Fight Comics Teach You to Fight!

From the pages of Fight Comics #6 tips in keeping fit though hitting people.

I must tell you that while hitting maybe good exercise, getting hit back can make you become badly out of shape.

Patsy Pinup

Fight Comics #47 (Dec. 1947) was the about the girls. It has Senorita Rio ON her first cover, and it introduced Patsy Pinup.

Here is her first appearance. "Sista Swing" was only used once for this strip.

Starting at Fight Comics #48 to #51 the pen named used for the rest of strip was Wanda Graham. Pasty didn't appear after that.

    [Back Up link #48]

Jill Trent, Science Sleuth

In trying to class Jill into the superhero types of the 1940s the closet you can get is "bored socialite turned to adventurer."

Except that unlike those other rich girls, it would seem that Jill made all that money herself. She's also hard to class as bored. She always seems to be inventing something or saving her girlfriend fellow sleuth from kidnappers. She's all brains with no powers or masks, but she never fails to face the bad guys down with a cool head and some random object she just built. (MacGyver would approve; real science, I am not so sure.)

Her to-be-hostage-in-less-than-eight-pages pal is Daisy. Despite her awful luck of always getting grabbed, she's no pushover. You might have a knife to her throat now, but she will be kicking you in the head later. Hard. In fact, Jill and Daisy both have a habit of beating the living daylights out of the bad guys that mess with them.

Jill Trent got started in Fighting Yank #6. I've never come access a copy, and it hasn't been reprinted.  I haven't heard anything about this one, but I doubt it is an origin story. She just doesn't seem the origin story type.

Her earliest appearance that has made it to the net is Fighting Yank #9 (August 1944), "Case of the Sanitary Murders." All the art is by Al Camy. I have no idea who wrote any of them. 

Fighting Yank # 9 page 39 //40 //41 //42 //43//44 //45 //46

After two issues in Fight Yank Jill Trent moved to Wonder comics, running in #8 to #20. You can go here and read Jill's story from Wonder Comics #13. 

Inferior Man in "Busting the Dive-Bomber"

I have said much about Al Jaffee and Inferior Man. I could still say more, but I think I should leave this post filled with only one important fact.

Jaffee sent his creation out with a bang.

Here is his last appearance from Military Comics #13 (November 1942).

Military Comics #13 (Nov. 1942) "There Are More than One Way To Skin A Cat"

After I started posting Señorita Rio, I thought I should pull some more forgotten female secret agents.

First I posted the origin of Madam Zero in "Her Name Was Zero."

Now, I want to highlight a lady known only as X in her last appearance. From Military Comics #13...

 41 //42 //43 //44 //45

If you liked this look at X of the Underground, I've posted all her stories that this point. You can read them and find out more about her all the way back in this post. 

Dr. Mid-Nite Thinks Fast

I try to avoid sharing golden age DC. They already had so much coverage, and so many reprints. But I love Doctor Midnight in all his forms.

So, join the Doc as he faces "Snakey" Scarlotti who is out for revenge! From All Star Comics #6, story by Charles Reizenstein with art by Sheldon Mayer.

Fight Comics #19 "The Broken Mirror"

Spot art by Alex Blum

 

Sheldon Moldoff (Part 2)

I know this follow up the the last Sheldon Moldoff post is a bit late, but 25 page research paper will to that. If only I could do one on comics....

To easy my stress and hopefully brighten some readers day here is some more solid DC Comics work from Moldoff.

On Scans_Daily I've posted some excerpts from Hawkman's story in All-Star Comics #6 (August-September 1941), The Justice Society Initiates Johnny Thunder.

Mr Neutron has posted excerpts pages from a reprint of Batman #165 (August 1964) starring Batman and his weirdest girlfriend, Patricia Powell. (She is the weirdest, no joke!)

Ending all this goddess is a story from All Star Comics #11 below. These are from my copy of the archive reprints. They are a must buy, if you love the JSA.

