Human Torch Comics #18

Jul 31

Jul 31 Human Torch Comics #18

Death Plays the Violin

As noted violin Joshua Heitz player begins to perform to an audience at the Civic Center, he is suddenly struck in the neck with a poisoned dart that kills him instantly. Later in a hotel room, a mysterious one handed figure paints an x over a photo of Heitz, the first of his many targets. Later at Renway Hall, Eugene Lapka, another violin player is also struck down.

When the two murders make the newspapers, the Human Torch and Toro read about them and decide to investigate the case. The Torch deduces that the killer is likely bent on some kind of revenge, and on a hunch the flaming duo fly to the local newspaper to look at their morgue file. There, the Torch begins looking up a story about Benjamin Loufitz, a violinist who was in a car accident the year before and had to get his hand amputated, thus ruining his career as a violinist. Learning the name of the doctor who amputated Loufitz's hand, the Torch and Toro pay him a visit. Dr. Burke explains to them that on the night that he amputated Loufitz's hand, he had begged that they not remove it. With no other choice but to amputate, the doctors were horrified when Loufitz went mad and blamed his competitors for his condition and vowed to get revenge.

Going to Loufitz's last known address they learn that he had vacated the property the week before. Suspecting that Loufitz might target David Maitz another violin player who is performing at the Municipal Auditorium that night. When Loufitz kills Maitz, the two heroes encircle the theater in a ring of fire to prevent the killer from escaping. Searching the auditorium for the killer, Toro spots him ducking into a door on the roof. Creating a flaming signal from the Torch. When Toro follows after Loufitz, the killer activates the auditorium's sprinkler system dousing Toro's flame and knocking the boy out. Loufitz then places Toro in a fireproof glass cylinder while he prepares to trap the Torch as well.

When the Torch comes to Toro's rescue his flame is also doused by the sprinklers, and he narrowly avoids a poison dart thanks to Toro's warning. Freeing his sidekick, the Torch and Toro chase after Loufitz who falls off the roof of the auditorium to his death.

Recurring Characters

Human Torch, Toro

Death Takes A Journey

The Torch and Toro are preparing breakfast when they suddenly get a phone call from Mr. Knowels who asks to meet with the two heroes later that morning. Going to Knowels' apartment, the Torch learns that Knowels seeks to hire him and Toro to accompany him on a diamond expedition in the Andes Mountains of South America. Accepting the job, the Torch returns to his apartment and tells Toro to pack a bag as they are going to be gone for a few months. As they pack, Torch tells Toro about the diamond mind that Knowels has discovered and that they have been hired to protect it from locals and anyone else who would try to stop the mining.

At the airport, they meet Knowels' partner Mr. Stoddard and they take a plane down to South America. As they approach their destination in the Andes, the Torch, Toro and their employers are all knocked out by the pilot. The pilots then light the plane on fire and parachute out with the briefcase containing information on the mine, leaving the passengers to die. Torch and Toro revive and thanks to their flame powers manage to pull themselves, Knowels and Stoddard to safety while the plane crashes. Leaving their employers in a protective ring of fire, the Torch and Toro go searching for the pilots in order to recover the stolen briefcase.

Spotting the two pilots, who are still descending via parachute, the Torch and Toro attempt to capture them. However, the pilots employer a man named Alonio has the two flaming heroes in the sight of his machine gun and peppers them with fire extinguishing bullets that send the pair falling into a river below. While the Torch and Toro fight off crocodiles, Alonio gloats about finding the diamond mind and using its wealth to make himself a king of the region.

However, before they can use the map to find the mine, the Torch and Toro storm their hideout and easily subdue the crooks. Upon closer inspection "Alonio" turns out to be a criminal who's real name is Gonzalez, a criminal who was serving a life sentence in America before he broke out. Months later after the diamonds are successfully mined, the Torch and Toro fly back to the United States with "Alonio" and his minions prisoners to be turned over to the authorities.

Recurring Characters

Human Torch, Toro

Dungeon of Terror

With the oceans being relatively quiet, the Sub-Mariner decides to see what is going on on in the surface world. Arriving in New York, Namor meets with Betty Dean who invites him to tag along with her to a weekend party at the mansion estate of Mrs. Gaillard. Betty explains to Namor that this is the first such party that Gillard has thrown since her husband Dr. Herzog went missing ten years ago.

Shortly after their arrival, Namor, Betty and the rest of the guests go for an evening swim in the mansions swimming pool. There one of the patrons pretends to be drowning so that Namor can rescue her. Later that night when everyone has retired, Mrs. Gaillard is awoken when some deformed hands reach out at her in the darkness of her bedroom. Her screams for help wake the guests and send Namor rushing to Gillard's bedroom to see what the commotion is about. However when he breaks down the door he finds nothing in the room but the frightened Mrs. Gaillard who insists that the creature she saw was real. When Mrs. Gaillard faints again, Namor has Betty take her out of the room while he investigates the woman's claims.

As Namor searches the room, a secret panel opens behind him and the creature hands reach out and with its elongated arms grabs the Atlantean and drags him into the secret laboratory of Dr. Herzog. Herzog explains that after his face started becoming more and more disfigured he his himself in his secret lab to continue his experiments, eventually going mad. After showing Namor some of his creations he then shows his plans to experiment on Namor himself. When the Sub-Mariner attempts to resist, Herzog then turns on a sun lamp that begins drying Namor out, weakening him.

Meanwhile, Betty had returned to Gaillard's room to find it empty. Upset that Namor went off investigating without her, she begins a search of her own and finds the secret passageway into Herzog's lab. Betty is captured by Herzog and both she and Namor are lowered into a pit. Namor, on the brink of death due to lack of moisture, gets revitalized when Betty pulls out the water bottle she was using to sooth her back. Namor uses the water to revive himself and attacks Herzog and his creature. Herzog then begins flooding the pit with water and unleashes his giant dragon fish on Betty. Namor rescues her and kills the massive fish. Herzog attempts to keep the pair in the pit by using a heat ray against Namor. But the Sub-Mariner fights back sending Herzog fleeing. With his lab flooding, he seals his two foes in the room to drown.

However, Namor manages to break open the sealed door and pulls Betty to safety. Chasing Herzog through the house, but the mad scientist clumsily runs through a window and falls to his death. With Herzog's threat over with, Namor decides its time to return to the sea and dives into the water.