The Spider Queen-"Elsa Lisau"-1941

This rather violent tale of a little-known masked heroine is by Elsa Lisau which may or may not be a pseudonym for Louis and Arturo Cazeneuve. This was her final appearance. 

Shotgun Smead-Allan Bellman-1952

It was announced this past week that Golden Age artist Allan Bellman will be appearing for the third straight year at the upcoming Cincinnati Comic Expo in September. Go here to see the other great guests! http://cincinnaticomicexpo.com/ 

The Adventures of Tastee Freez-Howie Post-1957

Here are a few 2 pagers from the first of a series of 1957 special promotional comic books published by Harvey. In between the Tastee-Freez stories were stories with Little Dot, Richie Rich, Casper and even Dick Tracy!

The Wasp-Champ Comics-1942

Y'know, I'm bettin' it took a lot of willpower not to call this fella the RED Wasp. Not that he is in any way, shape or form similar to the GREEN Hornet (wink, wink) who was, in fact, also published by Harvey! No...just coincidence. This was his last appearance by the way.

Plaything-Tony Mortellaro-1953

Here's an early sci-fi piece from Tony Mortellaro. Solver Age Marvel fans will have seen his work--whether they know it or not--on SPIDER-MAN. The artist worked as an assistant to John Romita and often did the backgrounds and cityscapes in Spidey comics. To make sure we know that he sometimes snuck in portions of signs or headlines or billboards that had some portion of the phrase, "Backgrounds by Mortellaro." Check just about any Romita-drawn Marvel from at least 1970 on for these Easter Eggs.

Batman Meets Kay Kyser-Dick Sprang/Charles Paris-1948

If you aren't a fan of swing music or old time radio then you probably don't know Kay Kyser but in his day Kay and his radio KOLLEGE OF MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE were an American institution. Here he is in one of Batman's most unusual team-ups! For more info on Kay, check out THE BOOKSTEVE CHANNEL posting for today's date.

Duke Ellington-AC Hollingsworth-1948

Some rather pedestrian art from the great, unsung African-American comic book artist, AC Hollingsworth, here detailing a bio-comic of the one and only Duke Ellington, easily in any truly hip person's Top Ten musicians of the entire 20th Century.