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Captain America Comics #11: Review

Feb 1942
Stan Lee, Al Avison

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Story Name:

The Case of the Squad of Mystery

Review & Comments

Rating:
3 stars

Captain America Comics #11 Review by (August 4, 2011)
Comments: c) Text story. e) Stan Lee credited as Neel Nats. Seriously. Bryant’s name is misspelled “Bryan” on the newspaper headline. f) Story has some similarities to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.




 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Captain America Comics #11 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro
At Camp Lehigh a competition is being held to select the best-trained squad. Second Squad of the First Platoon easily runs away with the award, showing themselves superior in all the drills. Private Steve Rogers is suspicious, though, as he knows Second Squad was not that good only a few days ago. His suspicions are further aroused when, at the award ceremony, the squad leader starts to give a Nazi salute before checking himself. That night, as Captain America, he and Bucky spy on the Second Squad in their tent. When another company’s lieutenant enters to accuse them of being Nazis, the officer is shot by a mysterious baldheaded man. Cap and Bucky give chase but the killer escapes. Cap is able to turn over the man’s rifle and coat to the General—who orders Captain America arrested. He and Bucky take their leave (with fists) and visit the camp commander. As a favor to Cap, the commander has Steve Rogers transferred into Second Squad. The Squad leaders do their best to keep Steve out of the way but when that doesn’t work they drop a tree on him and cover it with huge rocks (hoping to make his death look like an accident?). Steve escapes, though, and as Cap he presents his suspicions to the commander. He learns that the Squad had gone on leave together some days earlier. In town he traces their movements to the Café Mariposa where the owner, Herr Grotz, is revealed to be the bald-man. Cap and Bucky are dropped into the basement through a trap door where they find the real Second Squad locked up. Seems they had been drugged and replaced with Nazi agents who are planning a murder spree. Cap frees the soldiers and they head back to camp where they beat up the impostors and toss them in jail.


Story #2

The Feud Murders

Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Al Avison. Inker: Syd Shores.

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

At Camp Lehigh, two new recruits, Lee Coger and Jonce Rand get into a quarrel; it seems their two families had long been involved in a feud down south. Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes try to break up the fight but Rand is killed by a knife and it looks like Bucky stabbed him. While Bucky waits in the guardhouse, Steve, as Captain America, follows the fleeing Lee Coger down south. Coger arrives home to warn his mountain family that someone is trying to revive the old feud but he is killed by a thrown knife and Cap is blamed. Cap then heads to the Rands to warn them but meets with an equally hostile reception. Cap discovers that the area is rich in valuable bauxite and that a stranger, George Brinner, has been visiting. Cap recognizes Brinner as the MP who framed Bucky and the two fight with Cap falling off a cliff. He catches a branch but the villain gets away. Bucky arrives on the scene, having escaped from the stockade, and the two heroes defeat Brinner’s gang in a battle. Cap has the captive crooks tell the Cogers and the Rands about Brinner’s scheme to seize the bauxite by tricking the two families into exterminating each other. The rival make peace and when Brinner shows up, Cap clobbers him and turns him over to the law.


Story #3

Broken Trust

Writer: Stan Lee.

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Notorious criminal Gunner Sloan is on a crime spree in New York City. FBI Agent Bob Slade is assigned to capture him, a difficult job in view of Gunner’s well-known philosophy of never trusting anyone. One night, a fur robbery goes wrong and Gunner and his men are trapped inside the warehouse by police. A crook named Spike Conroy, who was also after the furs, helps them to escape and Gunner invites him to join the gang. The following night, Gunner and his men rob the Treasury Building and afterward Spike drives them right into the arms of the police. Spike Conroy was Agent Slade in disguise!


Story #4

A Life at Stake

Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Charles Nicholas. Inker: Charles Nicholas.

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

The Hurricane and his sidekick Speedy Scriggles are out for a walk when they see an attractive young woman getting into a limousine. Moments later her chauffeur is shot and killed by an unseen assailant and the car runs wild. Hurricane outruns the car and brings it under control and offers his services to the young lady, Florence Grey, as a chauffeur/bodyguard named Harry Kane. The next day a gang of gunmen fire in Miss Grey’s car but the superfast hero is able to catch the bullets. Miss Grey faints so he changes to his Hurricane costume and leaps over to the hoods’ car and disables it, beating them all in the ensuing scrap. On questioning, a thug reveals that they were hired by Lew Grey, Florence’s cousin, who will inherit a fortune if she dies. Miss Grey heads over to Lew’s house where they confront him with the thug’s confession. Lew reacts by triggering a dynamite charge but the Hurricane is quick enough to whisk Miss Grey and Speedy out of the house before it detonates on the villain.


Story #5

The Scourge of Crime

Writer: Stan Lee. Penciler: Charles Nicholas. Inker: Charles Nicholas.

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Election Day in Midvale sees reformer Tom Bryant running for District Attorney against the crooked incumbent Pete Drew. Thugs working for Drew’s ally, gangster Nails Riggly, start a riot at a political rally and Tom is framed for beating a man during the fracas. Tom’s pal Larry Scott dons his Father Time costume to clear his friend’s name. He pays a late night call on Pete Drew and finds Nails Riggly there too. He disarms them and threatens to execute Drew unless he signs a confession. Not knowing that the hero would not really harm him, Drew complies. Tom’s name is cleared and he wins the election.


Story #6

The Symphony of Terror

Writer: ?. Penciler: Al Avison. Inker: Syd Shores.

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Opera manager Morton Friend is threatened with death if he permits tenor Richard Thomas to sing tonight. Friend dismisses it as a crank letter but later he is murdered by a man dressed as Mephisto, the devil. The police investigate and advise that the opera go on as scheduled. Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are there for the performance and notice the police presence. During the show, a sinister voice rings out with a threat and Thomas is shot down on stage. Steve, in uniform, is recruited to stand guard over the body. Suspicion falls on the conductor, who was in the obvious position to fire the fatal shot. Switching into costume, Captain America and Bucky search the opera house. A scream leads hem to the conductor, who tells them that leading lady Lily Renaud was carried off by a man dressed as Mephisto. They trail the villain though the dark catacombs beneath the opera house where they discover Mephisto planning to kill Lily because she refuses to sing for him. Cap arrives in the nick of time but the villain escapes, leading Cap and the police on a wild chase. Suspicion then falls on the actor who plays Mephisto in the production but there is clearly another man in the costume on the loose. Cap and Bucky catch up with the killer who is unmasked as Jacques Laval, a mad admirer of Lily Renaud, who killed to have her to himself. The villain tries to escape but is shot down by the police. Cap and Bucky return to camp where Sergeant Duffy chews them out again.

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Barberoids 1 cover original artwork on ebay

Al Avison
Syd Shores
Al Avison (Cover Penciler)
Syd Shores (Cover Inker)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Bucky Barnes
Bucky Barnes

(James Barnes)
Captain America
Captain America

(Steve Rogers)

Plus: Hurricane, Nazis.

> Captain America Comics: Book info and issue index

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