Poking The Oakey Again

Back from a quick hold-over supply run before the big run next week. Really damn normal looking out there, aside from half the humans being masked. Even the Target was nice and peaceful, despite their having to close 200 stores nationwide due to protests.

So, that was nice.

Meanwhile, last we saw Pokey Oakey, he was in the crosshairs of a couple hillbillies seeming quite disfriendly-like...

As i mentioned previously, the ending of each tale segues into the beginning of the next, so there aren't any clean break points when looking at the old stories...
 

Okay, maybe no clean break points, but that'll do for an excuse to step away. The Pink Plague is a fat elephant stomping around causing problems. We can get plenty of that just turning on the TV, so let's jump ahead a year for a tasty dose of Odd -

Wait...   Did that story have an actual ending point?

Well, that was an Odd episode!

page art by Don Dean from Top-Notch Laugh Comics #s 31, 32, & 42 (1942, 1943)

Fish Tales

Once upon a time a Fish Tale was a story with little to no basis in factual reality told as truth. These days that's the definition of a Presidential press statement (or a Twit tweet, if you prefer). While fake president goes ballistic telling us that truth is anti-Republican and facts have anti-conservative bias, i'm kind of missing the old Fish Tales.

So let's dive back into a trio of another sort of Fish Tales, starting with one from the great Jim Mooney starring Finny Fish -

Trees and picket fences in suburban neighborhoods underwater. I wonder if Sponge Bob's creators were fans...

Meanwhile, the classic trio of Winken, Blinken & Nod go on a fishy adventure with Bob Naylor -
 

Lastly today, Fish Family Frolics with Fin, 'n' Haddi and Mammy from Sidney Pillet -
 

Ah...  If only we could keep silly, self-destructive fish from biting in real life.

They just love worms too much and can't resist taking the bait...

page art by Jim Mooney, Bob Naylor, and Sidney Pillet from Coo Coo Comics #s 1, 3, & 4 (1942, 1943)

The Inverse Evolution Of Jane Martin - War Nurse

We've been looking at how Pat Parker - War Nurse evolved from War Nurse to Adventurer to Superhero and Commando.

While we've looked at Jane Martin - War Nurse previously, it was mostly looking at later episodes featuring Lily Renée doing the artwork. Jane started the year before Pat, in the spring of 1940. When she launched, she sported a rather superheroic look to her uniform...

She kept that look for a few issues. This is one of the two for which we have confirmed art credit - George Tuska on both pencils and inks...
 

...then started to modify it to look less superheroish...
 

...and by her 5th appearance, she was uniformed as a standard Nurse, with Tuska returning on at least pencils...
 

 

Obviously, the outfit change didn't slow her down. She kept up her heroics, no matter how she was dressed, for a decade, long after the war had ended.

Oddly enough, there was another seeming change along the way. Based on the above tales, one might conclude that Jane Martin was British (unless i missed a reference while skimming). The USA wouldn't enter the war for another year and a half, and Jane's boyfriend was a British pilot.

So, why was i thinking she was from across the pond, demarcating her from Pat Parker?

Later stories told me so...

...though actually, it only says that "No American Girl has ever run such a strange gamut of thrills and mystery as Jane Martin." It doesn't actually state that's her nationality.

I'm not going reading through 100 tales to find out now. Read it the way you prefer, as shall i.

page art by George Tuska and ??? (Nick Cardy?)from Wings Comics #s 1 & 2-6, splash page by Lily Renée from Wings Comics #33 (1940,1943)