Skypilot, No 10

Monday, March 15 2010 @ 12:10 PM PDT

Move over, Lash LaRue! Who "delivers a powerful sermon and packs a mighty punch"?  Why, it’s John Hawk, AKA SKYPILOT, "the fighting missionary of the far North", that’s who! You won’t believe your eyes when this whip-wielding preacher locks horns with evil lumber pirates and other ODDBALL menaces of the North Woods! Face it, SKYPILOT is cooler than an Eskimo Pie!

[fieldinserts][issuetitle]Title: [subissuetitle]Skypilot[subissuetitle]
[issuetitle][issue]Issue: [subissue]No. 10[subissue]
[issue][publicationdate]Date: [subpublicationdate]1950[subpublicationdate]
[publicationdate][publisher]Publisher: [subpublisher]Ziff-Davis Publishing Company[subpublisher]
[publisher][coverartists]Cover Artist(s): [subcoverartists]Norman Saunders[subcoverartists]

[coverartists][introtext]Move over, Lash LaRue! Who "delivers a powerful sermon and packs a mighty punch"?  Why, it’s John Hawk, AKA SKYPILOT, "the fighting missionary of the far North", that’s who! You won’t believe your eyes when this whip-wielding preacher locks horns with evil lumber pirates and other ODDBALL menaces of the North Woods! Face it, SKYPILOT is cooler than an Eskimo Pie![introtext]

[fieldinserts]

Comic books with a religious theme have existed for decades, but here’s an absolutely unique – and quite rare -- Oddball Comic that carries a Christian message, delivered by John Hawks, a two-fisted minister operating across Canada and Alaska! (In military slang, a "sky pilot" is a chaplain, a pastor, a rabbi or any other "man of the cloth", and the title character of this short-lived series adapts this term as his personal nickname. Unfortunately, Mr. Hawks never gets anywhere near an airplane in this comic; then he really could have really earned his title as a "sky pilot"!)

This was the first issue of SKYPILOT (although some of the interior stories’ logos and dialog suggest that the character’s nickname is actually "Sky Pilot" Unfortunately, there’s not enough consistency to make a definitive call on the character’s actual name!) Ziff-Davis published a second (and final) issue, cover-dated April – May, 1951.

INTRODUCTORY CAPTION:
The Northland is a country of great cold, violent upheavals of nature, and giant trees, where death and primitive life lurk‚…a rugged country, where only strong, red-blooded men can survive! This is a tale of just such men‚…for here SKYPILOT battles the "LUMBER PIRATES"! There are men in the North called LUMBER PIRATES‚…Brutal, strong men who cut and sell timber without license in defiance of the law! Such a man was Jules Broussac!

JULES BROUSSAC:
By gar, that ees find stand of timber! Make camp, we cut here!

PIERRE:
We can float thees logs down the rivair below, eh, Jules?

JULES BROUSSAC:
Sure, thees timber slide down the slope eento the water! Sacre nom, what you wait for? Begeen cutting!

PIERRE:
Hah, you are anxious to get a good cutting started down the rivair before the Mounties find out! I think we make much money from thees timber!

But the lumber pirates’ scheming is suddenly interrupted by an approaching group of native Eskimos* led by an old man named Innuit and his adult daughter M’loot (both with skin that’s been colored nearly as yellow as ripe lemons):

PIERRE:
Look, Jules, some blubber-eaters come!

JULES BROUSSAC:
What you want, Eskimos? Say eet an’ be quick! We have work to do an’ cannot be bothaired by beggars!

M’LOOT:
We are not beggars!

INNUIT:
Be still, child! Sir, you have no right to cut this timber. This is Eskimo land, owned by us! Below is our village and if these trees are cut, shale and ice from the top of this mountain will come down and kill us! Only this belt of timber holds the shale and ice from falling! 

JULES BROUSSAC:
Wat eef the ice keels you‚…wat loss ees that, blubber-eaters? Get out of here‚…Big Jules take wat he wants, an’ he wants thees timber!

RODENT-FACED SIDEKICK:
Eef you come back, we keel you!

Later, the "angry and bewildered" Eskimos seek out "the only man they know will help them‚…John Hawks, the missionary of Moose River":

INNUIT:
We are worried, Skypilot! Lumber pirates are cutting down the timber on the ledge above our village! Once the trees are down there will be nothing to keep an avalanche from burying our village and killing us all! Our young men wish to attack the pirates, but I have said that you should first be allowed to try to make these bad men go away peacefully.

