Sexton Blake Bibliography: 1952

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Notes: With Captain Saturn's men hunting them, Sexton Blake and Tinker escape through a tunnel in the mountains and emerge on a ledge overlooking a lake. With the villains in hot pursuit, they have no choice but to dive into the water far below. Blake dives but Tinker is winged by a bullet and captured before he can follow. Saturn forces him to 'walk the plank' over a ravine, trying to force out of him the location of the hidden diamonds. This interrogation is interrupted when a plane full of armed men flies overhead. Paratroopers descend and begin attacking Saturn's stronghold.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

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Notes: Tinker shoots the control panel of the machine to which Sexton Blake is strapped. Its clamps spring open and Blake jumps free. He and Tinker overpower the opposition and race into a lift which takes them to Vogel's laboratory. Here they find meteorological balloons which they use to escape.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

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Notes: Blake and Tinker question the wild looking man. He proves to be an English scientist named Brownlow who escaped from Vogel years ago and has been living in the mountains ever since. He leads them to a flooded tunnel through which they re-enter the city. It emerges in Vogel's conference room and they overhear him telling his prisoners that they must finish their work within ten days. He will then issue an ultimatum to the world: submit to his will or be bombarded by atomic missiles! After the scientists are dismissed, Blake approaches their leader, Professor Dean, and begins to question him. However, he is interrupted by the approach of a squadron of Valendites.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

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Notes: Sexton Blake, Tinker, Professor Dean and Brownlow escape from the Valendite guards and hide out in a mountain cave. Blake decides that they must sabotage Vogel's power plants and launch sites. He and Tinker return to the City of Doom but Vogel has set a trap and they are overcome by gas. When they attempt to escape, Vogel holds a gun to Tinker's head and threatens to kill him if Blake takes another step.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

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Notes: Sexton Blake and Tinker hang from the side of the ledge as the Valendite car passes by overhead. Having escaped the enemy's attention, they wait until nightfall then sneak into the City of Doom to free the slaves. Unfortunately they are spotted and have to flee. They take shelter with the slaves and hatch an escape plan. In the dark, one by one, the guards are overpowered by the slaves. In the meantime, Blake and Tinker head for the laboratory ... but run straight into a sentry!

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Tinker overpowers the man guarding the laboratory and Sexton Blake gathers the captive scientists and leads them to two mountain cars, carrying with them certain items of equipment. After picking up Professor Dean and Brownlow, they continue on until they reach a mountaintop lake. As Vogel prepares to fire his first rocket, Blake & Co dynamite the side of the lake, sending the waters crashing down onto the City of Doom. The Valendite race is destroyed.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: On the River Thames, under cover of darkness, a motor-boat slides alongside the S.S. Lavonia and a gang of thieves climb aboard. They are led by a hooded figure known as The Otter, who guides their operation to steal £3,000 of cargo. The next morning, the head of the shipping company — Sir James Verner — calls Sexton Blake. The detective says he'll set a trap for The Otter ... little suspecting that his conversation is overheard by one of the criminal's spies.

Trivia: This serial was reprinted in KNOCKOUT from 27th May 1961 to 5th August 1961 under the title PETE MADDEN AND THE RIVER PIRATES with Sexton Blake's name changed to Pete Madden and Tinker's changed to Steve.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Sir James Verner introduces Sexton Blake to his clerk, Simon Wade, who, unknown to him, is The Otter. The detective explains his plans for a trap he intends to set for the river gang. That night, the villain tells his men about the trap. Several days later a cargo ship arrives with a rumoured cargo of gold bullion. The Otter, though, knows that it is, in fact, holding Sexton Blake and a force of policemen. His men don diving suits and afix limpet mines to the ship's hull.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: The Otter's men plant limpet mines along the keel of the Fairway. Aboard the ship, Sexton Blake spots one of them and dives into the river to tackle him. Overpowering the diver, the detective drags him onto the ship and unmasks him. The frogman reacts with terror, warning that the ship will blow up at any moment.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Heeding the frogman's warning, Sexton Blake leads the crew off the ship as fast as possible. They are only just in time; behind them, the Fairway explodes. Amid the chaos, the frogman escapes and steals a motorcycle. Tinker leaps onto a bike and races after him.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: After a thrilling pursuit, Tinker follows the crook into a blind alley only to find that his quarry has vanished. Suddenly, he is surrounded by thugs, captured and led to the Otter. Meanwhile, Sexton Blake mobilises the police to search for his missing assistant.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: The police search for The Otter's gang but find no sign of them. Next morning, Blake reports to Sir James Verner and is informed that the exiled king of Batana is shipping his crown jewels to London. The detective arranges for a torpedo boat to meet the King's vessel at the mouth of the Thames to escort it to the docks. Unfortunately, Verner's clerk, Simon Wade, who is actually The Otter, overhears this plan. Meanwhile, Tinker is imprisoned in a cellar the window of which overlooks the criminals' secret harbour. He hears the gang chief inform his men that the jewels are their next target. As the thieves head off in a boat, the young detective tricks his guard and makes an attempt to escape. The guard pulls a knife on him.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Tinker overpowers the guard and escapes on a motorbike. He races to Baker Street and tells Sexton Blake of The Otter's plane. The detective arranges to be taken aboard a Navy torpedo boat, which then sails to the mouth of the Thames to intercept The Otter.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Aboard the Navy torpedo boat, Sexton Blake and Tinker motor into the Thames Estuary where they find that visibility is hampered by a thick mist. Meanwhile, The Otter and his men spot the treasure ship — The Batania — and fire a shot across its bows. Boarding the vessel, they begin to loot it but are interrupted when Blake's boat approaches. They flee with the Navy boat in hot pursuit.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

