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splash-page

an Asian man with skin the color of a ripe lemon

the opportunity to show off her legs

an exotic-looking dancing girl

Rip and his friends are the only survivors

house-ad

shapely legs

ad

Hooks Devlin, Special Agent

a splash-panel shot

an unusual one-page ad

One of the most iconic comic book publishers of the Golden Age was Fiction House. Originally a publisher of pulp magazines during the 1920s, Fiction House also included the pulp imprints “Glen-Kel” and “Real Adventures Publishing Co.” Here is a list of Fiction House’s pulp magazine titles:

• ACES (estimated 100 issues, December 1928 - Spring 1939)
• ACTION NOVELS
• ACTION STORIES (225 issues, September 1921 - Fall 1950)
• AIR STORIES (estimated 50 issues, August 1927 - Winter 1939)
• ALL ADVENTURE ACTION NOVELS
• ALL-AMERICAN FOOTBALL MAGAZINE
• BASEBALL STORIES (estimated 50 issues, Spring 1938 - Spring 1954)
• BASKETBALL STORIES (one known issue, Winter 1937)
• BLACK ACES (7 issues, January 1932 - July 1932)
• BULL’S-EYE DETECTIVE
• BULL’S-EYE SPORTS (estimated 8 issues, Winter 1938 - Fall 1939)
• BULL’S-EYE WESTERN STORIES
• CIVIL WAR STORIES (one known issue, Spring 1940)
• DETECTIVE BOOK MAGAZINE (65 issues, April 1930 - Winter 1952/53)
• DETECTIVE CLASSICS (22 issues, November 1929 - September 1931)
• FIGHT STORIES (106 issues, June 1928 – Spring 1952)
• FOOTBALL ACTION
• FOOTBALL STORIES (estimated 35 issues, Fall 1937 - Fall 1953)
• FRONTIER STORIES
• FRONTIER STORIES OF THE PIONEER DAYS
• GEORGE BRUCE’S ACES (Glen-Kel)
• GEORGE BRUCE’S AIR NOVELS
• JUNGLE STORIES (59 issues)
• LARIET STORY MAGAZINE
• NORTH-WEST STORIES
• NORTH-WEST ROMANCES
• PLANET STORIES (71 issues)
• SOLDIER STORIES
• TRUE ADVENTURES
• TWO COMPLETE DETECTIVE BOOKS (REAL ADVENTURE)
• TWO WESTERN BOOKS
• TWO WESTERN ROMANCES
• WINGS

In September, 1938, publisher Thurman T. Scott released JUMBO COMICS No. 1, his first comic book, one that was “packaged” by the team of Will (THE SPIRIT) Eisner and Jerry Iger and introduced their “Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle”, drawn by Mort Meskin, a female version of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Tarzan Of The Apes” who would remain Fiction House’s most famous character by far. Other strips in that first issue of JUMBO COMICS included Will Eisner/“Willis Rensie’s “ “Hawk Of The Seas”, “Peter Pupp” by Bob Kane, “ZX-5 Spies In Action”, “Spencer Steel” “Inspector Dayton” and a trio of Jacob Kurtzberg/Jack Kirby’s earliest-published stories: “The Diary Of Dr. Hayward” (signed by “Curt Davis”), “Wilton Of The West” (signed by “Fred Sande”) and an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (signed by “Jack Curtiss”), each four pages long. After JUMBO COMICS proved itself to be a hit, Fiction House’s first wave of additional comic books, most of which mimicked many of their most successful pulp magazines: JUNGLE COMICS, WINGS COMICS, PLANET COMICS, RANGERS COMICS and FIGHT COMICS. Promoted as “The Big Six”, these were among Fiction Houses most popular titles. Fiction House’s artistic roster was an impressive; in addition to early work by Eisner, the publisher’s cartoonists included Mort Meskin, Matt Baker (among the first -- and best -- African-American comics artists), Nick Cardy, George Evans, Bob Powell, Lee Elias, as well as such rare female comics artists as Ruth Atkinson, Fran Hopper, Lilly Renée, and Marcia Snyder. The company was also known for its bizarre page-layouts, which often resemble jigsaw puzzles. According to author/cartoonist Trina Robbins in her book, THE GREAT WOMAN SUPERHEROES, “Most of [Fiction House's] pulp-style action stories either starred or featured strong, beautiful, competent heroines. They were war nurses, aviatrixes, girl detectives, counterspies, and animal skin-clad jungle queens, and they were in command. Guns blazing, daggers unsheathed, sword in hand, they leaped across the pages, ready to take on any villain. And they did not need rescuing.” But thanks to these sexy heroines, in the early 1950s, Fiction House found itself included in the companies targeted by Dr. Fredric Wertham, whose book, SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT (1954), attempted to link comic book reading with juvenile delinquency. This, combined with a series of hearings by the Senate Subcommittee On Juvenile Delinquency, the waning of pulp magazines, and the rise of television and paperback “original” novels, finally forced Fiction House to shut its doors in 1954. Here is a list of Fiction House’s comic book titles:

