Come back, ye blathering omhadoun! Leaving me alone with a corpse like this! 
- — Inspector Flanagan
National Comics #59 is an issue of the series National Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 1947.
Synopsis for The Barker: "The Birdman"
A man in a bird costume demonstrates his act for the circus, pretending to fly holding fine wires. He then turns around and laughs at the idea that he'd perform for them, instead demanding $5000 a week not to do his performance elsewhere and steal their crowds. They refuse, and he makes good on his threat by doing his flying act around a building downtown, drawing every potential spectator in the area. The Barker hires a plane both to sky-write a message to come to the circus, and also to obscure the Birdman's act with the exhaust. This frustrates the Birdman enough that he grabs Midge out of the plane and tries to drop him. Fortunately, Spudo catches Midge in time from a window.
The Birdman tries to get even by irritating a condor in the circus's animal act so that it attacks the audience during the show. The snake charmer uses her snake to try to scare off the bird, which causes it to attack and kill the Birdman instead.
Appearing in The Barker: "The Birdman"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Colonel Lane
- Lena
- Major Midge
- Spuda the Spider-Man
- Tiny Tim
- Madame Shali, snake charmer
Antagonists:
- Denoso, the Birdman (Dies)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Lassie and Laddie: "The Diamond Bracelet Cat Collar"
Appearing in Lassie and Laddie: "The Diamond Bracelet Cat Collar"
Featured Characters:
- Lassie
- Laddie
Supporting Characters:
- Roberta
- Roger
Synopsis for Sally O'Neil Policewoman: "The Smiling Swede"
Appearing in Sally O'Neil Policewoman: "The Smiling Swede"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
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Synopsis for Steve Wood: "Mr. Bones"
Mr. Grimm J. Bones comes to hire Steve Wood to deliver a letter to the captain of a certain barge for $1000. For that much dosh, Steve says he's willing to face thugs and gunfights, which Bones ominously hints that he will. As soon as Bones is out the door, he's shot by a hood who gets away when Inspector Flanagan happens by and interrupts Steve. The private dick gives Flanagan the slip and goes after Bones' killer, leaving Flanagan yelling after him in impotent rage.
Making it to the barge, Steve's about to hand off the letter to the captain when he notices the ship's full of dynamite crates. And he's shortly accosted by the gunman who shot Bones, who also explains what the dynamite's for: to blow up the wreckage of Bones' own boat, which was sunk for insurance purposes.
Suddenly Steve grabs the captain and hurls them both overboard, just before the barge explodes. Steve and the barge captain are picked up by Inspector Flanagan in a police launch. The private dick explains he deduced the letter he was supposed to deliver actually hid a time bomb meant to kill the barge captain. Thus, silencing the only person who knew about Bones' scheme about his sunk boat. Unfortunately for Bones, he survives his gunshot, which means he's heading to the big house to do time for his insurance fraud and attempted murder.
Appearing in Steve Wood: "Mr. Bones"
Featured Characters:
- Steve Wood, Waterfront Detective
Supporting Characters:
- Sally, secretary
- Inspector Flanagan
Antagonists:
- Grimm J. Bones
Other Characters:
Locations:
Synopsis for Quicksilver: "The Australian Magic Murders"
Mr. Hidge begs Quicksilver for help, as a man he framed to take all the blame for a crooked business deal has returned. This Mr. Jonas has threatened to get his revenge through means of "Australian magic" he learned while hiding out of the country. Quicksilver leaves to look into the matter, but returns when he hears Hidge crying out. The man was killed by a blow to the head, and Quicksilver sees a man fleeing from an adjacent rooftop. The hero pursues by means of a suspicious wire running from Hidge's windowsill to the other roof, but his quarry is nowhere in sight.
Quicksilver pays a visit to Mr. Garroby, the other man who escaped charges in the illicit deal. Garroby received the same threat and almost shoots Quicksilver in fear when the hero visits him to investigate. Jonas shows up at Garroby's home as well to reiterate his threat, but also to mock them because no jury would ever convict him over threats made about magic. When Quicksilver's looking out the window, what appears to be a mystical blast hits him in the face, but he's spared by his protective helmet. Jonas returns to make sure he finishes off Quicksilver and Garroby, but is fooled by a dummy Quicksilver had set up to make himself seem like an easy target. Despite Jonas's claims of having crippled his arm during his time hiding out in Australia, Quicksilver exposes this was a cover for how he committed his attacks: a boomerang thrown through the window that would deal his victim a fatal head wound, then return, leaving no evidence.
Appearing in Quicksilver: "The Australian Magic Murders"
Featured Characters
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mr. Jonas
Other Characters:
- Mr. Hidge (Dies)
- Mr. Garroby
Locations:
Items:
- Jonas's boomerang
Vehicles:
See Also
Links and References
