Cover Cavalcade

  JANUARY IS SINGING COWBOYS MONTH!!

A Rex Allen cover from 1957.

Cover Cavalcade

  JANUARY IS SINGING COWBOYS MONTH!!

Here's a Gene Autry cover from 1955.

Cover Cavalcade

 JANUARY IS SINGING COWBOYS MONTH!!

A Roy Rogers cover from 1957.

Cover Cavalcade

 DECEMBER IS DICK TRACY MONTH!!!

This high-impact cover from 1948 is uncredited.

Run, Gingerbread Man, Run!

 

cover art tentatively credited to Walt Kelly

Fairy Tale Parade #6 (May-July 1943) includes a charming 6-page story drawn and probably written by Walt Kelly. It's a simple, straightforward tale, given life by Kelly's energetic and delightful art.

The premise is simple. An old man, old woman and young boy live in a house, where the woman is cooking a gingerbread man. But the gingerbread man is (understandably) unwilling to just sit back and be eaten. He makes a break for it.

He outruns the man, woman and boy, bragging about how fast and agile a runner he is the whole time. He passes a couple of ditch diggers and taunts them into chasing him, then outruns them as well. 

He does the same with a bear and a wolf. Can no one catch this arrogant braggard of a cookie?

Well, someone can. When the gingerbread man brags to a fox, the fox feigns that he's hard of hearing. The gingerbread man comes closer and closer, annoyed as he repeatedly yells "I can outrun you, too!!!"

Before he knows it, he's close enough for the fox to simply grab and then quickly eat.

Like most fairy tales and fables, it has a simple moral--in this case: don't be overconfident or arrogant. And that's fine. Simple morals are an appropriate part of fairy tales and this one is a good lesson. But, as I mentioned above, what really gives this tale life is Kelly's art. The action is kinetic and fun--the characters are all endowed with personality. It's a fairy tale world all of us enjoy visiting. Well, as long as we don't get too close to the fox.

You can read this one online HERE. 

Next week... well, a jump from fairy tales to knife-wielding assassins seems logical enough to me. We'll be visiting with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. 

Peter Gunn again

 

Last week, we looked at the first of two stories in Four Color #1087 (April-June 1960).  Today, we'll examine the second story, also written by Paul S. Newman and drawn by Mike Sekowsky.

"The Purple Clue" is also a well-written detective tale. One the way to meet a potential client, Pete's car is run off the road by a purple car that then speeds away. Soon after, a paint factory burns to the ground--it's later discovered to be a professional arson job. Pete's client was to be the owner of that factory.

The owner has an old enemy--a man who did time for embezzeling from the company and had sworn vengence for being sent to the slammer. But he'd been a model prisoner before being recently parolled and there's no hard evidence against him for the arson job.

Pete goes to the suspect's home and, after an encounter with a mean-tempered dog, gets a look at the guy's car. It's green--not purple. And the suspect, though openly happy about the fire, claims innocence. Also, the job was done by a pro--and this guy is an embezzler, not a fire bug.

Pete, though, takes a sample of clay from a tire before leaving. A lot of legwork follows, in which Pete eventually discovers that the suspect had learned the tricks of the arson trade from a fellow prisoner while in jail.

Remembering the clay from the tire, Pete finds a clay-covered side road and evidence that purple paint was wiped from a car using solvent while parked there. Using a cat to lure away the dog from the suspect's garage, he finds a streak of purple paint under the hood that hadn't been washed off. The guy catches Pete and tries to get the drop on him, but it's not easy to get the drop on Peter Gunn.

So both stories are solidly written detective stories that flow along logically, with clues and plot twists that make sense. Without the jazz music and Craig Stevens' laid-back but still tough portrayal of Gunn, the comic inevitably feels a little different that the TV show. But either story would have fit into the TV show lineup with no trouble at all.

Next week, we'll leave the mean streets of L.A. and head to outer space, where we'll once again join the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Peter Gunn

 

Peter Gunn ran for three seasons on TV, from 1958 to 1961. He came back for a feature film in 1967. The TV series was a well-written noir-ish private eye show, though its probably best remembered today for its magnificent opening music, written by Henry Mancini. 

Peter had one comic book appearance--in Dell's Four Color #1087 (April-June 1960). It had two 16-page original stories, each written by the stalwart Paul S. Newman and drawn by Mike Sekowsky. Today, we'll look at "Harmless Hobby." Next week, we'll look at the second tale from this issue.

The man with the "Harmless Hobby" is retired medical Dr. Clipp. He forges rare stamps, but does so just for fun. He has no intention of putting them on the market or cheating anyone.

