- "The Last Treason of George Carter" A Steel Sterling Adventure. Sterling was a superhero who had developed a formula that gave his body the strength and resistance of steel; he was also able to magnetize himself so he could fly (don't ask). Nazis have held up a munitions truck and stolen its cargo of depth charges. Working with Hitler's number one agent in America is the co-own=er of the Atlas Munitions Company, George Carter. Steel has to stop the Nazis, expose Carter, and save a river tunnel from being blown up. Sterling was the second superhero to be called "The Man of Steel" -- wonder who was the first?
- "Archie's Super X-Press Service" Bob Montana shows up with his popular red-headed teen. Archie is hired by Tony the fishmonger to deliver a barrel of fish. Because it is late in the day, he decides it would not matter if he delivered the fish in the morning. The next day he has to drive his father to work...a flat tire, a loose cover on the barrel, and the heat of the day are working against him. The fish begin to smell and get away from him, causing problem=s throughout Riverdale. This early version of Archie (and his father) is drawn differently from what I was used to when I was reading Archie in the Fifties.
- "Map of Skin" A Black Hood story. The original Black Hood was Matthew "Kip" Burland, an ex-cop who had been framed by the Skull; after clearing his name, Burland still wore the Black Hood costume. He may or may not have had superpowers (the original stories were vague on that account), but he had unusual strength, agility, and healing powers. The character had his own radio show in 1943-4. At an antique store, girlfriend Barbara Sutton has fond two pieces of parchment with portions of a map drawn on them. An amnesia patient wakes from a two-month coma and tries to get the maps from Barbara. Meanwhile, lab tests have shown that the "parchment" was actually tanned human skin...Curiouser and curiouser...
- "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog" A "funny animal" story. A puppy who does not like rain keeps getting wet through three pages of misadventures.
- "What Do Porkchops and Gooch See?" Another "funny animal" story, this time with a pih (Porkchops) and a cat (Gooch). This was evidently Porkchops' only appearance in Comicbookland.
- "The Radium Corpse" A Mr. Justice adventure. Mr. Justice was Prince James of England, who was murdered in Scotland in 1740. His spirit was freed during World War II when a German submarine sank the boat carrying the ruins of his castle to America. He is a supernatural presence who can communicate with other spirits, project himself astrally, and has super strength and can fly. At the same time O'Hara, the mad killer, was electrocuted, Professor Stimes, in an experiment to make people immune to death, tried to project an radium ray at him, because this what respected scientists do in the 1940s. It didn't work. Or did it? The corpse rises as a monster and begins wreaking havoc. Mr. Justice descends to Hell to confront the Keeper of Lost Souls to claim the soul of O'Hara. He fights off various demons, gains the Keeper's Scepter, and flies back to Earth with the magic incarnation needed to end the terror of the Radium Corpse. Will he make it in time?
- "Murder Trap" A two-age text story by Alf Corsican featuring the Black Hood.
- "Clancy and Looney" Humor. Sgt. Clancy of the Metropolitan Police meets up with Sgt. Looney Lunar of the U.S. Army. Military police mistake Clancy for an AWOL soldier and try to arrest him. Hijinx (or perhaps low jinx) occur. This was the final appearance of Clancy and Looney.
Like I said, a mixed bag. Two things should be noted. First, the cover proclaims a Sergeant Boyle story that does not appear in the issue. Second, a number of these public domain characters were rebooted, reimagined, and revised over the years by other companies, so things can get confusing.
Yet, over the years, Archie Andrews endures.
Enjoy this final bow of Jackpot Comics.
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=98070&comicpage=&b=i
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