tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30244204411097561322024-03-13T04:31:28.970-07:00Cole's ComicsThe comic book stories and cartoons of Jack Cole shared and considered.Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-43896333438152629392018-04-19T17:42:00.003-07:002018-05-13T21:21:42.908-07:00It's All Jake With Me: New original Jack Cole art surfaces at auction!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gGU227czRG0/WtkwvzVZIRI/AAAAAAAAPPA/yn528hnrPgQJ73I-Qf6HJmoZysSZ-cUEACLcBGAs/s1600/Jack%2BCole%2BHumorama%2Bcartoon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="705" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gGU227czRG0/WtkwvzVZIRI/AAAAAAAAPPA/yn528hnrPgQJ73I-Qf6HJmoZysSZ-cUEACLcBGAs/s320/Jack%2BCole%2BHumorama%2Bcartoon.JPG" width="313" /></a></div>
<a href="https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/jack-cole-as-jake-stare-gag-illustration-original-art-humorama-1969-/a/7187-93073.s?type=wantlistid-341676!creatorid-cewl!linkclicked-lotlink!emailid-04192018-021357.932AM-1470380-341676!itemid-7187_217005!wlem" target="_blank">Lot #93073</a> in Heritage Auction's 2018 May 10 - 12 Comic Art Signature Auction, featured a stunning example of Jack Cole's post-Plastic Man girlie magazine art.<br />
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Signed under the pen name of "Jake," this 13 inches high bristol board beauty bulges with a barely-bound bosomy blast to the bean (and beyond).<br />
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But this cartoon is more than just a pretty face. Check out the demented, reptilian leer of the bow-tied squeezer. I detect a palpable note of disapproval in Cole's portrayal. In his girlie cartoons, Cole either drew men as sad, impotent wrecks, or self-assured jerks. The latter is in play, here.<br />
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A fairly large digital image, courtesy of Heritage Auctions, allows us to study and appreciate Cole's polished mastery of ink and brush. His composition is designed to draw the eye exactly to where the action will transpire in about one second. And take note Cole was, by this time, displaying skill as a fashion artist. The sleek dinner jackets of the men and especially the incredible meringue of a dress adorning the central figure are superbly realized.<br />
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Famous for his <i>Playboy</i> magazine cartoons, Cole sold lots of work to the Martin Goodman line of digest-sized men's mags called the Humorama line. This cartoon, according to the auction notes, appeared on the cover of a steamy little item named <i>Joker</i>. I don't have the issue information or an image of the cover, but here are two other<i> Joker</i> covers with Jack Cole art, to give you an idea of how it might have been used.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-etb4vPc4r3M/Wtk0gpG__0I/AAAAAAAAPPM/vI6l3Q44HsAXUeB9-ZzRKZ7p28oVckynQCLcBGAs/s1600/Joker%2BFeb%2B1955%2B6%2BJake%2Bcartoons%2Binside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="700" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-etb4vPc4r3M/Wtk0gpG__0I/AAAAAAAAPPM/vI6l3Q44HsAXUeB9-ZzRKZ7p28oVckynQCLcBGAs/s640/Joker%2BFeb%2B1955%2B6%2BJake%2Bcartoons%2Binside.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
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And here is the original art up for auction. The piece sold for $2,629.00. That's a lot of toothpaste to squeeze out of one cartoon! Or, to put it another way: that's a lotta jack, Jack!</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KgM88HWZwR4/Wtk2SBTS8gI/AAAAAAAAPPg/K0ABpuy7H4QK0Tytl0eJrTE--K9K5HClQCLcBGAs/s1600/Jake%2Bheritage%2Bauctions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1240" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KgM88HWZwR4/Wtk2SBTS8gI/AAAAAAAAPPg/K0ABpuy7H4QK0Tytl0eJrTE--K9K5HClQCLcBGAs/s640/Jake%2Bheritage%2Bauctions.jpg" width="496" /></a></div>
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<i>Courtesy Heritage Auctions</i></div>
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All text (c) 2018 Paul C. Tumey</div>
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<br />Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-10012661344528608902014-03-05T10:11:00.001-08:002014-03-05T10:11:13.423-08:00Jack Cole's Higrass Twins 1940: Money Madness!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbL1wFpqQRM/UxdniEObQ7I/AAAAAAAAMYg/8e_eKsTS_K8/s1600/Jack+Cole+Target+3+Higrass+Twins+blog+title+Paul+Tumey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbL1wFpqQRM/UxdniEObQ7I/AAAAAAAAMYg/8e_eKsTS_K8/s1600/Jack+Cole+Target+3+Higrass+Twins+blog+title+Paul+Tumey.jpg" /></a></div>
It's been far too long since I've posted anything new here at Cole's Comics. Most of my comics scholarship and writing energy has been directed towards books and magazines. As some of you may know, I am now a regular columnist and reviewer for <i>The Comics Journal</i>. I also recently co-edited and wrote essays for <i>The Art of Rube Goldberg</i> (Abrams ComicArts, 2013). Just recently, I completed an introduction to the upcoming book, <i>The Bungle Family 1930</i> (IDW Library of American Comics Essentials). Doing this work gets me a broad readership -- but mostly it pays <b>money</b>, hoo hah!<br />
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Speaking of money, here's a great example of Jack Cole's screwball comics that revolves around the theme of money. As a near-starving artist in New York City at the time he created this story, Cole no doubt had his money on his mind, and his mind on his money, as the song goes.<br />
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These scans are generously provided to us by the gifted artist and Jack Cole fan Ryan Heshka, who scanned them from his own very rare copy of <i><b>Target Comics #3</b></i>. Be sure to check out Ryan's super cool art at his <a href="http://www.ryanheshka.com/" target="_blank">website</a> (and I'm not just saying that because Ryan was nice enuff to supply scans -- I really DO love his art).<br />
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Cole did four of the curiously named Higrass Twins stories. He drew these while he was working at the Harry "A" Chesler shop, and they were sold to Novelty Press, who published them in issues one through four of their new title, <i><b>Target Comics</b></i>. For the other three Higrass Twins stories, <a href="http://www.colescomics.blogspot.com/2009/06/higrass-twins-target-comics-1940.html" target="_blank">see this earlier post</a>.<br />
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Here, now, are three pages of insane comics from the early years of comics master Jack Cole, originally published in <i>Target Comics #3</i> (Novelty Press - April, 1940).<br />
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That is All,</div>
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Screwball Paul</div>
<br />Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-31356670024527035092013-10-31T13:53:00.001-07:002013-11-01T07:22:08.049-07:00Dark Plas Halloween 2013: Plastic Man Stakes Out A Vampire!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0qXxfokYt9c/UnK5CXSDy-I/AAAAAAAAL-k/fqm8EiK-_kc/s1600/Jack+Cole+Haloween+2013+Paul+Tumey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0qXxfokYt9c/UnK5CXSDy-I/AAAAAAAAL-k/fqm8EiK-_kc/s320/Jack+Cole+Haloween+2013+Paul+Tumey.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!<br />
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For the last 3 Halloweens, I've posted about the strange, dark last comic book stories of Jack Cole's career as a comic book artist.<br />
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This year, I present to you "The Evil Terror?" from <i>Plastic Man #43</i> (November, 1953). This 10-page saga fluttering around a bat-winged vampire in the best Universal-Studios-Bela-Lugosi tradition is one of the last Plastic Man stories -- perhaps the very last one -- that Jack Cole appears to have created.<br />
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As <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search?q=web+of+evil" target="_blank">I've written about earlier</a>, the comic book stories Jack Cole wrote and drew in the early 1950s embraced the horror genre with the same verve and intensity that his 1940s comics embraced screwball humor. A strong argument can be made that Cole's 1950s horror stories reflect the undercurrent of anxiety and terror present in Cold War America. These stories are filled with images of people cowering in shadows, frozen with terror.<br />
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At some point in the late 1940's, Cole sat down at his drawing table and drew a three panel sequence (one of the many delights that will be found in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Blighted-Eye-Glenn-Bray/dp/1606996959/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383251433&sr=8-1&keywords=glenn+bray" target="_blank">The Blighted Eye</a>, the upcoming volume by the legendary comics historian, archivist, and collector Glenn Bray) that represented a startling departure from his popular bigfoot-superhero style employed to great success in his Plastic Man stories. The drawings were realistic, not rubbery. In the sequence, a man and a woman embrace in a passionate kiss. The scene is set in a luxuriant, modern city apartment. The panels are filled with delicious black shadows that define the many objects in the room, the drapery of the character's clothes, and even the strands of their hair. On the extreme right side of the sequence, Cole drew a small caricature of himself and penned a note to his Quality Comics publisher, "Busy" Arnold: "Romantical stuff, huh, Busy? Just wondering if you'd like to give me a trial on a serious strip, for a change? Yes? No? I await! Jack"<br />
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Cole, an indefatigable innovator, had become interested in creating a new style of comics, with a more realistic feel. Arnold and his editors did give Cole more serious strips -- but instead of romance, they made Cole the signature artist of their new horror title, <i>Web of Evil</i>, where Cole wrote and drew one or two stories for the first dozen or so issues.<a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search?q=web+of+evil" target="_blank">Some of those stories</a> are reprinted and discussed on this blog. A new volume collecting some of these stories has just been released from IDW, edited by Craig Yoe.<br />
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Cole also transformed his Plastic Man stories from baroque screwball comic operas to nightmarish, anxiety-ridden dramas of dread. It was as if Plas and Woozy suddenly began to know the future held nothing but horror -- and they dreaded it with existential despair. Many readers, including me, have missed that these last Plastic Man stories are sometimes (not always) by Jack Cole (often with others finishing the art and inking). In earlier posts, I have explained why I think that certain of these stories, including the Plastic Man horror stories, which I call "Dark Plas" are indeed the work of Jack Cole.<br />
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In "The Evil Terror?" Cole once again invests his masterpiece comics creation with some of his trademark screwball humor. It's as if, for this last effort, he had come full circle from goofy humor comics, to dark parables of horror and dread, and then back to humor. As a creator of sequential graphic narratives, Jack Cole was something akin to a roller coaster speeding across the tracks, veering from side to side from light to dark, humor to horror -- and we see that happening in the span of this story.<br />
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As a result, "The Evil Terror?" reads overall like an episode of Scooby Doo. As with the popular animated series, it turns out there is a mundane explanation for the seemingly supernatural element in the adventure. The scene on page 8, where Woozy Winks raids the fridge is a parallel to the pothead Shaggy who is eternally cursed with the munchies.<br />
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Nonetheless, the story is filled with potent, masterful images of existential terror that are worth your time to peruse, especially on Halloween!<br />
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<b>"The Evil Terror?" by Jack Cole - <i>Plastic Man #43</i> (November, 1953)</b></div>
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<h3>
<b><i>More Dark Plas!</i></b></h3>
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<b><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/10/dark-plas-special-halloween-post.html" target="_blank">"The Stairway to Madness" (January, 1953)</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/10/beautiful-sexy-witch-melts-plastic-man.html" target="_blank">"The Witch of Wailing Woods" (July, 1953)</a></b></div>
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All text copyright 2013 by Paul Tumey.</div>
Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-52168791348781564402013-08-25T11:57:00.001-07:002013-08-25T12:03:35.829-07:00It's Jake With Me - Stretching PAST Playboy in 1963<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here's three of Jack Cole's sexy vintage girlie cartoons, signed as "Jake." These were drawn in the mid-fifties, either just before or in the first years that Jack Cole provided cartoons to <i>Playboy</i> magazine.<br />
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Cole's mid-fifties "Jake" cartoons are looser than his Playboy material, but no less remarkable for the astonishing visions of feminine beauty they capture. As always, there is a rich subtext in Cole's work, usually built on the chaos in men's souls that these estrogen confections cause.</div>
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Cole died in 1958. However, his cartoons continued to appear on the newsstands for years after his death -- usually reprints, but in some cases first publications of stockpiled inventory. I recently grabbed three lovely and funny Jake images from online auctions of 1963 "Humorama" digests. </div>
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The first is a back cover of a February, 1963 Laugh Digest. Cole's original cartoon is done in gray ink washes. The publishers have ham-handedly added in a semi-transparent red in the background and on the flower that sits in the woman's hair. Nonetheless, the gag is funny and the cartoon is fascinating for the portrayal of the terrified soldier. Our brave, tough men could face down commies, but when it comes to lustful beauties in low-cut dresses, <i>that</i> was another matter entirely!</div>
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A Cole classic appeared on the cover of a Humorama digest dated September 1963, making two very good points:</div>
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Everything in this clever composition (again clumsily colored by someone other than Cole) points to the woman's breasts: the gaze of the three figures, her arm and legs, and even the sign in the background. A looser Cole composition, with a typically offbeat gag, appeared on the first page of a Humorama digest dated December, 1963:</div>
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This cartoon is supposed to feel a little looser, to help convey the gyrations and jounces of the dancer. Look at the study in contrast Cole gives us between the sexy dancer and the sexless women of charity. The dancer is all curves and decorative patterns -- the charity workers are sagging lines and dull costumes. The joke is read and felt in a second, as it should be.</div>
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The editor(s) of these pulpy, sex-drenched digests appear to have valued their stock of Jack Cole cartoons, judging by their prime placements on covers, back covers, and splash pages. Even five years after his death, Jack Cole was "Jake" with the public.</div>
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Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out my column at The Comics Journal, <i><a href="http://www.tcj.com/category/columns/framed/" target="_blank">Framed!</a></i> -- in which I pull together some of this blog's work on Jack Cole as well discuss many other interesting things.</div>
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- Paul Tumey</div>
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Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-460135319687164692013-08-06T09:14:00.000-07:002013-08-06T09:14:00.046-07:00Jack Cole's 1938 Screwball Comics <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One spring morning in 1938, Jack Cole walked the 10 or 15 blocks from his Greenwich Village apartment to a broken down old five-story warehouse on West 23rd. On the street, trucks rattled by, and dozens of other people were entering similar buildings to run tiny little factories that made everything from clothes to hardware. The factory Cole reported to, the Harry "A" Chesler Shop, made comic books.<br />
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He took the rickety elevator up to the fourth floor, said good morning to his boss, Harry Chesler, who at at a desk just outside the elevator. Chesler, a stout, round-faced man, was wearing a vest with a watch chain, a derby, and smoking a cigar. Cole walked past him into the large rented room in which several artists were already hard at work, hunched over their drawing boards. "Good morning Fred. Bob. Charlie." Cole greeted a few of his colleagues and sat down to work.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9eCTSGX1Djc/Uf0mKY1vLdI/AAAAAAAALmE/ybvWOjJI748/s1600/coco_cvr.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9eCTSGX1Djc/Uf0mKY1vLdI/AAAAAAAALmE/ybvWOjJI748/s320/coco_cvr.png" width="224" /></a>This is how I imagine the scenario of Cole's first months drawing comics. He had moved to New York City in late 1937 or early 1938 with his wife, Dorothy. Cole had come to New York to establish himself as a magazine gag cartoonist. He had managed to break in to several top markets, most notably <i>Collier's</i> and Judge. And he was selling regularly to <i>Boy's Life</i>. But his progress was too slow and he was running out of money and time. He very likely answered an ad in the <i>New York Times</i>, and found himself working for Harry "A" Chesler, an entrepreneur who hired artists to create comic book stories that he then sold to publishers.<br />
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Over his first few months at the Chesler Studio in early 1938, Cole began to develop into a comic book artist, moving from gaga panels and spot illustrations to one- and two-page sequential narratives. In spring or early summer of 1938, Chesler was hired by Quality COmics (Cole's future employer) to produce an advertising giveaway book for them. the book, <i>The Cocomalt Big Book of Comics</i>, was printed around August 1938, and featured several of Cole's early pages. It's possible that Cole was even hired by Chesler to be the art director of the book, which could account for the use of so much of his material as compared to other artists.<br />
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<strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Cocomalt</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> was a powdery vitamin additive to milk. Mothers in the 1930's and 40's were urged to save their children from malnutrition with a steady diet of the "sunlight vitamin." The product vanished from the shelves of American grocery markets sometime in the 1950's, well before I landed on this crazy lump of coal we call Earth. Reportedly, Cocomalt was as hard to mix with milk as oil with water.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Nevertheless, it must have been a popular product, due, if nothing else, to a hefty advertising budget. Cocomalt sponsored radio shows, buried cool </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Buck Rogers</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> paper ray guns in the canisters of powder, and gave away numerous free premiums.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Cocomalt Big Book of Comics</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> was one such premium, published in 1938, and by Quality Publications (although no publisher, or month is listed anywhere on the book). The cover of the book is by </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Charles Biro</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">, and features radio star </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Joe Penner</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">. I'm just guessing here, but probably Cocomalt sponsored Penner's radio show.</span><br />
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When I wrote about this book a few years ago, I missed some of Cole's art in the book, and attributed work done by others to him. After years of study, I've developed a better "eye" for Cole's art, and can now correct the record.<br />
