Red Skeleton-Mystic-1942

No idea what they were thinking here since actor/comedian Red Skelton was already well known in movies and on radio by the time this character appeared. Still, it's a fun, self-referential story that reads like one of those great light hearted B movie comedy mysteries of the 1940s.

Billy the Kid-John Severin-1960

The great John Severin just liked to draw westerns and he went where the westerns were. Here we find him at Charlton, getting low wages for first class work. A tad skimpy on the backgrounds perhaps, but he was incapable of substandard artwork, right up until just before his passing a  few years back.

Volcano-Richard Doxsee-1957

I always think of artist Richard Doxsee as the one who got away. He wasn't quite up to the EC level but he was well beyond the standard level for comics artists of the day. Given time, he might have progressed even further but his work stopped appearing by the early sixties.

Philpot Veep-Joe Devlin-1939

Here's another beautifully drawn pair of PHILPOT VEEP pages by Rube Goldberg's former assistant Joe (aka John) Devlin, a talented artist who had also succeeded Milt Gross on LOOEY DOT DOPE. 

Lucille Ball-Win Mortimer-1950

I enjoy these celebrity bio comics that appeared as filler in dozens of titles from multiple companies. This one is illustrated by Win Mortimer, a prolific artist whose longest gig might be as the artist on SPIDEY SUPER STORIES 25 years later.

Underwater-Howard Nostrand-1956

Far too often, Howard Nostrand is written off as an imitator of Wood or Davis. I like to think of him more as a student of their work. How can one look at a story like this, for example, and not find it just stunningly gorgeous?

Juggernaut-Terrific-1944

Not much here beyond a great splash page and yet another name that Marvel revived with an entirely different character 20 years later.

Super Goof-Paul Murry-1965, 1966

As a kid, the only Disney comics I ever really liked were SUPER GOOF comics, probably because of the superhero connection. The artist, whom I later learned was Paul Murry, also became my favorite Mickey Mouse artist. The stories were often long and involved as the best Disney comics sometimes were but there were also inside cover one-pagers that were fun. Here are a few early ones.

Astron, Crocodile Queen-1943

No real info on this one at all but it's an interesting read with some interesting artwork. Enjoy!

The Avenger-Bob Powell-1955

This fellow would have fit in perfectly with the early Silver Age superheroes but he had unfortunate timing. His full run appeared between the end of the Golden Age and the beginning of the Silver. Also, his company didn't last, becoming a victim of the Comics Code purge.