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WHITEY HARRISON

harrison_whitey_cb_adv01 harrison_whitey_cb_adv03 harrison_whitey_cb_adv02
 
Full Name: Whitey Harrison
Nationality: American
Organization: American Intelligence
Occupation Agent

Creator: Ken Ernst
Time Span: 1940 - 1940

ABOUT THE SERIES

Whitey Harrison is an agent with American Intelligence.

We are told in the first recorded adventure that he is "Uncle Sam's trouble-shooter in the Orient!" Or at least he will be right after our introduction as we are there to watch his Chief give him the new assignment, which he accepts eagerly with a "Swell - I'm itching for action!".

He is given this new mission at F.B.I. Headquarters in Washington with the Chief telling him, "You've been doing a nice hob for the Secret Service!" This is a tad confusing then since the traditional Secret Service, then a part of the Treasury Department, would not have such activities going on in the FBI HQ, a part of the Justice Department. Toss in the fact that at the time of this reassignment, 1940, it was not uncommon for narrators to lump any and all intelligence work down in the U.S. under the umbrella of 'Secret Service' as a euphemism for any and all spy activity. However, he will soon be telling a stranger that he was "from the F.B.I." so who knows? Especially when in a later adventure he is clearly again identified as working for the Secret Service.

Whomever he actually works for, Harrison is told he is now handling "one of the most important assignments we've had in years", one in which "American interests must be protected and yet friendly relations with these countries must be maintained!". It is important to remember this was before April 1940 so while the War in Europe had begun, the War in the Pacific, as far as America was concerned, was still 20+ months away.

Harrison, a tall, thin moderately handsome man with short blond hair brushed back, was told that he would have one assistant to work with him and he was free to make the choice himself. With little hesitation, Harrison mused to himself that "good old Blackie will be just the man for this job". This Blackie is a short, almost emaciated fairly odd looking fellow with an impressive skill at disguise, complete it would seem with a firm grasp of Chinese.

A month after getting the new job, Harrison and Blackie are stationed in Shanghai where they receive their first mission. One point to note is that Harrison is seen dressed in a Navy uniform and he will continue to wear it throughout that harrowing case, even when it means heading Japanese controlled part of China. Blackie would also join him in that type of attire though Blackie was more prone to casual wear.

COMIC BOOKS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, AND MANGA

Number of Stories:3
First Appearance:1940
Last Appearance:1940

The anthology magazine The Funnies in which the trio of adventures of Whitey Harrison appear was published by Dell Publishing Co, consisting of a variety of repeat characters, most notably John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. According to Wikipedia, Dell had two iterations of magazines under that name.

The first was from 1929-1930 and ran 36 issues. The second was the one Whitey Harrison appeared in, said publication running from 1936 to 1942. Initially this magazine was just a reprinter of newspaper comic strips but gradually began to run original material it licensed from other companies. Western Publishing was a steady supplier of such material. A good number of them, including the Whitey Harrison stories, were marked as copyrighted by R. S. Callender. According to ComicbookPlus.com, Callender was "a Western Printing business manager who registered copyrights for creations owned by Western Printing, hence "© R. S. Callender" often found on various segments of a Dell comic".

It was common in anthology magazines to give a series a try for a while and then if it was not well received, toss it for something else. Is that what happened to Whitey Harrison? I have no facts either way except to say that he lasted only 6 issues (#42 - $46) and then left the printed page for good. This despite the fact that at the end of that third adventure in issue #46, we are told that "Whitey Harrison will appear next month and every month in this magazine". Not so much.



1 The Kidnapped American Oil Magnate The Kidnapped American Oil Magnate
Published by Dell
Contributors: Ken Ernst (writer and artist)
Copyright: 1940

Printed in The Funnies #42-#44, April - June 1940 with 18 color pages.
Whitey Harrison is assigned his first mission in Shanghai - to find and rescue a kidnapped American oil executive.
Click here to read the story.

2 Torpedoed In Shanghai Harbor Torpedoed In Shanghai Harbor
Published by Dell
Contributors: Ken Ernst (writer and artist)
Copyright: 1940

Printed in The Funnies #45, July 1940 with 6 color pages.
When a British ship was torpedoed in Shanghai harbor and an American submarine blamed for the attack, and possibly the sinking of several British freighters in the vicinity of late, Whitey Harrison and Blackie take the role of anarchists to hopefully be invited into whatever group was behind it all.
Click here to read the story.

3 Mysterious Bombings Mysterious Bombings
Published by Dell
Contributors: Ken Ernst (writer and artist)
Copyright: 1940

Printed in The Funnies #45, August 1940 with 6 color pages.
Whitey Harrison receives a cable with a new mission: "Uncle Sam has discovered a plot, hatched by members of another country, to blow up the American arsenal in the International Settlement" in Shanghai.
Click here to read the story.

MY COMMENTS

The three stories of Whitey and Blackie are not bad fare at all considering the quality of a lot of the stories being graphically told in magazines at that time. There is a good deal of extremely creative and cunning bad guys making some pretty dumb decisions needed to let this pair foil the overall plot in just a few pages but the pltos themselves are quite inventive and well described.

I was surprised after reading all three to realize that I would not have minded at all if there had been more to document. That is pretty good praise all told. And the artwork is very good for that time and the quality that was often shown. My digital hat is tipped to Ken Ernst.

GRADE

My Grade: B

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