Number 1737: “Where there’s cheese you will usually find rats!”

I hope I’m not spoiling this Captain Marvel Jr story for you by telling you the mysterious detective-with-no-name Freddy Freeman is rescued by is none other than Sherlock Holmes. But then, you already deduced that, didn’t you? Tell me, was it the deerstalker cap that tipped you off?

For some reason Freddy is selling papers in London. This is the last of four stories from Captain Marvel Jr #2 (1942). I looked at the other three and there is no mention of Freddy in London, so I assume he must’ve taken it upon himself to help the British rid themselves of black marketeers. (The final panel was obviously wishful thinking.)

I assume Sherlock is not given a name because in 1942 the Holmes stories were still under copyright. Author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died in 1930, but his estate retained the rights to the character. To this day, lawsuits concerning the rights to the character, and whether he is in the public domain or not, are still being fought out in the courts.

Art attributed by the Grand Comics Database to Al Carreno.

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