Penniless Palmer: "Case of the Petrified Poet"
A couple of thugs interrupt a poetry convention looking for the one known as the "petrified poet." But none of the poets have heard of the man. Penniless Palmer and Oxie are asked to take the case. The young detective and his oafish assistant follow the attackers to the home of a rich socialite. When they meet Gotgold, the millionaire, he tells them his secretary was delivering a diamond necklace, but was shot by bandits. Before he died, the man hid the necklace and dragged himself back home where he uttered the words "fed it to a petrified poet." Kirby Brummel, a rival detective, believes he had already solved the case. "Petrified" could also mean stone, so they just had to find a poet named "Stone." The men he sends come back empty handed, however. It's okay though, because Pen knows the real answer. The petrified poet wasn't a person, but the statue of Henry Longfellow that stood out in the front lawn. He reaches in the statue's mouth and retrieves the diamond necklace. Gotgold offers Penniless a five thousand dollar reward in Defense Bonds, which he will be able to spend ten years from now.
Appearing in Penniless Palmer: "Case of the Petrified Poet"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Sam Hill (Single appearance)
- Miggs (Single appearance)
- Potsy (Single appearance)
Other Characters
- Cecil Pease (Single appearance)
- Kirby Brummel "The Society Detective" (Single appearance)
- Gotgold (Single appearance)
Synopsis for TNT and Dyna-Mite: "The Case of the Spendthrift Miser"
Dan Dunbar's high school is having its weekly track meet. Ebenezer Oglum, a miserly old man, donates a gold plated trophy for the winner on condition the school keeps the trophy in the case with the others. Dan wins every event due to how harder he trains than the other kids to keep up with his activities as Dyna-Mite. The trophy is given to Dan, heavier than he expected, and Tex N. Thomas helps him place it in the trophy case. They agree to meet in the science lab after supper to give the trophy a closer look.
A few tests later and Tex concludes that the trophy isn't gold-plated, but solid gold. It was odd that Ebenezer Oglum, who's known for being stingy with his money, should give it away. He tells Dan he wants to test the rest of the trophies donated by Oglum, but when they start to go downstairs they notice a shadow by the case. It's Ebenezer, and he's loading all the trophies into a bag. But why was he stealing them back? They follow him in secret to find out. Suddenly, on the way to his car old man Oglum is stopped by a pair of gangsters, one of which holds a gun on him! They demand he give them bag! Tex and Dan go into action, touching their rings together to create the explosion that turns them into TNT and Dyna-Mite! The dynamite duo rush in to help Ebenezer, hitting the would-be muggers hard. While the fighting goes on, Ebenezer slips away. Once the gangsters have the fight knocked out of them, another car drives up and shots are fired. TNT and Dan duck for cover. The gangsters get in the vehicle and it drives off.
TNT and Dyna-Mite arrive at Ebenezer Oglum's dilapidated house. The old miser bought it cheap, as its previous owner had been murdered. They take a few steps onto the property, when a net is tosses over them! Unable to make contact with their Dyna-Rings, the duo can only struggle in vain as they are taken to the house's cellar. Downstairs, poor Ebenezer is tied to a table. TNT notes that there is a furnace, with a casting mold next to it. The gold trophies must have been made here One of the thugs threatens to pour molten metal over Ebenezer if he doesn't talk. In fright, the old man reveals that there's a hidden space behind the stone marked with an "X." The men remove the block from the wall and pull out a bag full of gold coins from behind it! But gold coins are illegal to own since the government recalled them. Ebenezer shouts that he was going to melt the coins down, and get double what they're worth for it. The gang sticks TNT and Dyna-Mite into the hole and seal it back up. But Dan and Tex aren't out yet. Dan notices how conductive the wires they're wrapped in seem to be. They can use that to create a circuit leading to their rings. The plan works judging by the explosion that blows the stone out of the wall. TNT uses atomic energy from his hand to charge the trophies the men are carrying, causing a painful electric shock! Dyna-Mite, meanwhile, uses his fists to deal a few punches to the other gangsters. Soon, the gang is out cold. Before the police are called, they get an explanation from Ebenezer. He said he would split the money with the gang if they helped him sell it, but living his life full of greed, he decided to try hiding the gold by casting it into trophies and donating it to the high schools. After that, he only needed to sneak in and take them out of the trophy case, and bring them back so he could melt them down again. Now, the gangsters will all go to jail, and Mr. Oglum will have to hand over the gold to the government and pay a hefty fine.
