Showing posts with label Tex Maxon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tex Maxon. Show all posts

06 August 2019

...Intrigue Unbalances The Scales Of Justice...!

We continue plucking at dangling threads and topics left unmentioned over the last couple years of this blog. Toward the end of last year, we were talking about Munson Paddock's work on Mars Mason. Remember this guy...?


Okay - I guess that's a trick question since he isn't in his own title panel there. But it does convey a sense of the style, and these - three - posts cover the few tales he had, so you can go look. (Yes, i know it says Martin Nye. The 3rd link covers that.)

Mars Mason led to Rex Dexter Of Mars and was going to loop back to Paddock after the two collided to give us Tex Maxon. (Ayup, that's the sort of logic that governs the posts you see here.)

Here we find Paddock adopting the rugged Chuck Munson name to bring us a classic western series, in stark contrast to what we've seen before...


As mentioned in the first link above, the work we saw earlier was actually later. Mars Mason and Firetop were done after decades of tighter, more controlled work.

As we can see in these stories, he was capable of rendering detailed worlds with a solid reality as easily as his wild fantasy worlds. 

I must also admit, i'm left wondering who did the colours on the tale above? I have no clue if it was Munson's work or another artist. It might reproduce rather dark at times, but i do love the feel of it.

Let's do a couple more, eh?


By yon by... I noted above that Paddock was using the 'rugged' Chuck Munson name on these strips. That was not always the case. 

Tex Maxon debuted in 1939's issue #2 of Wonder Comics, which changed to Wonderworld Comics with #3. Up until issue #13 it was credited to Cecilia Munson. I wonder if it was his idea to change, or if his editor thought it needed a new pseudonym?


Uh...  yeah.
Time to mosey on along...

page art by Munson Paddock for Wonderworld Comics #s 20, 21, & 23 (1940, 1941)