Number 22

Toni Gayle By L. B. Cole. Guns Against Gangsters Number 6, July-August, 1949.


Crime Does Not Pay had issued in a whole genre of comic books when it introduced and popularized the crime comic books of the 1940s and 1950s. They also raised the ire of parents and educators everywhere, who were convinced that crime comic books were turning their kids into juvenile delinquents. Fredric Wertham, M.D., who published his book, Seduction Of The Innocent in 1954, was writing in 1948 about what he perceived as the dangers of crime comic books, and they were under the microscope from several diverse and equally concerned groups.

Some publishers tried to make their products a little more palatable to parents. In this crime comic, Guns Against Gangsters Number 6, there are legends under some of the pages, as they attempted to blunt the effects of then burgeoning criticism. Evil men appear in these stories, but "they get what's coming to them." Or to answer the charges that comic books were poorly printed and their lettering hard to read, you find the legend, Large, easy-to-read lettering in all "balloons" in this magazine.

In reading the story you can see that unlike Charles Biro and Bob Wood's Crime Does Not Pay and Crime And Punishment comics, fewer words were used in Guns Against Gangsters. Where Biro's comics could be almost novelistic in verbiage and length of stories (especially for Golden Age comic books, where 13 pages was a fairly long story), Guns Against Gangsters simplified the writing.

L. B. Cole, who worked for both this magazine and its companion, Criminals On The Run, drew the Toni Gayle lead story in this issue, as well as the second story, "The Gunmaster Gregory Gayle," starring Toni Gayle's dad. Cole also drew the classic cover, which I posted in Pappy's Number 14.

When I read this Toni Gayle story, besides noticing how simple the plot is--some bad guys looking for jewels they tossed at Toni while escaping the Coast Guard--I'm also struck by Toni's pin-up style sex appeal. These comics were being sold to boys, most of them probably in the 10-to-14-year age group, but some older as well, including adults. (Despite the claims of today's comics being for "adults," comic books have always had at least some adult readership.) Almost 60 years later Toni's obvious charms still show very well. In lingo gleaned from Seduction Of The Innocent Toni's breasts would be called "headlights," and they are definitely on high beam throughout the story. I'm also fascinated by how she can dive into the water and come up with hair and makeup--even high heels--still intact and perfect.

L. B. Cole drew, by his estimation, nearly 1,500 covers in his career. He was a decent artist on these inside continuity pages, but it's for his covers he's famous. His ability to make eye-catching poster-like covers sold an awful lot of otherwise mediocre comic books. Except for his loving renditions of sexy Toni, I don't think there's much else about this artwork that would send anyone's pulse racing. But then, maybe that was enough for those readers in 1949 looking for a little something extra for their dime.

More about →

Number 21

COVERING IT: Classic Golden Age Comic Book Covers Part 6

When my son saw this classic Alex Schomburg cover for Startling Comics #49, January 1948, his first response was, "Did they use this as a model for Bender?"

Bender being the robot on Matt Groening's animated TV series, Futurama, that is.

See for yourself.

Click on pictures for larger images.

.

More about →

Number 20


Frankenstein Friday: Frankenstein's Creation by Dick Briefer

Dick Briefer has become a cult artist over the years, like Basil Wolverton, or Boody (Sparky Watts) Rogers. His individual and funny cartooning style made him stand out, even in an era of individual and standout artists.

Frankenstein's Creation is the first story from Frankenstein #1, from 1945. The Frankenstein feature had been one of the more popular in Prize Comics for some time, and continued on for 17 issues in this solo series. In 1952 the series was picked up again with #18, but in a horror comics vein, a real departure for such a cartoonist as Briefer. It lasted until issue #33, in 1954.

Briefer, who was born in 1915 and died in 1982, quit comics just as the Comics Code came in, and his career paralleled almost exactly the Golden Age of Comics, from 1936 to 1954.

On upcoming Frankenstein Fridays I'll be showing the rest of Frankenstein #1, and then Frankenstein#2 and some subsequent issues that I own, including from the 1950s horror-era series.

