{"id":30298,"date":"2024-08-06T13:45:48","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T13:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=30298"},"modified":"2024-08-06T13:45:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T13:45:48","slug":"the-detective-chimp-casebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/08\/06\/the-detective-chimp-casebook\/","title":{"rendered":"The Detective Chimp Casebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy John Broome<\/strong>, Mike Tiefenbacher<\/strong>, Carmine Infantino<\/strong>, Irwin Hasen<\/strong>, Alex Kotzky<\/strong>, Gil Kane<\/strong>, Joe Giella<\/strong>, Sy Barry<\/strong>, Bernard Sachs<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-7795-2165-1 (HB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced during less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Detective stories are a literary subgenre wherein an investigation by amateur or professional (active or retired) into a legal transgression or moral\/social injustice plays out before the consumer, who may or may not include themselves in the process. Like exploration and adventuring, fantasy, horror and science fiction, Detective stories blossomed in white western societies during the mid-19th<\/sup> century: spreading from magazines and prose novels to later forms of entertainment media such as plays, films and radio shows, with early crime puzzle solvers including C. Auguste Dupin<\/strong>, Judge Dee\/Di Gong An<\/strong>, Sherlock Holmes<\/strong>, Jules Maigret<\/strong>, Father Brown<\/strong>, Lord Peter Wimsey<\/strong>, Sexton Blake<\/strong> and Hercule Poirot<\/strong>. Tales targeting youngsters generated their own sleuthing stars: Nancy Drew<\/strong>, The Hardy Boys<\/strong> and more, sparking a subgenre especially popular on television\u2026<\/p>\n

Comic strips developed detective stalwarts like Hawkshaw<\/strong>, Dick Tracy<\/strong>, Charlie Chan<\/strong>, Kerry Drake<\/strong> ad infinitum: all contributing to a tidal wave of fictive crimebusters that in many ways inspired true literary legends – Philip Marlow<\/strong>, Sam Spade<\/strong>, Simon Templar<\/strong>, Mike Hammer<\/strong> and so on. Where there is such variety and richness, strange yet rewarding things may blossom, none more rewarding than those seen in graphic narratives. Gathered here is the original, seminal comics lunacy in the hirsute form of Detective Chimp<\/strong>: a Florida-based do-gooder who – thanks to an extremely unconventional official lawman – became assistant sheriff of a major coastal metropolis.<\/p>\n

In later years, wit and whimsey fell prey to the all-consuming fan-drive for rationality and reason (at least in comic book science terms) and both the police primate and his comic book host Rex the Wonder Dog<\/strong> were given origins rationalising and explaining their mighty mentalities. You can see the first hint of that at the end of this compilation which gathers the madcap monkeyshines of an ape answering to Bobo<\/em>, as first seen in The Adventures of Rex The Wonder Dog<\/strong> #4 and thereafter #6-46, plus a canny codicil from\u00a0 DC Comics Presents<\/strong> #35: spanning July 1952 to September\/October 1959 and including a moment of animal magic from July 1981. Also in here is material from DC Special<\/strong> #1, Helmet of Fate: Detective Chimp <\/strong>#1, Tarzan<\/strong> #231, 234 & 235, Amazing World of DC Comics<\/strong> #1 and Who\u2019s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe <\/strong>#6. And while we\u2019re at it, let\u2019s get one thing straight: I know and you know chimpanzees are APES. The author(s) did too, but to have more fun and engage euphony I – as they did – reserve the right to use many terms associated with both primates and prosimians throughout\u2026<\/p>\n

We now pause for me to pontificate some more\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Boasting a March 1937 cover-date, Detective Comics<\/strong> #1 was the third and final anthology title devised by luckless comics pioneer Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. In 1935, the entrepreneur had seen the potential in Max Gaines\u2019 new invention – the Comic Book – and reacted quickly, conceiving and releasing packages of all-new strips in New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine<\/strong> and follow-up New Fun\/New Adventure<\/strong> (ultimately Adventure Comics<\/strong>) under the banner of National Allied Publications. These publications differed from similar prototype comics magazines which simply reprinted edited collations culled from established newspaper strips. However, these vanguard titles were as varied and undirected in content as any newspaper funnies page.<\/p>\n