Peter is commissioned by the Stamp Dealers Association to offer the good doctor a nice sum of money to stop making fake stamps. But Dr. Clipp declines the offer. It keeps him busy in his retirement and what harm does it do?

Well, poor Dr. Clipp is in a private eye story, so naturally there will be harm. He's kidnapped by thugs who want him to forge stamps for them to sell.

Peter heads for Dr. Clipp's home, hoping to find a clue. He runs into the cops there--they are responding to a call about a prowler. Peter and the cops briefly fight in the dark before they identify each other. Then they search the apartment for Clipp's engraving tools, figuring that's what the prowler was looking for. 

When they find nothing, they figure the prowler got away with the tools. Peter stays behind to search again, though, and eventually finds the tools hidden in a false book.

But the bad guys spot him coming out. They snatch Pete and bring him to their hideout (making him lie on the floor of the car so he can't see where they are going). They get the tools and the head of the gang realizes they don't need Pete. So he's taken to a remote location and dumped. They don't kill him, but he doesn't know where they are hiding anyways.

But Pete comes up with a plan and educating the readers on the details of stamp forging becomes necessary. The hardest part is matching the paper that was used on the original stamp, while also making it look properly aged. The best way to do this is buy less valuable stamps of lesser value and bleach those clean, using the paper to replicate the valuable stamp. Dr. Clipp had mentioned working on a valuable Swedish stamp. So the cops put the word out to the dealers to let them know if anyone is buying other stamps from that issue.

Paul S. Newman was a great writer. His story construction so far has been sound and he manages to fit in this information in just a few panels, so the potentially complicated exposition is clear and doesn't slow the story down at all.

Anyway, the plan works. A bad guy buys the stamps and is trailed back to the hideout. Peter and the cops save Dr. Clipp, who agrees to give up forging stamps and, in fact, takes a job with the Stamp Dealers Association to detect forgeries.

It really is a well-told detective story, moving along swifty, giving Pete a chance to throw punches at bad guys on several occassions, and unfolding plot points in a logical manner.

Next week, we'll see if Newman and Sekowski manage to succeed with the second Peter Gunn tale.

Stolen Furs

 

cover artist unknown

Pick any issue of Ben Bowie and His Mountain Men at random and you'll find stories worth reading. It was simply a great comic book. Ben Bowie #11 (May-July 1957), for instance, gives us a story titled "The Treacherous Trapper." Sadly, neither the writer or artist are known. 

The story opens with Ben and his crew hauling furs back to civilization to sell. They meet up with other trappers--there's a Crow war party looking to take the furs away from them and there is safety in numbers. Already, Ben and Zeke have traded shots with the Crow and have hidden out from them behind a waterfall.

They do band together with a score of other trappers, including a Frenchman who has been hunting up in Canada--something that becomes important later on.  They travel home, though one of them makes the unwise decision to backtrack on his own when he loses his tobacco pouch. He's later found dead.

The Crow stay on their trail and one night manage to steal the trappers' horses. The trappers are now forced to haul their furs on foot. Eventually, they decide to cache the furs in a cave, agreeing that they will come back for the furs together.

That doesn't work out well. A trapper named Grimes sneaks off and tells the Crow where they can find the furs, claiming a third of them for himself.

When the trappers return to the cave enmasse, they find the cave empty. They don't suspect a traitor, but in any case, their months of hard work now come to nothing.

Back in the colonies, Ben's young apprentice Jim notices a Crow at the trading post, selling a wolverine pelt. That makes him suspicious, since the Crow don't normally hunt far enough north to bag wolverines. And, by golly, didn't the Frenchman have some wolverine pelts in his haul?

Concerned with Jim's suspicions, Grimes decides to back-shoot the boy. Jim manages to outsmart him and call Nakah for help. Not surprisingly, Nakah easily subdues the villain.

The Crows are confronted, the furs are recovered and Grimes learns that he's now despised by both the Crows and the white men. "No one is lonelier than a traitor!"

It's a great story, moving along briskly and telling the story effectively. Which is typical of Ben Bowie and one of the reasons (aside from the fun setting and historical accuracy) I consider it one of the best comics ever.

You can read this issue online HERE.

Next week, we rejoin Green Lantern.

How to Fix a Broken Leg

 

cover art by Sam Savitt

Indian Chief was a great comic--an anthology in which you can pick pretty much any issue at random and not find a clunker amidst the two or three stories in that issue. Strong storytelling; engaging art; and historical accuracy shine out from every tale. (Caveat: The stories seem historically accurate to me, but I'm hardly an expert on Native American cultures. There could be any number of mistakes that I don't have the knowledge to catch. It's also possible that some of the stories were considered accurate at the time, but research done in the 70 years since their publication has changed what we know. But in any case, the stories obviously make an honest effort to treat various Native American cultures with respect.)

