Star-Spangled Comics #7 is an issue of the series Star-Spangled Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 1942.
Synopsis for Newsboy Legion: "The Guardian"
One evening in Suicide Slum, York City, rookie cop Jim Harper gets beaten up by some thugs, and decides to take a new approach to crimefighting. He breaks into a costume shop, assembles an "action outfit" that includes a sturdy shield and a crash helmet, leaves some money on the counter, and goes after the gang. He finds them in a pool parlor and smacks the hell out of all of them. He can't arrest them, so he ties them up and leaves them for the regular police. Also one of them drops his wallet, and Harper checks the serial numbers on some of his cash; it turns out to match the serial numbers from an earlier ransom payment.
The next day, Harper arrests four quasi-delinquent, roller-skate-equipped young newspaper vendors, all orphans, pushed into crime by financial desperation, for shoplifting a hardware store. He accompanies them to their hearing, and asks the judge to keep them out of reform school, and remand them to his personal custody. He wants to try a different approach with these kids, and legally becomes their guardian.
The boys don't exactly reform instantly, and soon a local lowlife, Frankie the Fence, uses them as a distraction for an armed robbery, in which a man is killed. This doesn't sit well with the boys, who go visit Frankie to tell him off, but Frankie decides to shut up these potential witnesses with a gun. The Guardian bursts into the room, and takes down the fence with one big roundhouse punch, then lets him get away, hoping he'll run back to his unknown boss. Frankie pulls himself together and runs to the waterfront, gets in a boat, and speeds away, pursued by the Guardian, who borrows an unguarded boat, and who is in return pursued by the Newsboys, who now are stymied; the Guardian took the last boat. They convert a wooden wagon into a makeshift rowboat, and follow along as best they can, figuring along the way that a nearby lighthouse is the likeliest place for a hideout. This turns out to be correct, and at the lighthouse the Guardian has run into trouble. Frankie's boss, Chips Carder, a smuggler, has managed to head-konk the Guardian unconscious. The boys show up; Guardian sees them and the bad guys don't. Guardian suggests, in language that only Big Words understands, that they should paint the lighthouse light red. They very quickly accomplish this, then charge inside to brawl with Chips and Frankie, while the red light above draws the Coast Guard, who arrive just in time to shoot Chips Carder as he draws a bead on the Guardian's back. While the USCG is sorting things out, the Guardian slips away, and motorboats back to shore.
Before their first adventure is even over, the boys begin to suspect that the Guardian is Jim Harper.
Appearing in Newsboy Legion: "The Guardian"
Featured Characters:
- Guardian (James Harper) (First appearance)
- Newsboy Legion
- Big Words (First appearance)
- Gabby (First appearance)
- Scrapper (First appearance)
- Tommy Thompkins (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Frankie the Fence (Single appearance)
- Chips Carder (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Judge Collins (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for Tarantula: "The Crime Escadrille"
In a hideout at the bad part of town, Sting browses the paper full of headlines about air raids and blitzes. The crime boss gets an idea, tells his boys to go and steal some old planes that look like they could be converted to fighters and bombers. Later that night they sneak onto an air base and steal two planes, but they have to shoot one of the officers on guard duty to get it. Within an hour, the news is broadcast on the radio, and it reaches the home of John Law. When he hears about the injured officer, Captain Averill, he sits up with a start! He and Averill were old friends who went to school together. The plane hijackers have just made it personal, it was time for the Tarantula to become involved!
In his civilian garb, John searches the dive bars commonly frequented by gangland associates. He overhears one conversation with Larky Leeds, a former pilot who was grounded for smuggling illegal goods. It seems he's been recruited for a new flying job. John follows Larky back to his apartment, then changes his clothes to become the Tarantula, and scales the wall using his webgun. Outside Larky's window, he hears the voice of Sting, the crime boss, telling Leeds he'll be a wing commander in his private air force. They were going to bomb the banks and machine gun any resistance, then parachute down just like the army does its blitzes. The Tarantula crashes through the window, attempting to capture Sting. But the crime boss pulls a gun and fires! The bullet misses Tarantula, but hits Larky square in the back! He is too stunned to chase after Sting, so Tarantula goes to check on Leeds, who tells him with his dying breaths the location of the first crime blitzkrieg: Kingsville bank.
