Number 1293: “You dirty rat!”

We begin another theme week at Pappy's: “Furry Fiends and Foes.” We'll show four stories featuring superheroes and their enemies of the hirsute variety.

First up, the Black Rat. Or more properly, “The Return of the Black Rat,” a Bulletman story from America's Greatest Comics #2 (1942). I haven't seen the original appearance of the Black Rat, and if there's more to his story than is shown here I don't know. He's costumed, but he isn't shown outside his costume. Despite the cape and panties (not really needed) I'm impressed by his dark, shuddersome visage. The villainous vermin is pictured by Phil Bard, credited by the Grand Comics Database with the artwork.

Tomorrow: The Black Owl and the Fox!

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Number 1292: The murderous child

“Love is for the Living,” from ACG’s Romantic Adventures #5 (1949), isn’t all that original. A drab governess goes to work for a handsome widower with a small child, then has to win the love of both. What struck me when reading the story was that it reminded me of The Bad Seed, the popular novel/play/movie, about a young blonde child who commits murder.

Maxwell Anderson's 1955 play was adapted from the novel by William March, published in 1954. Life magazine covered the play and its young actress, Patty McCormack, in a January, 1955 issue. Here's the first page of the article:

The comic book story appeared about five years before the novel, and I'm not claiming it had any influence on the novelist. It's just an interesting coincidence. Stories about children who murder aren't all that rare. But the drama of the attempted murder does add some depth to an otherwise shopworn romance plot, and it helps that the Romantic Adventures story is well illustrated by Emil Gershwin. Were I to give advice to someone in the same position as governess Celia Parrish I'd tell her even though it looks like she's won the love of the father, I wouldn't turn my back on his daughter.

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Number 1291: Tarzan's big scaly friend

Welcome to Pappy's 2013! It’s time to get back to school or to work. In my case my "work" is bringing you great old comics.

But...waitaminit! Didn't I just show a story about Tarzan and a Tyrannosaurus Rex? I sure did, in Pappy's #1255 in November. That story, from Tarzan #121 (1960), was drawn by Jesse Marsh. This story of Tarzan and a friendly Tyrannosaurus, who has come out of an egg thinking Tarzan is his mom, is from Tarzan's Jungle Annual #4 (1955). The script is credited by the Grand Comics Database to Gaylord Du Bois (same as the later story), yet drawn not by Marsh, but by Russ Manning.

Unlike the Tarzan drawn by Manning ten years later (Pappy's #1217), this Tarzan hews pretty close to the Jesse Marsh version. I believe here Jesse Marsh drew the faces to keep a continuity in style. The rest of the art is pretty easy to identify as Manning. His figure drawing is distinctive.

On seeing Tarzan leading a line of dinosaurs (page 11, “Page 51” of the Annual) my mind, which draws comparisons anyway, thought of a Supermouse story (Pappy's #941) I've shown before. Here's the panel sequence the Tarzan story reminded me of:

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