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"Hour-Man: "The Wax-Double Killers"": An insane scientist invents an artificial heart and plastic skin, and a reviving fluid; he uses these to bring to life some stolen wax replicas of two famous desperados, which now obey his spoken orders, and can speak. They commit a series of robberies. The

Quote1 Now if I only could concoct some Miraclo before he sees what I'm doing ... Quote2
Hourman

Adventure Comics #51 is an issue of the series Adventure Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1940.

Synopsis for Hour-Man: "The Wax-Double Killers"

An insane scientist invents an artificial heart and plastic skin, and a reviving fluid; he uses these to bring to life some stolen wax replicas of two famous desperados, which now obey his spoken orders, and can speak. They commit a series of robberies. The Man of the Hour decides to investigate.

When another famous criminal's statue is installed at the same museum, Rex Tyler stakes the place out, and it pays off on the very first night. The scientist's henchmen steal the new figure and drive away; Rex takes a hit of Miraclo and follows them on foot. But almost an hour goes by before they reach the scientist's lair, and Hourman's Miraclo dose wears off while he's fighting the statue-stealing thugs. He gets captured, then the thugs, both living and artificial, all leave, to do a robbery elsewhere.

The very conceited scientist is pleased to have a captive audience, and he allows the Hour-Man to watch as he brings to life the third wax figure. In return, and using the scientist's own chemistry equipment, Hour-Man demonstrates how to mix up a dose of Miraclo, which he chugs before the scientist can stop him. Re-empowered, the Hour-Man beats up the scientist and ties him to a chair, then loads some of the scientist's special acid into his ring, and goes out in pursuit of the robbers. He races into town and interrupts an armored-car hold-up, and uses the acid to destroy the animated replicas.

While he's away, as we learn later, the mad scientist gets away, and his identity remains unknown, at least for the time being.

Appearing in Hour-Man: "The Wax-Double Killers"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Insane Scientist (First appearance)
    • Mad-Dog Duncan (animated wax figure) (Dies)
    • Alvin Kartis (animated wax figure) (Dies)
    • Two-Gun Carmody (animated wax figure) (Dies)
    • two human henchmen: Joe, other

Other Characters:

  • Mr. Shilo
  • police detective
  • newspaper reporter
  • newspaper editor
  • museum watchman
  • armored car guards

Locations:

  • Appleton City
    • Shilo's Wax Museum
    • police station
    • newspaper office
  • countryside, across the river
    • Snegg's Laboratory

Items:

  • Miraclo
  • Snegg's Artificial Heart & Plastic Skin
  • Snegg's Reviving Fluid


Synopsis for Barry O'Neill: "The Thought Machine of Fang Gow"

Fang Gow has been arrested, and faces a court martial followed by a firing squad. Sitting quietly in his cell, Fang Gow remotely operates his incredible Thought Machine. At his gang's hideout in the sewers under Paris, his machine writes out a set of instructions for his thugs.

The next day, at the Military Court, Fang Gow's trial ends in the expected verdict with the expected sentence, and he is transported back to the prison in the back of an armed military van. The van is ambushed by thugs with hand grenades, and Fang Gow is set free! He writes a mocking note to Barry O'Neill, boasting of his thought-transmitting device, and leaves it at the scene of the escape. He returns to his hideout and lays plans for getting himself and his device across the frontier, into the territory of the enemies of France.

A week later, with an envelope stuffed with misinformation, Inspector Le Grand walks out of the War Ministry, and into a seemingly-unexpected ambush, in which he is abducted by one of Fang Gow's minions. They descend into the Paris Sewers and march towards the villain's lair. Le Grand's shoe-heel has been rigged to leave marks with a special ink, and Barry O'Neill is stealthily following both of them. At the hideout, Fang Gow grabs Le Grand's envelope and reads all the rubbish it contains, while transmitting it directly to Fang Gow's paymasters. Also to emphasize the extent of his cleverness, Fang Gow boasts that this machine can be instantly destroyed, just by closing that switch, right over there. Then he pulls out a bottle of acid and prepares to torture Le Grand to death. In walks Barry O'Neill with a gun in his hand; he throws that switch and the machine blows up. Somewhere across the border, the Thought-Receiver also blows up. Fang Gow's thugs counterattack, and one of them shoots Barry. Amid all the smoke, noise, and confusion, Fang Gow slips away.