As a side note, even in 1945 horror movie fans knew that the monster's name was not Frankenstein. This is made clear in this origin story, as Frankenstein's unnamed creator (just called The Mad Scientist) says that Frankenstein is not his name, but he endowed that name on the creature. Since most people called the monster "Frankenstein" anyway, it was a good way to get around that little factoid in Frankenstein lore.

You can find some more Briefer Frankenstein stories on this website. I don't have these stories and they make a good companion to this series. 

Next week: Frankenstein And The Ghouls And Vampires

More about →

Number 19

It's Easy To Win Her!

Click on picture for larger image.

You say you don't get along with women…say you want a girlfriend but you can't find one? Say when you try to talk to a female your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth like it's been Superglued? You say when you do ask a girl out you suggest she come to your house to drink beer and watch NASCAR and she says, "No thanks!"

You say you're 45-years-old and the last time you were kissed was when your mom sent you off to kindergarten? You say that you're a flop with chicks, and you been this way since 1956? You say you can't meet girls at the comic book store where you spend all your time and money?

Is that what's troubling you, Bunky?

Well, rejoice! Put down this copy of Crime Does Not Pay #107 from February, 1952, pick up an envelope, a 3¢ stamp, and a black crayon and mail this coupon, ordering this terrific book, How To Get Along With Girls!

It'll tell you what girls really like in a guy, and hot stuff like how to interest a girl in you. (Hint: It might help if you wash your hair and change your underwear more than once a month.) It'll also show you how not to offend. (Brushing the moss off your teeth is a good first step!) And the all-important how to be well mannered. (Don't show her how long and loud you can belch, or how far you can spit.)

Until you get those preliminaries out of the way you're not ready for the section on "how to show her a good time," unless you promise not to try for that "good time" during the first five minutes of the first date. Dinner and a movie are nice, and might even lead eventually to her showing you a good time!

Finally, take it from one who knows, if you want to find and keep a girlfriend, always trust advice you can find for 98¢ from a crime comic book ad.

More about →

Number 18

Jack Cole and Silver Streak Part II

In Pappy's Number 6 I presented the first story from the rare Silver Streak "no number" edition from 1946. It reprints stories by cartoonist Jack Cole from issues 4 through 7 of the first run of Silver Streak Comics. Cole later went on to become famous for other things, including Plastic Man, and cartoons for Hugh Hefner's Playboy Magazine.

This particular episode of Silver Streak involves terrorists, who look suspiciously like Ku Klux Klansmen (a lot more prevalent as an object of terror in the 1940s than they are now). These terrorists are in on a plot to change the gold standard of the United States to a silver standard. Yeah, I know…it's a screwball plot, made even screwier by an ending about a businessman trying to corner the market in silverware. This being a comic book the plot is wildly simplistic…or is it? I guess what it reminded me of is businessmen that have been trying to gouge the public since time immemorial. In its own way it is prophetic about a company like Enron, which had the absolute audacity to screw the whole state of California!

The Silver Streak story is slambang action from beginning to end. It's a great example of Jack Cole in the days of his early career.

As always, the files are big, so while downloading you guys with dial-up put on your jogging suits and take a run around the block. "Can't spend all your time indoors reading comic books, y'know," as my mom used to say. "Oh yeah? Why not?" I used to say…but that's another story.

More about →

Lo, There Shall Come a Geek

Of all the weird heroes to arise at the end of the Silver Age, and there were a lot of them, perhaps none was weirder than Brother Power, the Geek. A creation of Joe Simon, the less famous half of the Simon & Kirby team, Brother Power came to life via spontaneous generation. He was originally a tailor's dummy, but combined with the heat from a radiator, a little machine oil, and a spark from a bolt of lightning, he came to life.

He was initially a friend of hippies, but aspired to more than their lifestyle. He had incredible strength, which came in handy for beating up a bunch of motorcycle goons:



In the first issue he's kidnapped to be a featured attraction at a carnival freak show, but his hippie buddies rescue him. He decides he wants to become a politician, but the carnival operators convince the cops to arrest him for breaking up their tents. At the end of the first issue he drives off the Golden Gate Bridge.