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
Thank you for your confidence, Innuit! This is serious indeed! I’ll see these law breakers right away! What part of the ledge are they working?

M’LOOT:
Come, M’loot will guide you!

The attractive young Eskimo leads Skypilot to the "bad men’s camp", where he makes the sort of stiff declaration that defines his characterization as a real straight shooter:

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
M’loot, if I can’t persuade these men to stop I shall have to report them to the Mounties! I should dislike doing that‚…I don’t like to cause trouble for anyone!

Suddenly, some of Jules Broussac’s men loosen a stack of logs above them, forcing John and M’loot to take cover beneath a stone outcropping on the hillside. But the man known as Skypilot just can’t accept the fact that the renegade lumberjacks are intentionally murderers. Then Big Jules himself approaches them and makes his intentions all-too-clear:

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
My friend, you should look more carefully before starting a log roll! There are people living below who might have been killed as you almost killed us!

JULES BROUSSAC:
SACRE BLEU! A white man! When I saw the girl weeth you I thought you were Eskimo, too! So I send logs down!

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
So you DID try to kill us! Thinking I, too, was an Eskimo! My friend, white man or Eskimo, we are all the same. But I didn’t come here to preach, I’m here to ask you to stop cutting timber that belongs to the Eskimos!

JULES BROUSSAC:
So you are one of thees missionary fellows! NO ONE tells ME what to do! I going to hurt you a leetle for warning. But do not steek your nose een my beezness again or‚…I keel you!

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
Stop, please! I don’t like violence!

With that, John uses a jiu-jitsu maneuver to flip the lethal lumberjack right over his head!

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
I said STOP!

This initiates a snowbound brawl between the two men that quickly turns nasty:

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
Now perhaps we can talk this over calmly, as men should!

JULES BROUSSAC:
Hah, you theenk you make fool of Beeg Jules! I feex you! I smash een your pretty face! Now, preacher man, I teach you! You are afraid of Beeg Jules, no?

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
No, Jules, I am not afraid of you! Men should settle their differences like beasts‚…but I see you’re past arguing with!

JULES BROUSSAC:
Now you weel taste the boots!

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
There are no ethics in the rough-and-tumble battles of the North! Maim, cripple and kill is the code‚…and [pic2]Jules knows all the dirty tricks![pic2]

When Skypilot accidentally slips on the icy ground, Big Jules sees his opportunity and kicks John in the face, knocking John out cold, face-down in the snow. And when M’loot charges Big Jules, he grabs her and tosses her into the river:

JULES BROUSSAC:
You weel tell no one nothing when I am through weeth you! MEN‚…LOOSE THOSE LOGS! The logs weel grind you to leetle pieces, woman! I weel watch, then go back and feenish the preacher-man!

Fortunately for John Hawks, his "clean life" has served him well, and he rapidly recovers from Big Jules’ "brutal mauling". Thinking fast, John loosens the contents of a log crib, causing them to roll down to the river and form a log jam that should stop the other logs before they reach M’loot. As the jammed logs form a pile, John runs out onto their shifting, quivering formation and pulls M’loot out of the rushing waters of the river – but not before Big Jules starts taking pot-shots at them with a pistol!

JULES BROUSSAC:
He dodges lak jack rabbit‚…I cannot hit him! But I feex heem yet! Pierre‚…breeng me dynamite‚…queekly!

Skypilot and M’loot discover that they’re trapped -- the log jam doesn’t stretch all the way across the river – while Big Jules plays even dirtier:

NARRATIVE CAPTION: Meanwhile, Jules has planted his dynamite under the key log of the jam, to blow it up and start the piled up logs rolling down the raging river!

JULES BROUSSAC: Ha! Pretty soon, one big bang‚…then we see how long you stay on logs, meester preacher man!

But John Hawks manages to stay one step ahead of the explosion, as he and M’loot hop from log to log, [pic3]like some sort of North Woods version of the "Frogger" video game[pic3]!

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
The treacherous logs leap, roll and plunge like live things in the racing river‚…wet, unsure menaces under Skypilot’s flying feet! One slip means a crushing, grinding death!

Finally, with the Eskimo ingenue clinging around his neck, Skypilot makes a desperate move:

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
Miraculously, Skypilot keeps his balance on the churning timber‚…then, as the swift-moving logs carry him to the over-hanging branches, he leaps upwards, and‚…

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
Made it!

