Gorilla Daze

The latest installment of Gorilla Daze’s look back at the adventures of DC’s 1950s simian detective.

“A Whistle for Bobo” opens with our hirsuit hero eagerly tearing open a cereal packet at the breakfast table. It seems he’s been looking forward to getting his hands on the toy whistle contained within the Super-Krunchies box. Sheriff Chase is soon driven to distraction by Bobo’s constant tootling.

There’s only one answer: yep, that’s right, in a flash of inspiration bordering on madness, Sheriff Chase desides to put Bobo on traffic duty, where he can blow his whistle with impunity. Genius!

After being warned to “Stay out of trouble!” Bobo takes up position on a traffic island at a busy intersection. At first he does okay, allowing old folks to cross the street, but soon the traffic is all snarled up. Furious drivers honk their horns at the hapless chimp.

In order to calm the situation, Bobo decides to start issuing tickets to cars that beep him. As he approaches one such vehicle, he spies a bag full of cash on the back seat. His suspicions aroused, Bobo speeds after the crooks on a bicycle — all the way blowing his whistle for them to stop.

Some distance away, the crooks’ engine overheats and the car stalls. They fire wildly at Bobo, who leaps from his bike into some woodland. As the crooks search for him, Bobo leaps around all over the place blowing his whistle. The crooks are soon conviced that the entire county police force is in the woods surrounding them — and they meekly give themselves up to Sheriff Chase who arrives just in time.

“I can’t see how you did it, Bobo!” cries an impressed Chase, “Imagine outsmarting a gang of armed crooks!”

Later that evening, Bobo leans back contentedly in his office chair blowing away on an array of whistles that he’s received as thanks for his help in capturing the criminals.

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A really lovely little 6-pager. Beautiful art from Carmine Infantino compliments the fun script by Gardner Fox. It’s an over-used phrase, but, y’know, they really don’t make ‘em like this any more — and comics are all the poorer for it.

Just take another look at that panel where Bobo is directing traffic: those hands are brilliantly realised. Hands are difficult for an artist at the best of times, but Infantino was an absolute master at drawing expressive hand gestures.

©2007 DC Comics

Bobo is sitting at his desk in Sheriff Chase’s office reading the local newspaper, when he notices that a circus is coming to town. “Ook! Ook!” he cries, “My old jungle pals have come back to town!” He wants to go off and meet them, but the Sheriff insists that he puts in a full day’s work first. We’re not entirely sure just what work Bobo does around the office — perhaps he mans the phone..?!

Come five o’clock, Bobo sprints off to the circus, and is soon chatting to his chimp pals. He’s distracted when the alarm is sounded over some stolen jewels. Bobo licks his lips over this news: a chance to solve the crime completely on his own. He stalks the circus by night and soon comes across a man acting suspiciously. He attempts to overpower the man but is soon slapped down and bundled into a cage!

The cage is soon being loaded onto a freight car for transporting. “Woo! Eee!” screams Bobo, but he’s completely unable to attract any attention to his plight. “This is awful! I’ve been chimp-knapped!”

Bobo spots his assailant again, and grabs a gun from a passing rail-road policeman. He blasts the padlock of his cage and is startled by the weapon’s recoil. He springs free, but the bad guy has seen him and comes running over. Bobo tackles him just as Sheriff Chase arrives. Chase covers the man, but is unsure as to what is going on. Bobo goes to the cage and reveals the stolen jewels hidden in a secret compartment in the floor. Chase makes the arrest and everyone flies home. Later, Bobo is allowed a vaction with his chimp pals as a reward for his hard work.

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Another lovely little Detective Chimp tale. Solid entertainment in 6 pages. John Broome scripts and Carmine Infantino draws, as ever. This one is from way back in 1955. It’s worth noting that in these stories Bobo only thinks in English. When communicating with Sheriff Chase he merely jabbers. In current DC continuity, where Bobo is appearing in 52, he is portrayed as a super-detective genius, every inch the equal of Ralph Dibney, and speaks fluently.

