The Strangest Northerns: The Lonely One

Once again we are looking at the strange lore of the North. The Golden Age comics loved the hardships and violence in such tales. “The Lonely One” (Beware! Terror Tales #5, January 1953) was written by Bill Woolfolk, a man who would come to be paid ten times what other writers got. The art by Maurice Gutwirth is controlled and accurate. This comic, to be honest, is a fairly restrained use of madness and death.

Derek Lane and William Frye are scientists headed for the top of the world. Going to take meteorological readings, they will be isolated for a long time. Their boss knows Derek has done work like this before but he worries about William.

Derek knows the dangers of isolation. He tells of another scientist who was trapped in an igloo until he went stark raving mad. The two men depart despite the danger.

The winter storms come, trapping the men inside their igloo. William feels sick most of the time. Derek sends a message to HQ. William might have appendicitis.

Derek operates on William. He will have to see if he survives the surgery…

The men stop broadcasting to HQ. A rescue team goes north when the weather abates. They find a surprise. William Frye is alive. It is Derek who has died. William is playing cards with a dead man. He is stark raving mad.

This grisly tale of “Polar Madness” is based in some fact. The victims of such illness usually become delusional, wander off and die. Northerns sometimes use madness as a motivation for villains or antagonists. The fame of the Rat River Trapper, Albert Johnson, said to be insane, made the newspapers in 1931. “Cabin Fever” is a similar aliment that happens when people are cooped up together for too long. Jack London wrote his classic story “In a Far Country” around such aliments.