Scrooge

# 106 Kaanga # 11 - eBay Purchase Content: Cover by Maurice Whitman Kaanga in Claws of the Roaring Congo by ? 8 pgs Kaanga by ? 6 pgs Jungle Girl by ? 4 pgs Kaanga by ? 8 pgs Here we find again the enigmatic Maurice Whitman on the cover and some other unidentified artists on the interior art chores. It would be hard to make an educated guess for me as Kaanga has been drawn by so many different hands. There is not much love for Kaanga himself despite his long-term success in the comics. The spotlight has more often than not been aimed at Sheena who I would like to describe as his co-studio female counterpart or even for that matter on Ann, his wife. Kaanga, the Jungle Lord of the Congo first appeared in Jungle Comics # 1 - [scan courtesy of the GCD] - "Ironically, Kaanga [who] was clearly a Tarzan knockoff dominated the potted-palm comic book scene long before Tarzan earned his own regularly published Dell comic book. That occurred nearly half a century after Tarzan first appeared on the pulp magazine scene in 1912. For some reason, though, the Kaanga-like character Ki-Gor was a huge hit in the Fiction House pulps, but Sheena barely made a blip on the pulp scene, especially considering her impact on the comics. Ki-Gor appeared in 59 consecutive quarterly issues of Jungle Stories (from Winter 1938-39 to Spring 1954), but Sheena's only pulp stories were published in a one-shot Sheena pulp in 1951 (three stories) and in the final issues of Jungle Stories." (Michele Nolan). The boy who would grow up to be known as Kaänga, Lord of the Jungle (and whose real name is never revealed) was the only survivor of an expedition exploring the remoter parts of the Congo. While the rest of the group was attacked and slain, the youth escaped, running away into the wilds, where he was eventually taken in by a tribe of ape-men, forgetting all he knew of the “white man’s ways and talk". Like all such orphans, he grew up to be a master of the jungle, eventually meeting and marrying a female explorer (Ann Mason), and having several adventures fighting for good against everything from bad animals to dinosaurs to witch doctors to Germans. As put on art4comics, "[t]here are two primary roles that the Jungle Girls played in these comics, both were equally as common. The first of these was pioneered by Jane, the damsel in distress always being captured and tied up. The victim Jungle Girl is a very common theme and these Jungle Girls were invariably paired with a some Jungle hero (otherwise the series would have lasted one issue). Ann of Jungle Comics and her hero Kaanga are probably the best example of this. A quick look any Jungle comics cover or Kaanga story says it all. Tanee, JoJo's mate was another good example. The second role commonly played was that of the heroine. Sheena is a good example of this as she was usually the hero rescuing her hapless mate. Not to say that Sheena did not get tied up a lot (she did) but that she would usually be the one to escape and save the day. There were several different approaches to this. Sheena was a proud and strong figure whereas Rulah comically bungled her way through many an adventure. Some of the Jungle Girls would interchange this role depending on whether it was a solo adventure or there was a man around. As pointed out to me by another fan, Shanna is a good example of this. Very independent and strong except when Ka-zar was around, then she immediately fell into the role of victim." You will find a complete Kaanga story on the same website at Art4Comics Jungle Story. On a final etymological note, kaanga is a Swahili word / root with the following meanings - kaanga , pl makaanga { English: branch bearing fruit } noun -kaanga { English: bake, fry, roast, stew } verb Claws of the Roaring Congo Splash - Claws of the Roaring Congo Page where Ann is proving herself not to be in such distress - Also notice the leopard tail panel separation - Second Kaanga Story Page - Jungle Girl Story Page - Third Kaanga Story Splash -

Great grouping there FD I somehow like this Wings 85 best. The guy hanging on reminds me a lot of the servant of Blake and Mortimer - Nasir Ahmed - you can see him on the top panel below -

