Mr. District Attorney, No. 12

Monday, April 21 2008 @ 12:17 AM PDT

Here’s a long-running funnybook series that never once mentioned the name of its star! In “Radio’s No. 1 Hit!”, DC’s anonymous crime-fightin’ public servant, MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY is letting the world know that “I Defended The Monkey Man!” Then our straight-laced lawman busts the “Fake Accident Racket!” and “The Phoney Talent Scouts!” Plus, tons of nutty strip-ads, including another exploit of cartoonist C. C. Beck’s “Captain Marvel”-esque candy-huckster, “Captain Tootsie”! It’s undefendably Oddball!

[fieldinserts][issuetitle]Title: [subissuetitle]Mr. District Attorney[subissuetitle]
[issuetitle][issue]Issue: [subissue]No. 12[subissue]
[issue][publicationdate]Date: [subpublicationdate]Nov. - Dec., 1949[subpublicationdate]
[publicationdate][publisher]Publisher: [subpublisher]National Periodical Publications, Inc. (DC Comics)[subpublisher]
[publisher][coverartists]Cover Artist(s): [subcoverartists]Howard Purcell[subcoverartists]

[coverartists][introtext]Here’s a long-running funnybook series that never once mentioned the name of its star! In “Radio’s No. 1 Hit!”, DC’s anonymous crime-fightin’ public servant, MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY is letting the world know that “I Defended The Monkey Man!” Then our straight-laced lawman busts the “Fake Accident Racket!” and “The Phoney Talent Scouts!” Plus, tons of nutty strip-ads, including another exploit of cartoonist C. C. Beck’s “Captain Marvel”-esque candy-huckster, “Captain Tootsie”! It’s undefendably Oddball![introtext]

[fieldinserts]Crime comics were introduced in June, 1942 with the first issue of Lev Gleason’s CRIME DOES NOT PAY. And after World War II, the popularity of superheroes took a nosedive; in their place, the controversial crime genre grew to encompass dozens of titles from many different publishers. Within a few years, many of these were criticized as glamorizing criminals, promoting acts of brutal violence and providing thinly-veiled youth-primers on how to successfully commit crimes. But this series -- and its “sister” publication, GANGBUSTERS -- were about as close to a then-typical crime comic that DC ever got. (And please note that this was the case even before the formation of the Comics Code Authority.)

Also, this comic represents an early example of DC’s longtime fascination with monkeys and gorillas -- reportedly, the publisher experienced spiking sales whenever one of their funnybooks features a simian on its cover -- although in an Oddball turnabout, it’s not seeing the “monkey” part of “I Defended The Monkey Man!” that’s intended to intrigue the reader!

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY was a popular radio show that was broadcast on NBC and ABC (4/3/1939 - 6/13/52, and in transcribed syndication through 1953). The crime drama -- which was created, written and directed by Ed Byron, a former law student -- featured a crusading D.A., invariably referred to only as “Mister District Attorney” or merely “Chief”. During its run on radio, the anonymous D.A. was portrayed by actors Dwight Weist, Raymond Edward Johnson, Jay Jostyn and David Brian. Phillips H. Lord, creator of GANGBUSTERS (another radio series adapted by DC Comics) had a hand in developing the series’ concept; in fact, it was Lord who came up with this show’s title. The scripts for MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY were extremely timely, well-researched and accurate. During WWII, the show’s D.A. turned his attention to the Nazi threat; reportedly, some of these scripts were considered too accurate, at least for the F.B.I. Eventually, MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY also became a short-lived television series airing on ABC (10/1/1951 - 6/23/1952) and later, briefly syndicated, featuring essentially the same cast as the concurrently-produced radio show. However, for this new incarnation in the new medium, the series’ D.A. -- played by Jay Jostyn -- was finally given a name: “Paul Garrett”.

