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Wednesday, February 20, 2008




Number 264


Never trust a dame



Poor Johnny D. The lady with the camera shot his eye out. It must've been a pretty fancy camera if it could do that! Now he's looking for payback. He gets it in the next to last panel when he returns the favor. I guess gut-shooting and then eye-shooting the dame who de-lamped him is justice, even though she's got a crippled kid in the next room!

Such was the violent world of this Mike Hammer-styled private dick, from Dynamite #4, published by Comics Media in November, 1953. The artwork is by Pete Morisi, later known as PAM in the Peter Cannon Thunderbolt comics from Charlton. The story, likely written by William Waugh, bylined as the writer of another story in the issue, is a document of its time, an attempt to take adult paperback sleaze and turn it into comic book sleaze.


Oh yeah…despite the similar names, there's no truth to the rumor that Johnny married his secretary, Judy, and had a son.











4 comments:

Chuck Wells said...

Johnny Dynamite is another classic character with whom I've long been familiar without having read any of his comics adventures.

Nice to see the origin of his eyepatch here, Pappy. I think that I would have shot the hussy too.

Hard boiled, oh yeah!

Unknown said...

Yes, excellent suff! I have some of these as reprints in the 80's Ms Tree series... I would really love to expand my own collection with some actual gold Johny D though.

Unknown said...

Oh, yeah, Dynamite. "City Hospitals are great places." Back then, they had scads of money and time for penniless, disabled children.

Well, I guess I shouldn't have expected Hammett or Spillane.

Still, the writer should offer a more plausible reason for Johnny letting the blonde out of his sight so she could be silenced. What about Dynamite having an sudden, urgent need for a Dr. Pepper?

Kirk Nachman said...

Tho' perhaps the only perk to spinning such drek for pennies is-- the plausibility goes right out the window! ...