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Cole's first page in the book is a one-pager called "Insurance Ike." It appears that Cole did not create this character, since there are earlier episodes published before Cole joined the Chesler shop. This page is filled with Cole's life. The dialogue Ike has with his reflection in the mirror may have been a reflection of how Cole was feeling about his life at the time, as he struggled to make it as a cartoonist.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XaSe4_gfonY/Uf0nxJcUH5I/AAAAAAAALmU/z-rNf7xY-1A/s1600/193800+Cocomalt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XaSe4_gfonY/Uf0nxJcUH5I/AAAAAAAALmU/z-rNf7xY-1A/s400/193800+Cocomalt+1.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
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I've written more on this page and Cole's 1938 work in my latest column, <i>Framed!</i> for <i>The Comics Journal</i>. You can find it <a href="http://www.tcj.com/category/columns/framed/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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In his next page, Cole draws radio comedian Joe Penner. The first panel is a pun in Penner's name. In true screwball comics fashion, Cole uses a lot of funny background signs in this page. The cigar smoking duck sidekick in panel two is a winner -- one wishes Cole had used this character more.<br />
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Cole's next contribution in the Cocomalt book is a two-page King Kole's Kourt. Despite the play on Cole's name, this was a series that Chesler had run since 1935, long before Jack Cole came along. Again, the subject matter Cole chooses is concerned with meeting expenses.</div>
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I missed this years ago, but Cole provides some great illustrations for three pages of sheet music. The song is co-written by Joe Penner. This may be the only instance of Cole providing spot art for sheet music.There are lots of great screwball gags worked into the art, including inverted coo coo calls from cuckoo birds.</div>
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Cole also leans on his experience creating magazine gag panels. In the "Myrth-Parade" one-pager, he contributes three gags: panels two, three, and six. Panel six features an early sexy girl. Panel one appears to be by <b>Bob Wood</b>, and panel five is by <b>Fred Schwab</b>. Panel four may be a collaboration between Jack Cole and Fred Schwab.</div>
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Cole's last contribution to The Cocomal Big Book of Comics is another gag panel. The fourth panel in this page is by Cole, with the other panels being by other Chesler artists (that's Fred Schwab in panel two).</div>
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It's intriguing to think that the Cocomalt Big Book of Comics was Cole's first editing job, but we probably will never really know for sure. What we can be sure of is that, within a few months of joining the Harry "A" Chesler shop, Cole was already standing out with comics that were highly original and invested with manic comic energy.</div>
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For more about Jack Cole's 1938 work with Chesler, see my new <i>Comics Journal</i> article, <a href="http://www.tcj.com/category/columns/framed/" target="_blank">The Lost Comics of Jack Cole - Part Two (1938)</a>.</div>
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Thanks for reading,</div>
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Paul Tumey</div>
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<br />Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-23254740381072182722013-07-01T15:42:00.001-07:002013-07-01T15:46:17.752-07:00Announcements: New Cole Article at The Comics Journal, Upcoming Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As of today, July 1, 2013, I have a new column at the online magazine, The Comics Journal. Co-editors <b>Dan Nadel</b> and <b>Tim Hodler</b> very kindly responded to my query ("Hey guys, want some writing?") and then patiently waited four months for me to produce something.<br />
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I'm kicking off the new column with a four-part series called <b>"The Lost Comics of Jack Cole."</b> The first part (1931-8) can be read <a href="http://www.tcj.com/the-lost-comics-of-jack-cole-part-1-1931-38/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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This long piece includes 36 cartoons, comics, photos, and rare images -- 16 of which never made it onto this blog.<br />
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But, more than that, I've discovered that putting all these little bits and pieces of the "lost" Jack Cole together into a chronological framework sheds light on the life and career of this secretive, influential 20th century master of pop culture. I hope you'll <a href="http://www.tcj.com/the-lost-comics-of-jack-cole-part-1-1931-38/" target="_blank">check it out</a> and leave a comment there to encourage the editors to run more stuff like this.<br />
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One the reasons Dan and Tim had to wait four months for this piece was that, around the time they hired me, I landed a wonderful opportunity to write an essay for the upcoming 500 foot long by 300 foot wide Sunday Press book, <i><b>Society Is Nix: Gleeful Anarchy At The Dawn of the Newspaper Comic Strip (1896-1915</b></i>). My essay in the book is called <b>"Mule Kicks: The Roots of Screwball Comics."</b> I also was a contributing editor, helping out publisher and editor <b>Peter Maresca</b> on researching and writing about 50 mini-biographies of cartoonists represented in this amazing book. It's due out around August 1 and might even make an early appearance at the San Diego Con -- look for it -- it's gonna be a REVELATION. Here's the cover:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D68z9nrWU1Y/UdICRclwyWI/AAAAAAAALXE/SoMwXHj4aBw/s1600/SOCIETY+IS+NIX+CVR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D68z9nrWU1Y/UdICRclwyWI/AAAAAAAALXE/SoMwXHj4aBw/s400/SOCIETY+IS+NIX+CVR.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming around August 1, 2013 from Sunday Press</td></tr>
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Just when I finished up the Sunday Press project, Abrams ComicArts editor Charlie Kochman kicked his work on <i>The Art of Rube Goldberg</i> into overdrive. I actually worked day and night for a short while on this with him (I am co-editor of the volume). This book, a huge coffee table art book on the Great Cartoonist will have a slew of original essays from greats like <b>Al Jaffe</b>, <b>Brian Walker</b>, <b>Peter Maresca</b> (my publisher/editor at Sunday Press), <b>Carl Linich</b>, and best of all - from Rube's talented, funny grand-daughter, Jennifer George (who put the whole book together). I've got an essay in the book, as well. You can <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Rube-Goldberg-Inventive/dp/141970852X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1372717910&sr=8-2&keywords=the+art+of+rube" target="_blank">check it out on Amazon here</a>, and here's the cover art:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l6-aBzI4LJw/UdIDioNVGYI/AAAAAAAALXU/y54_07DzF-E/s1167/The+Art+of+Rube+Goldberg+Front+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l6-aBzI4LJw/UdIDioNVGYI/AAAAAAAALXU/y54_07DzF-E/s400/The+Art+of+Rube+Goldberg+Front+Cover.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And now, since you've been kind enuff to read through all this shameless self-promotion, here's an actual piece of rare Cole art. Even though this ran in a 1944 Chesler publication called Punch Comics, it was clearly done much earlier -- probably in 1938 or 1939 when he was working as a staff artist at the Chesler Shop. It may have been published in some as yet unidentified comic (if so, probably a Centaur publication), or it may have been something Cole did which was kept in inventory. In any case, it's pretty swell -- a whole, artfully designed page of gag cartoons around the theme of travel trailers!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AJyo7c5y_BU/UdIEYo3twRI/AAAAAAAALXo/fF6YdFKza3M/s1600/194407+Punch+9+July+1944+Jack+Cole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AJyo7c5y_BU/UdIEYo3twRI/AAAAAAAALXo/fF6YdFKza3M/s640/194407+Punch+9+July+1944+Jack+Cole.jpg" width="440" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Punch Comics #9</i> (Harry "A" Chesler, July 1944)</td></tr>
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More soon!<br />
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Thanks for Reading,<br />
Paul "O'Brian" Tumey<br />
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<br />Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-79936670758411970632013-03-16T16:40:00.000-07:002013-03-24T17:36:14.925-07:00An Unpublished 1940 Sub-Zero Cover by Jack Cole <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p3KRH-1Q2U0/UUTrCSFtlZI/AAAAAAAAK1w/Mp4ZfbfzCSQ/s1600/Untitled-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p3KRH-1Q2U0/UUTrCSFtlZI/AAAAAAAAK1w/Mp4ZfbfzCSQ/s1600/Untitled-2.jpg" /></a></div>
Here's a super-cool rare piece of previously unpublished early superhero art by Jack Cole that provides a small revelation about his early career. It's a cover rough featuring <b>Sub-Zero Man</b>, a character that Jack Cole is not known to have ever drawn.<br />
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"What's a cover rough?" You may be asking.<br />
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In the cartoon and comics biz, a "rough" is simply a preliminary version of a finished piece of art. It's done to give the publisher an idea of where the artist is headed with the piece, and allows for adjustments to be made. This is a common practice, even today. It saves the artist time, and it makes sure the publisher gets what they want.<br />
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The files and archives of old comics publishers are probably filled with unpublished cover roughs. At some point in the past, the comics historian and writer <b>Ron Goulart</b> appears to have gotten access to the files for a 1940s comics packager called Funnies, Inc., and he photocopied from these files a rare, previously unknown cover rough by Jack Cole. As you may know, Ron wrote <i><b>Focus on Jack Cole</b></i> (Seattle: Fantagraphics Books, 1986)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FFv825oV9xc/UUTtcZuzbJI/AAAAAAAAK14/zOewFxs6GBg/s1600/61eGl+q7vLL._SL500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FFv825oV9xc/UUTtcZuzbJI/AAAAAAAAK14/zOewFxs6GBg/s320/61eGl+q7vLL._SL500_.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
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Decades later, Ron Goulart put the photocopy (which was never published) up for sale on ebay, and I bought it to share with the world's Jack Cole fans. Feel free to thank me. :) Here's the art:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-loPDpyfVjlc/UUTwO6ChybI/AAAAAAAAK2I/Rv0Fz2545KM/s1600/Sub-Zero+Man+by+Jack+Cole+Novelty+Press.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-loPDpyfVjlc/UUTwO6ChybI/AAAAAAAAK2I/Rv0Fz2545KM/s640/Sub-Zero+Man+by+Jack+Cole+Novelty+Press.jpg" width="496" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Cole's unpublished cover rough for <i>Sub-Zero Man</i>. January 1940<br />
(From the collection of Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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Ah, that beautiful pointed exclamation mark!<br />
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Information on the art identifies it as a cover rough and tells us it was drawn by Jack Cole for Novelty Press. The art has a date stamp of <b>January 15, 1940</b>. We know that Jack Cole wrote and drew a few comic book stories for Novelty Press that were published in the early 1940s. These stories appeared in Target Comics Volume 1, Number 1 through Volume 1, Number 4 (the January, 1940 through May, 1940 issues). The stories were "bigfoot" style humor features called <b>The Higrass Twins</b>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2266QWrShU/UUTvHAX4sGI/AAAAAAAAK2A/bXj9-PuNqOM/s1600/Target1.p1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2266QWrShU/UUTvHAX4sGI/AAAAAAAAK2A/bXj9-PuNqOM/s640/Target1.p1.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The splash page of Jack Cole's HiGrass Twins story from Target Comics Volume 1, Number 1 (January, 1940)</td></tr>
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It's interesting to know that Cole was also developing a superhero feature for packager Funnies, Inc. (who sold to Novelty Press -- confusing, isn't it?). Also in early 1940, he created a superhero for MLJ called The Comet. Note how similar the pose is in this splash panel below to the Sub-Zero Man's pose above.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m83Px1JUtNo/UUT5wK4ll5I/AAAAAAAAK2g/WQW38kZUf0I/s1600/pep_02_138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m83Px1JUtNo/UUT5wK4ll5I/AAAAAAAAK2g/WQW38kZUf0I/s640/pep_02_138.jpg" width="444" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Cole's second Comet story, from Pep Comics #2, MLJ - February, 1940)</td></tr>
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Clearly, around this time, Cole was developing his own approach to an exciting visual depiction of a superhero in flight. His early solutions are almost pornographic, with his characters wearing skin-tight suits that reveal every curve and muscle of their taut buttocks. Despite his name, Jack Cole's Sub-Zero Man is well, kinda <i>hot</i>.<br />
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It's also interesting to compare the Sub-Zero art with the black and white ink wash cartoons Cole published in Boy's Life magazine in early 1940:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aflUNbWWvrA/UUT9GxD30oI/AAAAAAAAK2o/hCZyIJ8UwnY/s1600/Jack+Cole+Sub-Zero+Man+and+Boy's+Life+cartoons+1939+1940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aflUNbWWvrA/UUT9GxD30oI/AAAAAAAAK2o/hCZyIJ8UwnY/s400/Jack+Cole+Sub-Zero+Man+and+Boy's+Life+cartoons+1939+1940.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In 1939 and 1940, Cole had developed a commercially viable black and white ink wash technique, that included using white paint on top of the black ink to indicate sound and motion. Both his superhero and his humor cartoon work of this period vividly depict bodies flying through the air. His work of this period was an important stepping stone to his creation of Plastic Man, his masterpiece.<br />
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However, the newly surfaced 1940 Sub-Zero cover art raises as many unanswered questions as it answers. The biggest question is: did Jack Cole create the character of Sub-Zero Man? Did he also create a Sub-Zero story to accompany this cover?<br />
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Even though no Cole-drawn Sub-Zero stories exist, the character was indeed published in Novelty Press comics, a few months after the date of this art. The first appearance was in <i><b>Blue Bolt Volume 1, Number 1 </b></i>(June, 1940), which featured work by Joe Simon (of Simon and Kirby). Here's the first Sub-Zero story, signed by a "Larry Antonette." Even though the finished art is not by Cole, it does have the feel of his early superhero work, with manic energy, huge natural disasters, vindictive heroes, and bizarre fates for wrong-doers. See what you think:<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">I'm sure that </span><a href="http://panelologicalpantheon.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Mr. Mason Moray, the eminent panelologist</a><span style="text-align: left;">, could shed some light on aritst Antonette's life and career -- he seems to know reams of information about the obscure creative talents that worked in 1940s American comics. But, the really interesting artist to work on Sub-Zero is Golden Age great Bill Everett. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ysJx2i-b6lA/UUT44QnjzzI/AAAAAAAAK2Y/16dss1rJnCY/s1600/Bill+Everett+Sub-Zero+Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ysJx2i-b6lA/UUT44QnjzzI/AAAAAAAAK2Y/16dss1rJnCY/s640/Bill+Everett+Sub-Zero+Man.jpg" width="448" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Everett's first Sub-Zero story from Blue Bolt Vol. 1, Number 5 (October, 1940)</td></tr>
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Did you catch the similarity between the names of Sub-Zero and Everett's most famous creation: The Sub-mariner (first published in October, 1939 -- eight months prior to Sub-Zero's first appearance). And how about this: another feature in <i>Blue Bolt</i> was called Dick Cole -- and Jack Cole's brother was named Dick. Is any of this connected? Was it an in-joke? Did Cole write some early superhero material for Funnies, Inc. that was later developed by others? </div>
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We know Jack Cole was prolific, ambitious, and hard-working -- so could there be yet more unpublished early Jack Cole art out there, somewhere?</div>
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At this point, these questions must go unanswered.</div>
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But, we can certainly appreciate the raw, primal ZOOM power of Cole's lost Golden Age superhero comic book cover!</div>
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'Till Next Time,</div>
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Paul Tumey</div>
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<a href="http://screwballcomics.blogspot.com/2013/03/more-screwball-dinky-dinkerton-and-art.html" target="_blank"><b>Go see this</b></a></div>
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<b>So where did Jack Cole get his screwball sensibility from? Be sure to check out my other blog, The Masters of Screwball Comics, where you can read the very Cole-like <i>Dinky Dinkerton </i>comic strip by the forgotten Art Huhta!</b></div>
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<i>All text copyright 2013 Paul Tumey</i></div>
<br />Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-65118467510880764992012-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-25T21:45:05.791-08:0012 New Jack Cole Cartoon Finds!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1xY23VAAjGY/UNf0730R_6I/AAAAAAAAJ8A/CglxaAYHkD4/s1600/Jack+Cole+Popular+Jokes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1xY23VAAjGY/UNf0730R_6I/AAAAAAAAJ8A/CglxaAYHkD4/s320/Jack+Cole+Popular+Jokes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;">THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS: </span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;">DAY 12 </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><span style="background-color: red; color: white;"> 12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> Posted every day until Dec. 25th </span></b><br />
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Well, fellow denizens of the dank, dusty, delirious world of old comics, it's been a fun 12 days. Every day, I've shared with you some Jack Cole cartoons and comics that are new to Cole's Comics -- and, in some cases -- pretty much new to the world. As a grande finale, here's a big pile o' Cole for your enjoyment, with notes and the usual kerfuffle.<br />
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Here's a set of Cole gems from a 1955 H-K Publications Digest. The fellows who ran H-K turn out to be same guys who published Centaur comics, where Cole started his comics career 16 years earlier. Was there a connection? Did Cole look up his old associates and sell them some cartoons? Possibly.<br />
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First up is yet another of Cole's "searchlight" cartoons. We published one yesterday, as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ttATA20985o/UNf2LkeP3uI/AAAAAAAAJ8g/kOWWKqkCtgI/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ttATA20985o/UNf2LkeP3uI/AAAAAAAAJ8g/kOWWKqkCtgI/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+1.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SMILES - March, 1955 (collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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In case the joke eludes you, it's a reference to a standard song called <i>Chlo-e (Song of the Swamp)</i>. Debuting in 1927, the song describes a lonely fellow searching for his Chloe in "the dismal swampland." Click <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CyVYMnsgNA" target="_blank">here</a> to hear Eva Taylor's 1928 recording of the song. And, for a piece of sublime surreal screwballism, check here's Spike Jones' deconstructed version from the 1945 film <i>Bring On The Girls</i> featuring the brilliant <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Ingle" target="_blank">Red Ingle</a>:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/y02l0ZZht1U" width="420"></iframe><br />
