Mippyville

The Spirit -- when it all came together

2012-02-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

One of these days, when I'm feeling flush, I'll break down and buy myself a complete hardbound set of the Spirit so I can really watch it develop from the beginning. It's possible that reading straight through will change my opinion, but for now I suspect that June of 1941 was when the strip became fully realized.

It had been brilliant and filled with wonderful ideas from the beginning but the first appearance of Dusk is the first story where the strip's mature style and flavor are evident. This is all the more impressive when you remember that the medium itself was still in its infancy.

Another striking WWII cover from L.B. Cole

2012-01-09T00:02:00.000-08:00

I'm amazed this didn't catch on

2012-01-06T23:16:00.000-08:00

It seemed like such a great idea when Jethro did it.

From Ghost Rider #13

A visually striking early effort from Simon and Kirby

2012-01-06T22:03:00.000-08:00

The narrative logic may leave something to be desired but the fourth dimension still looks pretty cool.

I wonder if Lee and Ditko read The Barker?

2011-12-28T00:07:00.000-08:00

Extraordinary WWII propaganda from MLJ

2011-12-18T03:27:00.000-08:00

Before they became synonymous with teenage humor and changed their name to Archie, MLJ was known for its notoriously violent superhero line. One of their most prominent characters was a Spectre knock-off known as Mr. Justice.

The art in the following story is crude in places but the images are striking and the portrayal of Hitler is a fascinating glimpse into the mindset of the times.

A couple more memorable Golden Age Covers

2011-12-04T03:26:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately the actual comic is not nearly as lurid as the cover.

From, believe it or not, the people who brought you Captain Marvel.

Matt Helm -- the Removers

2011-11-27T12:32:00.001-08:00

Just finished reading the third of Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm books. Most people are probably familiar with Helm through a series of bottom-of-the-barrel Bond spoofs starring Dean Martin. The films range from weak to wretched and Martin plays them as if he were doing a sketch with the Golddiggers.

This reputation as a second-rate cartoon is doubly ironic, first, because Hamilton was a very good writer and second, because Helm was, if anything, a less cartoonish version of Bond. In broad outline, the two series were similar, but Helm's world was far dirtier. He had more of a conscience than Bond but he did worse things: beating women, letting colleagues die, killing bound prisoners with untraceable poisons, doing wet work to prop up dictators he personally despises. Anything the mission required.

In one telling incident in the Silencers, Helm crosses paths with an agent from another bureau who is trying to prevent the death of a number of scientists and congressmen. Though Helm's mission (killing a minor enemy operative) is clearly less important, Helm only gives what assistance he can manage without jeopardizing that mission.

The Wrecking Crew has a nice summary of Helm's attitude:

"The man in the bushes with a broken neck," she whispered. "The one by the cabin with a bullet in the back. In the back, Matt!"

"Yeah," I said. "In the back. He happened to be facing that way."

..."But he'd surrendered, Matt! He had his hands in the air!"

...I said, "It was my job, Lou. I had to finish it, no matter where his damn hands were. I couldn't leave it for some other poor sap to have to do all over again."

Matt Helm was one of the definitive Gold Medal protagonists. The cinematic version was one of the primary inspirations for Austin Powers. You don't get a bigger jump than that,

Cole goes for broke

2011-11-19T03:05:00.000-08:00

Other than a scantily clad damsel, you can't ask for much from a cover than this.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

2011-11-13T22:19:00.000-08:00

Damn, what a party...

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Think of them as the senior class of the "usual gang of idiots." Or the original MAD men perhaps.

There's Al Jaffee, who at 90 still draws the optical illusion fold-in gags for MAD magazine's back page. And Sergio Aragones, still whipping out eye-straining and gut-busting miniature cartoons in the magazine's margins after 48 years. And Jack Davis, who was there at the beginning, drawing the horror spoof "Hoohah!" that appeared in MAD's debut issue in 1952.

What the hell is a wing-shot?

2011-10-30T01:30:00.000-07:00

Another reminder why they call it the Eisner

2011-10-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

The Post-war Spirit stories have such beautiful, fully realized quality that it's easy to forget that comics was a very young medium, still in the process of being invented by its creators, particularly Eisner, the artist who, as Jules Feiffer put it, was the artist other artists stole from.

The story of P'Gell is justly remembered for the extraordinary sexuality of the titular character, but it also shows Eisner playing with visual storytelling, using the repeated motif of translucent curtains to suggest depth and build mood and enhance the sensuality of the piece.

