Your images aren't showing up for me, @WetRats, but I know which cover you mean, and that Flessel cover for Detective was my second choice.
As for O’Mealia, I don't know much about him. He didn't do much work in the comics industry, just a few years in between stints as a newspaper strip artist. Like Irwin Hasen, O’Mealia worked as a sports cartoonist early in his career (Hasen for boxing, O’Mealia primarily for baseball). But unlike Hasen, he stuck with it even while doing comics and newspaper strips. Interestingly, he was perhaps the only guy (the only one I know of anyway) who did sequential baseball cartoons for the newspapers (his work appeared in the New York Daily News and The Sporting News).
Here’s his most famous drawing, the cover of The Daily News after the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Yankees to win the 1955 World Series.
Okay, Action Comics #2 would probably be my pick for July 1938, but since that's already been picked, I'll go with my close second, Detective Comics #17—another Creig Flessel cover. O’Mealia’s Action cover is beautifully drawn, but Flessel’s Detective cover has a bit more oomph to it. There's a nice flow to the composition. The eye is first drawn to the heavy dark area of the hero's shadow, and follows through the figure to the lantern, which is pointed right at the cast shadow of the villain. If that cast shadow had been black instead of purple, it wouldn't have worked nearly as well, because it would have drawn too much attention.
I'm pretty sure I've talked about Flessel in this thread before, but for those who weren't around then, he's best known for his work on the “Sandman” feature in Adventure Comics. And I'm sure we'll be seeing his work again before long.
It should also be noted that O’Mealia drew the “Dr. Fu Manchu” feature which began inside this issue. It's an adaptation of Rohmer’s The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, and the first time the character appeared in a comic book.
Although it "wasted" a lot of space, there's something really attractive about that early DC trade dress, with the big white bar for the logo and that dynamite typography.
For September 1938, I'm passing over a gorgeous, iconic O’Mealia cover for Action Comics #4, and another lovely Flessel cover for More Fun Comics #35, and going to one of the somewhat overlooked gems of the early Golden Age—or any age really—Feature Book #16, with a cover by Jimmy Thompson. First, the cover:
I really like the trade dress; it makes the cover truly stand out. Now, Thompson did package his own work for David McKay Publications—he wrote, penciled, inked, and lettered the entire story inside—so he may have also designed the cover besides just drawing the illustration. Thompson came to comics some years into his professional career. He was already a commercial artist, as well as a staff (read ghost) artist for some newspaper strips for the Philadelphia Ledger. And he was good—one of the best of the time.
But there's more to this book than just a pretty cover. Many consider this comic and its 61-page original story to be the first graphic novel. And the story itself is considered among, if not the best Native American-related comic book work ever done. I've only seen a few pages of this story, but his “Indian Lore” feature for Magic Comics (also David McKay) is very respectful, quality work. Keep in mind that David McKay published all kinds of books, not just comics, and Thompson’s story fit perhaps better with them than it would have with a comics-only publisher. Here's a page from “Red Eagle,” just to give you an idea:
He was an excellent artist. His later work for DC and Timely—primarily “Robotman” for DC and “Human Torch” for Timely—tended to be more cartoony, but was dynamic and superbly laid out. He left comics in 1952, two years after David McKay ceased publishing, and he kind of fell off the map, though one source indicates he may have gone into teaching.
...I think I recall having seen one of Thompson's Robotman stories years ago, and I remember it being pretty good -- but I do like his Red Eagle page a bit better.
October 1938: Not a great selection this month. I'm going with a more humorous cover by Creig Flessel, More Fun Comics #36. Though it's kind of an odd choice of covers for the series, which was much more about the thrills than the laughs advertised in the banner. There's nothing in this issue even remotely resembling the scene on the cover.
I was so happy when my wife got me the essential godzilla for my birthday a few years ago. It is one of my favorite licensed comics. Also Godzilla is still a part of Marvel continuity.
December 1938: Nothing really special about this cover for Jumbo Comics #4. I don't even know the artists who drew it. And there's an unfortunate racial stereotype. But I went with this because there aren't any real standouts this month, and because of the talk on another thread about print sizes.