Appearing in Barry O'Neill: "The Thought Machine of Fang Gow"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Van Gendarmes, two (Dies)

Locations:

  • France
    • Military Prison
    • Military Court
    • Paris
      • Sewer System
        • Fang Gow's Hideout
      • War Ministry

Items:

  • Fang Gow's Thought Machine

Vehicles:

  • Prison Van

Synopsis for Steve Conrad, Adventurer: "The Return of Singapore Sal"

Off the coast of Java, a government boat gets wrecked on a reef. According to Steve Conrad, this boat contains some priceless pearls, and Singapore Sal knows about this, and has chartered a schooner and recruited a crew, to try to steal those pearls. Steve has a plan for how to catch her. The plan is to kidnap Sal's Chinese cook, and for Chang to replace him. The first part of it works out well, and later that night Steve swims out to the anchored schooner, slips aboard, and hides in a place that Chang has prepared.

The next morning, Singapore Sal give the order to set sail. Their target is a small, under-manned government boat, stationed to guard the wreck site. It takes a few days to get there. The well-armed pirates easily overrun the surprised government sailors, and stow them in the schooner's hold. Sal's plan is to send down a diver, first thing the next morning.

Before dawn, Steve dives for the wreck, with no air hose and no tanks, finds it, finds the purser's office, retrieves the pearls, and heads for the surface. But now Sal's diver, Mike, is in the water, with a diving helmet and air line, and a knife. Conrad kills him. Sal's crew spots the blood, and reel in the late Mike's diving rig, while on the other side of the boat, Steve very stealthily gets over the gunwale and slips into the galley. On deck, the crew mistakenly believes that Mike was killed by a shark, and none of them is brave enough to do this dive, so Sal changes into her swimsuit and puts on the diving helmet. She dives, and shortly later returns, triumphant, flaunting a sack of something. Away they sail!

Once in sight of the mainland, the schooner anchors off-shore, and the pirates throw an all-night victory party. Steve runs a distress signal flag up the main mast to the top. And the next morning, this attracts a government patrol boat. A boarding party comes onto the schooner, infuriating Singapore Sal, who flings her sack of pearls overboard in a fit of pique. But that was a sack of fake pearls that Steve Conrad had planted in place aboard the sunken wreck, and here's Steve now, stepping out of the galley to greet the boarding party, with the real pearls and the story of how they got there.

Appearing in Steve Conrad, Adventurer: "The Return of Singapore Sal"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Chang

Antagonists:

  • Singapore Sal
    • her pirate crew:
      • Mike, diver (Dies)
      • others

Other Characters:

  • Government Guard Boat Crew
  • Government Patrol Crew: Jenkins, others

Locations:

Vehicles:

  • Government Small Boat (wrecked)
  • Government Small Boat
  • Sal's Chartered Schooner
    • Skiff
  • Government Patrol Boat

Synopsis for Sandman: "The Pawn Broker"

The Van Leew Emeralds were stolen one night ago, and both the Sandman and Dian suspect Mad Maddon, a criminal who recently escaped from prison. The Sandman investigates, only to find out that the crooks have hidden the gems in the home of Wesley Dodds himself. So the Sandman steals the emeralds from himself, and leaves his "calling card" by scattering sand on the floor. But later Mad Maddon, the prime suspect for the theft, turns up dead in Dodds' home, and of course the police believe the Sandman did it.

The Sandman tracks down the real thieves, who are aboard the second suspect's yacht. He gets knocked on the head and falls into the river, but recovers, re-boards the yacht, gasses the crew, and runs away as the police arrive.

Appearing in Sandman: "The Pawn Broker"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Mad Maddon (Single appearance; dies)
  • Flip Benson (Single appearance)
    • hench gunman
    • hench sailor
  • Frank Fencet (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

Synopsis for Socko Strong: "The Phony Trucking Business"

Mr. Connolly, owner of the Connolly Trucking Company, is using his business as a front to cover up his hijacking capers. His racket involves covering the warning beacon on a sharp corner, so that trucks going around it will crash, and he can steal their goods. Socko figures out that Connolly is the culprit, because he finds a cigar with Connolly's name on it. While making his getaway, Connolly crashes and dies because the beacon is still covered.

