Number 1376: Kinky Angel

Black Angel (“really Sylvia Manners, American niece of Lady Lawton,” as an early caption explains) looks to have stepped out of a fetish artist's dream. John Cassone is credited as artist, and he was very skilled at Black Angel’s anatomy, as well as action poses and haughty expressions.

Black Angel is paired up with an enemy, Baroness Blood, a Nazi agent, who may have gone to the same costumer as Sylvia.

From Air Fighters Comics Vol. 1 No. 3, 1942:

Number 1375: That dang Cookie!

Cookie O’Toole, who despite the name was a boy and not a girl, was one of the Archie competitors during the late forties and early fifties. I think Cookie is an excellent comic book, and I have shown a couple of stories in the past.* It had a long run at ACG under editor Richard E. Hughes. Cookie was drawn by Dan Gordon, who sometimes signed his name “dang.” Gordon was one of the animator/cartoonists who worked on ACG’s funny animal and teenage comics line.

Cookie may have been a half-pint, but he was also smart, and brash, and had a cute girlfriend named “Angelpuss.” Cookie followed the teenage template for this type of comic. He had friends, and rivals who were supposed to be his friends. He also had a family, including a very funny, excitable dad. Come to think of it, when I was a teenager I followed that template, too!

This story is from Cookie #7 (1947):

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*Click on the thumbnails for more Cookie.

Number 1374: A one-two punch from Fight Comics

In this 1945 Hooks Devlin story from Fight Comics we see a tattooed woman. In that era tattooed women were seen in circuses and sideshows, not walking down every street in cities and towns, large and small. Times, people and fashions change. Nowadays we don't see men going to circuses or carnivals wearing suits and ties. The difference is, of course, that putting on a suit and tie is temporary, whereas ink on skin will live with the wearer forever. However, not in the case of this tattooed woman in the story. You'll understand what I mean when you read it.

I don’t remember if I ever told you that Señorita Rio was a movie star who became a spy. In this episode she meets up with a young admirer and wannabe movie star, Susy, who helps her.

At the Grand Comics Database art credits for “Hooks” are given as Alex Blum pencils and Al Feldstein? inks. It doesn't look like Feldstein to me. His inking is usually heavier than the thin, slick lines in this story. Lily Renée signed the Rio story.

From Fight Comics #38 (1945):

Number 1373: Mysterious Island

Mysterious Island, which is Dell Four Color #1213 (1961), is an adaptation of the movie from producer Charles H. Schneer and stop-motion animation wizard Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen died recently at age 92. The comic book doesn’t give any credit to Harryhausen or SuperDynaMation, the trade name for his process, except in a tiny slug on the cover. I suppose somebody reckoned there’s no need for stop-motion animation in a comic book.

Credits for the artwork from the Grand Comics Database are given to Tom Gill, pencils, and Herb Trimpe, inks. You remember Tom Gill was the longtime artist on the Lone Ranger, and Herb Trimpe went on to Marvel Comics.

Mysterious Island, the movie, was not a big commercial success on its theatrical release in '61. I saw it in a theater with some friends. We hooted, hollered, threw popcorn and made obnoxious nuisances of ourselves. It took until VCRs were invented before I saw it again. After you read the comic book, I have a YouTube video with an interview of Harryhausen talking about Mysterious Island. I’ve always admired Harryhausen for his ability to combine such a technical and time-consuming process with fantasy.

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Harryhausen on Mysterious Island