NEW HEROIC COMICS #50 (SEPTEMBER 1948)

 Who needs superheroes when you've got a bunch of real-life heroes all around us?  New Heroic Comics singled out "Men and women chosen by this publication for their daring actions in hazardous tasks."

Among the heroes in this issue:

• Charles R. Hersey & Bernard J. Guttilla, lifeguards who rescued a downed Navy pilot off Long Island (artwork most likely by Frank Frazatta)
• Robert McCarthy, a New York City detective who saved the life of another detective while battling two crooks on a slippery, rain-soaked roof 60 feet above ground
• Joseph M. Smith. a New York City mechanic who dove into the East River to save the life of a young man caught in tides and currents under a pier
• Johnny Ramming, an eleven-year-old boy who saved the life of a young child from a deep water pool in Union City; a two-page text story
• Herbert R. Sharkey, a cable placing foreman who dared a powerful river riptide to save a young boy, and received the Vail Medal Award for his actions
• Alexander Mikolasy & William Mohrhoff, who raced against time following a hydrogen gas explosion to save the lives of many workers; both were given the Vail Medal Award 
• Fritz Reige, a former Coast Guardsman who faced off against two stick-up men who invaded his father's delicatessen; Reige was able to capture the men even while being wounded
• George Patton (no. not that George Patton), when a vicious fur robber adds murder to his crimes, this New York City police detective pulls out all stops to bomg the killer to justice
• Mrs. Anne Trump, when an early afternoon tornado hit the town of Worth, Missouri, fourteen children were stranded in their school with their teacher, Anne Trump -- who led them to a safe area of the building and kept up their spirits while their town was torn apart (and, no, she's not related to our incoming president...why would you ever think that?)
• Miles Coiner, a Kansas City scoutmaster who saved the life of a woman who fell from a viaduct into the Kaw River
• John J. Flynn, who rescued a man being dragged by an out of control motor boat near New York's Clason Point ferry slip
• Patty Weindorf. when the pilot of the city launch on choppy Presque Isle Bay fell dead, thirteen-year-old schoolgirl Patty had to captain the ship by herself and bring it in to safety
• Charles R. Lane, a Maryland telephone employee rescues a family from dangerous flood waters, and
• Sparky & Mickey (a dog and a cat), as a defective furnace filled a Brooklyn apartment building with deadly coal gas, these not-so-dumb animals saved  the lives of 25 people, and were given the ASPCA Medal for Bravery (although they would probably have preferred a tasty bit of sausage) 

It's a bit hard to convey drama in a short two- or three-page story, as mot of these are, but it's nice to see regular folks honored for being decent human beings.  For that reason alone, this issue is worth a look.

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=96215&comicpage=&b=i

FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE CURSE OF THE BURDENS

The Curse of the Burdens by John B. Harris (better known as "John Wyndham") (first published as an Aldine Mystery Novel [no. 17]), 1927; the novel is included in the Wyndham collection Technical Slip:  Collected Stories, 2024 -- which is actually just a reprinting of the 1954 UK collection Jizzle, with this novel added)

His full name was John Wynham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris (1907-1969), and although his most recognizable writing was under the name "John Wyndham," he also published under variants of his name -- including John Benyon, John B(enyon) Harris, Johnson Harris, Lucas Parkes, and Wyndham Parkes.  He started writing professionally in 1925, but his first acknowledged short story, "Worlds to Barter," was published in May 1931.  (One source says that he started writing short stories in 1925, while another said only that he "turned to writing for money" in 1925.)  One noble Wikipedia editor has cast doubt on Wyndham's authorship of this short novel, saying it "is sometimes attributed to Wyndham, but beyond a vague similarity of names, there is no evidence that he wrote it."  The Modern Library edition of Technical Slip:  Collected Stories leaves no doubt that this is the work of John Wyndham.

The Curse of the Burdens was published in 1927, and is the first known published work by the author.  (A piece of juvenilia, written when the author was about 12, was discovered and printed in a journal of The Science Fiction Foundation in 2000; other than that, I know of no other early writing from the author.)   It reads like the work of an unsure but talented hand somewhat under the influence of the Wilkie Collins school.  It's a melodrama and it reads veddy, veddy British.

The curse, such as it is, was put on the Burden family four hundred years before, when Henry III dissolved the monasteries and Shotlander Priory was either sold of given to Sir James Burden.  The prior at that time, called down the curse of Heaven upon those who were to take over the church property -- "By fire and water your line shall perish."  The curse "had seemed the foolish words of an old and dying man."  Four hundred years passed and the descendants of Sir James Burden still occupied Shotlander Priory, although the property had never been passed down from father to son. 
despite this,  the curse proved to be pretty ineffective; it was not noted how many Burdens died by fire or water over those four centuries, but now the curse seems to be on everyone's tongue.  Robert Burden, holder of the title had drowned and the property passed on to his cousin, James Burden.  James was the older brother of Richard Burden; neither James nor Richard had married and both were childless.  It appeared the Burden line would end with them.  

