Young Allies Comics #15
The Corpse of Red River
The Young Allies are escorting a shipment of military supplies aboard a steamboat along the Mississippi River. The group is lamenting to Bucky over how long the trip is taking when they suddenly notice that the river ahead has somehow caught on fire. This forces the Allies to abandon ship before the boat is engulfed in flames. Forced to dive underwater to get to safety, the team barely manages to swim to shore without suffocating. Once there, they determine that the almes were caused by some kind of chemical fire.
While at an abandoned shack nearby a group of Nazi spies are gloating over their victory. Their leader, a man named the Corpse, then reveals to them that he is the great Nazi warrior named Kager who was reportedly dead. He reveals that while his body stopped living his brain survived until it willed his body to once more respond to his commands. Their discussion is interrupted by Toro who had stopped the shack and went to it to see if there was something they can use to put out the river fire. When Toro tries to wrap them up in a circle of flame, the Corpse manages to escape. Toro goes looking for him but has to break off his search in order to help with the blaze.
Back at shore, the Young Allies are struggling to put out the river fire when suddenly the Corpse appears out on the water in a speed boat intending to spread the fire across the length of the Mississippi. When they get close enough to shore the Young Allies dive into the boat, but are quickly strong-armed by the Corpse’s minions. That’s when Toro arrives to help a passing river boat. With the fire still raging out of control he orders the crew below deck and, while protected by his own flames, pilots the ship across the blaze fast enough to prevent it from being destroyed. With the shipment safe, Toro then blazes off to help his friends.
Finding the other Young Allies missing, Toro spots a speeding car and correctly deduces that they have been kidnapped and forces the car to stop. Distracted by Toro, the Nazi spies are ambushed by their own prisoners prompting the Corpse to try and flee once again. With the fire still burning, the Young Allies return to the scene to see what they can do to help. It’s then that Jeff deduces that they could smother the flame with carbon dioxide gas. Learning that there is a supply of the gas at the nearby army lab, the Young Allies rush there to retrieve it. As they are loading it on planes, the Corpse comes out of hiding and takes control of a tank in the hopes of destroying the planes and preventing the Allies from putting out the fire. Using his flame, Toro incapacitates the tank allowing his friends to take off in the plane, but the Corpse escapes yet again. After the Young Allies use the gas to put out the flames, the Corpse tries to make his escape in a speed boat, however a freak tidal wave comes up and washes him overboard. The Young Allies are unable to find a body and presume that the Corpse had drowned and this time he will stay dead for good.
Recurring Characters
Young Allies (Bucky, Toro, Knuckles O’Toole, Jeff Vandergill, Tubby Tinkle, Whitewash Jones), Nazis
The Mad Countess
Tommy Tyme is sitting bored in class during one of his seemingly endless history classes. The teacher asks him to recite the history of Countess Divorko the notorious Balkian figure. Stumped with the request, Tommy uses his Clock of the Ages to travel back in time to the year 1605. He soon finds himself in Slovania and heads to a nearby town. There he discovers that everyone has locked themselves tightly inside. Knocking on a nearby house, the couple inside invite the boy inside. Seeing that they are afraid of something, Tommy learns that the villages children have been abducted in the night and fear for their own lives.
When they explain that they have not bothered to look for their missing children, Tommy convinces them that they have been captured by Countess Divorko and the villagers should rise up against her. His speech works and soon the villagers form a mob and approach the castle. Looking inside they are horrified to learn that the Countess — thinking she is immortal — has been killing the children and bathing in their blood in order to maintain her youth. As the elderly woman is clearly delusional, Tommy leads the villagers in attacking and free the surviving children. After the children are free, the villagers set the castle ablaze. Tommy stays inside with the Countess to ensure that she can’t escape and then returns to his own time when he is satisfied the old crone will burn to death. Returning to his classroom, Tommy tells his teacher the gruesome tale with such accuracy that the teacher remarks that Tommy is talking as though he had seen it himself.
Recurring Characters
Tommy Tyme
The Witch Doctor’s Curse
Outside a gloomy castle near the Hudson River Jim Dane waits for his brother Bob when suddenly he hears Bob screaming from inside the castle. Rushing to his brother’s aid, Jim is too late to stop an apparent witch doctor from murdering his brother. The Witch Doctor chases Bob outside where they happen upon the Young Allies, who are walking home from an outing. Seeing Bob in trouble, the youths jump in to help him but the Witch Doctor escapes into the castle where he seemingly disappears. Bob then tells them that he and his brother Jim had inherited the castle and that their cousin, Brett, had warned them that the building was cursed. Apparently, Bob and Jim’s great-great grandfather was an explorer who discovered a rare ruby in the village of a primitive African tribe. However, when he tried to take the jewel the local witch doctor refused to allow him to do so. Bob’s ancestor then shot the witch doctor in order to take the ruby. The native’s dying words were a curse upon the family, one that would eventually lead to death. When Bob and Jim inherited the family castle, Brett warned them that should they move into the building the curse would begin anew. At the time, Bob and Jim scoffed at the legend as nothing more than superstition. Now that his brother is dead and he has seen the spirit of the Witch Doctor, Bob now believes it to be true.
Still, the Young Allies aren’t completely sold and insist on searching the whole castle in order to learn the truth. As they look, the Witch Doctor reappears and knock out Tubby and Whitewash. Before he can slay Bob, he is chased away by Bucky and the others. In order to ensure his escape, the Witch Doctor takes Tubby and Whitewash hostage before escaping through a trapdoor. This confirms that they are not dealing with an actual ghost and the Young Allies step up their efforts to find the killer, with Toro using his flame to melt through the secret passage way to speed up their search. While the group is split up, the Witch Doctor sneaks up on Jeff and Knuckles and captures them as well. Eventually, Bucky and Toro manage to find their captured friends. While they are trying to free their allies the Witch Doctor tries to kill Bob again by Toro burns the knife out of his hand. Reeling back in pain, the Witch Doctor ends up falling on his own knife, killing himself. With the murderer now dead, Bob unmasks the Witch Doctor and instantly recognizes him as his cousin Brett. As it turned out, Bretty was trying to kill his cousins so he could take the family castle for himself.
Recurring Characters
Young Allies (Bucky, Toro, Knuckles O’Toole, Jeff Vandergill, Tubby Tinkle, Whitewash Jones)
