Number 1913: Lady Luck on the rocks

In 2012 I posted a Lady Luck story (see the link below today's feature). I offered my opinion why Lady Luck, who had all of the charms a reader could want — looks, brains, money — only lasted five issues in her own comic book. After all, she had been in the Spirit Section for years, and those stories were reprinted in Smash Comics until issue #85. Smash was changed to Lady Luck with issue #86, and continued through issue #90.

Lady Luck had the additional bonus of being drawn by one of Quality Comics’ best artists, Klaus Nordling,* who had also done Pen Miller and the Barker. The Lady Luck stories were cute and funny. They could also strain credulity, as in the panels where Lady Luck, in high heels, bounds across boulders, and even keeps the seams of her stockings straight!

*The Grand Comics Database attributes the art to Fred Schwab, ghosting for Nordling. Looks like Nordling to me, although I don’t know how much he actually may have had to do with the finished artwork.

From Lady Luck #88 (1950):

Just your luck, another Lady Luck! Just click on the thumbnail.

Number 1813: “The Pen is...” nearly as mighty as the policewoman

Both Sally O’Neil, Policewoman, and Pen Miller, cartoonist-detective, debuted in National Comics #1. They were both back-up features, yet both lasted much longer than the lead feature for National, Uncle Sam, who didn’t last through the end of World War II.

Sally is smart, Sally is beautiful, Sally is tenacious, Sally can handle a gun, Sally can handle men. Now that is a great character. According to the website, Public Domain Superheroes, Sally was created by Frank Kearn, Toni Blum, and Chuck Mazoujian.

Pen Miller is a successful cartoonist who lives in a penthouse with a man servant. As Don Markstein remarked on his Toonopedia web page, Pen was the “cartoonist’s ideal self-image.” Indeed. Since cartooning for a living is a full-time job, one would think Pen would not have time to do a successful comic strip and still solve murder mysteries. But that would be part of the “ideal,” or at least a stereotype among non-cartoonists that all cartoonists do is sit around, knock out a few funny pictures, then haul in the big bucks.

Pen also has a name that leads to my speculation that it may be a private dirty joke. The second caption of the story says “‘Pen’ is busy . . .” The letterer must be careful of letter-spacing in a sentence like that. The talented Klaus Nordling, who also did Lady Luck, is the artist.

These are their first stories, from National Comics #1 (1940).

Number 1242: Luck be a Lady

This is the third of four postings this week from Quality Comics.

Why did Lady Luck only last five issues? I’d think she would have lasted longer just based on the pin-up aspect alone. Or maybe that was the problem. Around the time the Lady Luck comic book appeared in 1949 the critics of comics were in their battle armor and rattling their sabers. There were many other sexy female characters in comics, ranging from Sheena to Katy Keene, and despite them perhaps Quality lost its nerve about publishing sexy comic books. They also published the queen of comic book pin-ups, Torchy, and toned her down. So Lady Luck was Lady Out-of-Luck. Regardless, Lady Luck was a good character (part of Will Eisner’s Spirit Section in newspapers, published in four-page installments, and reprinted in Smash Comics #’s 42-85).

Klaus Nordling is credited with drawing and writing Lady Luck. He died at age 76 in 1986.

From Lady Luck #86 (1949).*

*Actually the first issue. It was continued from Smash Comics, which ended at #85.

Number 952


Klaus Nordling's Barker is no dummy!


Klaus Nordling, who was born in Finland but emigrated to the U.S. as a child, was an important artist in the Will Eisner studios from 1939 until the 1970s. He drew Lady Luck for Eisner's Spirit Section. He also drew other characters for Quality Comics, using his smooth ink line and cartooning skills on several features, including Pen Miller and the Barker. This story is from The Barker #7, in 1948. The Barker was Carnie Callahan, who presided over a carnival sideshow of characters.

In this story Nordling draws a sexy ventriloquist's dummy, Lulu Belle, who uses "her" sex appeal to separate suckers from their money. Nordling made Lulu Belle a vamp while also showing she was clearly a dummy. Her ventriloquist had some special equipment installed to make her more human, and even the Barker, no dummy he, is fooled for a time.

Nordling died in 1986, age 76.

I showed another Barker story in Pappy's #718.

Number 718


Tallulah tattoo-ya


Just think, if Tallulah the Tattooed Lady were alive today she wouldn't be a freak...she'd be chic!

Styles change over time; tattoos are now a fashion statement. OK, fine...I just want to remind all of the young people that those tattoos look good on your firm young flesh, which someday will be sagging. That's why the once firm and perky boobs of the hula girl tattooed on my chest are now drooping to my belly button. Be warned.

This story, drawn by Klaus Nordling, appeared in Quality Comics' The Barker #5, 1947.