| Issue | #57 |
| Published | February-March 1951 |
| Cover Price | 0.10 |
| Pages | 52 |
| Editing | Whitney Ellsworth |
| Notes | All notes and synopses added by Craig Delich (Jan. 2006). |
| Characters | Atom [Al Pratt]; Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Wonder Woman [Earth-2] (all as the Justice Society of America/JSA) |
| Genre | superhero |
| Pencils | Arthur F. Peddy |
| Inks | Bernard Sachs |
| Notes | All notes and synopses added by Craig Delich (Jan. 2006). |
| Reprinted | in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #11 |
| Characters | Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Wonder Woman [Earth-2]; Flash [Jay Garrick]; Black Canary; Atom [Al Pratt]; Dr. Mid-Nite (all as the Justice Society of America/JSA); the Key [villain] |
| Synopsis | At Civic City airport, a plane lands carrying four of the world's greatest detectives: Chief Harry Wan [of the Honolulu Police], Mustapha Hakim [of Turkey], Inspector Drew Dawes [of Scotland Yard] and Jacques Durand [of the Paris Surete]. All have been invited by the Justice Society to attend a meeting at the Civic City Palace Auditorium, wherein the crime detection methods used in various nations will be used to "solve" a crime committed in their presence. Hawkman has each of the four detectives blindfolded and the curtain rises showing a set dessigned by the JSA of Tiffanier's on Main Street. Wax figures of city officials, moved by magnets underneath the platform, enter and walk over to the employees, drop small tablets in a drink cup, the ooficials drink of it and collapse....the the city officials loot the jewels into their briefcases and leave. The detectives then have their blindfolds removed as Hawkman explains that the four must deduce 1) how the crime was committed, 2) by what type of criminals, and 3) how the gang can best be caught. Jacques Durand finds a chart listing the number of pwople entering the store that day and deduces that the number in the gang was three. Hakim spots the cups on the floor by each body and deduces that they were felled by whatever was in those cups. Drew Dawes uses his portable kit to inspect the fluid in the cups and deduces that knock-out drops were used. Only Harry Wan doesn't search for clues, but prefers instead to watch the others and come to a conclusion, which is: the gang disguised themselves as city health inspectors and pretended to give the pills for a new epidemic, and instead gave the knockout drops. These deductions are met with thunderous applause, then Hawkman begins to remind everyone that the four must deduce how the gang best be caught. Suddenly, the lights begin to glare brightly, blinding everyone, so Flash runs down to the main switch box to fix the problem. When done, however, all four of the detectives have disappeared and only a silver skeleton key is left behind. While the JSA stands around puzzled, a courier arrivess with four telegrams for the detectives who have disappeared, requesting them to return home immediately to solve fantastic, mysterious crimes....all of which had a silver skeleton key left behind. Deciding that, since the JSA invited those detectives to America, it should be up to the members to replace the detectives in their home lands. So, while some of the members head overseas, Atom, Black Canary and Hawkman remain behind to search for the missing detectives. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | John Broome |
| Pencils | Frank Giacoia; Arthur F. Peddy (splash page only) |
| Inks | Frank Giacoia; Bernard Sachs (splash page only) |
| Notes | Pencil & ink credits from Craig Delich (April 30, 2004). |
| Reprinted | in Justice Society of America 100-Page Super Spectacular, No. 1, 1975 Issue (DC, 2000 series) #nn; in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #11 |
| Characters | Green Lantern [Alan Scott] (cameo); Flash [Jay Garrick]; Wonder Woman [Earth-2] (cameo); Dr. Mid-Nite (all as the Justice Society of America/JSA) |