Cartoonist Howard Purcell (1918 - 1981) studied at New York City’s Art Students League; his artistic influences included Alex Raymond, Harvey Dunn, Dean Cornwall and Hal Foster. After working as an animator throughout the 1930s in New York City’s cartoon studios, Purcell’s earliest-known comic book story-credit is for “Mark Lansing”, a feature in the August, 1940 issue of ADVENTURE COMICS (No. 53). He briefly worked for Archie/MLJ (“Bentley Of Scotland Yard”, 1941), Fawcett (“Captain Venture”, 1942) and Timely/Marvel (“Young Avenger” in USA COMICS No. 1 (August, 1941, signed “Michael Robard”), “Nick Fury, Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D.” in STRANGE TALES (No.s 143 and 144, April and May, 1966, over the layouts of Jack Kirby), “The Black Knight” in MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (No. 17, September, 1968) and “The Watcher” in SILVER SURFER (No. 4, February, 1969); the last story was a re-telling of “The Terror Of Tim Boo Ba!”, a classic Oddball story originally appearing AMAZING ADULT FANTASY No. 9, February, 1962), but the vast majority of Purcell’s gigs were for National/All-American/DC. There, he drew the famous cover of GREEN LANTERN No. 1 (Fall, 1941), as well as such features as "Lando, Man of Magic" (WORLD’S BEST COMICS No. 1 (Spring, 1941) and "Red, White and Blue" in ALL-AMERICAN COMICS No. 25 (April. 1941). Purcell was responsible for co-creating three somewhat obscure characters for the publisher. Working with writer John Wentworth, Purcell co-created “Sargon The Sorcerer” in ALL-AMERICAN COMICS No. 26 (May, 1941), and with writer Gardner Fox, he co-created “The Gay Ghost” in SENSATION COMICS No. 1 (January, 1942). Decades later, working with writer Bob Haney, Purcell also co-created “The Enchantress” in STRANGE ADVENTURES No. 187 (April, 1966). Howard Purcell also drew many later issues of DC’s SEA DEVILS, as well as stories for ALL-AMERICAN MEN OF WAR, BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Aquaman teamed with Hawkman, No. 51, December - January 1963 - 1964), “Dr. Thirteen, The Ghost Breaker”, FALLING IN LOVE, GANGBUSTERS, GIRLS’ LOVE STORIES, the “Golden Age” GREEN LANTERN, HEART THROBS, “Hop Harrigan” in ALL STAR COMICS, HOUSE OF MYSTERY, HOUSE OF SECRETS, “Johnny Peril” and “Space Ranger” in TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY, MY GREATEST ADVENTURE, MYSTERY IN SPACE, OUR ARMY AT WAR, STRANGE ADVENTURES and YOUNG ROMANCE. After leaving comics -- his last credits were in DC’s WEIRD MYSTERY TALES (August - December, 1972) -- Howard Purcell became a teacher at Wilkes-Barre High School and at Luzerne County Community College, both in Pennsylvania.

The first issue of DC’s MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY was cover-dated January - February, 1948, at which time the cover-blurb “Radio’s No. 1 Hit!” was probably true. The series’ last issue was cover-dated February, 1958 and featured “Operation Dragnet!” as its lead story (doubtlessly a feeble attempt to ride a final ride on the coattails of producer/director/writer/actor Jack Webb’s popular radio and television series, DRAGNET [12/16/1951 - 9/6/1959].) But, considering that this comic featured a licensed property, it’s fairly impressive that it enjoyed a decade-long run.

Cartoonist Charles S, Paris, Jr. (1911 - 1994), influenced by artists Rudolf Kinais and Harvey Dunn, studied art at New York City’s Art Students League, the Grand Central School Of Art and the Pratt Institute. Paris began his career as an inker for Bob Kane on the McClure Syndicate’s original BATMAN syndicated newspaper comic strip (1943 - 1946). When the strip came to an end (for the time being), DC Comics hired Paris to ink the work of Dick Sprang and Sheldon Moldoff, but he wound up inking dozens of different features for the publisher, as well as penciling a story for BATMAN No.s 42 (“Claws Of The Catwoman!”, August - September, 1947). DC titles and features that Charles Paris worked on -- primarily as an inker -- include “Air Wave” in DETECTIVE COMICS, THE ADVENTURES OF ALAN LADD, “Aquaman” in ADVENTURE COMICS, BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Metal Men teamed with the Atom in No. 55, August - September, 1964 and Batman teamed with Green Lantern in No. 59, April-May, 1965), BATMAN, BOY COMMANDOS, “The Crimson Avenger” in ADVENTURE COMICS, DALE EVANS, DETECTIVE COMICS, GANGBUSTERS, HOUSE OF MYSTERY, “Johnny Quick” in ADVENTURE COMICS, “Manhunter” in ADVENTURE COMICS, METAMORPHO, “Nighthawk” in ALL AMERICAN WESTERN, REAL FACT COMICS, “Robin The Boy Wonder” in STAR SPANGLED COMICS, “Shining Knight” in ADVENTURE COMICS, STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES, SUPERMAN, TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, “The Vigilante” in ACTION COMICS, WESTERN COMICS and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS. Paris also drew illustrations for a variety of magazines -- from pulps to hobby and trade titles -- occasionally under the pen name of “Charles Parrish” -- as well as theatrical displays and commercial art. Charles Paris was also a professional musician and a fine artist; he was honored with an “Inkpot” Award for artistic achievement at the 1989 San Diego Comic-Con.

This issue’s 10-page “Mr. District Attorney” cover-story is “I Defended The Monkey Man!”, edited by Whitney Ellsworth, penciled by Howard Purcell and inked by Charles Paris. It begins with this introduction:

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY (narrating):
YOUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY SPEAKS:

In this land of ours, under our laws, a person is innocent until proven guilty. And it is my duty as District Attorney not only to prosecute the guilty but to make certain that the innocent go free! And it is my duty, too, to make certain that society shares the guilt and responsibility of a criminal that society, itself, had created! That is why…”I DEFENDED THE MONKEY MAN!”