• 3-D CIRCUS (1953 series)
• 3-D SHEENA, JUNGLE QUEEN (1953 series)
• APACHE (1951 series)
• COWGIRL ROMANCES (1950 series)
• FIGHT COMICS (1940 series) (Fiction House Magazines)
• FIREHAIR (1951 series) (Fight Stories, Inc.)
• FIREHAIR COMICS (1948 series) (Fight Stories, Inc.)
• THE FIRST CHRISTMAS (1953 series)
• GHOST COMICS (1951 series)
• INDIANS (1950 series)
• JET ACES (1952 series)
• JUMBO COMICS (1938 series)
• JUNGLE COMICS (1940 series)
• KA’A’NGA (1949 series)
• KNOCKOUT ADVENTURES (1953 series) (Flying Stories Inc.)
• LONG BOW (1951 series)
• MAN O’ MARS (1953 series)
• MONSTER (1953 series) (Flying Stories Inc.)
• MOVIE COMICS (1946 series) (Wings Publishing Co.)
• PIONEER WEST ROMANCES (1950 series)
• PLANET COMICS (1940 series)
• RANGERS COMICS (1941 series)
• SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE (1942 series) (Fiction House Magazines)
• THE SPIRIT (1952 series)
• TOYLAND COMICS (1947 series)
• WAMBI THE JUNGLE BOY (1942 series)
• WAR BIRDS (1952 series) (Fight Stories, Inc.)
• WINGS COMICS (1940 series) (Wings Publishing Co.)

Cartoonist Morton “Mort” Meskin, born on May 30, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York City, has been referred to as “perhaps the finest artist never to work on a major feature.” A fan of pulp magazines in general and Walter Gibson’s THE SHADOW in particular, was the art editor of his high school newspaper. He later attended the Art Student League Of New York and Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, from which he graduated in 1938. Mort’s first comic book gigs were for Will Eisner and Jerry Iger, prominent packagers of comic book editorial material for a variety of publishers. He drew “Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle” for Fiction House’s JUMBO COMICS. Between 1939 and 1942, he also drew, through the packaging studio run by Harry “A” Chesler, many features for MLJ/Archie Comics, including “Ty-Gor, Son Of Tiger”, “The Press Guardian”, “Bob Phantom”, “Mr. Satan”, “The Shied”, “The Wizard” and “Dick Storm”. In 1941, Mort Meskin started freelancing for National Comics, drawing “The Vigilante”, “Wildcat”, “Starman” and “Johnny Quick”. Greatly admired by his peers, Meskin once told comics historian/cartoonist/designer Jim Steranko that his art style was heavily influenced by cinematic techniques, especially those displayed in Orson Welles’ classic film. “CITIZEN KANE (1941) influenced us a great deal, all of us. We were very excited about it and spent quite a bit of time discussing it, employing its elements in our work. There was a contest as to who saw it the most times". During this time, Mort also did work for Nedor (on “The Black Terror” and “The Fighting Yank” with Jerry Robinson; Marvel Comics, Gleason, Spark (on “Atoman” and “Golden Lad”) and other publishers. In 1949, he left National to work for Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, two of his biggest influences. There, he worked on such titles as Harvey Comics’ BOY’S RANCH and CAPTAIN 3-D and Crestwood’s BLACK MAGIC. In 1956, Mort returned to National/DC; there, he worked in nearly all genres co-creating the mystery feature “Mark Merlin” in HOUSE OF SECRETS and working on such titles as STRANGE ADVENTURES, MYSTERY IN SPACE, REAL FACT COMIC and INSIDE EARTH: CAVE CARSON.

