BB-Gun

I think the Baker stories in Authentic Police Cases started with issue 10, which disagrees with Overstreet. But there is a pretty good Mounty story in issue 6 that might have been Baker pencils. Those issues, 3-9, before Baker interiors had pretty nice covers and some Cole work too which makes them very collectable. Some of the Baker splash pages were pretty good.

Here are a couple more Baker covers. Not pure romance but the Authentic Police Cases always included relationships that had gone wrong. Thanks to GA.UK I now have the entire run as electronic copies except for the two missing 100 pg issues, which are in the crime box with my other issues of that genre. Apparently it is a little difficult to scan the squarebound issues without breaking the spine. bb

I like all of those early Silver Streak issues. Maybe next time.

Perhaps it would be safer to wear the green dress. Here is another example of ant cuisine. bb

I purchased a Speed 12 from him. It was beat up but honestly described and shipped quickly so I was satisfied. Bruce

Mysta was wearing the red costume before Baker worked on the strip. But someone decided to change the color of her costume when she was in disguise. Editors, artist, writer colorist? We probably don't know in this case but the change was a good idea since it helped visualize the story line. From GA.UK Planet 35

And this one is in the What If category. What if the She-Wolf splash wasn't censored and it was used as the cover. And what if she had a green dress (skirt)! bb The Original censored version What if

It looks like a Baker splash to me.

I like the rocket-tractor and, oh yah, the girl in the red dress. The guy is wearing green. Again there is some Baker art on the inside (I hope). bb

There were some other pretty good covers and nice Baker art on the inside. bb Ed: Oops, not this one though.

Mysta by Baker was worth collecting but the L. Renee covers were an "at least as good" reason. bb

I believe that the two victims are Doris and hubby. Although the cover illustrates that crime does not pay, better than the interior story. bb

The first page of the Mardi Gras story. The cover artist supplied a missing panel from the story. It is always nice to find another Powell story (in WT 5). Scans from GA.UK. bb

Great pick-ups BB! (thumbs u Really like that Weird Thrillers! I've never seen those before - hope the insides are as good as the covers! Ghost is a pretty good series. The story by Grandenetti is really a joy to see. Unfortunately I haven't read the Weird Thrillers. I only have the cover. bb

I have often wondered how much influence the artist had on the color choice. I have seen artist notes that suggest colors, sometimes on the proofs and occasionally on the art for the engraver. It is fun to speculate sometimes but I don't really have the answer. But I have noted that Quality and Harvey horror comics by Jack Cole and Powell and Romance comics with Frazetta art have had some spectacular color work on the interior. These guys (colorists) seldom get any credit if they are doing the color on their own. By the way, there was another pretty good cover posted at GA.UK. And a good Baker story too. And again the Romance Gods choose the red skirt.

Some of Baker's best work was done on westerns. The later issues of the Texan have extra large panels, as if they were reformatted from a Sunday strip or pocketbook format. Anyone know the story? His ladies tended to be tough and not just the "damsel in distress". bb But the indians were pretty tough too! Abileen, City of Sin

Two new covers that I obtained recently. Apparently it isn't a good idea to follow the lady in the green dress, even if you find her irresistable. Especially if you are going to the Mardi Gras. bb

I think Baker preferred red. He dressed up Mysta in a green dress when she traveled in cognito. Although it looks like the giant ants thought the girls in red dresses were mighty tasty. Ladies first. bb

This story from Movie 4 was a more obvious Baker story and Mitzi wore a green hat. It also had a "green dress" cover by Lubbers.

I guess she bleached her hair in later issues to cover up all the gray or she wished it blonde using those magic "ruby slippers". bb

I replaced that gruesome horror comic cover with a nice western. You don't have to thank me. It all seemed to fit better. bb

More Books from the "M" box, Timely first and then a few more other companies added. I am still trying to do superheroes. But Millie is stretching it a bit. bb

I really adore that cover! I just read it. She really does ride a giant butterfly! She's visiting a horticulturist who's about to go out of business when she recalls a newspaper story she read about a plane flying over the Amazon and seeing giant flowers. She SHAZAMs and as Mary Marvel takes the guy down there so they can get seeds so he can grow giant flowers and get his business back. They come to a town on the flowers where people live and they ride butterflies as steeds. But they won't give them the seeds because it's their only food supply. So while they wait around for some reason Mary saves a kid and foils a crime to prove to the king that she and the guy are worthy of a seed reward. They eventually get their seeds and go home but the flowers only grow to ten feet tall. But that's enough that people want to buy them. The End. Just plain awesome. I had the Crowley copy and like a dummy let it go. Super nice book with popping colors! I love the colors on that book. Here is a scan of the one I picked up.

Well, it has the Blonde Phantom, but not for real. bb

Books from the "M" box, Timely first and then TOGS and DC