Great stuff.

Introducing Frankie

2011-08-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

Briefer was still growing as an artist and a writer when he created comics' first ongoing horror series and the medium was still in its infancy, but nonetheless there are signs of major talent in this 1940 story. Powerful images. A fine eye for composition and panel-layout. A flood of visual and narrative ideas.

Enjoy.

"Shakespeare made enjoyable"

2011-08-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated was a knock-off of Classics Illustrated. As far as I can tell both the title and the publisher never made any real impression, but some of their ad copy is good for a chuckle.

Another stylish cover by L.B. Cole

2011-07-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2011-06-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

Joe Kubert and the importance of sucking

2011-06-17T01:24:00.000-07:00

The following story sucks.

There are glimpses of talent here but on the whole it's crude and ugly, like something a teenager might draw.

As a matter of fact, it was drawn by a teenager. This seems to be the first story published by Joe Kubert, who would, in a few years, produce some of the most beautiful and influential comics of the Golden and Silver Age. He was able to do that, in part, because he was in a field where a young artist could support himself while learning his craft.

The first requirement for achieving greatness is the opportunity to suck.

Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2011-06-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

Keri Krane -- another groundbreaking Golden Age series by Dick Briefer

2011-06-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

Dick Briefer is famous among knowledgeable comic buffs (particularly here in Mippyville) as one of the best and most innovative cartoonists of the Golden Age. His fame rests almost entirely on his three interpretations of one character, Frankenstein.

But Briefer created other series as well and at least one also deserves a place in the history books. Keri Krane was (as far as I can tell) the first tough female private eye appearing in genuine noir stories. Briefer's style was light and there were humorous touches but these were not funny stories. As you can see here, Krane dealt with truly bad people and faced dangers that were decidedly non-cartoonish.

Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2011-05-29T02:16:00.000-07:00

Early Eisner

2011-05-23T00:14:00.000-07:00

In 1939, Will Eisner was 22 years old. He had already established himself as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in a booming new medium. More importantly, he was pushing that medium, both through his own art and through the artists working for him. His art was always a notch above the rest and from the beginning he was creating new techniques in what we now call sequential storytelling.

Yarko is nearly forgotten now (he only made one American appearance -- Wonder World Comics #8), but it stands up better than many of his longer lived competitors.

Enjoy.

It's only right that you should be bright -- read Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner

2011-05-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

I have to say, he's taking the news about Uncle Dobbin pretty well.

Basil Wolverton's Spacehawk -- the first appearance

2011-05-16T01:53:00.000-07:00

From Toonopedia:

Wolverton both wrote and drew Spacehawk, who started in the fifth issue (June, 1940) of Target Comics. The character wasn't one of Target's most prominent features, appearing only once (August, 1940) on the cover (which was usually given to The Target, who thoughtfully provided villains with something to shoot at by putting a target on his chest). Nonetheless, the series drew a lot of mail. Wolverton's talent for creating disturbing images, which truly blossomed in the late 1940s, was already manifesting itself in some of the most repulsive aliens yet seen in comics, and parents of frightened youngsters were writing in to complain.

Hospitalization for only three cents a day

2011-05-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

This ad from a 1950 issue of Airboy shows how much things have changed and how much they haven't.

More Covers from the other Cole

2011-05-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

Star might not have been able to compete with EC in terms of what was actually in the comics, but when it came to covers, Star had L.B. Cole, and no one ever drew a cover like Cole.

Develop a well-bred head with Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner

2011-05-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

No wonder the empire fell

2011-05-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

An odd ad that appeared in a 1952 British reprint of Simon and Kirby's Black Magic.

From Wikipedia:

Joan the Wad is a mythological character in Cornish folklore. Specifically, she is Queen of the pixies (or piskeys), a race of tiny creatures usually associated with the area of Cornwall and Devon. Wad is a dialect word for torch.

Not much has been written on Joan, as the folklore of Cornwall relied on oral tradition for hundreds of years. She has been associated with Jack o' the Lantern, a will-o'-the-wisp type character who leads travellers astray on lonely moors, hence the rhyme:

Jack o' the lantern! Joan the wad,
Who tickled the maid and made her mad
Light me home, the weather's bad.