Cartoonist Steve Ditko, co-creator of “The Amazing Spider-Man”, was a self-declared admirer of the work of Mort Meskin: "Meskin was fabulous, I couldn't believe the ease with which he drew: strong compositions, loose pencils, yet complete; detail without clutter. I loved his stuff". In 1965, Meskin became a commercial illustrator and art director in the advertising industry, gradually did less comics work and eventually retired completely in 1982. Mort Meskin died in April, 1995.

Most of the stories in this issue of KNOCKOUT ADVENTURES seem to be reprints from earlier-published comics, especially since three out of the four feature blank teaser-boxes. Or perhaps these are previously-unpublished “leftovers” after the regular Fiction House had been cancelled; this comic was published only a few months before Fiction House finally tossed in the towel. “Rip Carter” originally appeared on a regular basis in Fiction House’s FIGHT COMICS, as did “Kayo Kirby”, “Hooks Devlin” and “Señorita Rio”.

This issue’s 8-page “Risks, Unlimited” lead story starring “Rip Carson” is “The Lamasery Of Yang-Su”, signed by “Rollin W. Bell” and drawn by Robert Webb. It begins with this splash-page introduction:

INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE CAPTION:
To the mystic Orient come many Americans…Some like Rip and his pals who remained at war’s end to set up the tiny airline RISKS, UNLIMITED…Others like the wealthy tourist, Doris Perry and her friends…

Somewhere in the “mystic Orient”, Doris and her girlfriends Kitty Moore and Bess travel by rickshaw, accompanied by Lum Kai, an Asian man with skin the color of a ripe lemon. Doris reveals a change in plans to their guide as they arrive at the local airfield:

LUM KAI:
Arrangements are made for visit to lamasery of Yang-Su, Miss Perry. Is this one not yet thy guide?

DORIS PERRY:
Not since I ran into an old college chum who says that trip is too dangerous, Lum Kai…Your salary will still be paid, but ours will be a flying tour in his plane…Bess! There he is…Rip!

BESS:
Rip Carson!

While Doris makes introductions for her girlfriends and Rip’s crewmen, Tex and Brooklyn, Lum Kai pays a local underling to run an errand:

LUM KAI:
You will send message from secret wireless station…understood?

LUM KAI ‘S UNDERLING:
Yes, Master…much haste.

Suddenly, Rip turns to the girl’s former guide:

RIP CARSON:
What’s with you, hotshot…Haven’t been reading about airplane crashes, have you?

LUM KAI:
Lum Kai but arranged storage of baggage, Meester Carson.

Soon, everyone’s aboard RISKS, UNLIMITED which heads toward Yang-Su. Doris asks to fly the plane, but Rip has reservations:

DORIS PERRY:
I’d like to log an hour, Rip…I have a private pilot’s license.

RIP CARSON:
Okay, when we’re over more friendly territory, Doris. These local Joes would as soon slit your throat as look at you!

Meanwhile, Lum Kai fires a signal out of one of the plane’s windows

LUM KAI (thinking):
Ah…The signal…and unseen by the Yankees…but ho! So soon does the daring Rip Carson shout his alarm…

Sure enough, two planes of unknown origin appear in the sky, flying directly toward RISKS, UNLIMITED, their gunfire about to make a “sieve” out of the American’s small transport plane. Rip doesn’t stand a chance, so he lands his plane on a level area near the lamasery of Yang Su. But as the crew and passengers leave RISKS, UNLIMITED, they find themselves surrounded by local bandits, with Lum Kai aiming a tommy-gun directly at Rip’s heart. Lum Kai and his “cutthroats” quickly take the all of the westerners captive, but Lum Kai soon makes it clear that Doris is the key element of his scheme. Soon, inside the lamasery, the lemon-skinned crook instructs Doris to compose a ransom note to her wealthy father; if she doesn’t comply, he’ll order his underlings to torture Rip with red-hot branding irons! Defeated, Doris writes the ransom note, so Lum Kai has her and Rip locked in a dungeon (where Doris takes the opportunity to show off her legs.) Somehow, Rip has learned that Lum Kai has taken the others to an old guillotine outside of the lamasery.

