Issue No. 14
Spring 1947
Art: Bill Ward
Karlovna Had a True Underworld! - The Blackhawks answer a call for help from Barlovsky, the police chief of Karlovna. They are met by his beautiful daughter, Vereen, who informs them her father has been killed with a strange dragon knife. They are immediately attacked by a grotesque dwarf who hurls a dragon knife, then kills himself with a identical knife. Later, Chop Chop drops his lucky charm down a street drain and when he tries to retrieve it, is pulled down. Andre, Olaf and Stan follow him. Hendrickson goes to find Blackhawk. Blackhawk and Vereen are again attacked by a dwarf. Blackhawk and Hendy discover the open grate and go down into the unused sewer below. Meanwhile, Vereen is led by her assistant, Rambin, to a entrance under a bridge. The four Blackhawks who had disappeared are bound and held prisoner in an underground cavern by the strange dwarves and their ruler, a beautiful woman dressed in a dragon outfit. Blackhawk makes his entrance and is winning against the dwarves when the dragon queen clouts him with a vase. Rambin leads Vereen into a trap and she is captured by the dragon queen's men. The dragon lady explains that the dwarves, and one giant, are the "dragon people", the rightful owners of Karlovna who have hidden underground for generations. She tosses the Blackhawks and Vereen into a pit, but the Blackhawks use team work and boost Blackhawk out of the pit. He fights the giant, Grotesko, until his team mates can join him. The dragon people flee from the Blackhawks and the good guys make their way to the surface. Back in the government house, Blackhawk accuses Rambin and his beautiful assistant, Wilna, of being behind the whole scheme. Rambin admits it all, including that Wilna posed as the dragon queen. Wilna brings in Grotesko, who fights Blackhawk while she and Rambin make their escape in his private helicopter. Andre is in the air in his Skyrocket and shoots down the helicopter. Rambin and Wilna try to escape into the sewers but are caught by the rest of the Black Knights. Rambin blames everything on Wilna, who pulls a dragon knife from under her skirt and stabs the traitor, Rambin. Then, rather than standing trial, she plunges the knife between her ample breasts. The Blackhawks leave Karlovna in the honest hands of Vereen.
A fun story, typical of the period. What stood out to me was Bill Ward's drawing of the female characters. They clearly showed the style for which he would become famous.
Other stories in this issue:
• By Royal Command
(Blackhawk story)
• The Laundry Inheritance (Chop Chop
story)
• text story: Was Simple Sam Crazy?
• The Eternal Enemy (Blackhawk story)
Thanks to Mikel Midnight for providing the copy of Karlovna Had a True Underworld! used to write the synopsis.
Back to Blackhawk Index Page
All characters, pictures, and related indicia on these pages are the property of DC Comics. All text is ©1998-2001 Dan Thompson, except where otherwise noted. This homepage is not intended to infringe on the copyright of DC Comics to its characters, but was created out of gratitude to all the wonderful writers, artists, and editors who created the Blackhawks.