More Fun Comics #70

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CGC records 39 graded copies for More Fun Comics #70 (1941). Population is the number recorded by this grading source, not the total print run or all surviving copies.

Doctor Fate: "Wotan and Karkull"

:Last year, in the Arctic Circle, the ill-fated Arundel Expedition penetrated as far as the foot of Glacier Peak, then was wiped out by an extremely intense wind storm. One survivor, Bob Walker, came away alive. He had heard the murderous wind, itself, gleefully laughing. None of his rescuers believed his story, but he knew that some human agency had done this. He resolved to return to this place and prove that.

Bob Walker's old friend Inza Cramer brings her friend Kent Nelson to Bob's ship, and introduces him as Doctor Fate. Fate believes Walker's story, and gives him a ring, carved from the same crystal as the great ball that hangs in his tower in Salem, and tells him to wear it. As long as he does so, Fate will be able to observe him, and can intervene when danger strikes. Walker sets sail on his second Arctic expedition.

Over the next few weeks, Bob's steamer retraces the course of last year's expedition, and after landfall he assembles a scouting plane, and flies it along the same route as the dog sleds took before. All seems normal until, after passing over Glacier Peak, Walker's plane accelerates and the steering controls go rigid. It's pulled straight ahead to a huge, domed city, on a collision course.

At his Tower in Salem, Doctor Fate sees the problem. Carrying Inza, he flies directly north, at incredible speed. According to Fate, Walker now "has felt the first powers of the Primal Ones." Fate gets in front of the runaway plane, invokes the power of Isis to fling the plane skyward. A terrific gale arises, and Doctor Fate fails to make the winds cease. He and Inza are blown in thru a door into the domed city, and are followed inside by a thug with a tommy gun. There they meet Fate's old foes Wotan) and Ian Karkull). But how?

:Wotan long ago learned the secrets of astral travel, and after being entombed at the center of the Earth by Doctor Fate, he projected himself to a large city, in search of help. His soul-self found the walking shadow that had been Ian Karkull. They teamed up. Wotan taught Karkull a magic ritual that could free him from his entombment, one which had to be peformed by an outside party. They moved to the Arctic Circle and established a domed city, and had been there building fantastic weapons ever since.

On a television screen, Wotan displays the sinking of a modern battleship, then locks Fate and Inza in a dungeon cell.

Meanwhile outside the dome, Bob Walker has seen the capture of Fate and Inza, so he flies back to the anchorage, and hooks up with a second transport plane, with a well-armed crew, and they decide to fly to the rescue! They land outside the domed city and advance on foot. With a log they batter down one door and charge inside. Wotan is waiting for them, and he activates his gale wind machinery, blowing the men far up into the air. Doctor Fate flies up and snags them safely out of the air, two at a time, then dashes to the dungeon just in time to get between the villains and Inza. Wotan has another weapon, his Flames of Energy! They burst forth from his right hand, but Fate evades them, and the metal walls of the city reflect them back onto both Wotan and Karkull, and their thugs. As Fate and Inza fly out of the giant broken dome, the fire spreads throughout the city and consumes it. | Appearing1 = **Featured Characters:** * Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson)) **Supporting Characters:** * Inza Cramer) **Antagonists:** * Wotan) * Karkull) ** common thugs, at least two **Other Characters:** * Bob Walker ** his crew: Harry, Dave, at least five more * Isis invoked **Locations:** * New York City ** Waterfront * Salem ** Tower of Fate * Arctic Circle ** Glacier Peak ** huge domed city **Items:** * Amulet of Anubis * Cloak of Destiny * Helmet of Fate * "Great Crystal Ball" * Crystal Ring * Secrets of Gondwanaland invoked **Vehicles:** * Walker's steamship * Nelson's red roadster * Walker's 2-engine cargo planes, two of them * modern battleship

| Writer2_1 = Joe Donohoe | Penciler2_1 = Joe Donohoe | Inker2_1 = Joe Donohoe | StoryTitle2 = Detective Sergeant Carey: "The Chinatown Case" | Synopsis2 = Carey's boss's daughter gets kidnaped in Chinatown. Carey and Sleepy find the kidnaper's address at the very first place they look, a leechee nut merchant's shop. They get ambushed and knocked out. Carey's old enemy Sin Fu locks Carey, Sleepy, and Diana Dart in a storage room, with no guards. Also stored in this room are a supply of fireworks, and a barrel full of leechee nuts with diamonds stuffed inside them. When Sin Fu and his gang return to the room, there's a melee, and the bad guys are winning, but just in the nick of time a police raiding party invades the building. | Appearing2 = **Featured Characters:** * Detective Sergeant Carey), City Police **Supporting Characters:** * Sleepy, City Police * Police Captain Dart * Diana Dart, daughter **Antagonists:** * Sin Fu, Carey's old enemy ** Nut Merchant *** dozen thugs, some with swords, some with drugs **Other Characters:** * Mayor of Chinatown **Locations:** * Police HQ * Chinatown ** Mayor's Office ** Nut Merchant's Shop