While John and M’loot stop a moment to pray -- giving thanks to their Maker for seeing to their survival – Big Jules and Pierre resume their pirate logging operation, assuming that the missionary and the girl have been killed.

JULES BROUSSAC:
Now weel skeen thees ledge of timber! Work, you nameless peegs‚…work!

PIERRE:
Wait, Jules! What ees that rumbling sound?!!

JULES BROUSSAC:
RUN! Eet ees an avalanche!

PIERRE:
They warned us and we paid no heed!

Spurred into action by the calamity, Innuit and the other Eskimos use the chaos in their favor, subduing and capturing the panicked lumberjacks. But Big Jules has other plans:

JULES BROUSSAC:
The blubber-eaters have captured those fools! Now ees time for Jules to go‚…before the Mounties come!

JULES BROUSSAC:
YOU! Everything that has happened to Big Jules ees your fault! I thought I have keel you, but now, eef you be man or GHOST, I make sure I keel you!

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
Jules, don’t you think it would be better if you came quietly and took your just punishment from the law?

JULES BROUSSAC:
I show you how quietly Jules weel go! I weel cut your heart out, you‚…!

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
Now the two men strain against each other in a silent deadly duel! Only the sodden sound of fist on flesh, the crack of straining sinew, and the shuffle of moving feet can be heard! The powerful logger sags under the blow and Skypilot puts every bit of strength he has left into a pile-driving smash to the big man’s jaw!

A few hours later, after the Northwest Mounted Police have taken away Big Jules and his men, Innuit and his daughter ask how they can repay Skypilot for saving their village. John Hawks, the man known as Skypilot (or is that "Sky Pilot"?) makes a typically humble request:

JOHN "SKYPILOT" HAWKS:
I ask no payment, but for your own sakes I ask that you come to church on Sunday, and help spread the Gospel on this frontier.

Also included in this issue of SKYPILOT are these stories, features and advertisements:

• "Eskimo Lore", an unsigned, black-and-white, inside-front-cover [pic5]educational feature[pic5].

• "Sky Pilot" in an untitled introductory story, drawn by Frank Borth. – "The rugged stretches of the great Northwest were a spawning ground where the worst in men all too often came out‚…and through this wild, dangerous territory roamed John Hawks, Sky Pilot, a man who quoted from the Scriptures‚…and backed his words with muscles of steel, to guarantee that evil doers heeded them‚…" This story opens near the Alaskan-Canadian border, as an elderly prospector named Jake Henderson emerges from his cabin, only to be shot dead by a hidden assailant. Elsewhere, in the nearby settlement of "Hard Luck", an Eskimo named Naluk is being attacked by an angry trapper, who claims the man has been raiding his traps. Suddenly, a stranger intercedes on Naluk’s behalf, clobbering the over-aggressive trapper while quoting the Bible (more or less): "The meek shall inherit the Earth, but sometimes they need aid!" The stranger introduces himself to Naluk as John Hawks, a man who the now-humbled trapper realizes is "that new fighting parson who don’t take no guff from no one!" While they get acquainted, they’re nearly run down by "crazy" Ted Benedict’s horse. He’s just made discovered that Jake Henderson’s been murders, and since it’s well known that there’s "bad blood" between himself and the old prospector, he’s going to leave town before the Mounties arrest him as the killer. Despite the protests of his girlfriend Nora, Ted takes off, convinced that no one will believe his innocence in the matter. Once again, John Hawks volunteers to enter the situation, telling Nora to go to the sheriff’s office to let them know that he’ll bring back Ted. Riding his horse, "Snow King", Skypilot eventually catches up with Ted Benedict, who’s trying to hide out in an abandoned mine. Although innocent, Ted is desperate, and brandishing a pistol, tries to drive away the rough-and-tumble Good Samaritan. Disarming his opponent with a kick, Skypilot allows Ted to punch him twice – literally "turning the other cheek" with each blow -- but as they tussle, John and Ted cause such a ruckus that the mine’s timbers start to give way. When Ted nearly falls into a mineshaft, he catches himself on a rotten wooden beam. But before the young outlaw can plunge to his death, Skypilot makes an amazing leap across the gap, grabbing Ted and surely saving his life. John’s sincerity convinces Ted to return to Hard Luck to help solve the mystery of Jake Henderson’s murder. But the next morning, when they show up back in town, they are met by a lynch mob calling for Ted Benedict’s execution. As the townfolk’s bloodlust rises, John, Ted and Nora turn to the sheriff to offer them sanctuary in his fortified office. When the angry crowd surrounds the building, Skypilot grabs a whip and steps outside, allowing Nora to slip out the back unnoticed, to summon the Mounties. Despite John’s recitation of the Sixth Commandment ("Thou shalt not kill!"), the tone of violence escalates further, egged on by local rabble-rouser, Snag Jensen. [pic6]Unafraid to wield his whip[pic6], Skypilot keeps the seething crowd at bay, then snags Snag to prevent him from making the situation even worse. Just then, a Mountie shows up, causing most of the crowd to scatter and return home. While Snag rants and raves about Ted being responsible for Jake Henderson’s murder, the Mountie asks Ted to remove his shirt, then declares the young man to be innocent. He explains, "Henderson wasn’t quite dead when I got to his cabin! He managed to gasp out that his killer had the name ‘Sal’ tattooed on his chest! Poor fellow was delirious‚…couldn’t seem to remember the killer’s name‚…just about the tattoo!" Meanwhile, sweating like a pig, Snag Jensen nervously tries to take off, and when John stops him, Snag simultaneously grabs Nora and a pistol from a holster hanging on the wall. Reacting, Skypilot wields his whip, painfully snapping the gun out of Snag’s hand. Then he rips open Snag’s shirt, to reveal a flowery tattoo that reads "Sal"! Trapped, Snag finally confesses his guilt: "Yeah‚…I killed Jake Henderson‚…should have done it years ago! It was all over a gold claim! I tried to cheat him and he caught me! Kicked me out and took the claim for himself – the rat! Sal was the gal I hoped to marry! Finest woman in the world! I got wrongly accused of a robbery, just before our wedding day! Instead of facing the music‚…and proving I wasn’t guilty‚…I ran out! Well, by the time they found out I didn’t commit that robbery, I’d been really mixed up in some crooked deals! I just went from bad to worse‚…" When Ted and Nora thank John for all of his help, Skypilot replies, "He who labors in the Lord’s vineyards does not expect thanks! A good life will offer thanks to the Lord!" The [pic7]final panel[pic7] of this story ends with the exciting "teaser" caption: "Tell all your friends about this great new comics hero‚…A man who puts his faith in God‚…and carries on the battle for justice and humanity with his fists – SKY PILOT".

