Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Woolfolk Records 1948/07

Wanted 17 cover: Heber Ayers
 
Quality, Fawcett, and Orbit are the publishers, as usual. William Woolfolk is assigned Lance O'Casey scripts in fits and starts; the last time he submitted some was in August 1946.

Woolfolk usually notes text pieces as "fiction"; the Wanted "feature" is a short comics story.

July 1948 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

11 pg  Doll Man man can open any lock
    "Tom Thumb, Miniature Master of Menace" DM 22, May/49
Lance O'Casey pygmy king who hates pygmies
  "LO'C Meets Longo of the Congo" Whiz 105, Dec/48
Captain Marvel Jr. the singing donkey
    "The Singing Donkey" CMJ 71, Mar/49
Lance O'Casey the festival of pirates
    "LO'C and the Pirate's Festival" Whiz 109, May/49
11  Blackhawk the sunken atoll
    "Kauno . . . Atoll of Mystery" BH 26, Aug/49
11  Doll Man meets the Minstrel
    "The Minstrel" DM 23, July/49
Monte Hale under a peace bond
    "MH and His Peace Bond" Western Hero 76, Mar/49
15  The Shotgun Kid "The Shotgun Kid" Wanted 17, Jan/49
11  Kid Eternity Master Man with similar powers to Kid E
    "Master Man" KE 15, May/49
Wanted feature "Wanted: Heber Ayers" Wanted 17, Jan/49
Captain Marvel the hypochondria epidemic
    "The Phantom Plague" CM Advs 94, Mar/49
11  Plastic Man last man on Earth
    "The Last Man on Earth" PM 17, May/49

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Swipe While the Iron Is Hot

BH 24 cover--Blackhawk jumping through window glass with woman in hs arms, man with gun behind them

Tying together the previous two posts: Blackhawk 24 (Apr/49) with two William Woolfolk stories, and Ken Shannon, here in Police 104 (Feb/51).

Police 104 cover--Ken Shannon jumping through window glass with woman in hs arms, man with gun behind them

A few Reed Crandall Blackhawk covers were recycled into later Blackhawk ones, as I recall was pointed out in Alter Ego. This Police cover artist is so far unidentified, but probably the editors instigated this swipe so soon after publishing the original.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Woolfolk Records 1948/06


Captain Marvel Adventures 93 cover Continuing my transcriptions of William Woolfolk's script sales records, scanned by Marc Svensson through the good graces of Donna Woolfolk; my additions of publication data are in bold.

Quality, Fawcett, and Orbit are still the steady buyers.

UPDATE: I assumed "The Fighting Cabbie" fitted into Wanted 16; but now that I've seen the issue, I find no cabbies.

If the Monte Hale stories are being published in roughly the order received, the only issue of Real Western Hero available for either of these is the unindexed issue 75; the stories in 74 and (the slightly changed title) Western Hero 76-78 are Woolfolk's, written in other months. With more slots to fill in each Monte Hale Western, that would be the better possibility. UPDATE: darkmark found the tournament story in the February MHW.

June 1948 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

11 pg  Blackhawk crime conspiracy to take over the U.S.
"Criminal Number One" BH 24, Apr/49
Ibis Taia becomes an enchanted maiden at King Arthur's Court
"The Enchanted Maiden" Whiz 106, Feb/49
The Fighting Cabbie
Captain Marvel world's greatest lawyer
"The World's Greatest Lawyer" CM Advs 93, Feb/49
10  Doll Man Darrel Dane's double
"Darrel Dane's Double" Feature 133, Apr/49
Monte Hale gun runners
MH Western or Real Western Hero c. Feb/49
Captain Marvel book that contains all knowledge
"The Book of All Knowledge" CM Advs 93, Feb/49
11  Blackhawk the phantom bombers
"Captain Suicide" BH 24, Apr/49
Monte Hale tournament for marksmen
"The Killers' Tournament" MH Western 33, Feb/49
15  The Pony Express
14  as Wild Bill Pecos "The Pony Express" The Westerner 17, Dec/48
Ibis the gorgon's sisters
"Labyrinth of the Lost" Whiz 107, Mar/49

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Ken Shannon and the Aquaman Artist

Private eye Ken Shannon took over Plastic Man's lead slot in Police Comics at the end of 1950 and within the year received his own title as well. I index Ken Shannon in this post; I haven't seen a complete run of the post-Plas Police.

