| Chapter 4: | Sicilian Folklore and American Comics |
Hate Projector but needs to rally the worms of the world to direct their united hatred against Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel naturally defeats the army of worms by creating a rainstorm forcing the worms to scatter rather than keeping them in one location for concentrated hate power. He humiliates Mr. Mind by taking him to jail in an empty can of tomatoes. Of course, I didn’t know as a child that I was reading comics that years later were considered Golden Age comics and would become prized collectibles. In 2000 a copy of “Captain America” no. 1 sold for $265,000.
Cartoon characters were popular on radio adventure programs in the early forties. My favorite was Terry and the Pirates. I would first hear the sound of a gong. Then cymbals and coolies jabbering. Then the announcer would say, “Terrreee and the Pirates! Quaker Puffed Wheat Sparkies present Terry and the Pirates.” In 1943 Terry Lee and Pat Ryan join forces with the Dragon Lady to destroy a Japanese supply depot under the control of a Nazi. This was almost as exciting as a comic book story I read in which Superman defeats a Nazi named Fange who controlled serpents he had discovered in the Atlantic Ocean!
Like comic book superheroes my friends and I had more than one name each. My name was Salvatore but I was known as Sammy, Sal, Sally and during my obese period Sammy Fat. Louie was Jap. Johnny was Jew Boy. Joe was Corky. At times some of the guys did dangerous things like Maxie Spick climbing the outside of his tenement for three stories. Were we trying to emulate superheroes? Maxie’s father was an avid collector of