One of the Penetrator's kinkier adventures finds our hero in Japan, relaxing on a well-deserved vacation. Probably written by Chet Cunningham (whose credit is missing from the inside cover), TOKYO PURPLE is a typically fanciful and fast-moving espionage tale with a literally explosive finale.
#6 in Pinnacle's long-running series pits Mark Hardin against a Japanese crime syndicate called Sendai Purple, which is led by a physically powerful Sumo named Kamisori—"Razor" in Japanese. Kamisori has kidnapped a beautiful American scientist and, through rape, degradation and torture, forced her to help assemble an atomic weapon that he can sell to the highest bidder. His mistake was putting out a hit on the Penetrator, who was just minding his own business with a sexy Japanese stewardess in Hong Kong before dodging Sendai bullets.
Hardin takes a generous amount of punishment this go-round, absorbing blows to the head, gunshot wounds and shrapnel, but still retaining enough strength to engage Kamisori in a climactic battle to the death using ancient weaponry housed in the Sendai's underground castle chamber. Like the rest of the series, TOKYO PURPLE is top-notch entertainment bursting with action, local color, sinister villains and outrageous gadgetry.
I really need to put a dent into my pile of Penetrators books. But they get push to the side since I have so much other material I want to read. But this was one of the few I have read and loved.
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