Tarantula tries in vain to warn State officials, but they all hang up on him believing it to be just a prank call. So he is on his own for now, on the roof of the bank, when the planes start flying over. With quick action from his webgun, he gums up the bombs so they can't be released, then attaches a line to the bottom of the planes and hitches a ride! He reaches the cockpit and webs up the two crooks. This is seen by Sting, who orders his boys to forget about Kingsville for now, just focus all their fire on the plane piloted by Tarantula. The plane is shot down, but the hero survives the crash and even rescues the crooks he tied up. One of the crooks is allowed to escape, so Tarantula can follow him back to Sting's secret air base.
Sting is surprised by Tarantula's visit, but he doesn't waste a second in ordering his men to pounce him! Tarantula fires his webgun at a radio nearby before engaging with the henchmen. Eventually he is overpowered, and Sting has him tied up to be dealt with. First he sends his boys to raid another city, telling them that the aircraft stationed there will be distracted by their last blitz in Kingsville. An hour after his men leave, Sting turns a monitor on so his masked foe can watch the operation go down. What the crime boss doesn't realize is that everything he had said was broadcast live over the radio, thanks to Tarantula's quick thinking in turning it on before the fight. His gang is met with army fighters that force them to land. Sting angrily kicks Tarantula towards the furnace. The fire doesn't touch him, but it does burn the bindings setting him loose again. Sting hurls his parachute pack at the crime fighter, and goes for a grenade out of the box. Tarantula webs his foot, tripping him into the grenade box. Tarantula is protected from the brunt of the blast by the parachute pack, but Sting never made it.
Days later, John Law visits his old friend Captain Averill in the hospital. Word of the Tarantula stopping the aerial crime wave has spread, though it remains to be seen if the hero will return to fight another day.
Appearing in Tarantula: "The Crime Escadrille"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Larky Leeds (Single appearance; dies)
- Sting (First appearance) (Apparent Death)
Other Characters:
- Captain Averill (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for Captain X: "The Gas Bombs"
The streets of London are hit with a new type of gas bomb, one that leaves victims with a gruesome grin upon death, gas mask or no.
It is coincidence that Buck Dare is reading a crime novel about a murderer who gasses his victims, leaving them with an eerie grin. His editor at the Tribute calls to tell him about the Nazi gas attack. Buck notices the similarities right away, and decides to investigate this story personally, as Captain X! He borrows an insecticide spray canister from his mechanic, Stuffy, and fills it with powdered charcoal. He tests it by flying low and spraying the charcoal over the gassed areas. It works! The gas is neutralized almost immediately. It was the same way the main character in the crime novel he was reading handled the killer's gas. Buck needed to find the book's author. He remembers reading in the papers how the author was captured by Nazis during their occupation of Holland, meaning he was taken to a concentration camp.
Captain X flies to Berlin, safely, thanks to the way his plane is nearly invisible from the ground. As Captain X, he enters a Nazi HQ building and takes out the surprised guards. In the room marked "Bureau of Concentration Camps", Buck grabs a file listing prisoners, and finds the one for Harold Calvert, the author was being held in Niemer. He has to fight his way back out, but he makes it back to his plane.
At the concentration camp, Captain X holds one of the guards at gunpoint, and forces him to lead him to Harold Calvert. They find Harold, and Captain X asks him if his novel was based on fact. Harold confirms that it was. Before he became an author, he was a chemist that discovered the killing gas, as well as how powdered charcoal overcame its effects. Captain X helps Harold escape, using rolling oil barrels to trip up the Nazi guards. Once they're back in the cockpit of his plane, Harold tells Captain X that a chemist who works for the Nazis, Kurt Norbolt, was the only person to whom he told the formula. So it was time to pay Norbolt a visit.
Captain X lets Harold wait in the plane while he goes to have a "chat" with Kurt at his factory, and get a cannister or two. That way, British scientists can reverse-engineer the formula, and the Nazis will be hesitant to use it again. At first, the flustered chemist Norbolt is unwilling to give away the formula. But Captain X intimidates him, Kurt points to the cannisters in the corner, afraid that one of the bullets might hit it and kill them both. Before the Nazi officers can come in and stop him, Captain X grabs a cannister and climbs up a rope back to his plane!
The gas formula is turned over to the British authorities, who will share it with the Allies once they finish reverse-engineering it. Harold Calvert offers his assistance as well. Later at the Tribute offices, Buck Dare hands off his story to the editor, another Captain X caper to make the headlines.