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If you happen to be a fan of novelty songs, I recommend checking out Red Ingle (there's a bunch of his songs on Spotify). His recording, <i>Serutan Yob</i> is one of my favorite things, although it appears to be mostly the brainchild of comic genius <a href="http://pagehogan.tripod.com/index.html" target="_blank">Jim Hawthorne</a>. But, I digress...<br />
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Getting back to Cole, the March, 1955 issue of <i>Smiles</i> featured nine Jack Cole cartoons! Here's another from the same issue, a comic reversal with a strong composition:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dArswCmK1Bc/UNf7uzS7ViI/AAAAAAAAJ9A/3UgpqMSd0kI/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dArswCmK1Bc/UNf7uzS7ViI/AAAAAAAAJ9A/3UgpqMSd0kI/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+6.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SMILES - March, 1955 (collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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Among the Cole cartoons in this issue is this "go peel a watermelon" two-page gag that ran underneath some text jokes and another gag. Many of the H-K digests of this period had 2-page spreads like this, created by various artists. I dunno about you, but I could stare at that graceful peeling for quite awhile.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hQoUDn7_6Rc/UNf9GsV2FvI/AAAAAAAAJ9g/pGBAkyov4aU/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hQoUDn7_6Rc/UNf9GsV2FvI/AAAAAAAAJ9g/pGBAkyov4aU/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SMILES - March, 1955 (collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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Ger Apeldoorn (see <a href="http://allthingsger.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">his great blog</a>) has suggested that the H-K Cole cartoons might actually have been done to order, from presentation sketches Cole submitted in person. This was a common practice, and many publishers had an open house one day to the week where they would see cartoonists in person, review sketches, and (if the cartoonist was lucky) select some for finishing and purchase. I've been thinking that perhaps the piles of Cole cartoons in H-K were rejects from other mags, but perhaps not. The above cartoon, which is obviously tailored to the magazine's format and needs, suggests Ger is right.<br />
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Here's another from the same issue:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IEv5ovZwJ2U/UNgCZxQp30I/AAAAAAAAJ-A/Wj6jimowKDM/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IEv5ovZwJ2U/UNgCZxQp30I/AAAAAAAAJ-A/Wj6jimowKDM/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+7.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SMILES - March, 1955 (collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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And, another -- a beautifully composed and rendered gag that, in lesser hands might not be as funny:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3TNj6rI5B48/UNgGBYiKxmI/AAAAAAAAJ-g/e0e0wQexxBw/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3TNj6rI5B48/UNgGBYiKxmI/AAAAAAAAJ-g/e0e0wQexxBw/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+5.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SMILES - March, 1955 (collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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The last cartoon found in this issue is a goodie, with a a great gag and a Plastic Man style face distortion:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8dcpxypkT-Q/UNgJ5CodxjI/AAAAAAAAJ_A/pIwCw1pREbA/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8dcpxypkT-Q/UNgJ5CodxjI/AAAAAAAAJ_A/pIwCw1pREbA/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+9.jpg" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SMILES - March, 1955 (collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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Just in the last few days, I discovered scans (sadly low-res) of two 1960s Humorama magazines that sport Jack Cole cartoons on the covers:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lsi0cyg2E3k/UNgSV5NFmnI/AAAAAAAAKAw/VSW0gb-52G8/s1600/1963-09-Sep_n19+Cartoon+Comedy+Parade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lsi0cyg2E3k/UNgSV5NFmnI/AAAAAAAAKAw/VSW0gb-52G8/s400/1963-09-Sep_n19+Cartoon+Comedy+Parade.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">September, 1963</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fv8af6NxnAA/UNgSfxMtEcI/AAAAAAAAKBQ/06JO9EOWdJI/s1600/1964-08-Aug+Laugh+Digest+Cole+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fv8af6NxnAA/UNgSfxMtEcI/AAAAAAAAKBQ/06JO9EOWdJI/s1600/1964-08-Aug+Laugh+Digest+Cole+cover.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">August, 1964</td></tr>
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Before we sign off the 2012 12 Days of Cole-Miss Event, here's a few more colored Cole Humorama cartoons, recycle as covers of early 1960s issues of <i>Popular Jokes</i>. These came to me as a wonderful holiday gift, from our friend Ger Apeldoorn, who received them from comics researcher Banks S. Robinson. Thanks, Ger and Banks!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-avTYwRPhiRc/UNgOYM0CPDI/AAAAAAAAJ_w/ktBFMIkNpPk/s1600/Jack+Cole+Popular+Jokes+5+August+1962+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-avTYwRPhiRc/UNgOYM0CPDI/AAAAAAAAJ_w/ktBFMIkNpPk/s400/Jack+Cole+Popular+Jokes+5+August+1962+.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popular Jokes 5 - August 1962</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sg_xEDdpHFg/UNgOTBP_C4I/AAAAAAAAJ_g/ikmogfcdcZk/s1600/Jack+Cole+Popular+Jokes+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sg_xEDdpHFg/UNgOTBP_C4I/AAAAAAAAJ_g/ikmogfcdcZk/s400/Jack+Cole+Popular+Jokes+11.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popular Jokes 11 - November, 1963</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7w0Wz104F5o/UNgOV4ozO3I/AAAAAAAAJ_o/QpIfUfVbNMk/s1600/Jack+Cole+Popular+Jokes+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7w0Wz104F5o/UNgOV4ozO3I/AAAAAAAAJ_o/QpIfUfVbNMk/s400/Jack+Cole+Popular+Jokes+12.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popular Jokes 12 - February, 1964</td></tr>
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And lastly, here's one I found on the Web:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rTf8WyWHsd0/UNgPc0rfRdI/AAAAAAAAKAA/OoyNxKeNDCU/s1600/Popular+Jokes+21+Jack+Cole+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rTf8WyWHsd0/UNgPc0rfRdI/AAAAAAAAKAA/OoyNxKeNDCU/s400/Popular+Jokes+21+Jack+Cole+Cover.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popular Jokes 21</td></tr>
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That's 12 new Jack Cole finds for today -- Happy Hogandays! </div>
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And that wraps up the 12 Days of Cole-Miss! Over the last 12 days, with the kind help of some friends, I've shared 15 new pages of Cole comics and 24 rare Jack Cole cartoons. I hope you've enjoyed it all as much as I have -- or, if you are coming to these posts post-holidaze 2012, I hope you'll click on the links below and check out some of these swell cartoons.</div>
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Yours,</div>
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Paul Hogan Tumey</div>
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<i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><b>The 12 Days of Cole-Miss Postings:</b></span></i><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J3nxu98zLT0/UNN2oJONT-I/AAAAAAAAJsY/XN2LxIQBM7I/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1961.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Days 1 and 2:</b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy Style Humorama Cartoon Covers</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> (1950-60s)</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BVm-ryMThs4/UNN26TkzyrI/AAAAAAAAJsg/nTOZDoFVNfI/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1956+Freelancer+blog+title.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Day3: </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" target="_blank">A Rare Jack Cole Playboy Style Cutie Pie Cover (1956)</a></span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y9yCUZdVwiw/UNN3cyGA_eI/AAAAAAAAJso/tOCsxgY5Uhk/s200/Jack+Cole+military+29+private+dogatag+sexy+redhead.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 4:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;" target="_blank">Teasing Blonde Triplets and Mad Japanese Spies (Private Dogtag 1944)</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dn4n7CLXj2k/UNN4tKyERhI/AAAAAAAAJtE/cCxqIBJmCeY/s200/Jack+Cole+sexy+girl+cartoon+in+Judge.jpg" width="193" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 5:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Stretching to Playboy: Two Rare Jack Cole Judge Cartoons (1936, 1946)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_qcWRQeo9t8/UNN5sbpYgsI/AAAAAAAAJtQ/aECAPlH3h9A/s1600/Mirth+Jack+Cole+Oct+1955.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 6:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Jack Cole Sells Silk to the Burlap Market (1955 gag cartoon)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SuWQM6XzwKM/UNN5898_s1I/AAAAAAAAJto/tJJZrga3v9c/s200/Jack+Cole+mirth+2+blog+title.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 7:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Two More "Lost" Jack Cole Cartoons (1955)</span></span></a><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ifAEQKuOhA/UNUEgysznnI/AAAAAAAAJvw/j79CwbdRAQ0/s1600/jack+Cole+gag+gartoon+1955+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ifAEQKuOhA/UNUEgysznnI/AAAAAAAAJvw/j79CwbdRAQ0/s200/jack+Cole+gag+gartoon+1955+3.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b>Day 8:</b> <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/more-new-jack-cole-gems-from-1955.html" target="_blank">More 1955 Jack Cole Cartoons</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-second-death-patrol-from.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="175" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ehuYO9sy0cc/UNZDdU0LBsI/AAAAAAAAJ0o/BYpoE4TSOQc/s200/Jack+Cole+Death+Patrol+Military+2+blog+article+cartoon+explosion.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-second-death-patrol-from.html" target="_blank">Day 9: The Second Death Patrol story in a new paper scan!</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-places-two-cartoons-in-single.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0tnFH7TRhHs/UNdJPU3hb4I/AAAAAAAAJ38/jMngWgXGkUY/s200/Jack+Cole+Colliers+September+2+1939+sexy+girl+close+up.jpg" width="199" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-places-two-cartoons-in-single.html" target="_blank"><b>Day 10:</b> Two 1939 Jack Cole Cartoons in Colliers</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-toward-playboy-jack-cole.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="143" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B6PVa1WrEyI/UNgRU7MFZaI/AAAAAAAAKAk/8x7CLHum7s8/s200/Jac+Cole+Smiles+Sept+1954.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-toward-playboy-jack-cole.html" target="_blank"><b>Day 11:</b> 3 New 1954 Cole Cartoons</a></td></tr>
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Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-83800070323303341452012-12-24T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-24T00:00:15.160-08:00Stretching Toward Playboy: Jack Cole Cartoons Grace a 1954 H-K Pulp<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WC7M5AhMEeE/UNdB-G7VdNI/AAAAAAAAJ1o/fBazo40swzc/s1600/Jac+Cole+Smiles+Sept+1954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WC7M5AhMEeE/UNdB-G7VdNI/AAAAAAAAJ1o/fBazo40swzc/s320/Jac+Cole+Smiles+Sept+1954.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;">THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS: </span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;">DAY 11 </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><span style="background-color: red; color: white;"> 12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> Posted every day until Dec. 25th </span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Recently, my pal the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Carter-Family-Dont-Forget/dp/0810988364/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356284531&sr=8-1&keywords=dont+forget+this+song" target="_blank">graphic novel author</a> and <a href="http://www.stanleystories.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">comics historian</a> Frank Young paid me a visit. I was showing him some of my latest finds and dug out the recent pile of 1950s humor digest magazines I bought from a collector. Many of these issues are marked up and have bits cut out. Some of the captions are rewritten. I suspect the collection once belonged to an aspiring cartoonist -- or even a pro who was ripping off old material.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ETbpaU9aTg/UNdDsY9NpHI/AAAAAAAAJ10/pkAHjIlOd1w/s1600/H-K+Publications+pile+1950s+humor+mags.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ETbpaU9aTg/UNdDsY9NpHI/AAAAAAAAJ10/pkAHjIlOd1w/s1600/H-K+Publications+pile+1950s+humor+mags.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Paul Tumey pile of old humor mags , which includes some rare Jack Cole cartoons</td></tr>
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I had gone through this pulpy pile earlier to sift out 11 "new" Jack Cole finds. I had a hunch that a second perusal might yield another Cole cartoon or two. Frank and I spontaneously sifted the pile, carefully reading each awful gag cartoon. Frank discovered some amazing early cartoons by Mel Lazurus, of <i>Miss Peach</i> fame. He also delighted in several early Thaves (<i>Frank and Ernest</i>) cartoons. After a dizzy hour or so, I lamented that there just wasn't any more Cole to mine from this vein. Just as I picked up an issue of <i>Smiles </i>and said this, I opened it at random and there, in front of me was Cole cartoon I had previously missed! I quickly sifted through the book and found two more! Score!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--g58jMkyTgw/UNdFldoKTfI/AAAAAAAAJ2c/AftkKAv1Ea4/s1600/Smiles+September+1954+humor+cartoon+digest+H-K+Publications.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--g58jMkyTgw/UNdFldoKTfI/AAAAAAAAJ2c/AftkKAv1Ea4/s320/Smiles+September+1954+humor+cartoon+digest+H-K+Publications.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cover to Smiles, Sept 1954 (Not by Cole)</td></tr>
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I'm pleased to share with you today the three "new" Jack Cole cartoons found in the September 1954 H-K publication,<i> Smiles</i>. The date is interesting, because it's by far the earliest H-K Jack Cole publication date we've found, so far, about six months prior to the fabulous Cole bonanza of 23 cartoons published in March, 1955.<br />
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The first Cole cartoon in the book is unsigned, but undeniably Cole:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xS-EKQ6-34M/UNdFgFZ0E1I/AAAAAAAAJ2U/YvMVM0y9Ls4/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+September+1954+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xS-EKQ6-34M/UNdFgFZ0E1I/AAAAAAAAJ2U/YvMVM0y9Ls4/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+September+1954+1.jpg" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by Jack Cole, from Smiles, September 1954 (Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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This sequential light beam cartoon is a concept we find in 3 other published Cole cartoons of the time., including one published in the January 1954 issue of <i>The Saturday Evening Post</i> (see <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/11/unknown-jack-cole-goodies-continue-to.html" target="_blank">here</a> for that cartoon). It's a unique concept, and Cole spent some time and energy playing with it. He seemed to enjoy drawing beams of light. Many of his comic book covers and stories have light beams and pools of light used as strong design elements.<br />
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The second Cole cartoon in the book is one that cracked me up. The drawing is amusing, but the power of the gag is really in the caption.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OWfEVtS95mo/UNdG2NXnsMI/AAAAAAAAJ28/AqhRF_iQTJo/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+September+1954+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OWfEVtS95mo/UNdG2NXnsMI/AAAAAAAAJ28/AqhRF_iQTJo/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+September+1954+2.jpg" width="326" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">by Jack Cole, from Smiles, September 1954 (Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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I've read in a few interviews with Cole's colleagues that he imbibed himself. There's a letter from Cole (published in Steranko's <i>History of Comics</i>), written to his folks back home in which he assures them he is living clean and not touching a drop. This letter comes from early in his career, so perhaps Cole changed his ways in the years to come. he was, after all, hanging out with cartoonist Bob Wood, who was living high those daze. It's possible this cartoon is slightly autobiographical. In any case, it's a funny gag and I love the art.<br />
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The third and last Cole cartoon we find in this issue presents a performing duo and a typical Jack Cole gag drawn from a small detail of life. Fingernails, house lights, toasters and TVs -- all the common, everyday details of ordinary life were fodder for Jack's cartoon factory in the 1950s. The visual design of the cartoon, with a bold T shape and an artful line, foreshadows his <i>Playboy</i> cartoons.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v89VgcIklMM/UNdIgDAKCBI/AAAAAAAAJ3c/E8RKgaKi2Yg/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+September+1954+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v89VgcIklMM/UNdIgDAKCBI/AAAAAAAAJ3c/E8RKgaKi2Yg/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+September+1954+3.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by Jack Cole, from Smiles, September 1954 (Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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Here's the full spread to help you appreciate how much better Cole's cartoons are than the rest of the material in these magazines:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PjErMQVmWvw/UNdMMtw_80I/AAAAAAAAJ4w/lga6TFMahgA/s1600/Smiles+September+1954+humor+cartoon+digest+H-K+Publications+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PjErMQVmWvw/UNdMMtw_80I/AAAAAAAAJ4w/lga6TFMahgA/s320/Smiles+September+1954+humor+cartoon+digest+H-K+Publications+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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That's all for today. Tomorrow, the last day of my 12 Days of Cole-Miss publishing event, will pull out all the stops and present a big pile of goodies. I hope everyone has a safe, sane, and enjoyable holiday season.<br />
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Cole-crazy,</div>
