GHOST PATROL
Membership: Fred, Pedro, Slim
Base of Operations: France, 1940s' era
First Appearance: Flash Comics #29 (May, 1942)
History: Fred, Pedro and Slim were members of the French Foreign Legion who were ordered by Captain Buehler to bomb a section of North Africa under French control. Henri, a fellow legionnaire, warned them that their target was a village of civilians, and that Buehler was secretly a Nazi who was attempting to discredit France. Fred, Pedro and Slim still went on the mission, but dropped their bombs on a section of uninhabited desert. Henri thought they were really going to blow up the village, so he set a bomb in their plane. The resulting explosion killed the trio of bombardiers, but they rose from the grave as ghosts. As the Ghost Patrol they spent the rest of WW2 either sabotaging Nazi plans or simply annoying the Nazis.
(Flash Comics #70) - The Ghost Patrol were vacationing in Mexico when Pedro spotted a grand looking bull sitting next to a young woman. He tried to make friends with the bull, but it chased him until Slim and Fred tripped it with a lasso. Pedro nursed the bull with a wet handkerchief over it’s black eye until it recovered, and the grateful bull licked him. The woman introduced herself as Elisa Grandullon, and said she’d raised Rollo’n since he was a calf. Her brother Mario left their home for Cariancho to become a bullfighter, but now the mortgage was due, and he hadn’t sent the money needed to save their home. The Ghost Ptarol disappeared into the ether, reappearing in Carianch, where they found the unpopular Mario was in a feud with bullfighter Valentin. Elisa followed them after she found Rollo’n missing, having been lured into a truck by the Chinesco Bull Catcher Co. Rollo’n was pitted against Valentin, and the Ghost Patrol turned invisible, first deflecting the banderillas thrown at the bull, then riding and guiding Rollo’n so he could outmaneuver Valentin. Rollo’n booted Valentin with his hind legs and was declared the victor in the bullfight. Rollo’n’s new fame earned enough money for Mario and Elisa to keep their home, but Pedro was aghast when he learned that Elisa, who he intended to woo, had a fiancée.
(Flash Comics #71) - the Ghost Patrol spent some downtime at the Tower Hotel, but Fred insisted on singing loudly in the shower, and his terrible voice upset not only Slim and Pedro, but everyone else within earshot in the hotel. A furious guest burst into their room, and the Ghost Patrol turned invisible. She panicked, told the manager his hotel was haunted, and left. For other guests, who were also bothered by the singing, the talk of ghosts was the last straw and people started leaving in droves. The manager wept, fearing he’d have to close the hotel, which would mean he could no longer support his family. The Ghost Patrol tried to console him, but he went on to say the hotel shareholders would go broke and jump out windows, leading their houses to go to market and cause a housing panic and bankrupt the city. Fred couldn’t stand the idea of ruining an entire city because of his awful singing, and after hearing a man singing for change in an alley, he got an idea. He took the talented but unknown singer, Joe Bullfinch, to the manager, and promised his singing would have guests flocking to the hotel, especially after they learned he was a famous opera singer. Fred just had to figure out how to make him a famous opera singer. A local opera’s manager was in an intense argument with the tenor, and the Ghost Patrol convinced him to give Bullfinch a shot. Bullfinch became a star, and his presence at Tower did bring the hotel lots of attention and customers, but the manager still didn’t want a haunted hotel, and told the Ghost Patrol he wanted them to leave and never come back, so they ended up spending the night on park benches.
(Flash Comics #72) - The Ghost Patrol spotted a building going up in flames, with a woman shouting for help from the window. The Patrol saved a man trying to save her as the building’s walls gave way, and flew the woman to safety. The duo were not thrilled to be saved, they were stuntmen Allsop and Sylvia, and their furious directory fired them for flubbing the scene. The Ghost Patrol saw them in distress at losing a paycheck and decided to help. That night Pedro visited the Allsops disguised as a beggar, and they told him how they’d signed with Brokenbone, an acting agent, when they were desperate for money. They were promised big paydays, especially since they regularly did unsafe stunts that ended them in the hospital, but they only got thirty cents per job, with the rest going to insurance and hospital bills. Brokenbone wouldn’t let them out of their contract until he got his 20% commission on their acting jobs, and they ended up deeper in debt after every job. Pedro unmasked and promised to help them despite the Allsops pleading with him to stop messing things up worse in their lives. Their next gig was running into a building about to explode, and when they told Brokenbone that sounded fatal he replied that he didn’t care. The Ghost Patrol saved them before the explosion, and they overheard Brokenbone gloating about cashing in their life insurance policies. The Ghost Patrol let the Allsops take matters into their own hands, and they ran after Brokenbone, threatening to kill him if he didn’t pay them back everything they were owed.