Appearing in Captain X: "The Gas Bombs"
Featured Characters:
- Captain X (final Golden Age appearance, see Notes)
Supporting Characters:
- Stuffy
Antagonists:
- Nazi Party
- Kurt Norbolt (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Harold Calvert (Single appearance)
- J.J. (Tribute editor)
Locations:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Robotman: "The Birth of Robotman"
Joan Carter gets out of her car and walks up to the front door of Robert Crane's house. She furiously knocks on the door. When Bob answers it, she slaps him! He forgot their movie date tonight, again. Joan storms off, telling him to call her tomorrow and maybe she'll be ready to forgive him. Rattled, Bob heads back inside, to his lab where he was working on an experiment with his assistant, Chuck Grayson. Chuck apologizes, if he had remembered to tell Bob about his date, maybe ... but Bob shrugs it off. He'll smooth things over with Joan tomorrow. They get back to work, when suddenly there is another knock on the door. Maybe Joan has already forgiven him? But when he answers the door it's not his girlfriend he greets, but three armed men. Mason and his gang have come to steal whatever new experiment Crane has been working on. Everything he builds gathers a fortune when released to the public, so the crook decided to get in on the action early tonight. Bob tries to stop them, but he is shot down by Mason. They pull back a curtain to find a man made of metal, sitting in a chair, unmoving. Just a worthless tin can statue. This robbery turned into a bust. Mason and his boys leave before any cops show up. Chuck is horrified at the sight of his friend lying on the ground, dying. Bob gasps for breath, knowing this is the end for him. But Chuck won't have it. They have been working on that robot for years, and were supposed to bring it to life tonight... well, why not let it be the means by which Bob can continue living his life? A transplant. He asks Bob for permission to put his brain into their robot. The dying scientist grants it.
The procedure is complete, but before Chuck can figure put how to wake the Robot up, police come busting in, after receiving an anonymous tip. They see the body and place Chuck under arrest for the murder of Robert Crane!
Morning comes, and Bob Crane wakes up. His body feels stiff for some reason. Looking down at his steel toes, he remembers everything. He was now inside the body of a robot. But where did Chuck go? The morning paper hits the front steps and gets pulled inside by a metal hand, which the paper delivery boy notices with stricken confusion. Bob reads the headlines, surprised to see they are about him. "Crane Murdered! Assistant Accused of Murdering Brilliant Scientist". Bob rushes outside to catch a taxi to the police station, but when he tries to get in, the driver lets out a yell and speeds away. Bob runs after him, hitching onto the side board of the cab, and tries calming the driver down. No good. The man swings a wrench at Bob's head, clanging against the metal. He then understands. The cabbie drives off again as Bob rushes back into his house. It was his new robot body everyone is afraid of, he couldn't just go out like this. In his lab, he fashions a disguise; a lifelike mask and gloves that look like human hands. Covering up the rest of his body with a three-piece suit, Bob looks like a normal man once more. Adopting the name "Paul Dennis", he heads to the police station again.
Sitting in a cell, Chuck is told he has a visitor. He doesn't recognize the name, but invites Mr. Dennis to come on in anyway. Bob reveals himself to Chuck, vowing to help clear his name. They can't tell anyone that Chuck put his brain into a robot body, so the only other way was to find the real killer. On his way out, "Paul" overhears the detectives mentioning Robert Crane's funeral happening today. It would be interesting for a man to go to his own funeral, Bob thinks.
Joan Carter is at the burial, sobbing. Bob approaches her and offers to take her home, introducing himself using his alias and as being an "admirer of the late Robert Crane's work". On the way, their cab is hit by a truck at the crossroad. The driver and cabbie get out and start arguing, while Bob tries to calm them both down. The truck driver turns on Bob and throws a punch to his jaw. Since his body is made of metal, the punch doesn't faze him, though his attacker is going to need a cast for his hand. Joan is impressed by Mr. Paul Dennis' manliness. Plus, something about him reminded her of Bob. Joan gets dropped off at home with a promise from Paul to see her again. Bob then goes to an underworld hangout den to see if he can gather information. The name of one of the men who broke in that night was "Flip". Bob asks a pair of unsavory gentlemen if they know where Flip is, pulling out a wad of cash to bribe them. The two characters lead him out back, and as soon as he's in the alley, they jump him! Bob's robot strength throws them off easily, he grabs one of them and asks his question again. The struggling man caves, gives up Flip's location: The Wingate Hotel.
