VENGEANCE SQUAD #6

“Case# 0006 The Diamond Queen!”

Writer: Joe Gill

Artist: Pete Morisi

The Vengeance Squad is driving to their next assignment along the Aegean coast. They are attacked by a jet fighter and abandon their car. Luckily, they are such excellent shots they manage to bring down the fighter with their pistols. The pilot parachutes to a waiting boat. The squad continues to an island of The Diamond Queen. A woman that has over $30 million in diamonds. Mrs. Otokopoulos has hired the squad to protect her guests for an evening dinner. Redd finds a bug in their rooms and immediately knows something is up.

When the dinner comes the squad pretend to eat which is good thing. For the criminals have drugged the food. The squad pretends to be asleep so as not to have any innocent guests killed. The criminals steal millions and take Candy Orr as a hostage. Redd and Tulsa find a helicopter and take off after the stolen yacht named The Diamond Queen. Redd figures out the helicopter was booby trapped and lands just before it explodes. Then getting on a passing fishing boat they continue their pursuit. The criminals scuttle the yacht and take a car to the airport. Redd and Tulsa climb a cliff and with the help of Candy overpower the guards. Redd drives the car into the airplane destroying it. They refuse the reward money because they have no time to spend it.

“The Big Pigeon”

Writer: Unknown

The Vengeance Squad is watching the testimony of Barneby Brighton a mob bookkeeper. He is going to reveal the identity of Mr. Big. The squad has a feeling something will happen to Brighton and go to watch over him. Good thing because they find out Brighton is Mr. Big and was trying to escape.

“Gangwar”

Writer: Nicola Cuti

Artist: Joe Staton

A big mobster gets killed with a bomb in his birthday cake. Another case that Mauser can’t solve due to a gangster’s death. Mauser has also hired a new secretary. A part time exotic dancer whose typing is bad and her coffee is worse. She is also a karate expert who wants to be a policewoman. Mauser goes to visit his police detective friend and after meets a man. They have a drink and he finds out that his daughter was killed by drug use. This man is the vigilante and shoots Mauser with a tranquilizing dart. He takes him back to his office and makes a call to a mobster. Mauser figures out this was a ruse to lead him from the real target. He goes to this other mobster and saves him while shooting the vigilante.

The final issue was a real fun one. We have the Vengeance squad take out a jet fighter with pistols. How did someone get a jet fighter and use it without anyone seeing in a highly monitored airspace? Don’t Know. Yet it was a fun goofy story filled with action. The prose story also was an interesting read.

Finally, the Mauser story was the best one I read so far. In some cases, the backup outshone the main story in this series. Mauser rescues an evil mobster from a vigilante who lost his daughter. A man who does what is right even though he doesn’t feel it. You can feel it in his final words to the mobster when he asks what he can do for him. He replies, Give me a good reason to push you off this roof.” You can tell he is very conflicted by the decisions he made.

This series was a short lived one as most of Joe Gill’s endeavors I read from Charlton. Yet they were a fun if corny read from a much simpler time.

VENGEANCE SQUAD #5

“Case# 0005 Death is Driving!”

Writer: Joe Gill

Artist: Pete Morisi

The Vengeance Squad are parachuting into southern France. They are there to take out a heroin lab located in a chateau. Armed with Thompson submachineguns and grenades they take out a Maxim firing at them. Then Tulsa slugs the leader who is wearing a mask with a cape and cowl. This pussy just runs away and detonates the chateau. The squad has a limo waiting for them after this that takes them to Monte Carlo.

Once checked into a premium hotel they get down to tracking the elusive leader of the heroin operation. They throw around money and buy sports cars with cash while bragging about how they took out the heroin lab. The car salesman is observed by Candy at the beach telling a shady man. This man Marco Poleau is a suspected criminal. Later that day Poleau tries to run Redd off the highway but gets run off instead. So then Poleau kidnaps Candy and takes her to his yacht. Only Candy manages to escape and set off the bomb trap and destroy the yacht. Now Poleau has to race Redd in the Grand Prix. A race that sees Poleau die after crashing over the cliff.

