Bosun Narrows?

While we're rummaging through those very early days of comic books, let's jump over to Star Comics for another odd little strip from Dick Ryan. It's 1937, and creators are still trying to get a handle on what to do with these new comic thingies.

I must admit, i feel like there's a reference, humorous or otherwise, that i'm missing for the title of this strip. The closest i get is an oblique Slings and Arrows reference, while i suspect topical wordplay is more likely here.

But, in the words of the Peter, i digress...

"Bows An' Arrows" (and variant spellings) premiered in the first issue of Star Comics and appeared in every issue for about a year. After that, it popped up now and again in titles like Carnival Comics and Jest  Comics for a total of 19 strips, if my count is complete.

Let's look at some from that first year -

For me, it feels almost like the comic book equivalent of Vaudeville. Sometimes simple and even silly, yet there's a raw purity to it that appeals. And it can be a lot of fun digging through those old comics simply because they hadn't figured out the rules yet, so anything and everything was possible.

Let's stick with Dick and revisit yesterday's tribe of Outsiders - the Missing Links - and their views of our society...

Of course, these days the question might more aptly be "Why Did You Bring America HERE?!"

page art by Dick Ryan from Star Comics #s 1-3, 5-7, & 9 and Funny Pages #s 22, 23, & 31 (1937, 1938, 1939)

Comics For Hermits

These days the whole world seems to be contemplating the hermit lifestyle. 

There are two types of 'successful' hermits. There's my way - Happy Loner - and there's the alternative - Bitter Recluse. You see, in order to spend all that time alone with yourself, one must either really like yourself (the Happy Loner) or really dislike everyone else (the Bitter Recluse). Well, we've seen how this world runs on bile and hate these days - most folks could never make it as Happy Loner Hermits.

So, to help out with that rough adjustment period, let us visit 1937 for a spot of Dick Ryan's look at humans in Missing Links -

Feel more like avoiding people now?

page art by Dick Ryan from Funny Pages #s 13, 15, & 16 (1937)

The Might Of Red Man

Perhaps the most blatantly named superhero in comics, Red Man Of The Rockies had only two appearances. The first was a five page short in Star Ranger Funnies in late 1939; the second in Funny Pages eight months later.

I've never seen an actual copy of Star Ranger Funnies v2#5, in which the first tale appears. There are black and white Xerox copies, and we might come back to that later. Especially if that urge to play with colours on the pages keeps rising. 

Before we get to the longer second tale, let me give you the full introduction from the first, and confirm his 'superhero' status -

A lone Indian, high in the Rockies, last of an ancient tribe, with secret powers of Sight, Strength, Character and Foreknowledge which his ancestors handed down through the long generations. - His home is the Great Open - His purpose is to use his powers for the good of Mankind -

Art Pinajian wrote and drew the strip. That's another one of those names we've yet to visit, though you may know him by another - Art Gordon, the name he used on Invisible Justice.

The title lasted four more issues, but Red Man Of The Rockies never returned.

page art by Art Pinajian from Funny Pages #38 (1940)

Completing Loomis

After looking at the adventures of Tippy Taylor on Fantasy Isle, i was curious to see what else George Loomis had done. I think i wasn't clear in expressing previously that he had written the stories as well as drawing them. So, i had hope of finding more odd tales.

Another dream crushed. After hunting through databases, so far as i can find Loomis only did one more short strip, and then disappeared from the world of comics. Actually, this was published in the gap month between Tippy's appearances in Amazing Mystery Funnies and The Arrow, so he disappeared along with Tippy.

Here's his only other work, from Funny Pages #42 -

Darn.
Now i want more, and there isn't any.

page art by George Loomis from Funny Pages #42 (1940)