Detective Comics<\/strong> was different. Specialising solely in tales of crime and crimebusters, the initial roster included (amongst others) adventurer Speed Saunders<\/em>, Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise<\/em>, Gumshoe Gus<\/em> and two series by a couple of kids from Cleveland named Siegel & Shuster – espionage agent Bart Regan<\/em> and two-fisted shamus Slam Bradley<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

Within two years the commercially inept and unseasoned Wheeler-Nicholson had been forced out by his more savvy business partners, and his company eventually grew into monolithic DC <\/strong>(for Detective Comics) Comics<\/strong>. Surviving a myriad of changes and temporary shifts of identity and aims, it\u2019s still with us – albeit primarily as a vehicle for the breakthrough character who debuted in the 27th<\/sup> issue\u2026<\/p>\n

In the years when superheroes were in retreat and considered a bit foolish, DC concentrated on genre stars. At the end of 1951 they launched Rex the Wonder Dog<\/strong> (#1 cover-dated January\/February 1952), based equally on Rin Tin Tin<\/strong>, Lassie<\/strong> and their own miracle mutt Streak<\/strong> – the original Green Lantern<\/strong>\u2019s dog who had ousted Alan Scott<\/em> and Co. from his own title in the dying days of the Golden Age.<\/p>\n

Rex solved crimes, saved lives in disasters, fought dinosaurs and saved the world, but that wasn\u2019t enough and real-world legal restrictions dictated his title required other strips to qualify for favourable postal shipping rates. In #4 (July\/August 1952), a future back-up feature was trialled. Written by John Broome, drawn by Carmine Infantino and inked by Sy Barry, the tale of a little chimp who helped solve the murder of his beloved owner captivated readers. Infantino always claimed this hirsute anthropoid crimebuster was his favourite character\u2026<\/p>\n

In The Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog<\/strong> #4 readers were invited to \u2018Meet Detective Chimp!\u2019<\/em> in a charming comedy thriller. It was the first outing of undeniably captivating comics lunacy revealing how, when Oscaloosa Florida\u2019s Sheriff <\/em>Chase <\/em>snared the killer of prominent businessman and owner of Thorpe Animal Farm, it was only with the valiant and uncanny help of a certain young chimp. He consequently adopts and deputises the beast, with Bobo <\/em>thereafter acting as assistant sheriff right up until the final issue. The hairy savant also enjoyed a revival at the end of the century and fresh fame in the 21st<\/sup> as new generations of creators and fans rediscovered him…<\/p>\n

Response must have been overwhelming and immediate in 1952, because mere months later \u2018The Return of Detective Chimp!\u2019<\/em> came with #6 (cover-dated November\/December – and remember, this was the company that took 3 years to give The Flash<\/strong> his own title\u2026). Broome again scripted the hirsute Hawkshaw – as he would almost all (I\u2019m presuming: records are sadly incomplete) – in a delightful succession of what we would call \u201cCosy Mysteries\u201d. Infantino was inked by Joe Giella as the chimp – with the aid of an enraged nesting bird – solved a family murder, restored a sabotaged will and settled a family inheritance in a wild romp setting the pattern for years to come…<\/p>\n

Illustrated by Alex (The Sandman<\/strong>, Plastic Man<\/strong>) Kotzky, #7 settled in for the long haul and exposed \u2018Monkeyshines at the Wax Museum!\u2019<\/em>, with Bobo catching the killer of amiable murder-enthusiast Len Billings<\/em>, after which Irwin (Green Lantern<\/strong>, Wildcat<\/strong>, Justice Society of America<\/strong>, Dondi<\/strong>) Hasen & Giella highlighted how \u2018Death Walks the High Wire!\u2019<\/em> as the savvy simian proved a circus trapeze accident was anything but, even deputising some four-legged performers to bring the assassin to justice…<\/p>\n

