Number 1994: Tomahawk in flight

In the early years of his comic book appearances, Tomahawk, the frontiersman, and his young pal, Dan, traveled early America, heading off trouble with Indians and scheming white men. At least two of the three stories from Tomahawk #4 (1951) fit that description. But Tomahawk is a DC comic, and DC comics had to have a gimmick on the cover to lure readers. So the cover shows Tomahawk in flight, using a pair of wings designed by none other than Leonardo Da Vinci.

In later times Tomahawk went on to wilder and wackier adventures, including one with a giant gorilla (see link below). But the strip itself started off as a kind of Lone Ranger and Tonto or Batman and Robin adventure series set in the frontier of colonial America. Any resemblance to anything truly historic is immediately quashed by “The Flying Frontiersman.” I won’t even go into why this contraption strapped to Tomahawk would not work, because it is in a comic book, and in comic books stuff like that worked.

Nothing wrong with fantasy, but they should have labeled it as such. Maybe Tomahawk could have stumbled across a patch of mushrooms he mixed into a salad, and hallucinated the whole thing. But no, not in this comic book. Even for such straightforward 1951 balderdash, editor Jack Schiff, with his assistants Murray Boltinoff and George Kashdan, got even wilder and more off the wall as the decades advanced.

There is no guesses in the Grand Comics Database as to who wrote the story, but the art is credited to Bruno Premiani.

One of my favorite over-the-top Tomahawk tales. Just click on the thumbnail.

Number 1466: Jurassic Tomahawk

This past September I showed a story of frontier adventurers, Tomahawk and his young friend, Dan, fighting pirates. In Tomahawk’s era there would be a possibility he could meet a pirate...but not a dinosaur. Still, this story is about just that. Tomahawk and Dan wander into a lost valley full of prehistoric creatures.

When this story takes place (date given is 1769), dinosaurs had not yet been discovered as an extinct species. It would take another 80 years, according to “Early Dinosaur Discoveries in North America”, where it is said:  “It is generally accepted that the first discovery of dinosaur remains in North America was made in 1854 by Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden during his exploration of the upper Missouri River.” To be fair to the Tomahawk writer, one caption mentions dinosaurs, but Tomahawk never calls them that. Still, he does know that the giants are critters of another time.

It reminds me of the basic premise of Turok, Son of Stone. Turok and Andar were two pre-Columbian Indians who stumbled into the lost valley of dinosaurs, and couldn't find their way out. Who knows? Maybe it was the same valley.

From Star Spangled Comics #83 (1948). Drawn by Fred Ray.

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In later years Tomahawk encountered all kinds of crazy stuff: aliens, dinosaurs, supernatural creatures, etc. You can find an especially oddball Tomahawk story from the mid-'60s which I featured in 2010. Just click the picture.

Number 1439: Tomahawk under the black flag

Tomorrow is the annual Talk Like A Pirate Day, so practice your best Robert Newton Long John Silver impression, and holler “Yarrrr!” and “Arrrrr mateys!” at work or school tomorrow. Everyone will love it. NOT.

I never need a reason to show a story about pirates, but it seems more appropriate today to feature Tomahawk and Dan, the buckskin Batman and Robin, and their encounter with buccaneers. Pirate Cap'n Henry Gannon makes Tomahawk walk the plank! Yarrrr!

From Star Spangled Comics #80 (1948), with artwork by the fabulous Fred Ray. To demonstrate how fabulous, look at that splash panel.

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Clicking the thumbnail will take you to Tomahawk’s first appearance in Star Spangled Comics.

Number 1155: Star Spangled Tomahawk

 

There isn't a lot of information available online about artist Edmond Good. He was born in 1910 (no death date listed; is he still alive at age 102?) Worked in Canadian comic books during WWII, then came to the U.S. to work on the comic strip, Scorchy Smith, and then comic books. He was the first artist on "Tomahawk," which began in Star Spangled Comics in 1947.

Tomahawk's first appearance was shown in Pappy's #985. Good worked for Fox, doing Dagar, Desert Hawk, and also at ACG in the 1960s, doing supernatural stories for editor Richard E. Hughes. He had a very pleasing style, which once identified, becomes immediately apparent when spotted.

In the answer to a question in Adventures Into the Unknown, Hughes further identified Good as a member of the Woodstock, N.Y. art colony.

 Joe Samachson wrote this tale, the second-ever Tomahawk story, in Star Spangled Comics #70 (1947):

Number 1050


Veteran's Day 11/11/11


Today is Veteran's Day in the U. S., honoring all who have served in the armed forces of the United States. That's a lot of veterans, and includes me.

For the occasion we've got a couple of special war stories, one story from Our Army At War #8, 1953, written by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Irving Novick. It's in the form of the original art taken from the Heritage Auctions site. I also took the other story from Heritage, which harkens back to an earlier era of conflict. It's from the next-to-last issue of Tomahawk*, #139, 1972, written by Bob Haney and drawn by Fred Ray. Ray, who had drawn Tomahawk for years, was an expert on the Revolutionary War period, and looks like he could handle the Civil War period, also.

These stories are dedicated to my fellow veterans, and to those serving now. Thanks to all of you!


















*The cover logo says Son of Tomahawk.