Saturday, May 16, 2015

Early Black Comic Book Heroes: The Red Mask


You'll have to forgive my ignorance but it is only just recently that I learned of the character that appears, by some accounts, to have been the first Black hero in comics. He was created by someone who signed his name as George West, and originally appeared  in newspapers running Syndicated Features comics strips in 1936. These strips were subsequently collected and reprinted in Best Comics published by Pines (Standard) beginning in November 1939, and lasting for only four issues. Note the landscape format, very unusual in comics.

That hero was the enigmatic Red Mask. Now if you have never encountered The Red Mask, as I hadn't until a few days ago, you may well be puzzled by the above cover of Best Comics #2. This is the only issue available online in the Digital Comic Museum, but considering its rarity, we should consider ourselves very fortunate that the DCM has even one. According to the Gerber Comics Photojournal scarcity index, between 21 and 50 copies are estimated to exist of issues #1 and #4, and there are no more than between 11 and 20 copies of #2 or #3 (these figures obtained from Michelle Nolan's 'Niche' on the CGC website and also from eBay).What you see on this cover of #2 above is The Red Mask depicted as a white person protecting a white female (Nina) and a young white male (Danny) from hostile native tribesmen. However, the character is most definitely intended to be Black, as evidenced by the cover of Best Comics #1 and by the strips themselves. Unfortunately there is some visual racist stereotyping of the Black native people in this comic.

The cover of Best Comics #1 is featured on Comic Vine and the Grand Comics Database, and if you go to either of those websites using the links provided, you will see that The Red Mask is most definitely a Black person. A complete understanding of this important comic is elusive, however, not just because of its rarity. The fact is that some of the pages have panels in which The Red Mask is colored white, sometimes as sort of half black, and in the majority that I can find he looks Black. As comic strip expert Allan Holtz points out, The Red Mask has wavy, non-African hair. Only 26 episodes of the strip were ever published, with the story left hanging, so we'll never know for sure what was going to be the eventual outcome. Holtz thinks that The Red Mask was most likely the white guy, Jason Armitage, who went missing a year previously, and whom the other white people in the story are searching for. Holtz's explanation for The Red Mask being black is that he has been in the jungle for a while and developed a deep tan.

However, I am inclined to believe that The Red Mask was intended to be the Black person he was portrayed as. The story is not necessarily set in Africa. We are told the setting is "the South Seas," and the action seems to be taking place initially on an island, Kaukura. So the fact that The Red Mask's hair is not African-looking isn't necessarily a problem. I also think that the explanation for the change in coloration of The Red Mask's skin on the covers of Best Comics #2, #3, & #4, and on the interior pages, were down to an inexperienced and/or uninformed colorist. After all, over 20 years later the same kind of error happened with the cover of Marvel's Sgt. Fury #1 - Gabriel Jones, the African American Howling Commando was depicted with white skin on that cover by mistake. Racist reactions to Best Comics could also have been the reason why a deliberate change in the Red Mask's color was made on the covers of the books after issue #1, and also on some interior pages.

The earliest episode of The Red Mask newspaper strip that's available in color on the internet is #6, which is posted on Allan Holtz's blog, The Stripper's Guide. This would have been reprinted in Best Comics #1, which had episodes 1 through 7. Best Comics #2 has episodes 8 through 13, and one can speculate that the remaining 13 episodes were split between issues #3 (probably episodes 14 through 20) and #4 (probably episodes 21 through 26). Since The Red Mask was the main feature in Best Comics, and the strip had ceased publication in newspapers prior to Best Comics reprinting them, one has to conclude that Pines/Standard had no intention of publishing more than 4 issues, that is, unless they had another main feature ready to take its place but the sales weren't good enough to justify continuing. Allan Holtz has the last episode, #26, on his blog, along with black and white microfiche images of episodes #1 and #2, as well as a color image of episode #20. Episodes 8 through 13 are as follows:







The story seems to be that Colonel Trent, along with Robert Fear and some other men, as well as Nina and Danny, came on the Colonel's yacht in search of Jason Armitage, who disappeared in the area a year before. The Red Mask is really Maui, chief of a native tribe. I can see why Allan Holtz thinks that ultimately we would have found out that Maui/The Red Mask is in fact Jason Armitage. Then there's the mysterious Grotto of Jewels, lair of the Sacred Monster. The action in the above pages seems to be occurring on two fronts: inland with The Red Mask's tribe, and with the 'Coastal Tribe,' who have captured the Colonel and the others.