(Flash Comics #73) - The Ghost Patrol were trying to unwind when they heard someone screaming bloody murder in an alleyway, and rushed to check it out, but didn’t see anyone. A jewelry store owner called the police when crook Freddy Feather threw a brick through his window, allowing his trained magpies to rob the store. The magpies flew to the town over where Freddy had his hideout, while Freddy coaxed Horace, the bird that’d created the distraction of screaming murder, down from a tree. Fred spotted him, but Feather knocked him out and shoved him in his bicycle box. Fred and Slim saw Horace fly home, and knew he was the bird they were after since he kept screaming “Murder!” so they flew after him. They made short work of Freddy Feather and his goons in a brawl, but when Fred woke up he was sore that he’d missed out on the fun. Pedro and Slim told him he needed to clear his head after being knocked out and told him to walk to the police station.
(Flash Comics #74) - Fred introduced Slim and Pedro to Professor Goatwhisker, a criminologist who once taught him in school. Goatwhisker bragged about his abilities and said that as a criminologist he had a criminal mind and could pull off the perfect crime if he wasn’t on the side of the law. Pedro and Slim disliked his boasting and made a bet that he couldn’t get rid of a body, and Goatwhisker assured them he’d dispose of any body they provided them within two hours. Mobster Lyug, who’d shot the mobster Slug for having a name too similar to his, overheard the conversation, and sent Slug’s body up to Goatwhisker in a dumb waiter. Detective Sharpe was shadowing Lug, suspecting him in Slug’s disappearance, and burst into Goatwhisker’s apartment. Goatwhisker asked him to bring his sick friend to the hospital, but the Ghost Patrol intruded, surprised that Goatwhisker had a real dead body instead of Slim, who they planned on sending up the dumb waiter pretending to be a corpse. Sharpe was about to arrest Goatwhisker, but the Ghost Patrol turned invisible and floated Slug’s body away ant tossed it outside. Slug found Lug and brought him back to Goatwhisker, at which point Slug woke up. He’d been shot, but not fatally, and after fingering Lug, asked to be taken to jail with Lug so his “buddy” couldn’t shoot him again.
(Flash Comics #75) - The Ghost Patrol went skinny dipping in a creek when three hayseeds saw their clothes and thought their aviator jacks were so interesting they couldn’t resist stealing them. They hayseeds found an aviator’s home nearby and stole his plane, but realized they didn’t know how to fly despite having their proper jackets. Their sister came looking for them down by the creek, and the ghost Patrol turned invisible out of a sense of modesty. When they realized their clothes had been stolen they took the hayseed’s clothes, but forgot to make themselves visible, and the sister ran away in a fright. The aviator was working with some criminals to help them make a getaway, and they were none too happy learning his plane had been stolen. The Ghost Patrol went to see what was the matter, and got in a scuffle with the crooks. The hayseeds tried to land and clipped one of the criminals, knocking him out. Slim helped the hayseeds land the plane, and the ghost Patrol reclaimed their clothes. They were a little sore at the country boys, but decided to let it go, because if their clothes hadn’t been stolen they wouldn’t have rounded up a bunch of crooks.
(Flash Comics #76) - The Ghost Patrol visited Amusement Park and grabbed some hamburgers when Slim started swooning over Melba, their waitress. Fred and Pedro vanished to give him some time to woo her, but she started screaming when they vanished so they disappeared, and she correctly guessed they were ghosts. Slim said some hocus-pocus words and his pals disappeared again. Melba said she was terrified of ghosts, and if Slim could keep her safe from ghosts she was all his. She quit her job, saying Slim would take care of her from now on. They visited a waxworks and Melba found the barker’s uniform becoming, asking Slim to dress like that for her. He said he was too rotund to fit in such a uniform, and she demanded he lose weight to prove he loved her. Slim and Pedro levitated food from different boardwalk vendors towards Slim and Melba to prove to her that Slim could resist temptation, but they ended up infuriating the vendors. Slim exercised hard, but couldn’t lose weight. His pals told him to dematerialize everything except his head so he could fit in the uniform Melba liked. Slim showed off his fashion for Melba, who was talking to her ex, boxer Mugger McGuff. Mugger took a swing at him and Slim’s head floated away, causing Melba to start screaming again, and Slim decided it was best if they stopped seeing each other.