Before going to see Flip, "Paul" removes his suit and mask, revealing his full robot form. He heads for the hotel room and knocks on the door. Flip answers, gasping in fright at what he sees. Bob uses his robot strength to smash through the door and grab Flip by the neck! He tells the crook to call up his gangleader right now. Over at Mason's hideout, a call comes in from Flip. A secret signal word is passed along, letting the boss know he needed help. A few minutes later, Mason and his gang come through the hotel room door, guns drawn. Bob is happy to oblige them with a fight. He swings at them, scattering the goons like flies, but Mason runs away. Out the window, Bob spots Mason trying to flee in his car. He drops down, the weight of his body sending him through the car's canopy so he's sitting right beside the gang boss! The steering wheel gets torn off. Mason promises to turn himself in for the murder of Robert Crane, just to be able to get away from the robot.
Chuck Grayson is free! He returns to the lab where Bob tells him that he learned how he can do a lot more good with his new robot body. The criminal underworld hasn't seen the last of "Robotman"!
Appearing in Robotman: "The Birth of Robotman"
Featured Characters:
- Robotman (Robert Crane/Paul Dennis) (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Chuck Grayson (First appearance)
- Joan Carter (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Mason (Single appearance)
- Mason's Gang
- Flip (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Clancy (a police officer) (Single appearance)
Locations:
Synopsis for TNT & Dyna-Mite: "The Dwarf"
Trouble at the city jail, police chase after the Dwarf, who escaped from his cell. The tiny crime lord makes it into a car parked out front driven by his gang. They drive away, leaving the officers behind in shock.
News of the Dwarf's return excites the criminal underworld. They can't wait to join his gang and make lots of dough like old times. Even now, back at his old safehouse, the Dwarf comes up with a score that'll net him and his boys millions!
The very next night while on a stroll, Tex N. Thomas and his teenage pal, Dan Dunbar, come across a truck parked suspiciously by the museum. They notice some bad looking men loading it up, suddenly finding themselves at gunpoint by a thug. Tex gives the word "Contact!" letting Dan know it was time to touch their rings together. An explosion knocks the gunman off balance and transforms Tex N. Thomas and Daniel Dunbar into super duo "TNT" and "Dyna-Mite"! The duo jump onto the grill of the truck, TNT shoots atomic energy out of his gloved hand to stall the engine. While Tex remains outside to knock some crooks heads together, Dan checks out the truck's contents. He pulls off a sheet and is startled by the face of a gorilla staring at him. Before he can recover, a thug sneaks up behind him and knocks Dan over the head! Tex tries rushing to his partner's aid, but is slammed in the head by the Dwarf using the butt of a machine gun.
When they wake up, Tex and Dan find themselves chained each to a table leg. In the room all around them are stuffed animals, doused in gasoline. The Dwarf lights a match and sets fire to the room before he leaves. The flame quickly becomes a raging inferno! Tex and Dan can't reach each other to touch rings because of the chains, but maybe they can manage to burn the table. It takes a few short minutes, Dan succumbs to fainting from the heat and smoke, but the table is burned down, and Tex can reach his teammate. Their rings are met, an explosion blows the chains off them. Now, with the unconscious Dyna-Mite in his arms, TNT can make an escape through the wall, using atomic power. Dyna-Mite wonders why they'd go to all the trouble of stealing stuffed animals just to burn them? TNT has already figured out the Dwarf's plan, however, realizing that they both had to return to the museum. A new exhibit opens tomorrow, featuring freshly mined gems.
The crooks are already pocketing the jewels by the time TNT and Dyna-Mite get there. Museum guards arrive to try and stop them, but that's when the animals in the wildlife exhibit come to "life." Actually being the Dwarf's men wearing costumes, it scares the guards enough to get the advantage. The crooks disarm them. Suddenly, the explosive duo enter the scene. TNT socks a bear and knocks him down, while Dyna-Mite grabs a tiger by the tail and swings him around. The Dwarf aims his machine gun, but Dyna-Mite grabs the weapon, forcing it to fire upwards at the chain holding a chandelier. TNT makes sure the gang is all tucked together and wrapped up nicely within the fallen fixture. He grabs a sack full of gems with his chemically treated gloves, and tosses it to one of the men. The crook can't seem to let go of the bag, and it is growing hotter by the second!