Similarities with The Phantom, which also debuted in newspapers in 1936, have been noted, but of course The Phantom is still going strong today, and he is most definitely a white man. The Red Mask has slipped into obscurity until recently. We'll likely never know the truth behind the story of The Red Mask, but there is certainly a case for him being the first Black hero in comics!

Friday, May 1, 2015

Spaghetti Western Fumetti: Tex

While western comics went out of fashion in the late 1970s here in America, in Italy the genre is not only alive and healthy, but thriving. The top-selling western, and one of the most popular comics in Italy, is the long-running title, Tex. Ongoing since 1948, with current print runs in excess of 200,000 copies per issue, it lasted far longer than even the longest running American western titles, such as DC's Western Comics or Marvel's Kid Colt! At its peak it was selling 700,000 per month! There is actually nothing comparable to this giant in the western genre in the USA and I'm guessing anywhere else. Ironically, the characters in Tex present a far more accurate picture of the true diversity of the Wild West than American western comics ever did. We see Black, Mexican, American Indian, and white cowboys working together, as it was in the real history of the West, but not as most twentieth century media portrayed it. Moreover, these characters are presented respectfully, with some hint at the true depth and complexity of American Indian culture. Racism is not prominent in this Wild West, just as in the real West of America, when it was beyond the borders of the Union, and even up until Jim Crow began to bite, when Black people could start a new life relatively less encumbered by the oppression prevalent in the States.

And these are not small comics, in terms of pages. Not the more modern issues anyway. They're each as long as an American graphic novel! Tex was originally created by Giovanni Luigi Bonelli (writer) and Aurelio Galleppini (artist). I believe the editor, Sergio Bonelli, is quite a celebrity in Italy. Of the dozens of artists who have worked on the book during its 67 year history, only one appears to be American - the great Joe Kubert was the guest artist on Tex Special #15 (I'm getting my information from the Italian Wikipedia at this point!).

Tex Willer is a leader in the Navajo tribe, having married a Navajo woman, Lilyth. So Arizona of the 1880s is the main setting in the original comics, but over the years stories have taken place in surrounding areas such as New Mexico and Texas, and far further afield places like Alaska and Colombia.

Here's a couple of examples that I collected on recent trips to Venice. The first is one that I found in a second hand bookstore. It is a large, 240 page, Tex Annual #27 from 2012. Only the covers are in color, but the interior black and white art is exquisite. The cover and interior art of this one is by Fabio Civitelli, the story by Mauro Boselli. The title of the story literally seems to be "The Ride of the Dead," but it could be more like "The Trail of the Dead."


My Italian is practically non-existent, so I can only actually read the comic using Google Translate, a very slow and unsure process. Nevertheless, I've picked a couple of interesting looking pages (120 & 121) and tried to translate. Here goes:


Cowboy #1: Fire, hombres!

Tex: Vermin! They're shooting at us! On the ground, brother! Behind that rock!

Cowboy #1: We've got them!

Tiger Jack: There's six of them! We can't...

Tex: Those first shots were meant to kill, Tiger! Those could be Flores' cowboys!



Tiger Jack: Bah! In my opinion this is a waste of lead!

Cowboy #1: Lightning!

Tex: Stop! Or we'll start getting serious!

Cowboy #2: Madre de Dios!

Cowboy #1: They shoot like devils! What do we do, Ray?

Ray: There's not much we can do! We went in without thinking and now we're at their mercy! Let's hear what they have to say!

Tex: Are you the cowboys from "Agua Escondidas" ["Hidden Water"]?

