Story title: "The Clock Strikes (Part 3)"
Cover Date: February 1937
By: George Brenner
This is our first entry from 1937 (at least according to the cover dates)! Remember though, that doesn't mean we're done with 1936, since this is not a publishing order, but still, that's some nice progress. Anyhow, let's see how this bad boy continues.
After the "fight" from the previous issue (and whatever happened afterward), The Clock is phoning the police (sadly not the band) to tell them about the two criminals he's tied up so they can get them. I guess anonymous tips weren't a thing back then, because then the police ask for the identity of the caller, and this is his reply:
Little Red Riding Hood? More like Little Black Paper Towel... Sorry.
Wait a minute, something about this whole thing doesn't seem right... Oh right! The Clock told the police he had two bank robbers tied up, but there were three of them... The third one is the killer, so I guess he has different plans for him...
Apparently, the dead guy's brother has received a call from The Clock about a present: His brother's killer.
I'm guessing his "crying hulk" would be something like the 1930s equivalent of his "sorry ass", but It's a lot funnier to think that what the guy is going to find at his doorstep is this:
As if he doesn't have enough with a murdered brother already.
Anyway, the criminal protests, The Clock doesn't listen and before taking off he leaves his calling card so that the police won't accuse anyone else of his vigilante antics.
At least that's more considerate than the average masked hero, but probably not very helpful. I mean, it's not like there's a name in there, anyone could be "The Clock"...
Also, how do those things work? Are the hands movable? Does he carry like a hundred and fifty of those and shifts through them every time until he gets to the right setting? Does he carry just one and hopes nobody pays too much attention to the time? Does he carry a pencil to draw the hands every time?
Whatever, that's the end of the story, so let's see the ratings, but before, remember you can read this story here. It starts on page six.
Quality/Enjoyment: 3/5
Still pretty bland and not much happened, but I'll give it an extra point because character development. We already knew The Clock has an... alternative idea of justice. The dude owns a fucking torture chamber for crying out loud. Here, he shows that again, choosing to hand out the murderer to the victim's brother instead of the police. Similarly to the first story, when he gave out the money Robin Hood-style, this shows he clearly cares more about doing the right thing than about helping the law. I can respect that, even though I think his methods might be a bit too brutal.
Historical/Cultural/Narrative Significance: 1/5
Aight, that's it for now. Next time we'll see how this story ends (although, again, it could've ended here) so until then thanks for reading, and have a nice rest of your day!
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