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Notes: The Otter returns to his hideout and learns of Tinker's escape. He orders his henchmen to leave the hideaway at once, as the police are bound to raid it. However, his orders come too late and a pitched battle breaks out as the police begin to round up the crooks. Suspecting that some of the gang might try to escape over the rooftops, Blake and Tinker climb up. They find themselves face to face with The Otter.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

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Notes: In a jewellery store in Sydney, Australia, the famous Korsky Diamonds are examined by Boldini who, in London, is known as 'The King of Diamonds'. Suddenly, two men throw gas bombs. Beneath the cover of the thick smoke, Boldini steals the gems and passes them to the men. He then lays on the floor and pretends to be a victim of the gas. The two thieves make a quick getaway. Sexton Blake and Tinker, who have just finished a job for the Australian government, visit the chief of police and are told about the robbery. Meanwhile, Boldini meets with Myers, a mechanic who's in charge of the speedway bikes driven by Britain's top racer, Lennie Lane. Myers agrees to smuggle the diamonds to England by hiding them in the frame of one of the bikes.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake and Tinker introduce themselves to Lennie Lane and promise to watch him race when they all arrive back in England. Meanwhile, Myers hides the stolen diamonds in the frame of one of Lennie's motorbikes. Six weeks later, Lennie arrives in Britain and meets his manager, Mick Dolan. The bikes are loaded onto a train and two of Boldini's henchment grab the opportunity to retrieve the gems. However, while unpacking the bike, they are interrupted by Lennie. They make a quick getaway. After two more such attempts, Lennie visits Sexton Blake, who promises to investigate. After a race meeting, the detective follows Lennie and sees a lorry run the young racer off the road. Thugs jump from the lorry to grab the bikes.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake and Tinker tackle the gang but find themselves held at gunpoint. Fortunately, at that moment, a lorry-load of soldiers happens upon the scene and the crooks make a hasty getaway. Blake questions Lennie about the attacks but the young speedway racer has no idea why they are occurring. The next day, at the race, Lennie is nowhere to be seen. Blake instructs Tinker to take his place but this plan is overheard by one of the gang, a racer named Bart. He is told to drive Tinker off the track.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Bart drives Tinker off the speedway track, causing him to crash. As medics and Sexton Blake run to him, Blake notices the diamonds in the wrecked bike's twisted frame. Tinker is helped out of the stadium to be taken to hospital but, as he and Blake exit, one of the gang members — a man named Maretti — kidnaps Tinker. The next day Blake receives a note informing him that his assistant will die unless the diamonds are handed over.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake calls in Scotland Yard to help him identify Tinker's kidnapper. Tracing Maretti to his hideaway, Blake and a squadron of men launch an attack and capture the criminal and his gang, including Boldini.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: This is a short story rather than a comic strip. Encouraged by his neighbour, Tom Berne, old Seth Gaunt has formed an obsessive interest in flying saucers and the idea that aliens might land. Believing that such an event would throw the world into chaos, he withdraws his life savings from the bank. The bank's manager expresses his concern to Sexton Blake, who promises to visit Gaunt. That night, a fireball lands near Gaunt's cottage and a humanoid figure dressed in a strange space suit enters his home. It fires flames at the telephone and departs, taking with it a box containing the old man's money. Blake and Tinker arrive and begin to investigate. Blake smells a fraud and exposes the criminal behind the supposed alien visitor.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Notes: This is a short story rather than a comic strip. Professor Bellows calls on Sexton Blake and warns him that a quantity of atomic clay has just been stolen and that it is so unstable that it could detonate at any time, taking with it a square mile of the city. The detective is able to piece together a description of the thief from clues left behind and tracks him to the very crowded Baker Street underground station and onto a tube train. The thief gets off at the next stop and, as he leaves the station, realises that he's being followed. In trying to evade Blake, he fails to notice Tinker, and the two detectives are able to capture him.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