| Synopsis | Flying over the city of London, Green Lantern's power ring lets Dr. Mid-Nite off at Trafalgar Square and near the Charing Cross Bank, where the mysterious crime occured. Meeting Chief Inspector McReady at the front of the bank, McReady explains how burglar alarms alerted the Police to the crime, and that they arrived within seconds and surrounded the bank. Yet, when they entered the bank, all they found was the guard tied up and the vault blown....but the thieves had escaped! Dr. Mid-Nite suspects that the crooks ran into the long unused air raid shelters nearby, and, sure enough, they are there. He goes on the offensive, and the criminals make a break for it up the steps to the street. Thinking them trapped outside by the London officials, upon arriving at street level, the Man of Night discovers that a thick fog has set in. But the fog is no barrier to Dr. Mid-Nite's infra-red glasses and he spots them boarding a train. He follows and surprises his foes in a compartment, into which he throws a blackout bomb, and then subdues the villains. One of them mentions a man named "The Key," and now the Man of Night must figure out who he is. Meanwile, the Flash is in an enclosed area atop the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris with the Commissaire of the Surete, who explains that the famous gargoyles atop the structure have been disappearing. The Flash decides to use the Surete method of employing a clever trap for the thieves. That night, with the base of the cathedral suurounded by the Surete, the Flash is using his ultra speed to become invisible, searching for some hint of the crooks. Suddenly he spots several, that have come through a secret entrance, making off with a gargoyle, and he slows down to attack and is knocking silly by the wing of the stone creature. When he regains his senses, he takes a piece of paper nearly by and cuts his way through the stone to the secret passageway, leading to an underground canal used by the thieves to effect their getaway. He glances at the paper he used originally to cut his way through the stone and notices that it is actually a list of instructions from someone known as "The Key" on how to commit the gargoyle crimes. Since it also mentions that the Club Attila may be the gang's hideout, he cooly makes his way there and inside, where he watches the Apach Dancers performing. Suddenly, one of them attacks the Flash, and he goes to work on them, then enters a back room where he sees the crooks emptying out gold from one of the gargoyles. He rounds them and the gold up and turns it all over to the Surete. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | John Broome |
| Pencils | Arthur F. Peddy |
| Inks | Bernard Sachs |
| Reprinted | in Justice Society of America 100-Page Super Spectacular, No. 1, 1975 Issue (DC, 2000 series) #nn; in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #11 |
| Characters | Dr. Mid-Nite [Dr. Charles McNider] |
| Synopsis | Dr. Mid-Nite tells readers how to build a simple persiscope out of cardboard. |
| Genre | Fact |
| Pencils | Arthur F. Peddy |
| Inks | Bernard Sachs |
| Notes | This filler was NOT reprinted in the Archive. Artist credits by Craig Delich (Jan. 2006). |
| Characters | Wonder Woman [Earth-2]; Green Lantern [Alan Scott] (both as the Justice Society of America/JSA) |
| Synopsis | Wonder Woman is meeting with the Turkish Chief of Police who is explaining to her that every year, the Emir of Kashdan is weighed and receives his weight in gold. This year, he weighed 300 pounds....he was paid off and left by car. A few moments later, however, a courier brought in a message stating that the Emir was delayed and will be arriving soo, which he did. Obviously, he tells the Princess, the first Emir was a fake. Wonder Woman decides to employ Turkish psychology which states that every criminal, no matter how clever, always makes at least one mistake. Scouting the roads from the city, she finds one with deep car tracks in it, and deduces that the car, laden down with the 300 pound "Emir" and the gold passed that way. She calls her robot plane onto the scene and follows the road to the mouth of the Black Sea, spots the empty car and a submarine submerging. She throws her golden lasso about the conning tower and brings it up, shakes out the crooks and turns them over to the officials, from who she hears about the mysterious "Key." Meanwhile, Green Lantern is with Police Captain Tom Lim at the docks in Honolulu, where the ship Laronia is being held until the crime aboard her can be solved. Lin explains that multi-millionaire J. Fred Wallis had his "short-snorter" $100,000 bill, signed by celebrities, stolden. G.L. hurries aboard, and tries to figure out who on board is the expert pickpocket that snatched the bill. Using Harry Wan's methods of not hunting for the criminal, but making the criminal come to him, the Emerald Crusader prepares a trap. A few hours later, a doctor visits Wallis in his cabin