Number 2244: Sisters of the witch

It is Halloween month, so I have a story about witches.

The three sisters who are “The Sisters of the Witch” are a mean bunch. They are beauties, and flirt with a hunk, Rob. Their older sister, Martha, is plain and in love with Rob, who ignores her. She whips up some spells and takes care of at least two-thirds of her rivals. In this case I am rooting for Martha because her sisters are mean girls, insulting Martha about her lack of beauty. I think they deserve what they get.

Karswell showed the story in his blog, The Horrors of It All, in 2012. These are scans from Tales of Horror #5 (1953). The artwork is by comic book journeyman Barnard Baily. The writer is unknown.

Number 2174: Alias Mr America

Keeping up with the secret identities of Tex Thomson, who first appeared in Action Comics #1 (1938), takes some research. He was Tex, then he was Mr America (his alter ego in today’s post), and then Americommando. In that last incarnation it was President Franklin Roosevelt who directed him to take training and go kick Axis butt. I am lazy, so if someone else has a better handle on the history, I turn it over to them. Deejay Dutton has an entertaining history of Tex/Mr America/Americommando in Comic Book Bin.

Mr America shows up in a town being threatened by a group wearing purple hoods, led by a gang leader called the Purple. Local farmers are harassed by the Purple for selling wheat to a “a friendly power at war.” That means Great Britain. At the time this was published, 1941, there were groups opposing America joining the war in Europe. Mr Weston, questioned by Mr America, claims to promote “one hundred percent Americanism.” (That kind of statement can be taken many different ways. Beware. Someone else’s idea of what is one hundred percent Americanism can be very different than yours or mine.)

Bernard Baily drew the strip from its start. He began his long career in the thirties, was very active in the forties, both as an artist (with Jerry Siegel he co-created the Spectre, and with Ken Fitch co-created Hourman and Tex Thomson), and with Mac Raboy formed the Barnard Baily studio, a packager of contents for comics. He later went back to DC. He died in 1996.

Number 2090: Ghost Woman

According to the Grand Comics Database, “Ghost Woman” appeared in the 1945 giant one-shot comic, Star-Studded Comics (1945). The story is a one-off, not intended to be a series. Ghost Woman helps her husband get rid of some werewolves, then decides to go on to her final reward. There is a certain rough charm to the artwork, but it isn’t signed. I believe it is a shop job, probably using more than one artist.

Artist Bernard Baily, journeyman comic book man (the Spectre, Hourman, among others) worked in the field through much of the sixties, at least. He packaged one-shots during the war years and after in a comics shop business, Bernard Baily Studio, with Mac Raboy. They used different names for publishing companies. My belief is that they contracted with businesses that had paper rations, which during the war were needed for printing...even for stuff like comic books.

Number 1673: No truth to Captain Truth

The truth about Captain Truth is I know nothing about Captain Truth. Beyond the obvious and what the Grand Comics Database tells me, that is. He originally appeared in a 128-page giant comic called Gold Medal Comics (1945), edited by the Bernard Baily Studio. The story may have been written by Bruce Elliott (whose name appears with a ? after it); it was drawn by Bob Fujitani.

It was reprinted in a standard 36-page comic called Great Action Comics (1958), one of those three-for-25¢ bagged comics published by IW Comics.

Another truth I don’t know is why Captain Truth wore a foppish cavalier hat, red trunks, yellow cape and buccaneer boots, and was otherwise bare. When John Severin was hired to do the cover for this comic he put more standard superhero tights on him to make him look just a bit less of an exhibitionist.

The last truth I don’t know is if this was Captain Truth’s only appearance. He may have been a one-hit wonder, twice-printed.

Number 1285: Daring Love of Daring Ditko

Even if Daring Love #1 (cover dated Sept.-Oct. 1953) was not the obscure (Overstreet says “scarce”) love comic that contained Steve Ditko’s first published story, it might be known for its cover by Bernard Baily, which illustrates the historic Ditko tale.

It’s not the kind of sex we see in our porn-saturated age,but harkens back to a simpler time, when a picture like this and its implications would evoke an immediate reaction. You saw a picture of a couple in a hayloft and you just knew...they were gettin' it ON!

For its time Daring Love was aptly named.

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While we’re on the subject of Steve Ditko, Craig Yoe’s book, Ditko Monsters Gorgo will be released on February 12, 2013. I’ve read a pre-release PDF copy of the contents and it was enough to send me into nostalgic nirvana. Gorgo was a comic book I loved and bought when it came out on the comic book rack, but only the issues drawn by Ditko. (Craig has wisely chosen not to include the non-Ditko issues.)

Something I remembered about the artwork was Ditko’s underwater scenes, which I found striking at the time, and still impress me.

From the PDF copy:

I was also particularly impressed with Ditko’s design sense and dramatic staging.

This is a book I highly recommend, and if you’re a Ditko fan you’ll love it. It’s available from the usual booksellers, or you can ask your local comic book store to get it for you.