The Complete Crimebuster: Volume 3 (Gwandanaland Comics #1430)

About 4 years ago, Gwandanaland Comics was having a fire sale. Several titles had either not sold very well or were returned for various reasons. So I got a very good deal on this book along with several others. In my usual fashion, it took me forever to finally decide that I was ready to give it a read.

Crimebuster was a major character in independent publisher Lev Gleason's arsenal. Featured in Boy Comics, the character appear in over 100 issues. And since most issues contained 2 Crimebuster features, this term hero had around 200 adventures. 

A lad whose parents were killed during World War II, Chuck Chandler drops out of boarding school and devotes his life to battling crime in all its ugly forms. Wearing his hockey uniform and a blue cape, Crimebuster was one of the few Golden Age heroes to not have a secret identity. In fact, in one issue, he attends his high school reunion while in costume amongst his old school chums. How's that for being the alum who was the most likely to succeed?!

Battling murderous con men, deadly bank robbers and vengeful land owners, Crimebuster was assisted by his trusty monkey sidekick Squeeks and District Attorney Loover, who is constantly shown-up by the sleuthing hero who's instincts rival those of Sherlock Holmes and Hercules Poirot. 

Being a Lev Gleason publication, there were 2 potential editors of these stories; both of whom had dubious reputations in the comic book industry. Boy Comics happened to be the work of Charles Biro, an undisputed creative genius, who might have been one of the faces on the Mount Rushmore had he not succumbed to his biggest vices: booze and gambling. Biro was an oddity in comics during the 1940s and 50s. He willingly and proudly put his name on the covers he illustrated as well as stories he scripted. 

The stories were a combination of swashbuckling action, light-hearted fun and salacious crime. Biro's melodramatic introductions bordered on the rambling verbose. The series could almost be considered a crime anthology as it wasn't unexpected for readers to not encounter Crimebuster until the last act, way after the dirty deeds had been committed and the criminals turned into fugitives. But no matter what, each adventure ends with Crimebuster bringing the villains to justice, whether through active or passive means.

If the protagonist looks oddly familiar, then you must be a fan of Rage Against the Machine. Crimebuster just happens to be the cape wearing character on the cover of the band's 1996 album, Evil Empire. The hero's altered look was taken from an original painting by Mel Ramos who made the work as a birthday present for a friend who happened to be a huge fan of Crimebuster. 

Speaking of covers, there's something rather odd about every single one of them. Instead of being posed in a dynamic heroic manner facing the reader, Biro would frame his hero from the behind. Whether it's riding atop a speeding sedan driven by mobsters, pursuing an off-stage murder during a Broadway production or comforting a girl when it's discovered that her father is a serial killer, Crimebuster just doesn't face forward! I'm sure there's something psychological and subliminal about this. Unfortunately, I don't have the medical background to diagnose these very un-comic book-like covers.

Despite not being a typical comic book, I liked what I read. And what could I expect? Lev Gleason's books were notorious for going against the grain. And that defiance made for good reading. Will I keep this book? No. But I will definitely be on the lookout for other volumes in this series. There was at least two volumes published prior and I'm pretty certain that Gwandanaland published at least a couple more volumes of later adventures of Crimebuster.

A must read for fans of pre-code crime comics! A whole lot cheaper too. I suspect that the reason I got such a good deal on this book was that it got returned because one of the issues is unreadable. The scan is so blurry. I couldn't even read it with my reading glasses without getting a headache. And yes, I am counting myself has having read the whole book even though I had to give up on that poorly copied issue containing TWO Crimebuster tales. It's presence was included in order to maintain a complete run of stories. Hopefully, other volumes don't suffer from such additions. I don't think my eyes could take it. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Gunmaster (Gwandanaland Comics #684)

This collection of Charlton Comics Westerns comes from Gwandanaland Comics. It collects the 10 issues of the solo titled Gunmaster series. Published in stunning full color, there's also another collection of the character's adventures from the pages of the anthology series Six-Gun Heroes. I don't have that book, which is perfectly fine. Almost every story in this book is a standalone tale that doesn't require any prior knowledge about Gunmaster or his teen sidekick Bullet Boy. The only thing that seems to be missing here is any sort of an origin story about the main character and/or how he met Bullet Boy. But for all I know, there might not even be a origin story. Though that does seem unlikely.

Our hero is a talented gun smith, Clay Boone He's a man that abhors violence. To many, he's a yellow bellied coward. But secretly, he's a vigilante masked man who uses a stunning array of handmade weapons and gadgets to bring in outlaws with no fear of the men who wear the badge. 