TEX:
He’s got no use for us, Brooklyn! He can work Doris and Rip for more ransom demands!

BROOKLYN:
Yeh, and I don’t like the looks of that blade or the way that butcher’s puttin’ on the pressure!

Unfortunately, Rip’s crewmen have good reason to be nervous:

LUM KAI ‘S UNDERLING:
These ones are worthless, Lum Kai! Should not thy loyal followers be permitted to spill their blood?

LUM KAI:
So it shall be! Prepare the execution!

Meanwhile, tricking a guard with the old hidden-platform-over-the-doorway routine, Rip and Doris escape from the dungeon. Then, to sneak past a group of Lum Kai’s underlings, Doris mugs an exotic-looking dancing girl and swaps outfits with her; when she gets close to the underlings’ bonfire, Doris tosses in Rip’s gun belt of ammo, which causes chaos to erupt as they sneak past. Meanwhile, the Asian gangster is about to behead Beth, Kitty, Tex and Brooklyn, all with one slice of an enormous blade:

LUM KAI ‘S UNDERLING:
Once more blood stain ancient execution block, Lum Kai.

LUM KAI:
True. Most touching are last words of the Yankees.

But before the executioner can drop the giant blade, Lum Kai and his men find themselves strafed by Rip Carson, who’s hanging by straps suspended from the belly of RISKS, UNLIMITED, which is being piloted by Doris!

LUM KAI ‘S UNDERLING:
Master! Executioner awaits thy signal!

LUM KAI:
Hold…By ancestors’ ghosts…’Tis iron bird of Yankees!

DORIS PERRY:
I’ve got it, Rip…A one eighty turn and then robot pilot! But you’ll all be killed!

RIP CARSON:
That fade-out’s no worse than the other! I’m getting off! And here’s one devil that won’t be around for the fireworks!

LUM KAI:
No…No! Mercy…A-R-G-H!

While Rip struggles to free their friends, Doris -- still flying the plane --makes the greatest one-in-a-million shot in the history of comics:

DORIS PERRY (thinking):
Barbarians getting ready to charge…It’ll have to be now…There!...Let my aim be right…

LUM KAI ‘S UNDERLING #1:
No…No! ‘Tis a bomb!

LUM KAI ‘S UNDERLING #2:
Is doom!

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
Then, a deafening explosion…Earth and rock spray the ancient guillotine…

As the dust settles, and while Doris lands the RISKS, UNLIMITED, it’s pretty apparent that Rip and his friends are the only survivors:

TEX:
Got under it just in time…Guess nobody’ll shed any tears for Lum Kai’s blood-crazed horde!

RIP CARSON:
You’re right, Tex…And here comes the plane…We can thank Doris that everybody’s okay…

DORIS PERRY:
Aren’t you forgetting a fellow named Rip Carson?

BROOKLYN:
Don’t you forget, kid…G’wan, thank him properly. I’m thinking your China tour’s gonna prove mighty interesting!

(This story was later reprinted in I.W. Comics/Super Adventures’ DARING ADVENTURES No. 8, 1963.)

Also included in this issue of KNOCKOUT ADVENTURES are the following stories, features and advertisements:

• “Whee! Free As A Bird…A ‘Quick-Action’ Opportunity To Win $25,000 Cash Prizes -- First Prize $15,,000”, a black-and-white, inside-front-cover ad for “The Amazing New EnterPRIZE Puzzle Contest”, accessible via mail order from the “Enterprize Puzzle Contest”.

• “The Big SIX Of The Comics!”, a full-page Fiction House house-ad displaying issues of WINGS COMICS (No. 122, Winter 1953), JUNGLE COMICS (No. 161, Winter, 1953), PLANET COMICS (No. 73, Winter, 1953), GHOST COMICS (an issue which, judging by its cover art, probably never saw publication), KA’A’NGA JUNGLE KING (No. 18, Winter 1953/1954) and Will Eisner’s THE SPIRIT (No. 5, 1954).