For RtWD <\/strong>#9 (May\/June 1953), Broome, Hasen & Bernard Sachs indulged a passion for sports as Bobo saved his favourite baseball star from kidnappers in \u2018Crime Runs the Bases\u2019<\/em> before uncovering \u2018Monkey Business on the Briny Deep!\u2019<\/em> (Broome, Hasen & Giella, July-August 1953). Here, Bobo became an inveterate but dilettante hobby fanatic, exploring a different fascination each episode which would miraculously impact on the current case. This time it was sea fishing that netted cunning thieves, whilst in #11 it was horses and jockeys, as the impressionable assistant solved \u2018The Riddle of the Riverside Raceway!\u2019 (<\/em>Hasen & Giella): befriending a prize steed, stymying race-fixing gangsters and collaring the FBI\u2019s Most Wanted fugitive…<\/p>\n

Th chimp made and lost a new friend next with Hasen & Giella limning the saga of how \u2018The Million Dollar Gorilla!\u2019 was killed by a big game hunter\u2019s jealous love-rival before Infantino <\/em>(inked by Sy Barry) embraced Bobo\u2019s new love of Westerns in #13\u2019s \u2018<\/em>The Case of the Runaway Ostrich!\u2019<\/em>. This hobby afforded the hairy half-pint much opportunity to display his roping and riding skills when corralling a rare bird rustler…<\/p>\n

In RtWD <\/strong>#14 (March\/April 1954, with art by Hasen & Sachs) Bobo became a Flying Fool addicted to aircraft just in time to stumble over \u2018Murder in the Blue Yonder!\u2019<\/em> and catch the killer of his flight instructor, after which Infantino settled in for the long haul as his favourite character became a lifeguard and solved \u2018<\/em>The Case of the Fishy Alibi!\u2019, wherein a gambler almost pulls off the perfect crime. <\/em>For #16 Bobo\u2019s new passion for scuba diving\/ spearfishing exposes a millionaire\u2019s murderer in \u2018Monkey Sees, Monkey Does!\u2019<\/em> Two months later Bobo cracked \u2018The Case of the Suspicious Signature!\u2019<\/em> (September\/October 1954) when his new passion for autograph collecting accidentally lands him in a Hollywood star\u2019s kidnapping…<\/p>\n

When Chase starts paying his deputy in cash as well as room-&-board and bananas, Bobo goes ape over finance with \u2018<\/em>The Case of Bobo\u2019s Bankbook!\u2019<\/em> leaving him in the right place at the right time to foil a big heist, prior to succumbing to more basic fascination in #19\u2019s \u2018See No Evil, Hear No Evil!\u2019<\/em> Bobo falls for visiting movie star Moka<\/em> and takes up bodybuilding to impress her, but it proves no help at all when \u201cThe Most Famous Female Chimpanzee in the World\u201d is kidnapped and he needs all his old skills to save the day…<\/p>\n

With Sy Barry inking Infantino, \u2018Detective Bobo… Chimp-Napped!\u2019<\/em> sees the deputy abducted when his circus chums hit town again, just in time to thwart a jewel snatch, after which #21\u2019s \u2018The Secret of the \u2018Indian\u2019 Monkey!<\/em>\u2019 offers opportunity for dressing up when a historical pageant uncovers a treasure map and draws thieves like flies. In #22\u2019s topical tale – inked by Giella – the chimp goes ape for sci fi stories yet still foils a cunning robbery scheme after \u2018Bobo Rides a Flying Saucer!\u2019<\/em> RtWD <\/strong>#23 saw Sheriff Chase\u2019s only hobby – stamp collecting – key to solving \u2018The Secret of the Spanish Castle!\u2019<\/em> as a misdelivered letter inadvertently draws the lawgivers into a robbery\/hostage situation, whilst Bobo\u2019s temporary love of railways is the spur for \u2018The Mystery of the Silver Bullet!\u2019<\/em> when locomotive driver Mike Layton<\/em> allows the chimp onto the footplate just as hijackers attack…<\/p>\n