Gunmaster's sidekick has got to have the most transparent secret identity in all of comicdom. If you thought Clark Kent just wearing glasses was see through, you haven't read anything yet. Bullet Boy's real name is Bob Tellub. That's Bullet Bob backwards! The kid is basically 1 letter away from a super villain with a mirror figuring out who these armed vigilantes really are. And if you ask me, I am pretty sure that the local authorities know that Clay and Bob are Gunmaster and his ward and the law men are just playing along because the masked heroes are the ones sticking their necks out in pursuit of justice.

This series reads like the Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly classic Western High Noon, only with hi-tech and gadgets. Gunmaster might have invented a lot of weapons. But he surely had nothing to do with Chekov's gun which is essentially a literary rule that states that if a gun appears in act one, it must be used in act 2. We witness Cooper creating a lot of gadgets to use in his war on crime at the beginning of every story that never gets used nor mentioned ever again by story's end.

One aspect that I did think that this series was rather superior at was it's villains. There's some varmints with gimmicks that rival those of Jonah Hex. There's the snake oil salesman with the hypnotic eyes. A fat guy who's the brains behind some impossible hold ups. Not to mention a Native American with supernatural connections to the predatory hawk and a tough guy who's charisma intimidates the heck out of Gunmaster. Having several of them return for a showdown against this Western pair of do-gooders was an exciting way to end the series.

That's not to say that they were all Professor Moriartys. The guy who thought he was the new king of a region of Mexico was a major wuss. And several outlaws were drawn so goofy-looking like they were the ancestors of some of the gangsters that Dick Tracy will one day face.

Various artists worked on this series that ran from 1965-67. There were varying degrees of success. But the real masterpieces were the covers dynamically illustrated off and on by Dick Giordano and Rocke Mastroserio. I never could figure out who wrote the stories with the exception of Joe Gill. For some reason, only they were given a writing credit in the last issue.

An interesting read with some strange and rather bizarre storylines. It wasn't always pretty. Far from it. .But I can see where this book might have influenced DC's Weird Western Tales.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Complete Web (Gwandanaland Comics #1137)

I bought this book by mistake. No, I didn't accidentally pick it up or drunkenly one-click it on Amazon. Instead, I mistook it for another of Archie's Red Circle heroes when I bought it. But I was pleasantly surprised by it's quality!

In 1959 Joe Simon and Jack Kirby were freelancing for Archie where they created a character called The Fly. Clad in green and yellow spandex, often illustrated on covers that bore a spider-web motif and of course a Red Circle Hero; when I found this book, I thought I was getting my hands on an affordable collection of one of my favorite artists' forgotten works. But instead of starring The Fly, this book stars an earlier character called The Web!

Created in 1942, The Web was a war-time hero, often battling Nazi saboteurs and Japanese spies. Created in part by John Cassone, along with an unknown co-creator, the Web was just a physically fit man in a green/yellow costume with webs dangling from his armpits, much like Spider-Man in his Ditko days. There were no super-bug powers or anything like that. His name represented the web of justice that was to ensnare all who worshiped evil! A professor of criminology by day known as John Raymond, our hero is motivated by his brother who turned to a life of crime and is implied to have later died while imprisoned.

Featuring the talents of Bob Montana, Irv Novick and others, the writing was melodramatic, sensationalized and finger pointing evidence of why parents freaked out about violence in comics! There's a level of death, torture and sadism that you would not see in a Silver Age comic. I think if these 12 stories hadn't been publishein the pages of Zip Comics during World War II, these issues would have been standout examples in early comic book history of ultra-violence and racism. But this is pre-Code comicdom. It was still an industry much like the Wild West. The Web was a dime-a-dozen characterization of anti-Hitler and anti-Japanese propaganda. There's at least 2 scenes in which Hitler is portrayed as being in a homosexual relationship with some of his underlings while almost every Japanese character in these books has sharp fangs and long claw-like fingernails. The only difference between this Batman clone and those dozens of other imitators from Second World War is that the Web has at least made a couple returns over the year's with Archie's frequent reboots of the Red Circle heroes. 

The material in this book is definitely dated. Normally, I'd be torn as to whether to continue owning this book or not. However, I view myself as a semi-pro comic book historian and I am a fan of the Red Circle heroes. It might not have been the yellow and green superhero I was hoping for. But I was entertained by this time capsule of pro-American comics that came about as an almost immediate reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Probably not the kind of material a more modern comic book reader would favor. Though this is a book from Gwandanaland Comics with definite historical value if only to show how far we've come and how much more work there is to accomplish!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Car 54, Where Are You? (Gwandanaland Comics #648- The Complete 7-Issue Series)

I know that when I say that I'm a big fan of something it probably sounds trite because I like a lot of things. But when I say that I am a big fan of Car 54, Where Are You?, I'm not lying. 

