Number 1988: The Saint: song stumper and head thumper

“The Saint in the Musical Mystery” is from The Saint #5 (1949), drawn by the incredible Warren Kremer, who had two stories in the issue. Kremer, as has been mentioned before in this blog, is one of the most prolific comic book artists of all time, but is mostly anonymous to fans. If it helps any, he drew thousands of pages for comic books like Richie Rich, Casper, Wendy, Spooky and Hot Stuff the Little Devil. As a cartoonist, Kremer was fast and could draw basically anything. In his early career in comic books he did the standard comic book things, including stories of crime and horror (see the link below).

The story today shows the “behind the scenes” of a radio program. Television gets a mention in the last panel, a portent of doom for radio as it was known at the time this comic was published. Before television became ubiquitous, for millions of people nightly entertainment was gathering around the radio listening to news, comedy, mystery, quiz shows, musical variety...when television first came in it was adapted visually from what had been done for decades by people standing around microphones in a radio studio. Despite his image as a suave, well-dressed detective, the Saint could also use his fists. What would a comic book be without punches being thrown?

Additionally, “hussy” isn’t a word you hear much nowadays, much less see in a comic book, so I was amused to see “Why you jealous hussies!" spoken in anger by the Saint’s girlfriend. Hussy means a girl of loose morals, and has been replaced by cruder words. Hussy is now a quaint term. I have been known to use it, but only on very rare occasions. I live a boring life. I don’t run across many hussies.

Click on the thumbnail for a historical crime story by Warren Kremer.

Number 1805: Hooray for Halloween Horror: The Body Maker

Halloween is Saturday, so we have a week of Halloween stories ahead of us. First up is a story from Black Cat Mystery #39 (1952), about a Frankenstein type who is creating his perfect woman. Personally, I think I could make it easier just to kidnap Sofia Vergara (or substitute your own choice) for a perfect woman, but this guy does it the hard way.

The artist is Warren Kremer, who does a marvelous job with what is actually kind of a silly story. (She’s not a natural blonde? Well, just keep kidnapping and killing 'em until you find one!) Kremer (born 1921) had a long career as a comic book artist, starting in the 1940s, and going until his death in 2003. He is probably most famous for drawing Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Richie Rich, etc., for Harvey Comics. But his work for Harvey goes back to their pre-Code horror comics. He designed covers, and he did occasional horror stories. If nothing else, he might be one of the most versatile comic artists ever.

Number 1774: Harvey humor

Not long ago I mentioned ignoring Harvey kiddie comics in the 1960s, then catching up to them in the seventies. There is a lot of repetition in those comics, because they were aimed at a young age group, but it does not mean they could not be creative and funny. I recently found three stories I thought were interesting, and funny enough to scan and post.

“The Millyumaire,” starring Baby Huey, satirizes a television show I remember from the fifties. The Grand Comics Database doesn”t list the artist, but based on a panel with “Taras” lettered on a window, I’ll make a guess it’s drawn by talented Marty Taras. It’s from Baby Huey and Papa #4 (1962). “Nightmare in ‘Pre-Hysterics’” is drawn by Howie Post, and “Casper Meets Goldilocks” is by Warren Kremer. Both stories are from Casper and Nightmare #13 (1966). Enjoy.

Number 1547: From that wonderful artist who brought you Casper the Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich...

I’ve shown another crime story (check the link under this story) by Warren Kremer. He is probably best known as being the master cartoonist who for years drew Casper and Richie Rich, Stumbo the Giant and other Harvey Comics characters. In his early career Kremer was known to do crime stories, and also did work as designer of some of the most gruesome early ’50s horror covers for Harvey Comics.

“Frisco Mary” is from Ace Comics’ Crime Must Pay the Penalty #37 (1954), which is a reprint from issue #3 (1949) of the same title.

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More Kremer crime. Just click on the thumbnail:

Number 1462: Warren Kremer’s Burke and Hare

Warren Kremer (1921-2003) was one of the most talented artists in the history of comic books, but you’d hardly have known it. Over most of his career he drew the fantastic kid-friendly strips for Harvey Comics, including Casper, Spooky, Richie Rich, et al. He didn’t sign his work and until his name became known by fans he was kind of comics’ best kept secret.

Early in his career Kremer was drawing more adult fare, crime comics, and later he delivered some terrific covers for the Harvey horror comics. With this story of the infamous duo of Burke and Hare for Ace Comics’ Crime Must Pay the Penalty #2 (1949), which he signed, he showed he could handle drawing dead bodies as well as friendly ghosts.