(Flash Comics #77) - Johnny Thunder announced to his folks and Peachy Pet that he’d finally come up with a foolproof get rich plan, dressing up Thunderbolt, over his objections, as a mysteryman he named Hypochap and offering his services for a fee. Sockitaway Bank hired Hypochap to wash their windows, but while Hypochap was working the bank got robbed. Johnny said that for an additional fee Hypochap would catch the robbers, but before he could cash in Flash caught the crooks, and Johnny was sore that business was snatched from under his nose. The Fabulous Fur Corp. Hired Hypnochap as a night watchmen, and when their warehouse was robbed Thunderbolt said he did his job because he’d watched. Johnny tried to get extra money for Hypochap pursuing the thieves, but they were apprehended by Hawkman and Hawkgirl. A woman hired Thunderchap to rescue her kidnapped daughter, but the Ghost Patrol came to the rescue and kicked the tar out of the kidnapper. Johnny was fed up and visited the office of Flash Comics, telling the editor that if Flash et al. Didn’t stop messing with him he’d start interfering in their comic book stories.
(Flash Comics #77) - The Ghost Patrol needed a place to live, so Pedro went apartment-hunting, but noone wanted to rent to him because he was broke. He visited his old girlfriend Senorita Teresa Valencia asking for charity, but wanted to hit the road when he realized she had children. Teresa asked for his help because someone who worked at the circus with her had it out for her. During her highwire act Spearum the knife-thrower cut her wire but Pedro floated her to the ground and she pounced on her rival. Teresa was so grateful she hugged and kissed Pedro, making her boyfriend Hefto the strongman jealous. Pedro said he had better things to do than get beaten up and skedaddled. Fred and Slim asked how the apartment hunting was going and Pedro admitted that with everything going on he’d plain forgotten about it.
(Flash Comics #78) - The Ghost Patrol witnessed Orville Appleby of the Artificial Yummy Jam Co. roughing up Kerry Lyons, and asked Kerry if they should beat up the bully. Kerry begged them not to, saying he was in love with Orville’s daughter Alma Appleby, but her father disapproved of him because he wanted to add real cherries to his product. The Ghost Patrol said they’d pretend to kidnap Orville so Kerry could save the day and win Orville’s approval. Mortimer J. Candlewick of the Genuine Artificial Jelly Co. wanted to take over Orville’s business and sent his own kidnappers before the Ghost Patrol could pull off their scheme. Kerry beat them senseless, and sent them running, but Orville was convinced he was in league with the kidnappers and again told him to stay away from his daughter. Mortimer was furious that his hired guns failed and decided to try again, just as the Ghost Patrol pulled their own kidnapping stunt. The Ghost Patrol turned invisible and helped Alma knock out the crooks and force a confession out of Mortimer. Alma told her dad that unless he gave her permission to Kerry she’d give him the same treatment and he agreed not to stand between the two lovebirds.
(Flash Comics #79) - Zookeeper Oswald Peebles learned from an early age that he could talk to animals, and used the animals in his zoo to commit crimes. The Ghost Patrol learned about his scheme, and decided to infiltrate the zoo to get evidence against him. They went to a taxidermist and bought a bear skin for Slim to wear, and then donated him to the zoo. The other bears knew Slim didn’t smell right, so he ended up in a donnybrook with them. Peebles sent his bears to rob the wealthy Doremis, and the police thought Mrs. Doremi was being hysterical when she told them zoo animals took her pearl necklace. Mrs. Doremi insisted they visit the zoo with her, and Slim showed the officers the pearls. Peebles thought one of his animals had betrayed him and pulled a gun, but the police also pulled their firearms and arrested him.