In the very early 90s, Nick At Nite used to air the series in rerun. I used to stay up late on weekends and during the Summer with my mom watching marathons; laughing my butt off! The show which only ran for 2 seasons, from 1961-1963, starred Joe E. Ross (It's About Time) and Fred Gwynne (TV's Herman Munster) as Big Apple beat officers Toody and Muldoon. Toody is kind of a schlub, having never earned a medal or commendation in his surprisingly long career. Muldoon is a mama's boy, living with his two sisters while eternally swearing off the prospect of marriage.

My favorite episode of the series is titled 'White Elephant.' A gang of criminals have rented an abandoned greasy spoon in hopes of breaking through into the bank vault that sits on the opposite side of the wall. Toody feels bad that 'such nice people' are stuck with such a crummy eatery. So he gets his fellow police cronies to help fix up the place. As hard as they try to fail, the gangsters give up their life of crime and end up becoming successful caterers. 

As the episode ends, an elderly couple has rented the dump next door to the caterers. It's their plan to rip through their wall and break into the safe of the caterers next door. But with the arrival of Toody and Muldoon, those plans are squashed. It appears the elderly crooks are going into the stamp collecting business!

'White Elephant' is the measuring stick to which I judged the 7 issues of the Dell Comics adaptation of Car 54. I even went as far to re-watch that classic episode just to make sure it held up. And what do you know? I laughed so freaking hard. It was great! Even more so when I learned that legendary boxer Jake LaMotta, the real life inspiration for Scorsese' Raging Bull was playing one of the gangster!

The writing of the stories were top notch! One issue has Toody and Muldoon at odds with each other to the point of requesting a transfer! Another has the boys assigned to truancy beat. While on patrol, they keep running into a young lad who in reality is a baby-faced crime lord. Toody's chance to earn a police medal and the issue where the cops of the 53rd Precinct get starry-eyed and ruin a movie shoot were such perfect stories, I wouldn't be surprised if either story were actual plots written by the series writers of my favorite episode. 

Not every issue was perfect. The story where everybody confuses a chimp in a police uniform for Toody was down right goofy. I don't even think the yarn where a cowboy and his pack of Indian colleagues accidentally rob a furniture as way to repay Toody, would be allowed on airwaves today. I could see Netflix or Hulu having to pull this one after complaints of Native American stereotypes or something of the sort.

My biggest complaint has got to be the artwork. The images of Toody and Muldoon are great renderings of Ross and Gwynne. But those are the only two characters who look like their real life counterparts. Al Lewis, who would go on to immortality as Grandpa Munster, played Officer Leo Schnauser. In real life, Lewis had a sharp nose, round face and widow's peak. Yet in these comics, Schnauser looks more like a portly Don Knotts!

Going back to the illustrations of Toody and Muldoon. They get repetitive. I think that the artists were tasked to draw about 25 images of the actor's faces in different poses. Then those sketches were superimposed over and over and over in every issue. I first thought 'Wow! Whomever drew these did an amazing job making great renderings.' But I quickly realized that these was the same drawings as the positioning of the character's heads didn't quite match with the bodies.

If I had only read 1 or 2 issues, I probably wouldn't have noticed. But having read them all in just a couple of days, I noticed. I felt a little gypped. I also understand that publishers like Dell had to fight ways to cut costs in order to compete with DC and up-and-coming Marvel. 

Nits aside, I loved all 7 issues. It was fun getting to see old friends. It's even inspired me to watch all of the episodes of Car 54 again. Feel good reads for sure- if you can find them!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #49 of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 'That Makes You Smile.'

Charlton Triple Threat: The Peacemaker, Sarge Steel & Judomaster (Gwandanaland Comics #2881-A)

I love Gwandanaland Comics. They find lost and forgotten properties that are in the public domain. Then they publish collections that a collector might never have a chance to complete otherwise. I know that if I tried to buy all of the issues that Charlton's Peacemaker, Sarge Steel and Judomaster starred in, I'd probably have to pay a couple thousand dollars in order to do it. Especially since James Gunn has made Peacemaker such a hot property with the latest Suicide Squad movie and recent HBO/Max series.