In the second issue, after being pulled from the deep by another group of losers, and almost kidnapped by a bizarre Baron with a Fokker biplane (sic), Brother Power goes into the world of business. He rapidly moves up the ladder, with smart thinking and hard work. Eventually he runs a major missile plant, beating out a villain named Lord Sliderule. But Sliderule gets revenge by sabotaging a missile launch. BP is once again wanted by the police. He sneaks into the missile in an attempt to escape but Lord Sliderule blasts it into space. The hippies manage to convince the cops that LS is to blame for the problem with the missile launch, but in the meantime, what will happen to Brother Power?



Despite the promise of a next issue, none appeared and Brother Power, The Geek was sidelined for several decades, although he did pop up in a couple comics in the 1990s.

In retrospect, it seems like DC had decided to try to go after the burgeoning hippie market. In some ways this seems inspired, but of course as with much that DC did back then, it was half-hearted. It poked fun at the hippies for their laid-back lifestyle and while this was certainly a fair criticism, it did undercut the marketing to many teens who saw the hippies as role models (mostly because they were their older brothers).

This Wikipedia entry certainly indicates that BPtG was controversial in DC's halls.

While sales of the title were modest, Brother Power was not popular among the staff. DC Comics artist Carmine Infantino claimed in an interview that Superman editor Mort Weisinger disliked the character very strongly, and petitioned DC publisher Jack Liebowitz to shut down the title. Weisinger hated hippies and felt that Simon portrayed them too sympathetically.

More about →

Number 17


Frankenstein Friday


This is the first Frankenstein Friday. Friday will be a day you can check back and see some really funky old material starring various comic book versions of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's most famous creation, the Frankenstein Monster.

I've just finished scanning Frankenstein #1 from 1945, the Dick Briefer humorous version. I don't have a whole collection of those comics, but I have several, and will be scanning them in months to come. Most of the material I have is from that particular Golden Age series, so if you like Frankenstein, if you like Briefer, this will be the blog to check on Friday.

First up, though, is a collaboration between two of comics' greatest, Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder. This is their version of Frankenstein, from Humbug #7, February 1958. From Mad to Trump, Humbug, Help! Magazine and finally to their greatest collaboration, Little Annie Fanny for Playboy, Kurtzman and Elder worked together successfully from the 1940s until Kurtzman's death.

This Frankenstein story (or "Frankenstien," as it's called here), seems to be a continuation of the Mad comic book work the pair did together five years earlier. It has all of the hallmarks of the hilarious Mad work, down to the funny captions and backgrounds that Elder threw into virtually every panel of every strip he did for Kurtzman. The pen-and-ink work is especially nice.

Unfortunately, Humbug was poorly printed on cheap paper. It made it all the more difficult to scan. When I scan a comic book I usually have to do some tweaking with my CompuPic software, but I had more challenges than usual with this strip. The magazine I scanned it from had been wet at some point in its near 50-year life, also folded down the middle. It's been kept away from light but still the paper is turning a tan color. It looks pretty sad! The scans have actually improved it, but it isn't perfect. You can tell by the panels where Elder pasted up the halftone photographs of equipment and machines the imperfections in the original printing haven't been helped much by the scan.

As one letter writer to Humbug put it, "The paper isn't much better than you'd find in some bathrooms, but the humor is there, and that's what counts."

Humbug was a collaborative effort between artists, putting out a magazine they all had a financial stake in. They did it on the cheap and it shows. They had the artistic vision, but the medium wasn't up to the vision, and Humbug failed to reach its audience. It took the lush first rate reproduction and printing of Little Annie Fanny to assure Will Elder and Harvey Kurtzman their place in comics history, as if Mad wasn't enough. "Frankenstien" came between those things for which they are best known, but it's part of their collaborative history. It's worthy of their talents.

For you guys with dial-up, go work on your Aurora Frankenstein model kit while these large files download.

Coming up next Friday!

More about →