“The Green Falcon” appeared in a dozen issues of Archie’s Blue Ribbon Comics, #4 (June 1940) to #15 (August 1941). The script was written by Harry Shorten except the last episode by Joe Blair. The artwork was done by three different artists but was fairly consistent despite the changes. Based on the history of England during the Crusades, the series featured no magic unlike its companion strip, “Galahad” in Top-Notch Comics. The Green Falcon is a replacement for Robin Hood in this familiar set-up of King John doing bad while Richard the Lionheart is on Crusade.
Blue Ribbon had plenty of competition in the Robin Hood department. Heroic Fantasy, sometimes just heroic, comics were popular after the comic strip, Prince Valiant appeared in 1937. Hal Foster’s brilliantly drawn strip set a high bar that few met. The anthology titles like Blue Ribbon tried their best with “The Green Falcon”.
“The Coming of the Green Falcon” (Blue Comics #4, June 1940) begins with a joust in which the winner will receive Lady Marion’s hand in marriage. We meet Prince John, who plots against his brother Richard the Lionhart. Sir Boltyn, one of John’s cronies, is poised to win until the Green Falcon appears and defeats him. Marion is freed from her requirement to marry. Meanwhile in the Holy Lands, Richard is captured by Saracens. The Green Knight tells Marion he will rescue the king. The Falcon escapes a trap when Marion throws a stool at an assassin.
“The Ulla-Boltyn Conspiracy” (Blue Comics #5, July 1940) has an expedition off to save Richard. Sir Boltyn sneaks off from camp to speak with Ulla, leader of the Saracens. He leads his companions into an ambush. The Green Falcon shows up and saves the beleaguered knights. The Falcon takes them to castle where Boltyn betrays him again. The Falcon saves everyone when they take on Saracen clothes and escape.
“Lady Marion Enslaved” (Blue Comics #6, September 1940) starts with Lady Marion in the slave market. Fortunately one of the bidders is the Green Falcon in disguise. He fights the men in the square before escaping. He goes to Sir Boltyn and his knights for aid. Marion is made a slave in Saladin’s camp. The knights attack, making Saladin blame the new slave. The Green Falcon saves her from the Arab while Boltyn allows Zayda, Saladin’s daughter to escape.
“The Falcon Must Die” (Blue Comics #7, November 1940) has the knights return to England. Marion confronts Prince John. He reacts by putting a price on the Green Falcon’s head. When the citizens begin to talk revolt they are attacked by Prince John’s men. The Green Falcon appears and saves them, winning the love of the common folk including their leader, Jolly Roundfellow. Unfortunately, the Falcon is captured and to be hanged. Marion frees the Falcon during the hanging and he escapes. He joins up with Roundfellow.
“Truce of Treachery” (Blue Comics #8, January 1941) has King John’s tax collectors meeting with revolt. The Green Falcon and his men get a new member to their band after the fighting. The Falcon receives a note from Marion. Prince John would call a truce. It is a trap with Sir Boltyn attempting to capture the Green Falcon. The hero blows a trumpet, calling for help. The merry band escape once again… Lee Harris’s artwork is striking. I wish he had stayed on to do more.
“Food Fight” (Blue Comics #9, February 1941) has Prince John’s heavy taxes starving the common folk. The Green Falcon and his men try to appease their hunger but can do little while the Prince and his cronies feast themselves. The Green Falcon comes up with a scheme to get a large load of grain. Sir Boltyn flees like the coward he is. The stories drop from six pagers to five. Another change is Prince John is now called King John and his hair becomes yellow for a few issues?)
“To Save a Saracen” (Blue Comics #10, March 1941) begins with an envoy of the Saracens coming to King John to seek a ransom. John arrests the man. Marion rushes to the Green Falcon to tell him about the captive. The Green Falcon and his men use the upcoming tournament to gain access and win the competition. They save the Saracen from being hanged, escaping the castle on Jolly’s clever ropes. The Saracen will return to the East with news of King John’s treachery.
“Allied Against Spain” (Blue Comics #11, April 1941) starts with King John’s machinations riling the King of Spain. Meanwhile in England, the Merry Men attack tax collectors. When some of the rebels are caught, the Green Falcon allows himself to be traded for them. Sir Boltyn takes his prisoner to King John. The hanging of the Falcon is interrupted by the ambassador to Spain. The execution is off as the Falcon offers to lead an army against the invading Spanish. The common folk refuse to fight for John but willingly sign up for the Green Falcon. The hero sends the Spanish packing by hurling flaming barrels of pitch at their invading armada. They have won the skirmish but the Spanish will be back.
“King John’s Deal With Spain” (Blue Comics #12, May 1941) has the war with Spain continue. King John becomes jealous of the Green Falcon and suspects he will try to overthrow him after the war is over. John decides to sabotage the English army to prevent this. Lady Marion overhears this and tells the Falcon. The hero uses this information, and more taken from Sir Boltyn by dunking him in the sea, to plan a decisive attack on the fleet. The Spanish are sent home with their tails between their legs.
“The Marriage of the Green Falcon” (Blue Comics #13, June 1941) starts with the treaty of peace with Spain. King John tries to arrest the Green Falcon. At his execution, a priest is brought in to give last rites. Instead of that prayer, he marries the Falcon and Lady Marion. They escape and go on their honeymoon.
“The Return of King Richard” (Blue Comics #14, July 1941) starts with Marion needing water to cook dinner. The Green Falcon and Tiny go to the bridge and meet a knight who hides his face in his helmet. (No, it’s not the Black Knight.) This ends up in a fight with quarter staves. Tiny ends up in the creek. Next it is the Falcon’s turn to fight with swords. This competition is ended when Marion shows up. The knight takes off his helmet. It is King Richard, returned from the Crusades. He discusses how he will get his throne back from his brother…
“The Capture of King John” (Blue Comics #15, August 1941) has King John and Sir Boltyn receiving the news of King Richard’s return. They grab all the treasure from the coffers and flee. The scoundrels make it to a ship and almost get away. The boat has to sail under a ledge, from which the Falcon and his men jump aboard. They slow their fall by cutting into the ship’s sail. They fight. King John knocks the Falcon out and is about to end him when Jolly throws a knife, killing the regent. (Being a Golden Age comic, we get a shot of the knife stabbing through his neck.) Jolly is stabbed by Sir Boltyn, who is thrown into the sea and drowns. The brave Jolly dies.
The last panel says: So back to England the skiff sails, to bring the wicked John to justice. But the Falcon’s work is not done yet! Far from it as will be seen in next issue of Blue Ribbon Comics! That promise is not kept. The tales of the Green Falcon end here. I suppose the writer was hedging his bets but there was no outcry for more.
Conclusion
What makes the Green Falcon interesting, especially when you contrast it with “Galad” in Top-Notch Comics, is the idea of doing a Robin Hood story without Robin of Locksley. The names have been changed (except for Marion, King John and Richard the Lionhart) with Jolly being something like Friar Tuck, Tiny for Little John, Sir Bolytn for the Sheriff of Nottingham, but much else is the same. “Galahad” tries the same thing for the Arthurian legend but seems closer to the original. Harry Shorten may have been trying to create his own version to distinguish it from others being published in competitor’s comics. These characters were public domain, so making them recognizably your own might have counted for something. For more on Robin Hood comics, go here.
