Danger Street Signs - The Creeper!

In anticipation of a review of Danger Street by Tom King, Jorge Fornes and assorted cover artists I am representing my thirteen reviews of DC's 1970's Showcase-style comic 1st Issue Special. The books by King and company make use of ALL of the sundry heroes and heroines who appeared in these pages. So, let's continue. 

Arguably the finest title for a comic book ever was Beware The Creeper invented by Steve Ditko for DC Comics way back in 1968. It's wildly evocative and makes for instant drama. The Creeper was in some ways a typical Ditko invention, a costumed crimefighter who in his day job was a relentless seeker of the truth who didn't turn away because of the malign influences of special interests. Visually The Creeper is unlike just about any hero, donning a costume made from bits and pieces in a costume box. He's a bright yellow and green and red vigilante who strikes as often by night as by day, a cackling fiend for justice. (Note: Look closely at this cover designed by Carmine Infantino and rendered by Steve Ditko at the street scene below the falling Creeper and you can just make out a little dog taking a wee on a hydrant. Those zany comic book creators!)

Beware The Creeper debuted in Showcase, making The Creeper the only character to appear in both DC's Silver Age vintage try-out comic and its Bronze Age counterpart 1st Issue Special. The story is scripted by Michael Fleisher but the artwork is by Steve Ditko himself, though Mike Royer handles the inks.  

A bit of a treat in this attempt to restart The Creeper as a single character is the use of the villain Firefly, a vintage baddie from a 1952 issue of Detective Comics. He's goofy and yet still formidable, an ideal villain for a weirdo hero like The Creeper. Alas this didn't result in a new series for Jack Ryder's clownish alter ego. He'd have to wait several years before getting a back-up in World's Finest Comics when it shifted into its Dollar Comic mode. 

Next up we encounter the most successful character to launch out of the pages of 1st Issue Special and to do that we have to travel into the depths of the Earth itself. 

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Danger Street Signs - Dingbats Of Danger Street!

In anticipation of a review of Danger Street by Tom King, Jorge Fornes and assorted cover artists I am representing my thirteen reviews of DC's 1970's Showcase-style comic 1st Issue Special. The books by King and company make use of ALL of the sundry heroes and heroines who appeared in these pages. So, let's continue. 

As his disappointing contract with DC Comics ran its course, Jack Kirby was obliged to knock out fifteen pages a week or thereabouts. With the "Fourth World" cancelled, it meant a lot of random projects got the green light. Among those was Dingbats of Danger Street which ran in the sixth issue of 1st Issue Special. It's the third and final entry by Kirby in the series and in many ways his weirdest. The titular "Dingbats" are four young men ("Good Looks", "Krunch", "Non-Fat" and "Bananas") who live as a small gang of sorts on Danger Street, a part of an unnamed city which seems especially loaded with wild characters and zany criminals. They are not affiliated in any way but a cop named Lieutenant Mullins crosses their path and attempts to help them out from time to time. In the debut story two villains named "Jumping Jack" and "The Gasser" are running amok after stealing some tiny film canister. The film itself doesn't matter, only that the Dingbats come into possession of it and the villains are more than willing to kill to get it back. 

This story was produced when DC suggested that Kirby partner with is old colleague Joe Simon to fashion a new kid gang for the modern world of the 70's as they had done with great success in the 40's and 50's with Newsboy Legion, Boy Commandos, and Boys Ranch. But the two men didn't really want to work together anymore and so each created his own version of a modern kid gang. Simon knocked out three issues of The Green Team with artist Jerry Grandenetti and Kirby did three issues of Dingbats. Eventually Simon's work was published in a manner of speaking Cancelled Comic Cavalcade, but the two remaining Kirby Dingbat stories were not because frankly the artwork was apparently stolen and today is believed to exist in private collections in Europe. 

But the folks at Twomorrows Publishing had access to Kirby's copies and from those finally at long last published the two long-lost Dingbats of Danger Street tales just a few years ago in 2019. Those two tales focus on the background of two of the Dingbats. We learn that "Good Looks" lost his parents when they were murdered before his eyes by the villain "Snake-Meat". The second  Dingbats tale shows how he gets a measure of justice at long last. The third and final Dingbats tale concerns "Krunch", the strong man of the team and we learn that he is related to a devious man named "Birdly Mudd" who wants to imprison the youngster so that Mudd can have full access to rich estate. Krunch is able to escape his Dickensian trap and return to his friends on Danger Street. More stories featuring "Non-Fat" and "Bananas" were conceived but best evidence is they were not produced.

