More Northerns Charlton style! The Mysterious Traveler is the host of “the Desert” (The Mysterious Traveler #4, August 1957) The story was reprinted in Haunted #49 (May 1980). The Mysterious Traveler began as a Radio show written by Robert Arthur (Science Fiction, Mystery writer, who ghosted as Alfred Hitchcock in The Three Investigators books.) The radio show spawned a short-lived Mystery fiction digest and then a Charlton comic book. The Noir-style host looks to me to be based on both The Shadow and The Spirit. The Northern story was written by Joe Gill and drawn by Steve Ditko.
Ainsworth and the Admiral have been cooped up together for months in the cold, dark Arctic winter. Ainsworth has had enough. He plans to sled his way to another camp just to be alone. His superior officer points out this is “cabin fever”. He tells him to just take it easy.
Ainsworth is not to be thwarted. he loads up his sled and his dogs and is going. The Asdmiral tries everything to stop him, even coming to blows. (This scen of the Mysterious Traveler watching them fight is so Pulp! See The Avenger cover beneath it.)
Ainsworth knocks the Admiral down, takes off. He rides and rides through bad weather and long distances. He sees a range of mountains before and knows he will die if he goes on. He turns around and goes back in defeat.
The Admiral is happy to see him. Ainsworth throws himself on the other man’s mercy. He will take whatever punishment the Admiral sees fit. The superior officer isn’t worried about it. He knew Ainsworth would come back when he saw the mountains. Unfortunately for Ainsworth, those mountains were just like a desert mirage. Not real at all. If he had kept going he would have frozen to death.
Who said comic books would rot your brain and not teach you anything. (I think it was Jack Mackenzie.) Well, I learned about the Fata Morgana, or the Arctic Mirage from this comic. Who knew? I think it’s cool that it is named after Arthurian legends. I’d be interested in find an old Northern Pulp story about this. I wonder where Joe Gill dump it up?
For more Strange Northerns here is an entire page dedicated to them!
