Sarge Steel - File 106!

Sarge Steel #6 is dated November 1965. It features a cover Bill Montes and Rocke Mastroserio. This is the first issue of Sarge Steel to have the sub-title "Special Agent". The issue is written by Joe Gill and the art is again by the team of Bill Montes and Ernie Bache.

Case #106 "Case of the King's Assassin" begins with an round of introductions to key characters. Specifically mentioned are King Abhim Fal-Rif a fabulously rich Arab who is the target of kidnappers. Also mentioned is Bibi Cane a blonde American actress. Finally, is Shiek Zara-Faid trained by both Moscow and Peking and the enemy of Abhim, the man who wants him dead. The story begins in the city where a beautiful woman named Renshaw appears and entices Sarge who summarily dumps his date to meet this new beauty who takes him outside to encounter Hassim a rich oil merchant who wants to retain Sarge to protect King Abhim. Immediately a car appears, and bullets fly but Hassim's car is bulletproof and when the attacking car gets in range Hassim uses some unseen device to blow up the attackers. Despite Sarge telling Hassim twice he has been asked by the U.S. government to watch out for King Abhim Hassim still insists on hiring him. Sarge goes to the airport and is soon set upon by more attackers who he dispatches quickly. He then meets Bibi Cane waiting for Abhim because she thinks he is cute. They head out to Abhim's plane and introductions are made. Abhim seems quite taken by Bibi. Sarge knows that agents are waiting to kidnap Abhim, so he has the King disguise himself with a beret and sunglasses and with Bibi on his arm he walks right past the thugs waiting for him. But Sarge is not so lucky.

"New Old Ideas In Warfare" talks about the development of projectile weapons from the earliest rocks thrown from a cliff to the sling to the modern cluster bomb.

"Chase West" is the title of the second part of the Sarge Steel story and Sarge finds himself battling thugs sent to kidnap King Abhim. He gets past them and joins up with Abhim and Bibi in his Jaguar and the trio drive away. Later at Sarge's apartment they two get very familiar while Sarge watches the two. A shadow appears at the window following a mysterious phone call from Hassim who seems under duress. Sarge uses his steel fist to dispatch the gunman and takes to the roof where a sniper lurks, but Sarge uses a detached TV antennae to knock the killer from the roof. When he returns to his apartment he finds Bibi and Abhim gone as well as his sports car. He alerts the police and a manhunt begins.

"$1,000,000,000 Ransom" is the title of the third installment and the story begins with a plane over the stolen Jaguar with Bibi and Abhim inside. Sarge gets cleaned up and heads out to intercept the duo after reports come in as to their location and he arrives just in time as the plane begins to dive and a gunman shoots at the escaping sports car. It wrecks but Bibi and Abhim seem unhurt as Sarge gets them to cover. He then pretends to be shot and the plane leaves. But as the trio try to leave the area they are stopped at a roadblock by Zara's men. Just as Zara prepares to shoot Sarge a jet appears and sets up a smoke screen which Sarge uses to dispatch Zara's men and kill Zara. With the police on the way, the situation in hand Bibi and Abhim ask how they can get married without all the pomp and circumstance a King demands. Sarge shows them the road to Tiajuana and as the story closes he heads to the White House where he is to make a full report as a special agent.

"What Is Karate?" is a three-page piece by Frank McLaughlin and features new Charlton hero Judomaster giving basic information about Karate techniques, gear, and a very detailed presentation of various hand positions.

I adore the cover of this issue, but I have to confess it's one of the weaker issues to date. The romance between Abhim and Bibi is fun and funny but lacks enough time to develop to be really believable. Again there are no real twists in this story and the storytelling by Montes & Bache is really deficient in the story's climax. It's frankly impossible to tell what's going on without the captions which seem at odds with the artwork. As a special agent, Sarge is more in the Bond school and maybe they were trying to add some humor. It doesn't work all that well I think.

More Sarge Steel to come.

 This is a Revised Classic Charlton Post! 

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