(Flash Comics #80) - Businessman Victor Teal got a note threatening that he was going to be killed that night, and he hired the Ghost Patrol to protect him. He invited his three biggest enemies, his ex-fiancée, his ex-business partner and a man who owed him $65,000 so the Ghost Patrol could keep an eye on them. He was shot during dinner, although it wasn’t clear where the gunshot came from. The Ghost Patrol collected everyone’s guns, finding that everyone was packing. One of the guests knocked out Fred and dumped him down an elevator shaft, but he recovered in time to see Slim declaring the ex-fiancée the murderer. She had a .22 in her purse, the caliber gun Teal had been shot with. Fred noticed that there was a threat attached to the gun, and suspected it was attached to the window’s lattice work and fired remotely. Teal’s ex-partner had a frayed sock, and Fred realized his sock had been connected to the thread. He was the killer and tried to frame the fiancée, but the Ghost Patrol told him he never had a ghost of a chance once they were on the case.
(Flash Comics #81) - The Ghost Patrol went apartment hunting and met Alma Grove, who had a room to rent over her butcher shop. Pedro was ensconced with her beauty, and Slim was happy to be living near so much food. Alma’s sister Agnes disliked Alma’s boyfriend Darby Furness since they’d been dating for years and still couldn’t tell the sisters apart, so she suggested Alma reciprocate Pedro’s interest in her. Alma admitted to Darby that she found Pedro fiery and romantic, making him jealous. Darby got a hold of his carpenter friend Chick, and while the Ghost Patrol were out of the house to see a movie, they made some modification to their room. Pedro woke up in the middle of the night, with his bed raising up and dumping him into a trapdoor while ghostly sounds came through the walls. The Ghost Patrol almost fell for the trick, believing the apartment to be haunted, but Pedro calmed them down, reminding them they were genuine ghosts and would know if where they were staying was haunted. He suspected Darby, and calling for help in a high pitched voice lured him and chick into the butcher shop. Slim was behind the counter as a butcher, and pretended to chop up Fred, who was dressed as alma before chopping his own head off. The terrified Chick and Darby burst through the window and the Grove sisters went to see what the ruckus was. Alma was furious that the Ghost Patrol had wrecked their shop and scared Darby. She made up with her boyfriend and told the Ghost Patrol to find another place to live.
(Flash Comics #82) - Slim heard a radio ad for Bluebird Bilgewater, and the vague list of symptoms it “cured” convinced slim he was deathly ill. Fred and Pedro told him he needed someplace to clear his mind, and got him a job of Cyrus’ farm. When Pedro saw Cyrus’ gorgeous daughter Susie he decided he wanted to work on the farm too. The work was back-breaking, and Pedro and slim said they expected him to work the farm too if he was going to stay with them. Fred didn’t feel like working and flew off until he observed what a good time his pals were having despite the hard work. He realized he was always saying the Ghost Patrol needed to be productive members of society, and decided to help around the farm while invisible. Cyrus and his family eventually became convinced the farm was haunted, and blamed Pedro and slim, firing them. They were steamed at Fred, who insisted he was only trying to help, but they said next time he should ask first.
(Flash Comics #83) - The Ghost Patrol tried to cool down on a hot day, but Slim, Pedro and Fred all ran into holdups that they failed to prevent. The crooks were three brothers, one who was a juvenile, one posed as a blind man, and one who posed as a statue. The Ghost Patrol witnesses their next robbery and caught on to their tricks, tracking them back to their headquarters, detained them with their own ghostly tricks, and handed them over to the police.
(Flash Comics #84) - Pedro went girl-watching, wondering if he’d ever meet a woman willing to marry a ghost without a future. He saw a woman being kidnapped in a car and used his spectral powers to save her. She introduced herself as Carrie Woodbine, and asked him to get married immediately. Pedro agreed, not knowing she was the daughter of wealthy Augustus Woodbine, and had been kidnapped by crooks working for Marty Mason, who wanted to force her into marriage to get his hands on the Woodbine fortune. Carrie only wanted Marty to think she was married, so she had a gas station attendant perform a mock ceremony for her and Pedro. Augustus was worried Marty would try to marry his other daughter Violet, and Fred and Slim told him they could solve his problems because they knew Pedro was the marrying type. They set up the wedding over the objections of Pedro, who didn’t want to be involved in bigamy. Marty showed up and Pedro gave him a thrashing, saying to stay away from his wife. Carrie admitted to Pedro she’d tricked him, and the heartbroken ghost fainted.
