PASTY WHITE

Full Name:	Pasty White
Series Name:	The Secret World of Pasty White
Nationality:	British
Organization:	British Intelligence
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	Unknown
Time Span:	1978 - 1978

ABOUT THE SERIES

Peter 'Pasty' White is an agent with British Intelligence.

The year is 1940. "During the early part of World War Two, the British Army was forced to take the unlikeliest-looking men as recruits. But by any standards, Private Peter White was by far the unlikeliest of all!" We also told several times that White was "the skinniest, sickliest-looking soldier ever to be recruited".

Very tall and very thin, this lanky individual moved with all the grace and confidence of a new-born colt. Being by nature a pale, almost emaciated figure gave White his unfortunate nickname but it did give him a perfect out for those time when a mission pops up and White needs to 'disappear' for a time, namely that he needs occasional hospitalization and once in it, apparent isolation.

As his handler, known as Sir James, apologizes for the needed subterfuge in faking a needed ambulance trip to give White an excuse for leaving basic training, "Sorry abut all this nonsense, Peter, but your role in this was has to be top-secret or your life wouldn't be worth a brass-farthing". Since White responds to that with his understanding and a "what's the mission this time" we see that this is not the first mission that White has been on, though what the others were or how many there have been is not revealed.

We first encounter White during one of those medical checkups. We also meet two older and much more physically fit individuals who play an important part in his military life; his two friends, also in the same platoon as White, Sam Samson and Syd Bolton, his "self-appointed guardian agents".

Good Lind:
- When a German assassin comments that he has not yet met Pasty White, White replies, "That's probably my fault, Von Sivers. I teen to avoid vermin!"
- As one of his minders observes, Pasty White "could get himself lost in a telephone box".
- An impressive insult thrown at White by his platoon sergeant, "You witless, wooden-headed willow-wand!"

COMIC BOOKS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, AND MANGA

Number of Stories:	13
First Appearance:	1978
Last Appearance:	1978

The Victor was a British comic paper which was published weekly by D.C Thomson from January 1961 to November 1992 for an impressive 1,657 issues. Each issue was an anthology collection of various adventure tales geared to the young male audience.

From boxers to robots, bandits to racers, soccer players to space jockeys, the variety of genres was impressive as was the artwork and the writing.

Most of the repeat characters would have their time to shine, present a small number of adventures, and then depart the publishing world.

The Private World of Pasty White hung around for 13 adventures, one a week for three months. Most of these tales have 3 pages to them but a few had 4 except for a two-parter which had 6.

[Note: none of these tales had titles assigned them by the publisher so I have provided my own.]


1			'Find the Rocket Scientist' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #891, Marcy 18, 1978 - 4 pages. The Nazis have developed a new weapon which might be a rocket and British Intelligence needs to know where it is being manufactured. A rocket scientist is traveling via train through Holland and Pasty White's mission is to parachute in and capture the man. Click here to read the story.

2			'Find the German Assassin' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #892, March 25, 1978 - 3 pages. A meeting of the Allied heads-of-state is taking place in Casablanca. It is learned that the Germans have sent their best assassin, von Sivers, to ply his trade at the summit. Pasty White must fly there to intercept him. Click here to read the story.

3			'Find the Belgian Scientist' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #893, April 1, 1978 - 3 pages. Dr. Monet, a famous Belgian scientist, is currently being protected by the Resistance in his country but the Germans are closing in. Pasty White's mission is to head to that area and find a way to bring Monet to England. Click here to read the story.

4			'Find the Flying Bomb Plant' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #894, April 8, 1978 - 4 pages. Sir James tells Pasty White that the Germans are developing some kind of remote-controlled flying bomb. The base is tucked into a hillside where British bombers cannot get at. Things get complicated when White parachutes in and learns the Germans are using a school as a cover. Click here to read the story.

5			'Find the Bust of Napoleon' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #895, April 15, 1978 - 3 pages. After hiding some top secret papers he had stolen, a Norwegian agent hid them in a bust of Napoleon temporarily. He was subsequently killed by the Gestapo, an officer of which took a liking to the bust. Pasty White must get hold of it to get the papers. Click here to read the story.

6			'Find the U-Boat Location' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #896, April 22, 1978 - 3 pages. Somewhere near Spitsbergen the Germans were setting up a U-boat base but where remains a valued secret. A high-ranking German officer was heading to that base when his plane crashed. Pasty White must hurried drop into that crash-site and get the location of the new base. A polar bear plays a part in this adventure. Click here to read the story.

7			'Find the German Tank Commander' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #897, April 29, 1978 - 3 pages. A German tank commander with plans for breaching the British line of defense in North Africa must be intercepted near Benghazi, Libya, and the plans stolen by Pasty White. Click here to read the story.

8			'Find the Cretan Resistance Leader' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #898-899, May 6-13, 1978 - 6 pages. Resistance forces on Crete are failing because their leader is "an arrogant, self-willed character" who will not respond to instructions. With the rest of his platoon heading to Crete, Pasty White must find a way to correct the matter. Click here to read the story.

9			'Find the German Contact Man' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #900, May 20, 1978 - 3 pages. British Intelligence intercepted a message between German Intelligence and a spy on Cyprus. "A contact man ... is coming to hand over a list of agents" and Pasty White is to snatch that man and his list. Click here to read the story.

10			'Find The Greek Pilot Navigator' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #901, May 27, 1978 - 4 pages. A German cargo ship loaded with armaments is moving out of Athens. Pasty White is to head to Siros to take the place of the Greek pilot and steer the vessel straight onto the rocks. Sam and Syd are finally getting suspicious of White's disappearing acts. Click here to read the story.

11			'Find the Captured British Agent' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #902, June 3, 1978 - 3 pages. The Germans have imprisoned a top British spy in a castle in Greece. Pasty White's job is to use a glider to get into the place undetected and free the operative. Click here to read the story.

12			'Find the High Level Meeting' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #903, June 10, 1978 - 3 pages. A meeting of top-level commanders in the Middle East is taking place in some mountains in the area. "A map showing the strength and position of every unit in the Middle East has to be delivered to them". That is Pasty White's mission. Click here to read the story.

13			'Find the Stolen British Submarine' Published by DC Thomson Contributors: Unknown Copyright: 1978 Published in The Victor #904, June 17, 1978 - 4 pages. The Germans have captured a British submarine along with four canisters of deadly gas. They plan to surface near Istanbul and release the gas, ending Turkish neutrality and bringing it into the war on Germany's side. Pasty White's job is to sneak onto the sub and replace the canisters with fake one. Click here to read the story.

MY COMMENTS

These were a baker's dozen of fun, easy to follow, mostly unbelievable-but-who-cares adventures which would have been ideal for the target audience back in the day (and not too bad for a much older reader just now!).

I thought for sure that Sam and Syd were going to finally figure out Pasty White's secret but White proved just a bit too slippery for that (there is a pun in that if you read the right story).

I think there would have been more tales but The Victor was merged with Wizard and there would have been no more room for poor Pasty White!

GRADE

My Grade: B-

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