Magic Man

Will Eisner’s Spirit debuted more than 70 years ago in an innovative format that combined the storytelling format of newsstand comic books with the distribution and frequency of newspaper comic strips.

Called – appropriately enough – “The Spirit Section,” Will Eisner’s masked gumshoe headlined a 16-page, tabloid-sized newsprint comic that appeared in 20 Sunday newspapers from 1940 to 1952. It was a revolutionary move that enabled Eisner – and his many assistants – to perfect the techniques he picked up from the fledgling comic-book field and create material aimed for more mature audiences.

(Another plus: Eisner retained full ownership of the characters he created …)

The early Spirit Sections were rounded out by back-up features Lady Luck (created by Eisner, but artist Klaus Nordling’s version is considered definitive) and Mr. Mystic, a Mandrake-style adventure co-authored by Eisner and Bob Powell.

Mr. Mystic’s origin was typical of the era. An adventurer named “Ken” (no surname required, apparently) gained his powers in Tibet after receiving a tattoo of a powerful, magic symbol on his forehead.

Powell initially drew the stories based upon Eisner’s scripts, but he eventually took over the strip in its entirety until the artist was drafted to fight in World War II. Although Powell’s art on Mr. Mystic was widely hailed by peers, the character itself never achieved much popularity.

Unlike The Spirit and Lady Luck, the crusading magician’s adventures were never reprinted as Quality Comics features.

Mr. Mystic ended its run in 1944, by which time Fred Guardineer had taken over the strip.

The following story is credited to “W. Morgan Thomas” (a pseudonym used before by Eisner for Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle) and Powell. Since the “Shadowman” character bears a striking similarity to one of Powell’s most famous creations,  The Man In Black, I suspect the artist’s involvement in this particular adventure extends beyond pencilling and inking duties.

This story was originally published in the March 30, 1941 edition of The Spirit Section.

Soul Power

One of my favorite Golden Age artists, Bob Powell, vividly brings the following Dickensian tale to life.

“The Soul Of Benjamin Sprague” originally appeared in Weird Thrillers #3 (Ziff-Davis, Spring 1952), but these particular scans are taken from a reprint published two years later in Nightmare #13 (St.John Publications, August 1954).

Don’t Fear The Reaper

Bob Powell’s “The Man In Black” is one of the more interesting – if obscure – ongoing characters from the Golden Age Of Comics.

The personification of death – later toned down to “destiny” – the character usually narrated O. Henry-style tales of individuals caught up in forces beyond their comprehension.

Yet unlike EC’s later horror personalities – i.e. The Crypt Keeper, The Old Witch and The Vault-Keeper – the Man In Black also took an active role in many of his appearances and even interacted with a supporting cast that included the human embodiments of “time,” “mischief,” Christian angels and the Three Blind Fates from Greek mythology.

In that respect, “Mr. Twilight” and company can be viewed as predecessors to Neil Gaiman’s Endless. Was Mr. Gaiman familiar with Powell’s work?

The following story contains such elements and more, as Powell employs many of the cinematic techniques Will Eisner and his studio heaped upon The Spirit. That’s definitely no accident, as Powell himself once worked for Eisner.

From Green Hornet Fights Crime #35, Harvey Comics (May-June, 1947), here’s The Man In Black. The story and art are by Bob Powell.

Twice Alive

When given the room to stretch, Bob Powell proved he was one of the most inventive artists of the Golden Age … or any other comic book era for that matter.

The following story cleverly plays to Fawcett Publications’ fondness for delving into the mysteries of the “Great Beyond,” but the real star of this show is Powell’s freaky imagery. Just imagine what this guy could have done with a Doctor Strange story …

From Worlds Beyond #1 (Fawcett, 1951), here’s “Twice Alive.”

Crusade For Vengeance

Bob Powell was one of the greatest artists of comics’ golden age.

Renowned for his “good girl” art on such strips as Sheena and Cave Girl, Powell also displayed a cinematic flair on numerous crime, horror, super-hero, and romance comics. Heck, he excelled in just about any genre you could imagine.

This particular story was taken from the first issue of Magazine Enterprises’ I’m A Cop, a hard-boiled detective strip that owed more than a small debt to Jack Webb’s Dragnet. Powell’s effective use of inventive “camera angles,” coupled with the artist’s ability to convey genuine human emotion through a character’s facial expression, lifted the series above mere pastiche.

Oh yeah … there’s plenty of action as well.

From 1954, here’s “Crusade For Vengeance.”