However, Joan is also thought to be lucky, and another rhyme runs:

Good fortune will nod, if you carry upon you Joan the Wad

Even today people will carry small figures of her for good luck, a small collection of which are housed at the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle.

Talking about people's welfare is how Hitler started

2011-05-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

It also seems to have had something about the fall of the Roman Empire.

An anti-union screed from 1950 (art credited to comic strip legend, Dan Barry). Possibly passed out to employees of National Association of Manufacturers members:

Here's some background on NAM from Wikipedia:

In 1903, David MacLean Parry delivered a speech at the annual convention of the National Association of Manufacturers that was focused on organized labor. He argued that unions' goals would result in "despotism, tyranny, and slavery." Parry advocated the establishment of a great national anti-union federation under the control of the NAM, and the NAM responded by initiating such an effort. The NAM encouraged the creation and propagation of a network of local anti-union organizations, many of which took the name Citizens' Alliance. The national Citizens' Alliance entity came to be called the Citizens' Industrial Alliance.

According to Adam Curtis's documentary "The Century of the Self", NAM used Edward Bernays in the 1930s to combat the policies of President Roosevelt. NAM made efforts to undermine organized labor in the United States before the New Deal.

Once again, it's "Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton"

2011-05-07T23:57:00.000-07:00

The Art of Looking Lurid

2011-05-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

Romance comics always promised more scandal than they delivered, particularly after the Comics Code went into effect.

Intimate, published by Charlton, 1957:

Possibly the least practical holster ever

2011-05-06T00:47:00.000-07:00

It was the end of 1971 and they'd just run out of James Bond novels to adapt so they really had to go the extra mile.

Trouble Spot -- Script by Jim Lawrence, art by Yaroslav Horak.

Watch for wonderful words of wisdom in Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner

2011-05-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't a swamp monster dry out in New Mexico?

2011-04-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

As mentioned before, the Heap was the first of the comic book swamp monsters. As Don Markstein puts it:

The Heap was comics' very first shambling muck monster, tho he was undoubtedly inspired by Theodore Sturgeon's 1940 short story, "It", the template for all shambling muck monsters to come. "It" told of a man who died in a swamp, fermented in a broth of rotting vegetation, and eventually rose again, half man, half fetid vegetable matter, to wreak vengeance upon his foes. Another prominent "It"-inspired comic book character of the 1940s was DC's Solomon Grundy, who bedeviled Green Lantern starting in 1944.

In The Heap's case, the man in the muck was Baron von Emmelmann, who had everything to live for — wealth, social position, loving wife, baby he hadn't yet seen, etc. — when, on October 12, 1918, his plane was shot down over Poland's Wausau Swamp. Lying lifeless as his body slowly merged with the morass, he had nothing left but his will to live, to rise, to return to the world of humans.

I have no idea how our shambling hero made it to the American Southwest, but if questions like that bother you then you shouldn't be reading comic book in the first place.

Don't you hate that feeling of almost remembering?

2011-04-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely certain this is the work of an artist I ought to know but I can't quite place it.

From Unseen #6

Mippyville thought for the day -- taste

2011-04-25T02:02:00.000-07:00

There's a difference between having good taste and being a slave to it. If you can't enjoy the pleasures of the bad effects in a cheap sci-fi film or the greasy goodness of a basket of chilli-cheese fries or the sublime goofiness of a Silver Age comic, then your cultivated palate has left you poorer, not richer.

Help Sarah Palin support Mippyville

2011-04-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. Perhaps even more importantly, every time you click on the ad of a politician you dislike or merchant you disapprove of, an impoverished blogger gets a small amount of money from the politician or merchant.

Not that I would recommend such a thing, of course.

Be prize wise guys -- read Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner

2011-04-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

Cowboys and Aliens -- Basil Wolverton Style

2011-04-23T00:43:00.000-07:00

More BingBang Buster from Black Diamond Western.

Will Eisner's PS Magazine

2011-04-20T02:27:00.000-07:00

Will Eisner was the most influential comics creator... period. With all due respect to remarkably talented men like Kirby, Cole, Siegel and Shuster, Lee, Barks and all the rest.

Eisner saw not only the artistic potential of comics but the commercial and instructional potential as well. With that in mind he created American Visuals Corporation and PS Magazine (featuring the beloved Connie Rodd).

Now the good people at Digital Comics Museum have downloaded a whole truckload. You can see that Eisner had put a lot of thought into the problem of teaching through sequential art. You'll also notice he has pretty much solved the problem of holding soldiers' attention while instructing them.