• "Cheechako Constable", a two-page text-story.

• "[pic8]Snowfang[pic8]". – "Out of the barren wilds of the frozen North hurtles the giant figure of the legendary Snowfang‚…part wolf, part Malemute (sp.) dog! Born to the law of claw and fang, he roves the snowy wastelands‚…KING OF THE ARTIC WILD!" Bob Sanders is an American engineer who has struck gold in the Northern wastes and is returning home via a husky-powered sled. Little does he suspect that his guide, Henri Broussard, plans to murder him, lay claim to his gold mine and steal his newly-found fortune. But before the murderous French-Canadian can act, he’s interrupted when Bob notices a huge wolf lurking nearby! Bob makes the observation that the critter is wagging its tail – it must be a dog – but Henri tries to shoot the beast and drives it away. That night, as Bob and Henri make camp, the treacherous guide drugs his employer’s coffee and leaves him to freeze to death during the night. After Henri takes off with his sled dogs, the massive pooch – who’s been hanging around the camp – approaches Bob’s unmoving form and shakes it roughly, finally rousing the engineer back to consciousness. As an Arctic blizzard begins to drop snow on them, Bob and his new friend take shelter from the storm under a log-and-brush windfall. While they wait for the blizzard to pass, Bob notices that his furry companion is half-wolf and half-dog, and decides to name the powerful semi-pooch "Snowfang". When the storm finally ends, Snowfang even catches them a rabbit to eat. For days, they follow Henri Broussard’s trail, until they finally catch up with the would-be killer. Since Bob is unarmed, Henri takes aim at the charging Snowfang, who manages to elude the French-Canadian’s bullets before taking him down. Later, after they finally return to the coast, and turn the disarmed and trussed-up guide over to the law, Bob and Snowfang take shelter in an abandoned cabin. But when Snowfang hears the howling of wolves outside, he leaps through the window, returning to the Arctic wilds, "where Snowfang is king!" Bob wishes his canine companion well: "Go ahead, boy! You were never meant to be taken back to civilization! You belong out there under the stars! Fighting! Ruling the land that gave you birth!"