(Flash Comics #85) - The Ghost Patrol, always on the lookout for someone to help, met young Hardboiled Hannigan who came from a very poor family. The Ghost Patrol said they’d give him a day to remember, getting him new clothes and taking him out for chicken dinner and a Western movie. They asked if he wanted anything else and indulged him when he asked for a toy gun. The boy’s father was furious that he was gone all day and broke his toy before sending his son to bed. Hannigan wondered where his father disappeared to every night and followed him, witnessing him rob a jewelry store. Hannigan decided that if his dad was a crook he might as well be one too. He robbed a toy store, and the Ghost Patrol spotted him. They turned invisible and floated him away from a pursuing police officer. When Hannigan opened up about his father they decided to put his dad on the straight and narrow. That night Slim and Pedro turned invisible and haunted Hannigan’s dad as voices telling him he’d taught his son that a life of crime was okay. They floated him outside their apartment, and Hannigan’s dad watched as his son “robbed” the sleeping Fred. Fred returned Hannigan home right before Slim and Pedro returned his father. Hannigan’s dad thought he had a nightmare, but was determined to return everything he stole and raise his boy as a law-abiding citizen.
(Flash Comics #86) - The Ghost Patrol showed up at Mr. Farge’s house to ask for a drink of water, and he told them they were late for the haunting he’d hired them for and directed them to the home of Miss Corke. The Ghost Patrol wondered how Farge knew they were ghosts, and didn’t recall him hiring them for anything, but visited Corke nonetheless. Corke had fainted after opening a closet and a wax replica of her great-great granduncle Sgt. Corke fell out. Corke’s actual ghost showed up to tell his ancestor and the Ghost Patrol that he’d come to right a terrible wrong. At Farge’s house thew three men he’d actually hired showed up, and Farge cursed himself for his mistake, telling them to eliminate the Ghost Patrol. The Patrol and Corke’s ghost easily dealt with the goons. Corke explained to his great-great grandniece that the city council had voted to purchase her house as a historic landmark since he’d once owned it and was a Revolutionary War hero. Farge was trying to convince her the house was haunted so he could buy it out from under her at a low price and resell it at a hefty profit to the council. The Ghost Patrol flew Farge high up into the air, scaring him until he confessed to his crimes.
(Flash Comics #87) - During the 12th Century Sir Lancor stole Lady Gwayne’s jewel casket, and she sent her knight Sir Mordane to get it back. They jousted in a field during a thunderstorm and were hit by lightning, finding themselves in the 1940s. They discovered Lady Gwayne’s casket in a jewelry store, and the Ghost Patrol were shrunken down and sleeping inside. The knights took the casket and the Ghost Patrol informed them they were ghosts too. Days later the knights seemingly ran amok all over town, stealing and pillaging. The Ghost Patrol figured that was just how knights used to act, but when they went to stop the knights from robbing the Gaspar Glass Works they discovered they were imposters, crooks posing as the knights. The knights joined the Ghost Patrol in fighting them, angered at their honor having been sullied. The crooks managed to knock out the ghosts, stuffing them in a safe. Pedro shrunk down and unlocked the safe’s lock from within in, and after another confrontation with the crooks they were victorious. The knights gave Gwayne’s casket to a lady worker the crooks tied up at the glass works to show their courteousness, and admitted to the Ghost Patrol that they were enjoying being spirits.
(Flash Comics #88) - The Ghost Patrol met Bradley Britton in the afterlife. A gangster killed him and took over his fortune, posing as Britton and claiming he’d had reconstructive surgery after a car crash. Britton’s last living relative was his niece Helen, and the gangster planned to kill her so she couldn’t expose him, and Britton asked the Patrol for help. They eagerly agreed, saying ghosts stuck together. The fake “Britton” took Helen on a cruise on his yacht, and she still believed he was her uncle. The Ghost Patrol haunted him by writing a message urging him to confess when he tried to write a check. They foiled his attempts to kill her on the cruise, but “Britton’s” goons caught the Ghost Patrol and knocked them out. The Ghost Patrol recovered, and were insulted that “Britton” and his men didn’t believe in ghosts, believing them to be using stage magician tricks. The Ghost Patrol apprehended the gangster and visited the real Britton in the afterlife, who was relieved that Helen was safe.
(Flash Comics #89) - Abner Greshem learned that one of his family members was plotting with his household servants to get his money, so he enlisted the Ghost Patrol to help him sniff out the traitor. Greshem faked his death and his executor was to read his will to his niece, nephew and brother John when a clock struck 12. The clock struck 13 and Pedro floated out of the clock, only to be dragged away by the household servants. Slim played the same trick and got the same treatment, and when the clock stopped working a masked man and the servants took it apart to find Fred inside holding the gears. The villains threw the Ghost Patrol in a pond, hoping they’d drown. The Ghost Patrol was scooped up and found themselves in another dimension. That dimension’s version of the masked man and the servants attacked them but the Ghost Patrol defeated them and returned to their own dimension. It turned out by defeating the evil dimensional counterparts the Ghost Patrol had turned the masked man, who turned out to be John Greshem and the servants good, and they admitted to altering Abner’s will and turned themselves over to the police.