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Paul Tumey</div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><b>The 12 Days of Cole-Miss Postings to Date:</b></span></i><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J3nxu98zLT0/UNN2oJONT-I/AAAAAAAAJsY/XN2LxIQBM7I/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1961.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Days 1 and 2:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy Style Humorama Cartoon Covers</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> (1950-60s)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BVm-ryMThs4/UNN26TkzyrI/AAAAAAAAJsg/nTOZDoFVNfI/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1956+Freelancer+blog+title.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Day3: </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" target="_blank">A Rare Jack Cole Playboy Style Cutie Pie Cover (1956)</a></span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y9yCUZdVwiw/UNN3cyGA_eI/AAAAAAAAJso/tOCsxgY5Uhk/s200/Jack+Cole+military+29+private+dogatag+sexy+redhead.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 4:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;" target="_blank">Teasing Blonde Triplets and Mad Japanese Spies (Private Dogtag 1944)</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dn4n7CLXj2k/UNN4tKyERhI/AAAAAAAAJtE/cCxqIBJmCeY/s200/Jack+Cole+sexy+girl+cartoon+in+Judge.jpg" width="193" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 5:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Stretching to Playboy: Two Rare Jack Cole Judge Cartoons (1936, 1946)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_qcWRQeo9t8/UNN5sbpYgsI/AAAAAAAAJtQ/aECAPlH3h9A/s1600/Mirth+Jack+Cole+Oct+1955.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 6:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Jack Cole Sells Silk to the Burlap Market (1955 gag cartoon)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SuWQM6XzwKM/UNN5898_s1I/AAAAAAAAJto/tJJZrga3v9c/s200/Jack+Cole+mirth+2+blog+title.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 7:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Two More "Lost" Jack Cole Cartoons (1955)</span></span></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b>Day 8:</b> <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/more-new-jack-cole-gems-from-1955.html" target="_blank">More 1955 Jack Cole Cartoons</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-second-death-patrol-from.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="175" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ehuYO9sy0cc/UNZDdU0LBsI/AAAAAAAAJ0o/BYpoE4TSOQc/s200/Jack+Cole+Death+Patrol+Military+2+blog+article+cartoon+explosion.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-second-death-patrol-from.html" target="_blank">Day 9: The Second Death Patrol story in a new paper scan!</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-places-two-cartoons-in-single.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0tnFH7TRhHs/UNdJPU3hb4I/AAAAAAAAJ38/jMngWgXGkUY/s200/Jack+Cole+Colliers+September+2+1939+sexy+girl+close+up.jpg" width="199" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-places-two-cartoons-in-single.html" target="_blank"><b>Day 10:</b> Two 1939 Jack Cole Cartoons in Colliers</a></td></tr>
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<i>All text copyright 2012 Paul C. Tumey</i></div>
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Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-50659357799603542992012-12-23T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-23T07:24:50.767-08:00Jack Cole Places TWO Cartoons in a Single Issue of Collier's! (1939)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t00AojXceU0/UNY1TNPFdWI/AAAAAAAAJwQ/1spiLTFLUhM/s1600/Jack+Cole+Colliers+September+2+1939+sexy+girl+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t00AojXceU0/UNY1TNPFdWI/AAAAAAAAJwQ/1spiLTFLUhM/s320/Jack+Cole+Colliers+September+2+1939+sexy+girl+close+up.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;">THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS: </span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> DAY 10 </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><span style="background-color: red; color: white;"> 12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> Posted every day until Dec. 25th </span></b><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Today's Cole in your stocking consists of two rare "lost" Jack Cole cartoons from <i>Collier's Weekly</i>. Both cartoons are paper scans from my own copy of the September 2, 1939 issue which I acquired through several misadventures involving a verbose fat man, a fey killer, and a sexy but deceitful woman named Bridget O'Shaughnessy. </span></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">It must have been exciting for Jack and Dorothy (Dot) Cole, a struggling young married couple relocated to New York City from New Castle, Pennsylvania to have two cartoons appear in one issue of a major national magazine. By the time these sales saw print, though, Cole was already working at the Harry Chesler shop. For some examples of Jack Cole's 1939 comics, mostly published in Centaur titles, see <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2010/07/jack-cole-front-and-centaur-early-works.html" target="_blank">this article</a>.</span></span><br />
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Just by way of an interesting "bonus" tidbit, here's a record of Jack and Dot's marriage that appeared in a Greenville newspaper on July 21, 1939:</div>
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This is a bit of a mystery because, by all accounts, Jack and Dot were married years earlier. In fact, they kept it secret from their parents, at first, continuing to live at home. I wonder if they were getting married a second time, to allow the families to be involved. Or perhaps the stories about their earlier marriage are not quite right. I truly wish I knew. If I ever come into a windfall, I'd love to go to New Castle and talk to some folks there to find out the story behind this news item and flesh out the story of Jack Cole's early years.</div>
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In any case, in my imagination I can see Cole riding the subway in Manhattan, watching someone read a magazine with this cover:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cfRbUduyzgg/UNY40EOcuwI/AAAAAAAAJw4/GFS7yGA4bZ4/s1600/Colliers+Weekly+September+2+1939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cfRbUduyzgg/UNY40EOcuwI/AAAAAAAAJw4/GFS7yGA4bZ4/s320/Colliers+Weekly+September+2+1939.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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Or maybe he walked by newstands on busy New York streets in September 1939 that sported copies of the issue in which he had not one, but two cartoons. Newstands that looked something like this:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uA8I4z60E-A/UNY8XLiSbwI/AAAAAAAAJyA/kxHHkf4qVEM/s1600/25-08-2010110149AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uA8I4z60E-A/UNY8XLiSbwI/AAAAAAAAJyA/kxHHkf4qVEM/s400/25-08-2010110149AM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Looking at this photo, it's easy to imagine that maybe there was a comic on the stands as well that featured work by Jack Cole.</div>
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As <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/02/evolution-of-cole-female-jack-coles.html" target="_blank">previously documented</a> in this blog, Cole had some earlier sales to <i>Collier's </i>in 1938.</div>
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The first cartoon of Cole's in the September 2, 1939 issue of <i>Collier's</i> appears on page 31, next to a bizarre Fisk tire ad that, for some reason, shows a man wrestling an alligator.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KEuzJ5weg7U/UNY4xCXBHxI/AAAAAAAAJww/9SeI28fsOcE/s1600/Jack+Cole+Colliers+September+2+1939+print+dimaggio+full+page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KEuzJ5weg7U/UNY4xCXBHxI/AAAAAAAAJww/9SeI28fsOcE/s400/Jack+Cole+Colliers+September+2+1939+print+dimaggio+full+page.jpg" width="321" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Collier's Weekly</i>, September 2, 1939 - page 31 (Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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The cartoon makes a reference to the famous baseball star, Joe DiMaggio... a rare topical reference in Cole's work. Here's the cartoon itself, in a larger size:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Collier's Weekly</i>, September 2, 1939 (Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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I like how Jack's signature appears to be a part of the floor under DiMaggio's feet. We also see in this cartoon Jack's interest in showing agitated human movement -- not quite successful here, but still a good effort. By keeping Joe's back to the reader, Jack spares himself from having to draw a caricature of the celebrity, but also keeps us from tipping to the gag until we read the caption.</div>
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The second Cole cartoon, which features an even higher level of physical chaos, appears on page 50:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--SwMKR31JBw/UNY-_gaUprI/AAAAAAAAJys/JzPySU8kRH4/s1600/Jack+Cole+Colliers+September+2+1939+print+lightning+full+page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--SwMKR31JBw/UNY-_gaUprI/AAAAAAAAJys/JzPySU8kRH4/s400/Jack+Cole+Colliers+September+2+1939+print+lightning+full+page.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Collier's Weekly</i>, September 2, 1939 - page 50 (Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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It's worthwhile to show you the entire page, as well as the individual cartoon, so you can get a sense of how much space the editors gave Cole's cartoon, and also to see how boldly his wash cartoons stand off the page. Part of Cole's greatness lies in his thoughtful design. We can see, just by looking at these two full pages, that his designs, with their strong lines and rich washes were very effective for catching the eye and adding visual appeal to the magazine's pages. </div>
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Here's a 1940 <i>Boy's Life</i> page in which Cole's plush, bold cartoon is a visual delight:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Boy's Life</i>, October 1940</td></tr>
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Cole would return to this lush visual formula in his <i>Playboy</i> and Jake cartoons of 1955-58, with great success. His 1955 cartoons benefit from the thousands of drawings he had made in the intervening years between 1939 and 1955, and therefore are considerably more successful and accomplished. However, the same basic design approach applies to both eras in Cole's career as a magazine cartoonist. </div>
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Here's the cartoon, in a larger size:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bJETTxO7g-c/UNZAbdwJ1HI/AAAAAAAAJzg/D1-HEhXEX4Y/s1600/Jack+Cole+Colliers+September+2+1939+lightning+rod+cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bJETTxO7g-c/UNZAbdwJ1HI/AAAAAAAAJzg/D1-HEhXEX4Y/s640/Jack+Cole+Colliers+September+2+1939+lightning+rod+cartoon.jpg" width="404" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Collier's Weekly</i>, September 2, 1939 (Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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It's a great gag, and it lets Cole do what he does best -- show screwball energy on paper. There's something about the leaping-off-the-page energy of this page that reminds of this classic page from a 1942 Midnight story (shown here as a retouched page from my ebook, <i>The Complete Jack Cole Midnight, Volume 2 </i>-- available for purchase at the right-hand side of this blog):</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Yl3O6f2N3o/UNZBmGuG8NI/AAAAAAAAJzs/lnw_R4jD6Zs/s1600/Midnight2_069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Yl3O6f2N3o/UNZBmGuG8NI/AAAAAAAAJzs/lnw_R4jD6Zs/s640/Midnight2_069.jpg" width="484" /></a></div>
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Even though he had a very promising start as a nationally published magazine cartoonist with top late 1930s markets like <i>Judge</i> and <i>Collier's</i>, Cole needed to make more money -- and that's why he veered into comic books, and began to devote himself to creating longer, sustained sequential graphic stories. At Chesler's walk-up studio, housed in a dank lower Manhattan warehouse, Cole at least drew a regular paycheck. In short order, Cole began to master this burgeoning new form. Just as his magazine cartoons show smart design, so do his comic book stories -- but that's a story for another day!</div>
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Check back tomorrow and the next day for the last two postings of my 12 Days of Cole-Miss event -- lotsa good stuff to come!</div>
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In the meanwhile, here's what we've done, so far:</div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><b>The 12 Days of Cole-Miss Postings to Date:</b></span></i><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J3nxu98zLT0/UNN2oJONT-I/AAAAAAAAJsY/XN2LxIQBM7I/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1961.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Days 1 and 2:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy Style Humorama Cartoon Covers</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> (1950-60s)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Day3: </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" target="_blank">A Rare Jack Cole Playboy Style Cutie Pie Cover (1956)</a></span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y9yCUZdVwiw/UNN3cyGA_eI/AAAAAAAAJso/tOCsxgY5Uhk/s200/Jack+Cole+military+29+private+dogatag+sexy+redhead.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 4:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;" target="_blank">Teasing Blonde Triplets and Mad Japanese Spies (Private Dogtag 1944)</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dn4n7CLXj2k/UNN4tKyERhI/AAAAAAAAJtE/cCxqIBJmCeY/s200/Jack+Cole+sexy+girl+cartoon+in+Judge.jpg" width="193" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 5:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Stretching to Playboy: Two Rare Jack Cole Judge Cartoons (1936, 1946)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_qcWRQeo9t8/UNN5sbpYgsI/AAAAAAAAJtQ/aECAPlH3h9A/s1600/Mirth+Jack+Cole+Oct+1955.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 6:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Jack Cole Sells Silk to the Burlap Market (1955 gag cartoon)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SuWQM6XzwKM/UNN5898_s1I/AAAAAAAAJto/tJJZrga3v9c/s200/Jack+Cole+mirth+2+blog+title.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 7:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Two More "Lost" Jack Cole Cartoons (1955)</span></span></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b>Day 8:</b> <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/more-new-jack-cole-gems-from-1955.html" target="_blank">More 1955 Jack Cole Cartoons</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-second-death-patrol-from.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="175" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ehuYO9sy0cc/UNZDdU0LBsI/AAAAAAAAJ0o/BYpoE4TSOQc/s200/Jack+Cole+Death+Patrol+Military+2+blog+article+cartoon+explosion.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-second-death-patrol-from.html" target="_blank">Day 9: The Second Death Patrol story in a new paper scan!</a></td></tr>
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<br />Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-85796296306472693032012-12-22T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-24T08:10:05.071-08:00Jack Cole's Second DEATH PATROL From Military Comics 2 (1941): A New Paper Scan!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;"> THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS: </span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> DAY 9 </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> 12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> Posted every day until Dec. 25th </span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Earlier this year, in a moment of temporary insanity, I bought a low-grade copy of <i>Military Comics #2</i>, which features the second Jack Cole <b>Death Patrol</b> story. Currently, there's no good scan of this issue in circulation. I've written about this morbid, screwball back-up feature of Cole's in <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search?q=death+patrol" target="_blank">previous postings</a>. Overall, the Cole Death Patrols rank among the most accelerated and nutty comics he ever did -- perhaps because he was cramming 15 page stories into 6 pages.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">As a special holiday treat, here's a nice paper scan of Jack Cole's </span><b>Death Patrol</b><span style="background-color: white;"> story from </span><i><b>Military Comics #2</b></i><span style="background-color: white;"> (September, 1941). Enjoy!</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vtVVEeQ3WZs/UNUD2ID9AvI/AAAAAAAAJvo/z7PKxWm5Pc8/s1600/Military+2+Death+Patrol+6+200+dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vtVVEeQ3WZs/UNUD2ID9AvI/AAAAAAAAJvo/z7PKxWm5Pc8/s320/Military+2+Death+Patrol+6+200+dpi.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>
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Check back tomorrow for more rare Cole finds!<br />
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Season's Bleatings,<br />
Paul Tumey<br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><b>The 12 Days of Cole-Miss Postings to Date:</b></span></i><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J3nxu98zLT0/UNN2oJONT-I/AAAAAAAAJsY/XN2LxIQBM7I/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1961.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Days 1 and 2:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy Style Humorama Cartoon Covers</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> (1950-60s)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BVm-ryMThs4/UNN26TkzyrI/AAAAAAAAJsg/nTOZDoFVNfI/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1956+Freelancer+blog+title.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Day3: </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" target="_blank">A Rare Jack Cole Playboy Style Cutie Pie Cover (1956)</a></span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y9yCUZdVwiw/UNN3cyGA_eI/AAAAAAAAJso/tOCsxgY5Uhk/s200/Jack+Cole+military+29+private+dogatag+sexy+redhead.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 4:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;" target="_blank">Teasing Blonde Triplets and Mad Japanese Spies (Private Dogtag 1944)</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dn4n7CLXj2k/UNN4tKyERhI/AAAAAAAAJtE/cCxqIBJmCeY/s200/Jack+Cole+sexy+girl+cartoon+in+Judge.jpg" width="193" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 5:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Stretching to Playboy: Two Rare Jack Cole Judge Cartoons (1936, 1946)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_qcWRQeo9t8/UNN5sbpYgsI/AAAAAAAAJtQ/aECAPlH3h9A/s1600/Mirth+Jack+Cole+Oct+1955.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 6:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Jack Cole Sells Silk to the Burlap Market (1955 gag cartoon)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SuWQM6XzwKM/UNN5898_s1I/AAAAAAAAJto/tJJZrga3v9c/s200/Jack+Cole+mirth+2+blog+title.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 7:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Two More "Lost" Jack Cole Cartoons (1955)</span></span></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b>Day 8:</b> <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/more-new-jack-cole-gems-from-1955.html" target="_blank">More 1955 Jack Cole Cartoons</a></td></tr>
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Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-60478554568584395242012-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-24T08:10:42.414-08:00More New Jack Cole Gems From 1955<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rsMfUKtojcM/UNNx3qvN_0I/AAAAAAAAJr8/v3L60Wz7TU0/s1600/jack+Cole+gag+gartoon+1955+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rsMfUKtojcM/UNNx3qvN_0I/AAAAAAAAJr8/v3L60Wz7TU0/s320/jack+Cole+gag+gartoon+1955+3.jpg" width="289" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;"> THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS: </span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> DAY 8 </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> 12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> Posted every day until Dec. 25th </span></b><br />
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Presenting two more dusty gems from Jack Cole's 1955 appearances in H-K Publications. For the dope on H-K, and more of these great cartoons, check out my previous COLE-MISS postings from the last few days <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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One thing that I appreciate so much about these cartoons is the delicate line work. Comics master <b>Alex Toth</b> visted Jack Cole at Quality Comics. Just a youngster, Toth was allowed to sit with Cole as he inked a Plastic Man cover. Toth remembered that Cole used a very thin brush, and had a remarkable facility with it. You can see Cole's skill with a brush in these cartoons.<br />
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<i><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b>Appeal:</b> If there's anyone out there who would like to plug this 12 Days of Cole event, please feel free! Currently, there's been a low number of hits per post and only one comment (which I appreciate) -- so I think these new finds are remaining largely undiscovered. </span></i><br />
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Aside from the high quality of the line work, Cole's cartoons are delightfully offbeat in their choice of subject matter. </div>
