THE YELLOW SCOURGE (not toenail fungus)
From June 1934, this was the third in the OPERATOR# 5 books, and while it's not quite as apocalyptic as the series later became, it's still a pretty wild ride. (The early books were by Frederick C. Davis under the house name Curtis Steele. Wow, those house names were manly and clean-cut.. .Curtis Steele, Maxwell Grant, Grant Stockbridge, Brett Sterling, Max Brand, Jackson Cole..not a Percy Dovetonsils among them.)
The main thing that stands out about OPERATOR# 5 is that in other pulp adventures, the hero would manage at the last second to save the White House from being blown up or actual war breaking out or a volcano being made to erupt under Los Angeles. Not with this series. Right from the start, mass destruction was the rule and it got more out of hand as the issues continued. In a few years, the US would actually be invaded, first by the Purple Empire and then by the Yellow hordes; cities were
levelled, casualties were in the hundreds of thousands, and America (as well as Canada and Mexico) suffered what (in the real world) Europe and Asia would sadly experience within the next decade. It's startling stuff that still packs a jolt, and in 1934 when the fear of impending war was heavy on everyone's mind, OPERATOR# 5 must have been an unnerving magazine to read each month.
Our hero is Jimmy Christopher, a young guy still in his early twenties who comes from a family of espionage agents. Like Nick Carter and Doc Savage, Jimmy grew up being trained in the business and as a result is the top agent for the 'American Intelligence Service'. He is an anonymous figure, his identity and work known to only a few, and apparently this is his entire life. Jimmy Christopher is a standard pulp hero. Brave, resourceful, quick thinking, tough in a fight and almost impossible to kill, he also is something of a cipher. The guy has little personality, no distinctive way of speaking or mannerisms, nothing to distinguish him from any other top spy.
Well, there is one thing. Once or twice in each story, even while the nation is in flames and violent death is near, Jimmy pauses to demonstrate a magic trick to his young sidekick Tim Donovan. What The Hell. He explains how the trick was done to Tim's awed admiration, and then the carnage starts up again. This is about as bizarre as if Operator# 5 dressed in women's clothes whenever he wasn't on assignment and the narrative never mentioned why. I could see this work as a little
text page in each issue, but as part of the actual story, it's quite a novel touch.
This adventure introduces Diane Elliott, a reporter who will become Jimmy's sweetie. Diane is likeable and inquisitive, and she figures out Jimmy's cover identity as photographer Carleton Victor right away, and quickly becomes so entangled in his affairs that she eventually becomes a full intelligence agent herself. Jimmy actually has a good supporting cast, including his ward Tim, his father (a retired secret agent himself) and his twin sister Nan. There is actually some emotional interplay between these people that was surprisingly touching as they faced immense destruction and impending war.
Even though Los Angeles and San Diego are blitzed and the casualties are enormous, this story is just a hint of how much destruction was in store for this series. Reading it today (after watching the TV news) is a bit unnerving.
One nice note about the 1974 Freeway Press cover is that it was painted by George Gross, who also did the Avenger reprints; it shows a grim, blonde Jimmy in a white turtleneck, and he looks oddly like Steve Holland.(Man! What 1930s pulp hero didn't look like Steve Holand??) But looming ominously behind him is a wonderful rendition of Boris Karloff as he appeared in the 1932 film MASK OF FU MANCHU. A very cool cover.