and announces that the man is suffering from radiation sickness, and must be removed from the ship and his cabin decontaminated. Wallis is removed and the announcement made aboard ship, then the scene shifts to a darkened cabin where a figure bends over a glowing $100,000 bill. The figure is that of the magician on board named Gordoni, who now feels he must sneak into Wallis' cabin and let the bill be decontaminated. As he looks at the bill in Wallis' stateroom, he sees a message on it from Green Lantern stating that Gordoni has fallen for a trap, and G.L. springs out of a closet and grabs the bill. But into Gordoni's hand springs some bullets, which are thrown against the wall, and come at the Emerald Crusader, who then puts up armor about himself with his power ring. Then Gordoni pulls out a cane, which G.L. grabs, getting an electrical shock in the process. But using his will power, G.L. forces the electricty back at Gordoni, and captures him. Then, Green Lantern leaves to pick up the other members and make their way back to Civic City to see if they can locate the mysterious Key. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | John Broome |
| Pencils | Frank Giacoia |
| Inks | Frank Giacoia |
| Notes | Pencil and ink credits from Craig Delich (April 30, 2004). Pencil credits originally given to: "Arthur Peddy?" |
| Reprinted | in Justice Society of America 100-Page Super Spectacular, No. 1, 1975 Issue (DC, 2000 series) #nn; in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #11 |
| Synopsis | Contains facts about music. |
| Genre | Fact |
| Notes | This filler was NOT in the Archive. |
| Characters | Green Lantern [Alan Scott]; Wonder Woman [Earth-2]; Flash [Jay Garrick]; Black Canary; Atom [Al Pratt]; Hawkman [Carter Hall]; Dr. Mid-Nite (all as the Justice Society of America/JSA); The Key [Earth-2] (villain) |
| Synopsis | When Green Lantern and the others arrive back at the now deserted Civic City Arena, only Black Canary is there to meet them. She tells the other members that, after they left for overseas, the rest began to explore the set they built for the crime recreation, and discovered the phony cellar door actually now led to a real cellar, where they found the footprints of the four missing detectives. As the Atom noted that the prints were fresshly made, he, Black Canary and Hawkman were attacked by members of the Turtleneck Gang, whom they made short work of. Figuring that one of the four detectives must be the Key in disguise, they resumed the search for the four missing men, discovering first a button from Harry Wan, then Hakim's identity card, and finally the monogramed hankerchief of Inspector Durand. Black Canary was sent back to the arena to meet with the other members when they returned from overseas, then Hawkman radioed all to come a running to a small town ten miles north of Civic City...a place called Secaucus. It was there they found a huge mansion....and the pipe of Drew Dawes. Confused as to who the Key really is, they enter the house and find the four detectives around a table in a trance. Suddenly, an image appears on a large screen in the room....Drew Dawes, who quickly unmasks and reveals himself as the Key! He tells the JSA that the four men are under his hypnotic gas, and,as they turn, they see them now holding guns on the JSA members! The men are quickly disarmed, thus bringing them out of their trance, and the JSA realizes that it was all a ploy to allow the Key to escape. They rush to the roof to see the Key aboard a cable car, whooshing across to a hill on the other side. The Key fires a machine gun at them, but Wonder Woman deflects the bullets and then the Atom grabs the cable, yanking the car back towards them. The Key then jumps 1000' to the floor of the valley to his death. Later, the JSA receives a giant silver key with a note of thanks to them from the four detectives. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | John Broome |
| Pencils | Arthur F. Peddy |
| Inks | Bernard Sachs |
| Colors | ? |
| Reprinted | in Justice Society of America 100-Page Super Spectacular, No. 1, 1975 Issue (DC, 2000 series) #nn; in All Star Comics Archives (DC, 1991 series) #11 |
| Genre | Fact |
| Pencils | Martin Naydel |
| Inks | Martin Naydel |
| Notes | This filler was NOT in the Archive. |
| Letters | typeset |
| Characters | Johnny Peril |
| Genre | fantasy |
| Pencils | Joe Kubert |
| Inks | Joe Kubert |
| Notes | This story was NOT reprinted in the Archives. |