• “Kayo Kirby” in “The Rumble In Rio” by “Chuck Walker” and drawn by Matt Baker. -- “Monterey, Tampico, Panama, Caracas, Santiago, Buenos Aires…a famous fist goes on tour as Manny stages exhibition bonus for world’s champion, KAYO KIRBY. Next stop…sunny Rio!” (Before I launch into my synopsis of this story, I’ve gotta note that, on its splash-page, never have panel layouts ever gone to such lengths to provide ample room to display a female character’s shapely legs?) Landing in Rio with his manager Manny, Kayo is met at the airport by Alonzo, the charming South American boxer he’s scheduled to fight there. Later that day, while being honored with a parade through Rio, the two prizefighters are observed by a sneering trio of obvious lowlifes named Ricardo, Slug and Chiquita. In the middle of the night, Ricardo and Slug break into Alonzo’s private gym, knock out the guard with a blackjack, and secretly saw through a few of the planks in the floor of Alonzo’s boxing ring. The next day, during their warm-up, Slug -- who turns out to be Alonzo’s crooked sparring partner -- manipulates the local champ to step onto the weakened area of the boxing ring, crashes though it and breaks a bone in his hand. Just as Manny gets a phone call with the bad news -- and, course, his reaction is sheer panic -- Chiquita steps through their hotel doorway and introduces herself as “zee managair of zee fighter Ricardo” and that they’re looking for a gig. Wow, talk about your convenient coincidences! Before you can say “Joe Palooka”, Manny and Chiquita have arranged a new bout for that night, featuring “Meester Keerby” versus Ricardo. Later that day, Alonzo’s one-eyed manager tells the champ about the fill-in bout. Knowing of Chiquita’s bad reputation, Alonzo’s immediately suspicious; he and his manager soon discover the sabotage previously done to his boxing ring. But before the injured Alonzo can act, Manny is kidnapped off the streets of Rio by Slug and Ricardo, and when he’ late to take Kayo to the boxing arena, the American boxer is immediately worried. Climbing into the ring without Manny at his side, Kayo is surprised to be handed a note by a stranger, one that reads, “Throw fight if you want to see Manny ALIVE!” Kayo Kirby decides to stall his opponent as long as possible. Meanwhile, across town, Manny is being held prisoner by Chiquita, Slug and another stooge when Alonzo crashes through the door. Despite his injured hand, he and Manny overwhelm the two thugs and lock them in a closet, leaving now-intimidated Chiquita behind. Back in the boxing ring, Kayo is getting tired of taking Ricardo’s punches, and only has one round left. But when he spies Manny and Alonzo running down an aisle of the arena, Kayo easily dispatches his foe with “The Koiby Special”, then thanks his new pal Alonzo for helping Manny. (This story was later reprinted in I.W. Comics/Super Adventures’ DARING ADVENTURES No. 8, 1963.)

• “You Can Be A Bombshell In Any Tough Spot!”, a one-page ad for AMERICAN COMBAT JUDO, a self-defense book available through mail-order from “Sportsman’s Post”.

• “Free! Rare Army Patches”, a one-page ad for “authentic patches worn in battle by famous fighting outfits” -- including the apparently desirable “atom bomb” patch -- available via mail-order from “The Patch King”.