| Writer3_1 = | Penciler3_1 = George Papp | Inker3_1 = George Papp | StoryTitle3 = Clip Carson: "Adventure in Alaska" | Synopsis3 = | Appearing3 = **Featured Characters:** * Clip Carson) **Antagonists:** * Pierre, fur trapper, bomber crasher * Flanden, accomplice **Other Characters:** * Major, airfield commander ** his staff *** enlisted soldiers * Okay Dokey, Eskimo **Locations:** * Alaska ** Twin Peaks ** Point Barrow *** U.S. Army Base *** town **** Red Gulch Palace **Items:** * bomber-crashing electro-magnet **Vehicles:** * U.S. Army 2-engine bombers 4 vanish

| Writer4_1 = | Penciler4_1 = Ed Winiarski | Inker4_1 = Ed Winiarski | StoryTitle4 = Captain Desmo: "Death is the Engineer" | Synopsis4 = | Appearing4 = **Featured Characters:** * Captain Desmo) **Supporting Characters:** * Gabby **Antagonists:** * Light Fingered Harry * fake conductor accomplice **Other Characters:** * Simmon, sleeping-car passenger * Pullman Porter * Railroad Detective * other passengers * Conductor **Locations:** * West Coast ** Seattle destination **Items:** * Simmon's secret plane plans **Vehicles:** * Pacific Express, crack passenger train

| Writer5_1 = Jerry Siegel | Penciler5_1 = Fred Ray | Inker5_1 = Fred Ray | StoryTitle5 = Radio Squad: "The Case of the D.A.'s Daughter" | Synopsis5 = | Appearing5 = **Featured Characters:** * Radio Squad) ** Sandy Keene) ** Larry Trent) **Supporting Characters:** * Lorna Drake * Sarge **Antagonists:** * Foxy Belin, racketeer ** his flunkies ** Andre, jewel thief **Other Characters:** * Steve Ransom, District Attorney * Mary Ransom **Locations:** * New York City ** Belin's Office ** Giltmore Hotel ** Settlement House **Vehicles:** * Radio Car K-7 * Ransom's sedan crashed

| Writer6_1 = | Penciler6_1 = Harold Wilson Sharp | Inker6_1 = Harold Wilson Sharp | StoryTitle6 = Lance Larkin: "The Owl-Men" | Synopsis6 = | Appearing6 = **Featured Characters:** * Lance Larkin) **Supporting Characters:** * Eve Norman ** her mine crew **Animals:** * Satan **Antagonists:** * human boss ** Owl-Men **Locations:** * Dutch East Indies See Notes. ** West Sumatra, province *** Norman-Larkin Gold Mine

| Writer7_1 = | Penciler7_1 = John Lehti | Inker7_1 = John Lehti | StoryTitle7 = Sergeant O'Malley of the Red Coat Patrol: "The Murder of Jean Giradoux" | Synopsis7 = | Appearing7 = **Featured Characters:** * Constable O'Malley), of the Red Coat Patrol **Supporting Characters:** * Black Hawk, RCMP **Antagonists:** * Hennessey **Other Characters:** * Jean Giradoux * Cook **Animals:** * random moose **Locations:** * Canada ** Hennessey's Regent Bar ** Giradoux's Fox Farm

| Writer8_1 = Jerry Siegel | Penciler8_1 = Bernard Baily | Inker8_1 = Bernard Baily | StoryTitle8 = The Spectre: "The Crimson Circle Mystic Society" | Synopsis8 = At home one evening, alone, Ralph Granger hears a disembodied voice proclaiming his death. He telephones his doctor in a panic, and tries to drive to his office. Ghostly hands materialize from nowhere, grab the wheel, and steer his car off a bridge, to his death in the river below. Afterward the authorities consider it a suicide.

Jim Corrigan learns of the case from his friend Dr. Morgan, changes himself into the Spectre and flies to the crash scene, where he uses his ghostly powers to look into the past. He sees what *really* happened to Granger's steering wheel. Abruptly a shadowy figure materializes, a robed and hooded occultist, who warns the Spectre to mind his own business. The Spectre grabs this figure, in mid-air, but it eludes him, escaping into infinite space.

Corrigan reports back to HQ, and is introduced to Carl Munson, formerly of the Crimson Circle Mystic Society, who accuses the Society's Elders of extorting him for money and threatening him with death. The chief dismisses the death threat, but the Spectre shows up at Munson's house that night, to keep an eye on him. He sees a ghostly presence materializing nearby and springs, but the same hooded figure reappears as before, and repels the Spectre with a wave of his hand! Across the room, two ghostly hands materialize, and strangle Munson to death. The phantom occultist again escapes the Spectre in the darkness of space.

