Blonde Phantom Comics #13

Peril From the Past!

At a museum of rare antiques, priceless jewels are being prepared to be shipped to England. The curator explains to the guard that the jewels were originally presented to George Washington by British Royalists who wished to crown him King of the United States. Although Washington accepted the gift he preferred to get his power to rule from the people and set about becoming President instead of King. Fearing that someone might try to steal the jewels as they are shipped to England, the curator calls on Mark Mason to oversee their transport.

The next day, Mason leaves his office telling his secretary about his next case. After Mason has left, Louise changes into Blonde Phantom to lend a helping hand. As Blonde Phantom boards the ship, elsewhere a man known as the Redcoat -- ancestor of one of the men who originally presented the jewels to George Washington -- has gathered a gang to steal the jewels so that he can place them in his ancestors tomb to restore the family honour. Aboard the ship, Blonde Phantom "accidentally" bumps into Mark Mason who tells her that he jewels are safely locked away in the pursers office.

The Blonde Phantom goes down and walks in on Redcoat and his men robbing the purser's office. Redcoat knocks her out and they tie her and the purser up and flee with the stolen jewels and head off to go to the Vault of the Westminster's to leave the jewels. With the purser's aid, Blonde Phantom breaks free of her bonds and rushes after the Redcoat. On the outer deck of the ship Mark Mason spots the Redcoat fleeing with the jewels and tackles him. However, one of Redcoat's men creases Mark's forehead with a bullet and they flee in a lifeboat. Checking on Mason, Blonde Phantom is told that he overheard the Redcoat tell his men to meet him at a place called the Blue Dove. Blonde Phantom leaves Mark to get medical attention while she goes after Redcoat and his men.

She arrives at the bar just as Redcoat's goons realize that they have been double-crossed by their employer. When they attack her, she beats them into submission and realizes that the Redcoat wanted the jewels for himself. Blonde Phantom turns the men over to the Scotland Yard and then rushes to Westminster Abbey where she witnesses the Redcoat leaving the jewels in his ancestors tomb. There they fight, and before the Redcoat can choke the Blonde Phantom to death, Mark and the Scotland Yard arrive on the scene. Redcoat flees to the upper level of the tomb with Mark Mason following behind. During their scuffle, Redcoat slips and falls to his death. With the jewels recovered and put on display, Blonde Phantom vanishes just as quickly as she appeared, leaving Mark to wonder who she really is.

Recurring Characters

• Blonde Phantom

• Mark Mason

Horror in Hollywood!

Mark Mason gets a letter in his office from Donna Field, asking him to come investigate the a life-or-death situation at Sunrise Studios in Hollywood. While Mason leaves his secretary Louise Grant behind to care for the office while he is gone, Louise changes into the Blonde Phantom, determined to travel out to Hollywood as well to lend Mark a hand.

The following day when Mark arrives at Sunrise Studios, Blonde Phantom is on hand to meet him there and Mark asks her to assist him on his latest case. They meet with Donna Filed who asks the pair to protect her lover Ken Chalmers. She shows them a death threat that was sent to Ken, and explains that he is playing the starring role in a remake of the film "Mister Stranger", a film that was made popular by actor Edgar Elliot many years before.

Mark and the Blonde Phantom visit the set where shooting has begun. As the cameras start rolling, suddenly a light topples over and kills Ken. Examining the lights, Mark determines that it was a murder as someone had loosened the bolts on the light fixture. They question the crew, and Leonard Allan, the lighting man tells them that the director Ray Crosson. Crosson denies killing Ken, and suspects Bert Marsh, the man who lost the role of Mister Stranger to Ken Chalmers. Marsh also denies any involvement, and Mark tells nobody to leave the studio and goes to contact the police.

With their list of suspects, Mark goes to search the dressing rooms while the Blonde Phantom goes to search Ray Crosson's office. As she searches through Crosson's desk, she finds an important document. However before she can read it someone knocks her out from behind and takes it. When she comes around she finds her attacker gone, but part of the document that identifies it as insurance papers. Blonde Phantom then tracks down Crosson's insurer, The Coast Star Company, and they confirm that Crosson had taken out a $50,000 life insurance policy on Ken Chalmers as well as one on Bert Marsh.