Police arrive after hearing shots fired, followed by the museum curator. The curator wants to throw a banquet in the crimefighting duo's honor, but they will have none of it. They've already seen too much excitement for tonight.
Appearing in TNT & Dyna-Mite: "The Dwarf"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Dwarf (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Museum Curator (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
Locations:
- Earth-Two
- New York City
- Southfield High School
- New York City
Items:
- Dyna-Rings (First appearance)
Synopsis for Star-Spangled Kid & Stripesy: "The Picture That Killed"
A painting is being delivered to its new owner, John Pemberton. It depicts a man with an evil sneer gripping a rope, and the title is "The Assassin." A short distance from the shore, the ship is boarded by a group of men, one of whom identifies himself as Inspector O'Flaherty from the Metropolis Police Force. The Inspector asks to see the painting. Its seller, Enrico Pinazzi, agrees to show it to him. After they bring it out, the Inspector pulls a gun that fires needles. The disguise is dropped, the Needle reveals himself, with his gang ready to steal the painting! It's a lucky break that the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy thought to go out and check on the shipment, the painting being bought by Sylvester's dad and all. They hover over the Steamer in the Star-Rocket Racer and notice the robbery in progress. The Star Spangled Kid swings down on a steelite cable, kicking down a few goons on landing! He grabs one of their guns and keeps it trained on them. Stripesy lands the Racer and tackles a guy that was sneaking up behind the Kid. The Needle appears on deck, with the painting wrapped up nice under his arm. He tries to take Stripesy as a hostage, but gets grabbed and tossed against the rail for his trouble. He shoots his needle gun at the heroes' feet, sticking them to the deck. Just as he's about to make his escape, the waters become turbulent. A metal vessel emerges from the waves and hovers over their heads! Down a rope ladder to the deck comes the villainous Dr. Weerd! The mad doctor demands the amused Needle hand over the painting. The Star-Spangled Kid grabs the painting out of the Needle's hand before Dr. Weerd can get it. The Kid and Stripesy play a game of toss-around, maneuvering their way past the Needle's gang, until they make it back to the Racer. Dr. Weerd takes that as his cue to get away back to his ship, and the Needle follows, leaving his men behind to be rounded up. The two masterminds disappear beneath the water in the strange flying submarine. Before giving chase, the Kid returns the painting to the seller, to be delivered to his father later. The Racer dives underwater to seek out the ship but Dr. Weerd has released dark chemicals in the water to cloak their escape. There's nothing for it now, the Kid and Stripesy return to the mansion where they change back to Sylvester Pemberton and chauffeur Pat Dugan. Sylvester's father is in his normal mood, complaining about his son being late in retuning with the family limo. He planned on being at the dock when his painting arrived. Sylvester puts on his usual spoiled brat act, while Pat drives the Pembertons to the pier.
John Pemberton is told of the attempted robbery. Extra precaution is now being taken, the painting will be transported in an armored truck. John agrees to ride along with Enrico, wishing to learn more about the work. Overhead, a plane piloted by Dr. Weerd and his new ally, The Needle, follows the armored vehicle. A flip of a switch, and a magnet is activated, lifting the truck until it's stuck to the bottom of the aircraft! The Star-Rocket Racer chases after the plane. Dr. Weerd has no desire to get into an aerial fight with the vehicle that has beaten him at every turn, so he creates a diversion. The magnet is turned off, sending the truck and its inhabitants plummeting to the ground. Stripesy hits a button that causes a claw to come out the bottom of the Racer. With haste, he manages to catch the falling vehicle, but Dr. Weerd and the Needle have escaped again.
A few days later, ads in the paper for Mr. Pemberton's birthday party catch Dr. Weerd's eye. At the Pemberton mansion the night before, extra guards are placed around the house to protect the painting from theft. But in a surprise move, after the family has retired for the night, Enrico Pinazzi makes a move to steal the painting, himself! When he reaches the room, though, a look of abject terror shows on his face as he manages to let out a yell. Sylvester is the first to come down, and the only other person to see the ghastly figure rush past him! Enrico is gasping for breath on the floor after the figure from the painting tried to strangle him. John brings the guards into the room to hear Enrico shout at him that The Assassin is a cursed painting and should be destroyed. Sylvester saw it himself, but can't figure what to make of it all yet.
