Number 1766: Dr Mephisto and the Milquetoast model

Caspar “Casper” Emerson, born 1878, was an artist who began work in newspapers before the turn of the twentieth century. He ran into a situation which caused a public scandal and personal ignominy, when his wife left him for a gypsy violinist known as Prince Rigo. A divorce was granted in 1910, and Emerson is thought to be the model for the henpecked Timid Soul, Caspar Milquetoast,* made famous by cartoonist H.T. Webster.

In the thirties illustration work dried up for Emerson, and he began drawing for pulp magazines. In the forties he worked doing comic stories for Fairy Tale Parade, and later did the Dr. Mephisto strip in Power Comics. This particular episode is from issue #4 (1945). A comment with an accompanying illustration in the excellent article on Emerson by David Saunders demonstrates that Dr. Mephisto looks a lot like Prince Rigo, the man who took his wife.

The Dr. Mephisto script was written by William Woolfolk.

*See examples of The Timid Soul here.

Number 1643: The sinister suitcase

“The Sinister Suitcase,” from Power Comics #4 (last issue,1945) fits my definition of a shaggy dog story. It presents a mystery. What is in the suitcase? We don’t know. It also has a fabulous splash page by talented comic artist Mort Leav that has nothing to do with the story. The story is credited by the GCD to Bill Woolfolk, so if stories like this bother you then you will know who to blame.