BB-Gun Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 The "Good looker" story seems a bit heavy handed for Lily Renee but she may be the artist with a different inker. Not the same as her Abbot and Costello work or Fiction House but she did some romance. Could be she did some at Comic Media as well as St. John. bb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 And don't forget to look at covers by LB Cole. Cole did everything, i.e.,superheroes, funny animals, crime, romance, westerns, science fiction and horror, and he did them all very well. bb Check out Benson's book if you don't have a copy. These is a lot of info on St. John's romance comics in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 I just recently aquired these: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 JvR, The dream effect by Baker on the Cinderella cover is impressive. This one is on line but had to be touched up a little. And I picked this one up from a dealer this weekend. bb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted July 5, 2008 Author Share Posted July 5, 2008 (edited) Hey BB, on the line-up APC, what's the number? It's a cool cover. I don't see in the GCD. Edited July 5, 2008 by JvR11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted July 5, 2008 Author Share Posted July 5, 2008 Of course Baker did his best romance work for St. John, but there are some scattered few great illustrations outside of St. John. Most were massacred by the inker (no names mentioned ). But, here is a great splash page from Love Romances 45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Hey BB, on the line-up APC, what's the number? It's a cool cover. I don't see in the GCD. Hey JvR, I think that APC is issue 12. I will post it in the GCD if it is missing. I haven't been keeping track of the issues that we have posted but I think there are still a bunch missing from all of the romance titles. And some crime too. Below is a splash from issue 12 which was provided with the cover scan. It is a pretty good issue with two Baker stories and a Vic Flint story. bb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Of course Baker did his best romance work for St. John, but there are some scattered few great illustrations outside of St. John. Most were massacred by the inker (no names mentioned ). But, here is a great splash page from Love Romances 45. Would that be Vince Colletta inking? I could go check but just wondering if that is his style. bb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted July 6, 2008 Author Share Posted July 6, 2008 (edited) Hey BB, on this particular issue I'm thinking Baker did the inking and penciling himself. It really seems to flow well, but this is my opinion. In other Love Romances, where Colletta was involved in inking, it seems like some of the details were lost. Just my . You know I also wonder why Baker didn't get more work after St. John other than penciling for others. I know he died shortly after but there was a small period of time where I would have thought his work in other romance comics would have shown his signature style. Edited July 6, 2008 by JvR11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hey BB, on this particular issue I'm thinking Baker did the inking and penciling himself. It really seems to flow well, but this is my opinion. In other Love Romances, where Colletta was involved in inking, it seems like some of the details were lost. Just my . You know I also wonder why Baker didn't get more work after St. John other than penciling for others. I know he died shortly after but there was a small period of time where I would have thought his work in other romance comics would have shown his signature style. I think Baker got a lot of work from Marvel and some of the men's magazines in the late fifties. But I don't see a lot of covers listed. I think there was a lot of down sizing at that time due to Wertham and the CCA. Baker may have been a target but other artist such as Schomburg switched to magazines and pulps instead of color illos for comics. Another Schomburg romance cover below that I recently acquired. bb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 (edited) One example of comics that started at the end of the Golden age (Atomic Age?) is Sugar and Spike. I think this was intended for a more feminine audience due to subject matter and additions such as paper dolls. The stories are less lurid than the precode romance comics but I found it more difficult to find the early S and S issues and I enjoy the stories. bb Edited July 10, 2008 by BB-Gun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seank Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Sugar and Spike. And Sheldon Mayer was a genius who did some brilliant work with that title all the way up the end. A Sugar and Spike run is one of my long-term goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 My apologies to Spike. I must have been out of blood sugar. bb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artist1 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Wow, this thread was great, and it really was enlightening. I mean, even if I thought I knew Baker’s work well before, I now know it better. Thanks to all for posting their books. Some of those covers I discovered here were ultra romantic, drawn with such love and understanding of courtship, at least by the standards of the 1940s and 1950s. The detail, the line work, the beautiful faces, sultry and pouty expressions and figures set Baker’s work apart from other artists, and perhaps is only truly rivaled by the excellence of Frank Frazetta’s Golden Age romance work. I do have a few Baker romance books here, and many samples of his work at Fox Features Syndicate, and when my schedule eases up, will post some. It is just a shame that many of these terrific romance issues with Matt Baker covers and art are scarcer to locate in fine or better condition. And if you follow some of the auctions going on in eBay, you will see how high his books are selling for, even in 2.0 to 3.5 grades. It is great though to see that his work is so universally appealing, and that his works are revered, and that the world appreciates his body of art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Wow, this thread was great, and it really was enlightening. I mean, even if I thought I knew Baker’s work well before, I now know it better. Thanks to all for posting their books. Some of those covers I discovered here were ultra romantic, drawn with such love and understanding of courtship, at least by the standards of the 1940s and 1950s. The detail, the line work, the beautiful faces, sultry and pouty expressions and figures set Baker’s work apart from other artists, and perhaps is only truly rivaled by the excellence of Frank Frazetta’s Golden Age romance work. I do have a few Baker romance books here, and many samples of his work at Fox Features Syndicate, and when my schedule eases up, will post some. It is just a shame that many of these terrific romance issues with Matt Baker covers and art are scarcer to locate in fine or better condition. And if you follow some of the auctions going on in eBay, you will see how high his books are selling for, even in 2.0 to 3.5 grades. It is great though to see that his work is so universally appealing, and that his works are revered, and that the world appreciates his body of art. I wish I had more Baker art to show but I ran out of covers and I haven't been as lucky finding new items like JvR. Like most collectors, I appreciate the way Baker did his work and wish I could see more. Perhaps we should post some of his stories now??? There are a lot of reprints out there too. bb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Wow, this thread was great, and it really was enlightening. I mean, even if I thought I knew Baker’s work well before, I now know it better. Thanks to all for posting their books. Some of those covers I discovered here were ultra romantic, drawn with such love and understanding of courtship, at least by the standards of the 1940s and 1950s. The detail, the line work, the beautiful faces, sultry and pouty expressions and figures set Baker’s work apart from other artists, and perhaps is only truly rivaled by the excellence of Frank Frazetta’s Golden Age romance work. I do have a few Baker romance books here, and many samples of his work at Fox Features Syndicate, and when my schedule eases up, will post some. It is just a shame that many of these terrific romance issues with Matt Baker covers and art are scarcer to locate in fine or better condition. And if you follow some of the auctions going on in eBay, you will see how high his books are selling for, even in 2.0 to 3.5 grades. It is great though to see that his work is so universally appealing, and that his works are revered, and that the world appreciates his body of art. Welcome to the Boards! Looking forward to seeing more post and scans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seank Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 My apologies to Spike. I must have been out of blood sugar. bb Don't mess with Spike, dude. Sugar will kick your . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted July 10, 2008 Author Share Posted July 10, 2008 (edited) If anyone has any other Bakers, I'm with BB post away. I love seeing these. There are some ones I've never seen before. You really do have to dig deep to find these. I did have this on ebay but I wanted $260 for it (basically what I paid less fees). These are the giant comics which have 4 rebound comics in them. Such a great cover, she's kind of inviting you into her world with the "girl next door" smile. Also, I just got this...paid a pretty penny for it...but it was one of the comics on the top of my want list. And, also speaking of this cover, doesn't it remind you of this silver age falling in love (I'm not sure who did the cover for this?) . I'm thinking it was influenced by the TLP2. Edited July 10, 2008 by JvR11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted July 10, 2008 Author Share Posted July 10, 2008 That would be great BB, do you have any good stories to post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrooge Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Baker, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
