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Patsy and Hedy No More!

As noted in my previous post, by the mid-1960's Marvel's "Girl Line" was dwindling down. Patsy Walker, who originated in 1944 and received her own title in 1945, had a healthy twenty year run, ending with issue # 125, Dec 1965. Her spin-off title, Patsy and Hedy, appeared in late 1951 and ended in late 1966. A single Annual appeared in 1963. With the cancellation of Modeling with Millie in 1967 (which began as Life with Millie in 1950), only Millie the Model remained, but the era of soap opera dramatics concluded when the title reverted back to humor in the Archie mold.      

  
Patsy and Hedy's final issue. The "Gals on the Go-Go" have nowhere to go. Al Hartley pencils ?: Frank Giacoia inks, Sam Rosen letters. Patsy and Hedy # 110, Feb 1967

This issue included a change of format, one inspired by the many teen magazines such as 16. The decision was likely made before the title was cancelled. The cover promotes a new column, and features head shots of David McCallum (heart-throb of The Man from Uncle TV show); Mia Farrow (star of Peyton Place, a very popular and well written prime-time drama; Ms. Farrow moved on to a successful screen career); Elvis and Peter and Gordon. The British duo had their biggest hit in 1963, "A World Without Love", a catchy tune written by a guy named Paul McCartney. You can see them perform the song here:

   

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More Kirby War: Battle

For my 50th post (I never thought I'd make it this far!) I will examine the 10 stories Jack Kirby produced for Battle , an Atlas comic that originated in 1951 and ceased publication in 1960.   In 1959, concurrent with his output on monster, western and romance stories, Kirby was assigned a number of compelling war stories. Based on a thorough reading it appears that Kirby scripted as well as drew many of the pre-1960 stories (an examination of possible scripts in other genre stories will appear at a later date). There are many similarities in style, tone, emphasis of words, phrases, use of quotation marks and sound effects that point to Kirby’s input. I will focus on these patterns as I go through each story.     "Action on Quemoy!" Battle # 64, June 1959, Jack Kirby story ? Kirby pencils; Christopher Rule inks, Job # T-266. The opening narration is similar to the style Kirby often employed; a long paragraph of exposition (which would be seen in many of his 1970s scripted
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Etcetera, Etcetera

When Publisher Mark Hanerfeld found work at DC, The Comic Reader vanished for 22 months. Taking up the slack was another fanzine. Etcetera was published by Paul Levitz and Paul Kupperberg, and later solely by Levitz. Kupperberg would go on to write and edit for DC. You can read some great stories at his blog, including a few about his time working on Etc and meeting Carmine Infantino: http://kupps.malibulist.com/page/7/ Paul Levitz became a writer, editor and publisher at DC. Etcetera followed TCR by concentrating on news about DC and Marvel, listing coming comics and featuring reviews and columns. Etcetera # 3, May 1971 Along with Marvel and DC news, there was info on Skywald. Sol Brodsky (who left Marvel for a while to attempt this venture) and Israel Waldman teamed to produce horror mags such as Nightmare and Psycho , a few 25 cent color comics and Hell-Rider, which did not turn out to "shake up the industry as we know it" (it lasted two issues). Skywald employed many tal
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Appreciating Don Heck

My introduction to Don Heck’s art began in the mid-1960s, when he was associated primarily with Marvel Comics' super-heroes, including  "Iron Man," "Ant-Man" and The Avengers . Reprints in Fantasy Masterpieces  educated me on Heck's stylish monster/science-fiction short stories, that while only six or seven years old, seemed like a discovery from an ancient age. As my collecting interests grew, I became aware of his facility in an array of genres, including romance, war and westerns. Through fanzines and interviews I learned of his beginnings, both the high-points and pitfalls of toiling in the comic book field.  Heck struggled at times to maintain his identity, and in later years didn't often get the choice assignments, passed over for younger, more popular artists, but his contributions to the field deserve recognition.          Don Heck’s earliest work appeared in 1952 at Comic Media. He contributed across the line in Weird Terror , War Fury,  Horrifi
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