Both James and Richard had an inherited income from their father of 250 pounds a year.  James, being the owner of the priory, had other income; Richard did not, but was able to meet his expense, just barely.  Richard wanted to marry young Letty Kingsbury, the daughter of Sir Julius Kingsbury.  Richard asked his brother for a loan of another 250 pounds to allow  the marriage to get off to a decent start, by James refused.  Sir Julius, meanwhile, was opposed to the marriage, citing the curse of the Burdens, telling Letty that any child she had with Richard would be doomed by the curse.  What Richard did not know was that James was also in love with Letty and had asked her to marry him.  She refused because she loved Richard.  James also went secretly to sir Julius and help dissuade him against Letty marrying her brother.

Richard and Letty meet by the pier, where they are observed by a strange and ugly character whose name is Robinson, who would be appearing mysteriously off and on throughout the novel.

The James is found, drowned.  Robinson tells James in secret that he had seen Sir Julius push James in to the water.  Then Robinson leaves town.

Now Detective-inspector Linkingborne is called into the case, with his assistant Mr. Ivory.  He doesn't appear to do much.

Richard leaves Letty, promising to take her for a ride later in thee day.  He heads off to Shotlander Priory, never to been again.  The priory burns down, an obvious case of arson.  A man with a scarred face, known to be a chauffeur for Robinson is found dead in a snow drift,   Linkingborne enlists the aid of Ivory's daughter, Rose, to spy on Sir Julius and Letty because Rose had her own theory about the curse of the Burdens.  Rose surreptitiously views Sir Julius physically fighting with a person who is not there and begins to doubt his sanity, especially after he admits to seeing a dead man in the doorway.

Oh.  and there's secret passages and hidden rooms, a mysterious crime in India, a rumored treasure trove of gold, a loyal butler who had served four master in as many years, someone stealing a car that had already been stolen, and explanations that seem to come from nowhere.  It's a jumbled mess.

But it's an interesting mess, in part because of the echoes of Wilkie Collins I mentioned above.  clearly it's a book of its time.  While not an accomplished novel, one keeps reading just see what bizarre plot point will be thrown at you next.

Wyndham would go on to do much more significant writing, becoming perhaps the most influential British science fiction writer since H. G. Wells, only to be deposed by J, G. Ballard and England's "new wave."  But this book is, alas, for completists and for people, like me, who are just a bit quirky.

THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE: THE DEATH BED CAPER (JUNE 20, 1948)

The cynical private eye from The Maltese Falcon was reimagined a a looser, wise-cracking detective for this radio show, which ran from July 12, 1946 to April 27, 1951, over three networks -- ABC (13 episodes), CBS (157 episodes), and NBC (75 episodes).  Howard Duff played the saturnine detective through September 1950, and Steve Dunne took over the role in November 1950 for the final 24 episodes -- Duff had not been invited back to the show after his name was linked during the McCarthy Era Red Scare.  Lurene Tuttle played Spade's secretary Effie throughout.  Dick Joy was the announcer.  This episode was directed by William Spear and penned by Bob Taliman and Gil Dow (Dowd? -- the recording is bit fuzzy).

Dan Starbuck is framed by a murder victim's dying words; the murder victim is Dan's brother Gordon and the death bed admission makes things look pretty bleak for Dan.  It's up to Spade to prove him innocent in a case that takes Sam to San Francisco's seedy docks.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6GQgKZqkKA

SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY : PARALLEL

 "Parallel" by J. Francis McComas (from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April 1955)

Another early story from F&SF, this time a rare one from the founding co-editor of the magazine.

From  the editor's introduction:  "It is common enough in fiction for Terran explorers to land on a remote planet and to discover an Alien Menace Inconceivable Upon Earth; but there is one certain type of menace, deadly to civilization-as-we-know-it, which a proper knowledge of our own history might lead us to expect on other worlds.  J. Francis McComas' avocations include include the study of history (already on its way to becoming as sadly neglected as in the future which he postulates), which enables him to create a convincingly real alien threat in this strongly conceived and executed novelet."

