Sabotage at the State Fair (Nickel Comics #8)

As tragedy hits the local state fair, Sgt. Kent is pressed into sending his uniforms into the site to keep the peace while looking for a mysterious menace behind the chaos. It seems that thus far six people have perished at the fair, indicating fowl play of some kind. Seemingly out of character, the police department's "test tube detective" Jim Barr protests Kents' decision to place his brothers in blue at risk. Sarge scoffs at this, while his daughter Susan tips off Jim to a suspect.

Packing away his good guys gear including his patent pending Gravity Regulating Helmet in a satchel, and journeys to the fair to investigate. There he spies the suspect "Ice" Craddock with some hoodlums, and enters a hall of wax figurines where they are meeting to find out details of the sinister schemes.

However, the anti-germ serum flowing through Barr's body doesn't give him the power of stealth, as his loud footsteps are heard by Craddock who orders his men to pursue him. Barr evidently is still not use to having a massive body since ingesting the serum, which due to added weight makes him mir noisy than his scrawny former self. Anyways, not wishing to reveal his identity, Jim dons a mask worn by one of the figurines, to... protect his identity!?! Huh? Since when?

Although the masked man overwhelms the henchmen, Craddock stabs Barr with the pointy side of his cane, with poison that would kill an ordinary man but simply knocks Barr out. Leaving his premumed dead body with his head underneath a gulliotine, the next morning Jim is jostled awake by a noisy crowd just in time before a fair employee attempted to demonstrate the deadly device on what he believes to be another wax figurine.

Donning his superhero spandex and helmet, Bulletman charges towards a bulldozer being steered into helpless fair attendees. Then, our hero saves the crowd from a dirigible set aflame. Meanwhile, the manager of the state fair is approached by a wealthy benefactor offering up his land for  the Fair since this site seems "cursed". Bulletman is able to extract an explanation from Craddock, that the crooks were hired by the wealthy benefactor who wanted the fairgrounds' land for oil reserves he learned it contained. With a poke of a giant statuette rod, Bulletman tapped the oil for all to see.

Bullet Buddies: Well whatever goodwill existed between Jim and Sgt. Kent previously has eroded into mutual content.

Rocketing Romance:  This tale finally reveals the reason... well, the *official* reason... for Susan Kent always being at the police station. She is the chief's secretary! Nepotism much?

Bedeviling Bulletman: Craddock with his elegant suit, top hat and cane is reminiscent of another Craddock who stuck in the craw of Hawkman in the Gentlemen Ghost.

Powerful Projectile:  Bulletman's strength holds steady from his previous forays, where not even bulldozers nor blimps seem to cause him to break a sweat. And perhaps, just perhaps, a side effect of the Gravity Regulator Helmet which manipulates physics is also the explanation as to why the mask less Bulletman is never recognized.

Fawcett Facts: The ad at the end of the tale promotes Nickel Comics #9, which will never be. Instead, Bulletman migrates to his new home in Master Comics.

Fawcett Comics Presents: Scarlet and the Gold #3

By the time that Brian and Pinky encountered was replicas of themselves and other heroes, they had already met Captain Marvel and his sister Mary. However, this brought into their own personal universe fellow Wow wonders Commando Yank and Phantom Eagle, whom they would also share several covers of their mutual comic with throughout the years.

The Voice - Murder Without Clues (Wow Comics #6)

Despite his social standing as a special prosecutor a g Gotham City, Brian Butler and his ward appeared not are traveling on a subway when several thugs board the transport to rob from its riders. This distracts them from noticing Butler and son "stripping from action" (terrible battle cry, Brian!) to become Mister Scarlet and Pinky, the Whiz Kid. While the Dynamic Duo are battling the hoodlums, and ominous voice known only as "the Voice" threatens those onboard. He somehow orchestrated not only this attempted heist, but directing another subway train car to head straight for his victims.

Thankfully, the train engineer averts this catastrophe in time. However our heroes track  down the Voicel revealing him the be the owner of the subway now near bankruptcy. Lots of corrupt businessman in this city!

When a threatening call to prosecutor Butler's office was received from a mysterious source, Mister Scarlet investigated further. This phone call was tied to the passing of Thomas Mendel. Encountering the culprit behind the crime by together the clues, the crimson crusader has a couple clashes with the masked menace including on train tracks where the two are nearly run over by a runaway locomotive.

When his foe takes the bait Scarlet left behind, Mister Butler invites several suspects via a newspaper headline to meet and springs the trap on the man behind the mask, an actor named Ked Allen, who had been blackmailing the murder victim for years until Mandel got sick of it.

Some remarkable parallels occur between Scarlet and the sixties superhero sensation in television's Batman. First, a snappy reportoir with their sidekicks Pinky and Robin, respectively. Second, cheesy villains that provide just enough of a challenge for the heroes. Three, awesome sound effects. Just look at that panel!

• Supporting Scarlet: Once more we witness Butler/Scarlett's detective abilities on display.

• Red Romance: Imagine if Pinky never entered the picture, then Mister Scarlet would have Miss Wade's undivided attention.

• Menacing the Mister: The Voice has a cool gimmick but non descriptive appearance when we meet him. Allen's adversarial alter ego has a neat pulp style disguise but nothing special in his technique.

• Crimson Capabilities: Pinky has become adept at evading the notice of Miss Wade's watchful eye. Although she can't still believe that he isn't making a break for crime fighting at the earliest opportunity.

• Fawcett Facts: Now only two appearances each issue in Wow Comics and other features are crowding the dynamic duo from the cover! Is a Mister Scarlet and Pinky comic in the horizon? Sadly, no.