Vol. 2: 1945-1947
by Frank Robbins
Chapter 6: Fancy Fluff
Nov 20, 1945 - Jun 15, 1946
12/01/21
Nov 20, 1945 - Johnny and Slocum get discharged. A mysterious woman sees Johnny’s picture in the Daily Bugle and gets interested in him.
My guess is that the mysterious woman is Fancy Fluff. She doesn’t look like the angelic type. I wonder what she’s got in mind.
12/02/21
Nov 21-22, 1945 - Johnny and Slocum get some civilian clothes but the adjustment to civilian life ain’t easy.
Humor.
12/03/21
Nov 23-24, 1945 - Johnny and Slocum sneak into the hotel the back way when they discover that a cluster of reporters is waiting to see Johnny in the hotel’s lobby. When they get to their room the door is already open. Someone is waiting for them but it isn’t Brandy.
I still have no idea what this mysterious woman is all about. Robbins seems to be teasing the readers with these brief peeks at her. I assume that it won’t be long now before her motives become clearer.
Nov 26-27, 1945 - Johnny find a dark haired woman waiting for them in their hotel room. Johnny is immediately suspicious but Slocum wants to give her a chance.
Still no idea what she is up to but it can’t be any good. Where is Brandy?
12/07/21
Nov 28-29, 1945 - Johnny doesn’t let the dark haired woman leave until she tells them who she is why she was in their room. She is Fluff Randall, the kid sister of Bounce Randall. Bounce served with Johnny during the war but he has since disappeared, according to Fluff.
Could she be telling the truth?
12/08/21
Nov 30-Dec 1, 1945 - Johnny and Slocum agree to help Fluff find her brother. She tells them all she knows about his whereabouts. The last she heard he was in French Guiana.
I’m still suspicious of Fluff but maybe I’m wrong and just expect trouble to be lurking around every corner.
12/09/21
Dec 3-4, 1945 - Johnny and Slocum are ready to head to French Guiana to search for Bounce Randall when Brandy shows up. She overheard their conversation and wants to come with them. Johnny says no.
Is this going to be Brandy’s departure for the strip or will she tag along anyway?
12/10/21
Dec 5-6, 1945 - Johnny and Slocum get ready for their trip to French Guiana. Johnny tells Brandy she can’t accompany them.
Is that it for Brandy? It’s kind of an abrupt ending if it is.
12/11/21
Dec 7-8, 1945 - Johnny and Slocum name their new airplane Fancy Fluff. They are getting ready to leave when Brandy shows up. She has an assignment from her newspaper that has her going in the same direction as them.
Johnny is suspicious of Brandy but decides to give her a lift rather than let her travel with someone else.
12/12/21
Dec 10-11, 1945 - Johnny and Slocum talk about Dr. Fox, the only lead they have in the search for Fluff’s brother. Brandy tells Fluff about her assignment which has to do with prisoners escaping from the penal colony in French Guiana.
Slocum uses the term CAVU which is an acronym for Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited. I think the odds are pretty good that Brandy’s work is going to intersect with the search for Bounce Randall.
12/13/21
Dec 12-13, 1945 - Meanwhile in French Guiana, the local authorities search for escaped prisoners.
12/14/21
Dec 14-15, 1945 - Johnny and the others land in French Guiana. Their initial inquiries lead nowhere. One of the French officials they talk to makes a phone call after Johnny and the others have left.
The French official recommends that they stay at Le Perroquet Bleu, the Blue Parrot Hotel. There was a bar in the movie Casablanca called the Blue Parrot.
12/15/21
Dec 17-18, 1945 - the customs official they dealt with gets on the phone and tells Doctor somebody about what just happened. Johnny and the others have their doubts about the customs official being honest with them. They decide to head to the Blue Parrot.
Things are starting to take shape.
12/16/21
Dec 19-20, 1945 - Johnny and the others quickly discover how dangerous French Guiana can be on their way to the Blue Parrot.
Between the name of the hotel and the character of the town it seems like Robbins may be modeling French Guiana after the movie version of Casablanca.