Do you want wisdom? (in every sense of the word 'want') -- read Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2011-04-17T01:01:00.000-07:00

Once again. it's time for Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2011-04-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

Pre-code Horror from Mort Meskin

2011-04-07T01:39:00.000-07:00

Mort Meskin was a legend in the Golden Age of comics and a huge, acknowledged influence on a young Steve Ditko (I could easily imagine Ditko drawing the panel below).
From Out of the Shadows, 1954...

Cut the chains from your brains -- read Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner

2011-04-03T01:08:00.000-07:00

More Basil Wolverton -- Bingbang Buster

2011-04-01T00:59:00.000-07:00

Though Powerhouse Pepper is best remembered today (partial because of who published him), Basil Wolverton produced a number similar strips for various publishers in the Golden Age.

Here, from 1950, is a Western variation on the theme:

And now a word from our sponsors

2011-04-01T00:55:00.000-07:00

The following is brought to you by the good people at Ultrasonic Remote.

Never spurn what you learn in the Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2011-03-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

From Whiz Comics #125

For knowledge you'll never acquire in college, read Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2011-03-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

From Whiz Comics #66

Complete with dripping horror font

2011-03-15T01:48:00.000-07:00

Despite what you may have heard, the surgeon general's report was stronger than most people expected but it basically backed up what everyone had known all along: smoking was bad for you.

When you see those ads from the Fifties with doctors smoking and recommending specific brands, you need to remember that these ads didn't reflect popular perception; they were trying to counter it.

Learn things about stuff!! Always read the Culture Corner -- with Basil Wolverton!!

2011-03-13T01:11:00.000-08:00

Just because I haven't mentioned John Stanley for a while

2011-03-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

Nor have I recently posted a link to Stanley Stories, which is nearly inexcusable. John Stanley was that rarest of birds. In addition to being a gifted cartoonist, he was a comic book writer who could actually write. His characters were sharp and believable, his plots were beautifully constructed and his dialogue was a joy.

Your source for all things Stanley is, of course, Stanley Stories, presented with loving scholarship that borders on the obsessive, from the early Lulu years to the brilliant curtain call, O.G. Whiz.

One of the essential comic book blogs.

Get polish without the brush -- read Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner

2011-03-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Will!

2011-03-05T21:27:00.000-08:00

And thanks to the good people at Google.

For a character with magical powers he wasn't very lucky

2011-03-03T02:30:00.000-08:00

But he was very good.

Out of the seemingly endless crop of Mandrake impersonators who cropped up in the Golden Age, Mr. Mystic was one of the least successful, but he was possibly the best drawn of the bunch. Bob Powell achieved what might be his personal best on this back feature for the Spirit Section (quite an accomplishment given Powell's portfolio).

Will Eisner created the character and wrote the first run of stories including this memorable tale from 1940.

Dave Berg before Mad

2011-02-28T11:50:00.001-08:00

Though Dave Berg's "Lighter Side" was the most aggressively mundane feature to appear in Mad, focusing on ordinary people facing everyday urban and suburban life, his earlier work often featured surreal images and fantastic settings. These tales were also marked by beautiful artwork that often reflected the influence of his boss at the time, Will Eisner.

From 1942, here are the adventures of Sir Butch.

From Ibis #1

Do you yearn and burn to learn? Read Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner!

2011-02-26T21:29:00.000-08:00

From Whiz Comics #115

"Open all night for war workers"

2011-02-23T01:24:00.000-08:00

One of the things you notice in the popular culture of the early Forties is how every aspect of life was focused on the war, even things like keeping shop open all night to accommodate the around the clock work of the defense plants.

from Whiz Comics #53

Welcome to the family

2011-02-23T01:18:00.000-08:00

Now open, the Mippyville Bijou, catering to the most discerning of Mippyville's cinema lovers.

Friend or Foe? -- insert appropriate metaphor here

2011-02-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

Watching the skies in 1943.

Smash Comics number48

Don't be Spurin' Learnin'! Read Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton!

2011-02-19T23:21:00.000-08:00

From Whiz Comics #100

Wit, humor and filosophy

2011-02-16T02:24:00.000-08:00

Captain Billy's Whiz Bang started a publishing powerhouse that would include Family Circle, Gold Medal Paperbacks and, of course, Whiz Comics.

