Number 837

Straight Arrow

Straight Arrow was a radio program which lasted a short time, shorter than the comic book which licensed the character. I explained some of it in Pappy's #437, where I posted another Straight Arrow story. Fred Meagher was the artist, a solid pro with a flair for Western material. A few years earlier he had done Ralston Purina Company giveaway comics starring Tom Mix. When I read about them in an article years ago (by Ron Goulart?) I also found out that Meagher's name was pronounced Mar.

This is the first story from Straight Arrow #1, published by ME, written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Meagher.

This is dedicated to Mike Britt, Straight Arrow fan. Fifty years ago Mike's fanzine, Squatront #2*, was the first fanzine I ever saw, and is the direct ancestor of this blog. Thanks, Mike.

*(Mike's Squatront was not the Jerry Weist Squa Tront, which came later.)

Number 437


Straight Arrow and the bloody bridge


Straight Arrow started in 1949 as a radio show sponsored by Nabisco. As the 1996 article I linked to explains, the comic book version, written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Fred Meagher for ME Comics, lasted five years longer than the show.

Like most people with only a rudimentary knowledge of the character I thought Straight Arrow was a white man disguised as an Indian until I read the article, which explains it was the other way around.

Fred Meagher had drawn Tom Mix in a series of comic book premiums for Ralston. He was a fine cartoonist, with a solid drawing style and a talent for Westerns. This story is from Straight Arrow #21, January 1953. Meagher, who was born in 1912, died in 1976.