A dalliance with firefighting in #25 proves \u2018Where There\u2019s Smoke – There\u2019s Trouble!\u2019<\/em> as Bobo joins the Junior Forest Rangers just when a couple of thieves trying to hide their loot in the woods start throwing lighted cigarettes around, and #26 sees the simian Sherlock take up Egyptology in time to solve \u2018The Mystery of the Missing Mummy!\u2019 <\/em>(Giella inks) and save Chase from being entombed forever…<\/p>\n

After months of eating premium-promotion cereal, the eager ape at last opens the pack containing \u2018A Whistle for Bobo!\u2019<\/em> and subsequently drives everyone crazy as an impromptu traffic cop… until one car packed with brigands and boodle refuses to stop. Then a string of robberies by the Goliath Gang<\/em> again sees him seeking to build up his physique by using \u2018Bobo\u2019s Amazing Jungle Gym!\u2019<\/em> That turns into bad news for the bandits…
\n\"\"
\nBroome & Infantino transformed Detective Chimp into \u2018The Scientific Crook-Catcher!\u2019<\/em> (#29 September\/October 1956) when the savvy simian sneaks into a symposium of savants disguised as human professor and wowing the assembled savants by tracking down quick-change disguise artist Larry the Lynx<\/em>, after which a duel with a jewel thief and rendezvous with a robbing raven presents \u2018A Jailbird for Bobo!\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

The special deputy met his match in a gang of boy do-gooders in \u2018Clue of the Secret Seven!\u2019<\/em> but even collaboratively collaring a brace of escaped convicts was no preparation for tackling the maritime \u2018Mystery of the Talking Fish!\u2019<\/em> (#32) after returning to diving to hunt for sunken treasure. When Bobo\u2019s friend Alice Rogers <\/em>– inheritor of the animal farm in the first adventure – needs a favour, the detective is more than happy to be companion to her new albino Guereza monkey. However, when it vanishes, Bobo attempts to impersonate a creature he has never seen, whilst seeking to find \u2018The Mystery Monkey from Zanzibar!\u2019<\/em> leads to the capture of its opportunistic abductors instead…<\/p>\n

Infantino tested a range of stylistic innovations on Detective Chimp and excels in #34\u2019s \u2018<\/em>The Case of the Chimpanzee\u2019s Camera!\u2019<\/em> when Bobo takes up photography and snaps a trio of paranoid thieves casing their next caper, whilst \u2018Bobo\u2019s New York Adventure!\u2019<\/em> sees the little ape in the Big Apple, pinch-hitting for a monkey TV star and stumbling into Oscaloosa\u2019s Most Wanted: murderous jewel thief \u201cDangerous Jack\u201d Diamond<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Giella inks in #36 as \u2018The Mystery of the Missing Missile!\u2019<\/em> sees Bobo and Secret Seven pal Tommy Wheeler<\/em> stymie thieves and test a new invention before the chimp takes a vacation in human guise and unearths \u2018The Treasure of Thunder Island!\u2019<\/em> In #38 he catches canny counterfeiters whilst accidentally debunking the theories of a scientist who believes he can make animals talk in \u2018The Amazing Experiment of Professor Snodgrass!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

For the next case \u2018Bobo Goes to Sheriff\u2019s School!\u2019 <\/em>as Chase sends the assistant in his place to a detection and criminology seminar. It disturbs the chimp\u2019s latest passion of collecting marbles but the substitution works out okay as the chimp outshines all human attendees and even catches a couple of robbers along the way, after which \u2018Bobo the Baby Sitter!\u2019<\/em> recovers escaped circus star Kangy<\/em> (the Boxing \u2019Roo) and nabs a brace of thieving fugitives prior to becoming \u2018Bobo – Sleuth on Skis!\u2019<\/em> when freak weather turns Oscaloosa into a snowcapped winter playground for thieves…<\/p>\n

