Calling All Cars Featuring Sandy Kean and the Radio Squad-by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster--1937

Here's yet another of Jerry and Joe's stylish pre-Superman series, this one a serial from MORE FUN COMICS which also featured the duo's DOCTOR OCCULT. It was still a year and a half until ACTION COMICS # 1 but note that Sandy looks very familiar with Joe's stock "hero" face.

Nick Carter-Bob Powell-1948

Bob Powell, subject of Craig Yoe's most recent collection, was arguably best known for his work on THE SHADOW comic book. A back-up in that comic was another Street & Smith pulp property/radio character, the venerable NICK CARTER, DETECTIVE as played on the air by Lon Clark. Some lovely art in this post-war tale of the gray market with Powell drawing Nick to look very much like his radio actor would a few years later!

Scribbly and the Red Tornado-Sheldon Mayer-1941

Sheldon Mayer was a driving editorial force at DC in its earliest days but his heart was in cartooning and the evidence shows him to have been one of the best there ever was! Here's an episode of his long-running SCRIBBLY series starring his young alter-ego and the original version of the Red Tornado!

Choo Choo-Gill Fox-1945

CHOO CHOO seems to want to be a Good Girl Art strip. In fact it's drawn by Gill Fox, known for his Good Girl Art. The problem is there really isn't much of what one thinks of as Good Girl Art. Still, a fun strip, oddly found in MILITARY COMICS from Quality.

Fly Girl-John Giunta-1962

PEP COMICS revisited the superheroes of its early days when it featured a few solo FLY GIRL stories (and JAGUAR, too) in the early sixties. This one has some very stylized artwork credited by GCD to John Giunta. Giunta had a very unique style that I didn't care for at all as a regular in DC's sci-fi comics of the same period but here I like it. Credited with being an influence on Frank Frazetta, I can't help but notice a few panels here reminiscent of later work by Steranko so presumably Giunta influenced his work, also.

Mr. Scarlet and Pinky-America's Greatest Comics-1942

"What are we gonna do tonight, Brain?" "Same thing we do every night, Pinky--fight crime!" Actually, there's no evidence that Mr. Scarlet's oddly named young sidekick ever called him "Brain." This anonymous Fawcett story goes out to Stephen DeStefano as a cheap birthday gift! Happy birthday, sir!

Baby Snooks-Doc Savage Comics-1943

DOC SAVAGE COMICS seems an odd place for radio stars to be in comics but there they were--Gildersleeve, Jack Benny, Henny Youngman...and here, Fanny Brice as Baby Snooks. Snooks was a shrill and not particularly likable character, a holdover from the singer's Follies days. She was popular enough to last for many years on the air, however. No idea the writer or artist here unfortunately but I've cleaned up the scans as best as I can for your viewing pleasure.