Sub-Mariner Comics #6

Aug 3

Aug 3 Sub-Mariner Comics #6

The Missing Finger Mystery

The Sub-Mariner is vacationing in a river along the west coast of Canada when he is stuck in the middle of a powerful storm. Finding land to seek cover from the lightning, Namor discovers a dead body hidden in a hollowed out tree that is uncovered by a lightning strike. Examining the body, Namor learns that it is still fresh and that somebody has chopped off the corpse's ring finger. Deciding to investigate the murder, Namor takes the dead man's clothing and goes to a nearby logging camp to get some answers.

Arriving at the camp he learns that the RCMP are investigating the disappearance of camp owner Jim Blake, a big time lumberman who was just recently awarded a government contract controlling the wartime production of TNT being distributed among the other logging companies. The Sub-Mariner's presence at the camp attracts the attention of logger Slug Gundy who attacks him for snooping around. Namor decides to hold back and explains that he is "Joe Pierre" and that he is seeking work and that his clothing was ruined in the storm. Accepted for a job, Slug sends "Joe" to get a change of clothing from the supply house, but is suspicious of this new comer. On his way, he overhears the recently widowed Mrs. Blake give testimony to the RCMP officer on the scene and explains that she just recently gave her husband a twin diamond ring. When Mrs. Blake faints, Namor catches her and notes what her ring looks like. He is convinced that Jim Blake was the dead man he found and that his ring finger was removed to take the twin ring his wife gave him. Helping the woman up angers Slug again and he orders Namor get get to work.

As Namor goes to the supply house, Slug goes back to his cabin where he gloats about how he killed Jim, hollowed out the tree and stashed his body in it where he believed nobody would find it. Later, he would order "Joe Pierre" and the other men to move logs to the river to be driven down to the saw mill owned by Bulldog Schlump. Namor is surprised to find that these logs have also been hollowed out, but there is something inside weighting them down. The caution everyone is telling him to exercise convinces him to look inside and see what is in the log. Seeing this Slug attacks him, deciding that "Joe Pierre" is too much of a snoop and to beat him subordination. Namor decides to no longer hold back and fights back. When Slug calls his goons to join the fight, Namor decides to allow himself to be beaten in the fight to learn more. Feigning being knocked out, Namor overhears as one of the loggers comes to warn Slug that other loggers have come with their vouchers to get their rations of explosives. Slug goes to deal with them, telling the men that the government is late in shipping the TNT, and they refuse to leave until they get their explosives.

Meanwhile, Namor has investigated the logs and is shocked to find that the TNT rations have been stashed inside. Carefully driving the logs down to Schlumps saw mill, Namor is made even more curious when the logs filled with stashed TNT are hidden between piles of previously cut wood. Deciding to spy on Bulldog, he learns that they are stealing the TNT for some employer. He decides to trail Slug and follows him to the local bar where he finds Slug trying to romance a girl named Maisie. Interested, Namor cuts in and notices that the ring on her finger — given to her by Slug — was the one that was given to Jim Blake by his wife prior to his murder. Fed up with "Pierre", Slug and his men attack him. Namor cuts loose but he is hit from behind and knocked out. Unaware of who he really is, Slug and his men tie Namor up in a burlap sack and toss him into the nearby river to drown.

Breaking free, Namor doffs his disguise and rises to the surface where he finds Maisie. She is disgusted with Slug learning that she is wearing a dead man's ring and her lover is smuggling TNT and she tells him that Slug had gone back to Bulldog's mill. Rushing there, Namor smashes in on a deal going on between Bulldog, Slug and Nazi spies seeking to purchase the TNT for their own ends. During the fight, the crooks attempt to toss Namor into a wood chipper, however he sends Slug into the machine and to a bloody death. Namor then fights the Nazi spies and TNT smugglers into submission until Maisie arrives with the RCMP, with everyone rounded up by the authorities. Later, Namor is thanked by Mrs. Blake for solving her husband's murder, and Namor tells Maisie that he is really the Sub-Mariner, leaving the smitten Maisie to swoon over her encounter.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner, Nazis

The Periscope Peril

The United States Navy out in the pacific theater have hit a problem: They begin spotting what appear to be the periscopes belonging to Japanese subs, but turn out to be nothing but decoys design to make US ships waste their ammunition while out at sea.

Reading about the incident in the papers, Namor decides to lend a helping hand and solve the mystery of the decoy periscopes. While aboard a Navy ship, he spots one such periscope and brings it to the ship to show the captain. He promises to the captain that he will learn who is responsible on his own and dives into the ocean to begin his search.

The plan is the works of Captain Nitsu of the Japanese army, who is commended by Admiral Nippo for his work. They send out a cruiser to put out more decoys to make American ships waste more of their ammunition. Namor spots the boat and stops it, attacking its crew and detonating their ship, killing them all. Following the boats fuel trail to its source, Namor discovers the way American ships can tell the difference between the fake periscopes and real submarines: the lack of a fuel trail.