“The Frame”

Writer: Nicola Cuti

Artist: Joe Staton

Mauser has just hired a secretary at his sister insistence. He hires Bambi a blonde bimbo with a heavy New York accent. She also can’t type or take dictation which is fine with Mauser. He hates a know it all. Mauser gets an assignment from Stu Canfield who runs a collection agency. A painting for $50 needs to be collected on a deadbeat. Mauser has an easy time collecting the painting which is stolen by a thug while walking through the streets. Mauser gives chase and hears the sound of three silenced pistol shots. He finds the thug shot dead. Mauser takes the picture and throws away the frame.

At the office he calls Stu and finds out that the frame is also worth a lot of money and has to go get it. Only he finds it missing and thinks that Bambi is the one who took it. She was the only one he told where the frame was and she immediately had to go take care of a sick mother. He goes to her apartment and finds Stu there. Bambi tried to steal the gems in the frame and Mauser is forced to shoot Stu. Bambi insists she was of course framed.

“Rule of Fear”

Writer: Unknown

Candy Orr goes to a shopping mall and rescues a woman being mugged. She offers to teach her and her friends some self defense moves. Later she finds out that they successfully fought off muggers.

Another fun issue. This was a Modern reprint which first introduced me to the series. It has this creepy guy who wears a goofy mask and cape. I love how Redd manages to shoot a grenade out of the air and explode it with his Thompson. These guys just have tons of money. They have a limo waiting to pick them up after a mission. They pay cash for two sports cars. Vengeance is good business. Of course Redd is so committed to getting the bad guys he has no time to rest in Monte Carlo. They have a new mission at the end.

The Mauser story was exceptional this issue. He gets a bimbo secretary who is working against him. Mauser will take anything even a job to collect a $50 painting. I suppose $50 was a lot back in the seventies. Ends with a great pun.

Finally the prose story was an enjoyable one. Candy Orr beats up some punks and teaches the local ladies to defend themselves. All around a fun and enjoyable issue.

VENGEANCE SQUAD #4

“Case #0004 Satana’s Paradise!”

Writer: Joe Gill

Artist: Pete Morisi

The Vengeance Squad get a call from Princess Alexa. She is a wealthy widow of a Greek prince who is also known as Satana. This is because she never ages. They squad goes to her yacht and she offers Redd one million dollars to kill her rival. This rival called The Vulture is also a guest of Satana. Yet it won’t be easy to kill the Vulture because he has a nuclear armed airplane that will nuke the island they are going to if he doesn’t periodically broadcast a signal.

The squad arrives on Satana’s island and finds that it was a trap. The Vulture is working with Satana and they need Candy Orr. Satana has a process that hypnotizes and transfers her mind to another subject. She does this to Candy but Redd tells the hypnotized Candy he loves her. This snaps Candy back and they take out The Vulture. They escape before the island is nuked. Although Redd refuses to admit if he really meant his confession of love.

“Cement Galoshes”

Writer: Unknown

Michael Mauser is in an alley at night. He was hired to find out if a husband was cheating on his wife. While there he comes on Big Al Chiptoe a mob hitman dumping a body into the bay wearing cement galoshes. Al sees Mauser and knocks him out. Mauser comes to and finds he now wears cement galoshes and is about to be dumped into the bay. Mauser knocks Al into the bay where he drowns because he can’t swim.

“To Be Frank”

Writer: Nicola Cuti

Artist: Joe Staton

Bunny is in a loveless marriage to Frank. She is having an affair with his twin brother Ben. They plan to kill Frank tomorrow when Bunny goes duck hunting with him. So the next morning she shoots him and dumps the body into the lake. She comes back to her apartment and finds Mauser there. He was hired by Ben to investigate five years of Frank’s life they didn’t know anything about. Ben was going to take over Frank’s life. Mauser found out that Frank was in a mental institute. Seems he has a split personality and Ben was that other personality. So Bunny ended up killing both Ben and Frank.

