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Welcome to the online studio of Francisco Mattos, built w/ printed pieces, experiments, souvenirs, personal projects.
-| December 2020 |-
CORNERS OF HONG KONG
The first road built in Kowloon was in 1904 by governor Sir Matthew Nathan. Beginning harborside at Tsim Sar Tsui, the boulevard ran just over two miles north to Sum Sui Po and Boundary St, where the New Territories begin.
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HK residents can travel to the portuguese port by ferryboat, hydrofoil or amhibian plane; the former takes an hour, the others are faster. In 20th-c. Macao, the only means for its residence to catch an airplane was first travel to HK. Both ways, the traveler crosses the Pearl river delta while skirting the South China sea.
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A commercial venture next to Ma Tau Gok went bust when entrepreneurs Mr Kai and Mr Tak could not develop the land they had reclaimed from Kowloon Bay. This prompted the HK government to purchase the waterfront property and, in 1912, build an airfield.
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Decommissioned in 1998, Kai Tak Airport will no longer offer arriving airplanes a careening welcome onto a harbor runway when pilots need to perform demanding and exacting maneuvers each and every time. (Photo by Christian Hanuise)
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The english bridge connects the isle of Shameen (left) w/ Canton on the right. There is also a french bridge. A sandbar in the Pearl river was reclaimed and built upon by british and french merchants wanting residences in town.
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The 1958 cha-cha-cha champions of HK Bruce Lee and his dance partner. A dance craze emanating from Cuba in the early 1950s, swept HK youth into dance classes to learn how to execute two consecutive quick steps.
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When the british government conducted the first census, Sek Pei Wan (Aberdeen) had zero population; at the time it was just a pirate’s cove. Graced w/ a tiny yet excellent harbor. Tanka (boat people) eventually made it a homeport, an important one among many dotted along the coastline.
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KITCHENETTE
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Smoked Salmon
Smoked Salmon
ala Hee
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Lemon Rice Soup
Lemon Rice Soup
ala Peterson
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- |- onion |- cabbage |- chicken broth, 1 can |- olive oil |- lemon pepper |- rice |- garbanzoes, 1 can |- lemon
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Start by chopping some onion & cabbage. Place these in the cooking pot along with ½ of the can of chicken broth. Save the remaining ½ can for the next meal. Add 2-½ cups water & bring to a simmer. Also add lemon pepper. Trader Joe’s sells a very good one that is inexpensive. I use 9 twists of the grinder. Also add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. The olive oil is expensive, but one jar lasts a long time at only 1 tablespoon per batch.
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When the onions & cabbage are nearly cooked, add ½ can of the garbanzoes; save the remaining ½ can for the next meal. At this point I also add about 1 cup of pre-cooked rice. When the rice and vegetables are ready, add some lemon juice one teaspoon at a time. This is the tricky part: you have to stir & taste as you go, until you get just the right amount of lemon flavor.
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Pre-cooking the rice can be a hassle, so you might try putting uncooked rice into the soup at the very beginning. I would start with no more than ¼ cup of uncooked rice, otherwise you may end up with congee rather than soup.
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Lunch
Lunch
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“Please pass the cream – yes – that’s enough
(“I knew her years before the war”)
“I’d love some of that sugary stuff” (“She must be at least fifty-four”)
“I can’t believe your dress is true” (“He said his lines in an appalling way”)
“It’s almost a delphinium blue” (“To me he ruined the entire play”)
“The whole thing’s such a terrible disgrace” (“Surely he was the Duke’s adopted son!”)
“If I were in Winston Churchill’s place...” (“My dear, you’re thinking of another one”)
“I always loathed the girl, she drinks and swears.” And everyone was thinking – “Christ! Who cares.”
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Sacrapantina
Sacrapantina
“Holy Smokes”
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| In 1990, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors honored baker and owner of Stella Pastry in North Beach, Franco Santucci, as the best baker in the world.
| His prized creation is the Sacripantina, born long ago and in Genoa, where a feast was given by a king in which a dessert was to be the centerpiece. | Conceived by the queen, it stunned the assembled when they tasted this confection of “cream, air and magic”, conjured w/ Almond Powder, Butter Cake, Cream Frosting, Meringue, Simple Syrup, and Zabaglione.
| Here is a similar
recipe to a North Beach classic.