Appearing in Socko Strong: "The Phony Trucking Business"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Jerry Indutch

Antagonists:

  • Mr. Connolly (Single appearance; dies)
    • suit henchman
    • driver

Other Characters:

  • truck driver (Dies)
  • assistant truck driver (Dies)
  • Police Captain Slocum
    • Police Dispatcher

Locations:

  • New York City
    • Conolly Trucking Co. office
  • countryside
    • Chesterfield Road
      • beacon light
    • farm house

Vehicles:

  • merchandise truck (Destroyed)
  • Conolly Co. truck
  • Conolly's open-top roadster
  • Strong's black open-top roadsterr
  • Police blue-and-white open-top roadster

Synopsis for Federal Men: "The Nastonian Secret Agent"

A political radical named Robbel is stirring up Nastonian sympathisers. Steve Carson gets him arrested for embezzling, but his misguided followers pay his bail. Robbel double-crosses his followers and empties their safe, packs his open-top roadster, and drives towards Mexico. On his running board is Steve Carson, and a stunt-filled fight ensues, at the end of which, Robbel is thoroughly subdued, bedraggled, and arrested.

Appearing in Federal Men: "The Nastonian Secret Agent"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • District Attorney Mickelson

Locations:

Vehicles:

  • Robbel's roadster

Synopsis for Anchors Aweigh: "Captain Coffyn's Cutthroat Crew"

A pirate crew steals a submarine, and the U.S. Navy hunts them down, despite the onset of some ominous weather. Don Kerry's ship, a cruiser, catches the sub in the act of boarding and looting a freighter. The cruiser opens fire, and the submarine is soon too damaged to get away. While the cruiser captures the sub's survivors, Captain Coffyn and three of his cronies escape in a speedboat, to a nearby island. As a storm gathers overhead, LCDR Kerry and a three-man detachment of bluejackets pursue them. The pirates take refuge in a deserted building, and as they approach it, two of Kerry's landing party are wounded; Don and Red duck into a shack. A lightning strike kills two of the pirates. Captain Coffyn uses dynamite to blow up the shack, then uses kerosene to set the splintered wreckage of it on fire, with Kerry and Murphy lying stunned among the debris.

Then the hurricane arrives, and a mammoth tidal wave marches ashore. Coffyn and his remaining henchman are swept out to sea, while Kerry and Murphy get themselves loose from the shattered shack. After the storm subsides they make their way to a Native village, where they await pick-up from their cruiser.

Appearing in Anchors Aweigh: "Captain Coffyn's Cutthroat Crew"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Red Murphy
  • cruiser crew
  • landing party (two are wounded or killed)

Antagonists:

  • Captain Coffyn (Apparent Death)
    • his pirate submarine crew: Gussy (Dies), Bunker (Dies), Ben, others

Other Characters:

  • friendly Natives

Locations:

Vessels:

  • U.S. cruiser
    • power launch
  • stolen submarine U.39 (damaged, recaptured)

Synopsis for Rusty and His Pals: "Mansion of Murder (Part 6 of 7)"

Rusty and his pals race the villainous Unholy Three to the hidden treasure, only for a tribe of Natives to pop up and capture everyone.

Appearing in Rusty and His Pals: "Mansion of Murder (Part 6 of 7)"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Angus McHeather

Antagonists:

  • Tino (Final appearance; dies)
  • Zoroff
  • Karl
  • Natives

Locations:

  • Malay

Synopsis for Cotton Carver: "At Grips With the Wolf Men"

Cotton, Deela, and Red Mike have escaped from Roanoke by boring through a great deal of solid rock, and emerged in a wooded area, near an open-air temple. They are approached by a procession of white-robed bearded priests, playing beautiful music on harps. The priests rejoice to see Cotton Carver, mistaking him for Dakon, a god or hero from their mythology, for whose help they have been praying. Their people are being murdered and terrorized by the People of the Wolf, and their terrible queen. The three fugitives agree to help these people out. The priests lead them over a mountainous trail to Kossa, their homeland.

