Getting Smoke In Your Eyes

I've herded those kittens i call a mind back towards posting, so let us see if TPTB will play along. I'm going to split today's post into two, just to lighten the image load. Working with no hard drive here - OS and files all on USB sticks. Combine that with the hate i've been getting from Blogger lately, and you might realize that i'm rambling mostly from fear-stalling the image uploads.

So, let's push on - and back to visit Munson Paddock once again. This time his artwork appears under the name of Joe E. Martin, but it's Munson. What first drew my eye to Smoke Carter is prominently displayed in the first splash panel. Leaning heavily into fluid brush strokes and stark contrasts, he adopted what could most appropriately be termed a 'smokey' style  for the strip...

Smoke Carter only appeared in the first six issues of Speed Comics. Since there's just a half dozen half-dozen page tales, we'll run them all. But, as noted above, i'm splitting it into two batches to alleviate postings struggles.

Here are the next two stories:

Next Time:
Crime With A Crawl
Death Races The Fire Fiend
and
Flames Lick The Stamp That Seals His Doom

Gotta love that 3rd title.

page art by Munson Paddock from Speed Comics #s 1-3 (1939)

Getting Artistic With Dick Briefer

Like many artists back in Golden Age days, Dick Briefer worked under names other than his own. In 1939, for the Biff Bannon strip he decided (the Editor decided? I wonder sometimes on those things) to use the name Remington Brant. After just a few appearances, they decided that might be too subtle and switched to Rem Brandt.

Unfortunately, i spent half an hour trying to get Blogger to upload the images and used up my typing time. My ride should be here momentarily for a foraging run - fresh produce is much needed. So, just a couple quick notes before i must rush off.

The first tale isn't here. I'd need to do some serious reconstruction work, including re-drawing a few missing panel bits. Instead, i'll wait to see if Hamir can provide a cleaner copy of Speed Comics #1. For now, at least.

While reading through, note how Briefer is working to find his style for the strip, and evolving towards what we'll later see on Frankenstein. Also note how some of the work evokes styles we'd see 30 years later.

Dig in and have a look-see -

That was the end of Dick Briefer's run on Biff Bannon. Art Helfant picked it up 3 issues later and continued with the character for another 6 years.

Okay - it's off down the hill to find some broccoli and spinach and whatever else looks good.

page art by Dick Briefer from Speed Comics #s 2-7 and 9-11 (1939, 1940)