Number 2478: The last of Black Bull

I am presenting the last story of the Black Bull, secret identity of rich young man Dale Darcy, who appeared in Prize Comics Western issues #71-#85. Black Bull was created, with his first story in #71 and another in issue #77, by Dick Briefer, more in the cartoonish tradition of his Frankenstein stories, seen directly below. Nothing like what was seen later in artwork by John Severin and Will Elder.

 

The origin of Black Bull is straight out of Zorro; a masked hero who keeps up a facade of a wealthy, foppish and indolent son of a rich rancher. I like Black Bull, especially by Severin and Elder, and for good measure, I like Zorro, also. If you’ve got to steal an idea, steal a good one. Zorro creator, Johnston McCulley, was turning out Zorro stories for pulp magazines, like Argosy All-Story, at the same time Edgar Rice Burroughs was writing his Tarzan books. And you know from this blog how many derivative jungle heroes owe their careers to Tarzan. Zorro made his own impact, inspiring other writers.

From Prize Comics Western #85 (1948):

Number 2164: Hoka Hei! American Eagle by John Severin

The late John Severin (1921-2012) was such a prolific comic artist it would be a full time job just collecting his work in comics. He was also a true professional. His editors must have loved him. He did a great job with solid drawing and inking.

I had not seen Severin’s work on American Eagle for Prize Comics Western before I saw scans online. I love his collaboration with Will (then Bill) Elder. As has been noted many times about Severin, he had a love for period costuming and different eras. The Grand Comics Database doesn’t give credit for the script of “Follow the Eagle,” from Prize Comics Western #95 (1952), but it is likely written by Severin’s friend, Colin Dawkins. Dawkins’ career was in advertising. He rose to vice president with the prestigious J. Walter Thompson agency.

The villain of the story is “Black Jack Powers.” An inside joke. Severin’s full name is John Powers Severin. Did Severin draw himself as Black Jack? I’ll leave it to others who knew him, but Black Jack looks like caricatures I’ve seen of him.

A 2011 posting of mine: Severin at Atlas doing Kurtzman-style war stories. Just click on the thumbnail.

Number 2068: Severin and Elder and the Lazo Kid

For at least a couple of years in the late forties-early fifties the team of John Severin and Will (then called Bill) Elder did work on Prize Comics Western. Besides their collaborations, Severin’s work shows up in Prize during the whole time he was also working for EC Comics. Such was the life of a freelance comic book artist in those days.

I was charmed by the Lazo Kid and Pedro story, “The Lost Trail,” that appeared in Prize Comics Western #79 (1950). I obviously like the artwork, but I also like that the story has a sense of humor about it, especially with Pedro’s goat, “Billee,” pulling his small buckboard like a Roman chariot.

I have said before I don’t like dialogue done in dialect. The main characters are Mexcan, and trying to approximate their speech is annoying. Unfortunately, this was common in fiction.

Number 1674: Severin and Kurtzman beat us to the draw

It’s Christmas Eve! Thanks for checking in, even though you might be taking a quick break from wrapping presents or preparing for Christmas festivities. Take a few minutes to upwrap your present from Pappy, two stories drawn by John Severin and Harvey Kurtzman from Prize Comics Western #79 (1950). Both of those much admired talents would later make their mark as comics immortals with their work for EC Comics. Severin usually worked with Will (then Bill) Elder as an inker (see the story below the Severin/Kurtzman collaborations).

Black Bull was a masked character, and it seems there was no shortage of masked six-gun totin', quick-draw heroes in those days. In this case Black Bull is accompanied by his butler, Egbert, and his secret identity is as the son of a wealthy man.

Enjoy!

Severin, Elder and Abe Lincoln

As mentioned in the comments above, Severin’s usual inker in the forties and early fifties was Will Elder. “Severin and Elder” jobs are found many times in Prize Comics Western, and EC science fiction comics. I do not know how many love stories the pair worked on, but this three-page story of the romance of Abraham Lincoln and Ann Rutledge not only shows Severin’s mastery of time and place, but also likenesses. Elder and Severin separated professionally, but for a time their beautifully crafted stories were on display in comics that may have been otherwise indistinguishable from their many competitors.

For decades there has been a dispute over how involved Lincoln and Rutledge were. After Lincoln’s death stories came out about Rutledge being the love of his life, and when she died he was profoundly affected. Some historians dispute the details, and you can read an interesting scholarly work on the subject in this article by Lewis Gannett for the Journal of Abraham Lincoln.

From Standard’s Thrilling Romances #8 (1950):