(Flash Comics #90) - The Society of Spirit Research had a standing offer of $1000,000 to anyone who could give them proof of ghosts. Conman Lawrence Clay invited society members Mr. Neff and Norah Blane to a supposedly haunted house where his flunkies, dressed as a pirate and a cowboy flew out from a fireplace aided by strings. The Ghost Patrol showed up, claiming to be ghostbreakers to show Clay was a phony. Clay had a number of trapdoors in the house, and used them to capture the Ghost Patrol, claiming ghosts had made them disappear. The Ghost Patrol overcame Clay and his flunkies, exposing him as a fraud. They got a laugh out of keeping the Spirit Research society from getting ripped off by disproving ghosts existed when they were the real deal.
(Flash Comics #91) - Ghostbreaker Norah Blane was on her way to the hairdresser when she fell into a daze and regained her senses in a curio shop where the proprietor gifted her with a mysterious box. She opened the box at home, releasing the ghosts of a Roman gladiator and French musketeer. Norah insisted they were fakes, and detailed how they could have created a puff of smoke and snuck in through her window. The ghosts weren’t interested in Norah’s theories and flew off. The Ghost Patrol arrived to help Norah, knowing the freed ghosts had gained control of her to obtain and open the box that held their powers. They were set on finishing crimes they started in life to gain control over their ectoplasm and remain on the material plane. Pedro stopped the gladiator from murdering a boxer during a sporting exhibition, and Fred prevented the musketeer from robbing a train, banishing both ghosts back to the afterlife. Slim kept Norah company, but they were both knocked out and tied up by Spandro, the ghost of a medium Norah exposed as a phony. He wanted revenge on her for ruining his career and told her he died in a police shootout, but Norah refused to believe he was a spirit. Fred and Pedro arrived in time to save their friends, and with his mission failed Spandro dissipated. Norah still didn’t believe in ghosts or ectoplasm, showing the Ghost Patrol how she could fake her own ectoplasm using only a little hydrogen peroxide.
(Flash Comics #92) - The Ghost Patrol got another opportunity to act as ghost ghostbreakers, helping Miss Crane who was seemingly being haunted. Her father was a D.A. who had state’s evidence against the Blegro Mob, who’d killed him before he could present it to the court. The “ghost” haunting her demanded she give the evidence to them, but she didn’t know where her late father kept it. A group of men dressed as monstrous ghosts kidnapped her, but her dog followed her and then fetched the Ghost Patrol to lead them to his mistress. The Ghost Patrol made short work of the “ghosts” who turned out to be the Blegro Mob in disguise, and discovered the missing evidence in Crane’s god’s collar.
(Flash Comics #93) - During crime prevention week Bayside City youngster Johnny Page was chosen to act as honorary mayor, and he promised to end crime in the city, which was being plagued by the Angler, who used fishing gimmicks to commit crimes. Slim read a newspaper article about the situation and decided to help out, sending a cloud ball message for Pedro just in case he needed any help. The Angler didn’t want Page interfering in his work, and used his fishing rod to steal the boy’s school pin. Slim confronted Angler and his gang, but was knocked out by Angler’s fishing rod for his trouble. Johnny dedicated a new jail, and a plane passed overhead with a sign wishing him luck. Angler was flying the plane and sent down a number of fishing lines to rob the crowd attending Johnny’s speech. Pedro got Slim’s message, and had sent it out to Fred. Pedro tried to stop Angler’s robbery, but was knocked out with a weighted sinker. Johnny Page met with city officials on the city yacht to discuss weather or not he should resign, and angler saw the opportunity to take care of him permanently. Angler shot a whale harpoon loaded with explosives and with Pedro and Slim tied to it at the city yacht. Fred arrived in time to use his ghostly powers to boomerang the harpoon, using it to explode Angler’s ship, at which point the Ghost Patrol turned immaterial to avoid harm to themselves. The Ghost Patrol handed the Angler over to Johnny and unmasked him as Mr. Thurban, Johnny’s political mentor. Thurban hoped to manipulate Johnny, but decided to eliminate him when he went after his alter-ego Angler. The Ghost Patrol told Johnny he’d done a swell job keeping the city safe and would be a fine mayor one day.
