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"Sandman and Sandy: "A Drama in Dreams"": Sandy Hawkins spots some clues, develops a suspicion, and deduces that Wes Dodds has been replaced by an imposter, called only "Actor," one who is himself haunted by The Sandman in his dreams

Adventure Comics #81 is an issue of the series Adventure Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 1942.

Synopsis for Sandman and Sandy: "A Drama in Dreams"

Sandy Hawkins spots some clues, develops a suspicion, and deduces that Wes Dodds has been replaced by an imposter, called only "Actor," one who is himself haunted by The Sandman in his dreams. He follows the imposter (first in a car trunk, then on a rear bumper) to a hideaway, at an old abandoned mine in the hills, (the "Ghost Mine") where he finds the real Dodds tied up by kidnappers. Sandy changes clothes and bursts into their shack, but gets captured as well. The bad guys drop Wes and Sandy down a mine shaft into fifty feet of water, but working together, both escape from the crooks, plus under his clothes Wes has on his action suit, WITH a wirepoon gun. Sandman then breaks into his own penthouse apartment and nabs Actor, taking his place, to expose the crooks' scheme.

Appearing in Sandman and Sandy: "A Drama in Dreams"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Actor (Single appearance)
    • his henchmen (Mopey, others)

Other Characters:

  • Dodds' business partner Mr. Bright (Single appearance)
  • Dodds' business partner Mr. Stark (Single appearance)

Locations:

Items:


Synopsis for Starman: "Starman's Lucky Star!"

Astronomy Professor Leland Brown meets, and decides to sponsor, promising young astronomy student Ray Talbot, for an education in Science. Meanwhile and elsewhere, superstitious lowlife Hunch Haggard and his dim henchman Muggsy, are consulting with an astrologer, about what kind of crime to do next. They pick: kidnapping.

That evening Ted Knight and Doris Lee attend a live broadcast of the Information Quiz Program, at which Prof. Brown introduces young Talbot to the audience. The kid does perfectly, nails every question, but when he wins the first prize, an expensive telescope, both the audience and Prof. Brown are shocked and saddened to learn that the boy is blind!

Two weeks later, Ray has been adopted by the wealthy Cord family, and receives private tutoring. Starman visits Ray. They chat. Ray reveals that he knows a way to stop the Gravity Rod from working. It's ultra-violet radiation, the same reason why the rod doesn't work in the daytime. Starman is impressed.

A week later, Hunch and Muggsy show up at the Cord Estate, looking to kidnap young Rufus Cord (now Ray's adoptive brother). They kidnap Ray by mistake, spirit him away to their hideout, and do a poor job of supervising him. Meanwhile Mr. Cord has alerted the Police who have alerted the FBI, causing Woodley Allen to covertly signal to Starman. After a quick conference with Allen, Starman starts searching for the missing blind boy. At the hideout, by very good luck, Ray finds an ultra-violet sun lamp, and that night he uses it to signal Starman, by deactivating and reactivating the Gravity Rod. Starman is in mid-flight as this happens, but he recovers adroitly, and flies in to the rescue. There's a mishap; while confronting Muggsy and his handgun, Starman snags his foot in a drapery and stumbles. Muggsy still gets punched out, but Ray receives a glancing bulletwound across the rim of his skull, which knocks him out. Starman pounces on Hunch and subdues him, while Ray wakes back up. The bulletwound has very luckily relieved the pressure on his optic nerve, and Ray recovers his vision.

Weeks later, as Ray is entering prep school and Hunch Haggard is starting a long prison sentence, Hunch meets his new cellmate. It's the astrologer who gave him that bad advice about his next crime.

Appearing in Starman: "Starman's Lucky Star!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Hunch Haggard (Single appearance)
  • Muggsy (Single appearance)
  • Unnamed astrologer (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Professor Leland Brown (Single appearance)
  • Ray Talbot (Single appearance)
  • Mr. Cord (Single appearance)
  • Rufus Cord (Single appearance)

Locations:

Items:

Synopsis for Genius Jones: "The Enigma of the Nonagenarian Natator!"


Appearing in Genius Jones: "The Enigma of the Nonagenarian Natator!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Elfonzo Loop

Antagonists:

  • some thugs

Locations:

Synopsis for Shining Knight: "The Adventure of the Queen's Jades"

