Buster Crabbe #9

When Buster Crabbe and his sidekick Whiskers stumble upon a hidden tunnel while investigating the mysterious green fireballs plaguing the Arizona desert, they're transported to an alien base hidden in the Andes Mountains and come face-to-face with reptilian invaders from the planet Kakukik. Imprisoned alongside Zina, a space scout from the United Planets of the Universe, the trio must find a way to escape with a stolen spacecraft before the aliens can execute their plan to conquer Earth.

Buster Crabbe and Whiskers get caught up in a crooked fight promotion when an aging comeback fighter named Joe Olson finds himself matched against heavyweight champion Boston Bill Buckley in "The Big Fight." What starts as a scheme to use Olson as a stepping stone for a young prospect goes sideways when the old warrior pulls off an unexpected upset, turning the tables on everyone involved. Now Olson's got his shot at the title—and Buster's determined to help his friend train for what could be his last real chance.

Whiskers claims he's responsible for cactus needles—and he's determined to prove it by recounting his battle with the tiny, green Tee-Nee-Wee-Nees, miniature Native Americans who made the desert uninhabitable with their arrows and dirty tricks. Unable to defeat them on his own, Whiskers devises a creative solution involving an unexpected animal ally, leading to the unlikely explanation for how the southwest's cactus country earned its prickly reputation.