Military Comics, #6
Published: January 1942
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Issue Contents:
The Vial of Death!
Characters
- Blackhawk
- Nazi officer
Credits
- Pencils: Chuck Cuidera
- Inks: Chuck Cuidera
They Called Him "Stay-at-Home-Sammy" -- But Now He Leads the Gang !
"Gee! I wish I could go..."
Storyline
Sammy cannot join his friends since he does not have a bike. A friend suggests that Sammy order a movie cyclorama and show it to his father. He does and it convinces his father to buy him a bicycle.
Characters
- Sammy
- Sammy's friends
- Sammys' father
- Sammy's mother
Story Notes
Inside front cover. Includes the indicia at the bottom of the page. An advertisement for Schwinn-Built Bicycles and the promotional brochure for a color movie cyclorama of movie stars like Buck Jones, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, and others on their bikes.
The Vial of Death!
Storyline
Blackhawk succeeds in getting a diabolical formula back for a destructive killer germ from the Nazis, who plan to use it to wipe out Allied forces, then takes it on the run as the Nazis concentrate their forces to catch him and get it back.
Characters
- Blackhawk
- Boris
- Chop-Chop
- Chuck
- Hendrickson
- Olaf
- Stanislaus
- Zeg
- Professor Hammel (introduction, death)
- Elsa Hammel (introduction, death)
- Pierre (Hammel's assistant)
- Fritz (Nazi villain)
- Nazis (villains, many die)
Credits
- Script:
- Pencils: Chuck Cuidera
- Inks: Chuck Cuidera
- Letters: Sam Rosen
Story Notes
(1) Letterer credit per Cuidera and added by Craig Delich January 14, 2012. (2) The 3 unidentified members are likely Stanislaus, Zeg, and Chuck (or possibly Boris). (3) Subtitled, "Army" and "Stories of the Military Action on Land Section 1."
To Kill a Commander (1)
"An unarmed Lockheed P-38 Interceptor plane high above the clouds..."
Storyline
Bill and Boomerang fight Nazi paratroopers in Iceland.
Characters
- Captain Bill Dunn
- Private Boomerang Jones
Credits
- Script: Fred Guardineer
- Pencils: Fred Guardineer
- Inks: Fred Guardineer
Featuring Modern War Weapons
"Although the Blue Tracer's .50 caliber machine guns are used for all-around shooting..."
Storyline
A brief breakdown of the importance of the .50 caliber machine gun for the United States Army.
Characters
- Private Boomerang Jones
Credits
- Script: Fred Guardineer
- Pencils: Fred Guardineer
- Inks: Fred Guardineer
Story Notes
Appears at the bottom of the late page of the Blue Tracer story.
The Invasion of Iceland (1)
"Am I glad we're staying here in Hawaii!"
Storyline
Loops and Banks fight Nazi paratroopers in Iceland.
Characters
- Banks Barrows
- Loops McCann
Story Notes
Oddly, both this story and the Blue Tracer story in this issue involve a German invasion of Iceland by parachute.
"When the 'Crime School' goes in for defense studies..."
Storyline
Miss America discovers an unscrupulous man who teaches children to steal, and it turns out he is also working with Nazi fifth columnists.
Characters
- Joan Dale
- Miss America
- Tim Healy
Credits
- Pencils: Tom Hickey
- Inks: Tom Hickey
Story Notes
Joan keeps tinkering with the design of her costume, with the stripes moving from her skirt to her blouse, with stars now appearing on the skirt.
Clothes Make the Men (1)
"Golly, Colonel, we been over these clouds so long..."
Storyline
Our heroes think they have landed in Scotland but they are thousands of miles away. At least they're able to uncover a Nazi spy ring.
Characters
- Sam Shot
- Slim Shell
Credits
- Script: Klaus Nordling
- Pencils: Klaus Nordling
- Inks: Klaus Nordling
The Trap for Jerry Noble (1)
"Suddenly two tremendous explosions rock the entire fleet ...."
Storyline
Jerry and his animal allies break up a Japanese spy ring.
Characters
- Jerry Noble
- Sam (an eagle)
- Tami (Japanese clipper ship captain, death)
- Japanese clipper crew members (deaths)
- Aki (Japanese agent)
- Matsiaka (Japanese agent, death)
- The Master (Japanese spy leader)
- unnamed Japanese spies
- Commander Alcock
Credits
- Pencils: credited
- Inks: credited
- Script: John Stewart
Story Notes
Larry Noble is now called Jerry Noble in this story. Has a secondary title: "Navy" and "Stories of Military Action at Sea Section 2."