But we are lucky to have these Kirby classics. The Dingbats of Danger Street isn't the best comic Kirby ever produced by a longshot, but the three stories are fun and full of vim, vigor and excitement. Next time it's another superhero revival and the artist is none other than Steve Ditko. 

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The Futurians Day!

Dave Cockrum was born on yesterday's date in 1943. Cockrum was an active artist in the fan community of the 60's and an assistant to Wally Wood. He made his first big breakthrough in the back pages of Superboy on the Legion of Super-Heroes feature which soon took over the comic. Cockrum's redesigns of the classic characters was sleek and fascinating. He came over to Marvel and applied the same magic to The Uncanny X-men. One of his most personal projects was The Futurians which he both wrote and drew. 

If you're a fan of the X-Men and the Legion of Super-Heroes, you know that Dave Cockrum was the man largely responsible for the revived interest in both teams during the Bronze Age. He first redesigned the Legion for DC in the pages of Superboy, and then found himself at Marvel where he got to do pretty much the same thing with the X-Men. When Cockrum took over both teams, they were largely defunct, when he left them they were much much more successful. Cockrum left the X-Men and was replaced by John Byrne and the rest (as they often say of course) is history. But back to the Futurians. After Byrne left the X-Men, Cockrum was asked back. Here's what happened later in his own words:

"The only reason I left the book the second time was because I had previously put in a proposal for The Futurians. It sat on Jim Shooter's desk for about a year, and he finally said, "Yeah, you can do this if you want." I was in some doubt whether I should quit the X-Men and do that but I really wanted to do it. Chris and Louise Simonson, the editor, talked me into giving up the X-Men because they thought I was more enthused about The Futurians. That was probably the biggest mistake of my life! That was about the time they started paying the royalties and reprint money. It takes nine months after an issue goes on sale before you get a royalty check so I hadn't received one yet by the time I quit the X-Men. When the first one came it was $2000 right out of the air! I thought, "Geez!" And it got better, and from what I heard, people like Jim Lee were making $40,000 a month on royalties. (That's why they could afford to go off and start Image.) If I had known about that kind of money coming in (even the $2000 a month)you couldn't have pried me off that book with a crowbar. The Futurians was never that successful." (CBA Interview)

The Futurians showed up later at Lodestone, the ill-fated company that also revived the THUNDER Agents, and then there's a much later one-shot which was the up-to-then unpublished fourth issue of the series from Aardwolf which was produced at the time to some extent help out Cockrum with medical bills I believe.

Cockrum's designs largely informed the Bronze Age. They were at once sleek, elegant, and sexy. He was very good with younger heroes, as he did a handsome idealized youthful figure. Personally, I've always preferred Cockrum's X-Men to Byrne's but that's a close call. Certainly 

both men are much better than the talent that has handled the team since their heyday.

He was a great talent.

Apparently The Futurians have been revived for a modern comic. Here's a link. It doesn't have that magic though that Cockrum brought to the feature alas.

 

No matter when or where you found a Cockrum image, it was almost invariably smitten with delicacy and featured an idealized hero or heroine, especially the latter. Dave Cockrum broke into my consciousness when he took hold of the somewhat weary DC Legion of Super-Heroes series and injected it with some new fashions and once in a while new characters. It was a series for a hungry audience which leaped to embrace it and the popularity which the feature had once had, kindled again as these young heroes from the far far future eventually took control of Superboy's comic. Then,  Cockrum left it for greener pastures and allowed another stellar talent by the name of Mike Grell to make a name for himself.

Then it was Marvel which had young heroes of its own to revive and brought forth a new and as it turned out lasting assembly of Uncanny X-Men. Once again Cockrum was the darling of the fanboy set as he drew his marvelous and delightful costumes in stories which struck a chord. Eventually though Cockrum left it for greener pastures and allowed yet another stellar talent by the name of John Byrne to make a name for himself. Eventually Cockrum returned to the mutants and admitted in interviews that leaving might have been a career mistake, but there was no denying that Cockrum was a hit. Cockrum gave us a new Ms. Marvel, the lady currently heating up the theaters and revived at least for a bit. Eventually he gave us his own heroes dubbed The Futurians who tumbled around the Indy marketplace for a few years in an attempt for him to get more remuneration for his hard work. But as much a master of revivals as Cockrum was he couldn't overcome the challenge which we all face and he died much too young leaving a legacy of handsome smiling heroes in his wake.

