The Yellow Claw and Jimmy Woo of the F.B.I by Dave Goode

I was introduced to the Yellow Claw and Jimmy Woo in the 60s through Jim Steranko's run on the Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D feature in Strange Tales from Marvel Comics. A few years later I found out that the Yellow Claw was the star of his own comic book back in the 50s that had a brief four issue run. In these stories Jimmy Woo played Sir Dennis Nayland Smith to the Claw's Fu Manchu. Woo would thwart the villain's latest scheme for world domination. But he could never quite stop him completely. Or capture him. The Claw was aided by his right-hand man escaped Nazi war criminal Fritz Von Voltzman. The first issue was written by Al Feldstein and illustrated by Joe Maneely. Jack Kirby would take over the stories and art from the second issue on with covers by Bill Everett and John Severin. Kirby being Kirby the stories took on a more science fiction tone.I prefered that first issue cover-dated October 1956 by Feldstein and Maneely.

That first issue by Feldstein and Maneely had the feel of a Monogram mystery movie. I could easily have seen that studio producing a movie version.When I read those stories it isn't hard to imagine Victor Sen Yung famous as Hop Sing on the legendary TV western Bonanza as Jimmy Woo.Yung had portrayed Charlie Chan's No.2 son in a number of mystery films in the 40s and he looked to me like Jimmy Woo come to life.

Actress Gloria Talbot who seemed to be always cast as "exotics" might have made for a good Suwan,niece of the Yellow Claw and Jimmy Woo's love interest in the comic book. She had played Milton Caniff's Dragon Lady on the Terry and the Pirates television show. Fritz Von Voltzman could have been played by Gene Roth. 

As for the Yellow Claw himself?Hmmm. How about Henry Brandon who did such a bang-up job as Fu Manchu in the serial The Drums of Fu Manchu?

NOTE: Watch me, Vance Capley, draw this on the latest Draw TV with special guest Dave Goode