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Notes: This is a short story rather than a comic strip. The Chief Postmaster of Brightling asks Sexton Blake to investigate a spate of recent robberies from midnight mail trains. In each instance, a mailman named Ward has been on duty in the mail coach, which is cut off from the rest of the train's passengers. This particular night, a packet of jewels is being transported. Blake says that he will travel as a passenger and insists that Ward be assigned to guard duty. That night, aboard the train, the detective keeps watch on the mail coach and notices when a ventilator in the carriage's roof is removed. A steel hoop, with the packet of jewels attached, is passed up throught the hole and is caught by a man waiting on a bridge. Blake jumps from the train and races back to the bridge where he tackles and captures the crook. Ward is arrested when the train arrives at its destination.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Notes: This is a short story rather than a comic strip. Sexton Blake arrives at a factory for the new Puma 200 car and meets with Sir Richard Hale who is afraid that his plans for a new engine will be stolen. Bastin, his servant, has reported seeing strangers in the grounds. Sir Richard opens a safe to show Blake the plans but discovers that they have already vanished. Blake begins his investigation and pieces together various clues. He asks to see the workshop and, on the way, passes a Puma 200 parked in the yard which suddenly speeds away; a shadowy figure at the wheel. Blake leaps into another car and gives chase. The thief races to the airfield and jumps into a waiting plane but, as it takes off, Blake rams its tail. The crook is caught and his identity revealed.

Trivia: The car in which the thief makes his getaway is, at one point, described as a 'grey panther'. This, of course, is the name of Blake's own car (though it rarely gets mentioned during this phase of the detective's long career).

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Notes: This is a short story rather than a comic strip. Inspector Wales from Scotland Yard telephones Sexton Blake to inform him that the Marsham necklace has been stolen. The burglar, Chancey Walford, had been spotted, chased and caught by the police but when he was searched the necklace was not found in his possession, so they had to let him go. The phone rings again and Blake hears a whispering female voice pleading for him to come to the Fawn Waxworks Museum. After warning that there is danger, the caller disconnects. Blake and Tinker race to the museum and find it unlocked. They enter and discover a girl hiding in a cupboard — she is Peggy Fawn, the curator's daughter and she insists that there is an intruder somewhere in the building. Blake searches the place and unsettles Chancey Walford, who's hiding among the dummy figures. The crook grabs Peggy and holds a knife to her throat. Blake blends in with the exhibits while Tinker, impersonating the detective's voice, distracts Walford. Blake strikes — and the criminal is captured. It turns out that he had hidden the stolen necklace in the waxworks.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

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Notes: Rumours circulate that there is a prehistoric monster in Loch Kyle. Soon after, a series of robberies occur in musuems and libraries. Sexton Blake is called to Blagdon Hall near Loch Kyle where Sir James Blagoon fears that a valuable painting he owns is going to be stolen. That night, while Blake and Tinker stand watch, the attempt is made but foiled when Blake recognises that his host is an impostor. He chases the crook but the man gets away, though Tinker remains on his trail. The real Sir James is found imprisoned in the cellar. Blake deduces that the crook is the man responsible for the other robberies. Tinker follows the man and sees him row to an island on Loch Kyle. Blake catches up with his assistant and they take a boat to the island but the villain seems to have vanished. Blake falls through a pot-hole into a room where he's knocked out by crooks and tied up. Tinker finds his way to him and loosens the bonds before leaving to fetch the police. The leader of the gang arrives in a midget submarine — the source of the monster stories — and orders an evacuation of the island, after which he will sink the vessel with Blake aboard. However, the detective slips out of his bonds, overpowers the gang and takes control of the submarine.

This was reprinted in THE GIANT HOLIDAY ADVENTURE COMIC ALBUM (1989).

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

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Notes: Story features Lady Emily Westomholme.

