In 1953 St. John picked up the Romantic Marriage series from Ziff-Davis—along with Cinderella Love and a few others—when Ziff-Davis ceased most of their comic book publication. (Ziff-Davis itself is still around.) Romantic Marriage had been cancelled with issue #17 in September 1952, but St. John picked up right where the series had left off with the numbering, and in September 1953 it was back on the stands. St. John even continued the same style of cover Ziff-Davis had employed—usually a painted or photographed close-up or medium shot of a man and woman embracing. And then came Matt Baker. Baker provided the final two covers of the series (#23 and 24, July and September 1954) with his typical flair.
The perspective seems just a tad off in this last cover, and the staircase not quite steep enough, but that’s a tough angle to pull off, and the figures are impeccable.
Because nothing says Valentine’s Day more than faking an injury to get the attention of that special someone: Teen-Age Romances #11 (August 1950)! Spoiler alert: It turns out she didn't fake the injury, but he that faked one earlier. Baker also penciled two interior stories and provided spot illustrations for a text story for this issue. This is some of his early work for the publisher, and a transition point in his style. You can still see traces of the figure work he’d been doing for “Phantom Lady” and “Sky Girl”—particularly in the two women in the foreground—but his female faces are beginning to soften and become a bit rounder, while his male faces are becoming even more square-jawed. Perhaps some of that came from his teaming up with inker Ray Osrin—the best inker he worked with, and someone he would become very good friends with over the next few years.
The cover of Teen-Age Temptations #3 (August 1953) features more of Baker’s great figure drawing—particularly the female figure. You don’t even need the dialogue to see that she’s worried about her relationship with the man. Her slumped shoulders, the look of distress on her face as she looks past the man with her at the two approaching men, and the way she’s nervously fidgeting with the ring on her finger say it all.
“They said all hands on deck, not the secretary!” True Love Pictorial #9 (April 1954) by Matt Baker. It looks like he had fun with that checkerboard skirt, even though it was miscolored in a couple of spots.
yep - 2013's gonna be my 10th year of terminally illin'
My wife went through that seven years back just after our youngest was born. Thankfully she tested negative, but it was a scary six months. Glad you're still hanging around. Here's to 10 more years!
Today’s Baker romance cover is Wartime Romances #2 (Sept. 1951). A lot of great poses on display here. Baker’s brother said Matt would have made a good actor, and Matt shows a good eye for attitude and expression here.
Bernie Wrightson did a great run of covers for House of Mystery in the early seventies
He did some fantastic work for House of Mystery (his first professional story was either for House of Mystery #179 or The Spectre #9) and House of Secrets, which he thankfully was able to keep up even after he began working on Swamp Thing.
Tennis anyone? This was Baker’s last cover for Cinderella Love (#29, Oct. 1955), and the final issue of the series. Baker owned a convertible, so maybe he used his own car for reference here.
Tennis anyone? This was Baker’s last cover for Cinderella Love (#29, Oct. 1955), and the final issue of the series. Baker owned a convertible, so maybe he used his own car for reference here.
“Sandwiches! I’ve got ham and cheese and cheap love for sale!” Spring training is already underway for pitchers and catchers, so why not Matt Baker’s cover for Diary Secrets #19 (Aug. 1953)? I love the completely bored expression on the lady in the background.
Bernie Wrightson is one of those artists who I didn't quite get when I first saw his work and now I love him
I didn’t really see Wrightson’s work as a kid, outside of DC house ads for Swamp Thing. I think the first book I bought with his art was Batman: The Cult, which looked great, even though it wasn’t really typical of his usual stuff. I was already in college by that time, so I was mature enough in my reading to appreciate what he was doing. Not long after that I got the reprints of his Swamp Thing, and then the shop where I was working got a copy of A Look Back. That’s when I really saw what he could do.
For a little contrast today, I’m posting some romance covers Baker did for other publishers. In 1954 Baker left his staff position with St. John and began freelancing again. He still did work for St. John over the next couple of years, but he also showed up at Quality, Atlas (Marvel), Charlton, and to a lesser extent DC, with mixed results.