It even merited a line in the Music Man as one of the bad influences Harold Hill warns the residents of River City about.

For the sophisticated palette, it's "Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner" with Basil Wolverton

2011-02-12T16:54:00.000-08:00

From Whiz Comics105

The only Golden Age story you'll read this week featuring Pancho Villa, Richard the Lionhearted and Robespierre

2011-02-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

From Toonopedia:

The Kid's opening story was written by Otto Binder (Legion of Super Heroes, Supergirl) and drawn by Sheldon Moldoff (Hawkman, Moon Girl). Its protagonist was a boy whose name wasn't mentioned to the reader — in fact, having been addressed as "kid" all his life, he wasn't even sure he had one. He and his only known family member, Gran'pa, were at sea during the early days of World War II, and their ship was sunk by a Nazi submarine. The gatekeeper of the Afterlife passed Gran'pa straight through, but there seemed to have been a mistake about "Kid" — according to the records, he was supposed to live another 75 years. A supernatural entity named Mr. Keeper had committed the error (his first in 2,000,000 years), and so "Keep" (as Kid called him) became responsible for the boy.

Keep brought Kid back to Earth and gave him a unique super power. Using "Eternity" as a magic word, he was able to summon assistance from anyone who had lived in the past. With great fighters, wise counselors and even the occasional politician at his call, Kid Eternity, with Mr. Keeper (who had resigned his supernatural commission) at his side, handled menaces of all types, from world conquerors down to children having trouble with their neighbors.

There was always a goofy charm to Kid Eternity. The logic of the stories wasn't always compelling but the string of bizarre cameos always kept things moving. This particular episode was notable not only for its memorable guest stars but for its not-so-comically setting. The phrase 'banana republic' originally referred to servile dictatorships supported by U.S. fruit companies. They were corrupt, brutal and unstable, just like the one in this story.

The original chronicler of banana republics, William Porter (a.k.a. O. Henry) based his stories on the time he spent in Honduras hiding from the law. I doubt anyone involved with this story spent much time in the tropics, but they did remember to draw the bunches growing up; that has to count for something.

The end of the original Marvel era

2011-02-08T01:50:00.000-08:00

Whiz Comics ran for 155 issues and every one of them featured Captain Marvel, arguably the most popular of the Golden Age, at times outselling even Superman.

This final story, printed in 1953, is unusually dark for a Captain Marvel story but that was the direction the industry was headed in -- 1953 was the height of the horror trend with EC titles like Tales from the Crypt peaking in sales and quality.

There are no decapitations in this story, but the monster's plan are genuinely disturbing and the story is tight and well drawn. Not a bad note to go out on.

The Death Patrol -- distinctive early Cole

2011-02-06T22:14:00.000-08:00

Death Patrol debuted in the first issue of Quality's Military Comics alongside Blackhawk. It was created by Jack Cole under the supervision of Will Eisner. Though Cole was just finding his voice a lot of distinctive traits are already obvious, both artistic (check out the layouts) and thematic (the possibility of reform, the juxtaposition of slapstick and violence).

Enjoy.

From Military Comics #1

Just in time, it's "Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner" with Basil Wolverton

2011-02-06T02:53:00.000-08:00

from Whiz 74.

Comic book time capsule -- acknowledging racism in 1942

2011-02-05T00:36:00.000-08:00

Sadly, it is not difficult to find ugly racial caricatures in Golden Age comics. If anything the depiction of any non-WASP was even more crude than what you routinely found in the rest of the popular media. Largely unrestrained by the shackles of respectability, comics went wherever they had to for a cheap laugh or an easy dramatic effect.

But there was more complexity here. As with poverty and corruption, the artists and writers of comic books could show some surprisingly progressive views about racism. As previously noted, the Green Lama confronted racism in the army during World War II. This Midnight story (Smash #33) by Jack Cole takes an even more interesting view. It starts out as a fairly standard comic book fantasy about finding a lost African tribe in the Florida swamps (complete with white queen adorned with decorative breast plates), but them it takes an interesting turn...

The introduction of slavery adds a certain weight to the story and gives the antagonist a just if misguided cause.

What really struck me, though, was the ending.

If nothing else this is a testament to the amazing impact of Joe Louis, not just as an incredible athlete but as an honest man in what had been considered a corrupt business. More than that, though, the strip reminds us that people in this country were aware of and felt guilty about the treatment of the Black Man in America for a long time, long before anything was done about it.

