Slam Bradley-Joe Shuster/Jerry Siegel-1937

Here's a long, cinematic, well-drawn, and fun escapade with Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy...err...I mean Shorty and Slam Bradley. These two were Jerry and Joe's take on Roy Crane's popular newspaper strip and appeared in DETECTIVE not only before BATMAN but also before ACTION # 1. Hard to miss Easy's influence on Slam, though, and then Slam's influence on the early Superman (who had already been created here, just not yet published).

The Ghost-August Froehlich-1944

Yet another comic book magician! Artist August Froehlich alternated newspaper advertising, movie posters, and comic books for a number of years. 

The Abduction of Henry Twigg-Joe Kubert-1952

Lovely early art from a Master here but a fun story as well, with echoes of Kurt Vonnegut. 

Burl Ives-1948

A nice little summation of the career of singer Burl Ives. Well, to that point at least. Still to come in nearly 5 more decades of life was blacklisting, an Oscar, Big Daddy, OK Crackerby and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

Nitro-Jerry Lazare-1946

While the art on this Canadian superhero story is passable for its day, one wishes that the artist had put as much effort onto it as he did his cool signature which turns up on both the first and last pages.

Powerhouse Pepper-Basil Wolverton-1947

Basil Wolverton. 'Nuff said.

Homer the Happy Ghost-Dan De Carlo-1956

Some very modern attitudes about hunting in this 60 year old Stan Lee/Dan De Carlo piece. As fun as it was, Homer, of course, was such a direct rip-off of Casper the Friendly Ghost (with his own Spooky even!) that I'm surprised Harvey/Paramount never sued.