12/17/21
Dec 21-22, 1945 - Brandy and Fluff are getting settled in at Le Perroquet Bleu when someone hurls a dagger into their room. Fluff faints.
There’s what looks like a piece of paper on the blade of the dagger. Someone must be trying to send them a message.
12/18/21
Dec 24-25, 1945 - they notice the piece of paper on the blade of the dagger. It is a note from Bounce telling them to leave and stop looking for him.
Is the note really from Bounce? I’ve got my doubts.
12/19/21
Dec 26-27, 1945 - Johnny and the others decide to stick around. Brandy goes to interview the Governor-General of the penal colonies. Johnny, Slocum, and Fluff go looking for Doctor Fox.
12/20/21
Dec 28-29, 1945 - Johnny, Slocum, and Fluff go to the Conseil de Salubrité (Health Service) looking for Doctor Fox. They get a list of all the doctors who fly but none of them are named Fox.
One of the doctors is named Renard, the French word for Fox, but they don’t see the connection.
12/21/21
Dec 31, 1945-Jan 1, 1946 - Johnny and Slocum grumble about their bad luck. Fluff makes the connection when she sees the bottle of wine they ordered. There’s a picture of a fox on it with the word renard written over it.
I’m still bored with all the talking. Visually this strip is a bit of a drag.
12/22/21
Jan 2-3, 1946 - Fluff shows Johnny and Slocum what she just figured out. Meanwhile, Brandy is about to start her interview with the Governor-General who is playing chess with Doctor Renard when she arrives.
12/23/21
Jan 4-5, 1946 - the Governor-General tells Brandy about the trouble they have been having with escaped prisoners disappearing. He also encourages her to visit one of the penal colonies with Doctor Renard.
It’s funny how the Governor-General is bragging about their failures. You would think that he wouldn’t be telling her about escaped prisoners.
12/24/21
Jan 7-8, 1946 - Brandy flies to one of the penal colonies with Doctor Renard. He doesn’t believe the myth of the disappearing prisoners that the Governor-General told Brandy.
12/25/21
Jan 9-10, 1946 - Brandy accompanies Doctor Renard as he makes his rounds at the penal colony.
I’m surprised by how little attention Brandy’s presence is drawing at the penal colony.
12/26/21
Jan 11-12, 1946 - one of the inmates at the penal colony reads the message hidden in the packet that Doctor Renard gave him.
12/27/21
Jan 14-15, 1946 - the message doesn’t get destroyed as the prisoner intended. It floats downstream towards Brandy as she is taking a break and soaking her feet.
12/28/21
Jan 16-17, 1946 - Brandy finds the piece of paper discarded by the prisoner. Brandy reads the message and realizes that it is an escape plan.
The visuals get a little more interesting as Robbins shows Brandy at various angles and in various positions. That sounds worse and creepier than I mean it to.
12/29/21
Jan 18-19, 1946 - Brandy starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together. She figures out that Doctor Renard must be helping prisoners to escape and that Renard is French for Fox.
12/30/21
Jan 21-22, 1946 - Brandy returns to Cayenne with Doctor Renard. They part ways once they get back to town. She returns to the hotel only to discover that Johnny, Slocum, and Fluff are at the airport waiting for her.
12/31/21
Jan 23-24, 1946 - Brandy catches up with the others at the airport. They are meeting in their airplane. She tells them all she has learned which leads Johnny to conclude that Bounce must be working for Doctor Renard.
I wonder if it is as simple as that? Could Bounce be working undercover for OSS or some such organization?
01/02/22
Jan 25-26, 1946 - Johnny and Brandy talk about why Bounce is working for Doctor Renard and come up with a plan to rescue him and expose the doctor’s operation.
I have doubts about this plan but I guess I will have to wait and see how it goes. This is a long arc. I doubt that this plan is going to solve all their problems.
01/03/22
Jan 28-29, 1946 - the gang splits up. Johnny and Brandy head to the jungle to get a picture of Beeg Ox attempting to escape from the penal colony. Slocum and Fluff are tasked with following the helicopter once it arrives on the scene to help Beeg Ox escape.