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Veterans Day - The Guys In The Foxhole!

Perhaps the Mainline comic with the most verve and energy was Foxhole, a war comic produced by men who had real experience in the military. While Joe Simon had enlisted in the Coast Guard and spent all of the war stateside, Jack Kirby was overseas as an Army scout in Europe following on some weeks after the D-Day invasion. Here's an interview of sorts about his time in the war.

There's no doubt that Jack Kirby's World War II experiences shaped the rest of his life and career and it finds some early expression here in the highly emotional images which grace these covers.

Once again Simon and Kirby produced four issues for their struggling Mainline company before the title and the balance of the material was sold off to Charlton Comics in 1955.

Charlton produced three more issues of the comic erratically through 1956.

Then the title was changed to Never Again for one single issue in the summer of 1956.

That winter the title was changed again with the very next stand alone issue to Soldier and Marine Comics.

Finally the title was changed again in 1957 to Jerry Drummer and the focus was shifted from modern warfare to the history of the American Revolution.

Jerry Drummer lasted three issues until being cancelled with the eleventh issue in late 1957 bringing the original Foxhole run to an end.

But in 1963 and 1964 the pirate comics operation I.W.Publishing / Super Comics came out with three irregularly numbered issues of Foxhole.

The original Foxhole comic by Simon and Kirby was intended to have significant edge, bringing a energy and depth to the depiction of the horrors of war. As can be seen by this rejected cover for the fourth and final Mainline issue, Simon and Kirby were striving to communicated the violence of war to a broad audience. Despite the rejection of the art, I'm still struck by the amazing portraits Kirby created for the fourth issue, one of my all-time favorite comic book covers.

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You Asked For it, Charlie Brown!

I have to confess I was well and truly gob smacked when I awoke this morning to the horrific news that the Democrats in the United States Senate had once again folded and are prepared to capitulate to the demands of the Republicans in order to reopen the government. These are the same Republicans who had their asses handed to them in the election, not yet a week old. In the wake of this wave of national support and strength from the Democratic base and beyond, despite collective suffering, the leadership took it upon themselves to demonstrate their inherent weakness and cowardice. They were given a winning hand by the people, and they decided nonetheless to fold their cards.  

And the fig leaf they've been "promised" by a party more than willing to let hungry citizens starve and sick citizens die, by this pack of jackals, is that there will be a vote on the Affordable Care Act subsidies sometime next month. And there won't be a vote, and if there is the Democrats will lose it. Lucy's football will be snatched away yet again, and the Democrats will end up on their asses yet again, sputtering about a lack of fair play. The utter foolishness of this strategy is jaw dropping. I've already sent in my message to Chuck Shumer's office that he must step down as Minority Leader of the Senate. He has failed in his job to lead yet again, and he must be replaced by someone willing to hold the line. That most likely will require an election. Expect to see new faces in the Democratic Party as the current crop will either need to step up their game or they will be replaced. 

And don't complain when it happens, you asked for it, Charlie Brown! 

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Danger Street Signs - Manhunter!

In anticipation of a review of Danger Street by Tom King, Jorge Fornes and assorted cover artists I am representing my thirteen reviews of DC's 1970's Showcase-style comic 1st Issue Special. The books by King and company make use of ALL of the sundry heroes and heroines who appeared in these pages. So, let's continue. 

When Jack Kirby's grand project of the "Fourth World" was shelved because of disappointing sales he was nonetheless required to fulfill his contract for DC which called upon him to create many pages of new comics material. Many great projects resulted such as The Demon and Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth. And there were several one-shots as well in 1st Issue Special such as Atlas in the debut issue of the try-out series. Now it came time for another Kirby creation and as he had done with The Golden Guardian in the pages of Jimmy Olsen, he plucked a hero from his halcyon days as a partner with Joe Simon during DC's  Golden Age. That hero was Manhunter. 

Manhunter had been like Sandman, a hero that Simon and Kirby had revised and polished up but alas they did relatively few issues with the hero. The "Manhunter" name was used by DC several times over the decades as in a one-shot issue of 1st Issue Special's precursor Showcase. More famously Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson  had revived Simon and Kirby's hero Paul Kirk in a much admired series which alas saw the demise of the tragic hero. Now it was Kirby's turn to bring back the "Manhunter" name and his hero is a well-meaning fellow named Mark Shaw. 