Sometimes we like to think that recognizing a problem brings the nation close to a solution. History does not support that assumption.

This would definitely be worth a Popsicle bag

2011-02-03T01:47:00.000-08:00

From Whiz Comics 147

And now a word from our sponsors

2011-02-03T01:45:00.000-08:00

Kruzno.

Rare Premature Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2011-01-29T18:30:00.000-08:00

Golden Age recursion

2011-01-25T01:18:00.001-08:00

Unlike most comics companies (which generally came from the pulp side), Fawcett was the publisher of major magazines like Mechanix Illustrated and Family Circle (as well as racier titles like True Confessions). It's not surprising that Fawcett's comics were a bit like MGM movies -- well crafted and entertaining with good production values if sometimes a bit stiff. You won't find many of the flashes of (often dark) genius that you saw from artists like Eisner, Cole, Simon&Kirby*, Briefer, Ayers, Meskin, even Shuster. What you will find are stories that are beautifully drawn (particularly those by Mac Raboy), charming, clever and often gently and subtly medium-pushing.

From 1947:

From 1951:

Though Simon and Kirby did a brief stint on Whiz Comics.

Once again, it's "Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton"

2011-01-22T23:03:00.000-08:00

Stockbroker vs. Carnie -- ethics division

2011-01-22T01:33:00.000-08:00

You may have heard that negative portrayals of stockbrokers and bankers in popular culture is a recent development. It's not.

From 1949:

I know of nothing special or worthwhile about this comic...

2011-01-20T02:45:00.000-08:00

except for the fact you could get fourteen issues out of a book with the title "My Secret Marriage."

A bit of Golden Age whimsy with the big red cheese

2011-01-19T00:52:00.000-08:00

By some measures, Captain Marvel was the best selling character of the Golden Age. His adventures (like this one from 1949) were always whimsical, clever and well-drawn. There was something about the character that lent itself to a light and cartoony touch. Perhaps it was his innocence (he seemed, if anything, less worldly than his young alter ego).

When this artist (Kurt Schaffenberger) became the artist for DC's Lois Lane story he was arguably my least favorite artist with a major publisher; here he's just about perfect.

"Whut a handy-cap bein' SANE is to a cartoonist!!"

2011-01-17T01:27:00.000-08:00

For some reason, Comics.com runs the same two segments of Li'l Abner (one from the Thirties, one from the Fifties) over and over. Fortunately, in the middle of the second segment we get one of the best and unquestionably least sane of the adventures of Fearless Fosdick.

Check it out if you dare.

Wait, there's more "Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton"

2011-01-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

With a talking monkey, Jack Cole comes into his own

2011-01-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

From the first L-shaped panel to the ironic return of the clock tower on the last page, this may be the first fully realized Jack Cole story. The art may not be as polished as his comics of the late Forties or his Playboy cartoons of the Fifties but in terms of visual ideas and using the medium, this is a stunning piece of work.

To illustrate my point, I had intended to pull some panels but it just didn't work. Not that some of the individual panels aren't good enough to stand on their own, they certainly are, but all lose something when excerpted. You can only fully appreciate what Cole is doing in context. I suspect that, at the time, only Eisner had a better grasp of sequential art as a story-telling medium.

From Smash Comics #21

Update: Click here for Paul Tumey's loving detailed analysis of this story.

In the Sixties, you could buy real estate from a comic book

2011-01-13T02:25:00.000-08:00

Not that the current system is that superior,

Graft, orphans and a glimpse of great things yet to come

2011-01-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

It would take another story or two for Jack Cole to hit his stride and for Midnight to become one of the great series of the Golden Age, but there is is still plenty to appreciate here, from striking composition and use of perspective to explosive and sometimes rather gruesome action to an almost Capraesque tale of social injustice.

for Smash Comics #19

"Paul Bunyan has gone to war"

2011-01-11T02:14:00.000-08:00

There is something sadly alien now about the concept of shared sacrifice and pulling together, even if you were only eight years old and collecting scrap paper and metal.

Another Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2011-01-09T00:30:00.000-08:00

Attentive. Sympathetic. Still.

2011-01-03T03:02:00.000-08:00

What makes a good comic book artist?

Economy. A strong sense of composition. An understanding of body language. Inventiveness. The ability to suggest motion. A feel for evocative images. A knack for visual storytelling.

