DCRO 21- Funny Pages (1936) #6 [J Story]

Story title: "The Clock Strikes (Part 1)" 

Cover Date: November 1936

By: George Brenner

DCRO Entry

So, today, a new magazine. Funny Pages is one of the many magazines The Clock appeared in, but beyond that, there's not much of interest for us, except for maybe one or two more obscure characters that we'll meet later on. 

The story starts with a couple of gangsters (Slick and Butch) who have just finished robbing a bank. One of them is firing away with little to no respect for human life. The other one kind of tries to stop him but ends up agreeing with him when the whole witness argument appears. So they kill a random man who was just standing there and they speed off.

Poor man, must be rough not seeing any "tails".

Then, I'm having a little trouble understanding this 1930s slang, but I guess they throw the car to the sea?

I'm not sure what it being "too hot" means though.

Anyway, they get to what I guess is their hideout (apparently by foot), and "Butch" claims there aren't any "bulls" around. So I guess this story is from the time the police employed bovines huh? Brutal stuff.

Later, they are celebrating, talking about splitting, and boasting about their misdoings (you know, just Gangster Stufftm), when The Clock walks in!

"Striking just on time" huh? I guess that's why he calls himself The Clock. Kind of a weak motif if you ask me. Especially because he did not "strike just on time". I mean, at least one person has died so far so... yeah. Maybe it will get some development later on.

Anyway, that's the end of this part.

Seems like the series is leading on to some answers about the titular character, but something tells me we are not getting them soon. At least it acknowledges the questions the reader might have.

Also, you can read this issue here. This story starts on page 29.

Now, the ratings:

Quality/Enjoyment: 2/5

Still not a disaster but pretty bad. It was a little too short, and it ended before it really started. Kind of like some of the parts of "The Invisible Empire". Also, the story itself is as generic and bland as it gets. The only thing that could give this series some spice is, in my opinion, The Clock himself, but he was barely present in this part.

Historical/Cultural/Narrative Significance: 1/5

Well, that's it for now, this story still has three more parts to go, so there's some room for improvement I guess. But for now, thanks for reading and have a nice rest of your day!