Monday, April 7, 2014

The Legion Of Dustbin Heroes: Boomerang


With apologies in advance to my homosexual friends, I picked today’s subject primarily because he has the gayest looking costume in comics. Meet Boomerang!

 
Boomerang was introduced to the world within the pages of TERRIFIC COMICS issue 2 in March 1944 as published by Et-Es-Go Magazines. The GCD has yet to identify the author of the strip but we can lay blame for the outfit upon that master of GA cover art, L.B. Cole. That initial story is a convoluted as hell as we are introduced to Capt. Lloyd Raleigh who is being briefed on his first mission for the US Army Intelligence. And what a mission it is… an assassination! But unbeknownst to his superiors, Raleigh is secretly the Aussie-outfitted vigilante. In retrospect it’s a damned good cover, who in their right mind would suspect an American boy to sneak around in a bushman’s hat wielding an aboriginal throwing stick? Here then is that epic tale.







 
This really a rhetorical question but can anyone explain to me how Lloyd stashed away his hero gear while imprisoned in a Nazi dungeon?

In his next adventure, Manny Stallman takes over the artistic reins. Silver Age fans may recall his stint on the Raven in THUNDER AGENTS. The gal Boomerang rescued in the first story becomes his sidekick as Dianna in this installment.







 
The third episode finds yet another art switch with GA veteran Rudy Palais doing the honors 
 







In the fourth and final Boomerang classic we come full circle and find Cole back in the saddle. 






 
I can’t help but think that Cole was making amends for the fey outfit design of the hero by giving the guys a scantily clad Dianna in that one. Heroine as underwear model anyone?

Pat

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