Over the next few pages Tex and his blood brother, the Navajo Tiger Jack, appear to make friends with this group of initially hostile cowboys. I didn't try to translate these next example pages (144 & 145) but a lot can be inferred from the visuals:



That annual had magazine-size pages. The monthly issues of Tex, however, are Italian digest-size, a little bit larger than the American digest (e.g. the Archie digests). Here's an excerpt from Tex Monthly #639 from January, 2014. The title is "In the Slums of San Francisco." My translation here is probably worse than the one above, but hopefully gives some idea as to what is being said.


Some more of the main or support characters in the series are featured here. There's Tex's son, Kit Willer, and also Lefty Potrero, an ex-fighter who owns the Hercules Gymnasium in San Francisco (in the story).


Tiger Jack: For Manito! They're talking about a woman hostage! Who can she be? I have to go back to warn Kit and Donen! But not now! People are coming!

Strongman#1: Here's the place!

Lefty: A real den of rats!

Strongman#2: Don't wait to... [totally unsure what this means]

Lefty: Quiet boys! You have to use your brain here, not your muscles!

Strongman#2 Uh!

Lefty: If we're not careful, these particular rodents would scram under our noses... and I don't think in that case Tex would be very grateful.


Strongman#1 [Bingo]: But if we go in acting normal and look around?

Lefty: Mmm...
---------------------------------------------------------
Kit: That's Lefty Potrero and his strongmen from the Gym! What the hell are they doing? If they all go in there together they will arouse suspicion!

Donen: You can't tell them what to do, Kit. The success of the plan depends on whether you and I can always stay in the shadows!

Kit: And are your motives true, Donen? Thirst for adventure and desire for revenge? Or because you are ready to join the army of God?

Donen: Why did you agree to it if you doubt me so much, Kit?

Kit: My father trusts you... and then... you're not the only one who loves the thrill of the unexpected, amigo!



Lefty: Okay! You're right, Bingo! Enter in groups of two or three to avoid attracting too much attention... and keep your eyes peeled for those four in the description, guys!

Strongman#3: Okay, Lefty!
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Notice how the whispering on p.58 between Kit and Donen is indicated by word balloons with a hashed line!

Well, I hope you all found something interesting in this introduction to an Italian institution! For further introductory reading on Italian fumetti please check out the following Out Of This World blog posts:

On the Trail of Fumetti

Spaghetti Western Fumetti: Lanciostory A.5 #26 - "Come Coda di Volpe Divenne Bandito"

Out Of This World leaves you with a selection of Tex covers from the 1960s and 70s. Enjoy!


Tex #69

Tex #91

Tex #99

Tex #103

Tex #104

Tex #107

Tex #108

Tex #151

Saturday, February 28, 2015

British Girls' Romance Comics: Marilyn 3rd June 1961


British girls' comics of the 1950s through 70s consisted of a complex, stratified assortment of publications designed for specific age-related markets. In retrospect, the most famous became Jackie, which has been discussed previously on this blog. According to James Chapman in his British Comics: A Cultural History:

Jackie formed a bridge "between juvenile girls' comics and another group of publications that appeared in the late 1950s and early 1960s. These were the so-called 'romance' comics exemplified by Amalgamated's Marilyn (1955-65), Valentine (1957-74), and Roxy (1958-63), Pearson's Mirabelle (1956-77), Thomson's Romeo (1957-74), and City Magazines' Boyfriend (1959-66). These titles were intended for older girls (the over-sixteens) and for a short time in the early 1960s they enjoyed significant popularity: Valentine (407,000), Romeo (329,000), Marilyn (314,000), and Mirabelle (224,000) were the best-selling titles (Chapman, 2011).

That's a lot of comics, especially considering they were weekly! But so few seem to have survived. These comics are so rare nowadays that collecting a complete set would be extremely difficult, and very costly. In this post we're going to take a look at a copy of Marilyn, the June 3rd 1961 issue, and dissect it to see what it's made of.

Of particular note is that the first story starts out on the front cover (see above), which seems to have been the norm for the Amalgamated titles (see Valentine 21st December 1963 on Out of This World). Counting the cover, this is a four-pager, untitled, but the art is signed and possibly by the famous Spanish comic artist José de Huéscar. It is certainly a fine piece of work. The story seems to be a cautionary tale because we see Julie (lamenting at another woman's wedding on the front cover) lose the man who loved her, because she wanted too much in the way of material comforts, that he couldn't guarantee on his honest, livable, but working class wage.