As usual for this series, our anonymous district attorney narrates this Oddball story:

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY (narrating):
“On the night of March 7, 1948, our police finally caught up with Crimeland’s most bizarre figure after a series of spectacular crimes -- crimes credited to the incredible ‘MONKEY MAN’ as he was dubbed by the press! Below on crowded Carroll Street, Harrington and I directed the capture…”

Seeking escape, [pic2]the notorious Monkey Man[pic2] -- AKA “Wilber Kretlow” -- leaps from one building’s fire escape ladder to one next door, he successfully bridges the gap, but fails to notice a skylight until he missteps and crashes through it. Surrounded by a throng of reporters and photographers, Mr. District Attorney and his red-haired assistant load the unconscious simian burglar into a squad car and rushes him to City Hospital’s emergency ward. There, Mr. District Attorney speaks with the doctor in charge:

DOCTOR:
He’s alive. He will pull through! But his face…was cut badly by the glass when he crashed through the skylight…

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
I know! And that is precisely why I wish to talk to you, Doctor! I’m very familiar with this “Monkey Man’s” case. It’s a sad one, all right! As a matter of fact, it’s so unique, I discussed it with psychiatrists. In their opinion and mine, the man turned to crime because he was rejected by society. Now I have a plan…

Later, Mr. District Attorney has his attractive blonde secretary, Miss Miller, pull every file available on the Monkey Man. He reveals his intentions to his assistant:

HARRINGTON:
You’re really going ahead with your plan, Chief?

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
Yes! Those psychiatrists were right! The “Monkey Man” turned to crime because he wanted to strike back. He wanted to hurt the society which spurned him. He was confused. I don’t want to send him to jail when I can develop him into a decent citizen.

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY (narrating):
“Two weeks later, on March 22 -- while a nation tensed -- ‘The Case Of The Monkey Man’ went before the court on Belfry Street…”

(“While a nation tensed”? Boy, monkeys really are popular with the public!) As the Monkey Man enters the courtroom, the buzzing crowd notes that “his face is all bandaged up”. Then the first witness is called to the stand, Miss Phoebe Adams, who had been one of “Monkey Man” Wilbur Kretlow’s elementary school teachers. She testifies:

MISS PHOEBE ADAMS:
He was a strange, backward boy! I think this was because he -- he was -- so ugly! When the other children played games during recess, Wilbur never joined them. He was shy -- always an outsider! Then one day he was invited to join them…

We’re shown, in a flashback, how the simian-faced kid was then told, “We’re going to play jungle man, Wilbur…and YOU’RE TO BE THE MONKEY!”

MISS PHOEBE ADAMS:
With an outburst of tears, Wilber ran into Plymouth Park. He’d been hurt, shamed. He stayed there for two days. That was his first offense, I think -- playing hookey…

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
As you see, the boy -- at that impressionable age -- was sensitive about his face. It wasn’t vanity. It was simply a desire to be as normal as his classmates. But they drove him away by poking fun at him! Playing hookey surely wasn’t Wilbur’s fault entirely. He wanted to avoid ridicule.

Mr. District Attorney’s next witness is Miss Betty May, a famous professional circus acrobat known as “Trixie Day”. The attractive redhead was a fellow classmate of Wilbur Kretlow’s during grade school:

MISS BETTY “TRIXIE” DAY:
I remember clearly -- that he usually went off by himself to play. He was a very remarkable boy in certain respects. He could climb a tree as easily as a jungle native. It was unusual and somewhat startling to see him handle himself up in the branches! I think that’s how he first got his nickname…

(“Went off by himself”? “Startling to see him handle himself”? Yep, that’s typical monkey-spanking monkey behavior, all right.) But when the other kids pick up on his “Monkey Man” label, poor Wilbur is mortified:

MISS BETTY “TRIXIE” DAY:
He stopped abruptly, with the cries of ‘Monkey Man’ ringing about him. He stood there motionless. He must have died a thousand deaths. I never saw him in the park again.

But years later, while traveling with her circus act, Trixie thinks of Wilbur while having a conversation with the circus’ manager, Francis Riley:

FRANCIS RILEY:
Business is slipping, Trixie. We need someone to jack up the show, and act that’s DIFFERENT! Maybe someone who could put on a monkey suit and amuse the crowds!

MISS BETTY “TRIXIE” DAY:
Keep talking, Riley. You’re putting an idea into my head!

FRANCIS RILEY:
This character’s got to be good enough so the audience don’t KNOW he’s human! They think he’s the genuine article. The we show ‘em he ain’t a monkey -- and does that bring down the house!

