Black Cat Mystery, no. 57
<em>Black Cat</em> went through a number of title changes from its launch in 1946 to its eventual end in 1963. Initially a title named after the "Black Cat," a stunt woman and actress named Linda Turner who dons a costume to fight crime, the series would change formats to a Western, horror, and mystery title. Perhaps in response to the 1954 Comics Code, this issue boasts a "NEW DESIGN in mystery." It moves away from the scantily-clad heroine of the series, singled out in Fredric Wertham's <em>Seduction of the Innocent</em> as one of the negative influences on the youth of America because of Black Cat's penchant for hand-to-hand combat. This revised <em>Black Cat</em> title features suspense and science fiction stories. The cover references "20th Century Man," a story in this issue that is "told in the format of a television show. The story panels become your TV screen and the suspense of its awful problems comes to life before your eyes." Notably, the cover to this issue is pencilled and inked by famed comics artist Jack Kirby, co-creator of the Avengers, Captain America, the X-Men, and much more. (Reference: Harry Mendryk, "Harvey Horror and Science Fiction: Black Cat Mystery #57," Jack Kirby Museum, 12 April 2012. http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/4373 )
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Stephen+Neil+Cooper+Synchronic+Comic+Book+Collection%2C+CARCSC-055">Stephen Neil Cooper Synchronic Comic Book Collection, CARCSC-055</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=45&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Harvey">Harvey</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jan+-+Mar+1956">Jan - Mar 1956</a>
Editor: Harvey, Leon H. (Leon Harvey), 1901-
Penciler & Inker: Kirby, Jack
Letterer: Rosen, Joe
<em>RIT Libraries makes materials from its collections available for educational and research purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. It is your responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder to publish or reproduce images in print or electronic form.</em>
English
Still image
blackcatmystery_057_cover.jpg
Strange Adventures, no. 67
A science fiction anthology comic, <em>Strange Adventures</em> features a cover penciled and inked by renowned artists Gil Kane and Joe Giella. The cover telegraphs the issue's opening story, written by John Broome and drawn by the same artistic team, in which a martian arrives on Earth to influence human development, only to realize that humans can innovate on their own. After drawing this conclusion, and in a moment of metacommentary on the science fiction genre, the martian arrives at the editorial office of <em>Strange Adventures</em> to tell his story. Notably, this science fiction comic is the origin point of our Stephen Neil Cooper Synchronic Collection of Comic Books. The collector Stephen Cooper remembered reading this issue's second story, "Search for a Lost World!," written by science fiction writer Edmond Hamilton, penciled by Sid Greene, and inked by Joe Giella. In Cooper's own words, "I was reading a story about a guy who was getting larger and larger, and still larger, until he grew so incredibly colossal that the enormous planets of the solar system simply passed through him. What? My pea-sized brain struggled with this cosmic-sized vision" (34). Cooper's mind-opening encounter with this comic led him, many years later, to track down this issue of <em>Strange Adventures</em>, and then to track down every title on newsstands at that time in April 1956, "in order to fully recapture the comic book Zeitgeist of that momentous day in my life!" (35). Because of his effort, we can now all look back at this snapshot of comic book and cultural history. (Reference: Steve Cooper, "The Odyssey of a Synchronic Collector," <em>Comic Book Marketplace</em> 67 (March 1999): 32-51.)
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=48&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Stephen+Neil+Cooper+Synchronic+Comic+Book+Collection%2C+CARCSC-055">Stephen Neil Cooper Synchronic Comic Book Collection, CARCSC-055</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=45&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=DC">DC</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Apr+1956">Apr 1956</a>
Ellsworth, Whitney, 1908-1980 (Editor)
Schwartz, Julius, 1915-2004 (Editor)
Kane, Gil (Penciler)
Giella, Joe (Inker)
Schnapp, Ira (Colorist)
<em>RIT Libraries makes materials from its collections available for educational and research purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. It is your responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder to publish or reproduce images in print or electronic form.</em>
English
Still image
strangeadventures_067_cover.jpg