01/04/22
Jan 30-31, 1946 - Johnny and Brandy get dropped off by boat in the jungle, near the penal colony. The man driving the boat thinks they are nuts but he agrees to come back and pick them up at midnight.
01/05/22
Feb 1-2, 1946 - Johnny cuts a path through the jungle until they find the spot where they expect the escape attempt to take place. Johnny climbs a palm tree and then helps Brandy get to the top.
I’m not so sure about them sitting atop a palm tree. It looks dangerous. I didn’t expect that was the kind of tree they would be scaling.
01/06/22
Feb 4-5, 1946 - Johnny and Brandy go over the plan while they wait for Beeg Ox to show up.
01/07/22
Feb 6-7, 1946 - Johnny and Brandy watch Beeg Ox scale a nearby tree and wait for his ride out of there to arrive.
01/08/22
Feb 8-9, 1946 - Fluff is worried about her brother’s involvement with Doctor Renard. Bounce arrives in the helicopter. Elf, one of the doctor’s men, has a gun to his head as he pilots the helicopter.
It couldn’t be more clear that Bounce is not very enthusiastic about the sort of work he is doing for Doctor Renard.
01/10/22
Feb 11-12, 1946 - Bounce and Elf pick up Beeg Ox. Brandy snaps a picture of it.
I can’t imagine how Beeg Ox is going to hold on to that rope. It is just a rope with nothing attached to it. I think it is more likely he would go splat. I’m also surprised that Bounce, Elf, and Beeg Ox didn’t notice the flash from Brandy’s camera.
01/11/22
Feb 13-14, 1946 - Beeg Ox starts to climb the rope up to the helicopter. Brandy snaps a picture of it. The flash on her camera gives away their position and is seen by one and all.
I guess Brandy hadn’t taken the picture yet. She definitely has now.
01/12/22
Feb 15-16, 1946 - Elf orders Bounce to move the helicopter near the tree atop which are Johnny and Brandy. Beeg Ox grabs Brandy. Johnny leaps for the rope.
This is the most action this strip has seen since the previous arc. I like it. The visual storytelling is great.
01/13/22
Feb 18-19, 1946 - Johnny catches the rope and hangs on for dear life. The winch pulls the rope in until Brandy and Beeg Ox get up to the helicopter.
What next? This is crazy. I seriously doubt that Johnny could hold on to that rope for very long. Unlike Beeg Ox he only has his hands on it.
01/14/22
Feb 20-21, 1946 - the rope is pulled up up Johnny isn’t on it. He is clinging to the side of the helicopter where no one can see him.
This is definitely stretching the bounds of credulity. No one saw him or noticed the extra weight? Come on.
01/16/22
Feb 22-23, 1946 - Johnny tries signaling to Admiral Slocum with a flashlight before it is too late. Slocum is puzzled by the flashing light.
01/18/22
Feb 25-26, 1946 - Slocum doesn’t follow the flashing light. It doesn’t make sense to him that it would be the helicopter. Fluff points out that the flashing light seems to be morse code.
Slocum clearly isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.
01/19/22
Feb 27-28, 1946 - Johnny gets Admiral caught up with what’s going on via morse code. Elf threatens to throw Brandy overboard if she doesn’t answer his questions.
Johnny is holding on to the helicopter with one hand and signaling with the other one. This seems kind of crazy and unrealistic.
01/20/22
Mar 1-2, 1946 - Bounce threatens to crash the helicopter into the jungle if Elf or Beeg Ox attempt to throw Brandy overboard.
01/21/22
Mar 4-5, 1946 - Elf agrees to back off on tossing Brandy from the helicopter. Johnny signals instructions to Slocum.
The story has slowed down during this arc because Robbins keeps repeating stuff from the previous strip. I wonder whose idea it was to do that?
01/22/22
Mar 6-7, 1946 - Bounce lands the helicopter at Doctor Renard’s home. Johnny hops off and hides in the shadows as the others prepare to exit the vehicle.
What is Johnny planning to do? He doesn’t have a weapon or does he? Beeg Ox may be more than he can handle.
01/23/22
Mar 8-9, 1946 - Brandy finds out that Bounce is still suffering from a head injury that Doctor Renard is treating him for. Johnny makes his presence known to the others.