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Watercress Salad
Watercress Salad
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- |- 1-½ cup Watercress (leaves only). |- 1 cup chopped and pitted cured Italian Black Olives. |- Peel and dice 1 Fuji Apple per person, and toss w/ Lemon Juice. |- Combine well the 3 ingredients and serve in chilled bowls. |- No dressing needed. No S-&-P. |- Goes well w/ Homemade Croutons (chopped semi-stale Bread tossed in a skillet using 1 tbsp Butter, 1 tbsp Olive Oil, Garlic (1 clove per person), and Black Pepper). |-
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Andy Warhol Cocktail
Andy Warhol Cocktail
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- |- 1-½ ounce Cognac. |- ½ oz. Benedictine. |- ⅓ oz. Lillet Blanc. |- 2 dashes Orange Bitters.
| Back |
ANTONIO AGOSTINHO
≡| Motorist
| ¶ |
After the Second World War, Hong Kong took pains to rebuild its transportation infrastructure. Roads were widened and new routes were created.
| ¶ |
An integrated transportation system came into play, w/ single and double-decker bus service. A tramway running the length of HK island on the harbor side and a second one just for the Peak. Two passenger ferry routes btw. HK and Kowloon and one ferry route dedicated to vehicles.
| ¶ |
User-friendly driving calmed grateful trucks, taxis and private cars, heeding traffic cops and easy-to-spot stop signs and signals.
| ¶ |
My father Tony got his driver license when he was 35 years old. The war had ended seven years ago, and having to drive on bald tires became a thing of the past.
| ¶ |
Tony’s first and only car was a Simca, a Fiat built in France, and he drove it to work every day. He took his wife grocery shopping and his family on regular Sunday drives to every nook and cranny of HK, Kowloon and the New Territories that was accessible by car.
≡| Heir
| ¶ |
Baby Tony was baptized a week later in the Catholic Cathedral. Two days after that he received registration papers stating that he was a HK citizen. He went to school at 9 and graduated in 1932.
▶ Tony’s Father
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Tony’s father José was born on February 21 1892 in the parish of Freguesia de São Lourenço, Macau, to Filomena Russurreição da Silva Oliveira (b.1864) and Pedro de Alcantara de Oliveira Mattos (b.1864).
| ¶ |
He was 21 when he married Cristalina Cristiana Collaço, at that time a minor, at the Cathedral in Canton. Their first child Maria Lucia was born, and five years later my father. They had five more: Regina, Victor, Teresa, Adelina, and Gloria Cristina.
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José supported his family as a clerk w/ the Asiatic Petroleum Co., a joint venture of Royal Dutch and Shell Oil in China.
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Then, around 1929, he abandoned everyone, boarded a ship and disappeared.
≡| Graduate
▶ HK Portuguese
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“The Portuguese in Hong Kong”by Cyril Neves, 2003 | ¶ | When the British Fleet dropped anchor and raised the flag at Possession Point [in HK] on a January morning in 1841, the first people ashore were clerical staff from the British trading companies in Macau. Ever since, the Portuguese have woven a rich and splendid thread through the history of Hong Kong. ... Everyone knew what a Portuguese was, but after centuries in Africa, India, the Malay Islands of the Indies, Goa, Japan and China, it was sometimes difficult to explain. Intermarriage over the generations had blurred the lines. ... There were no Portuguese who were not Catholics. ...
▶ Air Travel
| ¶ | “China Cycle” by Richard P. Dobson, 1946 | ¶ | I filled in forms and collected the necessary visa in a hurry, and by the following dawn was at Kai Tak aerodrome embarking in a Pan-American Clipper. The Clipper was a mighty machine. I reclined in a bunk, and they brought me tea, then sandwiches, then beer. When I arose there were light refereshments and buffet lunch in the lounge, so the passengers were kept happy until after about five hours the distant blue sparkle of the sea gave way to the vivid green of forest and jungle and soon we hissed smoothly in to the naval anchorage at Cavite. ... Everything was expensive. Manila is one of the most costly places to live in that I know—
≡| Adult
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When the Second World War reached Asia, Tony and his family left British HK for neutral Macau. He and his brother became gendarmes -- armed guards on patrol. He left service w/ a tattoo.
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One of Tony’s duties was to stand watch at the border w/ China. Daily he watched as people fled from bullets and bayonets. One day he caught the eye of someone, who must have also locked eyes w/ him because they most certainly began a love affair.
