Jack Cole – Who's Out There?

Hallowe’en Countdown IV, Day 10

October 10, 2020October 10, 2020gasp656 Comments

« Ghosts! Haunted house! … wow!
I’m glad we don’t have to investigate
around a joint like that! » — Woozy Winks… who else?

How about some Golden Age Plastic Man Hallowe’en goodness? I thought as much. All this and Woozy Winks too!

This lovely splash opens **Murder in Maniac Mansion**, from **Police Comics no. 17** (March 1943, Quality), edited by John Beardsley. Script, pencil and inks by Jack Cole.

Never mind the trick– treat yourself and read this sprightly ol’ comic book right here: http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=14584

Mr. Cole’s splashy splash from another spooky Plas yarn, **The Ghost Train**, from **Police Comics no. 23** (Oct. 1943, Quality). Read it here: https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=37425

The supremely versatile Jack Cole could always be counted on to inject a bit of sinister ambiance (or over-amped sensuality, depending on his mood) to mix up the generally humorous proceedings of the stretchy exploits of the former Patrick “Eel” O’Brian. At times, things got pretty grand-gignolesque, as in the following case.

This is **Police Comics no. 26** (Jan. 1944, Quality). Cover art by Jack Cole.

*Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble*. This is **Plastic Man no. 33** (Jan. 1952, Quality); cover pencils by Jack Cole, inks by ‘Burly’ Sam Burlockoff.

By the 1950s, Jack Cole had moved on to other pastures and projects, but Plastic Man kept right on stretching, one of the few superheroes flexible enough to withstand the horror boom. But not without a few alterations to fit the times, as evidenced by the following pair of samples.

This is **Plastic Man no. 38** (Jan. 1952, Quality); cover art by Alex Kotzky. You have to appreciate that boney Monk Mauley hung on to his lucky belt even as his pants lost their corporeality. That’s commendable dead-ication! (sorry); Oh, read all about it: https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=30201

This is **Plastic Man no. 43** (Nov. 1952, Quality); cover pencils by Dick Dillin, possible inks by Chuck Cuidera.

It must be stated that, even without the masterly Jack Cole, Plastic Man clearly brought the best out of the rest of Quality’s admittedly admirable bullpen, so his adventures remain worth reading… which is certainly not the case with most subsequent revivals, with the exceptions of DC’s 1976-77 mostly-ignored Ramona Fradon run and Kyle Baker‘s award-winning 2004-06 outing.

-RG

Playboy Cartoons for a Festive Mood

December 22, 2018December 21, 2019redscraper1 Comment

With every passing year, I have more and more trouble getting into the spirit of Christmas (especially since all the snow has now melted). An early present of Rodney Crowell’s Christmas Everywhere helped a bit, but to speed things along some more – and before Christmas Eve takes me by surprise – I’d like to titillate everybody’s taste buds with this spread of Playboy Christmas cartoons.

BuckBrownChristmas — Cartoon by Buck Brown (real name Robert Brown), an African-American cartoonist and painter, creator of the naughty (and adorable!) Granny.

SokolChristmas — Cartoon by Austrian Erich Sokol. A little linguistic tidbit: “sokol” means “hawk” in Russian.

And on the topic of bedding Santa Claus…

DougSneydChristmas — Cartoon by Canadian Doug Sneyd.

DediniChristmas — Eldon Dedini! (We ran an earlier *exposé* about him here.) Who needs naked women when you have the (slightly grabby) three magi?

JackColeChristmas1955 — Cartoon by the ineluctable Jack Cole! Don’t forget to take a peek at my mate’s post, The Unforgettable Jack Cole.

PhilInterlandiChristmasPlayboy — Cartoon by Phil Interlandi.

And, on a slightly morbid note, three cartoons by Gahan Wilson (who paints what he sees!)

GahanWilsonChristmasDrunk

GahanWilsonChristmasSanta

GahanWilsonChristmas

~ ds

Newsflash: check out this post’s sequel, the imaginatively-titled More Playboy Cartoons for a Festive Mood!

Will Eisner’s The Spirit at Quality

August 10, 2018March 6, 2023gasp6511 Comments

« I tell ya, Spirit… this neighborhood is like a lit firecracker… »

I’m surprised that it took us this long to get to Will Eisner and his signature creation, The Spirit. Is it perhaps too obvious a topic? Nah. Though the ink and the pixels may flow, and even if everyone and his chiropractor has already waxed rhapsodic about old Will, the subject retains its depths of evergreen freshness.