The archive of all my Detective Chimp reviews is here

“The Case of the Runaway Ostrich!”

Our hero, Bobo the detective chimp, has become a big fan of western movies on television and taken to wearing a cowboy hat. Not only that, he’s a dab hand with the old lasso too! No clue is provided as to what Bobo’s western show of choice is. Probably not Bonanza.

Sheriff Chase takes Bobo on a camping trip. While fishing, the pair are disturbed by an ostrich running past! Within moments Bobo has twirled his rope and lassoed the varmint. Chase calls a nearby rare bird farm, and they confirm that they have indeed lost an ostrich.

The bird’s owner arrives and reveals that he’s also lost a rare talking mynah bird and is convinced that it’s been stolen. Bobo is very interested in the case. It’s suggested that, as the ostrich and the mynah had been such good friends, the ostrich had escaped in order to find his pal. With that, the ostrich jerks free of his ties and flees once more.

Bobo grabs hold of the ostrich’s neck and gets carted off for a wild ride at sixty miles an hour!

The giant bird eventually slows down outside a small hut, and Bobo climbs down. An “evil hombre with boom-bang stick!” appears and, “Something tells Bobo this means trouble!” As he’s fired upon, Bobo heads for the trees.

The gunman continues to fire. Bobo drops down onto the ostrich’s back and begins to circle the gunman at top speed. “Blast it! I can’t get a decent shot at him!” despairs the gun-wielding felon.

“That’s it, pal!” Bobo tells the Ostrich, “Don’t slow up! He can’t hit us with you traveling like this!”

At just the right moment, Bobo lets fly with his rope and hogties the baddie. Wotta guy!

Sheriff Chase, hot on the heels of the fleeing ostrich, arrives and handcuffs the villain. Inside the hut he finds the missing mynah bird. It was due to be smuggled across the border and sold for a hefty profit. Once again Bobo has saved the day. For his efforts he is rewarded with a cowboy outfit.

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And…. the adventures of Bobo get ever more unlikely. Never seen a monkey hitch a rude on the back of a speeding ostrich? You have now..!

Another fun frolick from the pens of John Broome and Carmine Infantino. This story first appeared in 1953.

Once again we open with Sheriff Chase of Oscaloosa County, Florida, addressing us directly — no fourth wall for this guy! He tells us that Bobo is now his assistant! Yep. A Sheriff, a law enforcement officer, and presumably a man of some standing in his community, has appointed a chimpanzee as his assistant!!

The phone rings. It’s Carlton Meade, who’s afraid his life is in danger. A not unreasonable fear as it turns out: by the very next panel he’s dead… “Aaahh…” is his last word.

Chase grabs his hat, so you know he means business, and, likewise, Bobo dons a dearstalker cap that Chase has bought him — presumably in recognition of his detective chimp status.

At Carlton Meade’s house, they find the body still in situ where the butler found it. Chase begins his line of questioning. It appears that a group has assembled to hear the reading of a will. Chase’s keen detective brain leaps to an amazing deduction: whoever is not named as a beneficiary in the will must be the killer! Sadly, however, the will is nowhere to be found.

A bird flies past the window carrying a piece of paper. It’s the will!

Bobo leaps after the bird and retrieves the will. Unfortunately, the name of the person who is to get nothing has been torn off.

You’ll note that the will actually contains an ellipsis. Presumably whoever was due to read it was expected to pause dramatically at that point.

Chase reckons that the bird must have used that chunk of will to make its nest, so Bobo goes to find it. While doing so, he gets shot at. “Chimp, you’re too smart to live!” cries the gunman as Bobo finds the nest.

Bobo dodges bullet after bullet and eventually dives into a lake to take cover. He’s able to stay under a long time by breathing through a hollow reed. Smart, huh? Now you know why Sheriff Chase made him an assistant. If he keeps this up, he’ll soon make DA!

