Whiz Comics #143 (1952)

Billy Batson is broadcasting, but not from the Station WHIZ Building, but a gigantic zeppelin nicknamed “the WHIZ Zep,” with a gondola large enough to house a broadcasting studio. He reports that Mr. Morris came up with that idea and that, since the Hindenburg disaster of 1937, zeppelins aren't made anymore and is filled with perfectly safe helium. The WHIZ Zep is run by one of the last zeppelin pilots in existence, Captain Oscar Hugo. Finishing his broadcast, Billy and Mr. Morris go see Capt. Hugo who is worried about gremlins, which he blames for most zeppelin crashes and shows them a framed picture of Zeppy, leader of the Gremlins, though Mr. Morris says it sounds like superstition. Later, Billy starts up another broadcast while across the Atlantic when the engines stop, leaving them drifting northward into the frozen tundra! Billy calls SHAZAM to summon Captain Marvel, who removes the ice on it and drags it back south a few hundred miles to a temperate climate. When he returns to the gondola, he finds a written message from Zeppy the Gremlin, panicking Capt. Hugo who has been waiting 15 years to pilot a zeppelin again. Captain Marvel assures him he'll figure this out and looks around for a supposed stowaway, but finds no one there. Approaching fog, Capt. Hugo tries to turn on the radar, but finds that Zeppy also has disabled their radar to crash them, forcing Captain Marvel to fly them over the mountains by hand. Returning again, Capt. Hugo shows the last message from Zeppy, claiming he destroyed the Hindenburg and that there's a “Jonah” aboard, demanding he be thrown out to his death or face more gremlin meddling. Capt. Hugo has a breakdown thinking he's the Jonah, an unlucky person aboard and leaps out of the gondola! Captain Marvel flies down and puts him back and continues watching the zeppelin fly into the night. As dawn approaches, Mr. Morris reveals a note from Capt. Hugo, has has leapt overboard himself, but also that Zeppy has seemingly stolen the payroll they were keeping on the craft (in a box labeled “WHIZ Payroll.”) Zeppy leaves a note saying he destroyed their $25,000 payroll as a parting prank. Captain Marvel now understands this and finds that Capt. Hugo has actually just taken a parachute out of the zeppelin and stole the payroll for himself and that all of the “Zeppy” messages were from him. Capt. Hugo mocks that he left a time-bomb on the ship, only for Captain Marvel to drag him into the sky and land the WHIZ Zep easily in seconds, much to Capt. Hugo's chagrin. Later, Billy signs off from jail saying that they've got a new crew for the WHIZ Zep and the real gremlin was arrested!