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Notes: From the very first chapter, this story runs into a political correctness problem for the modern reader. Sexton Blake and Tinker are dispatched to the small Eastern European state of Litonia to recover a rag-doll in which information vital to international peace is secreted. The doll is what used to be called a 'golliwog'; with a black face, big white eyes and a stripy costume. Golliwogs were once a common toy — they were even used as the logo on a well-known brand of jam — but they disappeared during the early 1980s after being deemed racially offensive. So all the way through this story, it is difficult not to feel uneasy whenever the doll is mentioned (which is frequently). But that aside, the story is a real surprise. This is Sexton Blake in a kind of 'proto-James Bond' guise. Arriving in Litonia, he and Tinker split up to search for Don Bailey, an Englishman who unwittingly found himself in possession of the doll while onboard a flight home. His plane was shot out of the sky and he had to parachute to safety. This scene gives the excuse for the completely misleading title. The 'space' referred to is simply the night sky. Bailey is sheltered by a resourceful and courageous woman named Sonia, a freedom fighter in a country suffering under a cruel regime. Here's where the story really impresses with its descriptions of checkpoints, secret police, interrogations and constant requests for identification papers. The sense of oppression and paranoia is palpable and only increases as the action hots up. Blake and Tinker are really up against it. This isn't the place for deductions made from the comfort of their Baker Street rooms. It's an undercover operation calling for quick wits, razor-sharp reactions and the willingness to shoot first and ask questions later. Sexton Blake is determined and disciplined; his personality swinging between harshness when dealing with the enemy to concern and respect when witnessing the struggles of Litonia's persecuted population. He moves through a well-constructed tale that hits the ground running and builds up speed and tension as it races to an explosive finale. There are fist fights and machine gun battles, a thrilling car chase (with fighter planes joining the pursuit) and a shockingly nasty torture scene that rivals those found in the James Bond series. All four heroic characters — Blake, Tinker, Sonia and Bailey — suffer badly, with our main protagonists both taking bullets. In fact, by the final pages, they are practically dead on their feet. One slight criticism: the death of the main villain is reported by Blake after the event rather than being described as it happens. This is a big mistake. It's a general rule that readers don't want to be told that the bad guy is dead and everything is okay now ... they want to see him get killed. When the secret hidden in the golliwog is finally revealed, it turns out to be a threat that will feel horribly familiar to modern-day readers. It's just one of the many elements of THE MAN FROM SPACE that make it seem remarkably modern.

Rating: ★★★★★ Amazing stuff. A vivid and thrilling story that stands head and shoulders above many of its contemporary tales.

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Notes: This is one of those stories where the title seems totally irrelevant to the plot. It begins when a warehouse belonging to a firm owned by business tycoon Erik Raven is burned to the ground. Far from being an accident, the blaze is part of an insurance scam. Sexton Blake is hired to investigate and quickly deduces that Brenda Harringan, the niece of an American millionaire, might be in danger. She is staying with Raven and his associate, Madame Lydia Sarony, until her uncle arrives. Tinker befriends Brenda and, through her, meets Raven but his position as Sexton Blake's assistant is exposed by Dunton, the man who had organised the warehouse fire. Noting that Dunton is losing his nerve now that Blake is on the case, Madame Sarony recommends that he is dealt with. She also reveals that she has taken a down-and-out acrobat named Dan Meadows under her wing because his startling resemblance to Erik Raven may prove useful. Blake causes immediate problems by slowing down the insurance claim. With their plans disrupted, Raven and Sarony fly to France where they intend to meet with Brenda's uncle and swindle him out of a fortune. Blake and Tinker follow and witness Raven meeting Sarony and Brenda for lunch ... but unknown to them, it isn't Raven at all but Dan Meadows, who has been trained to impersonate the tycoon. The real Raven, in disguise, slips back to England and murders Dunton. Blake realises that he's been fooled into providing an alibi for the villain and sends Tinker to find out who the impersonator might be. Meanwhile, the man in question is having doubts of his own. Meadows realises that he has been caught up in illegal activities and starts to question his employers. But the situation is worse than he thinks; his next job will end in the apparent death of 'Erik Raven', enabling the real man to escape into rich obscurity. But things don't go quite to plan. Meadows survives the pre-arranged car crash and is taken to Raven's chateau where he is to be given a lethal injection. Helped to escape by Brenda, the couple barricade themselves into one of the building's towers. The villains start a fire in it but Meadows performs a daring high-wire walk, carrying Brenda to safety just as Blake arrives. Raven and Sarony flee but crash at high speed and are killed.

Trivia: This shouldn't be confused with CALLING — WHITEHALL 1212 (THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 3rd series, issue 52) by Anthony Parsons, which is an entirely different Sexton Blake novel.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

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Notes: Story features Lady Emily Westomholme.

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