MISS BETTY “TRIXIE” DAY:
A MONKEY MAN! Riley, I know just the person -- if we can find him!

After three weeks of searching, they finally locate Wilbur Kretlow working as a janitor on the West Side. After seeing Wilbur’s acrobatic skills first-hand, Riley makes an offer of $100 a week to him, a figure that is too much for the young man to resist:

MISS BETTY “TRIXIE” DAY:
Then, in an especially made costume, he put on a show-stopping act. The crowd thought he was a real monkey on the loose…But, despite his popularity, it was the same old story. Even the circus people refused to accept him as a companion. He was still an outsider…It was one night in October. I remember we were playing Miles City. [pic3]When Wilbur stole the necklace[pic3], he snatched it so deftly…And as we learned later, he sat around for a long time thinking about that stolen necklace…

WILBUR “MONKEY MAN” KRETLOW:
This face isn’t going to hold me back anymore. I can do things -- big things -- I’ll have money and everybody will respect me! My nimbleness will pay off!

After thanking Miss Day, Mr. District Attorney calls a third witness to the stand, Detective Lieutenant Wilkie Malone, a member of his own staff. Malone recalls his earlier investigation of the theft of that necklace, and how, when he tried to question the Monkey Man, Wilbur Kretlow “skittered down one of the long guy wires”, leaped on a horse and ignoring the police’s gunfire, made his getaway. This final testimony prompts Mr. District Attorney to wrap up his courtroom presentation:

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
Success in stealing that pearl necklace and his subsequent escape fed the flamed of hatred and frustration burn in Wilbur Kretlow’s breast. The rest you know -- how he pursued a career of crime! His activities nailed the attention of the whole nation…Within a month, he became a sensational figure…One of his most audacious feats was scaling the Zenith Insurance building. He moved right up the wall like a human fly -- to rob a safe. There were other daring stunts…Then, that fateful night on Carroll Street when we’d trapped him…But that fall of Wilbur Kretlow ironically didn’t injure him. It SAVED him, as you will see! Nurse, remove the bandages, please…In the accident, Kretlow damaged his face to such an extent that it required plastic surgery. Knowing the motive for his deeds, I discussed the operation with his doctor. We decided to remove the reason, once and for all, for his crimes.

NURSE:
Why -- he’s rather HANDSOME now!

Then, to test Wilbur Kretlow’s rather instant rehabilitation, Mr. District Attorney and the judge congratulate the former Monkey Man and tell him he’s free to go, leaving him in a room with a tray of stolen property, including the pearl necklace he stole at the circus:

WILBUR “MONKEY MAN” KRETLOW (thinking):
Those jewels! The ones I stole! They’re going to give them back! But I can steal them again. Nobody’s looking…

But just then, Wilbur catches a glance of his “new self” in a mirror:

WILBUR “MONKEY MAN” KRETLOW:
M-me! Is that ME? My face IS changed! I look like a new man -- like anybody else! The Monkey Man is finished -- dead! I can be like anybody else! I don’t have to hide in dark corners! I’m not different now!

And so, as the former Monkey Man walks down the hall -- away from the untouched jewelry -- while whistling a happy tune, Mr. District Attorney discusses the case with its judge:

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
Well, Your Honor, what do you think now? He came through the test with flying colors!

JUDGE:
Just as you had hoped he would, D.A.! I’ll give him a suspended sentence and put him in your custody.

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
By changing his name later, Wilbur Kretlow changed his way of life. He went straight! Today, he’s a successful business man and happily married. In this case, the quality of mercy was not strained!

(Please note that much of this story’s plot is echoed in Marvel’s AMAZING SPIDER-MAN No. 110 [July, 1972], featuring “The Birth Of The Gibbon!”, written by Stan Lee and drawn by John Romita.)

Also included in this 52-page issue of MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY are the following stories, features and advertisements:

• “Brings The Sun Indoors For Swell Snaps At Night!”, a black-and-white, inside-front-cover ad for the “Brownie Flash Six-20 Camera” from “Kodak”.

