Flying With Lily And Jane

Well over a year after introducing her and promising more this Fly Girl, at last Jane Martin arrives -

Jane Martin - War Nurse was introduced in 1940 in the first issue of Wings Comics. It was, as we saw previously, a good year for Fly Girls.

Today, we're joining her a few years later, after dropping War Nurse from her title. And, more to the point, after Lily Renée joined her team. Lily started drawing Jane a couple issues earlier, but i just love the framing on the splash for this one, and it's the first one that she signed -

It's worth noting that, while the Asian baddies may look like they came from central casting, Lily avoids the sub-human look so often seen in those days. This is especially noteworthy given Lily's personal history, having been driven from her homeland by the invading Nazi forces. Demonization of the enemy would have been more understandable from her, but she was better than that.

When choosing a third story to round out this first set, I chose this one simply for the outfit worn in the splash (and later in the tale). Doesn't she look like she's going full superhero here?

We opened with the first Jane Martin story that Lily signed. We close with her final issue (Lily's, not Jane's). I tend to think that Lily knew this next one was to be her last Jane Martin tale. The splash panel looks like a fond farewell -

That may have been Jane's last tale drawn by Lily Renée, but she illustrated nearly a score of them in total. So we'll be back with some of those we flew over in the next post.

page art by Lily Renée for Wings Comics #s 33, 42 & 48 (1943, 1944)

Thinking Of You

Yes, once again, i seem to have gotten lost trying to track that ol' peripatetic mind. I've caught back up with it, and we should see what it's up to shortly. Maybe even tomorrow morning.

I just wanted you to know that i was still thinking of you in the meantime...

art by ??? for Hee Haw #4 (1971)

When Flint Met Reef

Well, that was exciting!

We nearly lost the wild, wandering brain as it hunted through the deep wilds of Planet Comics, but we managed to catch up to it again - and we learned what it was stalking! 

We saw it rooting around Flint Baker and Reef Ryan -  now we know what it was actually hunting: Space Rangers:

With issue #26 of Planet Comics, the two series merged into one with art from Lee Elias, who was already drawing Reef Ryan at that point. (Hugh Fitzhugh remains anonymous)

I was going to run the first three episodes as introduction to the series, but i just liked Lee's splash to #4 too much, so we're skipping ahead - 

The duo remained as the Space Rangers team for about 40 issues or so, until the waning days of the title. Both returned to their solo strips for a few issues in the last days, but those were reprint stories. For most of their adventures, they were teamed together.

Could they be the Planet's Finest team if they're usually off-planet?

Somehow, we still have not gotten to the first strip I thought we'd look at from Planet Comics, even though it's been mentioned once or twice (in this same context, i believe).

Maybe soon...

page art by Lee Elias for Planet Comics #s 26, 27, & 29 (1943, 1944)

Planetary Reef

If you were with us last time, you may recall that we were stalking the wild wandering brain as it hunted through some old familiar territory and looking at Flint Baker.

It still seems to be digging in Planet Comics, but something else now has its attentions...

Let us pause to ask "Reef"? Isn't that a rather Aquatic name for an outer space character? Not to mention the avian adversary.

This all seems rather strange. 

Tracking back to the spawning point in #13, we find that Reef Ryan's adventures take place on Neptune. 
Well, that makes sense for the name.

Here's how he got started...

Hugh Fitzhugh is a pseudonym, and we don't know who was using it. That premiere episode may have been drawn by Al Gabriele. It's more certain that he drew the follow up tale -

Reef took care of Sarku in the next couple stories, but stuck around on Neptune for the next dozen issues. His final solo strip appeared in #25, unless one counts a reprint or two in the final days of Planet Comics.

But why has the wandering brain focused on this series? What has it got to do with the path it started with Flint Baker?

Perhaps if we keep following it we will learn what it's up to...

page art by Al Gabriele from Planet Comics #s 13 & 14 (1941)