Man was this an awesome issue. The first has this evil woman who can transfer her mind to younger women which is how she stayed so young all these years. Also some guy has in his possession his own private nuke. Joe Gill really knows how to tell a kooky story.

The two Michael Mauser stories were also very well done. The first is a prose story that doesn’t credit anyone but I suspect it is Cuti since he created the character and it seems his style. The second story was a really interesting one. A neat twist that she was having an affair with the split personality of her husband. Mauser only show up at the end but ends up solving the whole crime. A really enjoyable issue.

VENGEANCE SQUAD #3

“Case# 0003 The Octopus!”

Writer: Joe Gill

Artist: Pete Morisi

Candy Orr has gone back to visit her parents in Midland City, Michigan. She finds the place has really gone to Hell. She is mugged in front of her parent’s home. Candy can obviously take care of a punk mugger. Yet the police don’t show up and she finds out the city is now under the control of a notorious criminal. Leo Mench known as the Octopus because his tentacles are everywhere has kidnapped the mayor’s wife to keep him in line. Candy calls her Vengeance Squad teammates and they come out to help. After shooting a car that tried to kill them then beating up the thugs that are watching Candy, they get down to business. They go to Mench’s country club and steal his money and papers. Then they start a war to destroy the criminal activities while Redd goes to the state attorney general. They eventually manage to provoke Mench to try and kill them. They in the end kill him and free the town of his rule.

“The Understudy”

Writer: Nicola Cuti

Artist: Joe Staton

Mauser has been hired by an actress named Hildy who claims her ex-husband is trying to kill her. A trap door opens on stage and she almost falls through. While investigating he meets the writer Paul and the understudy Connie. Connie is the younger sister and they tell him that the ex-husband just recently died when he got drunk and fell into a river. They haven’t told Hildy so it wouldn’t upset her. Mauser decides to trap the suspect by having Connie take over the role from Hildy. During the performance Mauser finds the prop gun backstage. A shot rings out but instead of Connie getting killed as scripted, the actor that was Hildy’s boyfriend is killed. They planned to have Connie get killed so Hildy could get her inheritance and blame it on her ex. Only the writer changed the script because he loved Connie.

Another fun issue from this old series. It reads like your typical TV series plot. Seems that criminals were always taking over small-town America. I love the Vengeance Squad and how they operate. Aren’t bound by legality so they can usually take out the criminal scum.

As for Mauser it was another enjoyable story. A very convoluted plot that still was easy to follow and made sense in its own goofy way. They knew how to make fun comics back in the day.

VENGEANCE SQUAD #2

‘Case# 0002 The Informer!”

Writer: Joe Gill

Artist: Pete Morisi

A former enforcer for the Syndicate is testifying before the Senate. Suddenly he refuses to testify and the Vengeance Squad figures out why. The Syndicate has his daughter. Redd investigates and finds out a Syndicate plane left D.C. for Nassau. So the squad goes to Miami and Redd gets an old friend to take him to the Syndicate’s private island. There he beats up some guards and almost rescues the daughter. Korlov the leader of the Syndicate had knock out gas in her room and now has captured Redd. Luckily Candy and Tulsa are posing as lost tourists on a sailboat. The Syndicate patrol stops to rob them but instead get knocked out. With the captured boat they make it to the island and infiltrate the hotel. Redd also manages to escape and kill Korlov before he machineguns his friends.

“The Hostage”

Writer: Unknown

Marvin Bidwell and his wife are driving from Omaha to Kearney to visit his daughter. They come on a motorcycle by the side of the road. Stopping they are soon taken prisoner by two robbers. They demand more money and Bidwell tells them he has $750 at a nearby cabin. Only this is a ruse and he gets the drop on the two robbers.

