Number 1448: Joe Kubert and the Dance Macabre

“Dance Macabre”* by Joe Kubert is another of his early works, this time from Black Cat #2 (1946). Over the past few years I've posted some of Joe’s work from those days when he was in his teens and early twenties. (See the links down below the story scans.) Even in his earliest artwork Joe showed signs of being a prodigy, but he constantly worked at his craft. Over time he became one of the greatest, and most respected comic book artists of all time. Because he had been mentored by artists like Mort Meskin he did the same with his Joe Kubert School. The history of comic art would be a much different place without Joe, and so I find virtually everything he did to be of interest.

*The name of the musical piece is actually “Danse Macabre,” written by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1874.

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More early Joe Kubert. Just click the pics:

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Number 1435: “Who is the Black Cat?”

Who is the Black Cat? I just happen to know: Linda Turner, glamorous Hollywood movie star by vocation, masked crimefighter by avocation.

As far as superhero types go, I think Black Cat was as good as any, and being a pretty girl didn’t hurt. It is nice to see a babe kicking butt. There have always been female superheroes, of course, but Black Cat was succeeding in a comic book market where her male counterparts were being cancelled.

This particular story, from Black Cat #2 (1946) has what I always think of as a Batman plot, where a crime kingpin puts a bounty on information leading to the secret identity. I must have seen it used more than a few times, and it is entertaining. I like the Rook’s* gang of illiterate crooks. The panel sequence at the bottom of page 7 is funny. “How ya spell ‘cat’?”

“K-A-T, ya joik.”

The art is by Lee Elias.

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*Thirty years later Elias would do stories for Warren about a time-traveler called the Rook. No relation.

Another Black Cat story. Just click the thumbnail.

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Number 1328: “A whirlwind of flying fists and smoking guns!!”

Black Cat is really Linda Turner, Hollywood movie star, who has nothing to do when not filming but go around in costume fighting bad guys. As a member of the “Evacuation Corps,” Linda goes on a short mission to buy a ranch to keep children safe in case the war comes to California. Naturally, the owner refuses (it isn’t as if Linda asked him; it was more of a demand), and that lack of patriotism gets Black Cat involved. Although Linda tosses in a gratuitous personal insult and seems high-handed in her treatment of the ranch owner, it turns out the guy is in a with a ring of saboteurs. So, owing to the temper of the times, he deserves to get his butt kicked all the way to Berlin. The story, drawn by Arthur (Arturo) Cazeneuve, is from Harvey’s Speed Comics #22 (1942).

This is our last day of Pappy's “War is hell on the homefront” week. All of our stories this week have been from comic books published in 1942, and the subject is the war against saboteurs fought on American soil. I want to continue this theme in the future.

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Number 1229: The Black Cat uses her ninth life

The Black Cat, really movie star Linda Turner, lasted a bit longer than many other costumed characters of the 1940s and into the ’50s, but eventually her time came to an end. This is the last issue of her regular series. There's a full-page announcement that next issue would have mystery stories, and so began the lifespan of Black Cat Mystery, one of the premier horror comics of the pre-Code era.

Not long ago I said there was just something about a girl in a cat suit*...and so it was with Black Cat. It was a cute strip, well drawn by Lee Elias. Linda was a beautiful girl, and she had a partner, Kitten, who was a young boy. A boy called...Kitten?** At least Linda called him Kit some of the time.

I'm also showing a short story with Linda and her “boyfriend” Rick. I'm not sure about that question he asks of Linda in the splash panel, “Got your tonsils oiled?” Sounds dirty to me.

From Black Cat Comics #29 (1951):

 *Check out Tigra, who advertised a Belgian cigarette brand of the same name:

**Another Golden Age hero, Cat-Man, had a girl sidekick named Kitten.

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