Showing posts with label Dick Wood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dick Wood. Show all posts

09 January 2020

3 Says 2 Was 1

While we're in the neighborhood, why don't we peek inside Daredevil Comics #2, in which Real American #1 debuted.


Issue #2 was really issue #1 in most respects. The first issue of the series was Daredevil Battles Hitler and was more of a stand-alone special than part of the ongoing series. 

Now that we once again face the possibility of World War for the sake of a madman's ego, maybe we'll go back to that issue soon. Meanwhile...

"The Greatest Name In Comics" they proclaimed upon the cover. There were a lot of those back in the '30s & '40s - Greatest Name In Comics, Greatest Comics, All-Great Comics, even just All-Good Comics, etc.,. I suppose one of these days we should start fact-checking some of those claims.

Meanwhile, Daredevil Comics did feature some top talent including, of course, Charles Biro on Daredevil himself -


The Whirlwind had Dick Wood writing and featured Bernard Klein artwork - 


Dash Dillon with art from Edd Ashe -


And, semi-related to Real American #1, we had the Pioneer by Bob Wood (not to be confused with Dick Wood, working on the same book) and J. Gahr -


We're a little less certain on "America's Joan Of Arc" - "Chuck" Woodro was Charles Biro and Bob Wood writing together, but the artwork might be from Frank Borth or Reed Crandall, a couple of familiar names around here. But, it might be from someone else - we simply don't know - 


Bob Wood both writes and draws the tales of the "World's Worst Villain" - The Claw. No, the title doesn't mean he's the worst at his job as villain. Though it might refer to his maxed out Yellow Peril factor -


These days George Roussos is perhaps best remembered for his inking work on things like Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four pages. So it's amusing to me that he used to go by the name "Inky," as when he was drawing Nightro, with Dick Wood scripting. 

Let's take a look at Nightro's origin -


You know, when someone is getting conked on the head or suffering physical trauma, Roussos really makes 'em look like they're feeling it. (For those of you keeping track at home, Dr. Midnight debuted four months earlier in All-American Comics #25.)

For many, the biggest star of the book wasn't any of these folks, nor even Dick Briefer with his work on Real American #1. It was Jerry Robinson writing and drawing the WW2 adventures of London -


Unfortunately, with a name like London it's exceedingly difficult to know for sure how many tales he had or how long he was around. Certainly at least 10 tales running from Daredevil Comics #s 2-11. Beyond that...? 

Happy hunting.

page art by Charles Biro, Bernard Klein, Edd Ashe, J. Gahr, George Roussos, and Jerry Robinson from Daredevil Comics #2 (1941)

14 April 2018

Saturday Matinee - Jet & Joe

This weekend we're doing our semi-regular matinee feature, but we're doing so with old friends - comics we've visited before (and often are likely to visit again). Just because Jet Dream's stories are conveniently short 4 pagers, she'll and her team will be bracketing our main features.

This time out, it's Joe Guy: America's Foremost Hero. We've seen his two previous adventures and are (ever so slowly) leading up to the big confrontation/meeting with his father in the fifth and final episode. In today's tale, he faces Cardinal Synn: Archfiend Of The Universe.

For Jet Dream and her Stunt-Girl Counterspies, it's animal action this time - Tigers and Spiders - Eek!




Next time, the team gets a new tiger.

It's Saturday! Sounds like a good night for a romance feature, eh?
See you then.

Jet Dream's Spider by Dick Wood, Mike Sekowski, & Mike Peppe for The Man From UNCLE #8, Jet Dream's Tiger by ?? & Joe Certa for The Man From UNCLE #9, Joe Guy by Jim Stenstrum & Abel Laxamana for The Rook # 9 (1967, 1981)

11 April 2018

JET-A-REENO!

As noted last time, i spent years thinking that Jet Dream And Her Stunt-Girl Counterspies #1 was the only appearance of Jet and her team. Also noted: I was wrong.

I had long given up on seeing more of Jet's team. Another decade and more passed until, one day while digging through old UK Annuals, i ran into this story -


My brain melted. How did this come to be?
The hunt was on!

My first mistake in looking for more of Jet Dream was looking to the future after her comic - much of her stories took place before her comic was released. The second mistake was not digging through old back-up strips.

Jet Dream and her team had another 15 adventures beyond the two we've seen. They ran as a break between acts in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. comic from Gold Key. (The tale above was found in The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'s  1970 UK Annual - pointing us to the original source. It was actually the team's 9th adventure.)

The first tale appeared in TMFU #7 and she appeared every issue through #22, the final issue. Oddly enough, she never seems to have shown up in The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. despite seeming to be a natural companion piece. A pity, because that would have meant more stories.
Here's her introductory tale, scripted by Dick Wood, with art by Mike Sekowsky & Mike Peppe -


For balance, here's the final Jet Dream story from TMFU #22. Like The Set-Up Sultan that opened this post, artwork is by Joe Certa; the writer is unknown on both -


These days those short little tales would each be decompressed into a 3 issue mini-series, but i enjoy those old stories that packed all they could into just a few pages.

Want more Jet Dream?
Join us this weekend when we'll be revisiting old friends including Jet, Joe, Koppy and Ulysses.


Jet Dream pages by Dick Wood, Mike Sekowsky, Mike Peppe, and Joe Certa for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. #s 7 & 22 and 1970 Annual (UK) (1966, 1969, 1970)