Number 664
"Dear Senator..."
Sheldon Mayer was with DC Comics from the days before Superman and Batman. He was an editor for Max Gaines' All-American Comics branch of the company known collectively as DC. He quit his editor job so he could draw Scribbly, a very funny, somewhat autobiographical view of himself as a boy cartoonist. In 1956 he created Sugar and Spike, for which he's mainly —and justifiably — known. Late in life Shelly Mayer did try other genres, including science fiction and horror. He wrote and drew "Dear Senator" for Unexpected #217 in 1981.
It's hard to tell if he was trying for a more serious style, because some of his cartoony side shows up, like the robot which looks more like something from the 1930s or '40s. But I like this fish-out-of-water story, anyway. Who can resist a story about Abraham Lincoln brought to the future?
I took the original art from Heritage Auctions. I love looking at original art, but if you don't you can scroll down to the printed version.
I love how this story takes ol' Abe's feelings into account. "Hey, I've had a rough go of it. How about a little time off?" Poor fella.
ReplyDeleteWow! Always loved SM but I had NEVER seen this before. Thanx!
ReplyDeletePappy: My goodness, Sheldon Mayer does SF (and does a hell of a job of it). You can still see the wonderful Mayer of Sugar and Spike in a lot of the body postures. What a rush! Abe Lincoln reflecting on his own assassination with cool authority! There is also the Mayer mind: "In this century, nobody is taught mathematics. They leave that to computers."
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! -- Mykal
I also found the original art at Heritage a few months ago and was blown away by this story. I am BIG fan of Shedlon Mayer's comics, and it's great to see him finally getting some attention. This story was an anomaly for him but... as I thought it, I realized hat the concept for Sugar and Spike is pretty close to science fiction in some ways... the adults in S&S are very much like typical SF aliens being powerful, magical, having cool toys they mostly do NOT share, and speaking a weird language. Then later in the series, Mayer introduces the world's smartest person and has all sorts of biting comments and satire about technology and society. Great post. I had not seen the published comic so I appreciate you sharing that, too!
ReplyDeleteThese Mayer pages remind me of modern era Mike & Laura Allred work~! Awesome to see b & w side by side with printed color~!
ReplyDeleteTo think that for all my growin'-up years I passed up Sugar and Spike on the comic spinner rack, because it was a "kiddie comic." I was chronologically advanced before I found out how great Shelly was. My bad!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Fred Saberhagen had read this story when he wrote the book "After the Fact" about trying to save Lincoln by substituting a clone.
ReplyDelete