The events of last night are soon forgotten as Jong Pemberton's party gets started. Guests chatter in groups, dance, and enjoy the food. Professor Stanton brings a gift to the party: a small horse figurine. Mr. Pemberton puts it in the gallery with the painting. Stanton leaves with a sneer. His plan is already in motion. He drinks the formula that turns him into Dr. Weerd and returns to the lighthouse where the Needle was waiting. They both agree to strike at midnight!
Sylvester and Pat take on the job of guard duty tonight, dressed as their alter-egos the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy. At eleven o'clock, the Needle skulks onto the mansion grounds. He plans to get to the painting first, cutting Dr. Weerd out of the deal. But he doesn't notice a shadow come up behind him, not until the figure is wrapping a rope around his neck. It's all the Needle can do to fire his needle gun in the air before he passes out. Meanwhile the guards in the gallery start to feel sleepy. A gas emitting from the horse figurine knocks the men out. The Kid and Stripesy also succumb. Dr. Weerd opens the window after the gas has dissipated some. He enters the room to find his two foes on the ground. Sylvester is tied up, while Stripesy is locked inside a nearby safe. The mad doctor leaves with the painting, laughing at the duo's plight. Sylvester tries to find a way to rescue Stripesy from the safe, but his hands are literally tied. A small hope comes by when he sees his other foe, the Needle, enter the room. The crook threatens the Star-Spangled Kid to make him tell where the painting is hidden. Taking this opportunity, Sylvester feigns fear, saying the picture was in the safe, and giving out the combination. The moment the Needle opens the door, Stripesy pounces out with a flying punch! The criminal is flung around until he agrees to lead them to Dr. Weerd's base of operations. Their partnership was over, anyway.
The lighthouse receives three visitors, that of the Star-Spangled Kid, Stripesy, and their hostage; The Needle. Upon confronting Dr. Weerd, a gruesome figure appears to attack the Needle. The figure looked exactly like the one in the painting of "The Assassin"! But hen, it turns on Dr. Weerd, attempting to kill him too. The Kid and Stripesy manage to break apart the struggle and unmask the fiendish assassin. It was Enrico Pinazzi, the painting's previous owner. He was hired by the doctor to scare Joh Pemberton into giving up the painting. It was another underling who wore the outfit last night and pretended to attack Enrico. His failure apparent, Dr. Weerd and the Needle leap from the lighthouse's window into the water below. At least the Kid and Stripesy could hand the real "assassin" over to the police.
The morning paper reports in the headlines about the Star Spangled Kid's fight with the two criminals. John Pemberton wonders aloud why he couldn't have a son like that.
Appearing in Star-Spangled Kid & Stripesy: "The Picture That Killed"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Doctor Weerd
- Needle
- Enrico Pinazzi (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Earth-Two
- New York City
- Pemberton Mansion
- New York City
Items:
- Needle Gun
Vehicles:
- Star-Rocket Racer
- Dr. Weerd's Flying Sub
- The S.S. Lantern (a Steamer)
Notes
- Published by Detective Comics
- Last issue, and last Golden Age appearance, for Captain X. Richard Dare's next appearance is in Firestorm (Volume 2) #50.
- First issue for Newsboy Legion.
- The story is set in "Suicide Slum," a fictionalized version of "Hell's Kitchen" in Manhattan, New York, where Jack Kirby grew up.
- Per the caption in the 1st panel of the 2nd page, that neighborhood, and this story, are set in "York City".
- In Star-Spangled Comics #10, that story also is set in "York City".
- In DC stories published after the mid-1980s "Crisis on Infinite Earths," this neighborhood was 'retconned' into being located in Metropolis.
- Between the 2nd and 3rd panels of the 4th page of this story, Guardian (James Harper) appears in All-Star Squadron Annual #1
- Jim Harper gets head-konked unconscious for the first time.
- The story is set in "Suicide Slum," a fictionalized version of "Hell's Kitchen" in Manhattan, New York, where Jack Kirby grew up.
- First issue, and one impromptu brain transplant, for Robotman.
- First issue, and first concussions, one each, for TNT & Dyna-Mite.
- Their second appearance, World's Finest #5, was published the same week as this issue.
- Their origins are not revealed until next issue.
- This issue's episode of TNT and Dan, like all episodes of this series, takes place before April 26th, 1942, the date of Tex Thomas' death.[1]
Trivia
- Robotman mentions that Superman is only a fictional character, but in more modern stories, the two interact with each other.
- An "escadrille", as in the title of the Tarantula story, is the French word for a squadron of aircraft.
See Also