Shannon's main penciller was Reed Crandall. Sam Burlockoff has said he inked Crandall on the feature; Burlockoff's major credit that I know of is early war stuff at DC, but I'm not familiar enough with his style to credit him with particular stories here. Chuck Cuidera has been linked to Crandall here in much the way George Klein was once credited with inking every Superman story Curt Swan ever pencilled, be they inked by Kaye, Moldoff, or Forte if not Klein. I'll just put aside the question of Ken Shannon inkers altogether on this list.

I believe two stories are pencilled by W.G. Hargis, who got to sign a number of his Inspector Denver stories in Police. One story's penciller I can't figure at all.

The penciller just behind Crandall in terms of quantity (counting the appearances of the strip in both Police and KS) has been a mystery. The inking obscured his style as seen earlier at other companies.

Ken Shannon 10, story 2, panels

I see the work of John Daly. The young man shaking Shannon's hand is the best example of Daly's style in faces, showing through the inking; Ken Shannon himself is inked heavily to match Crandall's face for the character. The next panel's rather stodgy staging of the figures comes closest to the staging on the Aquaman page, the staging that typefies Daly to me.

Adventure 151 Aquaman panels

All ten covers were pencilled, if not inked as well, by Crandall.

The William Woolfolk credits are a sneak preview into his script records for 1951-52. In brief: Woolfolk and Joe Millard share use of the scream "Eeeahhh," but Millard uses his standby "Owoooff" that Woolfolk never does. "Q," a Quality writer of the Fifties I can't yet name, opts for variations of "Urghh" and "Iiieee." UPDATE: "Q" is Robert Bernstein

Ken Shannon 1-10 Writers and Pencillers

Oct/51#1 The Evil Eye of Count Ducriew: Joe Millard p: Reed Crandall
The Playful Pickpocketw: Millard  p: Crandall
The Carrier Pigeon Casew: Robert Bernstein  p: W.G. Hargis?
Dec/    #2 Cut-Rate Corpsesw: Millard  p: Crandall
Invitation to a Murderw: Millard  p: Crandall

Front Man for Murderw: Millard  p: Crandall
Feb/52 #3 The Corpse That Wouldn't Sleepw: Millard  p: Crandall
The Case of the Butchered Butcherw: Millard  p: Crandall
One Day I'll Kill Youw: Millard  p: Crandall
Apr/     #4 Stone Hatchet Murderw: Millard  p: Crandall
Stand-In for Murderw: William Woolfolk p: Crandall
The Case of the All-Seeing Eyew: Millard  p: Hargis?
June/    #5 The Case of the Carny KiIlerw: Millard  p: Crandall
The Man from Nowherew: Woolfolk  p: ?
Doctor of Deathw: Woolfolk  p: John Daly
Aug/    #6 The Vampire Mobw: Millard  p: Crandall
Dead Man's Alleyw: Millard  p: Daly
Dee Dee Can't Be Deadw: Bernstein  p: Daly
Oct/    #7 The Ugliest Man in the Worldw: Bernstein  p: Daly
Murder on Accountw: Bernstein p: Daly
Too Many Killersw: Bernstein p: Daly
Dec/    #8 Mansion of Mangled Menw: Woolfolk  p: Daly

The Chinatown Murdersw: Bernstein  p: Daly
The Doom Expressw: Bernstein  p: Daly
Feb/53#9 The Flame of Doomw: Millard  p: Daly
Necklace of Bloodw: Woolfolk  p: Daly
Day It Rained Moneyw: Millard  p: Daly
Apr/    #10 In the Shadow of the Chairw: Millard  p: Daly
Your Money or Your Bloodw: Millard  p: Daly
[untitled]w: Bernstein  p: Daly

The back-up feature in 1-9 is Angles O'Day (Not-So-Special Investigator), not only wriiten and drawn but lettered by Jack Cole, and 10 presents a Flatfoot Burns by Al Stahl, the last of that series from Police and The Spirit.