Getting To Know Spudo

Last time we looked at Spudo, i mentioned that his first story in the first issue of The Barker was not actually his first story. We'll get back to that in a bit, but first let's look a little more at our four-armed oddball and his ongoing adventures. Our first story here is written, once again, by Gwen Hansen, with art, as always, by Klaus Nordling -

This time, Klaus takes on the writing chores as well as the artwork -

For our final tale, which was also Spudo's final tale from the last issue of The Barker, the writer is unknown. Best guesses indicate Klaus Nordling was handling it all himself again, but that's unconfirmed...

And so ended the adventures of Spudo.

However - just as Spudo's first story was not his first story, this final tale was not his final tale...

page art by Klaus Nordling from The Barker #s 8, 11, & 15 (1948, 1949)

Captain Nice & Mr. Terrific Were Retired

I was overwhelmed by a seemingly endless herd of animals when i should have been prepping the pages for this morning's post. Now sleep is imminent and they lie yet untouched. Will there be no post this morning?
Whatever can we do?
Upon Whom can we call?

We're desperate, so let's jump straight to the bottom of the list and call for Captain Milksop -

Thanks, Cap! It's good to know you're always available.

We'll be back with Spudo this afternoon.
(...and then come the animals...)

page art by Charles Voight for Atomic Bomb #1 (1946)

Do You Know Spudo?

When it comes to Odd, Spudo's got it handled -

No matter the situation, he's always got a grip on it...

...a master of arms...

...ever willing to lend a hand when he can...

...skilled in hand to hand to hand to hand combat...

...capable of handling multiple tasks simultaneously...

...when times are hard, he'll sully his hands with dirty work...

...while he may not be an old hand at the task, he's at least willing to try to grab the bull by the horns...

...and, of course, with the girls he's handy. Some might say they're putty in his hands...

 ...but a girl in trouble is in safe hands with Spudo...

Show of hands -How many want to stop me from ever writing again after reading through those intro remarks?

Okay. I'll stop now.

To give you a glimpse of the character, let's take a look at his first tale, written by Gwen Hansen with art, as always, by Klaus Nordling -

The thing is - that may be his first story, but that's not his first story...

page art by Klaus Nordling for The Barker #s 1-15 (1946-1948)

The Impossible Earth Man

I must be still wiped out from the other day. My brain just can't make sense of Earth Man.

Who is this mysterious hero? Why is he called Earth Man? Can we even call him a hero when his quest/mission seems to be simply beating someone who doesn't like him to a salvage goal? Let's look and see...

A-ha! He's got a rocket ship. Maybe this isn't Earth, but an Earth-like planet and he's a visitor from our world? That could explain the Earth Man name...

Nope - they're heading through the "core of the Earth" so not a different planet.
Maybe that's where the name comes from - he can burrow through Earth with his ship? His power is digging holes?

But, wait! A hint of power appears...

...with zero connection to the name Earth Man. That was his one and only appearance. I guess nobody else could figure out what he was supposed to be, either. If you're going to do a hero named Earth Man, have a reason for the name. That's not too tricky, is it? It's not like i'm asking the impossible here.

Actually, the Impossible would work just fine, and make more sense. Since the name is in use by some Kirby-Come-Latelee, just pretend Hugh Mann chose the name Earth Man instead of Impossible Man in this tale and see if it doesn't seem more appropriate than the usage above (art by Bernard Baily? (contested)) -

page art from Supersnipe v2#8 and Meteor #1 (1945)