Wallace the Brave by Will Henry for February 22, 2025

My college had an AM radio station, and there was a 500 foot radio tower on the west side of the campus. At its peak was a flashing red warning light so that aircraft would not fly into it. The warning light was actually two huge bulbs so that when one burned out, the other would still warn aircraft of the tower.

The radio station manager was a chubby middle aged man, and all the rest of the staff, announcers and engineers, were students with campus jobs. When that one bulb burned out, a student engineer would be assigned to climb the tower and change both bulbs. This was so the time for the bulbs to be lit wold be as long as possible. My roommate was one of the engineers.

One day, a bulb burned out and a student was assigned to change it. He got about halfway up and froze. The station manager (SM) went to climb up and rescue him. This was done by the SM climbing up until he was right behind the student, but one rung lower. Then he would pull the students hand off the rung and down one, which the student would grab. Then he would go down and pull the corresponding foot off and down. Then up for the other hand, and down for the other foot. Repeat until they were back on the ground.

I wonder if someone will rescue Collin the same way.

He really got caught in that spiderweb

“I reached the top and had to stop,

And that’s what’s a bothering me."

King Louie in The Jungle Book (1967)

Time to call the Red Panda!

When I was a teen I got half way up a water tower and froze. The fear manifested physically with slippery, slippery hand sweat, light headedness, tunnel vision, and a feeling that a force was pulling my grip from the ladder. I descended as slowly as an hour hand. It was something.

A plane… or a seagull.

I had this happen with an actual red panda! At my last job (a zoo), one of the young pandas climbed the mesh to the top of the exhibit, about 30 feet, and couldn’t figure out how to get down. I went up on a ladder to try to catch her, but because I was wearing gloves, she moved away from me every time I got near. Finally we got her positioned in a slightly lower corner, and just set the ladder near her – and she figured it out and came down the rungs! Kids will be kids, any species..

Sigh, more seagulls

I used to love spider towers. I never referred to them that way, but they were AWESOME. especially when one is ten and everything seems larger.

The Snug Harbor Boys and The Tower of Fear.

What is that beast on top of the tower?

This looks like a job for…The Red Panda!

“Red Panda Power….Activate!”

Bam, zoom, saaaa-whoosh!

Wow, they must build those way higher these days than when I was a kid, if they were in danger of being hit by a plane. :P

Collin Cullen, great name. I work with a Merrel Mirrel.

Just read all the comments….guess I focused on the wrong part of the story line.

" tippity top", can it get more adorable?

Send the sea gull up with a message!!!

Panel one reminds me of a Lassie episode!

After a little research, my guess is that it’s about 12 feet high. I love how Will Henry drew it so it’s apparently at the same height as the clouds.

Good to see the “threesome”…… Spud, Wallace AND Seagull in tandem, rushing to save their friend Collin…… who apparently we haven’t met yet!

First panel “what is it fella” reminds me of “what’s that, Lassie? You say Timmy fell down the well?” (paraphrasing here)