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Sunday, October 30, 2011

Adventure Comics #145 - Oct. 1949

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Comics Weekend "The Sea Hitch-Hiker!" by Otto Binder and John Daly.

It's Adventure Sunday!

As Superboy comments on President Truman's 1946 firing of U.S. Steelworkers, Aquaman meets a young man tries to travel across the world...without a boat! Let's see if this particular fellow adheres to the "help, kelp, or yelp" policy of hitch-hiking:
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Quentin reaches Sidney, Australia and finds a ride on a steamer ship. Unfortunately, a small fire on board causes them to leave the hitch-hiker on a small nearby island. Quentin is crestfallen to learn that due to the island's rocky coast, almost no ships ever stop by.

With Black Jack apparently taking the month off, Aquaman has time to help Quentin out again, this time dragging him along the surface of the water himself!
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...and with that, so ends another adventure with Aquaman!


Man, Quention and his editor have a very unusual relationship. I can't help but think writer Otto Binder was having a gag at least a couple real life people's expense.

And I guess we'll never know, but I think this story features the rare (very rare!) instance of artist John Daly's imagination failing him: I mean, a giant glowing thumb, really? There was no other way to convey that idea without resorting to the very unsettling image of a giant thumb sticking out of Quentin's backpack?

Maybe we shouldn't blame Daly--for all we know Binder specifically asked for the giant thumb in the script. Hmm...maybe they still have the original scripts at DC's office--so all I'll have to do is sneak in there at night, and then search through probably millions of pages to find the answer to this ridiculously obscure piece of trivia. Sounds like a plan!

4 comments:

jim said...

Be sure to leave yourself lots of time when you break into DC's offices, as you'll probably have to "thumb" through tons of old scripts until you find this gem. lol

Anonymous said...

Viva Adventure Sunday!

Well, not so much viva this week. Binder and Daly were on a streak, but this one broke it. Although I did like the turtle ride. I think we need some good old-fashioned crime to liven things up.

Come back, Black Jack. All is forgiven.

James Chatterton

Anthony said...

A giant neon thumb? Weird... and that's one interesting editor!

Re: Superboy:

That incident looks like it happened in the early 50s, though there was a coal miner strike incident in 1946:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman#Steel_and_coal_strikes

:-p

The Superboy story this month: On various holiday trips to Metropolis with his parents (Fourth of July, Columbus Day, Halloween, New Year's, and Valentine's Day), Superboy stops a gang called the "Holiday Hijackers".

Russell said...

Is this the first mention of "Smallville"?

The cartoonist looks like both Snapper Carr and Johnny Thunder. His name should have been Johnny Carr. :-)