As Blonde Phantom takes a cab back to Bert Marsh's house, Mark's search yields nothing so he decides to check out the film library to look at photos of everyone who has worked at the company. When the Blonde Phantom arrives at Bert's home she finds Leonard Allan arriving at the scene, he tells her that he makes ornaments as a hobby and had made one for Marsh. Noting his greasy hands she rushes in and finds Ray Crosson inside. Accusing him of murdering Ken as part of an insurance fraud, Crosson tries to get away by somebody shoots him. Searching for the shooter, Blonde Phantom finds a secret room and confronts the killer, dressed as Mister Stranger.

Seeing grease on his hands, she recognizes him as Leonard Allen, a struggle breaks out and Allen knocks out the Blonde Phantom and takes her hostage. As he flees the scene, a photographer inadvertently snaps a picture of his getaway as he photographs two women. Back at the studio, Mark looks at a picture of Edgar Elliot and learned that after his successful role of Mr. Stranger vanished into obscurity. Deducing that Elliot is the killer he rushes off to Marsh's house and finds Crosson's dead body and a piece of Blonde Phantom's hair clip. Rushing outside, he bumps into Bert Marsh as he is returning home from the tailor. While at the home of Leonard Allen, Allen is about to kill the Blonde Phantom when she realizes that he is really Edgar Elliot.

Before he can shoot her, Mark Mason storms in and knocks him out. Freeing Blonde Phantom he explains that the photographer that was in the area snapped a picture of Edgar's car allowing him to get the license plate number and learn his address. With the caper over, Mark returns back east to find Louise Grant working at her desk, unaware of her assistance in his recent case as the Blonde Phantom.

Recurring Characters

• Blonde Phantom

• Mark Mason

Burning Witness!

Miss America arrives at the police station just as a murder has been called in. Going to the scene of the crime, she finds the murdered Elise DuBois, and the only witness on the scene -- another woman named Constance Lane -- confesses to killing the man. Miss America suspects that the girl is covering up for somebody and searches the crime scene. In an ashtray she finds personalized cigarettes that have the initials "AL" on them and realizes that Elise is covering up for a man.

Going to Pyramid Tobacco Importers, she learns that the man who ordered the cigarettes is Count Armand Laxto and rushes to his apartment. There Armand is ordering his butler to pack up his things as he prepares to leave the country. Miss America storms in and confronts him about Elise DuBois taking the wrap for his murder but she is knocked out from behind by Armand's butler.

They finish packing and leave Miss America in the apartment with the gas on to suffocate her. However, Miss America revives and smashes a window and flies after Armand's car. She then forces them to crash and easily subdues Armand and his butler. Demanding answers out of Armand, he explains that he wished to marry Constance but Elise DuBois knew that he was previously arrested for forgery and was blackmailing him to keep her mouth shut. Instead of paying her demand, he shot her to death instead. When Constance walked into the scene she told him to flee the scene while she took the wrap.

Later, as Armand is being taken away by the police, Miss America consoles Constance, telling her that Armand was not worth her love.

Recurring Characters

• Miss America

Cruise of Death!

With a wave of ship robberies by a pirate calling himself the Corsair, the city editor at the local paper assigns Betty Dean as the new society editor. When Betty protests this, the editor tells her that it's a cover and is sending her to report on the party aboard John Williamson's yacht in order to try and get a scoop on the Corsair. Before she goes she calls her friend the Sub-Mariner who agrees to be on hand in case the Corsair does show up.

That night as Williamson's ship sails on an infrequent coarse, their ship is besieged by the Corsair's men. As they attempt to rob the ship, Namor arrives and chases them off the boat. He then wrecks their ship and returns to the party. There he is thanked by Williamson. Namor then nabs one of the ship staff, identifying him as the Corsair. He explains that the man had a short-wave radio disguised as a diathermy machine that he used to inform his minions of the course they were taking.

With the caper over, Betty takes her story back to the paper and it lands on the front page.

Recurring Characters

• Sub-Mariner

• Betty Dean