(Flash Comics #94) - The Ghost Patrol decided to visit their friend Norah Blane, still amused that she dedicated her life to being a ghost-breaker but was friends with the real deal. Her brother Paul was a reformed gangster trying to go straight, but told Norah he was being haunted by the ghosts of his old gang members who’d died. His former associates Muggs and Basher showed up, saying he’d stop being haunted once he pulled one last job and helped them crack the safe of the Jason Jewelry Co. Norah said it was obvious Muggs and Basher were trying to hoax him using tricks to bring him back into their gang. The Ghost Patrol arrived to rough up the gangsters with their spectral powers, and when Paul asked Norah if her friends were real ghosts she replied that they were merely masters of illusion. Basher knocked out the Ghost Patrol and put them and Norah in a remote-controlled plane, threatening to crash it if Paul didn’t play along. The Ghost Patrol revived in time to save Norah and foil Basher’s attempted robbery of the jewelry company. The Ghost Patrol and Norah explained to Paul that the ghosts he’d seen were only dummies on strings that Basher was flying over his house and Norah was overjoyed that Paul could finally cut his ties to gangland.
(Flash Comics #95) - The Ghost Patrol tracked a gang of crooks halfway across the world, but lost them in the jungles of Africa. They witnessed a group of tribesmen shoot down a helicopter and chased them away. The pilot, Jane Francis, was unharmed, and explained that her father Dr. Francis was working as a missionary and had told the local tribe’s chief that they worshipped false idols. Soon after a giant idol appeared in a nearby river, telling the tribesman they’d lost their way and demanding they bring their neglected idols of jade and diamonds to him. The idol then demanded Dr. Francis be sacrificed for his heresy. Jane Francis was flying her helicopter to get help and was relieved tht the Ghost Patrol were at the ready. They fought with tribesmen in the secret chamber underneath the idol’s base and realized they were the crooks they were after disguised as tribesmen. The Ghost Patrol thrashed them and saved Dr. Francis, who’d been thrown into the idol’s base and was about to land on a bed of knives. The Ghost Patrol discovered that the tribe’s chief had been killed and replaced by an imposter, the leader of the crooks. He’d come up with the idea of stealing the tribe’s valuable idols using his own gimmick talking idol. The Ghost Patrol was happy they’d saved the Francis and his daughter and kept the tribe from having their valuables stolen.
(Flash Comics #96) - The Ghost Patrol were hired by Mr. Palley’s ad agency to protect his upcoming advertising ‘spectaculars.’ The first ‘spectacular’ was a parade float of a baseball play advertising the upcoming baseball season. The balloon baseball player took it’s bat and smashed the window of a diamond wholesaler. A group of crooks led by a masked man started robbing the store, and when the Ghost Patrol went into action the masked man stunned them with a fire extinguisher. The masked man used internal controls to manipulate the balloon, tossing the Ghost Patrol inside it and setting it to float off into the sky. The next advertising ‘spectacular’ were a giant mechanical rhino and eagle advertising a sportsman show. The crooks were inside the mechanical animals and used them to rob a movie theatre box office. The Ghost Patrol freed themselves, and took over control of the rhino, using it to disable the eagle. The masked man turned out to be Sparga, who wanted to ruin Palley’s ad agency so he could take control of it and make a small fortune along the way. The Ghost Patrol still wanted to see Palley succeed so for the next week they flew the eagle and the rhino over the city skyline.
(Flash Comics #97) - Slim kept putting on weight, and told the Ghost Patrol he was determined to start working out at the gym. They didn’t believe he’d ever see the inside of a gym, so Fred and Pedro turned invisible to follow Slim. Slim visited his cousin Bart Orland on his birthday, but Bart was in a somber mood, telling Slim his girlfriend Martha Merrill had dumped him because she thought he was a coward. Slim took him to a drive-in movie to cheer him up, but criminal Torral and his gang robbed the show. Fred and Pedro made their appearance and helped Slim and Bart fight the crooks, who got the best of them. Torral was furious anyone would try to interfere with his racket, and as the police arrived he managed to carry off Bart, Slim and Pedro. Back at his hideout e loaded them into oversize novelty dice and put them into a giant dice shaker he’d stolen from a novelty store, telling them that when the dice came up snake eyes the rig was set to blow. Fred saved his friends and they followed Torral and his gang to a theatre offering a $15,000 prize on a fortune wheel. They tied to stick up the show, and when the Ghost Patrol and Bart showed up they took Martha, who by coincidence was the prize contestant that night, hostage. The Ghost Patrol turned invisible, helping Bart save Martha and subdue Torral and company. Martha was so impressed with Bart she decided to take him back, and Slim swore off exercise.