I picked Indian Chief #8 (Oct.-Dec. 1952) at random and--sure enough--both stories were great. Today, we'll look at the first story in this issue: "Bear Medicine"--author and artist unknown.

Our hero in this one is a Sioux named Crooked Knife, who has a bum leg which never healed properly after an accident. When the tribe is out hunting buffalo, someone spots signs of the Blackfeet (enemies of the Sioux) nearby. A trio of Dog Soldiers (the Sioux Special Forces guys) are sent ahead to scout. Crooked Knife wants to go. He wants to prove himself and get permission to mary the chief's daughter (who is awful cute). But his bad leg prevents this.

When the Dog Soldiers don't return, Crooked Knife does get permission to climb a nearby hill and keep watch. But partway up the hill, he's knocked off the path by a bear.

He lands on a tree limb sticking out of the side of the hill. The fall snaps his leg back into proper place--FINALLY, he can walk and move properly. 

Well, except he's stuck on a tree branch. But he sees a bear walking past on a narrow path he hadn't noticed and is able to climb down.

That plus a dream he had convinces him the bear is his spirit animal. But Crooked Knife doesn't have time to dwell on that. He finds one of the badly wounded Dog Soldiers, who tells him before dying that the other two were captured by Blackfeet.

He spots the prisoners, starts a buffalo stampede as a distraction, rescues the two prisoners and makes a run for it. But the three get cornered in the cleft of a cliff, with only one bow and a few arrows between them.

Things look grim for the Sioux, until Crooked Knife spots his spirit animal atop the cliff over the Blackfeet position. Crooked Knife saves the day by shooting his spirit animal in the butt, enraging it enough to attack the nearby Blackfeet. This allows the three Sioux to get away.

Back at their camp, Crooked Knife is formally made a Dog Soldier, gets a new name ("Fighting Bear") and gets to marry the cute Indian gal.

This is a fast-paced story with clear, straightforward art that tells its tale in an exciting manner. It is indeed a great example of what made Indian Chief one of the best comics ever.

You can read it online HERE. 

Next week, we'll return to the Hulk one more time.

Rip Van WInkle by way of Walt Kelly

 

cover art by Walt Kelly

The third issue of Dell's Fairy Tale Parade (October-November 1942) included an adaptation of Rip Van Winkle, drawn by Walt Kelly.

Every single one of Kelly's Fairy Tale Parade stories are things of beauty and "Rip" is no exception. The adaptation follows Washington Irving's short story pretty closely. Rip is married with two kids. He's easygoing, but a bit lazy, while his wife is a bit of a nag constantly after him to get some work done. She's deliberately presented as an unpleasant shrew, though realistically, you can't blame her for wanting Rip to do some work.

To get a break from his wife, Rip goes squirel hunting. Here he meets the small Dutchmen who are playing at bowls and drinking beer from kegs. Rip shares some beer, falls asleep and wakes up several decades later. When he wanders back into town, he gradually figures out what happened. His wife has died and his grown daughter takes him in.

Kelly's adaptation is smoothly written, telling the story effectively and economically. His art, as I already mentioned, is beautiful. The comic version leaves out a possible origin for the Dutchmen, but that's an understandable cut when adapting the tale to another medium. Also, I've always felt the original short story implies the Dutchmen may have deliberately did Rip a favor by keeping him asleep until his nagging wife was gone. That idea isn't brought across in Kelly's version, but that's was just my personal impresson of Irving's tale.

You can read this online HERE.

Next week, we'll return to the Hulk and the saga of his no-longer-microscopic girlfriend.

Cover Cavalcade

 OCTOBER IS LONE RANGER MONTH!

From 1958: A pretty cool photo cover featuring Clayton Moore.

Cover Cavalcade

 OCTOBER IS LONE RANGER MONTH!

This 1956 cover is by Dan Spaulding.

Ringing the Bell

 

Annie Oakley ran for 81 syndicated episodes from 1954 through 1957, giving us a fictionalized version of the young sharpshooter as she lived in the equally fictionalized town of Diablo, Arizona. Dell Comics ran a 15-issue tie-in series featuring photo covers of the pretty actress (Gail Davis) who played Annie.

The 8th issue of the series (July-September 1956) features a story titled "The Ambushers." The writer is unknown and the strong artwork is by Dan Spiegle. Annie, her younger brother Tagg and deputy sheriff Lofty Craig stop at an abandoned mission for some water while returning to town. 

