All-Select Comics #3

Aug 9

Aug 9 All-Select Comics #3

The Keeper Of The Monsters

YACReader - All Select Comics V1 #3 (1944).cbz 2019-08-09 15.11.09.png

The director of an art museum and his daughter Julie are working late at night at the museum where priceless jewels are on display. They are visited by Prince Suli who has gifted the museum and is brought on a tour to see the jewels. To their surprise, Prince Suli robs them with the assistance of a pair of massive apes, and flee.

Days later, Steve Rogers and James Barnes are walking back to base when they are caught in the rain and go to seek refuge under a bridge. There they find some hobos warming themselves in front of a fire. One of the homeless men (who unknown to them is really Prince Suli) invites them with open arms. The pair, finding his well spoken tongue suspicious, accept his offer and are witness to a fight that breaks out between their host and one of the other homeless men. When Steve and James break up the fight. When the man attempts to flee, he seemingly twists his ankle and allows himself to be taken into police custody on an assault charge.

As Steve and James drive back to base, they find it suspicious that the man was so insistent on being arrested. When they hear a radio report about about the robbery of the jewels and how Prince Suli and Julie have gone missing without a trace. Steve makes a connection to the homeless man they turned over to the police. Returning there as Captain America and Bucky, the two get the sheriff to help orchestrate a prison break for Prince Suli. When Captain America reveals that he knows Prince Suli's true identity, the Prince agrees to go with them.

As they are on their way to Prince Suli's hideout, Captain America explains to him that he broke Suli out of prison for the sole purposes of freeing Julie from captivity. When they get into Suli's castle through a secret passage, Suli unleashes a trap door on the heroes. They land into a room where they find Julie being terrorized by Suli's apes. There Suli explains the reason he allowed himself to be arrested as to hideout someplace in plain sight until the heat died down, but because Captain America and Bucky have interfered with his plans, he orders his apes to kill them all.

Captain America holds off the apes while Bucky knocks over an oil lamp and rushes out of the room with the girl. Cap joins them and he and Bucky slam the door shut and hold it tight until the apes die from the fire. When they confront Prince Suli, he attempts to shoot Captain America, but the hero plays possum and both he and Bucky jump at him. When Suli attempts to escape by diving into the waters below his castle, Captain America dives in after him and yanks him out of the water. With Suli tied up, Captain America orders Julie to call the authorities and he and Bucky leave the scene.

Recurring Characters

Captain America
Bucky

Vanishing Oil Tank Cars

A gasoline truck is stopped along its route by a gang of criminals led by a umbrella wielding villain known as Wilbur the Great. Coincidentally, the Human Torch and Toro happen to be driving by and go into action. The two flaming heroes attempt to apprehend Wilbur but he manages to escape.

Realizing his error was not having a strategy or the trained men, Wilbur gathers a new gang for more crimes, all of which he pulls off without a hitch. His continued theft of oil and gasoline trucks make headlines. The Human Torch and Toro are soon called by the chief of police who asks them to help guide a rain shipment of petrol that is being shipped. Searching the relative area, the two heroes spots suspicious looking farm which the Torch realizes has oil tanks disguised as grain silos. Having discovered the crooks hideout, the Torch and Toro confront Wilbur and his minions.

Having to douse their flames in order to prevent the fuel being blown up the Torch and Toro are easily knock out the two heroes. Wilbur then has the Torch sealed into a coffin and dropped into one of the oil tanks, convinced that if the Torch uses his flame powers he will ignite the fuel. The Torch however the Torch burns through the floor of the coffin and through the tank and gets out in once piece.

He finds Toro tied to a tree and learns that Wilbur and his men have escaped through a secret rail tunnel and using a secret rail switch to steal the fuel. The Torch and Toro prevent the theft and they chase Wilbur through the secret tunnels to a Nazi submarine -- his employers seeking to obtain the stolen fuel. Although Wilbur climbs into the sub, the two flaming heroes slam into it, causing it to explode, killing Wilbur and all the men aboard.

Recurring Characters

Human Torch
Toro
Nazis

Speed To Spare

Crack pot scientist Professor Branebig has completed his rocket that he believes will carry man to the moon. At that moment a crook named Snake-Eye and a fellow crook are fleeing from the hero known as the Whizzer. Fleeing into Branebig's lab, the steal the ship activating the ship before hearing Branebig's warnings that the rocket will take them to the moon. The rocket blasts off, and luckily for the Whizzer, fails in its intended purposes and is forced to land a swamp nearby.

When the Whizzer speeds after them, he catches the disorientated and thinking they are on the moon. The Whizzer almost apprehends him when Dr. Branebig arrives to lend a hand on his flying motorcycle. However, despite the good intentions Branebig is thrown off the motorcycle by Snake-Eye and his accompanied who use the invention to get away. Snake-Eye decides to use the motorcycle for his next bank job, and speeds off to complete it unaware that the Whizzer is fast on their trail.

Although the Whizzer is too late to stop the crooks from robbing the bank, he is drawn back to Branebig's lab when the scientist activates his super-magnet to pull the motorcycle back to his lab. There, the Whizzer saves Branebig from getting shot by Snake-Eye. After knocking him out, Branebig operates his "Burglar Catcher" to snatch the crooks. Unable to hurt Branebig's feelings, the Whizzer tells the scientist that he could not have assisted in the crooks capture without his aid.

Recurring Characters

Whizzer

Satan Pulls The Strings

The Sub-Mariner is called to convoy command headquarters to meet with Admiral Long. Long explains to Namor that the Nazis submarines have made transporting materials difficult. They as him to pilot a number of radio controlled "phantom ships" (ships containing no crew and are controlled by radio). Namor agrees to assist the on the mission. As he leaves the office he catches a spy listening in on their conversation and chases after him. When the man beats him to the elevator, Namor dives down the stairwell and spots them an talking to a guy with a peg leg. When Namor chases after the spy, the man with the peg leg trips up Namor allowing the spy to get away.

The following day, as Namor returns to convoy command to receive his specific orders, a Nazi spy takes the place of the elevator operator in order to eliminate the Sub-Mariner when he leaves through the elevator. Given the plans from Admiral Long to take the Florida Limited at 4 pm to receive the rest of his orders. When Namor boards the elevator he is ambushed by men who dawn gas masks and gas Namor with what they believe to be a lethal dose of the gas and then toss Namor in a rented office space to die while they go to steal the mission briefing for the phantom convoy.

However, the poison proves to be less fatal to Namor's Atlantean physiology and he soon snaps out of it. Rushing to the train and makes his meeting and captures the spy who stole his train ticket. Brought to the docks, Namor is shown the phantom ships and the control device and how they work and then begins his mission to escort the ships across the Atlantic. Along the way, the convoy gets caught in a storm and Namor is soon attacked by a wolf pack of U-Boats. Quick thinking, Namor swims around the subs with enough speed to create a whirl pool that causes most of the subs to crash into each other. Namor then boards the last sub and beats the crew into submission and disables their ship. He then hauls the convoy and the Nazi U-Boat into British waters where he turns the Nazi agents over to the authorities with the convoy.