• “Mr. District Attorney“ in “Fake Accident Racket!”, edited by Whitney Ellsworth, written by Phil Evans, penciled by Howard Purcell and inked by Charles Paris. -- “YOUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY SPEAKS: Ever hear of a hit-and-run pedestrian? He fakes getting HIT by a motorist ad then RUNS to the nearest insurance adjuster! Ion the underworld, he is known as a flopper, but the crimes of these rubber-legged stooges are nothing compared to the unscrupulous activities of the ingenious racketeer for who he suffers a thousand casualties. And when the master swindler of them all, Roger Quincy Dayton, set up business in our city, no honest operator of anything on wheels was safe from his treachery, until we smashed his infamous ‘FAKE ACCIDENT RACKET!’” Roger Quincy Dayton, an “insurance fraud racketeer”, formerly operating in Chicago, moves to Mr. District Attorney’s unnamed city to ply his shifty trade. Once he’s checked into a hotel, Dayton visits skid row and makes a strange offer to a derelict with a freshly-broken arm: “I’ll pay a doctor to set your arm properly and give you this sawbuck. All you have to do is use a fictitious name, like Barry Jenks, and give ME your X-ray. After that, walk out of my life!” A few nights later, Dayton examines the X-ray, which is labeled with the initials “B.J.” The next day, in a nearby public park, Dayton meets with a man with the reputation of “the best flopper in town”. The insurance fraud racketeer makes a deal with him at the rate of $25 per “flop”; he quickly earns his money by throwing himself in front of a slowly-moving vehicle and rolling with the wheel. Feigning a broken arm, the flopper is taken to a local hospital, where he refuses getting an X-ray. Then he reports in to Dayton: “Yeah, this is B.J. It went off smooth as silk! I used the name, Ben Jones. They recorded it as a possible fracture. Call me when you want me for the insurance exam.”
  
  (Little does he realize that Dayton never uses the same guy for an insurance examination because he doesn’t “want any one flunky to feel he’s vital to my racket!”) Six weeks later, after taking care of a number of other important details “like stealing stationary from a practicing physician and forging his name to a bogus medical report…hiring a legitimate attorney to file a claim with the insurance company that covered the automobile involved in the ‘accident’…establishing a fake mail address for the fictitious ‘Ben Jones’…” and finally, getting “the examination by the insurance company doctor with still a different stooge posing as the patient”, Dayton receives a check for $3,500.00! Later, an investigator for the insurance company contacts Mr. District Attorney and Harrington, passing on the tip that the notorious Dayton is now operating in their city: “He’s tricky, clever, and covers his trail like an Indian!” Soon, the nameless D.A. gives his red-haired assistant a list of local doctors and gives him the assignment of notifying them to inform the D.A.’s office of all accident victims with suspicious injuries. Harrington also volunteers to contact all the ambulance crews to be on the lookout for “repeaters” and “professional floppers”. Meanwhile, a series of phony “accidents” on construction sites, railways and delivery docks around town indicate that business is good for Dayton. The word reaches Harrington from a hospital ambulance driver that he had a run-in with a previously-identified flopper named “Dippo” Martin. Calling himself “Pete”, Harrington locates Dippo at the Shamrock Bar, where the lawman -- posing as a pickpocket -- offers a proposition to “work the crowd that’s gawkin’ at the excitement”, then split the stolen swag 60/40 with Dippo. The next day, after adjusting their deal to a 50/50 split, Dippo fakes another injury while Mr. District Attorney and a photographer film the whole thing. During all of this, “Pete” is caught while pretending to pick a man’s pocket. Witnessing this, Dayton steps forth and intercedes, identifying himself as “Lieutenant Donovan from headquarters”. Unfortunately, once he’s cleared, Harrington believes the con-man’s lie and innocently mentions the D.A.’s plan to catch the “bigger game” in the insurance fraud industry. Later, Harrington admits to his D,A, boss: “Boy, is my face red! Me a cop impersonating a crook, gets hoodwinked by a crook impersonating a cop!” But now that Dayton knows that Mr. District Attorney is aware of him, he decides to eliminate “the weak link” in his chain of operations -- Dippo. After making the usual arrangements with the flopper, who pretends to be clipped by a passing bus, Dayton intentionally runs right over Dippo, horrifying a crowd of onlookers. Surprisingly, Dippo wasn’t killed, but both of his arms were broken. While in the County Hospital’s prison ward, he’s paid a visit by Mr. District Attorney, Harrington and Miss Miller. Dippo confesses and mentions Dayton; the D.A. informs Dippo that he’s being held “for complicity in an insurance fraud”. Mr. District Attorney concocts a plan to nab Dayton; his first step is to rent an apartment for Miss Miller, who poses as Dippo’s widow, then places a personal ad, supposedly from her, asking for any first-hand witnesses’ information about Dippo’s “death” so she can collect on his accident insurance. The newspaper ad is read by its intended target, Dayton, but it’s also read by Dippo -- who’s quite surprised to learn that he’s married! Having once been a circus performer, Dippo possesses unexpected talents, including igniting a cigarette lighter with his toes (!), so he starts a fire with the newspaper to create a distraction. While the fire department -- and Mr. District Attorney and Harrington --arrive to put out the fire, Dippo sneaks out the back way. Both he and Dayton show up at Miss Miller’s apartment (the address was in the ad) and a fight breaks out between the two crooks when the D.A.’s secretary goes to the window and signals to her boss; when he tries to shoot her, Dayton’s stopped by Dippo, who doesn’t want to add a murder charge to his rap sheet. When the two con men finally agree to escape, they find the stairway blocked by Mr. District Attorney and Harrington. The lawmen chase them up to the roof, where Dayton accidentally falls through a skylight. Clinging to its edge, he begs Dippo to save him -- it’s a five-story drop over the stairwell below -- but the flopper couldn’t help him even if he wanted to. Thanks to Dayton, both of Dippo’s arms are broken! While Dayton plummets down the stairwell, Harrington quips, “Don’t move, Dippo! This is one flop the boss did instead of you!” Later, Mr. District Attorney assures his assistant and his secretary: “The doctor says that Dayton will live. But I doubt if he’ll collect any insurance from THIS accident!”