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The first of today's offerings deals with the see-saw nature of life as it pertains to parenthood. One moment, a child is being annoying -- the next, you<i> want</i> him to tug on your shirt! One of 100 or so cartoons in the March, 1955 issue of <i>Smiles</i>, Cole's cartoon is the only one to present a child.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2TvN2ZK6_HQ/UNNxInjM88I/AAAAAAAAJrs/nlRlyTCPsF8/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2TvN2ZK6_HQ/UNNxInjM88I/AAAAAAAAJrs/nlRlyTCPsF8/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+3.jpg" width="345" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <i>Smiles</i> - March, 1955 (Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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Our second lump o' Cole for your Xmas stocking deals with the fantasy/reality dichotomy of the television experience -- something that was evident to Jack Cole, even in the early days of television.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ocvBiIEfuDk/UNNxKQhAjEI/AAAAAAAAJr0/ZRb6eVuaJuM/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ocvBiIEfuDk/UNNxKQhAjEI/AAAAAAAAJr0/ZRb6eVuaJuM/s400/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+4.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <i>Smiles</i> - March, 1955 (Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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Tomorrow - a change of pace as I share a BRAND NEW paper scan of a classic Jack Cole story from a comic book that sells for over $3,000 in near mint condition.<br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><b>The 12 Days of Cole-Miss Postings to Date:</b></span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J3nxu98zLT0/UNN2oJONT-I/AAAAAAAAJsY/XN2LxIQBM7I/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1961.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Days 1 and 2:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy Style Humorama Cartoon Covers</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> (1950-60s)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BVm-ryMThs4/UNN26TkzyrI/AAAAAAAAJsg/nTOZDoFVNfI/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1956+Freelancer+blog+title.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Day3: </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" target="_blank">A Rare Jack Cole Playboy Style Cutie Pie Cover (1956)</a></span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y9yCUZdVwiw/UNN3cyGA_eI/AAAAAAAAJso/tOCsxgY5Uhk/s200/Jack+Cole+military+29+private+dogatag+sexy+redhead.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 4:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;" target="_blank">Teasing Blonde Triplets and Mad Japanese Spies (Private Dogtag 1944)</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dn4n7CLXj2k/UNN4tKyERhI/AAAAAAAAJtE/cCxqIBJmCeY/s200/Jack+Cole+sexy+girl+cartoon+in+Judge.jpg" width="193" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 5:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Stretching to Playboy: Two Rare Jack Cole Judge Cartoons (1936, 1946)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_qcWRQeo9t8/UNN5sbpYgsI/AAAAAAAAJtQ/aECAPlH3h9A/s1600/Mirth+Jack+Cole+Oct+1955.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 6:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Jack Cole Sells Silk to the Burlap Market (1955 gag cartoon)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="311" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SuWQM6XzwKM/UNN5898_s1I/AAAAAAAAJto/tJJZrga3v9c/s320/Jack+Cole+mirth+2+blog+title.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-more-lost-1955-jack-cole-cartoons.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 7:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Two More "Lost" Jack Cole Cartoons (1955)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: red;">Season's </span><span style="background-color: #6aa84f;">Greetings,</span></span><br />
Paul Tumey</div>
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Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-16450910752568460372012-12-20T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-24T08:11:04.035-08:00Two More "Lost " 1955 Jack Cole Cartoons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UevIf3X8xDA/UNE93epBCzI/AAAAAAAAJhU/8QMgkxkAvw4/s1600/Jack+Cole+mirth+2+blog+title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UevIf3X8xDA/UNE93epBCzI/AAAAAAAAJhU/8QMgkxkAvw4/s320/Jack+Cole+mirth+2+blog+title.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;"> THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS: </span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> DAY 7 </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> 12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> Posted every day until Dec. 25th </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="background-color: white;">Here's two more previously unknown Jack Cole gems! These both appeared in the pages of 1955 cartoon and joke digests published by H-K Publications. These digests are filled with sub-par cartoons. Cole's elegant, offbeat cartoons stand out from the pages of these bottom-tier pulps like M&Ms in trail mix. It seems that H-K bought a lot of material from Bill Wenzel in 1954-55, including painted cartoons for their covers. Wenzel's work is competent, and times has a certain something. Aside from Wenzel, the remainder of the H-K stable of girlie gag cartoonists have little to offer. Here's a cover by Wenzel:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5MrJ_rijexc/UNFAEUK8uAI/AAAAAAAAJhw/Q2P4bQTQBGo/s1600/Smiles+March+1955+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5MrJ_rijexc/UNFAEUK8uAI/AAAAAAAAJhw/Q2P4bQTQBGo/s640/Smiles+March+1955+cover.jpg" width="472" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typical Bill Wenzel cartoon for the 1950s H-K humor digests</td></tr>
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Behind this cover, from March, 1955, we find this Jack Cole beauty -- a paper scan from my own collection:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QlckiSyNtdw/UNFAn4exwSI/AAAAAAAAJh4/gTo81PYZHBA/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QlckiSyNtdw/UNFAn4exwSI/AAAAAAAAJh4/gTo81PYZHBA/s640/Jack+Cole+Smiles+March+1955+cartoon+2.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Jack Cole cartoon from <i><b>Smiles</b></i> - March, 1955<br />
(Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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This is hardly the subject matter Wenzel cover leads you to expect to find inside. In fact, one of the delights of Cole's H-K cartoons is how a great number of them have diverse subjects and situations -- almost like they were done for other others and then -- after rejection -- sold here, to an editor who knew quality when she or he saw it.</div>
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It bears noting that the above cartoon is yet another example of Jack Cole depicting suicide in his work. It's also worth noting that the layout is similar to the cartoon I shared yesterday. Here it is again, for a quick comparison:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_wewhU1SSMg/UNFBzrZ0_lI/AAAAAAAAJiM/-aqa5Yo5Ij8/s1600/Jack+Cole+Mirth+Oct+1955+cartoon+unsigned.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_wewhU1SSMg/UNFBzrZ0_lI/AAAAAAAAJiM/-aqa5Yo5Ij8/s640/Jack+Cole+Mirth+Oct+1955+cartoon+unsigned.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>
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Both cartoons are caption-less and show tiny people facing something large and daunting, perhaps the way Cole felt at shifting gears in his career. In both cases, you first see the huge object -- a house, or a charging elephant -- and then you peer at the diminutive figures and see the jokes. This creates a clever, delayed-effect reaction that stretches the gag out, and encourages you to look closer and perhaps reflect for a moment.</div>
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The elephant cartoon from the March, 1955 issue of <i><b>Smiles</b></i> is one of an incredible nine cartoons in that issue by Cole. I'll be sharing the rest of this lot over the next few days. It is interesting to observe that the March, 1955 issue of Smiles sister publication, <i>Mirth</i>, featured 12 Jack Cole cartoons (see them <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/12/cole-in-your-stocking-12-new-cartoon.html" target="_blank">here</a>) -- both issues presenting 21 Cole gems in one month! </div>
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Here's a second H-K 1955 Jack Cole cartoon. This cartoon appeared two months earlier, in the January, 1955 issue of <i><b>Smiles</b></i>. It is the only Jack Cole cartoon in this issue.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-epG7H_tQjLY/UNFC46sEmII/AAAAAAAAJiw/plZfkXJp-Tw/s1600/Jack+Cole+Smiles+January+1955+cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-epG7H_tQjLY/UNFC46sEmII/AAAAAAAAJiw/plZfkXJp-Tw/s640/Jack+Cole+Smiles+January+1955+cartoon.jpg" width="434" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Jack Cole cartoon from<i> Smiles</i>, January 1955<br />
(Collection Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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I must confess that the joke is lost on me. The only sense I can make of it is that the woman in the balcony seat is pleased that she has drawn attention from the performance to herself. The name, "Dagsted," is confusing, too... being a mysterious compression of Dagwood Bumstead's name. Perhaps there's a cultural reference to the name that would explain the gag. The cartoon looks a little naughty at first, before you read the caption, since it looks as if the people in the upper seats are peeing on the folks below!</div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><b>The 12 Days of Cole-Miss Postings So Far:</b></span></i><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J3nxu98zLT0/UNN2oJONT-I/AAAAAAAAJsY/XN2LxIQBM7I/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1961.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Days 1 and 2:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy Style Humorama Cartoon Covers</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> (1950-60s)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BVm-ryMThs4/UNN26TkzyrI/AAAAAAAAJsg/nTOZDoFVNfI/s200/Jack+Cole+Jake+1956+Freelancer+blog+title.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Day3: </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" target="_blank">A Rare Jack Cole Playboy Style Cutie Pie Cover (1956)</a></span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y9yCUZdVwiw/UNN3cyGA_eI/AAAAAAAAJso/tOCsxgY5Uhk/s200/Jack+Cole+military+29+private+dogatag+sexy+redhead.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 4:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;" target="_blank">Teasing Blonde Triplets and Mad Japanese Spies (Private Dogtag 1944)</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dn4n7CLXj2k/UNN4tKyERhI/AAAAAAAAJtE/cCxqIBJmCeY/s200/Jack+Cole+sexy+girl+cartoon+in+Judge.jpg" width="193" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 5:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Stretching to Playboy: Two Rare Jack Cole Judge Cartoons (1936, 1946)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_qcWRQeo9t8/UNN5sbpYgsI/AAAAAAAAJtQ/aECAPlH3h9A/s1600/Mirth+Jack+Cole+Oct+1955.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-cole-sells-silk-to-burlap-market.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Day 6:</b><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Jack Cole Sells Silk to the Burlap Market (1955 gag cartoon)</span></span></a></td></tr>
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Only 1,099 more shopping days until Xmas 2015,<br />
Paul TumeyPaul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-36649179141385765282012-12-19T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-20T08:34:08.904-08:00Jack Cole Sells Silk to the Burlap Market: A Stunning 1955 Gag Cartoon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wmV30Tne4sc/UNDxNF4XXUI/AAAAAAAAJgc/8lIB7w60Dlk/s1600/Mirth+Jack+Cole+Oct+1955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wmV30Tne4sc/UNDxNF4XXUI/AAAAAAAAJgc/8lIB7w60Dlk/s1600/Mirth+Jack+Cole+Oct+1955.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;"> THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS: </span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> DAY 6 </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> 12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> Posted every day until Dec. 25th </span></b><br />
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<i><b>Mirth</b></i><span style="background-color: white;"> was a digest-sized monthly offering a musky sheaf of mostly sexy girl cartoons of widely varying quality. This cheapo magazine was part of a line of similar joke books and digests on cars and watersports (not what you may be thinking -- water skiing and boating), including titles like </span><i>Smiles</i><span style="background-color: white;"> and </span><i>A Pocketful of Pepper</i><span style="background-color: white;">. We are slowly discovering that Jack Cole sold a pile of great gag cartoons to the publisher, H-K Publications, Inc. in late 1954 and possibly also at various times in 1955. This would be the period when Cole left comic books and applied himself fully to a career as a magazine cartoonist. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">In his 1956 <i>Freelancer</i> article about his cartooning career (reprinted in this blog <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" target="_blank">here</a>), Jack Cole wrote of having limited success in 1954-55 with the higher paying markets and having to lower his sites: </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>"After a few pointed hints from editors, it finally dawned on me. You CAN'T sell burlap in a nylon market, so I retreated to the minor class magazines (bless them all) where I should have $TARTED in the first place..."</b></span></blockquote>
H-K publications appears to have been a publishing company of Joseph Hardie and Raymond Kelly, who also co-founded the Centaur line of comics in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Cole's first comic book work appeared in various Centaur comics (supplied by the Harry Chesler shop, where Cole started out when he moved to New York in 1937). It's possible that Cole had a connection with H-K Publications, although it would have been more than 15 years since his work graced the pages of Hardie and Kelly's books.<br />
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H-K also published <i>Comet</i> -- an amalgamation of comics and prose -- in the early 1940s. In the mid forties, they appear to have inaugurated <i>Mirth</i>. In the 1950s, H-K published such illustrious titles as <i>Boat Sport</i>, <i>Auto Craftsman</i>, and <i>Outboard Dealer News</i>. It's possible that a Cole cartoon or two might be found in the pages of the non-girlie H-K magazines. After all, Cole did <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/09/two-rare-jack-cole-cartoons-for-stamp.html" target="_blank">cartoons for a Stamp collecting magazine</a> during this time, so why not for <i>Speed Mechanics</i> or <i>Water Ski</i>?<br />
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Last Christmas, my stocking overflowed with Cole when I discovered a scan on the Web of an issue of <i>Mirth</i> (March, 1955) that contained a whopping 12 Jack Cole cartoons (click <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/12/cole-in-your-stocking-12-new-cartoon.html" target="_blank">here</a> to see those great cartoons). This Christmas, I have discovered an additional <b><span style="color: red;">14 </span><span style="color: #6aa84f;">previously</span><span style="color: red;"> forgotten </span><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Jack </span><span style="color: red;">Cole </span><span style="color: #6aa84f;">cartoons </span></b>published in various H-K publications from 1955. I'll be sharing that lot over the next few days, as well as a few other gems from the Cole-mine.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Today's Cole in your stocking comes from the pages of the October, 1955 issue of </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">Mirth</i>, the only Cole cartoon found in that issue<span style="background-color: white;">. This is a paper scan from my own collection. Although the cartoon is unsigned, there can be no doubt this is the work of Jack Cole. The beautifully stylized Laurel and Hardy </span><i><b>Music Box</b></i><span style="background-color: white;"> staircase winding the up the side of the cliff, and the modernistic home embedded into the edifice are drawn with the typical mix of precision and abstraction that characterizes the work of Jack Cole in the mid 1950s. The entire cartoon is a tour de force layout of positive and negative space. Surely this ambitious cartoon was originally meant for a higher market, which is perhaps a clue as to why it is unsigned.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ddbZNJQBpc0/UNDy9B5FCEI/AAAAAAAAJg4/8BCM56bnTto/s1600/Jack+Cole+Mirth+Oct+1955+cartoon+unsigned.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ddbZNJQBpc0/UNDy9B5FCEI/AAAAAAAAJg4/8BCM56bnTto/s640/Jack+Cole+Mirth+Oct+1955+cartoon+unsigned.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>
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See also <a href="http://muttermumblegrumblegripe.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html" target="_blank">this post</a> at M.O.D.M. blog on H-K magazines.</div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><b>The 12 Days of Cole-Miss Postings:</b></span></i><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Days 1 and 2:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy Style Humorama Cartoon Covers</a> (1950-60s)<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Day 3:</b></span><b style="color: #333333;"> </b><b><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" target="_blank">A Rare Jack Cole Playboy Style Cutie Pie Cover (1956)</a></span></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<b>Day 4:</b> <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" target="_blank">Teasing Blonde Triplets and Mad Japanese Spies (Private Dogtag 1944)</a><br />
<b>Day 5:</b> <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/stretching-to-playboy-two-rare-jack_18.html" target="_blank">Stretching to Playboy: Two Rare Jack Cole Judge Cartoons (1936 & 1946)</a><br />
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Wishing You the Best,<br />
Paul Tumey<br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></b>
Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-40036472807526955952012-12-18T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-18T00:00:12.212-08:00Stretching to Playboy: Two Rare Jack Cole Judge Cartoons (1936 and 1946)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tWw-VmSJ8AY/UM9XbqpFmNI/AAAAAAAAJeA/IELGtqnEwnY/s1600/Jack+Cole+sexy+girl+cartoon+in+Judge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tWw-VmSJ8AY/UM9XbqpFmNI/AAAAAAAAJeA/IELGtqnEwnY/s320/Jack+Cole+sexy+girl+cartoon+in+Judge.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;"> THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS: </span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> DAY 5 </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> 12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> Posted every day until Dec. 25th </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000;">A special holiday CHEER to our friend, writer, editor, and comics historian </span><span style="background-color: red; color: white;">GER APELDOORN</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000;">, for supplying today's Jack Cole finds. Be sure to visit Ger's <a href="http://allthingsger.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Fabulous Fifties</a> blog to see amazing comics and cartoons from the 50s.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"><br /></span></b>One of the most significant discoveries to emerge from the multi-year research project this blog represents is that Jack Cole -- widely known as one of the masters of comic book stories in the 1940s -- had a lesser-known parallel career as a magazine gag cartoonist. When Cole left comic books in 1954 and found great commercial success as <i><b>Playboy's</b></i> signature cartoonist, it seemed like a miraculous re-invention of himself. In reality, what actually happened was more logically the fruition of years of hard work on Cole's part to develop himself into a valuable magazine cartoonist (and the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time). In fact, his first publications are not sequential graphic narratives in comic books, but rather one-panel gag cartoons that appeared in the pages of such nationally distributed magazines as <i><b>Boy's Life</b></i> (see <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/01/jack-coles-boys-life-cartoons-1936-40.html" target="_blank">here</a>) and <b><i>Judge</i></b>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OjLGGMmbbVY/UM9kaney2jI/AAAAAAAAJe4/epOSmOdtO30/s1600/Judge+December+1936+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OjLGGMmbbVY/UM9kaney2jI/AAAAAAAAJe4/epOSmOdtO30/s320/Judge+December+1936+cover.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The cover (not by Cole) of the December, 1936 issue<br />
