Kid Chameleon and the Treasure of Ghouli Cavern (7 weeks from 9th January, 1971 until 27th February, 1971, issue
Nos. 32 – 39)
Kid
Chameleon is still in East Africa. Little lad Stevie Parker is captured by two
hard-faced brothers Len and Sammy Bolton. They board their boat and sail off
without noticing that Kid has sneaked on board in hope he can help Stevie later.
A mile out at sea a big ship rides at anchor. Kid tries to sneak into the ship
but is spotted and caught by a hideous tattooed Indian with Mohican hairstyle
by the name of Anvil Ironhead, who is an ex-circus strongman hired by the two thugs
as a general helper and bodyguard. Kid is dumped in the hold with young Parker.
The evil men want to know where Stevie has hidden the chart of Ghouli Cavern.
They make Steve talk by using a sinister Skull-Jacket of Instant Truth. Having
got hold of the map, the thugs dispose of the boys by throwing them both tied
up into the deepest wastes of watery hunting grounds in the sea...
|
From COR!! issue dated 6th February, 1971 (No. 36) |
Kid uses his
talents to save both of them. When they are in the safety of the shore, Stevie
tells Kid that his late father was a big game hunter in Africa and his legacy
to his son was a fortune in ivory tusks, hidden secretly in Ghouli Cavern. Now
that the Boltons have the map, they know the exact location of the treasure and are
going to steal it. Kid decides they must be stopped but 3 miles away the thugs
have already blown away the secret doors
inside the cavern and the tusks are as good as theirs. They start running their
dingy back and forth to transport the tusks to the schooner. Giant marine
turtles carry Kid unseen to the Ghouli Cavern. He sinks the dingy and
challenges the Boltons. A blast of dynamite blows the lizard suit clean off Kid
and he can’t camouflage himself any more. His life is in serious danger but Kid
summons an army of sand lizards that bind the thugs tight with weeds, vines and
creepers. Kid tells Stevie to call police and tell the story. Kid’s quest
continues.
Kid Chameleon beats Saphire Crooks (9 weeks from 6th March, 1971 until 1st May, 1971, issue Nos.
40 – 48)
Traveling
through a game reserve in Kenya, Kid falls asleep on a deflated air balloon.
Upon waking up he finds out that the balloon is being inflated. Soon it takes
off with Kid trapped on top. Game-warden Ralph Franklin and his daughter Lindy
are traveling to investigate strange goings-on at the Cetswayo Water-hole where
many animals are falling sick. Kid tries crawling down the side to reach the
basket and rips the material with his sharp finger nails. The balloon crashes
and the three of them continue on foot. They arrive at the water hole and find
dozens of sick animals. Ralph carries out some tests on the animals and they
seem to be suffering from water poisoning. A friendly lizard tells Kid that a
strange object is often seen on shores of the lake at midnight. That night Kid spies
a strange machine in the shape of a flying saucer. Camouflaged, he crawls on
the glass roof and sees two men inside. The machine is about to submerge and
Kid’s hand is stuck. Left with no other choice Kid bangs on the glass to
attract the attention of the men inside the submarine. The men capture Kid and
take him to a building at the bottom of the lake. Inside Kid meets Jim Latchett,
the boss. He and his cronies are after sapphires down there. They’ve been
breaking up the lake-bed rock with special acid and collecting loads of the
precious stone in the submarine. Kid realises that the acid is poisoning water
and making animals sick and threatens to tell Franklin about their deeds. Jim
Latchett pulls out his gun but the wonder-boy sneaks though the emergency
airlock and escapes from the building into the surrounding waters. When Kid
gets to the shore, he tells everything to Ralph Franklin and his daughter. The
amphibious submarine suddenly emerges from the lake and tries to make a getaway
but Kid has a plan how to catch wicked Latchett. He sews up the hole in the
balloon and they soar away into the cloudless sky...
|
From COR!! dated 24th April, 1971 (No. 47). Note Joe Colquhoun's initials
in the bottom right corner of the last panel |
After an action-packed
pursuit Kid smashes the glass top of Latchett’s amphibia and it crashes into a
tree. The crooks are taken away by the police. Kid sets off alone once again
into the unknown in search of the man who shot his parents.
Escaped Convict gets Kid Chameleon into Trouble (8 weeks from 8th May, 1971 until 26th June, 1971, issue Nos. 49
– 56)
Through
a series of unfortunate circumstances, Kid Chameleon finds himself on board a
train in the company of a runaway convict Slugger Sankey. The criminal hijacks
the train and runs it into a tanker train with thousands of gallons of petrol
standing in the station of a town. Kid and Sankey jump out as the two trains collide
and explode. News come through that Kid and Sankey are responsible for
hijacking the train and causing the accident. The police move in and cordon off
the whole area. Sankey makes off but Kid ends up in a prison cell...
|
From COR!! issue dated 29th May, 1971 (No. 52) |
It takes him
some effort to escape. Kid realises that to prove himself innocent he has to
find Sankey and make him confess. He finds the escaped convict choosing clothes
in a store so that he can get out of his prison gear and steal a car to get
clean away from the town. Sankey grabs the boy and locks him up in the
restaurant kitchen cold store so that he freezes to death. Kid wiggles out of
the freezer and races back up to the street where he sees Sankey about to steal
a car. Kid grabs at the wheel as the car gathers speed and makes it crash. The
car smashes through a bridge parapet and hurtles down towards a circus big-top
below. Kid knocks Sankey out with a heavy bass drum mallet, forces the thug to
write a confession and leaves him tied up to the chair near the wrecked car.
Kid’s name is cleared and he is off on his way again.
In
the next post I will be taking a look at the following action-packed adventures
of the reptile boy: Kid Chameleon beats a Gang of
Child Kidnappers; Kid Chameleon helps American Oilmen Deal with Arab Terrorist
Rebels and Kid Chameleon’s First Encounter with the Man Who Murdered his Parents…
Some amazing artwork again..love the sailing boat..again very powerful in colour..
ReplyDeleteI'll look at this strip with new eyes..
I always felt his lizard suit should be green!