• “Hooks Devlin, Special Agent” in “Danger At The Dude Ranch”, by “John Campbell” and drawn by Donald Shaw. -- “Hooks and Peaches haven’t traded the pavement for the prairie for nothing, although you might say it is for ‘fee,’ as…” Special Agent Hooks and his pun-cracking red-haired girlfriend, Peaches, are sent out west to by the owner of a dude ranch to “find out what’s keeping the guests away from my ranch”. But when Bull Young, the dude ranch’s chubby manager is alerted to this by his boss, his thoughts are highly suspect: “So the old man’s sending a couple of sleuths to check up, eh? Dear, dear, and I didn’t WANT to kill anyone!” While the rotund manager fills in five of his armed “lads” on the situation, an old ranch hand eavesdrops, thinking, “That Bull Young is a shore enough coyote, a-fixin’ to ruin the tourist trade, do he can buy the ranch cheap and keep what he’s got hidden in the shed!” Later, while Young is giving Hooks and Peaches a tour around the dude ranch -- which happens to include its own bullfighting ring (!) -- they’re approached by the old ranch hand, who tells them to look in the shed. Young drives him away, calling the geezer a “crazy old gopher” and starts firing his pistol at him for “killing my trade”. Hooks and Peaches are rather disturbed by Young’s behavior, but he distracts them with a promise of a big barbeque that night -- held in their honor -- primarily attended by Bull Young’s armed hoods. Again, the old ranch hand goes to warn Hook and Peaches, but he’s stopped by one of Bull Young’s thugs, who squeezes the last ebb of life out of the old fellow with his bare hands, then leaves a misleading clue. Hooks, Peaches and the rest of the barbeque attendees hear the old ranch hand’s death-screams; examining his corpse, Bull Young points to puncture marks on the old mans wrist, indicating he was killed by the poisonous bite of a rattlesnake. Later that night, Peaches shows Hooks a “two pronged hypo needle” (!?!) she found near the body. Hooks reacts, “Must you ALWAYS wait for a dramatic moment to tell me things? It all adds up! I’m looking at that shed!” Breaking into it, they find mining equipment, maps and plenty of gold samples dug from the area! Suddenly they’re interrupted by smug Bull Young and his men, apparently delighted that, now that their plan’s been discovered, they finally have an excuse for some cruel amusement. They place Hooks and Peaches into the bullfighting arena (ah, ain’t it great when a bizarre plot device reveals itself early on in the story?) and set loose a massive bull to dispatch them. But Peaches uses a red scarf she earlier bought at the train station (hey, it’s the same story-gimmick used twice in a row!), to distract the bull, luring it to charge right into the stands where Bull Young and his gang are sitting. As the bull inexplicably calms down, Hook lassoes the bad guys together. In the end, Peaches gives Hooks a big kiss while murmuring, “Oh, Hooksie, you’re positively divine in a lumbering sort of way.” (This story was later reprinted in I.W. Comics/Super Adventures’ DARING ADVENTURES No. 8, 1963.)

