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| The 3rd issue, #6. |
For today's Sunday Morning Funnies we'll be jumping back to 1944.
Harvey published a short-lived anthology title, All-New Comics, which ran only a dozen issues. Just to be confusing, #1 was #4 - so only 12, not 15 issues, despite the numbering. As seen on the cover to right, the book featured a variety of standard action/adventure tales, but it also contained some lightly whimsical comedies, too.
As you might note on the cover to #6 there, the Black Cat was a regular star. She's probably one of the best remembered Harvey heroes, but several other ladies had their own features in the book, with their male sidekicks tagging along. Rather unusual for almost 75 years ago, so let's make that our focus today.
So, here's Penny with Ullysses Jr, and Blonde Bomber with Slapso, from issues 6 & 9. Artwork for the Penny comics is by Louis Ferstadt. The other credits are lost to antiquity -
pages from All-New Comics #s 6 & 9 (1944)
Louis Ferstadt IMO has to be one of the most underated artists of the Golden Age of comics. I have issue 9 above plus other comics with his work in them. The examples above in which he is able to bring his surreal work into comics are amazing. Although you can see in his other work it is trying to burst out! His work in Super Mystery and Four Favourites comics are great examples of that. His female characters by the way would not win any beauty comps either! I guess he's not everybody's favourite artist, on some blogs he hardly gets a mention so thanks for showing. Feratadt Fan.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised, most pleasantly, to find a Ferstadt Fan popping up already.
DeleteSuper Mystery Comics and Four Favorites are in a stack here, along with All Winners Comics. Those two issues of All-New Comics were the only issues in which his artwork appeared, so no more of them in the stack.
In addition to his work at Harvey, he created comics for National(DC), Timely/Atlas(Marvel), Quality and Fox, and in the early 40s he had his own Ferstadt Studio. But one thing that intrigues me and is the focus of a current search is his murals painted for the 1939 World's Fair. Also, i'm curious about his advertising work, but that seems less likely to turn up results.
Either way, i expect we'll be seeing more of Mr. Ferstadt before long.
Just seen I hit the a instead of s in Ferstadt! I have seen examples of his mural for the WF but not any advertising work, I would also like to see any of that maybe he did some posters? His work with L.B. Cole is also impressive.
ReplyDeleteFF
It was a very understandable typo, in both senses of the word.
ReplyDeleteI've got some of his paintings lined up, and bits on the murals - both used and unused. Not having much luck finding any of his old comics for The Daily Worker from the 30s - the archive to which i have access is primarily the previous decade.
Hard to predict this week with Valentine's Day and my first session with the new medical team, but current plans are for comics on Thursday, background & art on the weekend.