The gunman takes to the water in a canoe, but Bobo surfaces and capsizes the craft. “Why doesn’t somebody come and help me?” he laments as the gunman goes splash. “Do I have to do it all myself?”

Bobo is dragging the unconscious man ashore when Chase arrives. “I’ll bet it’s the murderer!” he exclaims. There are no flies on Sheriff Chase, let me tell you.

The killer stands revealed as Stephen Meade, Carlton’s brother. The missing fragment of will that Bobo found confirms it: Stephen was due to inherit nothing. “You’d never have got me if not for that blasted chimp!” he exclaims, proving that in addition to being a cold-blooded killer, he’s also a fan of Scooby Doo.

Bobo stands smugly proud as Meade is led away.

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The second Detective Chimp story continues the inspired lunacy begun a few months before. Obviously you can’t do a great deal with just five-and-a-half pages, but writer John Broome has a good try. Carmine Infantino delivers his usual fine job on pencils, while inker Frank Giacoia acquits himself with aplomb. This was originally published in 1952.

The story opens with Sheriff Chase of Oscaloosa County, Florida, introducing us to Bobo, a remarkably intelligent chimp. Bobo can even talk — after a fashion. He knows two words: “ooo,” which means ‘you’, and “eee,” which means, not surprisingly, ‘me’. Armed with this extensive vocabulary, Bobo will soon amaze you with his ability to solve dastardly crimes!

Sheriff Chase informs us that a full-grown chimpanzee “is by far the most intelligent of all animals.” Bobo demonstrates this by riding a bicycle to the store to collect groceries (!) and feeding the other animals at the farm where he lives. Sheriff Chase hopes that his owner, Fred Thorpe, is paying Bobo union wages. As if.

Some time later, the Sheriff gets a call: Fred Thorpe has been brutally murdered. Bobo, who had been found in the room with the body, is distraught. The Sheriff’s keen brain quickly determines, that if Bobo had been in the room, he may know who the killer is. Bobo shrieks, “Eee… eee… eee..!” and leads Sheriff Chase to his car. Once there, he points the way to the killer — or so Chase hopes.

The chimp actually leads him back to his own office and his secretary, Pete Drummond.

Disappointed, Chase sends Bobo back to the farm. “If only they’d listen to me…” thinks the chimp. Though he can’t talk, it’s lucky for us that Bobo, like Krypto, can think in English.

While Chase goes off investigating. Drummond heads for the farm. Bobo, in his cage, is not happy. “Bad man alone with me now! His face evil — like it was when he killed my master! He will kill me too..”

Under cover of darkness, Bobo engineers his escape from his cage and flees into the night. His “jungle heritage instinct” aids him as he dodges Drummond’s bullets! The secretary, however, won’t be stopped, and keeps coming after him.

Sheriff Chase arrives, and Drummond tries to convince him that Bobo is the killer! Bobo meanwhile has released Tombo the gorilla from his cage. “That’s the bad one, Tombo!” he tells the big ape.

Drummond, suddenly confronted by several hundred pounds of angry gorilla, spills the beans to Sheriff Chase: “Help! I-I’ll tell you everything! I killed Thorpe–”

It seems that Thorpe was murdered because he’d discovered that Drummond had once killed a man. Drummond tried to pay Thorpe for his silence, but the farm owner had refused.

“Our case is closed, Bobo!” says the triumphant Sheriff, and he orders Bobo a box of bananas.

“Boy oh boy!” thinks Bobo.

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And, yes, this is quite a bananas story! It’s very cute though, and beautifully drawn by Carmine Infantino. You’ll not soon forget the sight of Bobo the chimp, clad only in baseball cap, cycling around collecting the groceries and essentially running the farm!

John Broome scripted what was clearly supposed to be just a one-off. Someone must’ve like it, however, as it went on to become a sporadic series running as a backup in Rex, the Wonder Dog comics. Now there’s a title the likes of which you don’t see in comics any more!