A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: KID CHAMELEON, PART TWO

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…