• "Sky Pilot" in "The Crisis", drawn by Frank Borth. – "The harsh winter of the great Northwest is a background against which the lives of two young people swing in the balance! Only John Hawks, the Skypilot, heeds their cry of distress as he gives a ringing answer to the challenge of‚…"The Crisis’!!" While picking up supplies at the "Silver Lode" – Hard Luck’s combined trading post and general store – John "Skypilot" Hawks notices a young couple, Dave and Myra, who are at the end of their rope. After six weeks of trapping, they’ve brought in a few furs, but are paid only $35 for the bunch. When Dave says that only a miracle will save them from starving to death before spring, Skypilot introduces himself. The flying minister tells the discouraged couple, "In the olden days there was one that fed the multitude with only five loaves of bread. If a man is good, the final power that judges all men will not suffer him to go hungry!" But rather than appreciate Skypilot’s interest, Dave storms outside to meet with a "vicious" local trapper named Bender, who’s been after Dave to work for him. When Skypilot tries to convince Dave not to get involved with Bender, the bearded tough guy punches John Hawks right in the face, knocking him down and challenging him to a fight. But as Skypilot slowly gets to his feet, he tells Dave something that is ridiculed by the crowd that’s gathered around them: "There’s no point in my fighting this man. What I can prove he’s already demonstrated. He’s a man of violence, and if you team up with him – no good will come of it!" That night, John Hawks’ Eskimo friend, Naluk, shows up at Skypilot’s cabin. Soon, he and the flying minister are racing across the snow, their sled pulled by a team of huskies, hot on Bender’s (and Dave’s) trail. Meanwhile, in remote hunting grounds up north, Bender demonstrates his trapping "system" as [pic9]he murders a passing Eskimo in cold blood[pic9] for his sled full of valuable pelts.
  
  "We let the Eskimo do the trapping, an’ then we trap him! Pretty neat, eh?" Horrified and outraged, Dave stands up to the maniac, refusing to be part of his murderous gang. But before Bender can beat Dave to death with the butt of his rifle, Skypilot shows up, hurling his knife to pin Bender to a tree. The evil trapper manages to rip himself free, burying the knife in Dave’s shoulder. This drives Skypilot into a "righteous anger", causing him to clobber Bender into unconsciousness. Later, after Naluk has taken Bender and his gang to the law authorities in town, John accompanies Dave back to his cabin, where Myra administers to his injuries. When he notices a pile of fresh pelts sitting nearby, Dave can’t believe his eyes. It’s the miracle they were hoping for! Myra reveals that they came from their traps; she emptied them after her willful husband took off with Bender. Skypilot councils Dave and Myra: "Then accept it as a sign—a sign that those who engage in honest labor, cannot and will not go unrewarded."

• "Laugh, Betty, Laugh!"/"What’s With The Crosbys?", a black-and-white, inside-back-cover [pic10]house-ad[pic10] for Ziff-Davis’ FAMOUS STARS comic book series.

• A striking [pic11]back-cover pinup[pic11] of Sky Pilot, drawn by Frank Borth.

* "Eskimo" is actually a derogatory and insulting term created by French-Canadian trappers to refer to those who call themselves as "Inuits". However, for the sake of clarity, the term "Eskimo" will be used here as it is in this comic book. – SS!

ODDBALL Factoid -- Cartoonist Frank Borth has also drawn many stories and features for George A. Pflaum’s TREASURE CHEST OF FUN AND FACT, as well as material for ADVENTURE COMICS, BOY COMICS, CAPTAIN BATTLE COMICS, CHAMP COMICS, CRACKED, DAREDEVIL COMICS, DARING MYSTERY COMICS, FEATURE COMICS, KEN STUART, MONSTERS ATTACK, POLICE COMICS, SUNDAY PIX and USA COMICS, among others!

Bonus ODDBALL Factoid – Cover-artist Norman Saunders also painted countless covers for pulp magazines and images for trading cards!

Next Week -- ODDBALL COMIC # 1,125: MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2006 -- STOP AND GO, THE SAFETY TWINS -- Here come STOP AND GO, THE SAFETY TWINS, a duo of demented-looking do-gooders who present stories of "play time safety" on behalf of a chain of department stores! Just don’t read this ODDBALL COMIC while crossing the street -- or your body might wind up crushed even flatter than those of the Safety Twins!

0 comments

http://www.oddballcomics.com/article.php?story=2006-06-12