• “Hal Newhouser” [pic4]a sports-cartoon-style ad[pic4] about the “Champion Pitcher For The Detroit Tigers” for “General Mills, Inc.’s Wheaties -- Breakfast Of Champions”.

• “Captain Tootsie Saves The Day!”, [pic5]a strip-ad[pic5] -- signed by cartoonist C. C. (CAPTAIN MARVEL) Beck -- for “the big 1 cent Tootsie Roll” chocolate candy.

• “Now Penny Bazooka -- The Atom Bubble Gum -- 2 Big Chews Only 1¢”, [pic6]an ad for “Bazooka” bubble gum[pic6], including an offer for “Big Felt Letters! No Sewing Needed! Press ‘Em On! Yours For Only 10¢ Each With 5 ‘Penny’ Bazooka Wrappers”.

• “'U.S. Royal’ With His Jet-Propelled Bike” in “Spoiling The Gangsters’ Scheme”, [pic7]a strip-ad[pic7] for “U.S. Royal Bike Tires”, including an offer for free copies of BIKE COMICS, now an ultra-rare Oddball “giveaway” comic.

• “Parole Cop”, drawn by Ralph Mayo. -- “There is a group of people living among us who are not free. They are the PAROLED CONVICTS! Though they are not in prison, still they must obey strict rules and regulations! WHY? We now present a ma who will give you reasons. He’s the man who should know, for he is a…’PAROLE COP’”. This story starts as beefy parole officer Ed Latimer introduces himself to the reader, then lights a cigarette before showing them a copy of a book containing “the sixteen regulations governing a probationer’s life on parole”. This is followed by a montage of examples of violating probation, including “Rule 5”: “a parolee must not associate with questionable companions”, then Ed launches into a story-length flashback of “Tom Stoker’s case”. Tom’s first crime-job was driving the getaway car of “The Lubin Ice Cream Payroll Robbery”. Tom’s orphaned little brother was named “Petey” (a fact that will come into play later in this story). Tom refused to admit that the heist’s other participants -- who did get away -- were “Big Monty’s boys”. Tom was sentenced to five years in prison, did most of his “stretch” and with time off for good behavior, became eligible for parole. Assigned to Stoker, Ed Latimer confirmed “Rule 1”, “he must have an acceptable job waiting for him”, helping Tom get a job in a laundry. “Rule 2” states that “he must live in an approved place”, so Ed found Tom a place to rent in a nice neighborhood. As soon as he was released from prison, Tom attended a meeting in Ed’s office, but when the lawman mentions that Tom’s little brother Petey is now living, Tom went wild, claiming that “the Mob” had promised to hire a housekeeper to take care of Petey while Tom served his time in prison. Ed chased Tom on foot, all the way to the orphanage, tackling the ex-con outside its front gate. That’s when -- in a flashback-within-a-flashback -- Tom explained to Ed that “the boss” had promised to take care of Petey if Tom stayed loyal to the Mob while serving his sentence. But Tom still refused to let Ed know the identity of his criminal employers, even after they visited young Petey in the orphanage. But the next day, Ed received a phone call from Tom’s boss at the laundry -- Tom had just quit his job without Ed’s permission, a flagrant violation of “Rule 6”. Checking on Tom at the ex-con’s boarding house, Ed learned from Tom’s landlady that he left to find another room, accompanied by two men. This time, he violated “Rule 4”, namely “he can’t leave the community to which he’s been paroled without permission”. Then downstairs, the grocer told Ed that Tom told him he was going to get married and left with those two men “to rent a car for his honeymoon” -- violations of “Rule 7” and “Rule 10”. Ed was frustrated and puzzled when he noted that Tom had broken every room in the parole rule book! But just then, Ed had a sudden hunch. First he bought a small stack of books at a nearby book shop, then raced across town to a place that was known as “Big Monty’s” hideout. There, he peeked through the windows to see Big Monty and his two thugs as they planned to murder Tom to prevent him from talking to the police. Posing as a door-to-door salesman for the “Volume A Week” book club, Ed uses the ruse to gain entrance to Big Monty’s place, where he hurled his stack of books into one of the gangsters’ face. The other goon drew a gun, but Ed was faster, shooting him in the arm. And when Big Monty reached for a pistol hidden in the top drawer of his desk, Ed knocked him out with a left-handed punch. After comparing notes, Tom was glad to hear that his methodical breaking all of the parole rules was intended as a tip-off to Ed. In the story‘s final panel, back in present-time, Ed Latimer leans back in his chair, lights another cigarette and adds a little “button” to his story: “Stoker and Petey are getting along fine now…and I’m glad! When a parolee goes straight, it makes a PAROLE COP feel he’s saved a live and given new hope for the future!”

