PULP HEROES – THE MOON MAN: STORIES 25-27

I’m continuing my look at Frederick C Davis’ pulp hero the Moon Man. In reality police detective Stephen Thatcher, the Moon Man stalked the night-darkened streets of fictional Great City clad in his black costume and his helmet made of one-way Argus glass. Armed with an automatic pistol plus limitless courage and ingenuity the Moon Man captured or killed Great City’s most dangerous criminals –  both white collar and blue collar – and robbed them of their ill-gotten booty. He would then distribute that money to the city’s Great Depression-ravaged poor. All this made him hunted by both the crooks AND the cops. For more on the Moon Man and other neglected pulp heroes click here: https://glitternight.com/pulp-heroes/

25. THE DIAL OF DOOM – This tale opens with the Moon Man pulling off a robbery of a crooked traveling carnival that has been fleecing the good citizens of Great City. Through an unfortunate twist of fate the cops, led by our hero’s most determined pursuer, Lt Gil McEwen, learn where the Moon Man and his sidekick Angel have stashed their latest loot while fleeing the police.

With a police stakeout around the safe containing the hidden booty our heroes must somehow recover the cash for the suffering poor of the city without getting caught by the  surrounding cops AND recover it before a search warrant can be delivered authorizing the police to open the Moon Man’s safe. Naturally they succeed, with a little covert help from Stephen Thatcher’s fiancee, Sue McEwen, the daughter of Lt Gil McEwen.

26. THE BLEEDING SKELETON – This story introduces another supervillain for the Moon Man in the form of the Skeleton, who wears an all-white costume with a skull helmet-mask. When the story opens the Skeleton has been committing robberies for months, defying the efforts of the cops and our hero to capture him. The Skeleton makes away with thousands of dollars after robbing a regimental ball at a local military base. The Moon Man counters this move by robbing the Skeleton of these funds himself. The villain is no slouch either and ambushes our hero and his sidekick Angel at their new secret lair. This battle is interrupted by the arriving cops, who were called by a neighbor who spotted the Skeleton in the area.

The Moon Man, Angel AND the Skeleton all escape the police and the next day the Moon Man’s latest foe plants an open letter in all the newspapers vowing to help the police catch our hero. What follows is a thrilling game of urban chess as the two figures stalk each other while stalked by the cops in turn. Things get even more exciting when the Moon Man and the Skeleton compete to pull off a robbery of Martin & King’s, the largest department store in Great City. In the end the Skeleton is finished and not only does the Moon Man get the Martin & King’s loot but also the hidden cache of $50,000 (in 1930’s money) from the Skeleton’s entire crime spree.

27. THE MASKED SCOURGE – The Moon Man raids the lair of a fence named Nick Graube, only to find the  man has just killed himself, leaving behind a note attributing the act to his guilt over a life of crime. Arriving witnesses see the Moon Man over Graube’s corpse and our hero is publicly accused of cold- blooded murder. A crook named Jaxen pocketed the suicide note and plans to exchange it for the Moon Man’s promise of letting him commit crimes with impunity.

The double- dealing Jaxen is simultaneously working with the cops to lure the Moon Man into a trap in exchange for a pardon for all the crimes he’s already committed. Jaxen’s plans are thwarted and the suicide note is made public, clearing our hero of the charge of murdering an unarmed man.  

MORE MOON MAN STORIES COMING SOON

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.