This one took me by surprise for two reasons. First, the title. 4 Most Boys...are you kidding me? That implies that there are a number of boys this comic book for whom this comic book is verboten. That's like if the title of Calling All Girls was actually Calling All Girls Except Lucinda Who Is a Skank. True, a banner across the front cover also reads "Foremost Boys Comics," But that's offset by the large type of the actual title and by the vertical printing of the title on the left side of the cover. It is my considered opinion that whoever titled this comic book screwed up big time.
The other surprise was the teaser notice on the lower right cover: "The True Life Story of All-American CHUB PEABODY" Hang on a minute. I know of only one Chub Peabody, Endicott Peabody, the 62nd governor of Massachusetts. (When my wife worked a sales desk at Jordan March in Nashua, New Hampshire, Mrs. Chub was one of her favorite customers.) A World War II Navy veteran who was awarded several commendations, including the Silver Star, Chub Peabody served one term as governor (1963-1965) and as known for his vehement opposition to the death penalty and for signing the bill establishing the University of Massachusetts Boston. Peabody had deep New England roots: this ancestor, John Endecott (note the spelling), was the longest serving governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company; his grandfather, Endicott Peabody, was an Episcopal priest who founded both the Groton School and the Brooks School, was well as Episcopal churches in Arizona and Massachusetts; his maternal grandfather served on both the Boston Common Council and in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court; his father served as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York for eighteen years; his mother was a noted civil rights and anti-war activist in the 1960s, as an elderly (72-year-old) prominent (Chub was governor, and she was a cousin of Eleanor Roosevelt, and her father-in-law had officiated at Eleanor and FDR's wedding) white woman, she became a symbol of the civil rights movement and was arrested several times; his sister represented the United States on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, and had a number of romantic affairs, including ones with film director John Huston and presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson (she was with him when he died); his niece, Frances Fitzgerald, is a Pulitzer Prize, Bancroft Prize, and National Book Award-winning historian; another niece, Penelope Tree was an influential supermodel in Britain's "swinging sixties" (when asked to describe her in three words, John Lennon said, "Hot. Hot. Hot. Smart. Smart. Smart." -- and, yes, that's more than three words). As governor, Chub's liberal roots were also shown in his support of laws to prevent discrimination in housing and in establishing drug addiction treatment centers. Good intentions sometimes mean little in politics and Chub lost the Democratic primary for reelection. He later ran for a number of other offices, including the Senate in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and made several attempts to run for Vice President. What I did not know was that Chub was a Unanimous All-American and First-Team All-Easton college football player who had been inducted into the College football Hall of Fame. Now, thanks to 4 Most Boys #39, I do.
The issue starts off with "The Cadet," featuring Kit Carter, a cadet at the Daunton Academy for Boys. Kit and his friend, Dan Merry, stumble across a cabin in the woods being used by detective story writer Dick Mann. A shot rings out! It's an aggrieved ghost writer who wants payment for a story he had written for Mann. Mann takes a rifle to face the ghost writer, but ends up killing himself. then Mann becomes a ghost. Kit tries to tackle the ghost writer but it turns out that he, too, is a ghost. Then Kit is killed and becomes a ghost. The ghosts begin multiplying and multiple Kit-ghosts and Mann-ghosts chase Dan. then Dan wakes up. He had tripped and bumped his head and dreamed the whole thing. but we knew that, didn't we?
The next story features Edison Bell. Young Eddie had seen the magician Thorstin's act and was impressed. He decided to recreate Thorstin's tricks. But Eddie then gets suspicious of Thorstin and decided to watch his act one more time. Then he gets even more suspicious...and for good reason, Thorstin is using his act as a cover for jewel robberies. Eddie may not be the greatest amateur magician, but he was able to trade Thorstin's costume robes for real-life prison stripes!
Two one-page text stories follow. "Finger Marks," in which a murderer tries to frame another person with rubberized finger prints, and "The Future Champion," in which Don wins a boxing match despite having two cracked ribs.
Now we get to the four-page story about Chub Peabody, a most distinguished lineman "who was chosen on more All-American teams in 1941 than any other player in the country," and holder of the Knute Rocke Trophy. At the Groton School, he had a "fine academic record," was "elected president of the missionary society and vice-president of the dramatic club. Not caring for indoor sports, he turned down a chance to play basketball and opted instead for football, where, in his senior year, he captained the team to an undefeated season. "Not endowed with prodigious strength or speed, but the possessor of an unquenchable fighting spirit, Peabody entered Harvard and made football history!" He worked hard at exercises to develop his back and his neck -- developing his neck from a 14 to a 17. By mid-season in his sophomore year, Chub had won a first season berth. He became the tram's most feared offensive guard; the press began "lovingly": calling him the "baby-faced assassin." In his final game, Chub played three-quarters of the game with an injured thigh, beating rival Yale 14-0.
The final story in the issue features The White Rider and Super Horse. (If you are wondering what sort of person names their horse "Super Horse." don't; the horse's actual name is Cloud. I may be wrong, but I suspect the Super Horse name came from the same genius who called the comic book 4 Most Boys. BTW, sometimes Super Horse is spelled as two words and sometimes as one.) Anyway, The White Rider and SH (aka Cloud) are moseying down the rail when they come across a railroad construction camp on fire. And, golly! There's dynamite in the cabin and it might go off at any moment. The White Rider throws a rope around a beam and has SH (aka Storm) pull hard, taking the entire front off the building down. Then TWR runs in and grabs the boxes of dynamite one by one and brings them to safety. The shack collapses, but not before TWR gets all the dynamite out. There's skullduggery a-going on -- this was the fifth "accident" the construction crew has had. If they don't finish the line in a week, the man building the railroad line will be bankrupt and the bank will foreclose (considering the title of the comic book, shouldn't it be "4close?"). It doesn't take a genius to figure out the banker eager to foreclose (4close) is behind it all. TWR confronts the banker, is taken captive, and is tied up and placed on the railroad tracks in a tunnel with a lit bundle of dynamite ready to explode. but the bad guys don't count on SH (aka Storm) , who sense something is wrong, rushes into the tunnel, grabs the explosives in his teeth and tosses them over a cliff. KABOOM! The there's a gun battle and SH (aka Storm) grabs the bad banker with his teeth and shakes him until he confesses. You could say the bad guy's plans have all gone to SH. TWR and SH (aka Storm) ride off into the sunset for more exciting adventures.
An interesting comic book with moderate-to-fair artwork.
Check it out:
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=97579&comicpage=&b=i
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