It is the 24th century and mankind has reinvented itself after the destructive wars of the first decade of the 21st century.  The emphasis is now on science; the history of the 19th and 20th centuries are no longer taught out of fear of repetition.  A military remains a necessary evil, and its members are looked down upon.  In fact, there has been no military conflict for over 200 years

Earth has expanded throughout the solar system and the united Solar Nations have now sent its first starship, Messenger, into the deep reaches of space to find habitable planets.  The first -- and thus far, only -- such planet they found is Wolf 359 IV.

A survey ship under Captain Hardin lands near a ruined and deserted city, where there is no sign of life.  The abandoned city itself is striking because there are no metals in it; if the city ever contained any metal it had been stripped.  Then, while part of the survey team is exploring, three humanoids approach the ship on strange six-legged mounts.  Hardin goes out to meet the,, unarmed, with his arms spread wide to indicate no weapons or hostility.  The aliens fire arrows at him  Hardin is unharmed -- he has fast reflexes.  The aliens are frightened when the ship suddenly turned its bright lights upon them, and they flee.  The arrows fired are actually crossbow bolt, with wooden shafts and worked metal heads.  Because of the rapidity the bolts were fired, the aliens must have used a rapid-cranking arbalest -- something that indicates a high degree of sophistication. 

An army of 600 to 800 aliens surround the ship, positioning themselves to show a degree of military sophistication.  The civilian psychologist of the team walks out to meet the aliens, indicating that he means no harm.  They walk away with him, something the scientists feel is a positive thing.  But an hour or so later, the team hears a pitiful scream from the alien camp.  Later, one of the aliens approaches, drops the headless body of the psychologist, and rides away.  Soon the alien army attacks, and are repulsed by stun grenades, designed to render them unconscious but not to kill them.  Hardin realized that the enemy now feels it has nothing to fear from the Earthmen -- they are unwilling, or unable, to kill them.

The Administrator in charge of the Messenger soon lands, convinced that he can convince the aliens to become allies.  Hardin, as military man, has his hands tied by the civilians who overrule him.  They "had forgotten (or never heard of) the rational irrationality of the primitive."

Will Hardin be able to protect the survey team under his care?  And how?

J. Francis McComas (1911-1978) was an editorial representative for Random house, Henry Holt and Company, and Simon and Schuster.  In 1946, he co-edited (with Raymond J. Healy) Adventures in Time and Space, one of the first major american anthologies of science fiction.  In 1949, he was the founding co-editor (with Anthony Boucher) of The Magazine of Fantasy, which expanded its title to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction with its second issue.  He remained co-editor of the magazine until the Fall of 1954, but remained an advisory editor until 1962.  He was a science fiction reviewer for the New York Times during the 1950s.  Although a knowledgeable afficionado of science fiction, McComas wrote only five science fiction stories during his lifetime, two of them under the pseudonym "Webb Marlowe."

The April 1955 issue of F&SF is linked below.  It also contains worthwhile stories from Richard Matheson, Mack Reynolds, Lord Dunsany, Marc Brandel, Alan E. Nouse, Washington Irving, Maurice Proctor, and chad Oliver & Charles Beaumont.   check it out,

https://archive.org/details/Fantasy_Science_Fiction_v008n04_1955-04_AK/mode/1up

OVERLOOKED TELEVISION: ONE STEP BEYOND: THE BLOOD FLOWER (MAY 16, 1961)

A rather low-key series of paranormal stories presented as docudramas, One Step Beyond aired at 10 p.m. Tuesdays  on ABC from January 20, 1959 to July 4, 1961.  The show's original title was Alcoa Presents:  One Step Beyond;  the sponsor's name was dropped from the title when the show was syndicated.  Few people refer to, or even remember, the program's original title. 

One Step Beyond was created by Merwin Gerard, who also served as an associated producer for f the show's episodes.  "The Blood flower" was written by Lawrence B. (Larry) Marcus, one of 87 episodes in the series he helped develop.  Marcus had a long career as writer for both television and films, and was nominated for an Academy award for the 1980 film The Stuntman

John Newland, who directed all 97 episodes of One Step Beyond, also served as the show's host and narrator.  Newland's quiet, understated, almost profess0rial manner helped lend credence to the canard that each episode was based on historical fact -- the viewers who bought into that one were probably the same ones who bought that bridge from my Uncle Louie.  Newland was touted as "your guide to the supernatural" and "our guide into the world of the unknown."  Newland later hosted a short-live sequel series, The Next Step Beyond (1978-1979).

One Step Beyond was produced by collier young, perhaps best known for creating the Raymond Burr series Ironside.  Supposedly, young had married five times, although only fore spouses -- including Ida Lupino and Joan Fontaine -- are listed in his biographies.    The suspense novel The Todd Dossier, credited to Young, was ghost-written by Robert Bloch.

