The Greatest Ape

"The Moose Hunt", Frankenstein #9 (1947)

2011-02-04T00:52:00.000-08:00

I've decided to follow Gabriel's lead and start a new blog for my own cartooning, and keep this blog just to feature stories by the comic book greats that inspired me. So don't be surprised if my already sparse commentary gets even more abridged. The stories should be the main thing, anyway. The new site is here: The Eye of Mongomblog

So with that, here is some more of the great Dick Briefer..."The Moose Hunt" from Frankenstein #9 (Sept-Oct 1947):

Another Superkatt by Dan Gordon

2009-11-29T23:52:00.000-08:00

Have another helping of some good ol' Dan Gordon funnies!

I love how Superkatt and the other animals assume that super-powers come from costumes...and of course those "costumes" are basically just human clothes. I wonder if Gordon was consciously spoofing the fetishistic qualities of superhero costumes, when he decided to have Superkatt dress up as a big baby? In this issue, though, Our Hero takes a break from his infantilism to indulge in a little cross-dressing. Enjoy, kids!

Gordon's expressive characters are always a joy to see. Everyone is so anxious or angry all the time. Junior's expression and pose in the first panel of page four just kills me!

Here is Superkatt from Giggle Comics #27 (March 1946):

Superkatt by Dan Gordon

2009-11-27T12:41:00.000-08:00

I'd love to see a collection of Dan Gordon's funnies someday, but I'm really not sure how to package the Superkatt tales. The problem, obviously, is the depiction of Petunia. Unlike the housekeeper in the old Tom & Jerry shorts, you cannot simply overdub her voice and be good to go. Petunia is, bluntly, a demeaning racial caricature. Now, the argument has been made in similar cases for old theatrical cartoons, citing the "humor of the times", and the "absence of malice"; but that will never fly in the present day. It's just unacceptable, and rightly so. So how do you present a collection of "classic kids' comics" that is available only to "the adult collector"? I suppose it can be done...after all, the classic horror comics with their bloody dismemberment and gruesome rotting corpses were once available to any kid with a dime, and now come packaged for adults. So I guess expensive hardcover collections could be the answer.

It's just a little bit sad to think that these lively, wonderfully drawn comics may only be discovered by first-time readers who are well beyond their childhoods.

Here is Superkatt from Giggle Comics #23 (November 1945):

"Swamp Spirit" by Dick Briefer

2009-11-14T01:55:00.000-08:00

Swamp monsters have been very popular in comic books since the first decade of the Golden Age. In 1940, Theodore Sturgeon's short story "It!" was published in Unknown magazine. It was about a plant monster that had grown from a human skeleton, and was the inspiration for a generation of swamp men. But these plant and mud monsters have primarily been popular in comic books; humanoid reptiles and fish-like gill-men such as the Creature from the Black Lagoon have fared better at the movies.

The folklore of North America has included swamp men...but usually these creatures have resembled sasquatch, zombies, wild men, ghosts, and even werewolves. These boogey-men tales could have been concocted by locals to keep outsiders away, or prevent children from wandering into dangerous areas.

One alleged encounter in Fouke, Arkansas, in 1971 set off a rash of sightings. The "Fouke Monster" inspired the 1972 film The Legend of Boggy Creek, and probably both Marvel's Man-Thing and DC's Swamp Thing.

Briefer may or may not have seen Sturgeon's short story, but he was probably familiar with Hillman Periodical's swamp creature, the Heap, who had first appeared in 1942 in Air Fighters #3. The Heap would later star as a backup feature in Airboy from 1946 until 1953.

Here is "Swamp Spirit" from Frankenstein #16 (Nov-Dec 1948):

"The Return of the Mummy" by Dick Briefer

2009-11-10T02:41:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of Frankenstein stories to post, then I am going to post a whole bunch of Dan Gordon next week; so I hope everybody loves Superkatt!

This story, The Return of the Mummy, really highlights some great cartooning. The composition in each panel is nice and clean: the characters are nicely posed, there is no clutter and very few tangents. The information in each shot is processed quickly on first sight. Backgrounds appear where background detail is necessary, and are abandoned where it is not (especially page 4, where aside from one lone column, there are no backgrounds at all). The other side of the coin is demonstrated by the last two panels of page 2 and the first two panels of page 3: the backgrounds quickly establish location and a sense of the distance traveled from the boat to the tomb.

There is an excellent use of spotted blacks in the design throughout, especially on pages 3, 7, and 8 (the use of shadows in the third and fourth panels of page 7 are especially nice).

The fight scenes, as usual, are very fluid; they almost look like gesture drawings at times. My favorite panel may be the last one on page 6, which is a wonderful still image of pure cartoon action.

Briefer's babes always look like silent film vamps, don't they? Although Cleopatra's resemblance to actress Theda Bara could easily have been intentional, as she did portray the Queen of Egypt in 1917.

Here is "The Return of the Mummy" from Frankenstein #16 (Nov-Dec 1948):

(another) SuperKatt by Dan Gordon

2009-08-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

Giggle Comics #25 (January, 1946):

Superkatt by Dan Gordon

2009-05-06T03:15:00.000-07:00

Dan Gordon is a great cartoonist. His comics are lively and violent and crude and a little mean-spirited...exactly what a good cartoon should be. I love his organic panel borders as well...so much so that I fully intend to steal them.

Cartoonist/storyboard artist Sherm Cohen has quite a lot of DanG goodies at his blog, including the biography he wrote for the Comics Journal. Read it at Cartoon Snap.

There's a great SuperKatt story as well over at Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine: Number 506.