Featuring Naval Information
"This statue of Tecumseh is a replica of the figurehead of the 'U.S.S. Delaware.'"
Storyline
The story of the statue of Tecumseh and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.
Credits
- Pencils: Bill Smith
- Inks: Bill Smith
The Painted Lady Patrol (1)
"Ve must get rid of uff this Death Patrol!"
Storyline
Boris becomes the newest member of the Patrol as it seems Gramps has been killed saving the other members. Boris and the others go up against a female Nazi Death Patrol, whose wiles won't work on the male Patrol, who are all woman haters at heart. In order to escape alive, the male Patrol dons the female uniforms, leaving the ladies to wear the male uniforms, and which results in all of them being shot to death, mistaken for the men!
Characters
- The Death Patrol [Del Van Dyke
- Gramps
- Butch (appears to die, but returns in #12)
- Hank
- King Hotintot
- Boris (introduction)]
- Nazis' version of the Death Patrol (villains, all female, all die)
- Adolf Hitler (villain)
Story Notes
New member Boris is referred to as "The Borsht Eater". Writer/artist Berg demonstrates a flash of brilliance in this tale, with a stunning one-page illustration depicting the cross-section of a house with a member fighting in each room.
Potato's Revenge (1)
"All right, Bud! Up!"
Storyline
The potatoes revolt against being peeled but it turns out to be the draftee's bad dream.
Credits
- Script: Tex Blaisdell
- Pencils: Tex Blaisdell
- Inks: Tex Blaisdell
Story Notes
The last appearance of this feature.
The Fiend of the Wilhelmstrasse (1)
"Toward a Nazi-held vil-lage shuffled a group of men..."
Storyline
The Sniper faces a mad Nazi chemist who is able to turn men into monsters.
Characters
- The Sniper
- Hans Kronitz (villain, chemist, death)
- Nazi sentries (some die)
- Kronitz's captives
Credits
- Script: Ted Udall
- Pencils: Vern Henkel
- Inks: Vern Henkel
The Avenger
Hero Stamp #5 Squadron Leader Roland R. S. Tuck
Featuring Hero Stamp
"The most daring ace of the R.A.F."
Storyline
A brief biography of exploits R.A.F. Squadron Leader Roland R. S. Tuck and his actions against the Luftwaffe.
Characters
- Roland R. S. Tuck
Story Notes
Appears at the bottom of the first page of The Avenger text story. A stamp to clip out and collect, listed as worth "5".
Who Is Monsieur X?
Storyline
X succeeds in liberating a German ship filled with prisoners at Calais, France, and, with the help of another British ship, takes out a German destroyer. Although a Parisian newspaper reports that X was lost at sea, he, in fact, dove back into the English Channel and swam back to France to further torment the Nazis.
Characters
- Monsieur X [un-named French freedom fighter] (introduction)
- Nazis (villains, some die)
Credits
- Script: Al McWilliams
- Pencils: Al McWilliams
- Inks: Al McWilliams
- Colors: Al McWilliams
Story Notes
Only appearance. Although this tale is supposed to be a true story, research tells one that the phrase, "Monsieur X", appears throughout French arts and culture, but a search in the Le Petite Journal (archived on-line only through 1940) yields no evidence of this story represented in McWilliam's tale. Henri Rousseau painted the "Portrait of Monsieur X" (Pierre Loti, a novelist who died in 1923). It was also the name used by an erotic photographer of the 1920's and 1930's. And in 1948, Edith Piaf recorded a song called "Monsieur X", a melancholy song about a beautiful man who wandered in sadness by the Seine.
1000-Shot Cowboy Carbine
Storyline
An advertisement for the Red Ryder Cowboy Carbine air rifle for $2.95.
Characters
Credits
- Pencils: Fred Harman
- Inks: Fred Harman
Story Notes
Inside front cover. An advertisement for Daisy Air Rifles from the Daisy Manufacturing Company, 4912 Union Street, Plymouth, Michigan, U. S. A.
Big New Electronic Football 1942 Model
Featuring Electronic Game Company
"O.K. fellows! Here they are!"
Storyline
An advertisement for the 1942 model electronic football game. Also mentions other electronic games for baseball, basketball, and ice hockey.
Characters
- Jim Prentice
Story Notes
Back cover. Includes a blurb from Jim Prentice. An advertisement from the Electronic Game Company, Inc., 6 Ridge Street, Holyoke, Mass.