Shaw is a dedicated public defender who is frustrated that justice is so elusive for those without means and influence and that those who deserve punishment escape it too often. His uncle informs him of an ancient cult dedicated to justice called the "Shan" and their "Manhunters". Shaw makes contact and is a accepted into the still-thriving cult and becomes a Manhunter, wearing striking red armor and a blue metallic mask. He is successful in defeating a weird collector who enslaves people and severs their heads, and the story stops abruptly as he makes his way to confront an enemy named "The Hog". 

This Manhunter is seen no more until a few years later when Steve Englehart revives the character of Mark Shaw and the Manhunters, turning the concept on its head a bit and making them into robotic zealots who hide a dark secret as old the DCU itself. The Manhunters become a grand concept which supplied DC with some dandy storytelling twists for years to come in the post-Crisis era. 

Next time Kirby strikes again with a brand new kid gang. 

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The Spirit Archives Volume Twenty-Two!

The twenty-second volume of Will Eisner's The Spirit Archives offers up some of Eisner's best stories about his famous masked detective. Old enemies return as well as many of those folks who mean only good for our hero. But the series is poised for changes as Eisner will start to move away and increasingly rely on others to keep the series afloat. 

A Time-Stop January 7, 1951

When an explosion in space stops the rotation of the Earth for a brief period, time stops. During that bizarre intermission on New Year's Eve no less, a Mr. Marc Tymely is saved from being executed by a vengeful thug named Ringo Sykes, and he learns that everyone save for himself is frozen in place. He uses his freedom of movement to commit an array of crimes before time starts again. What happens when time does restart creates a mystery for Commissioner Dolan and The Spirit to ponder. 

Rife Magazine January 14, 1951

In a parody of Life Magazine, we get a series of images and captions which introduce the cast of The Spirit series, at least as perceived by the public. We get snapshots of The Spirit, Ellen Dolan, Commissioner Dolan, Silk Satin, P'Gell, Sand Saref, and others such as Darling O'Shea, Dick Whittler, Sammy and Willum, and even Mr. Carrion and Julia. 

Future Death January 21, 1951

Professor Tempus J. Fugit enters the police station and confesses to the murder of The Spirit. It turns out though that the alleged murder took place in the future, specifically 1970. We have the pleasure of meeting a middle-aged Spirit, plump and happy with his wife Ellen and son Denny. We meet a retired Dolan after a lifetime of leading the police department. Then we witness the crime in a world free of guns, at least as described by the perpetrator. His attempts to find just punishment fall on deaf ears alas. 

The Meanest Man in the World January 28, 1951

Splinter Weevil might well be the "meanest man in the world" but we are witness to his brutal upbringing and it's not difficult to understand where the cold hatred he has for the world originated. Finding no solace from a desolate family, he leaves to find success in criminal ventures, even murder. The Spirit is of course called upon to track down the villain. The teller of this tale might be a surprise. 

Showdown February 4, 1951

We are told a story of how Commissioner Dolan gets a call and goes to confront the notorious Octopus, returned to his station as master of crime in Central City. The Spirit of course gets involved with the fight and a ferocious one it is, ending in the "death" of The Octopus himself. But the villain proves difficult to kill as a certain blind man in Central City can tell you. 

The Octopus is Back February 11, 1951

When a Blind Man travels the streets and subways of Central City in search of The Octopus, he finds him. The reports of his death have been much exaggerated, but the doom possible for The Spirit seems all to possible when he falls into the vengeful clutches of his longtime enemy. As a reader, it's exceedingly nice to see the ultimate Spirit baddie return. 

To Spirit with Love February 18, 1951

The Octopus seems to be behind the scheme by Mr. Carrion to undermine The Spirit by pretending to woo Mayor Ellen Dolan. But when Carrion really falls for the fetching Mayor, that creates a problem for The Octopus, and the two villains come to a parting of the ways with exceedingly violent results. The Spirit for his part is mad with jealousy and the idea of marriage to Ellen resurfaces after quite some time. 