While they are resting, Annie sees someone pointing a rifle at them. She objects strongly, which means she shoots the rifle out of the guy's hands. He claims to be a prospecter who was simply being cautious, since there's a lot of outlaws in the area right now. This is a reasonable claim, since there's been a nearby gold strike. They let the guy go.

But soon after, they stumble across a wounded prospecter who was shot and robbed by two men. From the descriptions he gives, its obvious one of them was the guy from the mission.

A posse loses the trail, so Annie and Tagg take a look. They find indications that the guy backtracked and find him at the mission, frantically searching for something. He draws on Annie, who strongly objects once again.

That puts one outlaw in jail, but another still on the loose. But Annie figures he'll have to come to town to kill the two men who can identify him--the wounded prospecter and the his captured partner. 

She's right, of course.  The second outlaw does come to town, where's he's subsequently chased to the old mission and forts up in the bell tower. Annie shoots at the bell, scaring him into surrendering. Annie also notices that the bell made a THUD sound rather than a ring. It turns out that the stolen gold dust was hidden there.

It's a fun story. Spiegle's art is great from start to finish, with two panels that stand out. When the first outlaw has his pistol shot out of his hand, Spiegle shows it literally flying out of the panel. The panel looking down at Annie from the level of the tower as she shoots the bell is also exceptional.

The story itself unfolds in a logical fashion, though Annie having to think of EVERYTHING makes the actually (and supposedly experienced) lawmen look a bit helpless. But what the heck. It is Annie's comic.

You can read this story online HERE. 

Next week, we'll return to Captain Willy Schultz.

Cover Cavalcade

 

May is DRAMATIC WILD WEST ENTRANCES month!

This 1955 cover is tentatively credited to Don Spaulding.

Cover Cavalcade

 

January is Wooden Ships and Iron Men Month!

This 1957 cover is tentatively credited to Taylor Oughton. 

I featured this cover back in 2011 with a little more background information about the story. You can read about it HERE. 

The Haunted Pueblo

 

cover art by Sam Savitt

How many times has a young man tried to impress a girl by taking her to a haunted pueblo and then getting into trouble. It's an old, old story. Indian Chief #9 (January-March 1953) shows us this sort of thing was going on even in Pre-Columbian America.

The writer and artist of "The Haunted Pueblo" are unknown, but (like most of the creators who worked for Dell in the 1950s) they were good at their jobs. The story jumps into the action right away as a young Taos Indian boy named Cloud shows a pretty young lady named Aster that he's not afraid of spooks. Without hesitation, he climbs into the ancient ruins of a pueblo that's rumored to be Ghost Central. Well, he's doesn't find any ghosts. He DOES find Apache warriors who are planning to raid his village. Cloud is captured while Aster hides in a large vase. 

Cloud manages to saw through his robes with a piece of broken pottery. We then hit the one arguable weak spot in the otherwise strong story. Cloud tricks his guard into looking directly at the sun--a trick that works only because the guard is apparently an idiot. If you are ever a prisoner, try telling your guard there's a picture on the sun so that he looks directly into it. Try. I dare you. See how well it works.

While the guard is dazzled, Cloud makes a break for it. He finds Aster and they get back to the village. But they can't get anyone to believe there are Apaches hiding in the pueblo. Cloud, in desperation, steals the village shaman's prayer stick. This act can potentially carry the death penalty, but he refuses to return the stick unless someone searches the pueblo.

The shaman, to his credit, figures Cloud wouldn't take a chance like that without a reason. So the pueblo is searched. But the Apaches saw the villagers coming and hid. Nothing is found and the villagers still don't believe Cloud. The village is still in danger. 

Cloud and Aster return to the pueblo on their own. Cloud steals a bow and arrow as proof that the Apaches are there, but when the Apaches realize those meddling kids have returned, Cloud uses the weapon to shoot fire arrows as a warning signal.

The kids then spend several desperate minutes holding off the Apaches until help arrives. After a short and brutal fight, the Apaches are captured, the village is saved and Cloud & Aster are vindicated.

As is typical with Indian Chief, the story is expertly told. It moves along at a brisk pace, with the art as well as the script combining to tell the short adventure tale in an effective and exciting manner. Giving that Apache guard the Idiot Ball is definitely a weak point, but overall "The Haunted Pueblo" is an example of the excellent storytelling that was regularly found in the pages of Indian Chief. 

You can read it online HERE

No comic book review next week as I'll be in the hospital getting a hernia repaired. In two weeks, we'll begin a two-part look at an issue of Strange Adventures. Martian spies and giant babies will soon abound.