Jumbo Comics lived up to its name. For the first eight issues, it was printed at tabloid size—10-1/2" x 14-1/2"—and was 68 pages long. Issue #9 was only 8-1/2" x 10-1/2"—still pretty darn big—and from #10 on, it was the standard size of the time, about 7-5/8" x 10-1/4"
Brought to mind by this week's episode of Flash -- a classic B&B team-up of the Flash & the Atom!
Cover art by Bob Brown -- story by Bob Haney, interior art by the great Alex Toth.
As a note of interest, the team-up concept was still fairly young at this point; this was only the fourth issue of team-ups in Brave & Bold. And until Batman came along, Flash was usually the most popular choice for team-up action in the book, given how many times he turned up in the non-Batman issues.
February 1939: Another Eisner cover for Jumbo Comics #6. Early, slick cartooning from Eisner. Love the one big drop of melting snow running down the cop's cheek.
February 1939: Another Eisner cover for Jumbo Comics #6. Early, slick cartooning from Eisner. Love the one big drop of melting snow running down the cop's cheek.
Image not showing up; just a notice that it was hosted by Tripod.
Comments
As for O’Mealia, I don't know much about him. He didn't do much work in the comics industry, just a few years in between stints as a newspaper strip artist. Like Irwin Hasen, O’Mealia worked as a sports cartoonist early in his career (Hasen for boxing, O’Mealia primarily for baseball). But unlike Hasen, he stuck with it even while doing comics and newspaper strips. Interestingly, he was perhaps the only guy (the only one I know of anyway) who did sequential baseball cartoons for the newspapers (his work appeared in the New York Daily News and The Sporting News).
Here’s his most famous drawing, the cover of The Daily News after the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Yankees to win the 1955 World Series.
World's Finest #198
November 1, 1970
Cover art: Curt Swan
I'm pretty sure I've talked about Flessel in this thread before, but for those who weren't around then, he's best known for his work on the “Sandman” feature in Adventure Comics. And I'm sure we'll be seeing his work again before long.
It should also be noted that O’Mealia drew the “Dr. Fu Manchu” feature which began inside this issue. It's an adaptation of Rohmer’s The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, and the first time the character appeared in a comic book.
I really like the trade dress; it makes the cover truly stand out. Now, Thompson did package his own work for David McKay Publications—he wrote, penciled, inked, and lettered the entire story inside—so he may have also designed the cover besides just drawing the illustration. Thompson came to comics some years into his professional career. He was already a commercial artist, as well as a staff (read ghost) artist for some newspaper strips for the Philadelphia Ledger. And he was good—one of the best of the time.
But there's more to this book than just a pretty cover. Many consider this comic and its 61-page original story to be the first graphic novel. And the story itself is considered among, if not the best Native American-related comic book work ever done. I've only seen a few pages of this story, but his “Indian Lore” feature for Magic Comics (also David McKay) is very respectful, quality work. Keep in mind that David McKay published all kinds of books, not just comics, and Thompson’s story fit perhaps better with them than it would have with a comics-only publisher. Here's a page from “Red Eagle,” just to give you an idea:
...I think I recall having seen one of Thompson's Robotman stories years ago, and I remember it being pretty good -- but I do like his Red Eagle page a bit better.
April 1981
(formerly Rampaging Hulk magazine)
Cover art: John Buscema pencils (below) Joe Jusko painting
Joe Jusko painted over John Buscema's breakdown to produce one of the simplest, yet quintessential Hulk covers of all time.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters #1
August 1977
Cover artist: Herb Trimpe
Herb Trimpe was the king of licensed properties. Here's another of his great covers.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #1
June 1982
Cover artist: Herb Trimpe
The very first GI Joe comic.
Jumbo Comics lived up to its name. For the first eight issues, it was printed at tabloid size—10-1/2" x 14-1/2"—and was 68 pages long. Issue #9 was only 8-1/2" x 10-1/2"—still pretty darn big—and from #10 on, it was the standard size of the time, about 7-5/8" x 10-1/4"
Cover art by Bob Brown -- story by Bob Haney, interior art by the great Alex Toth.
As a note of interest, the team-up concept was still fairly young at this point; this was only the fourth issue of team-ups in Brave & Bold. And until Batman came along, Flash was usually the most popular choice for team-up action in the book, given how many times he turned up in the non-Batman issues.
Rick Veitch also really killed on Alan Moore's Supreme.