Presumably Bounce is dependent on whatever painkiller it is that Doctor Renard has been giving him.
01/24/22
Mar 11-12, 1946 - Elf starts shooting at Johnny. He uses Brandy as a shield. She doesn’t take kindly to his tactic and flips him over her shoulder.
Brandy makes a reference to someone named Cricket, or at least I think it’s a person. I’m not sure who she is referring to but I assum it is a fictional character possibly from another comic strip.
01/25/22
Mar 13-14, 1946 - Bounce ties up Elf and Beeg Ox. Bounce doesn’t look so great. He slaps Elf, who can’t defend himself because he’s tied up, after the villain makes a comment about how Bounce must be feeling.
My guess is that Doctor Renard must have Bounce addicted to some sort of painkiller. He must be experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
01/26/22
Mar 15-16, 1946 - Johnny pulls rank, gets Bounce to calm down, and tell him what’s going on. Bounce explains that he gets terrible headaches. Doctor Renard has been helping him but the treatment has put him into debt.
Maybe Bounce isn’t addicted but he does seem to be in a spiral of debt.
01/27/22
Mar 18-19, 1946 - Bounce explains his situation to Johnny and Brandy. They promise to help him. They expect the police will soon arrive but that isn’t the case. Admiral Slocum is concerned about Johnny and Brandy so instead of calling the police he decides to check up on his friends.
I’m not sure where this is going to lead but probably some sort of a setback.
If I were going to split up this arc, which is about 7 months long, I think this might be the place to do it.
01/28/22
Mar 20-21, 1946 - Slocum lands the plane and heads out on foot to find Johnny and Brandy. He leaves Fluff behind in the plane.
I guess the story is starting to slowly build to another climax of sorts. I’m sure that the rest of this arc isn’t going to be smooth sailing for Johnny and his friends but I’m not sure what is going to cause them problems.
01/29/22
Mar 22-23, 1946 - Doctor Renard spends the evening playing chess with the governor while Slocum continues to stumble through the jungle.
01/30/22
Mar 25-26, 1946 - Johnny hears someone coming and orders Brandy and Bounce to take cover. It turns out to be the Admiral. Johnny wonders why he is alone and hasn’t brought the police with him.
It's funny Johnny and the others take cover but presumably Elf and Beeg Ox could have given away their hiding place.
01/31/22
Mar 27-28, 1946 - Admiral explains why he didn’t call the police and instead came looking for Johnny and the others. Brandy finds a phone and puts in a call to the governor’s mansion.
What Brandy doesn’t know is that Doctor Renard is there with the Governor. It might just be my imagination but Robbins seems to be drawing Brandy sexier than he has in the past.
02/01/22
Mar 29-30, 1946 - Brandy gets the governor on the phone and explains the situation to him. Renard has already left and is nearing his home, where Brandy and the others are, as she gets off the phone with the governor. Renard spots the helicopter as he approaches in his plane. He doesn’t fully realize just yet that he has unexpected visitors.
That part went more smoothly and was handled more quickly than I feared it would be.
02/02/22
Apr 1-2, 1946 - Doctor Renard suspects something is amiss when he sees the Admiral’s airplane. Johnny and the others see Renard’s plane and think they have the upper hand.
I’ve got a feeling that Renard is going to check out Slocum’s plane and take Fluff as a hostage.
02/03/22
Apr 3-4, 1946 - Johnny and the others wait for Renard to show up. Renard takes the long way to his house and, gun in hand, surprises Fluff.
That was fast. Presumably, Renard will take charge once he gets back. He’s got leverage now that he has a hostage.
02/04/22
Apr 5-6, 1946 - Doctor Renard interrogates Fluff and forces her to tell him everything she knows. Johnny and Slocum start to wonder what happened to Doctor Renard.
02/07/22
Apr 8-9, 1946 - Doctor Renard and Fluff head for his house. He tells her about how he has used hypnosis on Bounce and will soon demonstrate the control he has over her brother.
It seems like the first panel of every strip is a repeat of the last panel of the previous strip. I can understand doing something like that once a week, maybe on Mondays, but it gets old fast when it happens every day. I wonder if that was Frank Robbins decision to do that or something that was demanded or recommended by the newspapers that printed the strip.
