"Paste the Axis"

From Whiz Comics 33

And an "Out of this World" cover

Art by Gene Fawcette.

More "Out of This World" Kubert

Sometimes these things hit a little close to home

Jackys Diary

Another one for the gone and unjustly forgotten pile.

From Toonopedia:

Cartoonist Jack Mendelsohn has worn more hats in the cartoon industry than most. He's written comic books such as DC Comics' Jimminy & the Magic Book and Archie Comics' Super Duck. He's written and directed animated series such as Hong Kong Phooey, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Clifford the Big Red Dog. He's ghosted both the writing and illustration for comics, e.g., the newspaper version of Felix the Cat and the comic book adaptation of Mell Lazarus's newspaper strip Miss Peach. And he's credited with creating some seriously odd cartoons, such as Filmation's Groovy Goolies and, odder yet, this one — Jackys Diary.

King Features Syndicate launched Jackys Diary as a Sunday-only comic on January 11, 1959. It purported to be the hand-illustrated, hand-written diary of a young boy, supposedly Mendelsohn himself in his extreme youth. Thus, it was both written and illustrated as though by a small child — which is not as easy to do as some who have had the misfortune of growing up might think. Week after week, Mendelsohn described trips to the circus, fishing expeditions, visits to members of his extended family, and all sorts of other adventures kids have, in a style simulating that of an actual kid — except, of course, for the fact that it was professionally rendered in every way.

The website the Fabuleous Fifties * has a great collection of the strips. Here are three to get you started.






*That's how he spells it.

Heartbreakingly effective 9 Chickweed Lane strip

Check out how Brooke McEldowney uses shifting perspective to reinforce the impact of the scene.

Ever wonder about all of those shots of floating heads around Spider-man?

Mort Meskin was a huge acknowledged influence on Steve Ditko, from his rubbery anatomy to his striking compositions.


Meskin was also a major figure in Golden Age comics, working on some of DC's best known titles, though many historian rank an obscure title called Golden Lad among his best work. From 1946:















From Golden Lad #4