of Judge that ran a Jack Cole cartoon.</td></tr>
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It was something of a revelation to get the following 1936 cartoon from Ger Apeldoorn. All I previously had for Cole's published pre-1938 comic book work was the dozen or so cartoons he sold to <i><b>Boy's Life</b></i>, and the mysterious illustrated article on his cross-country bike trip (the original publication of this early article, possibly Cole's first publication, remains unknown -- see <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search/label/Bike%20Trip%20Article" target="_blank">here</a> for the article and <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/01/jack-coles-boys-life-cartoons-1936-40.html" target="_blank">here</a> for details on the mystery). The following new Cole find originally appeared in the pages of the December, 1936 issue of <i><b>Judge</b></i> magazine. Check out that pig!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Um14WSPC_OY/UM9fY7YH8II/AAAAAAAAJec/uncXADq9zyA/s1600/Jack+Cole+hillbilly+cartoon+December+1936+Judge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Um14WSPC_OY/UM9fY7YH8II/AAAAAAAAJec/uncXADq9zyA/s400/Jack+Cole+hillbilly+cartoon+December+1936+Judge.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">A rare early Jack Cole magazine cartoon from <i>Judge</i> - December, 1936</td></tr>
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Once again, we see Cole working with hillbilly humor -- a favorite subject in his early work (check out these <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search/label/Higrass%20Twins" target="_blank">1940s HiGrass Twins</a> comic stories and his <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2010/08/slap-happy-pappy-selection.html" target="_blank">Slap Happy Pappy</a> one-pagers). Note also that the signature Cole uses in this cartoon is different from any other signature he used in any of the known cartoons we have.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OjLGGMmbbVY/UM9kaney2jI/AAAAAAAAJe4/epOSmOdtO30/s1600/Judge+December+1936+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>
Most importantly, the discovery of this cartoon reveals how ambitiously and hard Jack Cole pursued selling his gag cartoons to the major markets. It was the very same ambition that drove Cole to relocate from his hometown of New Castle, Pennsylvania to New York City in the hopes that it would spur his cartooning career. And, so it did.<br />
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Even after Jack Cole became an established success in comic books with Plastic Man, he continued to write, draw, and submit cartoons to to the major markets. I suspect there are many more Jack Cole cartoons to be found in the pages of American magazines published in the 1940s and 1950s. Another wonderful cartoon from Ger is this pneumatic 1946 beauty, also from the pages of <i>Judge</i>. Here, we see Jack Cole developing his sexy girl cartoon chops, some 8 years before his <i>Playboy </i>success.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UTjpo7Yayi4/UM9lJ6JkUZI/AAAAAAAAJfA/JQw9IOoA1Yw/s1600/Jack+Cole+sexy+woman+cartoon+Judge+January+1946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UTjpo7Yayi4/UM9lJ6JkUZI/AAAAAAAAJfA/JQw9IOoA1Yw/s640/Jack+Cole+sexy+woman+cartoon+Judge+January+1946.jpg" width="486" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Jack Cole sculpts a full page statute-esque sex bomb for <i>Judge</i> - January, 1946<br />
<i>(from the collection of Ger Apeldoorn)</i></td></tr>
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Where Cole's <i>Playboy</i> cartoons are more accomplished, with artful washes and graceful brushwork, this image is more controlled and rough-hewn. It appears that Cole may have used an airbrush for this work. If not, he is working hard to use washes to delineate light and form. This image (which also appears in <strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Art Spiegelman</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> and </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Chip Kidd’s</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> top-notch book, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><strong style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Cole-Plastic-Man-Stretched/dp/B0009GVMVG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1355770905&sr=8-2&keywords=jack+cole" target="_blank">Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits</a>) </strong>-- </span>created at the height of Cole's <i>Plastic Man</i> success, foreshadows the direction his career would take in a few years.<br />
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This 1946 <i>Judge</i> cartoon also harkens back to Cole's earlier work, as we can see in this panel featuring a similar image in stipple, from "Midnight Goes Hollywood" (<i><b>Smash Comics </b></i>#34, July 1942 -- available in my ebook, <i>The Complete Jack Cole Midnight Volume Two</i>, for sale at the right side of this blog).<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TVuKQ1lWtX0/UM9odRvS3DI/AAAAAAAAJfc/n8dNgs5E4XE/s1600/Jack+Cole+stipple+1942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TVuKQ1lWtX0/UM9odRvS3DI/AAAAAAAAJfc/n8dNgs5E4XE/s320/Jack+Cole+stipple+1942.jpg" width="183" /></a></div>
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In 1944, we find the sex-laden Pvt Dogtag stories. Yesterday, I shared <a href="http://www.colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" target="_blank">a new Dogtag</a> story, which features the following panels of feminine pulchritude:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eIIMmwvKX8A/UM-EKM1qdeI/AAAAAAAAJf4/cy3kggXudfQ/s1600/Jac+Cole+sexy+girl+1944+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eIIMmwvKX8A/UM-EKM1qdeI/AAAAAAAAJf4/cy3kggXudfQ/s320/Jac+Cole+sexy+girl+1944+.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D382re3PHvg/UM-ELejxcNI/AAAAAAAAJgA/6LzxNtWmykI/s1600/Jac+Cole+sexy+girl+1944+2+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D382re3PHvg/UM-ELejxcNI/AAAAAAAAJgA/6LzxNtWmykI/s1600/Jac+Cole+sexy+girl+1944+2+.jpg" /></a></div>
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It seems that drawing cutie-pies was a prime interest for Jack Cole -- and who could blame him?<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Check back tomorrow as we post another rare Jack Cole find!</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><b>The 12 Days of Cole-Miss Postings:</b></span></i><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Days 1 and 2:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy Style Humorama Cartoon Covers</a> (1950-60s)<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b style="color: #333333;">Day 2: </b><b><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" target="_blank">A Rare Jack Cole Playboy Style Cutie Pie Cover (1956)</a></span></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<b>Day 3:</b> <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/teasing-blonde-triplets-and-mad.html" target="_blank">Teasing Blonde Triplets and Mad Japanese Spies (Private Dogtag 1944)</a><br />
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Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Cartooned,<br />
Eel O'Brian<br />
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<br />Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-89693601185135003852012-12-17T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-24T08:11:59.209-08:00Teasing Blonde Triplets and Mad Japanese Spies in Jack Cole's Private Dogatag (1944)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2_Y7RL80Td8/UMz7xSAPMkI/AAAAAAAAJcI/Zy6OAPgem7c/s1600/Jack+Cole+military+29+private+dogatag+sexy+redhead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2_Y7RL80Td8/UMz7xSAPMkI/AAAAAAAAJcI/Zy6OAPgem7c/s320/Jack+Cole+military+29+private+dogatag+sexy+redhead.jpg" width="278" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;"> THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS: </span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> DAY 4 </span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> 12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> Posted every day until Dec. 25th </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="background-color: white;">Today's lump of Cole in your stocking is a whopping 9-page story from <i><b>Military Comics (</b></i>May, 1944). Here is another one of the extremely weird Private Dogtag stories that Jack Cole wrote and drew.</span><br />
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Sex had a wholesome flavor for Americans in WWII -- a healthy, robust style that seemed to go into darker areas after the war, leading to Bettie Page style BDSM. Jack Cole followed this trend, and -- to a certain extent -- fueled it. In the early 1940s, American GIs loved sexy American women (not to mention sexy European gals -- at least in the mainstream). They oogled them at moviehouses, drooled at them on calendars, and even painted them on their bomber planes. All of this was socially acceptable and a point of pride. The iconic American photograph celebrating the end of WWII shows a soldier passionately kissing a prime example of American womanhood. Given this, it's no surprise that Jack Cole's Private Dogtag stories mostly revolve around worshiping the sex appeal of American women and dissing Japanese with racist caricatures. This story of three dizzy blondes is no exception.<br />
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This is another classic identity-shifting story by Cole -- a common theme found in his work.<br />
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Check back tomorrow as we post another rare Jack Cole find!<br />
<br />
<i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>The 12 Days of Cole-Miss Postings:</b></span></i><br />
<b>Days 1 and 2:</b> <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy Style Humorama Cartoon Covers</a><br />
Day 2: A<a href="http://www.colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-rare-jack-cole-playboy-style-cutie.html" target="_blank"> Rare Jack Cole Playboy Style Cartoon Cover (1956)</a><br />
<br />Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-24404497610608770122012-12-16T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-17T09:21:28.815-08:00A Rare Jack Cole Playboy Style Cutie Pie Cartoon (1956)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2rk4HAibTr4/UMzkoku1QvI/AAAAAAAAJbI/m4m2DC1CJO8/s1600/Jack+Cole+Jake+1956+Freelancer+blog+title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2rk4HAibTr4/UMzkoku1QvI/AAAAAAAAJbI/m4m2DC1CJO8/s1600/Jack+Cole+Jake+1956+Freelancer+blog+title.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;">THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS:</span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;">DAY 3</span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;">12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds!</span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;">Posted every day until Dec. 25th</span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Today's Cole in your stocking offering is another resplendent Jack Cole cover. Supplied by a fellow Jack Cole fan, this cover is from an unknown issue of <i><b>The Freelancer</b></i>. It seems a safe bet that this is the back cover art to issue number 2 (1956), which featured the very informative and cool spread on Jack Cole. I've published this <i>Freelancer </i>article earlier in the blog,. For your convenience and continued amusement, here 'tis again:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GpxFlyz1tok/UMzneSM5etI/AAAAAAAAJbg/2M6G4Rbw47Q/s1600/Cole+Freelancer+article1%5B7%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GpxFlyz1tok/UMzneSM5etI/AAAAAAAAJbg/2M6G4Rbw47Q/s640/Cole+Freelancer+article1%5B7%5D.jpg" width="464" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1V58xoR-rC4/UMznfzvrXrI/AAAAAAAAJbo/yMiKcm8DRwk/s1600/Cole+Freelancer+article2%5B13%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1V58xoR-rC4/UMznfzvrXrI/AAAAAAAAJbo/yMiKcm8DRwk/s640/Cole+Freelancer+article2%5B13%5D.jpg" width="482" /></a></div>
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In 1956, Jack Cole was very likely the most-admired freelancer in the American cartoon world. His breakthrough success in Hugh Hefner's <i><b>Playboy</b></i> was the dream of every freelance cartoonist - although few had the talent and drive of a Jack Cole. </div>
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At the bottom of the second page of the article above, we see a note to check out the back cover to see a "typical Jack Cole cutie-pie drawn in his popular 'PLAYBOY' magazine technique."</div>
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For the first time on this blog, I'm pleased to present that back cover:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VyZ2BQTM6bY/UMzotEvWfnI/AAAAAAAAJbw/wo3u5QFdRI0/s1600/Cole+Freelancer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VyZ2BQTM6bY/UMzotEvWfnI/AAAAAAAAJbw/wo3u5QFdRI0/s1600/Cole+Freelancer.jpg" /></a></div>
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This art appears to have a faint Christmas holiday feel to it -- with the "jingle cowbell" necklace and Xmas green coloring. Alas, we have no month listed on any of these pages. In any case, although the art is done in Cole's <i><b>Playboy</b></i> style, there can be little doubt that he did this cartoon especially for <i><b>The Freelancer</b></i>, since the lovely "belle" is reading an issue of said magazine!<br />
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Many thanks to the kind reader who shared this image for us all to enjoy.<br />
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Check back tomorrow as we post another rare Jack Cole find!<br />
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<i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>The 12 Days of Cole-Miss Postings:</b></span></i><br />
<b>Days 1 and 2:</b> <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/jack-coles-sexy-playboy-style-humorama.html" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy Style Humorama Cartoon Covers</a><br />
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<br />Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-5179844827783731112012-12-15T12:18:00.001-08:002012-12-15T12:26:17.540-08:00Jack Cole's Sexy Playboy-Style Humorama Cartoon Magazine Covers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vTWK1wW45W8/UMzGR1nAj3I/AAAAAAAAJYw/ygavczqCWaA/s1600/Jack+Cole+Jake+1961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vTWK1wW45W8/UMzGR1nAj3I/AAAAAAAAJYw/ygavczqCWaA/s320/Jack+Cole+Jake+1961.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white;">THE 12 DAYS of COLE-MISS:</span><br /><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;">DAYS 1 and 2</span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;">12 days of NEW Jack Cole finds!</span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;">Posted every day until Dec. 25th</span></b><br />
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Friends, it's been a heckuva year, this so-called 2012. I dunno about you, but I'm a bit WOOZY and my brain's sorta WINKIN' on and off from the MIDNIGHT qualities of our times. What's it all about? I haven't got WUN CLOO. But, I do know this:<br />
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We could use a bit of cheer these dark daze.<br />
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My own esoteric brand of love and largess is to reach into my archives and share with you from the small treasure trove of new Jack Cole finds that I have accumulated over the last year. It's been a little quiet here at Cole's Comics this year, as I've been focusing on my <a href="http://www.screwballcomics.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Masters of Screwball Comics</a> blog, and then jumped on board to co-edit an exciting new book on the great <b>Rube Goldberg</b> forthcoming from a major publisher. I miss posting here at Cole's Comics, so we'll call this celebration the <b>12 Days of Cole-Miss</b>. I'll post every day from now until December 25th, offering Jack Cole delights that have never been published on this blog, and in many cases are virtually unknown to the world.<br />
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Since I had this furshlugginer idea last night, and we're getting started with 11 days left 'till Xmas, I'll start out with an extry-large helpin' of Cole for your stocking today. Hoo hah!<br />
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<i><b>"On the First Day of Xmas, my own true blogger gave me... a collection of rare JACK COLE covers."</b></i><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xaXeu1JR-Ok/UMzLPrk-30I/AAAAAAAAJZI/GKLo0CAYATk/s1600/Jack+Cole+Laugh+Riot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xaXeu1JR-Ok/UMzLPrk-30I/AAAAAAAAJZI/GKLo0CAYATk/s1600/Jack+Cole+Laugh+Riot.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Klassic Kole Kartoon Kover - date unknown, circa mid 1950s</td></tr>
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Jack Cole worked in comics from 1938-1954. He had a longer parallel career as a magazine gag cartoonist that spanned 1936-1958. With the success of Plastic Man in the 1940s, Cole was mostly dormant as a magazine cartoonist. In the mid-50s, when Cole left comics, he returned to his magazine cartooning career with renewed vigor.<br />
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Usually working with the pen name of "Jake," Jack Cole sold a small pile of beautifully drawn, sex-drenched cartoons to the bottom-of-the bucket rags of the day, including the <b>Martin Goodman</b> organization that published the Humorama line of magazines (and also the Timely/Atlas comics). These were mostly digest-sized pulpy collections of badly drawn cartoons and fuzzy black and white photos of women posing in lingerie. Scrambling for work, a few good cartoonists sold to the Goodman books, including Archie's <b>Dan DeCarlo</b>, <b>Bill Wenzell</b>, and Cole's Quality Comics stable-mate, <b>Bill Ward</b>. Many of the Jack Cole Humorama cartoons have been published in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Pin-Up-Art-Jack-Cole/dp/1606992848/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355599208&sr=8-1&keywords=jack+cole" target="_blank">The Classic Pin-Up Art of Jack Cole</a> by Alex Chun.<br />
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Occasionally, Cole's cartoons ran as color front and back covers on these publications, which usually featured the star models, including <b>Bettie Page</b>. The editors of these pheromone flip-books must have known a good thing when they saw it, realizing --as<i><b> Playboy's</b></i> <b>High Hefner </b>did around the same time -- that Cole's fantastic renderings of the female form were as powerful -- if not more so -- than actual photographic image - and that translated into higher sales.<br />
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Cole's cartoons in the Humorama publications appear to have been recycled several times, in some cases. Here's a 1955 Humorama digest cover that features a "Jake" cartoon on the cover.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BZcooonyroc/UMzQUPVZeeI/AAAAAAAAJZg/5jFnxOSV3t4/s1600/Breezy+Feb+1955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BZcooonyroc/UMzQUPVZeeI/AAAAAAAAJZg/5jFnxOSV3t4/s640/Breezy+Feb+1955.jpg" width="459" /></a></div>
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This same cartoon ran several times in the interior pages of the various Humorama mags. Here, it's been given a "star" position as the first interior page of a 1962 issue of <i><b>Romp</b></i>. This was four years after Cole's death. The recycling of Cole's cartoons speaks both to the cheapness of the publisher, and also to the high quality of Cole's work.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XEhQXfkOXNY/UMzRZqtdSVI/AAAAAAAAJZo/EEIWeqU8tsQ/s1600/Romp+Jan+1962+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XEhQXfkOXNY/UMzRZqtdSVI/AAAAAAAAJZo/EEIWeqU8tsQ/s640/Romp+Jan+1962+003.jpg" width="473" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A recycled Jack Cole cartoon, four years after his death.</td></tr>