First up is Girls in Love #57 (Dec. 1956) from Quality. Baker didn’t ink this as he did with his St. John covers, but his pencils were handled pretty well—better than most of his work for Quality in fact. Unfortunately, this was the last issue of the series and Quality folded up shop shortly after this issue was published.
Here we have Atlas’ Love Romances #82 (July 1959). You can see Baker in the posing and particularly in the male’s face and jaw line, but obviously Baker did not ink this himself. This was probably inked by Vince Colletta (or one of his ghosts), from whom Baker got most of his work from 1958 on. Whoever inked it sapped all of Baker’s boldness from the image, leaving only a husk of Baker’s figure work. Unfortunately, most of Baker’s work those last two years of his life (he passed away on August 11, 1959) on suffered a similar fate.
Case in point, Romantic Secrets #19, another Vince Colletta-inked cover, this time for Charlton. Gone is the subtlety and attention to detail—particularly in the folds of clothing—the Baker always provided. I'm assuming they were still there in the pencils, and Colletta chose to ignore them for the sake of expediency, but I can’t say that with certainty.
So you can see why I say Baker’s St. John work was the peak of his all too brief career. The only real glimmer of Baker’s potential growth post-St. John were the handful of westerns Baker drew for Atlas—really nice stuff. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough work available to him for him to become a regular there.
Bernie Wrightson is one of those artists who I didn't quite get when I first saw his work and now I love him
I used to feel the same way about Mike Mignola. I remember vividly Mignola's fan days when his work was being published in fan publications, such as The Comic Reader, doing pics of just about everybody from Aquaman to Ghost Rider. He was the poor man's Berni Wrightson in those days, and was just terrible. I couldn't stand to look at his work.
Then he went pro and did things like Rocket Raccoon and Batman: Gotham In Gaslight. All of a sudden, his work was beautiful and stunningly so. I don't know what happened, how or why, but thank God for all of us that it did. His work has been a treat ever since, no matter what he does.
#19, another Vince Colletta-inked cover, this time for Charlton. Gone is the subtlety and attention to detail—particularly in the folds of clothing—the Baker always provided. I'm assuming they were still there in the pencils, and Colletta chose to ignore them for the sake of expediency, but I can’t say that with certainty.
I tend to believe it, though. I once heard from some pro/quasi pro contacts of mine years ago that Colletta valued speed over anything else (because the more work you finished, the bigger the paycheck), so he would erase anything he considered non-essential and ink whatever was left.
#19, another Vince Colletta-inked cover, this time for Charlton. Gone is the subtlety and attention to detail—particularly in the folds of clothing—the Baker always provided. I'm assuming they were still there in the pencils, and Colletta chose to ignore them for the sake of expediency, but I can’t say that with certainty.
I tend to believe it, though. I once heard from some pro/quasi pro contacts of mine years ago that Colletta valued speed over anything else (because the more work you finished, the bigger the paycheck), so he would erase anything he considered non-essential and ink whatever was left.
That’s absolutely true, as the photocopied pencils of Jack Kirby attest when compared to Colletta’s finished inks. And I’ve heard that from some of the artists Colletta would sometimes call when he took on too much work and needed ghost inkers to help him finish on time. That’s why I make the assumption that it was Colletta cutting corners rather than Baker. Still, Baker was feeling pretty low at this point in his career, and it is possible he didn’t put as much effort into the work he did for Colletta—especially if he knew what Colletta was like.
Bernie Wrightson is one of those artists who I didn't quite get when I first saw his work and now I love him
I used to feel the same way about Mike Mignola. I remember vividly Mignola's fan days when his work was being published in fan publications, such as The Comic Reader, doing pics of just about everybody from Aquaman to Ghost Rider. He was the poor man's Berni Wrightson in those days, and was just terrible. I couldn't stand to look at his work.
Then he went pro and did things like Rocket Raccoon and Batman: Gotham In Gaslight. All of a sudden, his work was beautiful and stunningly so. I don't know what happened, how or why, but thank God for all of us that it did. His work has been a treat ever since, no matter what he does.