02/08/22
Apr 10-11, 1946 - Doctor Renard uses telepathic hypnosis to force Bounce to turn on his friends.
This ventures into the realm of the supernatural, something I didn’t expect to see in this strip.
02/09/22
Apr 12-13, 1946 - Doctor Renard continues to telepathically control Bounce. Johnny and Slocum can’t believe what’s going on. Bounce fires a warning shot at them which helps to wake them up to the reality of the situation.
The good news seems to be that Bounce isn’t addicted to a painkiller. The bad news is the telepathic hypnosis.
02/10/22
Apr 15-16, 1946 - Doctor Renard steps out from the shadows and tells Johnny and the other about the control he has over Bounce. He also tells them that before he leaves he will have Bounce shoot them all.
02/11/22
Apr 17-18, 1946 - Doctor has Beeg Ox dig for some treasure. He also plans to use the hole to dispose of the bodies of Johnny, Slocum, Brandy, and Fluff after he has had Bounce kill them.
How are they going to get out of this mess? Renard seems to be the key to it all. If they can knock him out with out getting shot by Bounce then they might have a chance.
02/12/22
Apr 19-20, 1946 - Beeg Ox digs up the box of loot. Dr. Renard shoots Elf in the back.
Who is next? Elf had a gun in his hand. It looks like Beeg Ox might have it now.
02/13/22
Apr 22-23, 1946 - Doctor Renard finishes off Elf and Beeg Ox. He next turns his attention to Johnny and the others. He tells Bounce, who is still under his mental control, to start by shooting Fluff.
Obviously, Doctor Renard is not going to get away with this but how are they going to stop him?
02/14/22
Apr 24-25, 1946 - Bounce turns to Fluff. She begs him not to shoot them. Slocum decides he has to do something and lunges at Bounce. Someone, presumably Doctor Renard, shoots Bounce in the back of the head.
I’m not sure if the bullet hit Bounce in the back of the head or just grazed him.
02/15/22
Apr 26-27, 1946 - the shooter turns out to be a French police officer who just arrived on the scene with a couple of his colleagues. Renard takes off running. Johnny goes after him.
It looks like the bullet might have only grazed the back of Bounce’s head.
02/16/22
Apr 29-30, 1946 - Johnny chases Renard through the jungle. He’s pretty sure that Renard is heading for his plane. He is less sure about how many rounds are most likely left in Renard’s gun. Renard shoots at Johnny but misses.
Does Renard have any bullets left in his gun at this point?
02/17/22
May 1-2, 1946 - Johnny catches up to Renard. The doctor turns toward Johnny and raises his gun. Johnny keeps moving towards the villain hoping that he is out of bullets.
Tension. I like it.
02/19/22
May 3-4, 1946 - Johnny guesses right about the gun but Renard clocks him the metal money case.
Johnny is down on the ground holding his face. It doesn’t look good. My guess is that Renard broke his nose.
02/20/22
May 6-7, 1946 - Renard gets in his plane and prepares for take off as he gloats about his plans for the future. The French police catch up to Johnny just as Renard is preparing to take off.
02/21/22
May 8-9, 1946 - the French policemen shoot at him but Renard gets his plane off the ground and flies away. There are bullet holes in the side of his plane.
It seems like Renard has made a clean getaway. I wonder if his plane will catch fire soon and he will be killed.
02/22/22
May 10-11, 1946 - Doctor Renard flies off and seems to get away although he doesn’t look so great. The French policemen help Johnny whose jaw is very sore. The Admiral, Brandy, and Fluff show up. Slocum is carrying Bounce who looks like he may survive after all.
02/26/22
May 13-14, 1946 - Johnny, Brandy, Admiral Slocum, and Fluff sit in the waiting room at the hospital and worry about Bounce’s condition. The doctor operating on Bounce finally comes out and reassures them that Bounce is going to be okay.
The first panel in the first of these two strips is wider than usual. It takes up the space that is normally filled by two panels. I think that may be the first time I’ve seen that in this strip.