At the museum, Dr. Moresby shows Justin a jewel made up of seven jades, but the pendant is incomplete. It belonged to an Egyptian queen and was discovered by an expedition financed by the museum and four wealthy men, and in the end, each of them demanded to keep a stone. The professor says that it would be very good for the museum to have the complete jewel and that this mission would be worthy of the Shining Knight. Justin wears his knightly armor and rides his winged horse, Winged Victory, and sets out on his mission. The Shining Knight begins by asking for the piece of jade that has eccentric millionaire Harold Crane, who says that he would only give the piece if the knight convinced Alice Marsden to marry him. Still not convincing the maiden, the Shining Knight goes to the stingy John Carmody, who says that he will only give the play if the hero proves the innocence of his son, William Carmody, who would be imprisoned unfairly framed by the Pineapple Kid. The Shining Knight goes to investigate and finds that "pinapple" is how a gang leader calls the grenades he uses to intimidate businessmen into paying him protection. The hero captures some bad guys and they confess that William Carmody was wrongfully convicted and that the Pinapple Kid kidnapped Alice Marsden. The plumber goes to Harold Crane and says that his beloved is in danger and takes him to the kidnappers. The boy confronts the kidnappers and, with the help of the Shining Knight, frees the girl and she agrees to marry Crane and he agrees to give the hero jade. When he innocents William, he gets the second stone. His next stop is at the home of Rufus Vail, a sad and depressed man who says he will give jade if the knight makes him laugh. The Shining Knight tries everything but can only make Vail laugh by making him tell jokes to calm a child. To get the last stone, the hero goes to the last rich man: Morton Middleton. morton asks to see the pendant with the other six stones, as proof that the knight tells the truth but, as soon as Justin shows the necklace, armed men enter and Morton tries to steal the necklace because he knows the value of the complete piece. The Shining Knigh defeats the bandits and completes the necklace for the museum and changes the lives of the four wealthy men.

Appearing in Shining Knight: "The Adventure of the Queen's Jades"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • The Pineapple Kid (Single appearance)
  • Sparrow (Single appearance)
  • Morton Middleton (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Harold Crane (Single appearance)
  • Alice Marsden (Single appearance)
  • John Carmody (Single appearance)
  • William Carmody (Single appearance)
  • Rufus Vail (Single appearance)

Items:

  • Justin's enchanted armor and arms

Locations:

Synopsis for Manhunter: "The Case of the Crying Cat!"


Appearing in Manhunter: "The Case of the Crying Cat!"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Lefty
  • another thug

Other Characters:

  • Magoo (Single appearance)

Locations:

Synopsis for Hourman: "Time Out for Hitler!"

Thorndyke is present at the Lavalier Swimming Pool when it is invaded by a team of thugs, who set up a diving suit, and send one thug to search the pool's bottom. Whatever they're looking for, it's not there, and on their way out, the thugs say out loud that their next target is the Oasis Pool. Thorndyke rushes over to Bannerman Chemical, to tell Rex Tyler about this. Rex commits his lunch hour to solving this case, suits up, and exposes himself to a dose of his miraculous power-giving ray, Miraclo. He and Thorndyke sprint over to the Oasis Swimming Pool, where they catch the gang still on the scene. The team leader confirms Thorndyke's story by yanking out a pistol and shooting at Hourman, who dodges the bullet then starts clobbering the gunman. Thorndyke reaches the air pump of the diving apparatus and overdrives it into inflating the diver's suit; he pops to the surface and flails about. The thugs attempt to take Thorndyke hostage, Hourman scatters them with a big diving stunt, but they all escape.

Not stymied, Hourman picks up Thorndyke, by the waistband, and sprints to the city's waterfront. He knows of only one ship's chandler business that could have equipped this gang with a deep-sea diving suit. They step into that store, and before any questions can even be asked, the proprietor yells for some thugs, two arrive, and Hourman quickly subdues them. The police arrive very quickly, then turn out to be disguised thugs, who head-konk Hourman and Thorndyke unconscious, and tie them up.

The big boss arrives, Baron Glantz, and he has a short-wave radio conversation with his colleagues aboard an off-shore U-boat, #U69. He now, belatedly, receives information that will direct the dive-team's search to Central Park Lake. The item they're searching for is a detailed set of orders, directing a network of saboteurs, and it's now more urgent than ever for them to recover it. But before they go, they tie anchors to Hourman and Thorndyke, and drop them into the bay.

Soon Hourman escapes from his ropes, and speeds Thorny to the surface, then the chase resumes! They race to Central Park, catch the dive team again, and pummel them until the real police arrive, then leave. Rex Tyler is five minutes late getting back to work, and his boss Mr. Bannerman is a jerk about it.

Appearing in Hourman: "Time Out for Hitler!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Baron Glantz (Single appearance)
    • Dive Team Leader
      • Heinrich, diver
      • two other thugs
    • Chandler Shop Proprietor
      • Hans
      • Adolf
      • two fake cops

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

  • German Submarine U-69 (Behind the scenes)

Notes

  • Hourman's home city has a "Central Park Lake" surrounded by trees. Therefore it is New York City.
    • Baron Glantz wears a monocle.
    • Hourman actually gets knocked unconscious twice in this story.
  • Sandman: "A Drama in Dreams" was reprinted in DC 100-Page Super Spectacular #15 and The Sandman by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.
  • Starman: "Starman's Lucky Star!" was reprinted in Justice League of America #112 and The Golden Age Starman Archives Vol. 2.
    • Captions on pages 1 and 2 of this story identify Starman as "the dark knight", and his city as "mighty Gotham City".
    • In the 5th panel of the 3rd page of this story, Ted Knight nudges up against the Fourth Wall, winks at the reader, and quietly gloats about how well he's doing at hiding his identity from his fiancee.



See Also


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