The Portier Fortune February 25, 1951

A French detective name DuFrane shows up to investigate the possible theft of the Portier jewels and finds murder as well as the always gorgeous P'Gell. It seems that P'Gell might well be guilty of the murder and she is arrested, but things are not what they seem as usual and it takes the keen senses of The Spirit to discover the truth of the matter, though P'Gell herself is far from helpless. Much of this tale is a reprint from an earlier 1946 adventure. 

Death is My Destiny March 4, 1951

This story is told from the point of view of a special gun made by Amos File, an honest gunsmith for two hoods named Enoch Vane and his henchman Smiley. File is forced to make the untraceable gun and curses it with his dying breath. The Spirit gets involved in hunting down the men who killed File and who plan to use the gun to silence another hood who is scheduled to testify against them. The reader never doubts the curse will play out. This is a revised and redrawn story from 1942.

The Case of the Double Jones March 11, 1951

Joe Jones began his criminal career in the gold fields of Alaska where he murdered his partner after a strike. He encounters his exact duplicate, a man also named Joe Jones and the two become entwined throughout what remains of their lives. Later Jones murders his new wife to get her fortune and eventually he moves to Central City where The Spirit becomes interested in his behavior. The doppleganger Jones always is around to save the original. 

Darling and the Octopus March 18, 1951

The Spirit pursues The Octopus to a remote Florida island, but things get exceedingly complicated when that turns out to be an island which has been bought by Darling O'Shea, the very wealthy but very spoiled young girl. Her encounter with the deadly Octopus turns out to be a hair-raising event for the villain as O'Shea might well be his match. Andre LeBlanc worked on the backgrounds. 

Damsels in Distress March 25, 1951

Officer Klink attempts to teach two young boys about respect for the police with a story from his early days on the force. The story is actually a reprise of an earlier Spirit story from 1947 and tells how Klink was in competition with The Spirit and falls into the clutches of the gorgeous P'Gell and her spritely daughter Saree. Getting to the bottom of a crime is hard for a cop when he cannot take his eyes off the culprit. As it turns out the boys are already respectful of the cops for a particular reason. 

The Last Prowl of Mephisto April 1, 1951

The Devil comes to Central City under the name of Lucifer T. Mephisto and is eager to snatch up a few souls. When Mayor Ellen Dolan gets fed up with the sexist comments of The Spirit it's into the cab of Mephisto that she lands. This leads her to end up in the hideout of the Hambo Mob who are upset with Mayor Dolan for her relentless pursuit of them. The Spirit shows up to save the day and round up the gang, and Mephisto finds out that gathering souls in the modern world is complicated. This story was likely inked by James Dixon. 

Destiny for Johnny Buffalo April 8, 1951

A young boy in a coonskin cap named Walkalong Haggerty rides his tricycle in relentless pursuit of owlhoots and spots The Spirit and follows him as he is on the trail of the wanted criminal Johnny Buffalo. It's a wild ride for all concerned as the youngster hunts down his prey with implacable energy, that is until he finally needs a nap. 

Time Bomb April 15, 1951

A political fixer and operator of the Escape Travel Agency named Pinnacle and his minion Fingle are attempting to blackmail Commissioner Dolan. It appears that they might be successful, but Dolan shows up not with money but a bomb and demands a confession by a certain time or its curtains. Meanwhile The Spirit is desperately attempting to round up the gang before the deadline. 

Hobart April 22, 1951

Hobart is a happy but silent hermit who has found a happy life away from society. His paradise is invaded by a gangster named The Commodore and his trio of henchmen. The also bring The Spirit with them, as they have captured our hero. The Commodore imagines that Hobart must be a villain also, hiding from the police and attempts to bribe him but Hobart has no use for money save to burn it to start a fire. When The Spirit does get loose things really break out in some hectic action. 

Help Wanted April 29, 1951

Commissioner Dolan is flummoxed when a man named Lester who looks just like him shows up and offers to stand in for him. When he rejects the offer the other man shaves him and takes his place while Dolan cools his heels in jail. Meanwhile the man's brother Ed also turns out to look just like Dolan and with three identical men it proves a real challenge for The Spirit to get to the bottom of the case, especially since the first bogus Dolan fired him from the force. 

The Facts May 6, 1951

In this strange tale of alien invasion, we are introduced to Mr. Carrion's nephew named Ghoul. Ghoul is a prolific inventor and has not only a rocket but also concocts a TV which picks up transmissions from Mars and when the Martians find out they are under scrutiny they come to Earth to take action. The Spirit is the only member of the police force to take the situation seriously, but even after it's all said and done his colleagues still imagine he's been on a fool's errand. The art is by Klaus Nordling and Jim Dixon. 