I didn’t see his fan work until much later. His first pro work was doing a few illustrations for OHOTMU, but the first work of his I saw was his cover for Hulk #302 (Dec. 1984), which I thought was pretty cool. Mignola was 24 when that issue came out. He was definitely still wearing his Berni Wrightson influence on his sleeve, but Terry Austin’s inks toned it down a bit. Of course, at that point I was only 14 and didn’t really know who Wrightson was, so it looked pretty original to me. But even from the start he was a little less organic in his approach and a little more graphic than Wrightson. And within a couple of years that started coming to the fore. I think working with P. Craig Russell on the Phantom Stranger mini-series may have encouraged him to push further in that direction.
And by the time he got to Cosmic Odyssey (Nov. 1988), he’d really developed that approach. Gotham by Gaslight, which came soon after, was definitely a highlight of that phase in his evolution.
From there his work slowly became more and more graphic. And then came Legends of the Dark Knight #54 (Nov. 1993), and a new phase was underway.
But even with the first Hellboy mini-series, he was still transitioning to his current style. It was actually a cover for Aquaman #6 (Feb. 1995) that clearly showed the direction his work was taking—it was much more angular with chunkier blacks and little fine linework.
Before much longer he settled in to the style he’s working in now. The changes in his work over the past few years have been more in his pacing and storytelling. But now that he’s back to drawing Hellboy again, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him continue to evolve. In fact, I would expect it.
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The perspective seems just a tad off in this last cover, and the staircase not quite steep enough, but that’s a tough angle to pull off, and the figures are impeccable.
Maybe a Brain in a jar is safer ground (for some)
Neal Adams again
a tiny part of my brain is actually in a jar - true story
First up is Girls in Love #57 (Dec. 1956) from Quality. Baker didn’t ink this as he did with his St. John covers, but his pencils were handled pretty well—better than most of his work for Quality in fact. Unfortunately, this was the last issue of the series and Quality folded up shop shortly after this issue was published.
Here we have Atlas’ Love Romances #82 (July 1959). You can see Baker in the posing and particularly in the male’s face and jaw line, but obviously Baker did not ink this himself. This was probably inked by Vince Colletta (or one of his ghosts), from whom Baker got most of his work from 1958 on. Whoever inked it sapped all of Baker’s boldness from the image, leaving only a husk of Baker’s figure work. Unfortunately, most of Baker’s work those last two years of his life (he passed away on August 11, 1959) on suffered a similar fate.
Case in point, Romantic Secrets #19, another Vince Colletta-inked cover, this time for Charlton. Gone is the subtlety and attention to detail—particularly in the folds of clothing—the Baker always provided. I'm assuming they were still there in the pencils, and Colletta chose to ignore them for the sake of expediency, but I can’t say that with certainty.
So you can see why I say Baker’s St. John work was the peak of his all too brief career. The only real glimmer of Baker’s potential growth post-St. John were the handful of westerns Baker drew for Atlas—really nice stuff. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough work available to him for him to become a regular there.
Then he went pro and did things like Rocket Raccoon and Batman: Gotham In Gaslight. All of a sudden, his work was beautiful and stunningly so. I don't know what happened, how or why, but thank God for all of us that it did. His work has been a treat ever since, no matter what he does.
\m/
He was definitely still wearing his Berni Wrightson influence on his sleeve, but Terry Austin’s inks toned it down a bit. Of course, at that point I was only 14 and didn’t really know who Wrightson was, so it looked pretty original to me. But even from the start he was a little less organic in his approach and a little more graphic than Wrightson. And within a couple of years that started coming to the fore. I think working with P. Craig Russell on the Phantom Stranger mini-series may have encouraged him to push further in that direction.
And by the time he got to Cosmic Odyssey (Nov. 1988), he’d really developed that approach. Gotham by Gaslight, which came soon after, was definitely a highlight of that phase in his evolution.
From there his work slowly became more and more graphic. And then came Legends of the Dark Knight #54 (Nov. 1993), and a new phase was underway.
But even with the first Hellboy mini-series, he was still transitioning to his current style. It was actually a cover for Aquaman #6 (Feb. 1995) that clearly showed the direction his work was taking—it was much more angular with chunkier blacks and little fine linework.
Before much longer he settled in to the style he’s working in now. The changes in his work over the past few years have been more in his pacing and storytelling. But now that he’s back to drawing Hellboy again, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him continue to evolve. In fact, I would expect it.