Big Shot #71

In "null," two boys, Casey and Max, dream big by building an airplane from scrap, only to crash it into the dirt. Joe Palooka, ever the generous spirit, buys them a small train to cheer them up, but their troubles aren’t over—Knobby Walsh gets caught with someone else’s rail tickets, and Joe later finds a quiet meadow in ruins, where a single rabbit once startled him.

In the parched town of Appledale, inventor Pat Pending and scientist Doc Static team up to harness the power of a cosmic ray machine in a desperate bid to bring rain. When Slap Happy’s accidental button push sends Sparky Watts soaring through the clouds, the unexpected journey sparks a storm that might just save the drought-stricken land.

In the silent vastness of the moon, Skyman awakens to find himself stranded between two strangers: Gloria Van Dorn, a striking redhead with a past, and Kurt, a ruthless Nazi with a stolen ship in his sights. With reporter Alec Benson and Fawn Carroll hidden aboard, the fragile alliance between enemies begins to crack as the rocket’s engines sputter and fail—leaving them all adrift in the dark.

In a quiet moment of escape, Brass flees a little girl’s request to meet her aunt Ginger—only to find himself aided by a striking redhead at an ice cream cart. When he later tries to win her with flowers and candy, he hesitates upon seeing rivals who seem to have it all—looks, strength, and money. But Ginger has her own mind, and she’s the one who runs after him.

In this quiet 1946 tale from Big Shot #71, Cran—ever the curious sort—finds himself unexpectedly tangled in the nets of a new beam trawler, emerging with a fishy scent to match his surprise. When a little girl struggles to catch anything with gumdrop bait, Cran steps in with a helping hand, turning a simple moment on the dock into something unexpectedly kind.

In "null," confined to bed with the measles, Lee listens as Charlie Chan recounts the chilling case of the lottery murders—a string of killings orchestrated by a killer who selected his victims by drawing names from a hat, each slip marking a life to be taken.

In "null," radio star Liz Doyle and her pilot, Tony Doyle, find themselves in a perilous flight over the Burile Islands when their plane is ambushed by communist fighters marked with the red star. The Jabo Jockeys intervene, turning the sky into a battleground as they defend the duo from the attack. Back on the ground, General Bailey commends the pilots for their courage—despite the escalating tensions their actions have sparked.