|
|
 |
This third volume collects Marvel Mystery Comics #’s 9-12, and if you are wondering why all the silver age stuff collects 10-12 issues and the Golden Age ones only four, well there’s a good reason for that. The Golden Age titles were called anthology books, where instead of one 20-page story, you would get 7 eight-page stories, as well as a prose tale. The prose novelette’s were there (according to the intro of Roy Thomas) so that these could be mailed out. I guess early mailing and subscription rules needed some sort of written story and not just illustrated panels. Be careful when reading these, it isn’t what you are used to today.
Spoilers Ahead
-Marvel Mystery Comics #9- This issue starts with one 20-page blast of comic ingenuity, as for the first time in comics we have two main stars actually fighting and even more ingenious, both artists co-illustrated the story. So Namor hates us air-breathers and takes it out on NY, drawing local police officer the Torch. They have an epic fight, which ends in a stalemate. Namor has Torch trapped in a tube, but Namor can’t move the tube since if he does, Torch will flame on again. Unfortunately, it only goes down from there. Angel (generic caped hero with no obvious powers) saves some damsel from a mad scientist. The Masked Rider (generic masked cowboy) helps stop the crooks who stole his gold. The novelette is of a steel worker stopping mobsters from stealing their pay. Electro (generic robot controlled by man) is on a faraway planet and stops an alien coup. Ferret (generic detective) solves a silly mystery not worth mentioning. Finally, Ka-Zar (generic Tarzan rip-off) helps a girl find her father in the jungle. There’s a weird one-page thing talking about the underworld and it being under the sea which I really don’t get. Once you get past the awesome Torch/Namor fight, the rest is pure filler.
-Marvel Mystery Comics #10- The Torch/Namor story (continued from last issue) ends in one page, with them basically compromising. Weak ending, but they probably couldn’t think of anything better to make sure neither character looked weak. Human Torch stops a gasoline syndicate from destroying a man’s company. Sub-Mariner is the star of this issue, going home in defeat. He is basically punished and suspended. He’s a bit down but things get worse for him when a sailor gets a bunch of men to find Sub-Mariner and exact revenge. Namor gets knocked out and injured at the end and it will be continued in the next issue. Angel fights lava monsters, saves a woman, and falls back. The guy whose daughter was saved was just, oh well. Angel holds onto the ledge as more monsters come by. Electro stops a mad scientist who raises the dead, the novelette features a good tale of a man exacting revenge on a man who killed his brother. Masked Raider is a silly western, where he stops a criminal, really the same thing he’s done the previous 9 issues. Terry Vance, The School Boy Sleuth makes his first appearance in Marvel Comics, replacing the Ferret, but the Ferret’s one-dimensional “mysteries” are still here, just with a younger sleuth and his pet monkey. Finally, Ka-Zar stops a criminal who crash lands a plane in the Congo. That story was passable. Again, the two main stars had good stories, the rest was filler.
-Marvel Mystery Comics #11- Human Torch stops a breakout of the Black Plague by burning everything, drawing the ire of JB, a mobster, who gets him suspended from the force. I need to remember that next time there’s a breakout of something, just burn the contaminated area to the ground. Sub-Mariner relaxes at his homeland when he’s attacked by humans, who he allows to escape. Masked Raider does stuff and catches a crook. Ka-Zar moves from his placement at last in the book to fourth, and Zar is captured by animal handlers and Ka-Zar follows him. This story features a nice double-page spread, too. Terry Vance appears, though its not memorable. Angel is in the middle of the Earth somewhere and meets a Greek who speaks a language that is dead to us, yet Angel knows it, and she is four-thousand year old and is vaporized as soon as light hits her. Yeah, that really happened. Angel escapes and Electro does Smokey The Bear proud, stopping a forest fire and some sort of corruption as well. The prose story was just bad, and it seemed like there was another page for it. Bad issue, with no good stories to keep one entertained.
-Marvel Mystery Comics #12- Torch finds out who JB is and stops her, Sub-Mariner watches a Nazi submarine battle British troops and is delighted by it. The woman he wanted as a bride was freed, too. Angel saves a girl. Prose story is of a criminal who makes a crucial mistake (and it was a good story, too). Terry Vance is in another useless story, as is Electro, same with Masked Raider (who has a red mask now instead of a black one), and Ka-Zar makes it to NYC where he attempts to free animals from the zoo, but gets captured and it’s to be continued.
-The Bottom Line- Roy Thomas does another great intro, talking about the four issues included here especially great detail on the Torch/Namor battle and writer John Compton. Another excellent intro. The book, alas, was not even close to excellent. The first issue was awesome with the Torch/Sub-Mariner match-up, but that is available as a one-shot issue released as part of Marvel’s 65th anniversary. This, however, is not worth it. High recommendation to avoid, unless you like one-dimensional stories that don’t lead anywhere at all.
|
|
|
|
|
Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
|
|
|
|