The artwork was done by one of the top professional artists from that era, Mart Bailey. He was drawing comic books very early in a style more like a newspaper comic strip artist. When I look at this Face episode from Big Shot Comics # 3 (1940) I see a guy who was far ahead of many of his contemporaries in the field. He shared Big Shot with Ogden Whitney, who drew Skyman in a style that is also more professional than much of the early comic book artwork. (And Whitney kept that style for the rest of his career, until the late sixties at least.) I will also bless Big Shot Comics editor Vincent Sullivan for bringing us Sparky Watts by the off-the-wall Boody Rogers, who made a good counterpoint to Bailey and Whitney.
The Face story is credited to Gardner Fox.
Various models also tried their hands as artists, and some of them were excellent. But when I think of a glamour girl turned artist, I think of Zoe Mozert. She worked as a pin-up model and painted pin-up art (of very high quality). Later she moved into what society would call “fine” art. (I don't think that she ever inherited a fortune, though.)
ReplyDeleteI laughed aloud at the anarchism of this fictional world. Normally, unless the police themselves are the kidnappers, the most advisable thing when fleeing from kidnappers would be to go to precinct headquarters, rather than dash for the country-side.
Too bad that the Hook was on the side of Evil; his courage and athleticism could have made him a fine crime fighter, at least until his recklessness got him killed.