Number 1408: Loch Ness...dragon?

It’s the fourth and last entry for our “What pours out of a Fawcett” theme week, and begins with a question from me: was the Loch Ness monster ever called the Loch Ness dragon? That’s how it’s referred to in this story from Ibis the Invincible #5 (1946). I don’t remember ever hearing it called that.

The story has Ibis involved in a contest between two men who are fighting over a woman, which he intends to see is conducted fair and square. Yet earlier Ibis didn’t feel a bit bad about abruptly ending an afternoon of fishing with his squeeze, Princess Taia, by using his magical powers to have a fish bite on Taia’s hook. I guess fair play in macho doings is one thing, boredom in the middle of a lake with your girlfriend is another.

The art on the story is credited to Gus Ricca. It’s the first story I’ve ever shown by Ricca, who had some famous covers, including the one above, which was used for Craig Yoe’s great book, Comics About Cartoonists. As far as I know it’s still available, and you don’t need Ibis’ famous Ibistick to get it. Just wiggle your fingers over your keyboard and type in www.yoebooks.com, which will magically take you to a wonderful place where you get it the old-fashioned way, by buying it.

**********

It’s been fun since Number One!

Today is the seventh anniversary of Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine. I usually don’t make anything of this anniversary because every year I usually forget.

You can find old Number One, the first posting from this date in 2006 by clicking on the picture of the stairway corpse above.

I began this blog with the notion that if I could find enough of interest to scan and write about I might do 300 postings. As you can see I’ve done more than 1400, and #1500 will be January 2, 2014, unless, of course, I’m hit by a meteor or otherwise incapacitated.

I want to say how much I’ve appreciated the readers who have stuck with this blog over the years, who have even used it for inspiration to do their own blogs. This is more than a hobby to me. Since 2009 I have had the luxury of retirement from the daily toil of 45 years at various jobs. Now I consider Pappy’s to be my job...and it’s a lot more fun than I’ve had on any other job.

Will I make it another seven years? We’ll take it one post at a time, and hopefully I’ll see you next July 26 on the eighth anniversary.

Number 1407: The five-cent superhero

This is the third entry of our “What pours out of a Fawcett” theme week, featuring comics from that publisher.

Nickel Comics was short-lived. It was the idea of the publisher to beat the competition by putting out a cheaper product (it was half the page-length of the usual 64-page comics costing 10¢), and it came out every two weeks, which meant it was the equivalent of a monthly comic with a normal page count. But according to lore the magazine distributors didn't like it because they had to find rack space for it just like the dime books, and yet they got less of a return. If someone in that era had opined, “What this country needs is a good 5¢ comic book,” at least the idea was given a chance.

This Bulletman story, credited to writer Bill Parker and artist Jon Small by the Grand Comics Database, is the second Bulletman story published, and is fairly typical superhero fare for 1940. It is burdened by Parker’s use of captions, describing action we have already seen in the panel. Parker is credited with writing the original Captain Marvel stories, also. The captions stop the action cold. I suggest you do as I do; don’t read them.

I understand that Small was from the UK and worked in the American comics industry from the mid-thirties to the mid-fifties. He was the first artist to do Bulletman. I have also seen his name spelled “Smalle.”

Originally published in Nickel Comics #2 (1940):

**********

In 2010 I showed this elegantly illustrated story by Small for Fairy Tale Parade. Click on the picture to read it.

Number 1406: If you can whup her brother, you can be her lover

This is day two of our “What pours out of a Fawcett” theme week. I have a love story from Fawcett’s Romantic Western #2 (1950), drawn by Al Williamson and friends.

The story is pretty simple. Gene Lasseter, the hero, has a hankering for a pretty gal with a brother, Marko, who has a problem with guys liking his sister. He beats them up. Señorita Conchita, dark-eyed Latin beauty, seems to approve of that method of weeding out boyfriends. Love triumphs in the end because Lasseter gets the upper hand on Marko. But I’m not sure Lasseter wouldn’t have to fight Marko again at some point in the future. Guys like that who can dish it out don’t take kindly to taking a beating.

Number 1405: What pours out of a Fawcett

I haven’t had a theme week in a while, so I’ve gotten together some Fawcett comics for a “What pours out of a Fawcett” week.

First up, the Marvel Family #84 issue from the UK in 1952. It reprints part of the US issue, #76. I’ve mentioned in the past that I like these black line reprints. I also have the original color issue, and those colors cover up a lot of the sharp cartooning from the C.C. Beck studio. With this I can see each crisp line.

The Marvel Family comics, particular favorites of mine, look to me as if scripter Otto Binder had fun with the writing, and Beck and his assistants had fun with the artwork. The pro-nuke stuff is fairly typical fifties puff that atomic energy would change our lives with such things as “atomic trucks.” Imagine an atomic truck hurtling down the freeway, right on your back bumper.