A number of well-known (and future well-known0 actors appeared in various episodes of the series, including Warren Beatty, Whit Bissell, Robert Blake, Charles Bronson, Veronica Cartwright, Mike Connors, Louise Fletcher,  Joan Fontaine, Skip Homeier, Ronald Howard, Werner Klemperer, Robert Lansing, Chloris Leachman, Christopher Lee, Robert Loggia, Jack Lord,, Patrick Macnee, Ross Martin, Patty McCormack, Yvette Mimieux, Elizabeth Montgomery. Patrick O'Neal, Donald Pleasance, Susanne Plechette, Pernell Roberts, Albert Salmi,  William Schallert, William Shatner, and Olan Soule.  

Alas, no one quite as well-known appeared in "The Blood Flower," which featured Larry Gates, Eugene Inglesias, Penny Santon, Raoul De Leon, Marya Stevens, Renata Vanni, Robert Tefur, David Garcia, and  Dick Crockett.

"The Blood Flower" tells the story of Professor Gavin Carroll (Gates), a political theorist who remains neutral toward radical involvement.  That is, until he sniffs a rare Latin American flower which had become stained with the blood of a famous revolutionary.  The parasitic flower turns a pacifist academic into an assassin.  when you take one step beyond, even botany can become dangerous.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZBNxUjhRpk

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SANDY DENNY

 Today is the birthday of folk-rock icon Sandy Denny (1947-1978).  She began working the folk-club circuit in 1965, and began appearing on the BBC's Folk Song Cellar programme late in 1966.  He earliest professional recordings came just a few months later.  She was invited to join the band The Strawbs the same year; she recorded on album with the group, but it was not released until years later, when Sandy Denny had become a big name in the music business; she left the group after about a year.  A demo of a song she wrote, "Who Know Where the Time Goes," somehow found its way into the hands of Judy Collins, who used as the title song foe an album.  Suddnelt, sandy Denny had an international repitation as a songwriter, long before she had achieved fame as a singer.

In May of 1968 Fairport Convention held audition for a singer to replace Judy Dyble, who had left the group after their first album.  Denny was the obvious choice and she became the lead singer for the group.  After recording several albums together, she left the group to develop her songwriting talents.  During this interim, she formed her own band, Fotheringay, releasing one album.  She left Fotheringay in late 1970 to embark on a solo career.  In 1970 and 1971 she was voted "Best British Female Singer."   She returned to Fairport Convention for 1974 and 1975 to begin recording her final album.  The album, Rendezvous, was released in 1977, but the album sold poorly.

By this time she was showing increasingly periods of manic and depressive behavior.  Her marriage unraveled and she began abusing drugs and alcohol.  A daughter was born prematurely in July 1975, and her mood swings appeared to increase because of the child.  She had had a history of throwing herself off bar stools and down stairs, often as a joke emulating the pratfalls of the Peter Seller's character, Inspector Clouseau.  Now, few could tell whether her many falls were accidental or deliberate.  In any event, the falls began to harm her. She had a major fall in March 1978, which gave her severe headaches, and sometime in early April she had another major fall.  On April 17 she fell into a coma.  When a friend came to check on her, he four her at the foot of the stairs, unconscious.  She died on April 21 without ever regaining consciousness.  She was 31.

Sandy Denny recording a lot of songs.  New songs from her were being released even forty years after her death.  In 2010, a 19-CD retrospective box set was released in a limited edition of 3000.

Her Fairport Convention album, Liege & Leaf, was named the Most Influential Folk Album of All Time by the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.  she was also voted into the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Hall of Fame.  Rolling Stone named her number 164 on its list of the Gratest singers of All Time.

"Who Knows where the Time Goes"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsqztvHIB9Y

"It'll Take a Long Time"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsFKzqCsmjU

"Fhir a Bhata"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmSoyoJRzWw

"She Moves Through the Fair'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTb0_TfUnEk

"Winter Winds" (with Fotheringay)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtGvtF6_R-Q&list=RDKmSoyoJRzWw&index=6

"Blackwaterside"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63gjTj3H3R0

"Crazy Lady Blues'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVWVd9xwZBY

"Reynardine"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J25mmIKp1SM

"Farewell, Farewell"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPq5ijmY6wQ

"The Battle of Evermore" (with Robert Plant)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP_iD1miEVQ

"The Leaves of Life" (with Alec Campbell)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcDFEoj91mA

"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSUgRkt-sOU

"The Quiet Land of Erin"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-boiaoe2tCM

Some people come at you like a nova, blindingly bright -- and then, in an instant, are too soon gone.

HYMN TIME

 The Jubalaires, from 1946.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx0oU1OnHf8