Appearing in TNT and Dyna-Mite: "The Case of the Spendthrift Miser"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Ebenezer Oglum (Single appearance)
- Stiffy (Single appearance)
- Mope (Single appearance)
Locations:
- New York City
- Southfield High School
Items:
Synopsis for Robotman: "The Murder Master"
While Paul and Chuck are out for an evening stroll together, Chuck suddenly attempts to murder his friend, as if a madness overtook him. Surprised, Paul hits Chuck just hard enough to bring him to his senses. He finds it strange that Chuck doesn't recall what happened. Later that night, Paul is in his room preparing for bed. When the light goes out, Chuck sneaks in with a knife and starts stabbing Paul's body, again and again! After Chuck has left, Paul sits up. If he didn't have a metal body, he'd be dead right now, killed by his best friend. He needsd to get to the bottom of this! He takes his "Paul Dennis" disguise off so he can investigate as Robotman! He leaps out the bedroom window. Chuck is leaving in his car, but he'll have a stowaway riding along in the trunk.
The car stops. Robotman exits the cramped quarters of the trunk to see Chuck walk into a home that had all its lights off. Through the window, Robotman watches as a gang of hoodlums playing cards asks Chuck if he completed his assignment. Chuck confirms Paul Dennis' death, telling them they can inform the "Murder Master." The men grab some weapons, a chain, axe, and knives, and close in on Chuck, since he is no longer useful to the Murder Master. Robotman bursts through the door before they can hurt his friend, and he starts tossing them around. When the rest of the gang are knocked out, he grabs the gangleader and forces him to lead the way to the Murder Master.
Robotman and his reluctant guide arrive at the Murder Master's mansion. Suddenly, the ground becomes like quicksand, swallowing up the gangleader and Robotman both! The hero of metal is spit out into an underground chamber. The walls begin to close in, threatening to crush him. But, thanks to his enhanced robot strength, he is able to break a hole in the wall and escape. As he continues down the corridor, it becomes strangely cold. The temperature drops rapidly as water is poured over him, freezing instantly to encase him in a block of ice. Only then does the Murder Master reveals himself. Robotman recognizes the face under the glass helmet. Carl Denton, who was sent to jail thanks to Paul Dennis after he had tried to steal some of his research. Denton knows that Chuck Grayson failed, so he turns his hypnosis machine on Robotman, instead. As he is sent back outside, one command rings through the man of metal's brain: Kill Paul Dennis. Of course, this proved a problem, as he was Paul Dennis. Robotman tries several different attempts to kill himself, but his metal body was resistant to damage, whether it be falling off a building, being caught in an explosion, or hit by an oncoming train. Finally, he enters a steel mill, where he prepares to take a dive into a vat of molten metal. At that same moment, back in the mansion Denton does some tinkering with his hypnosis device, which temporarily shuts it off. Robotman snaps out of his trance in mid-fall and twists his body just in time to land on the vat's edge!
Back at the Murder Master's hideout, Robotman busts through the wall! He destroys the hypnosis machine before it can be turned back on. Denton angrily rushes his foe, but is taken out by a single punch.
The next day, as the morning paper reports the news of how Robotman defeated the Murder Master, the metal hero is back in his Paul Dennis disguise. Chuck comments that if he spent as much time on their research as he did playing hero, he could actually make an important discovery.
Appearing in Robotman: "The Murder Master"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Locations:
Items:
- Murder Master's Hypnosis Machine
Notes
- Published by Detective Comics, Inc.
- The Newsboy Legion's chronologically prior appearance was in Star-Spangled Comics #9, and their chronologically next appearance is in All-Star Squadron #25.
- Per the caption in panel 1 of page 2, this issue's Newsboy Legion story is set in "Central City".
- Up until now, (as established in the caption of the 1st panel of the 2nd page of the Legion's story in Star-Spangled Comics #7), the boys and their guardian lived in "York City."
- The Star-Spangled Kid's chronologically prior appearance was in Star-Spangled Comics #9, and his chronologically next appearance is in World's Finest Comics #6.
- The Tarantula gets head-konked unconscious again; this is at least his 4th concussion.[1]
- TNT and Dan each blow up one more set of street clothes in this adventure.
- Page page 4 panel 4: "Their outer clothing, treated with a special chemical, explodes through spontaneous combustion ... "
- Dan stops wearing his hood over his head in this issue.
See Also