Let's start with Peacemaker. Billed as a man who is willing to fight for peace; by day, the Peacemaker is a United Nations peace envoy named Christopher Smith. But when talks break down, the ambassador utilizes his vast arsenal and makes peace happen by force as the Peacekeeper!

Peacemaker has to be one of the wildest creations in all of comics. This guy has more gadgets than Batman. But how can this guy afford it? Surely, the UN doesn't pay that good!

I really thought this book wasn't going to get any better than with Peacemaker. But then I got into the Sarge Steel stories and I was proved wrong. 

With Sarge Steel, he's a former member of Army intelligence who served in Vietnam. Thanks to a run-in with a communist warlord, Steel lost his hand. Armed with a solid steel left hand, Sarge Steel now operates as a private investigator. Eventually, Sarge Steel becomes a member of the CIA. With stories full of fast cars and even faster women, this was a series that was very much in the vein of James Bond, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and the James Coburn Derek Flint movies. There was also some very heavy sprinkles of Dashiell Hammett with how Sarge Steel narrates all of his cases.

While I didn't quite understand why Sarge Steel would continuously let the dangerous dames he knew were villains stay so close to him, I was convinced that this book couldn't get any better than Sarge Steel. But then I got into the Judomaster stories and I was proved wrong again.

American GI Rip Jagger is stationed in the Pacific Campaign during World War II. On a small island off the coast of Japan, Jagger is injured. But instead of being captured by the Imperial Japanese, Jagger is rescued by island guerrillas. 

These freedom fighters are masters of martial arts. And while Jagger recoups, they teach him the art of Judo, to which Rip becomes a black belt. With a color yellow and red costume, Jagger becomes the Judomaster, the US Army's secret weapon against the Axis powers. 

A modernist comic book reader would probably hate these stories. They'd call Peacemaker a hypocrite or a shill for American imperialism. They'd call Sarge Steel a sexist. They'd probably flip with that one instance when Sarge backhanded a female assault victim. And with Judomaster- there would be some sort of clamor about 'white savior syndrome' or whatever it is that 21st intellectuals would deem it...

I read comic books as fan AND a historian. I know that some of the concepts are outdated. But I'm not going to chuck this book out of my collection. I very mush so did enjoy the stories. They might not have been perfect. But they entertained. 

I too loved the artwork. Dick Giordano is a personal favorite. And the art of Frank McLaughlin and Pat Boyette was amazing. Some of those judo practice fight scenes from the first Judomaster story belong in a museum. They're that good!

One main reason I asked for this book for Christmas was that I wanted to see where all of these characters got their start. John Cena's portrayal of Peacemaker really piqued my interest. And I've heard rumblings that Sarge and Judomaster might be popping up in some future DC live-action projects in the near future. So I wanted to get in on their origin stories ASAP. 

Yes, the Charlton Triple Threat of the late 1960s have some flaws. But so does a lot of the stuff being published in comics in the 2020s. I wanted to read these characters origin stories and that's what I got with this volume. And I loved it- warts and all!

(Gwandanaland Comics #2881-A was the economic B&W edition)

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Complete Stuart Taylor: Volume 3 (Gwandanaland Comics #1465)

The full title of this series is called Stuart Taylor in Weird Stories of the Supernatural. It's about a college student who travels to the past and sometimes the future, with one of his science professors and his daughter Laura, whom happens to be Stuart's girlfriend. In their adventures, the trio meet Shakespeare, experience the tragedy at Pompeii and jump ahead to the far out future of 1975!

I've only got one question about this series- does time travel, when done with a time travel machine, count as an element of the supernatural? Yes, time travel can be quite weird. But supernatural?! I guess in the 1930s and 40s, time travel was supernatural. But it's more science fiction than ghost story or horror tale. 

I looked to see if earlier tales involved a supernatural slant. And while Stuart and friends did visit Icabod Crane, Sinbad and Thor is some of those stories- that's just a handful of the 140 issues written and illustrated by Curt Davis. Only one such story, involving the 1,001 Arabian Nights and a flying carpet, even comes close to being classified as supernatural in this volume. And even then, I'd call that one a fantasy yarn.

By The Way- There is no Curt Davis! That was just 1 of several pseudonyms used by comics legend, Jack Kirby! I didn't learn this until after I completed this book. It's definitely a product of it's time, with some racial stereotypes, archaic history lessons and how people though the world of the future was going to turn out. But it was also ahead of it's time with the battle of the sexes between Stuart and Laura and of course the innovative framing techniques that Kirby pioneered.