The Wolf People live in a wide valley below this place, and Carver wastes no time in marching directly, alone, into the valley. When he hears some wolves he climbs a big tree, sets up a good sniping perch, and waits. Soon a woman on horseback, leading a pack of wolves, rides into view. They are hunting, but what? He jumps her and yanks her out of the saddle, then covers her with his revolver and asks some questions. She is Lupa, Mistress of the Wolves of Morra, and she makes some threats, remounts her horse, and rides away.

Carver returns to Kossa and confers with the Priests; he's got a plan. The Priests show him a narrow valley, through which the raiders enter Kossa, and that night Carver and a gang of men work there by lantern light, with picks and shovels, finishing before morning. The following day, the Wolf People return in force, with many horsemen and wolves. Cotton Carver, alone, on foot, with a long pole in hand, gets their attention and leads them on a merry chase, directly through the pass. At a certain point he uses the pole to vault to the far end of the defile, just before his pursuers charge into the gap, and plunge into an enormous tiger-trap, with big spikes at the bottom of it. Those who have not yet fallen, including Lupa, are then raked with gunfire by Carver, Deela, and Red Mike. Then the people of Kossa, led by their priests, move in and attack with spears.

Lupa remains mounted and she singles out Cotton for her vengeful solo charge, but he manually deflects her lance and yanks her out of the saddle. The frenzied people of Kossa charge in on foot, but Carver now faces them down, defending his prisoner, with Red Mike and Deela backing his play. They've got the only firearms in this place, and the Kossans have seen what they can do, but they attack anyway. Lupa tells her new protectors that she has a horrible solution for this, then steps forth and makes a loud, weird call. Everybody stops and looks overhead, seeing a terrifying sight!

Appearing in Cotton Carver: "At Grips With the Wolf Men"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Deela
  • Red Mike

Antagonists:

  • Lupa (First appearance)
  • The Wolf Men (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Priests of Kossa (Single appearance)
  • People of Kossa

Locations:

Notes

  • Published monthly by Detective Comics, Inc.
  • Per page 6 panel 4, Barry O'Neill gets a bullet-wound in the torso. Or does he? Next issue there is no mention of this. In the art, the guy in the tan suit shoots the guy in the blue suit, and Barry was the only guy in that scene wearing a blue suit. So most likely this is just a coloring error.
  • Hour-Man: "The Wax-Double Killers" is reprinted in JSA All Stars Archive #1.
    • In the title and captions, the hero is called "Hour-Man." Next issue it's unhyphenated into two words, as "Hour Man."
    • One thug uses a handgun to easily knock down a highway suspension bridge.
    • Hour-Man's first Miraclo dose wears off, and not very much later that same day, he mixes and ingests a new dose, with no ill effects. See also All-Star Comics #1 .
    • Next issue, this issue's mystery villain gets a name; he's Doctor Snegg.
  • Sandman: "The Pawn Broker" is reprinted in Justice League of America #99, The Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told, and The Golden Age Sandman Archives Vol. 1.
    • The Sandman is a competent safe cracker.
    • Per page 6 panel 4 Wesley Dodds' address is "at Park Drive."
    • Sandman gets head-konked unconscious, with a nautical tool, and falls into the river.
  • Steve Conrad kills a guy, in an underwater knife fight, and inflicts enough damage that the guy's shipmates think he was killed by a shark.
  • Also appearing in this issue of Adventure Comics were:
    • "The Moon - Ruler of the Tides" (nonfiction cartoon), uncredited
    • Book Review: "Westward Ho!" by Charles Kingsley (text article)
    • "Attention!" (1/5 page ad for the current issue of Superman #5)
    • "Superman is on the Radio!" (1/2 page ad for The Adventures of Superman (radio series))
    • "Junior Federal Men Club" (promotional text)
    • Adventure Stamp Page: "Italian Commemorative" (text article)
    • "The Red Metal, Part 1 of 2" (text story) by Gardner Fox



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