(Flash Comics #98) - The Ghost Patrol were riding a train when they spotted a young, dazed woman walking on the tracks and saved her. She told them her mind was elsewhere because her son Alex had gotten in deep with some gamblers and they were keeping him hostage aboard their gambling boat Clarissa. The Ghost Patrol were befuddled when she said her son was 18 because she wasn’t possibly old enough to have a son that age. They flew to the Clarissa, where Specs, the leader of the gambling ring, was trying to pressure Alex into helping them break into his father’s house and steal his house safe. The Ghost Patrol were outnumbered, and after Specs knocked them out with a fire-hose he had his men put them in airless diving suits and tossed them overboard. Fred was late to the scene, and after saving his friends he turned invisible and told Alex to lead the gamblers to his father’s house, promising he had a plan. At the house the Ghost Patrol got the jump on Specs and his men, and to convince Alex he should never gamble again they showed him that Specs’ glasses were rigged to see invisible lettering on marked cards, which is why Alex could never win aboard the Clarissa. The Ghost Patrol met up with the young woman, and she thanked them profusely before vanishing into thin air, revealing that she, too, was a ghost.
(Flash Comics #99) - The Ghost Patrol performed ghostly tricks at a carnival in thanks to the owner, who’d done them a good turn. The criminal Krul escaped police custody when he filled the gavel of the judge sentencing him with explosives, blowing up the courtroom. Krul told his gang that since a gavel-hammer helped him regain his freedom he’s make hammers a theme of his crimes. Krul and his gang robbed the carnival, with Krul using a ball-hammer to smash the cashier-cage. The Ghost Patrol confronted the crooks but were knocked out when the gang toppled a promotional sign on top of them. Krul brought the Ghost Patrol to a junkyard and placed them under a drop-hammer. The Ghost Patrol saved themselves by projecting reinforced ectoplasm and found a newspaper Krul left behind with an article about a huge auction sale. They went to the auction where Krul replaced the auctioneer’s gavel with one of his own filled with explosives. The Ghost Patrol saved the auctioneer and rounded up Krul and his gang. Back in prison Krul decided he no longer enjoyed hammers since he spent all day breaking rocks with a sledgehammer
(Flash Comics #100) - The Marksman was a criminal with an uncanny accuracy with ranged weapons. He robbed a United Securities messenger by shooting the handcuff link he had to a briefcase full of money. The Ghost Patrol pursued him and his flunkies, who sped off in a car and parked it in an underground garage. The Ghost Patrol entered his house as smoke, but when they materialized he used his unerring aim to knock out Fred and Slim with a boomerang. Pedro turned invisible to lay low, and followed Marksman and his men who tied Fred and Slim to a cable spool and rolled it down a hill into the path of an oncoming train. Pedro freed his friends and they got the drop on Marksman at an exclusive art gallery. They took down his underlings, and when Marksman drove off Pedro surprised him by emerging as ectoplasm from his radiator cap. Marksman was spooked enough to lose control of his car, which he ended up crashing into a police station.
(Day of Vengeance: Infinite Crisis Special #1) - The Shadowpact summoned the Ghost Patrol and a number of other magical entities to Gotham City so they could reconstruct the shattered Rock of Eternity and capture the Seven Deadly Sins that had been freed because of the Rock's destruction. The Ghost Patrol witnessed Sala being possessed by Greed, and stood by unsure of what to do until Nightshade of the Shadowpact came along and trapped Greed inside a mystical container.
Comments: Created by Ted Udall, Emmanuel Demby and Frank Harry
The Ghost Patrol received a profile in Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #9.
In the pre-Crisis DCU the Ghost Patrol were active on Earth-2.
The Ghost Patrol's appearance in Flash Comics #96 was reprinted in World’s Finest Comics #208.
All characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please visit The Official DC Comics Site at: http://www.batman.com