The Three Stooges #1 February 1949 Cover art: Norman Albert Maurer
This issue contained three stories. Two of the tales, "Uncivil Warriors" and "Hoi Polloi," that were adaptations of original shorts starring the Stooges and were done by cover artist Norman Maurer. A third back-up story, "The Eyes of Kali!," featured art by Joe Kubert.
Hollywood Confessions #1 October 1949 Cover: Joe Kubert
Sticking with the fine work of Joe Kubert, this marked the premiere of his brief venture into romance comics. Hollywood Confessions #1 was a virtual one-man effort (Kubert had a hand in every story, although Hy Rosen penciled at least one.), this comic tried a unique approach to involve the readers. A house ad invited the readers to submit true stories that would be illustrated for future issues. There was even a cash award of ten dollars offered. This title had a curious evolution. It lasted one more issue under Kubert’s aegis, than became Hollywood Pictorial with issue #3 in January 1950 (with Matt Baker art).
Nov. 1948: I can't find a confirmation on the artist of this cover, but I'm pretty sure it's Rudy Palais. Palais drew a lot of crime stories during this time—of course, so did most comic book artists, there were 30 crime titles on the stands by the end of 1948—and he did a few jobs for Fox, the publisher of Murder Incorporated, in the late ’40s.
Palais was an excellent artist. While he came out of the Caniff school, his later work got looser and became more about forms and shapes than shadows and lighting. This cover was done somewhere in the middle of his transformation as an artist. Though not quite as good as Mort Meskin or Frank Robbins, Palais’ later work reminds me of their stuff, as well as that of Carmine Infantino when Carmine would ink his own work from the late ’50s on.
Secret Missions #1 February 1950 Cover: Joe Kubert
Another Kubert creation, this was a comic book version of Admiral Ellis Zacharias' book and radio show of the same name that dealt with his career as a military intelligence officer.
Dec. 1948: There are a number of excellent covers this month, but I'll go with an artist I’m surprised I’ve never talked about once on this entire thread, Bob Lubbers, and his cover to Rangers Comics #44. Well known for his beautiful women, Lubbers began his career working for the pulp mags. He entered the comics field in 1940, working for Centaur, but from 1942 to 1952 he did the vast majority of his work for Fiction House. From the ’50s on though, he mostly worked in newspaper strips on such strips as Tarzan, The Saint, Big Ben Bolt, and Secret Agent X-9. During that time he worked off and on with Al Capp both on Long Sam and on Li’l Abner. He also created his own strip, Robin Malone, which ran from 1967-70. He even came back to comics in the late ’70s to draw a few issues of Marvel’s Human Fly.
Another Kubert creation, that debuted at the same time as 'Secret Missions' above. This was Joe Kubert's take on the swashbuckling offspring (and namesake) of the legendary sailor. His Sinbad looked very much like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. who, not so incidentally, starred in the 1947 film, Sinbad the Sailor.
Fine artwork notwithstanding, neither this comic nor Secret Missions made it past the first issue. However, the lone Kubert Son of Sinbad story in Abbott & Costello #10 suggests that at least one more issue of that title had been in the offing.
Fine artwork notwithstanding, neither this comic nor Secret Missions made it past the first issue. However, the lone Kubert Son of Sinbad story in Abbott & Costello #10 suggests that at least one more issue of that title had been in the offing.
Well, Joe got married and enlisted in the Army in 1950, so his comic book production slowed down at that point until he got out of the service in 1952. Joe had an arrangement with St. John. Basically he was packaging comics out of his studio which St. John would then publish. The Secret Missions and Son of Sinbad comics were part of that, I think. But Joe also had an arrangement with Julie Schwartz at DC to produce two- and three-pagers for him where Joe would do the entire job from soup to nuts, so he was splitting his already limited time between DC and St. John. So, that Abbot & Costello “Son of Sinbad” story was most likely intended for a second issue of Son of Sinbad that Kubert just didn't have time to put together.
The Three Stooges comics came after he’d gotten out of the Army and become managing editor at St. John. He was also packaging comics for St. John in a partnership with his old high school buddy Norm Maurer, who by that time was already married to Moe Howard’s daughter, Joan, which is how they got the license for the Three Stooges comics.
...his old high school buddy Norm Maurer, who by that time was already married to Moe Howard’s daughter, Joan, which is how they got the license for the Three Stooges comics.
What a fascinating tid-bit of trivia. I had no idea! Thanks for that insight @nweathington !
...his old high school buddy Norm Maurer, who by that time was already married to Moe Howard’s daughter, Joan, which is how they got the license for the Three Stooges comics.
