Number 1098


The crimes of Matt Baker


After leaving the Iger shop where he had toiled on such features as the leggy Sky Girl, Matt Baker used a more sophisticated illustrative technique. When he went to St. John his artwork was just as recognizable and his girls as pretty, but not in the pin-up style of Fiction House. These two stories from 1950's Authentic Police Cases #10 are examples.

Of the two, the Canadian Mountie story, "The Case Of the Red Bearded Rogue," gives him more room for drawing. "Midwest Cops Smash the Crimson Gang" is written like a radio script with a lot of narration and dialogue, almost crowding his artwork off the page. He pulled it off, though. In the case of that story the real crime in this crime comic is over-writing.

Credit is given by comic book art expert Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., to Baker alone for "Rogue" and for "Crimson Gang" pencils only, with inks by Ray Osrin.

Number 1097


We love Lucey


Harry Lucey was one of the best Archie artists. While Bob Montana was THE artist of the Archie newspaper comic strip, Lucey was the main artist for years on the comic books. He could tell a lot with an expression or a pose.

Sam Hill, Private Eye was another short-lived attempt by the publishers of Archie to supplement their teenage line with other comic book fare. Sam Hill lasted for seven issues in 1950-51, which is about par for Archie. Other comics, such as The Dover Boys, which I showed in Pappy's #870, also drawn by Lucey, had an even shorter run, only two issues. Since this issue of Sam Hill is the only one I have I can't tell you if it's typical of the series, but there really isn't anything in this comic, except for Harry Lucey's artwork, which makes it stand out for me from the run-of-the-mill private eye stories in popular fiction, comic books, radio or television.

Sam Hill seems especially tame when compared to Lucey's earlier work. Consider this Hangman story from Pappy's #572 or the first story in the first issue of Crime Does Not Pay in Pappy's #786.

From Sam Hill, Private Eye #4, 1951:

Number 1096


"You may be a lover, but you ain't no dancer..."


April Dancer (catchy name) was the "Girl" from The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., an NBC television series that was a spin-off of the popular Man From U.N.C.L.E.. Stephanie Powers, in all her youthful pulchritude, played April. The show lasted 29 episodes in 1966-'67. The comic wasn't much more successful, going for five issues. This issue, #2, was illustrated by Phantom artist Bill Lignante, who drew three of the five.

As a reviewer observed, April got into messes and was rescued by her coworker, Mark Slate, played by Noel Harrison. Harrison had a career that included this series and a couple of hit songs, including the outrageously campy "A Young Girl."*

In this comic notice the character, Miss Harshley. This was the 1960s, and a manlike woman wouldn't be a caricature of a sexual stereotype, especially not in cleancut Gold Key comics...not overtly, of course, but inferences can be drawn.































*I recall my girlfriend at the time loved this song. I, being Pappy, just in a younger body, made fun of it whenever I could. I thought the song was stupid, but I was also jealous of modish and handsome Noel Harrison.