MYRA NORTH

Myra North is a nurse.

According to the tag line associated with her adventures, she is a 'Special Nurse' though what the 'special' aspect exactly meant to the one giving it to her remains a mystery. She is, at least, very much a nurse, highly skilled and versatile and clearly able to handle all sorts of medical emergencies that come her way. As we see on numerous occasions, that will include handling gun shot wounds and even more often blows to the head.

In addition to, or in place of, the nurse identifier, I could easily have stated that North is an adventurer and I would have been just as accurate. North has no set workplace or employer; she answers ads for jobs and has no compunction about travel. In fact she seems to thrive on going to new places and experiencing new things.

North is unattached romantically at our initial introduction but will become enamored with a police detective named Jack shortly thereafter and their relationship will last throughout the adventures we have. Jack is definitely hooked on North and will show himself willing to go wherever she goes just to be near her. It is Lane who will provide intel on her when, preparing for a mission that North will handle undercover, Lane checks to insure she meets the requirements of a stewardess by being "a registered nurse, under twenty-six, not over 5'5" [or] 120 pounds...[and have an] attractive appearance".

     North does go a lot of places and gets involved in a lot of different scrapes and turmoil all filled with international intrigue and royalty being at risk from revolutionaries and nihilists as well as democratic countries being threatened by would-be despots and fascists.

     In addition to North's romantic interest, Jack Lane, she has two other individuals who spend a considerable amount of time working with her in her non-medical activities.

     In the first adventure she and Lane find themselves allied with a very intelligent and quite resourceful Chinese fellow named Lew Wen. Wen is a very friendly individual though he is very good at not telling exactly who he works for or why. One thing that is certain is that he is an operative for someone and whenever he shows up, he is quite welcomed by both North and Lane.

     The second important fellow is another oriental named Dr. Wu. He is met when North, Lane, and Wen find themselves going up against the very dangerous would-be world conqueror, Ling Sin. She has as her main advisor the highly intelligent Wu but Wu and she have a major break and Wu decides to cross over to the other side. Once he does so, he becomes a very valuable ally to North for several subsequent adventures while Wen decides bowing out for a time is prudent. In fact for a while North is even referenced as his assistant.

    While it is pretty obvious that the 'Special Nurse' title comes from the fact that she is an independent contractor, hiring her services out on a case-by-case basis and willing to go where her temporary patients need her. Her love of travel and exploration makes this form of nursing far preferable to her than a more common steady employment at a hospital or clinic.

     The 'Special Nurse' takes a far different meaning with North, however, because she is a magnet for excitement and danger and on many occasions in her event-filled career she will help affect the flow of history.

     In the various exciting nursing gigs that she comes across, she will rescue a young heir to the throne of a Balkan nation, save the life of the sitting king of the same land and stop a takeover by a would-be despot, assist in stopping the invasion of another country by a neighbor using a really big tank, stop the raiding of a major Egyptian tomb find, prevent a scientist from advancing his brain transfer experiments, save the life of one or members of a secret international intelligence organization, combat the most dangerous spy in all of the world, break up a major counterfeiting enterprise, and so much more.

     Oh, there is also the whole matter of the would-be world conqueror from a hidden land north of Greenland with majorly advanced technology. Her motivation there was certainly altruistic but also preventing the female bad gal from forcing North's heartthrob, Lane, from marrying him had to play a part.

     Mixed in with these extraordinary adventures will be, to her great relief, simple cases of giving care to elderly or recovering patients, although invariably these people will be challenged with attempted murder or kidnapping or robbery or the like. In fact in the 36 escapades detailed in the newspaper chronicles, nothing remotely uneventful ever happens.

     'Special Nurse'? I would say so.

Good Lines:

- From Myra, amusing considering the scrape she is always finding herself in "A can't understand why anyone goes looking for trouble!"

- Dr. Wu talking about swing bands from the late 30's says "Modern Confucius might remark, 'Music good for soul but jumping jive bad for sole".

     I was certain of two things when I read the first few strips in this series. First, it was almost certain to fit into this compendium. Second, I was going to enjoy reading the stories.

     When I finished collecting every strip, both Daily and Sunday, and reading them, both certainties remained. Myra North belonged in this collection and I really enjoyed it.

     I had some doubts at first, though, as I read a couple of descriptions of this comic strip and was left with the feeling the reviewers thought of this series as a medical soap opera with some extra excitement thrown in. What I found in my reading of the actual strips, though, was something totally different!

     As was so very common in the mid to late 30's comic strips and comic books that wanted to deal with international tensions, the countries involved were all fictitious but the concept of one country lusting after a neighbor's territory rang true. What made the idea interesting was the fact that it was not a near-perfect operative saving the day but rather a nurse having the tenacity to not just stay quiet but to get involved.

     In North's case, it was her insatiable curiousity that got her looking deeper in the first place. Then you throw in the fact that she really does not like getting thrown into a closet or a jail and you have one very stubborn and interesting person to follow!