"America's Joan of Arc," PAT PATRIOT (no relation to the New England Patriots), sings and dances her mini-skirted way through an "America for Americans" number before kicking and punching the Nazi spies. Although signed by Lin Streeter, a real comics artist of the day, GCD credits this story with a question mark to Frank Borth. I'm not savvy enough to tell myself but, as they say, I know what I like.
From 1953, here's some very early but already quite recognizable Gil Kane art. The story is from St. John's THE HAWK in spite of the fact that one could almost swear it was from a DC western from around that same period.
I don't know if Steve Ditko, creator of THE QUESTION and the similar MR A ever saw this 1943 back-up strip featuring a mysterious, righteous do-gooder who comes and goes in a puff of smoke and goes by the name of...MR. Q. If he did, however, I'm gonna bet it had a bit of an impact. The art here on this wartime strip is by sometime MLJ and Archie artist Harry Sahle but this story actually came from a Harvey issue of THE GREEN HORNET!
Can't sleep and we've had a request for some MLJ so this next swingin' number goes out to SD in NYC. DUSTY, THE SPECTACULAR BOY DRUMMER...err..DETECTIVE is accompanied by THE SHIELD on keyboards, a lovely young blonde vocalist and, conducting the orchestra, Mister Irving Novick, many years later a DC mainstay on such series as WONDER WOMAN, BATMAN and THE FLASH.
Here we have a much newer story than we normally share but there's a reason for that. If you're like many comics fans, you still think of artist/writer Dave Gibbons as one of "the newer guys" but let's face it, even WATCHMEN was 25 years ago! Before that he was already known for his 2000AD work in the UK and GREEN LANTERN in the US. Five years ago, I wrote here about a story Gibbons had in the US semi-pro newspaper THE MONSTER TIMES as early as way, way back in 1974! Still could have counted that one as fan stuff. Here, though, from the back pages of Marvel's GIANT-SIZE CHILLERS in 1975, is a full-blown, full color horror story by an already very impressive Gibbons!
Although clearly not Schulz to the trained eye of a PEANUTS fan, writer/artist Dale Hale's officially sanctioned take on Good Ol' Charlie Brown from Dell's PEANUTS comic book is most certainly an enjoyable facsimile thereof. Although oddly never as popular as the DENNIS THE MENACE comics that began in the previous decade, the PEANUTS comic book likewise had the idea to open up the stories to more than just the typical newspaper misadventures and continuity. It should have worked. These are quite charming comics. Hale went on to write for animation including work for DISNEY'S DUCK TALES and TINY TOON ADVENTURES.
Just a quick two page pantomime strip from an unknown artist working in the Hank Ketcham mode in the back of an issue of SUPER-BRAT from Toby Press. Enjoy!
BALBO THE BOY MAGICIAN was a mainstay Fawcett back-up strip notable not only for some clever plots and fairly good storytelling from creator Bert Whitman but also for the title character's assistant, one John Smith. In spite of his generic name, Smith stood alone in the forties as perhaps the only non-stereotyped black character. In an industry where THE SPIRIT's Ebony White and THE YOUNG ALLIES Whitewash Jones were accepted as the norm, John Smith was consistently portrayed as an erudite, sensible adult man who's smart enough and brave enough to often save the star of the strip as seen in this example.