What a fascinating tid-bit of trivia. I had no idea! Thanks for that insight @nweathington !
I think I mentioned something about it briefly in this thread a couple of years ago. But Maurer worked with the Stooges most of his life, and even became the Stooges’ manager in 1957. He wrote, produced, and directed some of their movies and TV cartoons.
Before we leave the Christmas covers for another year, can I just leave you with this superb cover (an excellent parody of Action #252). I'm afraid I don't know the artist or year. I can only guess it is subsequent to May 1959.
Authentic Police Cases #6 November 1948 Cover by Matt Baker
Authentic Police Cases was publisher St. John’s first venture outside strip reprints or the humor genre. At first the issues were nothing more than a vehicle for reprinted Chesler comics. But, beginning with Authentic Police Cases #6 (Nov. 1948), the covers and much of the interior art would be drawn by Matt Baker.
Before we leave the Christmas covers for another year, can I just leave you with this superb cover (an excellent parody of Action #252). I'm afraid I don't know the artist or year. I can only guess it is subsequent to May 1959.
Art by Dean Trippe, text by Chris Sims from 2010 for the Comics Alliance website.
Jan. 1949: This month marked the “end” of one the best series of the Golden Age, both in terms of story and artwork, Dick Briefer’s Frankenstein. I've already talked about Briefer and the series, and this cover isn't the best of the run, but it is interesting for another reason.
I put “end” in quotation marks, because in just over three years, Prize would relaunch the series (it would technically be volume 3, #1, but would retain the numbering from the original series on the cover with issue #18), but this time as a horror title. Personally I prefer the humor run, but the horror run was quite good as well. Briefer was again the writer and artist, but he would change his drawing style somewhat to match the new tone of the book. He would also repurpose two of the original series’ cover concepts: issue #23 would see the cover of #1 redone in the new style, and the final issue of the series, issue #33, would be a reworking of this month’s cover. By the way, the cover to issue #17 doesn't match up to any of the stories inside, but for issue #33 the cover goes with the lead story.
I really like the idea of ending both the humor run and the horror run with similar covers, and it implies that he knew it would be the last issue of the series before he sat down to draw it. So here are two covers, Frankenstein #17 from Jan. 1949 and its doppleganger, Frankenstein #33 from Oct.-Nov. 1954.
Feb. 1949: This month I'm going with Popeye #5 and its cover by Bud Sagendorf. Sagendorf was 17 and still in high school when he got his first professional art job as Popeye creator E.C. Segar’s first and only assistant in 1931. When Segar died in 1938, another artist was brought in to continue the Thimble Theatre newspaper strip, but the syndicate kept Sagendorf on to draw marketing artwork. In 1946 he wrote and drew the first original Popeye stories for comic books, first in Four Color and from 1948 on in Popeye, and went on to write and draw every issue of Popeye from #1-87 (under three different publishers), plus two later covers and one story in issue #92. He also took over the Popeye newspaper strip in 1959, which he wrote and drew until he retired in 1994.
While Sagendorf did not have the same frenetic energy in his drawing as his mentor, E.C. Segar, he was an excellent cartoonist and perhaps a better (and certainly more focused) writer, and his Popeye work stands side by side with the original Segar stories in Thimble Theatre. His Popeye comics are currently being reprinted by IDW, and are well worth checking out.
For March on my custom calendar for next year I went with my copy of Spider-Man #84. Wow, my copy is a much-loved rag. (Hey, I was only about 5 years old at the time.) From May 1970, with pencils and inks by John Romita.
I love everything about this cover, from the claustophobic environment showing that Spidey is trapped, to the tilted angle of the image to add to the feeling that Spidey is off-balance, to the bright coloring of the rug which makes Spidey pop from the otherwise dark background and the dramatic shape of the rug giving the image a greater sense of energy and movement. So good.
I also love this cover, only made better by the wear and tear... I have several comics like this, that are practically worthless, but I love them so much.
Happy New Year everyone! On this day 50 years ago - January 1966. Detective #347. Cover credits - Penciller: Carmine Infantino. Inker: Murphy Anderson.
Comments
Christmas Evil:A Tale of Unholy Nights!
The epilogue from the earlier-posted Justice League #110 (March-April 1974) by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact (Vol 13) #8
December 1957
Cover art Frank Borth
The reason most of the world is celebrating the giving of gifts today...
Merry Christmas everyone!