Page 5 features advice for young Beat ladies with fair complexions, with the summer just upon them. From what I remember we did have quite a good summer that year in the UK, so it was a timely intervention by the publisher!


While the first story in the comic was complete in four pages, the next is a two page installment in an ongoing court drama and love story. Very nice artwork. Different style.



This next one pager seems to be a regular feature. Tab's a bit of a ladies man, and he has them competing for his attention by having a bake off!


Next, a good old romance comic horoscope, plus an ad for hair dye!


Next, a three page story, another cautionary tale, in which a girl learns a hard lesson when she uses one boy to make another jealous. The artwork, identified by blogger James Zee, is by Eugenio Giner Martí who worked for Spain's Selecciones Illustradas agency.




Next, a full page ad for ODO-RO-NO roll-on deodorant - terrific stuff!!!


Next, a four page text story interspersed with ads and advice on the latest hot platters! British comics, more so than American, are an amalgam of sequential art and text features, so this is British comic tradition. Blogger Phil Rushton tentatively identifies the illustration as the work of prolific British comics artist of the period, Robert MacGillivray.





More nice artwork in this next three page story in which Pam finally finds true love! Thank goodness for that! With all the cautionary tales so far I was thinking there would be few happy endings in this issue!




The next page... well, I have to be honest, I have never heard of the Allisons. It looks like they were trying to be a British version of the Everly Brothers, but their sound had a strong Buddy Holly influence. My wife remembers their song "Are You Sure", which made second place in the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest, and she knows all the words! Oh, and girls, don't forget to grab your copy of Honey! Don't be the one left out!


This next one also seems to be an ongoing saga - "The Heart of a Teenage Girl." Plenty of angst here, and also some fine artwork. Lovely last panel.



The half page ad on this next page tells you that males were not expected to be reading this comic. And they probably, for the most part, did not, in the gender polarized world of the early 1960s. What seems strange looking back, but maybe not, is that there was no equivalent to romance comics for teenage boys, nothing that dealt with relationships anyway. If you were into the military, sports, espionage, or imagining life as a space traveler, there was something for young males.

Quarter page ads for other romance comics by the publisher - Roxy, which as you can see looks similar to Marilyn, and the latest issue of Love Story Library - this is a digest-size romance title like the ones featured recently here on Out Of This World - complete this page.


This next is an interesting version of the problem page. It presents some problematic teenage behavior and asks the reader to contemplate it. The more standard 'agony aunt' type exchange with readers is at the bottom of the page.


This last story is only two pages, and starts out like it's part of an ongoing saga. If so, this is the last installment of this particular story. The art is signed 'Julian' - identified by blogger James Zee as Julian Morote, another artist of the Selecciones Illustradas agency in Spain.



The back cover features a photo of Edd Byrnes, the star of the American TV series 77 Sunset Strip, reflecting the tremendous influence of American pop culture on British audiences at that time.


And that's it. 28 pages for five old UK pennies, while American comics were 10 cents in the USA and nine old UK pennies in the UK, so nearly double the price. The British girls also read American romance comics, but with the British weeklies they had more to look forward to because of frequency of publication. If you include all the digest sized British romance comics, I'd say there were a lot more British romance comics being published than American at that time. You saw from the figures earlier that their print runs were equivalent to their American competitors, but at least four times more frequent! In Aladins Bookshop on Hornsey Road, Islington, in London where I used to buy my second hand comics from the proprietor, Shirley, with her blonde Dusty Springfield beehive hairstyle, in the 1960s when I was a kid, there were large numbers of the digest type British romance comics of all types, probably more available than the American comics I was looking for. But it's all gone with the wind...   ...and on the subject of all things eventually having to pass...

***
R.I.P.
Leonard Nimoy.
May your voyage home to your final destination be full of beauty, bliss, and knowledge.
Thank you for everything you gave us.
***