▶ Macau Falls
| ¶ |
“Birdless Summer” by Han Suyin, 1938
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The offensive of the Japanese against Canton started on October 12 1938; on the 21st Canton was taken, even though there were 200 Chinese troops there. On the order of Chiang Kaishek there was no resistance, they were withdrawn. The Japanese attacked both by land and sea, 30 warships sailed up the Bocca Tigris, 20,000 men landed. 43,000 Canton Volunteers put down their names to fight for their city, but the officials were fleeing, no one would give them weapons. The bridge which spanned the Pearl River and the city was bombed; on the afternoon of the 21st, Japanese motorized units entered Canton. By this action Japan placed her military power in position for a thrust, three years later, upon the British colony of Hong Kong.
≡| Witness
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During the war, Tony read history and learned about the world by collecting stamps.
▶ HK Surrenders
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“Tales of Hong Kong” by Gene Gleason, 1967
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Two Japanese divisions invaded [HK] from China on December 8 1941, conquered the New Territories and Kowloon in ten days, and crossed to the north side of HK Island at several points btw. Lei Yue Mun Pass and North Point. Outnumbered and w/out air cover, the British, Canadian and Indian defence forces took their main stand at Wong Nei Chong Gap to prevent the Japanese from driving south to cut the island defences in half. The Japanese defeated the defenders decisively at the Gap and pushed forward to complete the cuf-off at Repulse Bay.
▶ Aftermath
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“Fragrant Harbour: A Short History of Hong Kong”by G.B. Endacott and A. Hinton
1968 | ¶ | For nearly four years [HK] remained under Japanese military occupation. British civilians were interned at Stanley in the St. Stephen’s College and Prison area. Under war conditions the Japanese were unable to feed a large population in HK or to maintain health and other public services, so a large number of people returned to the mainland and the population shrank to some 600,000. The war ended in August 1945, and on August 30 1945, British warships entered the harbour and accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison of 21,000 men. The British once again took control of the government.
≡| Fighter
| ¶ | In his late twenties Tony was paying attention to the buzz on a free Angola. He was careless and for his troubles a letter arrived from the British Consulate in Macau:
13th January, 1945.
Sir,
I feel I must draw to your attention that certain of your associations may in future draw the unfavourable attention of British Authorities. I feel I need specify no further since you will be able to know to what I refer. I suggest that for your own good you sever these associations as soon as possible. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, (H.B.M. Consul.)
≡| Spouse
| ¶ | In 1943, police guard Tony married domestic Patsy at St Anthony in Macau, according to and conforming to the Rite of Saint Mother Church Catholic Apostolic Roman. He signed but she did not, “because she could not write.”
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Tony took a photo of his first-born and captioned it on the back:
▶ Tony’s wife
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Tony’s wife was born on July 7 1918 in Nam-Hoi, Canton. When war reached her village she left w/ two sisters for the coast and never saw her family again.
| ¶ | Eldest sister rests her hand on youngest sister. The eldest would open a tucks shop and die in HK, the youngest would return to China to live. Patsy, the middle sister, went to America.
≡| Husband
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His 1946 passport (no. 241) listed Tony as a British subject by birth. Five feet nine inches, dark brown eyes and hair.
| ¶ | By 1958 Tony was a father to five children. He sent a postcard to his eldest, living then in Manila:
| ¶ | Tony was living at 51E Wyndham Street in 1936 when he found a job w/ the Hongkong Electric Company to work in its showrooms. Salary was HK$60 per month and hours were weekdays 7 to 5 + Saturdays 7 to 1.
≡| Electrician
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After the war, he was rehired and by 1957 was a second assistant engineer. Eight years later he was a testing assistant and was issued a War Department Pass.
≡| Petitioner
| ¶ | By 1966, the Cultural Revolution had spilled over to HK. Red Guards marched to Government House for redressing of past behavior.
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Tony had gone through one war w/ Patsy they did not want to again, not w/ a family. He sought to immigrate and wrote to his mother and older sister in America.
| ¶ | On May 6 1969, Tony handed in his resignation and was granted early retirement so that he could take up residence in the United States.
≡| Emigré
| ¶ | In 1969, Tony brought Patsy and their three youngest aboard the President Cleveland, docked in HK. After a stopover in Yokohama, they arrived in Honolulu on June 13, where he declared his intention to immigrate w/ his family to the United States of America.
| ¶ | Patsy passed away suddenly in 1973 from cancer. Widowed, Tony filled out a statement of facts for a petition to become a naturalized citizen. He was 56.
≡| Widower
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Tony worked in a mailroom in San Francisco, happy to be among stamps. Then his work performance suffered, and in 1980 he was let go. After deductions, his last paycheck came to 301.74.
| ¶ | Lost in thought, Tony is comforted by his mother.
| ¶ | Falling into despondency, Tony moved to the Tenderloin, signing in as “Antonio O. Mattos” and taking Room 303 at the Marlton Manor.