 04//05.//06 //07 //08 //09. //10

And a bonus page! Shareing this story just wouldn't be complete without this "oh, duh" Wonder Woman Moment

 All Star Comics #11 page 11

If you have links to any of Sheldon Molodoff's work of fan pages, please leave a link in the comments! 

Mr. Muscles "The Big Footprint"

Brett Carson suffered from polio, but through determination and hard work he was able to become the most prefect man on earth--Mr. Muscles! He has made a few appearances on this blog before (His origin and "King of the Carnival").

Below you can read page by page or scroll to read here.

 1 // 2 // 3

Al Jaffee and the Inferior Man

Jaffee at the New York Comic Convention
in Manhattan, October 9, 2010. Via

Inferior Man would appear to be the product of many authors and artist, but this creation was all the product of Al Jaffee. I am still not sure why he used a different pen name every comic, but the quality of his work did not vary.

Jaffee knew his best hope from finding work as a Jewish man at the end of the Great Depression was in comics. Superheros were the main game of the day, but Jaffee found he couldn't reproduce the art of the popular Superman-type comics. Jaffee created Inferior Man to go with his art style. He found that it "leaned towards the cartoony figures." 


In a Mother Jones interview, Jaffee reveled more about the creation of Inferior Man,

"..I made a drawing of Inferior Man with a couple of monsters that he     might be fighting—and a friend of mine said, "Why don't you take that up to Will Eisner? He's hiring." I went up there, and Eisner was intrigued by Inferior Man, and he hired me on the spot. Ten dollars a week, which was a fortune! A subway fare was only five cents. And there, I met Dave Berg and a number of other people that I would know through the years. And that's how I got my start. Unfortunately, because the war was on, Eisner—whom I respected enormously—said to me, "Why don't you put Inferior Man in the Army. He'll be a nondescript soldier by day and a superhero by night." I always did whatever an editor told me to do, so I did it. But I just couldn't make it work. Within a couple of months, it just wasn't going anywhere. That's how I moved on to Stan Lee." (Source)

In a 2010 New York Comic Con panel for golden and sliver aged artist, Jaffee Reveled more about that character's creation. CBR reports,

"Jaffee went on to explain that the concept intrigued Will Eisner, who told Jaffee he would hire him and use the Inferior Man stories as filler mainly in military comics. Moreover, Eisner suggested that they scrape the accountant background and make him a quartermaster."

Now without further ado, a taste of his work from Military Comics #7 (Feb. 1942)...(Scroll to read here)

Page 01  //  02  //  03


To find out more about Al Jafee check out these links...
Lambiek - Al jaffee

NYCC: GOLDEN/SILVER AGE LIVING LEGENDS
Mad Man: Meet Al Jaffee, Cartoonist Icon of America's Longest-Lived Humor Magazine

Sheldon Moldoff (Part 1)

Sheldon "Shelly" Moldoff died February 29, 2012 due to kidney failure.


Moldoff was one those names that was everywhere in the golden age. If you read DC from the time at all it is a legendary name.


Mark Evanier has written an excellent obituary on his blog. I feel that all I can add is love for the Sheldon Moldoff's art work.


Here you will find his art work for the characters he was best known for: Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

From All-Star Comics #7

Script Gardner Fox, Art Sheldon Moldoff

30 //31 //32 //33 //34 //35 //36

"Her Name Was Zero"

There were many spies during world War II. They were daring, quick individuals, and generally good looking. At least, that's what golden age comics taught me.

None was as mysterious as the woman known as Madam Zero. Little of her story is know of her since she only appeared in four issues of Fight Comics in the early 1950s.

Although these issues are available online, a solid collection of all her stories has been complied in Madam Zero Secret Files Collection. The introduction is fitting, making this collection well worth your time.

Below you will find Madame Zero's introduction from Fight Comics #82. Written by George Dennison (also the pen name on #83), art by "Charles Sultan" (who maybe Matt Baker, but I can't can't decide).

Read By scrolling here. Read page by page below.

                                   001 //002 // 003 // 004

    Back up Links: 01 // 02 // 03// 04