For most generations of cartoonists, Eisner is an irresistible influence. My own initial encounter came in the early 1970s, when I glimpsed ads for Warren’s Spirit reprints in the rear section of Famous Monsters of Filmland. And then I was introduced to his groundbreaking style and storytelling approach… only it wasn’t, in this case, quite his.

In 1975, I had stumbled upon a Dutch collection of WWII-era Spirit newspaper strips (The Daily Spirit, Real Free Press, 1975-76… a publication designed by none other than Joost Swarte), and I was captivated… by the ghost work of no less than Plastic Man creator Jack Cole!

ColeSpirit42A — « *You can do that in a comic strip?* » was my general feeling as a ten-year-old aspiring cartoonist. From The Spirit daily strip, **January 3, 1942** (scripted by Manly Wade Wellman, illustrated by Jack Cole).

I won’t go over the action-packed history of the character… what I’ll focus on here instead is inextricably linked to Eisner’s terrific business acumen: having held onto his character’s ownership, he could shop him around the publishing world, a process still unfolding to this day, well beyond his own passing.

The Spirit, that well-travelled rascal, has witnessed his exploits bearing many a publisher’s imprint, from Quality to Fiction House, through I.W. (naughty, naughty!), Harvey, Kitchen Sink, Warren, and DC… so far. And the coolest thing is that Eisner was along for most of the ride, creating glorious new cover visuals for the venerable archives.

Today, we’ll focus on Quality’s output (1942-50), which alone was contemporary to the strip’s tenure. About half of it was Eisner, but I’m no purist: the man hired some of the finest ghosts in the medium’s history, when it came to both story and art. To name but a few favourites: Manly Wade Wellman, Jerry Grandenetti, Jules Feiffer, Wally Wood…

ColePolice23A — Speaking of Jack Cole… before he got his own title, The Spirit was featured for a couple of years in Quality’s Police Comics anthology. He occasionally ran into his fellow headliner, Plastic Man. This is **Police Comics no. 23** (October, 1943). Cover by Jack Cole. Read this issue here.

SpiritQ12A — This is **The Spirit no. 12** (Summer 1948), cover by Eisner, and featuring a bunch of Manly Wade Wellman / Lou Fine Spirit tales, which is to say “*Eye, Feets, and Lock*” (August 12th, 1945), “*The Case of the Missing Undertaker*” (September 30, 1945), “*Skelvin’s School for Actors*” (November 18, 1945), “*The Whitlock Diamond Caper*” (June 24, 1945) and “Nitro” (October 21, 1945).

SpiritQ13A — This is **The Spirit no. 13** (Autumn, 1948), cover by Eisner, and gathering a clutch of Wellman / Fine outings, i.e. “*Mr. Martin’s Pistols*” (September 23, 1945), “*Red Scandon*” (June 3, 1945), “*The Strange Case of the Two $5.00 Bills*” (December 9, 1945), “*Mr. Exter*” (May 27, 1945) and “*Vaudeville Vinnie*” (November 4, 1945).

SpiritQ14A — Another high-wire master class in design and tension from Mr. Eisner. This is Quality Comics’ **The Spirit no. 14** (Winter, 1948), featuring reprints of Spirit adventures (“*The Alibi Factory*“, “*The Kuttup Shop*“, “*Prominent Executives Vanish*“, “*The Masked Magician*“, “*Belle La Trivet*“) from 1945, written by Chapel Hill‘s foremost scribe, Manly Wade Wellman, and illustrated by Lou Fine and the Quality shop.

SpiritQ15A — This is **The Spirit no. 15** (Spring, 1949), cover by Eisner, and gathering a bouquet of Wellman / Fine offerings, namely “*Rosilind Ripsley*” (June 10, 1945), “*Madame Lerna’s Crystal Ball*” (September 16, 1945), and “*The Case of the Will O’Wisp Murders*” (November 5, 1944).

SpiritQ16A — This is **The Spirit no. 16** (Autumn, 1948), boasting an Eisner cover and rounding up a rogues’ gallery of Spirit exploits scripted by Bill Woolfolk: “*The Case of the Uncanny Cat*” (October 8, 1944) and “*Jackie Boy*” (September 9, 1944) and Manly Wade Wellman: “*The Case of the Headless Burglar*” (September 24, 1944), all pencilled by Lou Fine.