Namor then swims to the Japanese ship, and jumps one of the men onboard, stealing his uniform and disguising himself as a Japanese naval officer. He then overhears Nippo and Nitsu bragging about their accomplishments and attacks them. He tosses them overboard and fights the naval officers that attack him. When Nitsu and Nippo attempt to climb back aboard the vessel, Namor jumps on them knocking them back underwater and turns them over to the Americans.

Namor then decides to return the favor to the Japanese by using some trickery of his own. First using a model of an American battleship, he tricks a number of Japanese subs into firing torpedoes at nothing. When a Japanese battleship comes by, Namor tricks the sub into firing torpedoes at it. When the Japanese ship sends a scouting boat to investigate why there is a man holding onto the periscope of one of their own subs, Namor tricks the sub into blowing the ship to bits. Removing his decoy, he allows the sub captain to view the destruction he has caused. Shamed by being tricked into destroying one of his own vessels, the sub captain and crew commit suicide. With the submarine unmanned, Namor takes over the vessel and uses its remaining torpedoes to destroy more Japanese ships.

Soon the American battleships arrive and eliminate the rest of the Japanese fleet. Namor goes back aboard the American ship where he is commended for a job well done. Walking past Nitsu and Nippo, the two Japanese officers cower in fear of the Sub-Mariner.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner, Imperial Japan

Death Sees A Doctor

Thomas Halloway gets a phone call from dentist Dr. Bell who tells his patient that he recently received a death threat in the mail, prompting Halloway to investigate as the Angel, and he takes a plane to meet with Dr. Bell. In the meantime, the dentist receives a mysterious package from a so called "admirer". This package contains a human skull supposedly from the E.R. Biological Supply Company. Upon closer examination the doctor is suddenly shot by poison darts fired from within the skulls eyes.

The doctor is killed just as the Angel arrives on the scene and hearing his friend's death the Angel smashes into his office. There he searches the room and finds the source of his friends death: firing mechanisms hidden in the eyes of the skull. Taking some plaster, the Angel takes a mold of the skull's teeth and matches it with Bell's dental records and find that they belong to Dr. James Thomas. The Angel leaves, telling the nurse to call the police.

The Angel then goes to investigate the location of the E.R. Biological Supply Company and finds that it is a false address. As he searches the area for clues, he is unaware that a strangely deformed man is watching him. The man finds that the Angel is getting too close to the truth and attacks him in the dark. However, the attacker is frightened off when a beat cop arrives on the scene and begins firing his gun.

Deciding to investigate the connection of Dr. James Thomas, the Angel calls the editor of the local paper and learns that according to Thomas' obituary, he was cremated at the Cliffside Mausoleum after suffering a fatal heart attack. Arriving at the mausoleum, the Angel asks for proof that James Thomas was cremated. Agreeing to show him, the man in charge of the building instead attacks the Angel, smashing an urn over the hero's head, knocking him out. The mortician then places a call to the deformed man — named Foster — who tells his aide that he will come and personally deal with the hero.

When the Angel comes around he finds himself bound up in a massive cremation machine. He damages the device in the hopes of fooling the crooks later. He is soon greeted by the mortician and Foster who gloat that they are going to eliminate the Angel once and for all and trap him inside the cremation room. They turn on the device, and the Angel pretends to burn alive. Satisfied that the meddler has been eliminated Foster leaves the mortician to deal with the remains while he completes his revenge scheme. When the mortician opens the door, he is horrified to see the "ghost" of the Angel. The hero chases after the crook demanding answers, however the crook ends up falling off a cliff to his death.

The Angel decides to investigate further by questioning the late Dr. Thomas' wife about her husband's death. Talking to her, he learns that Foster was once a colleague of both Dr. Bell and Dr. Thomas as well as a Dr. Pratt. Foster was fired from his position for charging patients for services while working at a free clinic. Unwilling to be disbarred as a doctor, Foster attempted to commit suicide by jumping out of a nearby window. Surviving, Foster was horribly scarred and blamed both Thomas and Bell for his condition and vowed revenge. Mrs. Thomas then shows the Angel that her husband also got a skull from the E.R. Biological company. Examining it further, the angel finds that there was a firing device hidden between its teeth and that was likely what killed her husband.

Seeing Pratt as the next likely target, the Angel attempts to go and warn him. Pratt believes that the hero is a crank, not heeding the hero's warning about Foster. He kicks the hero out as he is expecting a full skeleton from the Bensen Company. As this is happening, Foster is taking over the delivery truck and loading it up with a skeleton made to eliminate Pratt. After it is delivered, the skeleton comes to life and attempts to attack Pratt. However, the Angel swoops in for the rescue and fights off the skeleton. To their surprise, it flees the scene and the Angel follows after it hoping it will lead him back to Foster.

Arriving at Foster's hideout, the killer mocks the skeleton (made out of Dr. Bell's bones) by making it do tricks with the remote control device he is using. The Angel bursts in with fists flying. In the scuffle, Foster orders the skeleton to strangle the Angel. However, the hero moves out of the way and the abomination grabs Foster and chokes him to death before the Angel can shut off the device. With Foster dead, the Angel leaves the inert skeleton and his trademark Angel shadow as a calling card for the authorities.