Number 1082


Space Ghost


The Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon character, Space Ghost, is reported to have been created by comic book veteran, Alex Toth. Toth worked for H-B as a "designer and idea man." See the story on Space Ghost at Don Markstein's Toonopedia.

I'm aware that Space Ghost had a finish to his animated career as a talk show host on Cartoon Network. I never saw him there, preferring to remember him as he was on his first go-round. This Gold Key one-shot was published in 1966. Dan Spiegle did the artwork.

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Number 1081


"Youse don't haveta encourich me, Lantrin!"


Journeyman artist Paul Reinman's work is all over the history of comics, from 1940 until the mid-1970s. His work shows up at many comic book companies, including Atlas/Marvel, ACG, and Archie Comics. It was at Archie that he and writer Jerry Siegel created the "Mighty Heroes" superhero comics, featuring characters from that company's 1940's past as MLJ Comics, including Black Hood, the Web, Steel Sterling and others.

Reinman was doing superhero comics in the 1940s at DC, where he had a longtime association with Green Lantern. This story, from All-American Comics #69, was published in 1945 under the All-American logo, when founder M. C. Gaines broke off his association with DC Comics. DC bought him out and continued his popular features.

Comedy sidekicks were popular in that era, and for Green Lantern it was the English language-mangling New York cabbie, Doiby Dickles.

Reinman died in 1988, a few weeks after his 78th birthday.

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Number 1080


A Pappy New Year!


Head feeling a little fuzzy this morning? A couple of aspirins and Pappy's Golden Age will fix you right up!

We're starting out 2012 with a couple of funny stories from The Kilroys #5, including a story of Natch welcoming the New Year of 1948.

I have something in common with Natch Kilroy...I also greeted 1948. I was only six months old at the time and don't remember it, but I was there nonetheless, and have managed to make it to January 1 each year since.

These stories were written by Hubie Karp and drawn by Bob Wickersham, who sometimes signed his work Bob Wick. The Kilroys was aimed at that big teenage comics market led by Archie. Redhead Natch even reminds me a bit of Archie. Like Archie he drove a jalopy and had girl problems.

Here's an announcement that the comic was going to a monthly schedule, which means it was a seller. The Kilroys had a good eight year run from 1947 to 1955.

Rest up today! Tomorrow you'll be back at the regular old grind.

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