SpiritQ20A — I’ll bet Dolan could kick himself if he wasn’t so tidily trussed up. Fooled by a pretty… er, face again. This is **The Spirit no. 20** (April 1950), featuring “*The Vortex*” (September 8, 1946); “*The Siberian Dagger*” (January 27, 1946); “*Magnifying Glasses*” (May 26, 1946), plus a couple of Flatfoot Burns stories by Al Stahl. Cover by Will Eisner, and a gold star and a hearty round of applause for the colourist.

As for the insides… I’m tickled to inform you that all of Quality’s issues of The Spirit are available gratis on comicbookplus.com. Enjoy!

– RG

p.s. For more (much more!) of Will Eisner’s famous creation, just click on the umbrella category, THAT’S THE SPIRIT!

Spending Some Quality Time With Barbara Shermund’s ‘New Woman’

February 8, 2018March 5, 2022gasp651 Comment

Although it’s tempting (but lazy) to assume so, men didn’t *altogether* corner the risqué cartoon niche.

It would be quite an injustice to count out the magnificent Barbara Shermund (1899-1978), prolific contributor to The New Yorker (including eight covers) and Esquire magazines, and so much more.

Far too little is known about this pioneering artist, but here’s an insightful piece aiming to rectify the situation, at least a little, written by Caitlin McGurk:

https://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/2012/03/27/womens-history-month-barbara-shermund-1899-1978/

ShermundVersatile — Nothing new under the sun! Frankly, *that* situation hasn’t gained a wrinkle since this cartoon’s appearance in **The New Yorker**‘s July 21, 1928 edition.

NewYorker1935A — One of Ms. Shermund’s aforementioned New Yorker covers, from the June 29, 1935 edition.

ShermundGrannyFaintA — « *All I said was, ‘Granny, how do you like my new bathing suit?’* » Undated piece in ink and watercolour.

ShermundLostA — « *She’s lost!* » **Esquire**, 1944. Ink and watercolour.

ShermundTunnelA — « *Mr. Dillon, I’d like to ask your daughter’s hand in marriage.* » (1953, ink and watercolour.)

ShermundApeA — « *Who was that fellow I saw you with at Ciro’s last nite?* » (**Cheering Section**, 1955. Ink and watercolour.)

BarbShermundNoA — « *Mother always makes me write it five hundred times before I go out with Mr. Parker* » **Esquire**, publication date unknown, ink and watercolour.

ShermundCowboyIndianA — « *Let’s play cowboy and indian!* » (**Cheering Section**, 1959. Ink and watercolour.)

I can’t help but be reminded, by that final piece, of Jack Cole‘s rather more trenchant take on a similar power imbalance, published a year earlier.

ColeUncleSamMaidenA — « *Well, there’s history repeating itself.* » (Jack Cole, from **Playboy**, January, 1958.)

A postscript: in March, 2022, Ms. Shermund was the subject of an article in the New York Times’ ‘Overlooked No More’ series, comprising belated obituaries for notable folks whose departure flew under the radar, so to speak. In this case, we learned that:

« Shermund lived out her last years drawing at her home in Sea Bright, N.J., and swimming at a beach nearby. She died on Sept. 9, 1978, at a nursing home in Middletown, N.J.

In 2011, a niece, Amanda Gormley, decided to research her family’s history and was surprised to find that Shermund’s ashes had been left unclaimed in a New Jersey funeral home since 1978.

In May 2019, Gormley raised money through a GoFundMe campaign and, with the contributions of many artists and cartoonists, saw to it that Shermund’s ashes were buried alongside her mother’s grave in San Francisco. »

– RG

The Unforgettable Jack Cole

December 14, 2017September 20, 2019gasp657 Comments

« What are you mumbling about? »
« Oh, nuthin’! … just that
my false teeth get loose
an’ make a lot of noise! »

Today marks the one hundred and third anniversary of the enigmatic Jack Cole (December 14, 1914 – August 13, 1958) a man embodying, in equal parts, hilarity, talent and torment. Just when everything seemed to be going his way, he took his own life in 1958, for reasons still surmised about. His widow was the only one to know, and she took her secret to the grave.

Let’s move past this morbid stuff and concentrate on the man’s creative legacy, shall we?