# 104 Junior Funnies # 13 - Bought from Motor City Comics Content: Now that's a cover asking for desecration. Should I use it to create a puzzle as encouraged? Subtitle - Tiny Tot Stories, Puzzles and Games Daisy and her Pups in "Safari Daze" 5 pgs Henry 4 pgs Katzenjammer Kids 2 pgs Daisy and Cookie in "Not Every Four-legged Animal Pays Interest" 1 pg Daisy in "Fishing Game" 2 pgs Daisy in "Tall Timber" 1 pg Katzenjammer Kids 2 pgs Popeye 4 pgs Colonel Potterby and the Duchess 1 pg Little King by Otto Soglow 1 pg Felix the Cat 1 pg Back from a hiatus, let me put up two books today. First is this King Feature game book really. There are appearances from many features from the King stables with at least one tot activity per page. I loved doing these kind of games as a kid. Not much else to mention about this book so let me show you a few pages. Daisy Maze in the Safari Daze sequence - Yeahh, a Paper Pop-Gun - Fun any time around the office - Here's the Felix one page gag and notice at the bottom Joe Sarno's stamp. Does anyone know if Joe would stamp books to mark them as being part of his inventory? Gary, do you know? At any rate, I only discovered the stamp as I was going through the book lately and I like it as it had to the historical context of the collection. I was fortunate to meet Joe for the first time at this year's Chicago Forum Dinner - # 105 Junior Hopp # 1 - Bought from Mile High Comics Content - Subtitle - The Keenest Teen in Town Intro Page with the cast 1 pg Junior Hopp in "...And he's stuck with i!" by ? 5 pgs Junior Hopp in "Potions of Love" by ? 6 pgs Junior Hopp Club News 1 pg Gramps in "Bandaging Words" by ? 3 pgs Highvale, USA 2 pgs text Junior Hopp in "Mower Power to you" by ? 6 pgs Chuck in "Chuck has he Ants-er" by ? 5 pgs Junior Hopp didn't last long, just 3 issues. Considering the contents, I am not convinced that Archie wouldn't have something to do with the suspension of publication of Junior Hopp as the imitation is quite pointedly clear. We know that Dave Berg did at least one cover for the series but I don't see his hand in this issue. For cheesecake's sake, here's the cover to # 3 - Yum! - For lack of other insight, let's discuss for a spell the publisher. This book is listed in the indicia as published by SPM. ""S.P.M." are the initials of Stanley P. Morse. His name, in abbreviated form, is the root of the Stanmor brand and Gillmor is a combination drawn from Morse and managing editor Raymond Gill. (From TTTT # 9)". "During the horror boom, Stanley P. Morse acquired the single most important element of comics publishing at the time--a distribution contract--and used it to market comics under a wide variety of names: Stanmor, Aragon, Key, Gillmor, mr. publications, S.P.M., Media Comics (not to be confused with Comic Media), and probably others. His titles often changed publisher from one issue to the next as he dodged creditors or changed partners, and would sometimes have cover art taken from a story in a different issue as deadlines were missed. If he came up a story short he would simply reprint something. If he couldn't get an artist for a particular slot, he'd have his editor cut up and rearrange the art from an old story to make a new one. Anyone who thought men like Bill Gaines gave comics a bad reputation had never met Stanley Morse. Naturally, he published horror comics, including some of the grossest and most vile. (edited from The Other Guys: Pre-Code Horror Comics.)" "The hypothesis for the web of corporate names is that pre-code horror publishers were afraid of public outcry about the suitability of their magazines for the kids who were buying them. Presumably, the publishers reasoned that if a comic book got into trouble because of a story with excessive gore, they could fold one title (along with its corporation) and the rest of the line would be unaffected. (From TTTT # 9)" Robert Beerbohm also mentions Morse in connection with Mainline Comics and EC through their distribution contract with Leader News in which Stanley Morse had a close relationship. Morse stands as an semi-important individual worthy of more research. Here's the Intro Page to the cast of character in Junior Hopp. I'll leave it to you to make the connection with the Archie cast - I found this dialogue hilarious somehow - "How come she isn't being flagged , fagged , dragged and shagged by Lester?" How many people do you think are still waiting for their pin? A well deserved punishment for Junior - Final parting shot - the Back Cover Diet Chewing Gum ad -

Does Metro offer a service for wedding registry? Any newly married couple needs a few romance and a few horror comics at their place. Congrats, Keith.

I only know about the two tth2/Zonker "John Buscema is a journeyman artist" threads. Journeyman artist JK btw.

And one more - I really like this book. It's got 4 stories by Pakula, Sale, Ayers and Sinnott. It's really nice for me to see this 1955 book with 4 artists I know from my 1952 books and look at how their art evolved. I am so stuck on that one time period that I am missing out on keeping track of these guys over the years. I am glad I am breaking out a little and purchasing out of the same period. Anyway, enjoy Navy Action # 4 -

Here's another Heath cover - Apache Kid # 13 -

I was happier with this pick-up - Out of the Night # 1. Great book. It has a cool cover - and a nice werewolf story by Williamson - AAAWOOOOHHH

Nothing earth-shattering here but fills a hole (+ I kinda like the face on the carver dude) -

I don't know I don't see Goëring ever with a mustache -

A poor likeness for sure but I think it is supposed to be Hitler -

I thought it was but wanted to confirm. Extra congrats on the purchase. I read the mini from a pal and now it is on my Xmas shopping list for my wife so she (read WE) can read it too.

Wow. That page looks awesome. Where's it from? Relay our kudos to the lady.

Can you believe that when I posted I had not looked at the bidders' list for that auction? Now that I look at it, I can only laugh. The Tommy factor was there full blast against Serpi. Those guys are killing me. I don't care if they are not buying what I sell but I do care that they seem to be bidding on books I want (and never win).

Yeah ... Serpi lately has become the new tommyfoxwood (even though good ol' tommy is still at it but he seems to be willing to pay less lately).

Very nice looking copy. Please do a re-scan when you get it. Unfortunately, I did not win it The listing was poor and I chanced upon it but the book was too rich for me right now.

