Speed Savage – “Murder Has The Puck”, Part 2

Hey there. It's been a long time.

So what have you been up to? I'm sorry I didn't call or write, but I had some well, issues, you know? It wasn't you. It was me. And it's all good now. You don't mind if I play a little Barry White while we get re-acquainted, do you? Cause, Big Bad and Dangerous to Love is back and ready to make it up to you. I'm gonna make that painful hurt from waiting so very long with no updates go away with this... My gift to you and only you.

A while back I got it in my head to do a post for every day of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. It was the patriot in me. Sadly, I only made it about halfway.

But I did manage to offer up Part 1 of "Murder Has The Puck", a golden age Canadian comic book adventure by writer/artist Ted Steele from Bell Features starring Speed Savage -- The White Mask!

Feel free to re-read it and get all caught up. Then come on back here and enjoy Part Two at last. Both of these adventures are from the Speed Savage one-shot put out by Bell after the Second World War reprinting a number of Speed's adventures.

Time to bring you up to -- ahem -- speed. Our Canuck golden boy, Speed Savage is a dashing sportsman and all-around magnificent athlete who moonlights as a costumed vigilante known as the White Mask. Speed started out as a pulpy adventurer with a zoot suit, cape, fedora and mask. Eventually he traded in his suit for tights but stuck with twin forty-five automatics to augment his powerful fists. Hey, if it ain't broke don't fix it, right?

Last time out we had two modern takes on Speed Savage's White Mask persona with sketches by current Sweet Tooth and Atom scribe, Jeff Lemire and Scott Hepburn of The Port and Clone Wars.

This time out we have two more awesome variations. The first is Speed's original pulp look by Michael Cherkas, co-creator of The Silent Invasion and Suburban Nightmares with writer Larry Hancock. I added some rough, chunky inks to fill Larry's blacks and sharpen the sketchy image. Sadly, my fuzzy photo of it doesn't do it justice.



Finally, we have sleek version of Speed's later, super-heroic leotard by Jay Stephens, creator of Jet Cat and Tutenstein.


Sigh... Glorious. You can find more of Jay's work here. And while you're at it, check out Jay's new syndicated comic strip with writer Bob Weber Jr., Oh Brother!


Okay. Intermission is over.

In part one of "Murder Has The Puck", Cliff Gordley, star center for the Red Hawks pro hockey team, dies in the middle of a game. as you can imagine, this puts the team's championship hopes on the line until Speed Savage steps in to take Cliff's place. This upsets the unnamed Boss of a gambling ring eager to clean up by betting against the Red Hawks.

"Da Boss" sends his number one thug, Patch Gazetti, to the arena to do to Speed what he did to Cliff. But The White Mask smells a rink rat and hunts down the criminals in their lair only to fall as a gangster bullet creases his masked skull.

And now, lace up for sudden death overtime in Part 2 of "Murder Has The Puck"!


Three cheers for Speed Savage! Keeping the world safe for hot dog lovers everywhere and all within regulation time.

Until next time.

Beavers Up!