BB-Gun

I guess the second wave of heroes had to take another Raymond costume choice. At least they didn't use the funny hat. Robin Hood got that hat. And the Sandman got to wear the fedora. bb Until Kirby came along...

I must admit that I am particularly fond of this Teenage Romance cover (I think this is TR 12). I like the lab coat and sleeve covers but where are the safety glasses? bb

Love the Flash Gordon scans. Those extra large images are especially nice. (thumbs u Alex Raymond is one of my favorite artists from that era. I've always thought he created the template for the prototypical superhero costume which Joe Shuster ended up using for Superman and which was used by hundreds of comic book characters that followed in his footsteps: close fitting shirt and leggings, trunks, boots, cape, and iconic symbol of some sort emblazoned on the chest. Here are some examples from 1934. We are lucky that Shuster chose the second Flash image instead of the first. That funny hat and extra color is a little over the top. Although Capt. America and the Dr. Mid-Nite liked those boots...

I think I previously posted the comic page which contains this panel but it is a little smaller than the Sunday page and easier to scan.

I was working on those Flash Gordon pages but I got a little distracted. I heard that parents are outraged about the latest tattooed Barbie. But then I looked a little closer at the tattoo and it seemed familiar.

Perhaps it is better to scan the Sunday pages one panel at a time. bb This kind of looks like the Big Little Book version.

I'd love to see some of your Flash Gordon strips. I love Raymond's work from that period but never owned many examples myself. While I am working on those Flash Gordon Sunday page scans, I thought I would post some scans from the comics. I don't have any originals. Just old newspapers and a few beat up comics.I tried to reduce the size of the scans in photoshop. If they are still too large, then ad a note and I will delete them.

Or the boys submitted their sisters names to double their chances of winning. bb

I'd love to see some of your Flash Gordon strips. I love Raymond's work from that period but never owned many examples myself. The problem with presenting the newspaper strips is that my scanner is for 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper and the Sunday pages are 60 cm by 46 cm. I purchased two digital cameras for my daughter and she took them to South Carolina. My digital camera that I purchased for the computer was dumped when I upgraded last spring. Perhaps I will buy another and take photos of the Sunday papers. My favorites are the Raymond and Crane full pages but the Superman and Tarzan halves are pretty good too. I would like to obtain more King pages but haven't seen a lot of those. And as I said before, they are hard to take care of and store. bb

BZ, Did you have any original art for Little Nemo? I am amazed at the quality of the work and happy that it is being reprinted and scanned. from GA.UK (photo from Michael Vance). I never found any newspapers with original cartoons by WM. Perhaps they were saved or passed on to other relatives. I found a lot of other pre-1940 newspaper comics which are now crumbling in my closet. The Flash Gordons seemed to have survived in good condition. bb

And I found a few more ads too. bb They used that scene for a later Showcase issue.

I noticed this Hollywood newstand from Wonder Woman. I don't think you mentioned this one yet. bb

You're missing out on a lot of good stories and many great ones in the last few issues. I like this cover (and issue 10) but my copy is a little to beat up to show. Thanks to someone else for the scan. bb

Perhaps some of these stories were intended for, or reprinted from, Midget comics. That could explain the larger type. I have a few additional examples in one of my coverless boxes. I also wondered if all of the stories from the APC 100 pg issues were original. Could they be from other St. John titles that are rebound? I didn't recognize any stories but that doesn't mean too much. bb

I thought the promo for Real Life 3 was interesting. An advertisement for the villian for a change. And the biggest villian of modern times too. Sorry about the poor scan. I think someone loaded a fiche of America's Best 1 but still, I haven't seen it before. bb

In the All Star 1 story, Ultraman stripped down to fight. So I guess he didn't really have a costume but they always pictured him wearing his funny helmet on the covers. bb

Second DC Superhero? What about Ultraman who debuted Nov 1939 in All American 8? bb

For some reason this splash page of original art was not identified in the AE article. It looks like the Baker splash for Mysta in Planet 57. Probably worth about $10K don't you think.

I think this is the story in question (APC 17 and 37 reprint by Baker or not?). I think it looks more like Ramona Fradon's art than Matt Baker's work. bb

Hey I notice that in Jim's notes, he doesn't see any Baker stories in issue 37 either. Maybe it is just Alberto or he has other information that we blind people don't have. I am always amazed at how some people can recognize work by their favorite artist by a few panels or fingers. bb By the way, I didn't see any Baker work in either the 100 pg APC 27 or 28.

One thing that Matt Baker had in common with my other favorites, like Kirby and Kubert, was he knew how to draw the action in his strips. I am always amazed at how hyperactive Sky Girl and Canteen Kate were. Here are a couple more of Kate's splashes from issues 1 and 2. and finally, for now.

The above stories were from issues 10 and 11 which were reprinted at the end of the run. Bullet Proof Bandits and the Kingpin story (posted earlier) were in issues 11 and 36. Crimson Gang and Red Bearded Rogue were in issues 10 and 35. The Murder in Mink story was reprinted in APC 38 from issue 18 of APC.

I think there are a few differences in my list of Baker stories and covers and the article published in Alter Ego 47. Alberto Becattini and Jim Vadeboncoer, Jr. Listed: Original Baker Stories are in APC 10-18 and reprints in 35-38. Covers by Baker were for APC 6-20, 22-24 and 27-29 and 31-38. I didn't see a Baker story in issue 17 and 37. APC 35 reprints 2 stories from issue 10. APC 38 reprints a story from issue 18. APC36 reprints two stories from issue 11. I agree that original stories by Baker were in issues 10-16 and 18 and the Baker covers were APC 6-20, 22-24, 27-29 and 31-38. I haven't checked issues 27 and 28 yet but when the cat moves, I will dig into the box and look at the last two issues. bb Hey, I am not saying that I am an expert like Jim and Alberto but since I have all the issues, I thought I would check and double check using Alberto's article. This is definitely different from the list in Overstreet.

This reminds me of that Leonardo movie "Catch me if you can". bb

Speaking of relationships gone wrong. I think this one from APC 13 was a pretty good Baker story. with the lady in the red dress in the background. Which reminds me of the John Dellinger story and how he was caught outside of a theater because he wanted to see a Myrna Loy movie, Manhattan Melodrama, with his girl friend and Anna Sage, who wore a red dress to tip off Melvin Purvis. bb