The curious case of the recycled comic book sinking scene.
Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2014 7:23 pm
While trolling through online comic book resources, I found two separate quicksand-based adventures from the Golden Age, both derived from the same original art. Talk about recycling.
The art was originally created for a story in Yankee Comics No. 4 (1941), published by Chesler Comics. Titled "In The Moors Lurks A Monster", it involved a lackluster hero named the Echo, who pressed a button on his belt to turn invisible.
Chesler reprinted the story, with trivial alterations, roughly a year later in Dynamic Comics No. 8.
Jumping ahead to 1952, the art turned up again at a different publisher: St. John. It appeared in Weird Horrors No. 2, more or less intact, but with different characters and different dialog. Now titled "Monster On The Moors", its hero merely a sleuth without any remarkable powers.
Given the lowly state and limited finances of the comic book industry back then, it's no surprise that publishers might resort to creative "borrowing" to save time and cost. But this is easily the most flagrant case I've uncovered.
Incidentally, despite its strong resemblance to the early style of Frank Frazetta, the art is credited to Rafael Astarita.
All three titles are available for download at digitalcomicmuseum.com.
The art was originally created for a story in Yankee Comics No. 4 (1941), published by Chesler Comics. Titled "In The Moors Lurks A Monster", it involved a lackluster hero named the Echo, who pressed a button on his belt to turn invisible.
Chesler reprinted the story, with trivial alterations, roughly a year later in Dynamic Comics No. 8.
Jumping ahead to 1952, the art turned up again at a different publisher: St. John. It appeared in Weird Horrors No. 2, more or less intact, but with different characters and different dialog. Now titled "Monster On The Moors", its hero merely a sleuth without any remarkable powers.
Given the lowly state and limited finances of the comic book industry back then, it's no surprise that publishers might resort to creative "borrowing" to save time and cost. But this is easily the most flagrant case I've uncovered.
Incidentally, despite its strong resemblance to the early style of Frank Frazetta, the art is credited to Rafael Astarita.
All three titles are available for download at digitalcomicmuseum.com.