Giggle Comics #46 (October, 1947):

Giggle Comics #24 (December, 1945):

Here's a bonus! An advertisement for Milt Gross Funnies, from Giggle Comics #46:

More Frankenstein by Dick Briefer

2009-04-14T00:54:00.000-07:00

These last two stories sort of run together (and the final one doesn't actually have a title) so I decided to just post them both...Enjoy!

From Frankenstein #4 (September-October 1946):

"Frankenstein and the Youth Restorer" by Dick Briefer

2009-04-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

The more I reread this work, the more I'm convinced it should be collected. The recent collections of Fletcher Hanks and Boody Rogers are very nice, and soon we should be seeing a collection of Milt Gross' comic book work. A color collection of Briefer Frankenstein comics would fit right into that section of the bookshelf.

"Frankenstein Sees the Effect of the Youth Restorer" is the third of five stories from Frankenstein #4 (September-October 1946):

"Frankenstein Meets the Terrible Werewolf" by Dick Briefer

2009-04-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Alter Ego #41 ran some "Frankenstein" comic strips that Dick Briefer had drawn as a tryout (in the 1970s) for syndication. This werewolf story was one of the stories he adapted into those strips (another story from issue number 4, "Frankenstein and the Sorcerer", was also adapted into the strip...I will be uploading that story soon). 25 of his 61 tryout strips are reprinted over 5 pages. It also has an article on different versions of Frankenstein in the comics, some Alex Toth sketches of Briefer's Frankenstein, and a 2-page biography of Dick Briefer, written by Dick Briefer himself. Back issues are still available from Twomorrows: buy one here.

"Frankenstein Meets the (Terrible) Werewolf" is the second of five stories from Frankenstein #4 (September-October 1946):

"Frankenstein and Awful Annie" by Dick Briefer

2009-04-09T00:12:00.000-07:00

More great Dick Briefer fun! This story has Frankenstein, the "Merry Monster", helping his friend Awful Annie, who lives "out near the garbage pile". Annie is depressed, and like a reanimated Fat Albert, Frankenstein decides to help. Good "Addams' Family" type gags in this one.

My copy of this issue was stapled from the top, near the spine. So the even-numbered pages may be a little distorted because the artwork goes right up to the crease in most cases. This first story didn't scan too badly, though.

This is the first of five stories in this issue.

Here is "Frankenstein and Awful Annie" from Frankenstein #4 (September-October 1946):

"Frankenstein and the Time Machine" by Dick Briefer

2009-04-04T00:29:00.000-07:00

I love splash pages...it's something you don't see much anymore, but you see them in just about all these old Frankenstein comics. Briefer's splashes are simple and effective.

An acknowledgment is given to "Bruce Elliott" for his help with the stories in this issue, but it doesn't specify what help was given. Inking? Plotting? Anyone out there familiar with Bruce Elliott?

I have to take issue with the cover's proclamation of "52 pages of action and fun"...there are only 43 pages of Frankenstein, the front cover, and a house ad (I'll allow that) for a total of 45 pages. 47 if you count the 2-page text story (I will but don't want to...it has nothing to do with Frankenstein. Pure filler). The rest are ads. The 52-page books were actually 48-page books, but with both sides of the front and back cover counted as additional pages. When Dell claimed 52 pages of comics, there were comics printed on those covers, not ads.

Still, it's a small complaint. A 52-page comic with no ads would probably run at least 7 or 8 bucks now, while this great old comic cost a dime.

By the way, I brightened up the scans of the first three stories, so you might want to take another look at them. I think I improved the readability a bit!

This is the last of four stories in this issue.

Here is "Frankenstein and the Time Machine" from Frankenstein #3 (July-August 1946):

"Frankenstein and the Mummies" by Dick Briefer

2009-04-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is a silly little story; I suspect Briefer just wanted to draw mummies. It does end with a nice visual punchline, though, unlike the first two stories in this issue. But seeing Frankenstein strolling the ship's deck in a suit, complete with straw hat and walking stick, is hilarious. Oh, and that establishing shot of Egypt is a hoot.

This is the third of four stories in this issue.

Here is "Frankenstein and the Mummies" from Frankenstein #3 (July-August 1946):

"Frankenstein and the Monsters" by Dick Briefer

2009-04-01T20:11:00.001-07:00

This is the second of four stories in this issue.

Here is "Frankenstein and the Monsters" from Frankenstein #3 (July-August 1946):

"Frankenstein's Family" by Dick Briefer

2009-03-31T03:19:00.000-07:00

Dick Briefer's stories could be a little odd at times, but they sure are fun to look at. Between his humorous Frankenstein stories, and his later horror stories, his is easily the best version of the Monster in comic book form (in my opinion). I do prefer these funny Frankenstein stories, though, and I love the character design of the Monster himself. Pushing that nose up above the eyes was genius.

This is the first of four stories in this issue.

Here is "Frankenstein's Family" from Frankenstein #3 (July-August 1946):

Frankenstein by Dick Briefer

2009-03-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot of these great old comics on other blogs, and I figure I should contribute something to the online Dick Briefer archive.

I have copies of issues #3 and #4, and I will be uploading both issues in their entirety (but probably one story at a time). But first I have some Walt Kelly and maybe some more Barks coming up.

In the meantime, why not check out the stories that are already available? At Pappy's Golden Age Blog, you can find an awful lot of Frankenstein, look for the stories here. He also has the "origin" story from Frankenstein #1. Over at Joyville, Gabriel has posted one of the later horror stories, "Entranced". Enjoy!