February 1949
Cover art: Norman Albert Maurer
This issue contained three stories. Two of the tales, "Uncivil Warriors" and "Hoi Polloi," that were adaptations of original shorts starring the Stooges and were done by cover artist Norman Maurer. A third back-up story, "The Eyes of Kali!," featured art by Joe Kubert.
September 1953
Cover art: Norman Albert Maurer
New volume and publisher (name). This issue contained six stories, done again by both the cover artist Norman Maurer along with artist Joe Kubert.
October 1949
Cover: Joe Kubert
Sticking with the fine work of Joe Kubert, this marked the premiere of his brief venture into romance comics. Hollywood Confessions #1 was a virtual one-man effort (Kubert had a hand in every story, although Hy Rosen penciled at least one.), this comic tried a unique approach to involve the readers. A house ad invited the readers to submit true stories that would be illustrated for future issues. There was even a cash award of ten dollars offered. This title had a curious evolution. It lasted one more issue under Kubert’s aegis, than became Hollywood Pictorial with issue #3 in January 1950 (with Matt Baker art).
Palais was an excellent artist. While he came out of the Caniff school, his later work got looser and became more about forms and shapes than shadows and lighting. This cover was done somewhere in the middle of his transformation as an artist. Though not quite as good as Mort Meskin or Frank Robbins, Palais’ later work reminds me of their stuff, as well as that of Carmine Infantino when Carmine would ink his own work from the late ’50s on.
February 1950
Cover: Joe Kubert
Another Kubert creation, this was a comic book version of Admiral Ellis Zacharias' book and radio show of the same name that dealt with his career as a military intelligence officer.
Carlos Garzon and Al Williamson
February 1950
Cover: Joe Kubert
Another Kubert creation, that debuted at the same time as 'Secret Missions' above. This was Joe Kubert's take on the swashbuckling offspring (and namesake) of the legendary sailor. His Sinbad looked very much like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. who, not so incidentally, starred in the 1947 film, Sinbad the Sailor.
Fine artwork notwithstanding, neither this comic nor Secret Missions made it past the first issue. However, the lone Kubert Son of Sinbad story in Abbott & Costello #10 suggests that at least one more issue of that title had been in the offing.
The Three Stooges comics came after he’d gotten out of the Army and become managing editor at St. John. He was also packaging comics for St. John in a partnership with his old high school buddy Norm Maurer, who by that time was already married to Moe Howard’s daughter, Joan, which is how they got the license for the Three Stooges comics.
Authentic Police Cases #6
November 1948
Cover by Matt Baker
Authentic Police Cases was publisher St. John’s first venture outside strip reprints or the humor genre. At first the issues were nothing more than a vehicle for reprinted Chesler comics. But, beginning with Authentic Police Cases #6 (Nov. 1948), the covers and much of the interior art would be drawn by Matt Baker.
I put “end” in quotation marks, because in just over three years, Prize would relaunch the series (it would technically be volume 3, #1, but would retain the numbering from the original series on the cover with issue #18), but this time as a horror title. Personally I prefer the humor run, but the horror run was quite good as well. Briefer was again the writer and artist, but he would change his drawing style somewhat to match the new tone of the book. He would also repurpose two of the original series’ cover concepts: issue #23 would see the cover of #1 redone in the new style, and the final issue of the series, issue #33, would be a reworking of this month’s cover. By the way, the cover to issue #17 doesn't match up to any of the stories inside, but for issue #33 the cover goes with the lead story.
I really like the idea of ending both the humor run and the horror run with similar covers, and it implies that he knew it would be the last issue of the series before he sat down to draw it. So here are two covers, Frankenstein #17 from Jan. 1949 and its doppleganger, Frankenstein #33 from Oct.-Nov. 1954.
Cinderella Love #25
December 1954
Cover by Matt Baker
Another wonderful cover by Matt Baker. Romance comics were probably the most successful at the publishing house of St John's
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!
Shazam #11 by Bob Oksner (March 1974)
While Sagendorf did not have the same frenetic energy in his drawing as his mentor, E.C. Segar, he was an excellent cartoonist and perhaps a better (and certainly more focused) writer, and his Popeye work stands side by side with the original Segar stories in Thimble Theatre. His Popeye comics are currently being reprinted by IDW, and are well worth checking out.
May 1955
Cover by Matt Baker
Another wonderful cover by Matt Baker.
How about a bit of ARRGH! -- #1 from December 1974 with pencils/inks by Marie Severin and Tom Sutton.
And as an added bonus, here's Marie's self-portrait from that Marvel portfolio set...
Cover credits - Penciller: Carmine Infantino. Inker: Murphy Anderson.
@Tonebone If you have a scanner, please post up some of your beloved rags!