Modern Comics Vol 1 98

"Blackhawk: "The Tunnel of Death"": The adjacent nations of Huanec and Galardo collaborate on a tunneling project, through the extremely steep mountains that separate their countries, but construction is thwarted by an inner stratum of rock that defies their efforts to pierce it, so they

Modern Comics #98 is an issue of the series Modern Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1950.

Synopsis for Blackhawk: "The Tunnel of Death"

The adjacent nations of Huanec and Galardo collaborate on a tunneling project, through the extremely steep mountains that separate their countries, but construction is thwarted by an inner stratum of rock that defies their efforts to pierce it, so they call in the Blackhawk Squadron for help. Using a powerful new explosive invented by Chop Chop, the Blackhawks are able to penetrate this rock. The tunnel laborers from Huanec have got some superstitious and xenophobic doubts about the wisdom of this project anyway, and there's some trouble, after which the Blackhawks are in charge of the project, and doing almost all of the work.

Blackhawk gets head-konked and kidnapped by some robed hooded torch-carriers, and it turns out that a big part of the mountain range is hollow, and illuminated by secret openings in the mountain valleys above. The hollow mountain contains a lake, surrounding an island, with three large golden step-pyramids on it. The long-vanished people who built all this were the ancestors of the Huanec and Galardo peoples. One of the main mining engineers in charge of the tunnel project, is secretly leading a gang getting ready to loot these structures, and some of the mutinous laborers are in it with them. Blackhawk is rescued by the timely intervention of his team, who blast their way through the triply-hard rock and fisticuff their way thru a riotous melee. The ringleader, Maztla, is caught and exposed and arrested.

And at length, the tunnel is completed, commerce and diplomacy begin between Galardo and Huanec.

Appearing in Blackhawk: "The Tunnel of Death"

Featured Characters:

• Blackhawk Squadron
  • Andre
  • Blackhawk
  • Chop Chop
  • Chuck Wilson
  • Hans Hendrickson
  • Olaf
  • Stanislaus

Antagonists:

• Maztla, of Huanec, Associate Engineer

Other Characters:

• Ralgo, of Galardo, Chief Engineer

Locations:

• South America
  • Huanec
  • Galardo

Items:

• Chop Chop's new "Blackhawk Explosive" formula

Vehicles:

• one Blackhawk Lockheed F90B (First appearance)
  

Synopsis for Torchy: "The Haunted House Gig"

Appearing in Torchy: "The Haunted House Gig"

Featured Characters:

• Torchy Todd

Supporting Characters:

• Tess Parker
• Ed Tracy
  

Synopsis for Ezra: "Moore's Ceiling Crashes"

Appearing in Ezra: "Moore's Ceiling Crashes"

Featured Characters:

• Ezra Jones
  

Synopsis for Will Bragg: "Bragg the Hypnotist"

Appearing in Will Bragg: "Bragg the Hypnotist"

Featured Characters:

• Will Bragg

Notes

• Blackhawk:
  • This is the first appearance of one of the team's Lockheed XF-90 fighter jets. Only one is shown in this story, and only in the last two panels. These Blackhawk Jets will last until the end of the series.
  • Huanec and Galardo are separated by a towering mountain range. Their location is even more ambiguous than most Quality Universe nations; the step pyramids under the hollow mountains could just as easily be Mesopotamian as Meso-American, and the giant statues look Egyptian. Wherever it is, it's an extremely important archaeological discovery plus a fortune in solid gold statues and precious gems. None of this is ever mentioned again.
  • The League of Democracies sent the Blackhawks to Huanec.
  • Blackhawk gets head-konked unconscious for the fortieth time,^[1] with a small rock. Being a Blackhawk is dangerous.
• Also featured in this issue of Modern Comics was "Blackhawk's Luck" (text story, featuring Blackhawk)

See Also

• Cover gallery for the Modern Comics series
• Images from Modern Comics Vol 1 98

Links and References

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