The Hero May 13, 1951

Henry J. Timeclock was a quiet unassuming man who was far from king of his castle and was forced to commute to work on a relentless schedule to a job of drudgery. But he was not a complainer until he tries to get a seat on his train and finds himself caught up in a robbery, one which The Spirit is attempting to thwart. When Henry finds himself aboard a runaway train with death and mayhem the only result, he becomes a hero, but will anyone ever know. The art is by Klaus Nordling and Jim Dixon. 

The 7th Husband May 20, 1951

The lovely P'Gell is at it again with her seventh husband, this one named Ellis Murdoch is a shipping magnate and he even names a ship after his new bride just before the ship sails with a cargo of guns headed for a warlord named King Kwang in the Far East. Aboard the S.S. P'Gell is The Spirit who hopes to stop the illicit transaction and though he succeeds he finds himself stranded in a distant land. Eisner drew this one with inks by Jim Dixon. 

King Kwang May 27, 1951

Stranded in the Far East, The Spirit finds himself up against the warlord King Kwang, a brutal military revolutionary who returns to his home village and his mother with his cruel army bent on putting the people into servitude. He closes the school and dismisses the teacher Yuang, and then has a happy reunion with his very proud mother. Then news of government reprisal reaches Kwang's ears, and he prepares to wreck the train to stop his loss of power. The Spirit gets involved despite his best efforts. The art is by Klaus Nordling and Jim Dixon. 

The Thing in the Jungle June 3, 1951

Still trying to make his way across the continent to a seaport, The Spirit hooks up with big-game hunter Travail. Travail is a cruel man who is relentless in his pursuit of his prey, this time a legendary creature known as "The Thing". His traps are useless as The Thing proves too intelligent and surprisingly too gentle to trap easily. By story's end Travail is a changed man and The Spirit is once again on the road to home...eventually. The art is by Klaus Nordling and Jim Dixon. 

Wanchu June 10, 1951

The Spirit finds himself in the remote village of Wanchu after an encounter with rebels in the mountains. He finds Wanchu ruled by Warlord Loo - The Morning Lotus, a lovely but cruel woman who is keen to oppress the local population. But she and her men are confident that their advantage in arms will secure them from the rebel attacks. When The Spirit discovers the true nature of the situation he decides to alter the balance of power. The art is by Klaus Nordling and Jim Dixon. 

Khyber Bill June 17, 1951

After a single panel where we learn that the Dolans and Sammy have been monitoring as best they can The Spirit's progress, we get the story of Khyber Bill and his son Willy, two British mercenaries. They work for the Rajah of Opagjore, and he wants them to make sure that Lamasery of the Holy Ones is brought down so as to not pose a threat to his power. The Spirit takes up their cause and after the death of the Rajah, things really amp up. The art is by Klaus Nordling and Jim Dixon. Eisner did touch ups to the faces of the last several sections as well. 

School is Out June 24, 1951

Our scene shifts back to Central City, but The Spirit is not yet home. The only glimpse we get is his small image on a newspaper suggesting he might well be dead. Instead we are treated to the return of Ebony White who celebrates the end of the school season with his best girl Liz and two other friends by setting sail on a cruise of adventure out to sea. In classic Tom Sawyer fashion, the kids imagine a grander adventure than the one they actually take with Ebony imagining he's solving a jewel heist as well. When he finds a cache of crabapple jelly, he might be closer to the solution than he thinks. The cops of Central City welcome him back...eventually. The art is by Klaus Nordling and Jim Dixon. 

This is not the strongest volume in the run by any means. Eisner pet project is beginning to lose readership and he's refocusing his efforts elsewhere. The running of marginally revised vintage tales speaks to the lack of energy to create something new, and the art begins to lose its vigor as well. The Eisner gloss is still there on most stories, but he layouts and storytelling are becoming somewhat pedestrian. It's a shame that not more was done with Ellen Dolan's run as Mayor in this sequence, but perhaps next time. Sammy and Willum disappear and by the final story Ebony has returned. If it's for good remains to be seen. 

We take a look at the last half of 1951, the penultimate year of the series in the next volume in a few weeks' time. While the general quality of the series is slipping there are highlights still to enjoy. 

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