To get proof of the occult society's guilt, Corrigan joins it, and thus gets a good look at the cult's leader, Bandar, and observes as he hypnotically enthralls a roomful of men into teaming up to commit a robbery. Corrigan plays along, and the crime goes off without a hitch. Still Corrigan delays busting the gang, wanting better proof of their activities. But then one member recognizes Corrigan as a cop, so they shoot him, and throw him out of a speeding car. That doesn't work on the Ghostly Guardian, who now trails Bandar's astral self, as the evil magician undertakes the murder of another apostate cult member, who is trying to leave the Society. They grapple in mid-air again, and again Bandar proves to be more powerful than the Spectre, and gains the upper hand. But this time he raises aloft the Ring of Life, and deluges the evil spirt with the blazing light of all that is good! While Bandar's spirit is blinded and stunned, the Spectre flies back to the cult's base, and blasts Bandar's body out of existence! This sends Bandar's spirit flying off helplessly into dimensional space. | Appearing8 = **Featured Characters:** * The Spectre) (Jim Corrigan)) **Supporting Characters:** * Chief **Antagonists:** * Bandar ** Crimson Circle Mystic Society **Other Characters:** * Dr. Morgan * Carl Munson * Ralph Granger * Neil Baxter **Locations:** * Cliffland, New Jersey ** Granger Mansion ** Morgan's Office ** Police Headquarters ** Munson's House ** C.C.M.S. Meeting Hall ** Empire Gem Company **Items:** * Ring of Life **Vehicles:** * Munson's car * Baxter's passenger train * Silver Streak passenger train | Notes = * Published monthly by Detective Comics, Inc. * **Captain Desmo**: ** Last issue for Ed Winiarski art, replaced next issue by Cliff Young. ** That "Pacific Express" train looks very much like the streamlined steam-powered Mercury_%28train%29#Design|"Mercury" series of New York Central passenger trains, designed in the mid-1930s by Henry Dreyfuss. * In an earlier adventure, **Clip Carson** clashed with the notorious spy, Flanden, in Africa. * **Detective Sergeant Carey** and Sleepy get knocked out by having chloroform-soaked bags thrown over their heads. * **Doctor Fate**: ** This story necessarily takes place not later than December 1940. ** In this episode, Dr. Fate invokes the power of Isis, and the secrets of Gondwanaland. He also refers, three times, to the "Primal Ones." ** Wotan's formerly colorful outfit is now monochrome brown, and his skin color is now the same as Kent and Inza's. ** Despite his status as an insubstantial phantom, Karkull is able to speak. ** Readers are not told whether Bob Walker returned Dr. Fate's crystal ring or still retains it. ** "*Wotan and Karkull*" is reprinted in The Golden Age Doctor Fate Archives Vol. 1 (Collected). * Last issue for **Lance Larkin** by Harold Wilson Sharp. ** His adversaries, the albino Owl Men of Sumatra, are pale pygmies with enormous eyes, living underground, blind in daylight. They've never been heard of before nor since. At story's end, Larkin states an intention to "smoke out" these natives, and find out if they make good mine workers. ** In December 1941, the Japanese Empire would invade the Dutch East Indies. Larkin's Sumatran holdings would presumably be looted and expropriated. No further records exist of Larkin's own whereabouts or activities during that time. * **The Spectre** is able to see into the past. ** "*The Crimson Circle*" is reprinted in The Golden Age Spectre Archives Vol. 1 (Collected). * Also appearing in this issue of *More Fun Comics* were: ** 1-panel cartoons by Henry Boltinoff ** "The Justice Society of America Presents ..." (1/2-page ad for the current issue of All-Star Comics Vol 1 6) ** "Jack of All Trades" (text story), by Clem Gordon ** "Quiz" by Henry Boltinoff ** "Laffies" by Henry Boltinoff ** *Famous American Words: "Don't Fire Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes!"* by Fred Ray ** "A Peach of a Pair!" (1/2-page ad for the current issues of All-Flash Vol 1 1 and Mutt & Jeff Vol 1 3) ** "Good Movies and Books" (text article) by Josette Frank ** "It's A Fact" by Henry Boltinoff ** "Hear Superman on the Radio!" (1/2-page ad for the The Adventures of Superman (radio series)) ** "At the Top of the Field!" (full-page color ad for the ongoing titles of Action Comics, Adventure Comics, Detective Comics, All-American Comics, More Fun Comics, & Flash Comics, plus the still-current issue of World's Finest Vol 1 2, 96 pages for 15 cents.) | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links =

Creative credits

Writers: Gardner Fox, Joe Donohoe, Jerry Siegel, Jerry Siegel

Interior art: Howard Sherman, Joe Donohoe, George Papp, Ed Winiarski, Fred Ray, Harold Wilson Sharp, John Lehti, Bernard Baily

Source records & attribution

Panel Profits keeps each source identity attached to its edition record.

COMICBASE: comicbase:767247

GCD: 1554

PANEL PROFITS: 2347772