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Here's another 1955 Humorama magazine with a Jack "Jake" Cole cartoon on the cover, very likely only one of many times it was published. As a side-note, Jack Cole himself as a tall man.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gedSfxVrpJk/UMzSeDGB-NI/AAAAAAAAJZw/mm2-te6wUSM/s1600/Joker+Feb+1955+6+Jake+cartoons+inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gedSfxVrpJk/UMzSeDGB-NI/AAAAAAAAJZw/mm2-te6wUSM/s640/Joker+Feb+1955+6+Jake+cartoons+inside.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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Here's yet another Jake cartoon on the cover of a 1955 Humorama magazine. Heh, heh... darn those low, slinky cars!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OTxA-Nzluh8/UMzUR8FLJNI/AAAAAAAAJZ4/Mk7cvzcQpZ4/s1600/Joker+April+1955+Jack+Cole+Jake+5+cartoons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OTxA-Nzluh8/UMzUR8FLJNI/AAAAAAAAJZ4/Mk7cvzcQpZ4/s640/Joker+April+1955+Jack+Cole+Jake+5+cartoons.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
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Ah, if only the interior contents of the magazines lived up to the promise of the covers. Sadly, most of the pages inside are covered with poorly drawn, badly written, and utterly forgettable cartoons. Most of the cartoons look like they were drawn in about five minutes with no goal except to score a few bucks. In contrast, many of Cole's expertly composed, effort-filled "Jake" cartoons had a good point to make. Two good points, actually. These points were usually located on the chest of a woman, as in the case of this next cover cartoon:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RLU5gaZ0TBI/UMzVYgrukDI/AAAAAAAAJaA/I8AxBR4F7Co/s1600/Comedy+May+year+unknown+Bettie+Page+and+Jake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RLU5gaZ0TBI/UMzVYgrukDI/AAAAAAAAJaA/I8AxBR4F7Co/s640/Comedy+May+year+unknown+Bettie+Page+and+Jake.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When icons collide - Jack Cole meet Bettie Page.<br />
Publication date unknown, circa 1950s<br />
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Culturally, this is an extraordinary cover. In this cover, we have an explosion of 1950's underground sex icons: the work of the premier sexy girl cartoonist of the 1950s is displayed with the most celebrated girl model of the day, the incomparable Bettie Page (here spelled "Betty"). Although I haven't been able to identify the actual date of publication, it's a safe bet this cover appeared somewhere between 1955-1960.<br />
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In 1961, this cartoon ran as the cover of a November, 1961 issue of <i><b>Popular Jokes</b>. </i>The publisher is listed as Timely Publications, which was no doubt one of the myriad publishing names used in Martin Goodman's empire of low-rent publications. This magazine was large than the digest books, measuring 8 inches wide and 10.75 inches tall. I was lucky enough to recently acquire a copy of this magazine and can now present it to you as a large high-quality paper scan from my own collection:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Py-YVB2NCs4/UMzZt0meq0I/AAAAAAAAJaY/68dvSo-UdU4/s1600/Jack+Cole+Jake+Popular+Jokes+November+1961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Py-YVB2NCs4/UMzZt0meq0I/AAAAAAAAJaY/68dvSo-UdU4/s640/Jack+Cole+Jake+Popular+Jokes+November+1961.jpg" width="481" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rare case where politics and sex don't mix: A recycled Jack Cole "Jake"cartoon.<br />
(from the collection of Paul Tumey)</td></tr>
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We'll close, appropriately enough, with a colorized Cole cartoon that ran on the back cover of the December, 1961 cover of the Humorama digest <i><b>Gee Whiz</b></i>! Here, we see Cole returning to the hillbilly theme, which he worked with from the earliest stages of his career.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p5yHFaD2BqQ/UMzcjuXfBPI/AAAAAAAAJaw/O3ciMsZmrDk/s1600/Jack+Cole+Humorama+cartoon+Gee-Whiz+47+December+1961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p5yHFaD2BqQ/UMzcjuXfBPI/AAAAAAAAJaw/O3ciMsZmrDk/s1600/Jack+Cole+Humorama+cartoon+Gee-Whiz+47+December+1961.jpg" /></a></div>
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That's it for today, friends. Be sure to check back tomorrow, and every day up until December 25, as I share some of my new Jack Cole finds.<br />
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Laffin to keep from cryin,<br />
Eel O'Brian<br />
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<br />Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-7606675529832007362012-10-31T17:01:00.000-07:002016-12-22T16:02:03.772-08:00Beautiful Sexy Witch Melts Plastic Man in a Superb Jack Cole Horror Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3RSwnzvwEFg/UJGoPd0EH_I/AAAAAAAAI40/fKybZga4GjU/s1600/sexy+comic+book+witch+1953+plastic+man+jacke+cole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3RSwnzvwEFg/UJGoPd0EH_I/AAAAAAAAI40/fKybZga4GjU/s320/sexy+comic+book+witch+1953+plastic+man+jacke+cole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In his work, Jack Cole certainly appears to have had certain unconscious dark obsessions. It's these very obsessions, combined with a wildly inventive mind, and a stunning talent for creating visual images that are the foundation of Cole's greatness, both as the creator of Plastic Man stories and as the signature Playboy cartoonist. We see evidence of all these elements, perhaps in their most potent form, in today's "Dark Plas" Halloween post, " The Witch of Wailing Woods," a little-known, mostly overlooked story from <i><b>Plastic Man #42</b></i> (July, 1953).<br />
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The story, like many of Cole's later Plastic Man adventures, is built around a beautiful evil woman. In this case, Cole offers us a gorgeous raven-haired witch named Zelda, clad in a fetching dress that splays the black strands of a spider and its web across her perfectly-formed breasts.<br />
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The more I look at this story, the more impressed I am with it. Jack Cole's last comic book stories are among his best, in my opinion -- although it is a far cry from the zany screwball antics for which Cole is best-known. It may be this puzzling and extreme shift in tone that accounts for why these Cole stories remain largely undiscovered and certainly unappreciated by his fans. In many cases, the stylistic and tonal shift is so extreme that the stories, unsigned, are often not identified as Jack Cole's work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NWTWLzu-U2o/UJGs13YQmcI/AAAAAAAAI5I/3AYAkEHm3Gw/s1600/plasticman4301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NWTWLzu-U2o/UJGs13YQmcI/AAAAAAAAI5I/3AYAkEHm3Gw/s320/plasticman4301.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <i>Plastic Man 43</i></td></tr>
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Admittedly, Cole's last comic book stories, from 1952-54 are dark, twisted, and disturbing -- put simply, they are not nearly as much fun to read as his humor-based work. Why did Jack Cole, a guy who did humor comics so well and so successfully, step into the dark world of monsters, death, dismemberment, and pure evil?<br />
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Perhaps Cole and his editors at Quality Comics were attempting to keep pace with the breaking trend of horror comics, led by E.C. with titles like <i>Haunt of Fear</i> and <i>Tales From the Crypt</i>. It's one way to explain why Cole and Quality took a character deeply rooted in humor and slapstick and recast him into one supernatural horror story after another. In the issue that comes after the one in which this witch story appears, Plastic Man and Woozy battle a vampire.<br />
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At the same time Plas and Woozy fought witches, werewolves, and vampires in the pages of the last Plastic Man comics Cole drew, Quality also brought out a new horror title, the sinister-sounding <i>Web of Evil</i>. The star artist at <i>Web of Evil</i>... Jack Cole.<br />
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It seems to me that the real story here is not that Cole made such a surprising left-turn from humor to horror in his work, but rather that he did it so well. It's easy to become preoccupied (and repulsed) with the darkness of his last dark comic book stories and miss the extraordinary level of accomplishment in creating sequential graphic narratives that Jack Cole achieved in this work.<br />
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Here's a video presentation I've made to analyze and appreciate the splash page of today's story. In looking at this one page alone, we find a high level of design, great inventiveness and craft, and -- of course -- a weirdness and particular shadowy tone unique to Cole's work.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PgIaEG6j_oE" width="420"></iframe>
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And, without further ado, here's the story. Some notes and observations follow.<br />
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Whew! Pretty grim stuff! However, remember, it was in <i>Police Comics 22</i> that Cole dispenses with a villain by snapping his head in a bear trap.<br />
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Upon closer examination, one can find traces of Jack Cole's shadow-side in his earlier work. Given this, it seems to make sense that Cole -- tasked with a new direction from humor to horror -- would be able to embrace it with gusto, as he does in this story, much in the same way Plas embraces the sexy witch.</div>
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"The Witch of Wailing Woods" features a woman who is both deeply desirable and extremely deadly. Plastic Man seems drawn to her as a man. He curls around her, extends and grows his body to encircle and embrace her. In one panel, Cole delivers a somewhat tender, sexually charged portrait of Plastic Man and Zelda that resonates with similar panels in his other stories of this period.</div>
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Woozy, an incorrigible womanizer, is the very portrait of a man bewitched when he gets close to Zelda. Cole plays it up with a dash of humor and a couple of cartoon sweat drops, but compared to the Tex Avery style wolf takes Cole was drawing just 3 years earlier, this is pretty restrained. </div>
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A real witch (and talented), Zelda seems to be able to use a mixture of spells and voodoo to acquire a certain power to control and destroy both people and inanimate objects. She seems motivated to establish a new business model, by selling her services at a premium, as opposed to simply using her powers to get money. She appears to have no empathy at all, and kills two of her henchmen after making them suffer in agony. In others, Zelda, the beautiful sorceress, is as crazy as a bedbug.</div>
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Cole -- in his comic book stories, at least -- appears to be both drawn to and oppressed by beautiful women. In one panel, a man writhes on the ground in torture and gasps, "I can't stand it! She's killing me!"</div>
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Throughout the story, Cole uses the bright red body of Plastic Man (is that costume his skin, or actual clothes he's wearing?) to direct the eye through his shadow-drenched, inky-black tableaux.</div>
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In my video above, I spoke of how Cole created different visual planes and then broke them with vigorous movement through them in the splash page. Consider the smoke and Plas' left arm, which move away from the planes nearest the reader towards the rear planes.</div>
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And then the thug-monster's two arms move him the opposite direction, from the rear, to the front. When we step back and look at this composition, we see that all the elements swirl around the central figure of the luscious wicked witch. the smoke curls around her, as does Plastic Man's arm. She is the catalyst of this composition, as she is the catalyst of this story. So, the splash page is symbolic and perfectly in resonance with the story the will follow. This strikes me as pretty sophisticated and accomplished art, in any medium. Cole uses this multi-dimensional, depth-of-field technique in several standout panels within the story itself:</div>
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As the story reaches climax (cough cough) Cole makes his panels more dense.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3HRZdK8mwAA/UJG4hqwYESI/AAAAAAAAI70/7V40mc5HSos/s1600/Plastic+Man+voodoo+doll+witch+jack+cole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3HRZdK8mwAA/UJG4hqwYESI/AAAAAAAAI70/7V40mc5HSos/s320/Plastic+Man+voodoo+doll+witch+jack+cole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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While the story may be somewhat hackneyed and cliche-ridden, and the horrific nature of the visuals may be something of a turn off when one expects to see Cole's funny stuff, I maintain that his last comic books have great merit and encourage all readers to seek them out. I leave you with one of my favorite panels in the story. After drawing Plastic Man in exceptional volume and intensity for over decade, Cole had a unique feel for what a man who had a rubber body would actually look like in our reality, and in this panel, he delivers a beautiful and surprising image, that is both funny and challenging. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tRZre15rUkc/UJG6Dl6cebI/AAAAAAAAI8E/7u-EzgwY1ro/s1600/jack+cole+plastic+man+monster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tRZre15rUkc/UJG6Dl6cebI/AAAAAAAAI8E/7u-EzgwY1ro/s320/jack+cole+plastic+man+monster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This was one of Jack Cole's last Plastic Man stories. It's a shame that, having achieved this high level of expertise, and being so talented, he didn't stay in the field and make more comic book stories. </div>
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Somewhat like Plastic Man in this panel, Cole's soul and emotional health may not have been up to its normal resiliency. The field he had worked so hard in for 15 years was rapidly changing and edging him out. Even though he was artistically successful (perhaps more than anyone realized until recently), his shift from humor to horror wasn't doing the trick. Like Plas, he knew he had to do something fast. A few months later, he submitted some gag cartoons to a new men's magazine, called Playboy, and made another virtuoso shift in artistic approach, from horror comics to sexy cartoons. This time, his work was noticed and celebrated -- but sadly, it seemed to make little difference to a man who must have still had the darkness we see in his last comic book stories locked up inside.</div>
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Happy Halloween 2012,</div>
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Paul Tumey</div>
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<i><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>WANT MORE DARK PLAS? SEE MY 2011 HALLOWEEN POST <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/10/dark-plas-special-halloween-post.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</b></span></i></div>
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<i>All text copyright 2012 by Paul Tumey</i></div>
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Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-14028464517114625992012-10-16T12:51:00.001-07:002012-10-17T12:27:45.927-07:00Three Strange Early Jack Cole Cartoons - 15 Years before Playboy!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-URdNSOFOla4/UH2z98oabsI/AAAAAAAAIzY/lKWstij8h9U/s1600/blog+title+early+jack+cole+picture+scoop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-URdNSOFOla4/UH2z98oabsI/AAAAAAAAIzY/lKWstij8h9U/s320/blog+title+early+jack+cole+picture+scoop.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Here's a NEW Jack Cole find -- three very early bizarre, death-crime-and-punishment oriented gag cartoons from the pages of Lev Gleason's <i><b>Picture Scoop Volume 1, #</b></i>4 (April, 1943). </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The magazine was one of several mainstream "slick" style publications published by Lev Gleason, the publisher of Charles' Biro's comic book </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Crime Does Not Pay</b></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">. Gleason also hired Jack Cole in late 1939 to edit his comic book,</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Silver Streak </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">(named after his new car</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">)</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">, where Cole created <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search?q=the+claw" target="_blank">The Claw</a>, <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search?q=silver+streak" target="_blank">Sliver Streak</a>, <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search?q=Daredevil" target="_blank">Daredevil</a>, T<a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2010/05/pirate-prince-coles-first-sexual.html" target="_blank">he Pirate Prince</a>, and <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search?q=dickie+dean" target="_blank">Dickie Dean - Boy Inventor</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">By the time of <i><b>Picture Scoop's</b></i> publication, Jack Cole had left Lev Gleason, worked briefly for MLJ (Archie) and then moved over to Quality Comics in 1941. In an earlier article (which you can read <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/11/jack-cole-battles-hitler.html" target="_blank">here</a>), we looked at some original anti-Hitler cartoons from issue one of <i><b>Picture Scoop</b></i>. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xCq-BMO_JkE/UH20nP74QgI/AAAAAAAAIzg/NMzwWSOFPFM/s1600/PictureScoop1943-04p01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xCq-BMO_JkE/UH20nP74QgI/AAAAAAAAIzg/NMzwWSOFPFM/s200/PictureScoop1943-04p01.jpg" width="153" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cover of <i>Picture Scoop #4</i> (April, 1943)</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Many thanks to </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Darwination</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> please be sure to visit his <a href="http://darwinscans.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Darwination Scans Blog</a> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> for many scans of amazing old magazines and ephemera) for scanning this magazine and making finds such as this possible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">The Cole cartoons all bear his late 30's magazine gag cartoon signature that we see in the 1936-40 </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Boy's Life</i><span style="font-family: arial;"> cartoons (you can read over 20 of the cartoons and my article <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/01/jack-coles-boys-life-cartoons-1936-40.html" target="_blank">here</a> -- check it out folks, this is one of the best achievements of this blog!)</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4mRG_me2TKY/UH22guodZaI/AAAAAAAAIzo/OVOv6CPsf0w/s1600/Jack+Cole+boys+life+signatures%5B5%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4mRG_me2TKY/UH22guodZaI/AAAAAAAAIzo/OVOv6CPsf0w/s640/Jack+Cole+boys+life+signatures%5B5%5D.jpg" width="272" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: arial;">The subject matter of these is too grim for the </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Boy's Life</i><span style="font-family: arial;"> scouting market, so they must have been done for some other market. I'm thinking Cole may have targeted a crime or police stories magazine, since these feature cops, albeit doing pretty morbid acts!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">By 1943, Cole's style was very different, and it had been three long years since he had worked for Gleason... so I am thinking he pulled these out of a drawer of his rejects and sold them to his former boss. I suspect these cartoons were done in the late 1930's, probably 1937 or 1938.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">In any event, here's the cartoons, in order from strange...</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PTULmGoiapg/UH23qzmuhyI/AAAAAAAAIz4/iRe_ZtbdDJI/s1600/Jack+Cole+1943+Picture+Scoop+4+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PTULmGoiapg/UH23qzmuhyI/AAAAAAAAIz4/iRe_ZtbdDJI/s400/Jack+Cole+1943+Picture+Scoop+4+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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... stranger... (note: colored blue to make it more readable):</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oD-iqPE9kT0/UH231lmFH7I/AAAAAAAAI0A/3ls_k-veOps/s1600/Jack+Cole+1943+Picture+Scoop+4+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oD-iqPE9kT0/UH231lmFH7I/AAAAAAAAI0A/3ls_k-veOps/s400/Jack+Cole+1943+Picture+Scoop+4+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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... and downright dark!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uf9sd2wdtrY/UH23_dzWwFI/AAAAAAAAI0I/Uw5dFourioY/s1600/Jack+Cole+1943+Picture+Scoop+4+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uf9sd2wdtrY/UH23_dzWwFI/AAAAAAAAI0I/Uw5dFourioY/s400/Jack+Cole+1943+Picture+Scoop+4+3.jpg" width="343" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;">It seems that even in the first years of his career, Cole was fascinated with death. It's this mordant, elemental bent that raises Cole's cartoons up as noteworthy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">The cartoons appear in a spread in the magazine, and one wonders if the red tinting of the two "off-color" gags is to decrease their impact:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8ON2iwJifg/UH23DwQobSI/AAAAAAAAIzw/cUhxnw6Qigg/s1600/PictureScoop1943-04+cartoon+spread+with+Jack+Cole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8ON2iwJifg/UH23DwQobSI/AAAAAAAAIzw/cUhxnw6Qigg/s400/PictureScoop1943-04+cartoon+spread+with+Jack+Cole.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three early Jack Cole cartoons share space with others in <i>Picture Scoop #4</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: arial;">I don't know who the other cartoonists are in this spread, but this gives you a good look at how distinctively screwball Cole's style was, even in the early years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">And speaking of <a href="http://www.screwballcomics.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Screwball Comics</a>, here's a FREE SNEAK PREVIEW of the latest exciting development at my other blog, The Masters of Screwball Comics. This is the stuff that influenced Jack Cole, Harvey Kurtzman, and other major American cartoonists. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Here's page one of the special <a href="http://www.screwballcomics.blogspot.com/2012/10/screwball-goes-to-dogs-doc-syke-milt.html" target="_blank">"GONE TO THE DOGS" issue</a> of my faux newspaper Screwball Sunday Comics Supplement. If you like what you see there's lots more -- just click <a href="http://www.screwballcomics.blogspot.com/2012/10/screwball-goes-to-dogs-doc-syke-milt.html" target="_blank">here</a> and get ready to guffaw!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.screwballcomics.blogspot.com/2012/10/screwball-goes-to-dogs-doc-syke-milt.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tDEpW_Ntwy0/UH25PbN7_rI/AAAAAAAAI0Q/J_dQvL3_Xos/s640/Doc+Syke+Smokey+Stover+cartoon+dogs.jpg" width="496" /></a></div>