Giella inks a road rage riot in #42 as hot-rod fanatic Bobo drives a kiddie stock car for the Secret Seven in a big meet, becoming \u2018Demon of the Speedways!\u2019<\/em> after his new invention allows him to pip all rivals at the post. This attracts the unwanted attention of a gang boss in need of\u00a0 super-fast getaway car, but does not end well for him…<\/p>\n

Keen on being a model citizen, Bobo resolves to \u2018Stop That Litterbug!\u2019<\/em> in #43, accidentally intercepting a scrap of paper worth millions to the desperate men who lost it, before Giella\u2019s last inking hurrah confirms \u2018Where There\u2019s Smoke – There\u2019s Bobo!\u2019<\/em> as the ape\u2019s drive to be a fireman almost costs him his real job – until he encounters crooks at a fire – after which a logical outcome of Bobo\u2019s career comes to pass in penultimate episode \u2018<\/em>The Case of the Monkey Witness!\u2019 <\/em>Here the anthropoid must testify against crime boss Legs Dunne<\/em>, with the mobster\u2019s gang seeking to end him before the trial begins…<\/p>\n

Bobo\u2019s last case came in #46 as he joins a Little League team and becomes \u2018The Chimp-Champ of Baseball!\u2019 <\/em>(September\/October 1959), all while preventing a pair of crooks escaping custody.
\n\"\"
\nAnd that was that…<\/p>\n

To make room for resurgent superheroes, The Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog <\/strong>folded with that issue and – other than an occasional reprint – Bobo vanished for years. The covers of most of those re-appearances are displayed at the back of this book and are listed there, but before that one last story falls under the aegis of this pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths<\/strong> collection.<\/p>\n

DC Comics Presents <\/strong>had an occasional back-up series offering short tales of lost stars and in #35 (July 1981) Mike Tiefenbacher & Gil Kane (who had drawn the majority of exploits starring Bobo\u2019s canine companion) revealed \u2018Whatever Became of Rex the Wonder Dog?\u2019<\/em> Here the canine marvel teamed with now-ancient and decrepit ape Bobo to solve one last mystery, inadvertently restoring themselves to youthful health and vitality for another round of action adventures…<\/p>\n

The collection closes with gallery of images under the umbrella of \u2018The Ape Files\u2019<\/em> which include the 1969 cover to DC Special<\/strong> #1 (an \u201cAll-Infantino Issue\u201d), those for Joe Kubert\u2019s covers for Tarzan<\/strong> #231, 234, 235 (which carried Bobo reprints) and Amazing World of DC Comics<\/strong> #1: another Infantino mega montage. Brian Bolland\u2019s preliminary pencil art for Helmet of Fate: Detective Chimp <\/strong>#1 is augmented by the finished full-colour piece before all the ape antics end with Infantino & Bill Wray\u2019s page on Bobo from Who\u2019s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe <\/strong>#6, a brief biography \u2018About the Ape\u2019<\/em> and similar treatment for creators Broome and Infantino.<\/p>\n

In this century an ape solving crimes is less of a sure-fire winner – as many other hirsute DC gumshoes could attest – and Detective Chimp speaks many human tongues, consults with Batman<\/strong> and works with Shadowpact<\/strong> and for Justice League Dark<\/strong>: a far different beast operating on less charming levels. However, if you\u2019re looking for daft laughs, sublime wit and astounding artwork, this is a book worth casing…
\n\u00a9 1952, 1952, 1952, 1952, 1952, 1952, 1952, 1952, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1985, 2007, 2023 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Broome, Mike Tiefenbacher, Carmine Infantino, Irwin Hasen, Alex Kotzky, Gil Kane, Joe Giella, Sy Barry, Bernard Sachs & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-7795-2165-1 (HB\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced during less enlightened times. Detective stories are a literary subgenre wherein an investigation by amateur or professional (active or retired) into a … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Detective Chimp Casebook”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[280,351,113,75,76,125,225,127,111,210,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animal-antics","category-apes-monkeys","category-comedy","category-crime-comics","category-dc-superhero","category-humour","category-mystery","category-nostalgia","category-satirepolitics","category-sport","category-tarzan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7SG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30298"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30304,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30298\/revisions\/30304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}