All-Star Comics #19

In this 1943 mystery from All-Star Comics #19, the Justice Society finds itself scattered when Hawkman vanishes—only for hawks to deliver strange fragments of sheet music, each bearing a single note. As the heroes gather at a silent country house, Wonder Woman’s instinctive play of one note triggers a hidden mechanism in the piano, revealing a hammer and a cryptic clue with a name and address. With the trail just beginning, each hero takes a note and sets out on a separate path, chasing a mystery written in music.

In "The Crimes Set to Music!!! Chapter 1," Starman investigates a cryptic clue about a fiddle, arriving just as thugs try to destroy a Stradivarius violin belonging to young musician Mark Nelson. With the instrument saved and the attackers subdued, Starman waits for Nelson’s return—only to face the thugs again, this time with the full force of justice. With the mystery deepening, Starman heads to West Boulevard, where Hawkman may be waiting.

In this lighthearted 1943 adventure from All-Star Comics #19, Johnny Thunder finds himself on a bus full of crooks—unaware they’re planning to kidnap Charles Norris—only to blurt out his secret while boasting about protecting the man. As the thugs trick him into a distraction, Johnny’s quick thinking and the magic words summon the Thunderbolt just in time to foil the kidnapping. With Norris safe, the duo sets off to find Hawkman, proving that even a little luck and a big mouth can make a difference.

In "The Crimes Set to Music!!! Chapter 3," Dr. Fate races to meet Arturo Carasa, determined to protect him from a silent threat that’s stealing voices. When gas fills the room and both men lose their ability to speak, they must rely on writing and music to uncover the truth—Carasa’s singing, paired with a record, finally exposes the hidden criminals.

In a 1943 mystery that blends science and suspense, the Atom takes on a case where a young woman faces execution after her fingerprints are found at a crime scene. With a keen eye for detail, he traces a hidden clue to stolen hand molds, leading him on a clever chase that tests his detective instincts. As he closes in on the truth, the case unravels in unexpected ways—before he even reaches West Boulevard to meet Hawkman.

In "The Crimes Set to Music!!! Chapter 5," pianist Theodor Koronski is haunted by a chilling dream of losing his fingers—only to face a real threat when a blade descends from above his piano. With Sandman and his son Sandy on the scene, the duo races to uncover who would target a musician in such a brutal way, even as a new wave of thugs attacks, setting up a trap that brings them down in a flash. The mystery deepens as the heroes prepare to track down Hawkman, leaving the next move in suspense.

In "The Crimes Set to Music!!! Chapter 6," Dr. Mid-Nite races to rescue composer Loring Merkeroff after the maestro is abducted during a tense confrontation. With the composer vanished and a cryptic clue hidden in sheet music, the Man of Night follows the trail through a shadowed, music-filled mystery—only to find Merkeroff in the clutches of a surgeon intent on silencing him forever. As the night unfolds, Dr. Mid-Nite takes up the composer’s cause, dismantling the threat and setting off toward West Boulevard to find Hawkman.

In ancient Peking, a bell-caster betrayed by royalty is sealed inside his own creation, cursing the bell with his dying breath. Centuries later, the bell’s fragments are re-cast into a set of carillon bells owned by Armand Baulaire, who grows uneasy when he learns of the old curse. When ghostly figures appear at his home, claiming to be bound by the bell’s dark legacy, the Spectre arrives to uncover the truth—only to find the haunting may be less supernatural and more a matter of history and deception.

In "The Crimes Set to Music!!! Conclusion," Jo and her fellow musicians from decades past confront the lingering bitterness of Hector Bauer, a once-promising composer now consumed by resentment. When the JSA intervenes at his West Boulevard home, they free Hawkman, who steps in to share the haunting tale of ambition, memory, and the price of artistic failure.

In "The Crimes Set to Music!!! Chapter 8," Hawkman and Shiera investigate a threatening figure at a music academy opening, where a man's glare turns deadly—just as Hawk stops an assassination attempt on soloist Charles Norris. After being trapped by a mysterious spray that petrifies his skin, Hawkman uses a clever ruse, writing urgent messages to the JSA with ink and leaves summoned by his hawk allies, all while waiting for the villain’s antidote to wear off.