Sally the Sleuth Returns

Sally reappeared eleven years after her last showing in the Spicy line, this time looking something like a product of the American Comics Group. Although it is not stated in the text, it seems as if Sally has followed the Chief into the lucrative field of Private Investigations. They haven’t quite sunk to the skid row level of a Sam Spade, but this client seems a little flakey. If someone was shooting at me, it would be the first thing I mentioned. Someone snooping around the studio is of secondary import.


Private eyes are like divorce lawyers: you probably have needed one long before you think you did. Looks like their client has fallen way behind the curve. This is, by the way, the oldest twist in the old detective story plotline playbook.


From here on out, both Sally and the Chief start behaving strangely. Thank you for calling the police. This is now a police matter. (If you have any evidence, such as film from a camera that you have removed from the scene, now is the time to turn it over.) For a real private investigator, this is sort of the end. But let us suspend disbelief. This is the comics section of a pulp magazine from 1949, not Law & Order.


After inhaling bowl after bowl of opium, Sally confesses to having the film developed—a thing people had to do before the days of digital photography. The still high as a kite Chief looks on silently.


Note the Initials ‘LD’ on the purse. This is the lame excuse for the remainder of this strip’s implausible action.

Snapping from his drug induced stupor, the Chief decides to go after Talley’s ex-wife. Note: in the picture she is not holding a gun. That makes the Chief’s theory nonsense. Sally is too high to notice this. Or too preoccupied with her own hair-brained plan of action.


I spoke too soon. The Chief is still high as a kite. Although I appreciate the directness of his approach, a shred of evidence would be nice. (There is also the technicality of Private Eyes not really having arrest powers.) As Mrs. Talley’s attorney, I am proud of her response.


I hereby resign as Mrs. Talley’s attorney. Hopefully she will shut up before the Chief sobers up.


Sally breaks and enters into a closed crime scene. Note: Sally is no longer really a flapper. Not that I am sure what she is, other than vaguely French.


That had better be the only ‘LD’ in the file, Sally. Otherwise I am going to get suspicious. Do you always take note of debutante balls? Note: Sally spent her 20s having maniacs tear off her clothes.


Someone in the comic strip costume department seems to have issued Leila Denning a Flash Gordon hand me down.


I am convinced that someone lost the index card that had what was supposed to have been said in the last panel here.


Sally hangs out in the Denning’s bushes, snorting lines until evening. Now keyed up like a pro, she waits until Leila’s elderly parents depart.


I, for one, am starting to worry about Leila’s safety. Sally here not only acts like a coke fiend, but she is patently up to no good.


I’m guessing it’s envy. Look, I hate rich people as much as the next person, but this is going a little too far.


The continuity here is a little unclear. It looks as if Sally let her get up. Like a true coke head, Sally is goading her quarry, attempting to justify the inevitable violence.


It’s a late 30 something former veteran Vice Cop verses an early 20 something former debutante. Not really a fair fight, is it? Despite what the text box says, the negatives are not ‘disputed’. They very clearly and legally belong to Leila. Sally is what we call a home invader.

If I were Leila I would just shut up already. It’s clear blondie here is totally unhinged.


Yes, I’ve broken into the suspect’s house and confronted her with evidence I stole from the crime scene. I’m sprawled out on her bed now and have her at gunpoint. Oh, by the way, the house is full of servants


You better hurry, Chief. The psychotic bitch is taking hostages. (By the way, Leila, this isn’t the best time to snap at the help. The butler does have a point.)




Note how Sally still has her gun on everyone. Beyond being a felony in and of itself, about none of this would be admissible in court. Sally is looking at about ten years in the slam for this. As for Leila, her attorney would have all of this “evidence” thrown out of court.


This is what is known as a drawing room climax, in detective story terms. Most of them are as improbable as this one.


This all falls apart if Leila can come up with an alibi for being somewhere else whenever Talley was shot. That’s probably the second thing her attorney will advise her. The first thing is that her “confession” is not admissible in any court.


As for Leila’s financial problems, they may be alleviated somewhat by the massive lawsuit her attorney is going to file against Sally and the Chief’s professional liability insurance firm. Losing their license is the least of Sally and the Chief’s concerns. They are probably going to spend their last dimes staying out of jail.



Despite its flaws, this version of Sally the Sleuth wasn't that badly done. It wasn't all that characteristic of Private Detective magazine, which at this point was on its last legs. As Sally had blazed the way for this publisher's entry into comics, she was about to demonstrate the audience for a new type of comic publication.



Next: Sally was the pick of the litter as far as comics running in Private Detective. In our next post you will meet her stable mate, the weirdly inferior Jerry Jasper.