02/27/22
May 15-16, 1946 - the Doctor explains to Fluff that Bounce’s latest injury resolved the problem caused by an older injury. Fluff, Johnny, Brandy, and the Admiral visit Bounce in the hospital a few days later.
There is still almost a month's worth of strips left in this arc. What now?
02/28/22
May 17-18, 1946 - Johnny and Brandy tell Bounce about how the governor has agreed not to press charges against him even though he was working for Doctor Renard. Fluff stays behind with her brother while Johnny, Brandy, and Admiral Slocum leave. Bounce teases his sister about missing Slocum.
Once again this feels like it could be the end of the arc but there are still a few weeks worth of strips left in this chapter.
03/01/22
May 20-21, 1946 - Admiral Slocum asks Brandy to stop for minute as he goes back to the hospital. Fluff acts heartsick over the Admiral’s departure but refuses to tell her brother what is bothering her. Bounce figures it out and starts to act weird.
The last panel of the first of these two strips is an extreme closeup of Brandy’s shoe kicking Johnny’s shin as the Admiral heads back to the hospital. It’s simple but I really dig that panel.
03/02/22
May 22-23, 1946 - Bounce starts acting like he’s gone crazy. Fluff yells for the Admiral who is already on his way.
This is silly. Why would Fluff expect the Admiral to be within earshot?
03/03/22
May 24-25, 1946 - Bounce stops acting strange and gets back into bead once Admiral returns. The second strip ends with Fluff and Admiral kissing.
Bounce calls Slocum “spinach face” at one point which must be a reference to Popeye.
03/04/22
May 27-28, 1946 - doctors and nurses come running when they hear the commotion in Bounce’s room. They find Fluff and the Admiral making out. Johnny and Brandy also show up in time to hear The Admiral and Fluff declaring their love for one another.
Is this headed to a wedding? Is the Admiral going to leave the strip soon on account of his relationship with Fluff?
03/05/22
May 29-30, 1946 - Slocum decides to stay behind with Fluff and Bounce. He and Fluff are going to get married once they get back to the United States. Johnny says something to Brandy about not getting soft and sentimental. She doesn't care for his remark and she slaps him.
What now?
03/06/22
May 31-Jun 1, 1946 - Johnny runs after Brandy. He tries to explain away and apologize for the pain he just caused her.
03/07/22
Jun 3-4, 1946 - Johnny challenges Brandy to prove to him that she is just as devoted to him as she is to her career. They spend the day together doing various fun things.
The first panel of the second strip is a double-wide montage of four scenes of Johnny and Brandy together, all of which are framed by hearts.
03/08/22
Jun 5-6, 1946 - Johnny and Brandy get dressed up and go out dancing. They see the Toronian ambassador enter the nightclub. Johnny is curious to know what he’s doing there but Brandy insists that Johnny is all she has on her mind.
I’m guessing that Toronia must be a made-up country somewhere in Europe or the Middle East.
03/09/22
Jun 7-8, 1946 - Brandy continues to insist that she is only interested in Johnny. A short distance from where Johnny and Brandy are sitting, the Toronian ambassador sits down, pulls out a gun and shoots himself in the chest.
I’ve got a feeling that Brandy is about to lose her bet with Johnny. If this is the beginning of a new story arc then why didn’t they start a new chapter prior to all this? Hmmm...
03/10/22
Jun 10-11, 1946 - Brandy can’t help but turn her attention to the suicide of the Toronian ambassador. Johnny smiles and does his best not to get in her way.
03/11/22
Jun 12-13, 1946 - Brandy is on the phone, ready to report what she just saw, when she learns that she’s been had. The man who Johnny said was the Toronian ambassador isn’t dead and is just an actor whom Johnny paid.
03/12/22
Jun 14-15, 1946 - Johnny tries to explain but Brandy isn’t in the mood for explanations. She dumps some food on his head and then stomps off.
I’m not sure if that’s it for Brandy but this is the end of the arc. It was a long one, almost seven months long. It looks like Johnny may be the only character who will be making his way from this arc to the next one. I think I understand now why they didn’t end the arc a couple weeks ago.
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