Small House of Everything

Small House of Everything

Saturday, May 30, 2020

KERRY DRAKE DETECTIVE CASES #18 (FEBRUARY 1950)

Once again it's time to check in on Kerry Drake, the former investigator for the D.A.'s office who joined the police force after his fiance was murdered.  Created by Alfred Andriola, Kerry Drake ran as a newspaper strip from 1943 to 1983.  Kerry Drake's early cases were first reprinted by A-1 Comics (one issue), then by Magazine enterprizes (four issues), and finally by Harvey Comics which expanded the title to Kerry Drake Detective Cases for twenty-eight further issues, the last two of which were titled Kerry Drake Racket Buster.

In this issue Kerry takes on "The Case of the Seeing Eye Dog," which takes place before Sandy Burns, his fiance and secretary, was murdered.  Kerry is one the trail of Vixen Vargo, a petty ex-con who has just murdered Mother Whistler's son, Punky.  In making her escape from her hotel Vixen has lost her coat in which she had sewn most of her loot, leaving Vixen with just a thousand dollar bill she had hidden in her shoe.  Desperate, hungry, and on the run, Vixen is unable to cash the G-note to buy food.  She tries to con a blind man with a seeing eye dog into giving her money but he thinks she's a hungry runaway teenage and takes her to his office to give her some food.  Vixen ousts the seeing eye dog from the office and tries to rob the blind man.  She is interrupted and flees in to the rain, then taking shelter in a crowded "Lacy's" department store.  In the meanwhile, Mother Whistler has prepared bottles of "scented water" which she sells on the street corner.  She tells Kerry that she is just doing this hoping to spot the woman who killed her son.  What she doesn't tell Kerry is what is really in those bottles.  When the rain starts, Mother Whistler also takes shelter in the store and spots Vixen.  She sprays acid into Vixen's eyes, temporarily blinding her.  Mother Whistler then takes Vixen on a terrifying walk where Vixen is expecting death at any moment.  With Kerry Drake hot on their tails, can Mother Whistler pull off her murderous plan for Vixen?

To fill out the rest of the issue, there's "Search for Gold," an adventure for "Kitty Carson, The Ruff Ridin' Gal Sheriff."  A couple of owlhoots have robbed Old Ned and sealed him off in a mine shaft.  Well, that's just something one doesn't do on Kitty's watch.

Enjoy.


https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=76030&b=i

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