Oh, and one more nitpick. Whenever Stuart travels in the future, his blue suit transforms into some kind of trapeze artist leotard. But Laura and her father's clothes never change. I'm not sure why this is and not having a answer kinda bothered me. Maybe the costume change is explained in earlier volumes. I just don't know.

As for why I started with volume 3- well, that's easy. Gwandanaland Comics was having a clearance sale and this was on very steep discount. As an amateur comic book historian and collector who just can't pass up a bargain, when I had the chance to buy this, I just couldn't pass up a bargain!

A fun early look at some of the forgotten (and unclaimed) works of Jack Kirby. Now that I know that this is a work by The King, I very well might search out the other 3 or 4 volumes in the series. I may not have enjoyed the stories that much based on the incorrect title. But I love Kirby that much to collect the rest!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Complete Gorgo Readers Collection: Volume 1 & 2

Gorgo was a 1961 British film produced by MGM. The film itself was a European rip-off of Godzilla with offshore atomic testing awakening the prehistoric beast and being worshiped as an ancient deity by a Gaelic seaside town. But the real change to this kaiju was that Gorgo was a baby. You did not want to get on the bad side of mama!

This deluxe volume from Gwandanaland Comics reprints the all of the Gorgo books published by Charlton Comics. First is the adaptation of the film. Then a comic based on the never made proposed sequel. Those two books was enough to warrant a 23-issue series based on further exploits of Gorgo and his kin. Then there was 2 one-shots that sought to revitalize the adventures of Gorgo, but to little avail. 

The main series that ran from 1961-65 was a product of it's time. As with all giant monster franchises, the threat of nuclear destruction is ever looming. But what's even more interesting about Gorgo is how he was such a vital cog in the war against Communism. 

One issue ties the events of the Cuba Missile Crisis to the classified inclusion of a very po'd Gorgo. Several other issues has Gorgo and his mom running afoul of hidden commie bases and wrecking the plans of global domination from Communist China. But when it comes to the good guys, Gorgo is there to help; almost like a giant reptile version of Lassie. 

This book has one big superstar tied-in. The legendary Steve Ditko (Doctor Strange) pencils the first 5 issues and then returns from time-to-time. I just wish that the storytelling and editing was given as much care as Ditko gave the art.

There are dozens upon dozens typos through this book. Apparently spellcheck was something never explored by the editors at Charlton Comics. Yeah, yeah. I know I am one to talk. But then again, I'm not a professional either.

I loved this book. It was as massive as Gorgo himself. Full of awesomely wild stories about a classic but forgotten movie monster.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Santa Claus Funnies,. Vol. 1 (Gwandanaland Comics #460)

Gwandanaland Comics is a publisher that produces books by demand. That means they won't print the book until you make an order for it. How can a company make any money with this business plan? Sold exclusively through Amazon, Gwandanaland Comics only reprints comic books in the public domain. And that whole print by demand thing is a thing of beauty in an age of comics in which DC and Marvel will print thousands of copies of single issues and trades for insane prices that never sell!

There's 4 issues of the Dell Comics's legendary series of holiday comics known as Santa Claus Funnies. (Astute collectors will know that these Christmas issues were originally printed under the title of Four Color.)

Each issue boasts fanciful artwork from Pogo's Walt Kelly. Kelly crafts tales starring his woodland creatures, a character called Christmas Mouse and of course Santa.

Along with the work of Kelly, every issue of Santa Claus Funnies reprinted has festive stories from the Old Country. A couple of the later issues have activities for kids to do. And of course, there's Santa and even more Santa. 

There's some brutal tales inside. Several stories involve children being mistreated by adults. One tale has a couple of toys and a puppy being abused by a child. Even the puppet show story is kinda morbid as Santa recounts IN VERSE how a pair of siblings' wicked stepmother meet a grizzly fate. 

The shocking tale of Christmas weren't what bugged me. My least favorite part was the inclusion of sheet music. While I did learn of some forgotten lines to some beloved holiday classics, I'm just not musically inclined enough to appreciate these tunes. There's also some poems. For the most part, they are pretty good. But sometimes the lines would not rhyme and such flaws would perturb me to no end.

If I was to find issues of all 4 of these issues, I would either have to shell out some big bucks for decent copies or have to put on protective equipment in order to not destroy the nearly 80 year old titles that for affordable prices, would be extremely fragile. 

Finding Gwandanaland Comics has been an awesome experience. I've got some beautiful reprints and they've got a fan for life!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

This volume reprints Four Color issues # 61, 91,128 and 175.