“The Hit”

Writer: Nicola Cuti

Artist: Joe Staton

Mauser is cleaning his Mauser when Gravestone Eddie the hitman for the mob arrives. Gravestone needs Mauser to find a man by the name of Doyle. He threatens Mauser then leaves for another assignment. Mauser knows Doyle as an undercover cop and figures out Mason is the one who hired Gravestone. So he goes to the mansion and breaks in. In the files he finds the proof that he put out the hit on Doyle and also himself. Mauser is discovered but escapes. Mason recognizes him and goes to his office. At his office he finds Gravestone waiting for him. Mauser shouts a warning to Doyle when a figure comes to the door. Gravestone shoots him but finds out it is Mason. Mason’s guards then take out Gravestone. Gravestone ends up with a tombstone reading “Gravestone Eddie lies in the land all because he shot the wrong man.”

The second issue was another fun read. Redd and his crew have this convoluted plan to rescue a daughter of a mob informer. Its wacky but does make sense and fun to read. They even throw in a lion for Redd to battle. Of course he uses a drugged knife to knock it out. Redd saves the day and gets to kiss the hot blonde daughter.

There is another one page prose story. Yes it is a bit hokey but has a charm to it. They were writing for kids forty-five years ago. Finally the Michael Mauser story was just excellent. Yes there are holes of logic you can drive a truck through. Like the trusting nature of Gravestone. Why Mauser bothered with breaking into Mason’s mansion. Yet it all came together and Gravestone gets an appropriate gravestone.

VENGEANCE SQUAD #1

“Tycoon for the Taking”

Writer: Joe Gill

Artist: Frank Bolle

Eric Redd was a treasury agent who got framed and sent to prison. When he got out six years later he had a hatred for crime. So he formed his own private security firm. His two partners are Candy Orr a former policewoman and Tulsa Coyle. Tulsa a former Vietnam vet loves Candy Orr but also loves violence most. Together they form the Vengeance Squad. We first meet them breaking up a jewelry store robbery. They have to toss a grenade into a safe that the criminals throw. Later they go home to their mansion. The new neighbors are Manfried Von Wolfheim a weapons dealer and his beautiful wife Michele. One night Rubio Rodriguez an international jewel thief and his thugs take the Von Wolfheim’s prisoner. He wants $70,000,000 for their safe release. The squad sees this and sends Candy in to pretend she is a friend. Only Rubio gets suspicious and locks her up. Now the two guys go in and kick butt. They free the Von Wolfheims and get a hefty reward of $100,000.

“A Little Homework”

Writer: Unknown.

A short story about rookie cop Bill Davis. Davis is disgusted by the local thugs that act with impunity. So with his policewoman girlfriend they disguise themselves as old people and draw the thugs out. When they try to mug them, they beat them up and arrest them.

“The Inheritance”

Writer: Nicola Cuti

Artist: Joe Staton

Mike Mauser is a private eye that carries a Mauser pistol. One day a guy claiming to be an attorney is looking for a Jenny Whitcomb. She has inherited $50,000. He offers $200 a day so Mauser accepts. Mauser first goes to a seedy bar and gets someone to beat the information out of the bartender. This leads Mauser to find Whitcomb as a singer in a dive club. Mauser soon finds out that the guy who hired him was a bank robber. Whitcomb is the only witness and he wants to kill her. The guy was following Mauser and traps them in an alley with a submachinegun. Only Mauser gets on a fire escape and ambushes him.

This was a short lived series back in the seventies. Another fun Joe Gill story of this group of former agents now in business for themselves. This was a fun time when men were men and women were women. Candy Orr is just as capable as the men and they have these over the top adventures. Didn’t see much vengeance going on unless I guess you consider that Redd is getting vengeance against crime for ruining his life.

The backup story is a typical noir crime story. Complete with a trench coat and fedora wearing private eye. Carries a Mauser which is just a cool name and pistol. I am not a big fan of the genre but love these stories. In some ways it outshines the main one. Rounds out with a one page prose story. I love these old Charlton comics. Just good clean fun.