Number 1503: Hiking the Danger Trail

The King Faraday lead story from DC’s Danger Trail #1 (1950) begins with a reference to a popular 1948 movie, Sorry, Wrong Number. Here’s an ad for the movie, taken from Life magazine:

The story that follows is as unlikely as the plot of the movie that King complains about, but is entertaining in its pulpish way. When you get through the overcooked first person narrative and snappy dialogue there is even a bit of space left for the artist to work in! The type of smartass, two-fisted character represented here by King Faraday was familiar to pulp magazine and paperback book readers, as well as radio listeners of the forties. In contrast to that other media, a comic book should let the pictures, not hefty captions, tell most of the story.

Story by Robert Kanigher, edited by Julius Schwartz, art by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.

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Here’s another King Faraday story. Just click on the thumbnail:

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Number 1445: Strange adventures of the three genius hillbillies and the monster fisherman

There’s a sense of humor in both these stories from Strange Adventures #21 (1952). The three Herbert brothers, hillbillies who speak like, “We’m the Herberts. We’m heerd tell of a war goin’ on! We’m come to jine the fightin’!” are actually much smarter than they originally appear. The second story, which is cover featured with a beautiful illustration by Murphy Anderson, who also drew the story, is a reverse fish tale.

And that second story causes me some reflection. This issue of Strange Adventures is dated June, 1952. The Al Feldstein/Jack Davis story, “Gone...Fishing!” is from Vault of Horror #22, dated December, 1951-January, 1952. It probably went on sale in October, 1951, and if he saw it could have conceivably planted an idea in writer Jack Miller’s mind. In the EC story the “fisherman” is unseen. Perhaps Miller thought it would be fun to show what was fishing for humans.

From Vault of Horror #22. I scanned this from the Russ Cochran reprint, Vault of Horror #11.

It’s just conjecture, but I find the timing of both stories with similar themes interesting.

“The Genius Epidemic” is by Gardner Fox, drawn by Irwin Hasen and Joe Giella, and “The Monster That Fished For Men” is written by Jack Miller, drawn by Murphy Anderson.

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