I had a go at this one but it went higher ($53 before shipping) than I wanted to pay. I did notice that it is absent many dealers' inventory while issues around it are there, a testament to the demand. It looks like a nice copy - eBay Link

Gotta agree. Men's Adventures would be a nice little run (25 issues) to complete for a well-rounded taste of Atlas in the early to mid-50s. It's interesting to note that copy is clearly signed by Russ. Would he commonly sign that clearly his work at that time? It seems out of the ordinary. Switching gears, I have been reading over more Airboys and couldn't help notice the routineness of the plots. Airboy and his boss (and at times daughter) fly to some forsaken place on earth where disaster occured and find themselves entangled with a lost civilization be it lost Roman legion in Africa, a Chinese contingent held captive by giant white apes or as below a floating kingdom in the seas. Both will get captured and enslaved. They will lead a revolt and leave the prisoners in charge of a world they will continue to shelter from the modern world and fly away on birdie. Still very entertaining comic reading coupled with the weirdness of the Heap, all rounded by true-to-life adventure turned out by solid if not flashy artists. Cover - Splash Page - Here they are captured -

That red IS vibrant and what a series Men's Adventures was! The title is not adopted until issue # 4 with Issues 1 and 2 being True Western then Issue 3 is True Adventure - A Thrill-Packed Magazine of Stories for Men, by Men, about Men! That's a lot of testoterone here along with a cover with a flaming mine. Issue 4 maintains the same masthead as True Adventures then by Issue 6 the masthead matches the one on your # 8 and I am confident the page count has dropped to 36 from 52. Men's adventure is about Mystery Suspense and Danger until Issue # 11 where it is now about Warfare Suspense and Danger even though War covers start with Issue # 9 with a lovely title of Bullets, Blades and Blood! A triple B alliterative blurb copy one can imagine Stan wrote. Then with Issue # 21 it is Weird Men's Adventure for a few issues, only 3 whereafter the word Weird disappears from the cover on November 1953, the book still shows a lunatic dubbed The Torture Master no less with a raised axe and an off-camera intended victim but I guess there wasn't anything weird about that. And finally, for its legacy, Men's Adventures features the Human Torch revival for 2 issues before disappearing from the newsstands. Such is the life of a Goodman comic from Western to Real Life Drama to War to Weird to Super-Hero. Here's a comparison of Adam's # 8 masthead to my # 12 masthead and yes your red is vibrant! -

Excellent slew of scans you've been posting Adam. That Men's Adventure looks better than most copies that made it to the stands back then!! Here's another # 8 - Private Eye, Rocky Jorden - Newly acquired from Marc at House of Comics. The man works hard to please his customers.

Adam, we are on the same wave-length All I wanted to do is inform Fuelman about the events he remembered by filling in the details about the Implosion. I should made it more clear that I don't even remotely think that these events have anything to do with the currently posted books. Heck these books are from what 1953? currently in the Mystic run. (P.S.: Glad you liked the MM pages - any guess as to whom the artist was on that Timely MM run?) To stay on topic, despite the low profile of the Mystic run because 1) it's an Atlas pre-code and therefore not what pre-code collectors prefer as opposed to smaller / more gruesome outfits and 2) it is still considered a minor Atlas title because it does not have a "Marvel" legacy as it ended up being cancelled / retired as a title before the revival of the company, the series had tremendous covers at some point. I am looking forward to seeing this series and invite all to contribute so we see as complete a set as possible.

That would be the "closet story" where the production at Timely / Atlas went from a bullpen system to a freelance system in the late 40s. Is that what you're thinking about? I can dig information on that if you'd like. Otherwise, it seems to me that what Fuelman described in his post was the 57 Implosion and not the earlier event.

That's the 1957 Implosion period you're referring to and while Stan was not having stories commissioned by artists, he still had enough inventory to run the titles for a while before starting (rather faster than we thought before according to some recent re-investigation of the matter) to commission new stories from a select group of artists. The 1957 Implosion also happened around the time the distribution of Atlas books shrunk due to limitation in number of books hitting newsstands as imposed by INDependent News. But let me retrace the history quickly so you understand better. In the 40's Goodman used Kable News Co. as an independent distributor. Then in the 1950s, Goodman decides to save $$$ by distributing on his own by forming Atlas News Co. and self-distributes. In 1956, the company decides to switch once more and contracts out to American News Co. aka ANC the nation's largest distributor. By May 17th, 1957, ANC closes shop! sending Goodman to scramble for another distributor and has to sign with "Independent News IND , the distribution subsidiary of National Periodicals Publications, publsiher of rival DC Comics." These are the events leading to the implosion you alluded to. This information is from Thomas G. Lammers' Tales of the Implosion - A History of the 1957 Atlas Implosion, Mimeo - Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The mimeo is a revised and expanded version of the Alter Ego vol. 3 # 49 (June 2005) article Atlas Shrugged. Interesting reading both.

Until I actually check dates, I am leaning towards the fact that Atlas side-bar format predates the EC format.

Here are the Mystic Covers - # 28 is one freaky cover! I also have a liking to covers depicting the infinite of the stars hence my liking to # 30 -