• “Mike Makes Money With ‘Magic Pictures’”, [pic8]a strip-ad[pic8] for “Kellogg’s Shredded Wheat”, including an offer for decal transfers “at no extra cost”.

• “Editorial Advisory Board”, a half-page DC house-announcement, listing their professional advisors: Dr. Lauretta Bender (“Associate Professor Of Psychiatry, School Of Medicine, New York University”), Josette Frank (“Consultant on Children’s Reading, Child Study Association Of America”), Dr. W. W. D. Sones (“Professor Of Education and Director Of Curriculum Study, University Of Pittsburgh”) and R. S. Harcourt Peppard (“Director, Essex County Juvenile Clinic, Newark, N. J.”); and a list of DC’s then-current titles (ACTION COMICS, A DATE WITH JUDY, ADVENTURE COMICS, ALAN LADD, ALL-STAR COMICS, ANIMAL ANTICS, BATMAN, BOY COMMANDOS, BUZZY, COMIC CAVALCADE, DALE EVANS, DETECTIVE COMICS, FUNNY FOLKS, FUNNY STUFF, GANG BUSTERS, JIMMY WAKELY, LEADING COMICS, LEAVE IT TO BINKY, MISS BEVERLY HILLS, MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY, MUTT & JEFF, OZZIE AND HARRIET, REAL SCREEN COMICS, ROMANCE TRAIL, SCRIBBLY, SENSATION COMICS, STAR SPANGLED COMICS, SUPERBOY, SUPERMAN, WESTERN COMICS, WONDER WOMAN and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS).

• “In The News”, a half-page RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT -- OR NOT!-style illustrated feature about amazing lawmen and ridiculous crimes.

• “The Crime File”, a two-page text-feature with such topics as “Camera Shoots Sparklers”, “Topsy-Turvy”, “Pearl Plunderers”, “Radar Arrest”, “Book Worm Turned”, “Chinese Murder Puzzle” and “Blotter Jottings”.

• “Mr. District Attorney “ in “The Phoney (sp.) Talent Scouts!”, penciled by Howard Purcell and inked by Charles Paris. -- “YOUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY SPEAKS: Annually, millions of dollars are swindled from unsuspecting parents -- parents made vulnerable by their pride in their children. This is the work of the fake talent scout whose activities spread from coast to coast, promising fame and fortune to these youngsters -- for a price! In the following case history, you will see how these unscrupulous crooks operate in the case of…’THE PHONEY (sp.) TALENT SCOUTS!’” Two men -- one of them, a guy named “Phil Martin”, the other named “Mr. Fargo” who wears a loud tie and says “Remind me to look like a successful Hollywood producer” -- climb the stairs to “a cheaply furnished but spotlessly clean” third-floor apartment in “the poorer section of a large Eastern city”. There, they interview and audition a couple’s young son, who singles a version of “Home On The Range” that Fargo secretly thinks proves the kid is completely “tone deaf”. The sharp-dressed duo sign up the couple for a ten dollar enrollment fee for fifty-two weeks’ worth of singing lessons at four dollars apiece. (Hey, that’s a lot of money, at least by 1949 economic standards!) The following day, Mr. District Attorney and his assistant Harrington are visited by Lester R. Morgan -- from the “National Better Business Bureau” -- who’s asking for help in exposing the “phoney” (sp.) talent scout racketeers who have been fleecing the city. Having already received many complaints about these criminals, Mr. District Attorney asks Harrington to escort in “Benny Fargo”, who’s actually Lt. Curt Rankin, one of his inside men who answered a classified newspaper ad with the heading, “Talent Scouts Wanted”. Rankin relates how he was hired by “the big boss”, a man named Arnold Bennett, who was supposedly “conducting a nation-wide search for new talent for radio and television” as “The United Arts Talent School”, promising his new employees half of all the money they collect. Rankin, along with five other men, was assigned to Phil Martin, who instructed them how to approach the “enthusiastic youngsters” who live in the city’s poorer urban areas. Then Bennett’s operatives were given their own enrollment blanks and “talent scout cards”. But while Mr. District Attorney cooks up plans to counteract the National Better Business Bureau’s crooked activities, Arnold Bennett makes arrangements to feature every single kid his outfit can sign up, for a hundred dollars, on his “phoney” talent show on a small local television station -- of course, it’s one with a broadcast range of only thirty-five miles! Bennett’s advise to his corps of “talent scouts” is: “Promise them ANYTHING! It’s not our fault if they don’t read the fine print in their contract!” Meanwhile, Mr. District Attorney arranges a scheme of his own, meeting with Dean Randolph -- “a top ranking star in your own right” -- in the offices of “The World Wide Television Company”, asking for the young entertainer’s help to expose Arnold’s racket “for what it is…an outright fake!” The following day, “Benny Fargo” convinces Phil Martin that he’s got a hot prospect, Mrs. Randolph, who “has a thousand bucks for her kid’s career” as a ventriloquist. Phil thinks that this sounds so promising that he brings Mr. Bennett to the aspiring ventriloquist’s -- which is, of course, Dean Randolph, in the role of a lifetime -- so-called “audition”. Dean’s “mother” (another actor) gives Bennett a $500 check as a deposit and in the next room, Mr. District Attorney and Harrington secretly record every word of their verbal agreement. Within a few days, Bennett’s TV scheme begins to fall apart, due to many families’ inability to receive the station’s signal or spectacularly sub-par performances from their kiddies. When one of the dissatisfied parents, a Mr. Anthony LaPatta, shows up in the offices of The World Wide Television Company, demanding a refund, Bennett refuses to cooperate, then sends two of his thugs after the man when he threatens to go to the D.A.
  