≡| Paterfamilias
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Tony was 67 when he passed away. Thirty-seven people went to his funeral, incl. siblings Adele and Victor, and all his children. He liked to go night fishing by himself, and was a member of the Hong Kong Philatelic Society (POB 446) from 1950 until he left his hometown.
TONY’S PHONE BOOK
All his children get listed (incl. their old addreses, employers, roommates), his sisters and their families, his ex sister-in-law in Toronto, and his mother.
Tony joined UMA Inc and stayed in contact w/ his HK friends, incl. the Alvareses, Browns, Carneiros, Carvalhos, Collaços, Gregorios, Ribeiros, Rochas, Rozas, Silvas, and Xaviers. He had many Chinese friends back home, new ones in America; there are at least eight New York addresses.
His primary physician was Dr Gerald Roberts and the secretary’s name was Marilyn. How to contact Medicare, Medi-Cal, Neighborhood Legal Assistance, Mt Zion Hospital, and the Radiation Oncology Tumor Institute.
SF’s Arrow Stamp Co. and Sunrise Stamp Co. Library hours. Bus info. Where to get bait. Two bank accounts. Nearby restaurants serving Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, satay, fish-&-chip. Japanese words daijobu, gohan, ichi ban, ofura, sashimi and what they mean.
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Super Moon over Perth.
Yagan Square is a new area built to honor the Aboraginal beginnings of Perth.
Well listen –I’ve been making tea for longer than I can remember–
Don’t let’s get into difficulties about this. But you must listen to an Englishman about tea. When making tea, always bring the pot to the kettle and never the kettle to the pot.
Oh, your knowledge is surprising. ... Don’t see why you should say surprising.
Well I would do that without even thinking about it. ... Right and also you have to use real milk you can’t use the UHT fake stuff, you have to use proper milk. ... Well you really have to put the milk in first which many people don’t.
Put the milk in with the water, before you boil the water? ... No, you’re confused already no, you put the milk in before you pour the water in or the tea, whichever.
Al-Zubarah, Qatar
In 1811 there was a successful siege and what remained was abandoned and eventually was covered by sand. The property 
Immortal Dane Whitman brought his time-tested skills as the 
Although he owns a Legion flight ring from the 30th century, when not in a hurry to get somewhere Michael Jon Carter prefers to drive. He comes from the future, sheathed in a super-suit boasting futuristic tech, but the feel of rubber on road gives 
Little is known about this shapeshifting foe of Batman Beyond. Her fluid body allows 
Jimon Kwan’s car is parked behind the world’s first eco-fire station. She’s there to give a demonstration – in her capacity as 
Before he went to war as the 
It takes two of Jamie Madrox, the 
The grandfather and great-grandfather of James Jesse were from the world of vaudeville, which is why their spawn continued their forays into self-powered locomotion and built a portable air-cooled engine, hooked up to an accelerator switch, an engine cut-off switch, and single-horsepowered roller skates, and later tormenting the Flash w/ weaponized toys as the 
An inside-out refrigerated truck driven by Leonard Snart, commiting crime as 
H.G. Wells jumped at the chance to take a spin in an experimental contraption that his American friend and fellow futurist, the head of 
This tasty USSR-era Trabant was on display in a Belgrade art gallery when 
This rarely seen Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic belongs to Arthur Curry (Aquaman) and is nicknamed the Drop because he almost never has need for it.
