Journeyman
I know you guys are here to read comics and not get preached to, but bear with me. Here's a PSA, a Pappy Service Announcement:
Last week I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I don't want sympathy. It's a curable form of cancer, and because of my astute primary care physician and my habit of going to my doctor once a year, it was caught at an early stage. So while I have cancer right now, there's no reason to believe I will have it after my surgery in a couple of weeks, or that it will be what ultimately kills me. Here's my preaching, though: Because this blog is read mostly by males, I am advising if you are over 40 you have your prostate examined once a year. Most guys don't like the idea of a Digital Rectal Exam (DRE), but for a couple of seconds of inconvenience and indignity, your life may be saved.
So, now that I've had my say, we return to our regularly scheduled posting...
Vern Henkel's artwork might not have been splashy, might have been derivative--in "The Man Who Made A Wish" the devil looks like he's swiped from Will Eisner--but the Golden Age of comics wouldn't have happened without artists like Henkel. They were the guys who weren't stars, who did all of the backup stuff, kept the comic book machine running.
Henkel, who was born in 1917, sent a comic book story unsolicited to Quality Comics publisher Everett "Busy" Arnold in the 1930s. Arnold accepted it and Henkel's comic book career began, right around the time the comic book industry began. Over the years there were dozens, maybe hundreds, of guys like Henkel, who were the journeymen of the business.
"The Man Who Made a Wish" is originally from Mystic #7, 1952, but scanned from the reprint in Marvel's 1974 Crypt of Shadows #8. "Captain Fortune" is from Feature Comics #26, November 1939.
I posted a crime story by Henkel in Pappy's #132.
9 comments:
Keep us informed on everything Pappy, (when's the operation?) You know we're all pulling for you! And good luck!
Godspeed Pappy, keep on keepin' on.
Okay Pappy, no sympathy. I guess we all go through some bullshit or another at some point. Or lots of it.
I've got my fingers crossed for the ease of your ordeal, since the success seems to be in no doubt.
Love the arch and wicked sense of humor that inspired today's first story selection, too. In your face, Devil. You're a class act, Pappy.
Just you and the doctor kick its ass.
Prayers your way. I've been through cancer, too. Best of luck.
Thanks goodness it was caught early! You should be just fine, Pappy. The treatment will be annoying (to put it mildly), but you'll be fine. :-)
Thanks to all of you for your good wishes. My operation is scheduled for February 12...my doc says I'll go home on Friday the 13th. (Good Lord...choke...)
I'm sure I'm one of thousands upon thousands of people who are going through something similar, and many people have it much worse than me. There shouldn't even be an interruption of my schedule, since I do these postings sometimes days or even a couple of weeks ahead of the time they appear. I plan on annoying you for a long time yet with my screwball selections. Speaking of which, check in this Wednesday for another Boody Rogers' Babe story!
Remember, men, DO NOT FEAR THE FINGER.
We'll keep a good thought for you, Pappy,
and once in awhile say "Shazam!"
Good luck and Godspeed.
Love that Captain Fortune story. For that date, wouldn't call that journeyman work at all.
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