• “Señorita Rio” in “The Santo Bello Assignment”, drawn by Nick Cardy. -- “’Contact Señor Culebra in Santo Bellos immediately,’ read the coded message to Señorita Rio. ‘Key arsenal workers on Project Espanitar missing! El Sangre suspected!’ And soon the girl agent moved swiftly through the bright glitter and rippling gaiety of fiesta time, moved cautiously toward the flickering shadows…” Drawn in a much more contemporary style than the other features in this comic, this story begins with a splash-panel shot of Señorita Rio in action. Noticing a guy wearing a pink gaucho hat who’s blowing smoke rings from his cigaro, Señorita Rio makes contact with “Culebra, The Snake” -- “the cleverest agent south of the border: -- introducing herself as a fortune teller. Although cautious, Señorita Rio accompanies her new partner-in-intrigue on his “daring plan”, taking a motorboat to a nearby lighthouse. But inside, at the top of the stairs, Señorita Rio realizes that she’s been led into a trap. The man known as “El Sangre” initially holds Señorita Rio at gunpoint, but suddenly turns his ire on Señor Culebra. He’s suspicious that the Snake brought Señorita Rio to him merely as an excuse to learn where El Sangre is holding the missing arsenal workers. At Señor Culebra’s urging, Señorita Rio tries to make a getaway, but takes a fall when the rotting staircase collapses beneath her. She’s captured and brought back to El Sangre, who’s torturing Señor Culebra by forcing his hand on a flaming brazier. As he spills his guts,, Señorita Rio realizes that each of the missing workers held captive and drugged by El Sangre specializes in making a separate part of a new secret weapon. Feigning faintness, Señorita Rio asks for a cigarette, but after lighting it, she jabs it into El Sangre’s eye. She escapes, but El Sangre is certain that the guards that surround the lighthouse will kill her. Instead, he and two of his underlings don masks that resemble the features of three of the missing arsenal workers and head for the arsenal, where they plan to obtain the blueprints for the secret weapon. Meanwhile, Señorita Rio knocks out a guard and re-climbs the lighthouse to free Señor Culebra. They compare notes and formulate a plan to stop El Sangre, one that involves the use of an old sea captain’s uniform that they find hanging nearby. Meanwhile, the masked El Sangre and his men successfully gain entrance into the arsenal. Back at the lighthouse, Señor Culebra impersonates a sea captain, claiming that he’s got important information for El Sangre. His ruse fools the drugged arsenal workers into allowing him to use the lighthouse’s wireless device, but before he and Señorita Rio can transmit a message, one of El Sangre’s goons smashes the equipment with a sledgehammer. After Señor Culebra dispatches the brute with a karate chop to the neck, Señorita Rio tells him that she’s got an alternate plan. Then she dives into the choppy water surrounding the lighthouse and swims for the arsenal, where El Sangre and his men are about to make their escape, even though El Sangre’s having a problem with his mask slipping. But when the lighthouse flashes a signal in Morse code -- one that warns the officials of El Sangre’s ruse -- and the glare of its light-beam exposes the whereabouts of the weapon-thieves, the local garrison arrives, as does Señorita Rio. She confronts El Sangre, who pulls out a knife to stab her, but instead, he stumbles backwards, fatally impaling himself on the bayonet of a soldier’s rifle. With their leader dead, “the whole evil plot against the government” is smashed. One of the local officials thank Señorita Rio, who insists on sharing the credit with Señor Culebra. Later, her partner thanks her: “Señorita, I doff my sombrero to your clever ruse.” Her response? “Oh, pickles, Culebra! You sent that Morse code on the lighthouse reflector like a vet!” (This story was later reprinted in I.W. Comics/Super Adventures’ DARING ADVENTURES No. 8, 1963.)

• “Indian Scouts! Make You Own Real Indian Outfit!”, an unusual one-page ad for various facsimile kits of war bonnets, medicine man horned headdresses, war shirts, vests, moccasins, leggings, necklaces -- even a tomahawk -- all available through mail-order from the “Grey Owl Indian Craft Mfg. Co.”

• “Amazing Double-Action Skin Treatment That Conceals As It Medicates Pimples, Acne, Teen-Age Pimples, Surface Skin Blemishes And Irritations!”, a black-and-white, inside-back-cover ad for “an amazing, new-type medication” available via mail-order from the “Scope Product. Co.”

• “Thousands Sold At This Low Price! Lifetime Chronograph Stopwatch -- Window Calendar Wristwatch -- Precision Jeweled”, a back-cover ad for an apparently miraculous “Swiss precision” timepiece that’s also a tachometer, a telemeter and a 12-hour recorder, available through mail-order from the “Buyer’ Guild, Inc.”

ODDBALL FACTOID – For many issues, the cover-star of Fiction House’s FIGHT COMICS -- which featured all of KNOCKOUT ADVENTURES’ characters on a regular basis -- was “Tiger Girl”*, a knock-off of the publisher’s own -- and much more successful -- “Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle”!

Bonus ODDBALL FACTOID – Will Eisner and Jerry Iger originally created “Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle” -- under the joint pseudonym "W. Morgan Thomas" -- for WAGS, a British comic book!

*No relation to the character of the same name co-created by Jerry Siegel and Jack Sparling and published in 1968 by Western Publishing Company, Inc./Gold Key.

New Next Week: ODDBALL COMIC #1,210, FEBRUARY 4, 2008: Meet the Operator, a super-villain who can transmit through telephone wires! Then meet Dr. Nose and his hairy, hulking henchman, the Ghastly Ghoul Of Greymoor, who tries to make a hero sandwich out of Pureheart The Powerful and Evilheart! So who can possibly stop these ODDBALL ultra-fiends? Wouldja believe Archie Andrews’ burger-lovin’ buddy Jughead P. Jones, AKA CAPTAIN HERO? Just don’t forget to bring along a snack!

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