  Later, LaPatta is found, brutally beaten; while the man is hospitalized, Mr. District Attorney and Harrington console his wife. When they learn that her husband had just visited The World Wide Television Company before he was attacked, the plainclothes lawmen are immediately suspicious. They follow their only lead -- a chauffeur’s union badge found at the scene of the crime -- to an ugly thug named “Monk Spong”, who Rankin confirms is one of Bennett’s hired musclemen and recovering Mr. LaPatta identifies as his attacker. Rankin, working as “Benny Fargo”, apprehends Spong, but the “pinch” is witnessed by Phil Martin, who reports this to Arnold Bennett. Panicked, they grab Dean Randolph -- who’s in the school supposedly to shoot some photographs -- and hold him as their prisoner, “protection” to leverage against any lawmen who might come after them. Unaware of this deadly new development, Mr. District Attorney has Harrington drop him off for a “casual visit” to The World Wide Television Company. Once inside, the crusading D.A. realizes he’s walked into a trap. Fortunately for him, Dean uses his ventriloquism to make it seem as though the “phoney” school was surrounded by the armed forces of the law. This distracts Bennett and Martin, giving Mr. District Attorney to use his fists to disarm the duo. Then he informs the so-called “talent scouts” that the “kid” who tricked them “is Dean Randolph -- a well-known ventriloquist -- You can see and hear his act every week on television. But you wouldn’t be expected to know THAT! After all, you’re only talent scouts!” After a final note signed by Mr. District Attorney -- “Most of the money swindled from Arnold’s victims was recovered and returned to its rightful owners -- Arnold Bennett, Monk Spong and Phil Martin were tried and convinced on seven different counts and are serving long terms in the state penitentiary, which brought to a close -- the case of the talent racketeers…”, we get another plug for this comic book series’ source material: “Listen in to MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY every Wednesday night over NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY!”

• “Daydream Mike And His Wonderful Bike”, [pic9]a strip-ad[pic9] for “Columbia” bicycles, “America’s First Bicycle”.

• “America’s Top Adventure Star”, [pic10]a house-ad[pic10] for the first issue of DC’s THE ADVENTURES OF ALAN LADD, the cover of which apparently depicts “that lad named Ladd” hand-rolling a cigarette.

• “’I’ll Help You Get A Daisy For Christmas, Partner!’ -- Red Ryder”, a black-and-white, inside-back-cover ad for “Daisy B-B Guns”, featuring a cameo drawing of the star of cartoonist Fred Harman’s syndicated newspaper comic strip, RED RYDER.

• “The ‘Hottest’ Style In Shoeleather! The Chukka Boot”, a back-cover ad for “the chukka boot” from “Thom McAnn” shoes.

ODDBALL FACTOID – The original concept for MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY was supposedly inspired by the early career of New York governor and “sure thing” presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey!

New Next Week: ODDBALL COMIC #1,222 -- – MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2008 -- They’re back! Robotboy! Rocketboy! Rubberboy! And Mosquitoboy! These are the "Super Kids", alter-identities of those so-called "champions of abused kids", the “G.I. Juniors”! Created by ODDBALL cartoonist Jack (COOL CAT, “Captain Flower”) O’Brien, these kid soldiers star in this ODDBALL issue of HARVEY HITS, one that also introduces Super-Sarge and the team’s very own supervillain, Quizz Kid! (But which one’s “the strong boy with a thyroid condition”?)

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