Which brings us to Jack Cole. Cole is best known for his over-the-top, often grotesque images and explosive scenes of mayhem...

but the natural complement of the ability to suggest motion is the ability to suggest stillness. Take a good look at the second of these two panels. It's a beautifully composed shot that perfectly captures the sad, quiet moment. Check out how Cole depicts each characters' attitude. (and keep in mind this is the same artist who gave us the image of a hypodermic about to puncture an eyeball.)

Of course, like all good comic art, this is best appreciated in context...

Yet even More Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2011-01-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

Brooke McEldowney plays with the panels

2011-01-02T02:29:00.000-08:00

Brilliantly.

You'll definitely want to click on this one to get the full impact.

A New Year's Resloution from 1948 (via Dogpatch)

2011-01-02T02:21:00.000-08:00

Some Lady Luck to start the New Year -- another Golden Age classic

2011-01-01T02:41:00.000-08:00

A particularly Eisner-esque outing from Klaus Nordling.

From Smash Comics #59.

Bulls and bears in love -- a Jack Cole Golden Age classic

2010-12-30T02:35:00.000-08:00

Normally being considered a potential substitute is not all that flattering, but when a Golden Age publisher looked at a young cartoonist as a potential substitute for Will Eisner, the artist should indeed be flattered.

That was the situation that Jack Cole found himself in and history has born out that publisher's opinion. Cole is now one of the unquestioned geniuses of the medium for his inventiveness, his humor, his extraordinary sense of composition, his expressiveness and his ability to pack explosive energy into a cheaply printed image.

All of these talents are on display in this story from 1947...

And now a word from our sponsors...

2010-12-27T02:29:00.000-08:00

Remember that the best way to support a blog that doesn't have collection plate is to click on one of the ads you see to the right.

It was new! He was different!

2010-12-27T02:25:00.000-08:00

You've probably never heard of the Barker. He was published by a major comic book label (the aptly-named Quality which also gave us Plastic Man, the Blackhawks, Black Condor and many other well-remembered characters). He was co-created by one of the recognized geniuses of cartooning (Jack Cole) and was drawn for almost all of his run by a gifted and highly respected artist (Klaus Nordling). He had a healthy run as the cover feature of two titles.

But the Barker wasn't a superhero (and it's superheroes the fanboys remember); he was just what his name implied, a man with a smooth patter who drew crowds into a carnival. He was also the de facto boss of a circus that routinely had to deal with thieves, conmen, murderers, suspicious crowds and corrupt local officials, all in entertaining fashion.

So step right up and for one thin dime, a mere tenth of a dollar...

Even More Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2010-12-26T02:37:00.000-08:00

From Whiz Comics #68.

"All the other reindeer used to..."

2010-12-24T19:43:00.000-08:00

Dasher on Dancer

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"Pre-war quality at pre-war prices"

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This was 1947 and people were already getting, if not nostalgic, then at least a little wistful for the good old days.

Still More Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2010-12-19T02:08:00.001-08:00

From Whiz Comics #93

More Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2010-12-12T13:00:00.000-08:00

From Whiz Comics 141.

Frankenstein meets Siegel and Shuster

2010-12-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

Like Siegal and Shuster, Dick Briefer had been been in the comic book industry since the mid-Thirties and all three were major players throughout the Golden Age.

Sunday Afternoon Culture Corner with Basil Wolverton

2010-12-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

From Whiz Comics, 1946

Driving Mippyville

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Within this vale

Of toil and sin,

Your head grows bald,

But not your chin.

Use Burma Shave

Frankenstein meets Frankenstein

2010-11-24T15:47:00.000-08:00

Dick Briefer always had fun playing with the line between the merely dark and the truly grotesque. In the Mippyville stories, he normally pulled back before things got quite as potentially gruesome as this 1946 tale.

Briefer also enjoyed parodying popular culture figures from Bing Crosby to Inner Sanctum host Raymond. Boris Karloff fit right in.

The early art of Walt Kelly -- "the Adventures of Peter Wheat" part two

2010-11-23T12:39:00.001-08:00

As mentioned earlier, before creating Pogo and coining the immortal words "We have met the enemy, and he is us" Walt Kelly was a gifted comic book writer and artist working mainly for Dell. One of the more unexpectedly charming works of that period was a series of promotional comics for a now forgotten bakery.

You can find pretty much the whole run at the Digital Comics Museum.