Even super-heroes driving sports cars have to stop and pay toll, as the Thing heckles 
After punching Hitler in his debut, the city of Manhattan awarded Steve Rogers w/ a spanking red 1937 Ford, and he promptly took off to drive cross-country. Then 
Before his life was imbued w/ Bahdnisian powers and he took control of the human thunderbolt, 
Bentley Wittman, narrowly escaping the Human Torch, is chauffeured back to his mansion on Long Island and his life as the 
No way is the mysterious 
Suddenly, the hovering air-car is jolted by a fantastic wave of force … and that is when 
A surreal episode of the 
To have a bit of fun while Superman is recovering from their latest encounter, Mr Mxyzptlk, the imp from elsewhere, uses 
Vic Sage blends into his camouflage car, ephemeral behind a pseudoderm mask, during the time he joined Blue Beetle, Captain Atom and Nightshade as the 
When insect-female hybrid Queen Zazzala of planet Korll returned for a rematch w/ the Justic League, she went first to the Citroen museum in Aulnay-sous-Bois near Paris, and took possesion of an experimental 1940s light-weight hovercar which she used as a beehive-nest. Badly damaged and abandoned, it still oscillates when touched, awaiting new instructions from the 
The nomadic Roy Harper, leaving behind his Speedy persona, took to the road in an oft-vandalized therefore oft-disguised van. When he landed in England, the former battling bowman persuaded Banksy to let him take the famous SWAT van for an extended spin as 
Random page from the mid-century portfolio of billionaire industrialist 
Sue Richards fetched Agatha Harkness, her boy Franklin’s new governess, in a custom-built Hispano-Suiza, previously owned by an heir to the Dubonnet fortune. It was a regal ride befitting the 
An early electric car prototype from the morbid mind of Oswald Hubert Loomis, aka the 
When her mom asked if her new car was safe, Jennifer Walters sent this blurry pix of her unusual find while in college. It proved ideal for camping, and that was when she got into an accident, needed a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce, and began a new existence as the ravishing rough 
In 1923, Tony Stark’s dad visited the Fiat Factory in Turin and openly admired their roof treatment. When what later became the 
Besides lending his occult skills to combat evil, 
Tony Stark awarded his executive assistant 
Kent Allard’s elusive 1957 Lincoln Premiere, which he drove as the 
Carter Hall was so smitten when Hal Jordan drove up in a Phantom Corsair that the test-pilot promptly gifted this one-off automobile to the extraterrestrial detective, known to Earth as the 
An experimental floating fortress from the malevolent minds at 
Although a haunted horse accompanies his cursed existence, the ghost of highwayman James Craddock also owns a train, breaking the law as the 
Long after the owner of Gotham Broadcasting Co. Alan Welling Scott, was visited by the Green Flame of Life (“Three times shall I flame green! First to bring death! Second to bring life! Third to bring power!”) and fought evildoers as the 
Brainiac 5 retooled an antique and created the “frisbee”, armed w/ repel-rays, as a combat suit for Chuck Taine, the 
Hooking up to his Plymouth Barracuda’s batteries to recharge his pyro-costume, Garfield Lynns unleashes a color crimewave based on rainbow rays as the 
Ted Grant’s ride when he’s fighting crime as 
Brainiac 5 constructed this bi-cycle for Luornu Durgo Taine (
With wealth to spare, socialite Wesley Dodds had a taste for danger and cars. Which is why he could imperil his 1935 Bugatti Aerolithe by taking it out to strike terror among wrongdoers as the 
A gift from Brainiac 5, this experimental bike allowed Lana Lang to apply 30th-century technology to her 20th-century life. While fiddling around w/ the teleportation button during a ride in the countryside, she managed to trade bodies w/ all the insects in a nearby field, becoming for a spell the 
Socialite Kathy Kane, in her first appearance as a masked crimefighter, leading the Batmobile into the fray on her Bat Bike. “Hurry, Batman – the 
The keys to this experimental car from Stark Industries were handed to Matt Murdock, giving added comfort to his forays as 
Samuel Joseph Scudder drove this solar laboratory on wheels in his first appearance in Flash #105, “
This innocuous van offers storage for Rory Regan’s collection of mystical rags, allowing 
Model kit from Aurora for Britt Reid’s special-built 1965 Chrysler, featuring a 413 engine. Bruce Lee as Kato drove the Black Beauty to fight crime w/ the 
Sowing feline felony in Gotham City w/ her Cat Mobile, Selina Kyle leads a lawless life as the
Winslow Schott, the terrible 
The seldom driven Joker Mobile is deployed to track down a double-crossing mobster. “The whole job – the safe-cracking, the getaway - all bear the stamp of Dink Devers! The cops think he died – but he’s right here in town, at the Blake Hotel! Ha-HA-HA!” “Gosh, 
A proficiency in auto mechanics as well as miniaturization landed Ray Palmer a plum position as a team member rehabilitating a Ferrari 375 Plus. Palmer kept tinkering some more on the racing car, giving it a capability of being shrunk, and constitutes the first step in his quest, as the 
While parked on a cloud, the 
King T’challa of Wakanda’s elusive jeep parked in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, where he was on a secret mission as the 
This “fire” truck, designed by Stark Industries, later patented by General Motors as the Futurliner, was used to house JIm Hammond, an android spawned in the mind of Prof. Phineas T. Horton. This lab-on wheels is remotely controlledd, insulated inside to withstand the intense fire generated by the golden age 