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Screwily Yours,</div>
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Paul Tumey</div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-21514766669450431022012-09-16T11:54:00.000-07:002012-09-16T17:03:43.069-07:00Two Rare Jack Cole Cartoons for Stamp Wholesaler Mag (circa 1954)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OpoJV1Bmd5w/UFYU502rwKI/AAAAAAAAIUc/AheJ-7GJv84/s1600/Stamp+Wholesaler+Jack+Cole+blog+title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OpoJV1Bmd5w/UFYU502rwKI/AAAAAAAAIUc/AheJ-7GJv84/s320/Stamp+Wholesaler+Jack+Cole+blog+title.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
In the mid-1950s, Jack Cole was starting over, at the bottom. After 16 years of hard work and success, creating comics such as <i>Plastic Man</i> that were read by millions, he changed careers. As the comic industry collapsed, Cole -- like several other comic book guys -- decided to see if a living could be made selling gag cartoons to magazines.<br />
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As we've seen in earlier postings, Cole was no stranger to the magazine market. His first professional sales were to a national magazine, <i>Boy's Life</i>, in 1936 (you can read my article and see over 20 rare Cole cartoons <a href="http://www.colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/01/jack-coles-boys-life-cartoons-1936-40.html" target="_blank">here</a>). He continued to place cartoons in magazines through at least the early 1940s. Then, he became so successful and busy with his comic book stories that he stopped pursuing the magazine markets for about a decade. So it was that Jack Cole returned to selling cartoons to magazines around 1953 or so, with rusty chops and an outdated style.<br />
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Although he had a few promising sales to the higher markets, such as <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/11/unknown-jack-cole-goodies-continue-to.html" target="_blank"><i>The Saturday Evening Post</i></a> in 1954, and <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/10/lost-jack-cole-cartoon-from-playboy.html" target="_blank"><i>Look</i></a> in 1955, Cole discovered that, if he wanted to pay the bills, he had to set his sites lower. And so he did. Most famously, Cole published sexy girlie cartoons in the Martin Goodman "Humorama" line of cheap digests. His mid-50s cartoons turn up in the darnedest places, In a March, 1955 issue of <i>Mirth</i>, we find a stunning 12 great gag cartoons (you can read them <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/12/cole-in-your-stocking-12-new-cartoon.html" target="_blank">here</a>). He had a sexy, and genuinely funny color comic strip in a Military newspaper (read that one <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/09/there-was-playboy-and-also-army-jack.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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One of the "low" markets Cole submitted cartoons to was a brand new, obscure magazine called <i>Playboy</i>. In short order, his star rose again, even higher than with <i>Plastic Man</i>, as he became the signature star <i>Playboy</i> cartoonist and smack dab in the middle of a major cultural phenomenon. You can read Cole's Playboy cartoons <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search/label/Playboy" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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While recently in New York, I was lucky enough to visit a noted Cole scholar and discovered, with delight, the original art for two Jack Cole gag cartoons hanging on his wall! Both cartoons were previously unknown to me. I was fascinated to see that both cartoons had a "Stamp Wholesaler" slug pasted on them. These are clearly part of Cole's mid-50's climb to establish himself as a magazine cartoonist.<br />
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There's an entire secret history of cartoons and comics in America that can be found in specialist trade and hobby magazines such as the<i> Stamp Wholesaler</i>. Plumbers, electricians, and even <a href="http://www.screwballcomics.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-mild-screwballism-of-russ-johnsons.html" target="_blank">hardware retailers</a> all had trade magazines with cartoons. So why not stamp collectors?<br />
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Here's the first Cole cartoon. I apologize for the fuzziness. This is a camera photo taken in low light, but still clear enough to read and appreciate:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T5sCIfqj70c/UFYbJbxTdqI/AAAAAAAAIUw/14Rz73PBkhE/s1600/Stamp+Wholesaler+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T5sCIfqj70c/UFYbJbxTdqI/AAAAAAAAIUw/14Rz73PBkhE/s640/Stamp+Wholesaler+1.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh, all right, if it'll make you feel better, I'll burn Russia and her satellites."</td></tr>
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The cartoon is a clever reference to the anti-communist movement in America led by Joseph McCarthy. The composition is exquisite, with the wife's body forming almost an arrow pointing out the window. We naturally see her figure first, and then trace back to the husband and his stamp album.<br />
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I did a little research and discovered that the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library at Ohio State University has a collection of over one thousand original cartoons published in The Stamp Wholesaler. Cole's name is not listed, but the collection is not extensively cataloged. Here's some information about the Stamp Wholesaler found on the <a href="http://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/2012/06/12/found-in-the-collection-the-stamp-wholesaler/" target="_blank">Billy Ireland Cartoon Library</a> blog:<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The magazine, published by Lucius Jackson until the late ’70s, was (from what we can gather) much beloved in the philatelic community and ran articles on stamp collecting, as well as cartoons, among their ads for dealers. Contributing cartoonists included Bill Bobb, Joseph Serrano, Bert Gore, John Dunnett, Roy O. Carling, John Dawson, Cairo Sturgill, Lowell E. Hoppes, Bill Newcombe, Brad Anderson, C. K. Weil, Joe Bresch, Jim M’Guinness, Tony Saltzman, George L. Stewart, Bob Rieker, Doug Baker, and H.B. Harn.</span>
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<span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">I also discovered, on the <a href="http://comicsdc.blogspot.com/2007/06/cartoons-from-stamp-wholesaler.html" target="_blank">Comics DC blog</a>, the existence of a 1951 collection of cartoons from <i>The Stamp Wholesaler</i>. There's very likely no Jack Cole cartoons in this collection, since he was submitting cartoons to niche markets like this mostly from about 1953-56.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PH4k8PJYHD8/UFYc4YxR30I/AAAAAAAAIU4/xy8NDqq-mWU/s1600/Stamp+Wholesaler+collection+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PH4k8PJYHD8/UFYc4YxR30I/AAAAAAAAIU4/xy8NDqq-mWU/s320/Stamp+Wholesaler+collection+cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Amazon currently has a copy for sale for a mere $40, if anyone wants to check it out, just to be sure. . Here's a scan of the center spread:</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0G_VJZHepQ/UFYdc8AMyzI/AAAAAAAAIVA/I10cJK-hH6k/s1600/Stamp+Wholesaler+collection+centerspread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0G_VJZHepQ/UFYdc8AMyzI/AAAAAAAAIVA/I10cJK-hH6k/s400/Stamp+Wholesaler+collection+centerspread.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">These cartoons are decent enough, but Cole's work is far superior to these. I have no idea if the cartoons I saw were ever actually published in the <i>Stamp Wholesaler</i>, but they'd have been crazy NOT to take these gems!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Here's the second Jack Cole stamp collecting cartoon:</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YC8WZIFuHOc/UFYd1Sk67SI/AAAAAAAAIVI/bYAl0fR7XoM/s1600/Stamp+Wholesaler+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YC8WZIFuHOc/UFYd1Sk67SI/AAAAAAAAIVI/bYAl0fR7XoM/s640/Stamp+Wholesaler+2.jpg" width="498" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"But how can you make a living at it if you won't let anything go?"</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">I imagine that many collectors (stamps, comics, or you name it) out there can relate to this scenario. I can't tell you how many times I found a treasure in a dusty, dank corner of a comics shop and when I asked about the price, the owner furtively said, "Oh this -- it's not for sale."</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Cole was letting go of a lot... and his cartoon draws on his experience. These two cartoons both are drenched with anxiety, as with his last comic book stories and his comic strip, <i>Betsy and M</i>e, from a few years later.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Again, we have a masterful composition, with the anxious stamp dealer backed into a corner. The perspective focuses the eye on the dealer, and then, as with the anxious wife in the cartoon above, we trace back to the customer. Perfectly done. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I also love the organic shapes of the blacks, and the thin, perfectly controlled brush line. It was a treat to find these gems. Many thanks to the art's owner, who generously allowed me to share these with ya!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Always unhinged,</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Paul Tumey</span></span>Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-33747890711752548672012-07-11T21:58:00.001-07:002012-07-11T22:01:00.039-07:00Jack Cole Gets A Cloo: Racism, Morbidity, and Great Screwball Comics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nSnaUsKYBbg/T_5S9IX6TMI/AAAAAAAAGo0/JTBqYE9xmU0/s1600/Wun+Cloo+by+Jack+Cole+title+card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nSnaUsKYBbg/T_5S9IX6TMI/AAAAAAAAGo0/JTBqYE9xmU0/s320/Wun+Cloo+by+Jack+Cole+title+card.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jack Cole wrote and drew about 700 one-pages for Quality comics, mostly from about 1940 to 1945. Some of these I've shared in this blog: <i>Burp the Twerp</i>, <i>Dan Tootin</i>, <i>Windy Breeze</i>, and <i>Slap Happy Pappy</i>. It's time we rolled out the last of Jack Cole's great one-pager series, <i><b>Wun Cloo, The Defective Detective</b></i>. Cole did not create the character -- that dubious honor goes to <b>Gill Fox</b>, who also created <i>Windy Breeze</i>. When Fox moved up through the ranks to become an editor at Quality, Cole took over many of his one pagers.</div>
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The premise of the <i>Wun Cloo</i> one-pagers is to present a screwball (and unknowingly racist!) send-up of detective stories. It was likely inspired by the Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto books and movies featuring Asian detectives. I have put off posting anything about <i>Wun Cloo</i> because, by today's standards, the comic is painfully disrespectful to people of Asian descent. Fox and Cole don't even have the excuse that we were at war with Japan, since the character was created before Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.</div>
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In their feeble defense, such stereotyped portrayals were pretty common place and their comic was just one of many. Here's a comic from the same period, <i>Ching Chow</i>:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ching Chow</i> by Stanley Link offered daily pearls of wisdom</td></tr>
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Amazingly, Ching Chow, which started in 1927, lasted until 1980! </div>
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Nevertheless, some of the <i>Wun Cloo</i> pages are still of interest of to Cole fans -- if you can peel away the racism, there's some mighty fine screwball cartooning. This is something that modern fans of American Golden (and earlier) comics and pop culture have become expert at -- looking past the outrageous racism in the works. <i>Plastic Man </i>was also a humorous version of crime and detective stories, so <i>Wun Cloo</i> could be seen as a testing ground for what Cole later used in his Plas stories.</div>
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In fact, months before he created <i>Plastic Man</i>, Cole used the concept in a landmark morbid <i>Wun Cloo</i> 2-pager:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from <i>Smash 17 </i>(December, 1940)</td></tr>
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As he did with many of his one-pagers, Cole played with his drawings and had fun. I've read that he would start his work session knocking off one of the one-pagers as a warm-up. Whew! This was a hard-working guy! In our next example, you can see Cole indulging his love of visual patterns...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Smash Comics #20</i> (March, 1941)</td></tr>
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Despite his appearance, <i>Wun Cloo</i> often came out on top:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Smash #24</i> (July, 1941)</td></tr>
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For some reason, Cole seems to have populated <i>Wun Cloo</i> with a great deal of his darkly comic imagery, as in this next page:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l6oQ9a7hDj0/T_5R06UlinI/AAAAAAAAGok/PMjPoHHIo98/s1600/smash29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l6oQ9a7hDj0/T_5R06UlinI/AAAAAAAAGok/PMjPoHHIo98/s640/smash29.jpg" width="449" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Smash #29</i> (Dec, 1941)
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This next <i>Wun Cloo</i> one-pager features both a rare Jack Cole caricature of Adolf Hitler, and an example of his patented face-changing trick, which Plastic Man used on numerous occasions. The page is also looney as hell...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Smash #32 </i>(March, 1942)
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That's all for now! More <i>Wun Cloos</i> to come at a later date!<br />
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Thanks for reading and be sure to visit my <a href="http://www.screwballcomics.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><b><i>NEW BLOG</i></b></span> </a>all about cool screwball comics, featuring original paper scans from my collection of <b>Milt Gross</b>, <b>Rube Goldber</b>g, <i><b>The Squirrel Cage</b></i>, <b><i>Smokey Stover</i> </b>and more! This is the stuff that inspired Jack Cole. You can only find this stuff at <a href="http://www.screwballcomics.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>The Masters of Screwball Comics</i></span></a>!<br />
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Stretchily Yours,</div>
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Paul TwoClueMe<br />
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<br /></div>Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-17339092634164827352012-04-12T16:49:00.001-07:002012-04-13T17:03:10.876-07:00Jack Cole's High Velocity Grandpa - A New Find From Circa 1938<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B4wDKJrCouI/T4dhoGEV3PI/AAAAAAAAFSg/d9v0HgJx68k/s1600/Jack+Cole+1938+Foxy+Grandpa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B4wDKJrCouI/T4dhoGEV3PI/AAAAAAAAFSg/d9v0HgJx68k/s1600/Jack+Cole+1938+Foxy+Grandpa.jpg" /></a></div>
I never cease to be amazed at Jack Cole's unmatched ability and desire to propel his characters through space. <a href="http://www.digitalcomicmuseum.com/" target="_blank">The Digital Comic Museum</a> recently shared a rare, obscure <b>Harry Chesler</b> comic that contains a reprint of a terrific little 2-page story Jack did at the dawn of his career in comics, circa 1938-39 (thanks to Frank Young for this dating information). Although we don't yet know the original publication information for this story, it appears in <i><b>The Komik Pages #10</b></i> (April, 1945). Incidentally, this was the only issue published! Even though it's unsigned, there's no doubt this story is written, penciled, inked, and lettered by Jack Cole. The manic energy and sheer quantity of comic graphic ideas in these two pages is unique to Cole, who embraced these elements of screwball comics and made them his own.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0nrjPM2VBCM/T4djVI-AfOI/AAAAAAAAFSo/Dc6_fpTN2ls/s1600/Komik+Pages+10+cover+April+1945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0nrjPM2VBCM/T4djVI-AfOI/AAAAAAAAFSo/Dc6_fpTN2ls/s200/Komik+Pages+10+cover+April+1945.jpg" width="142" /></a></div>
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Harry Chesler was an early -- if not the first -- example of a comic book publisher of reprinting their own material. This is why we see a Jack Cole story in one of Chesler's 1945 books, years after Cole had begun to work at Quality. It's interesting to think that on some newsstands around February 1945, Cole's great Plastic Man comics stood alongside this unsigned reprint of his much earlier work. </div>
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Foxy Grandpa is a character that can be traced back to early newspaper comics. How -- and why -- Chesler felt compelled to add such an ancient character to his own mix of one- and two-page comics, is a mystery. The idea of an old man doing funny things has limited appeal to me, but maybe it cracked up readers of Chesler's generation. Here's a <i>Foxy Grandpa</i> page from 1902, a dozen years before Jack was even born! I'm not sure who drew this.</div>
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<img height="250" src="http://www.barnaclepress.com/cmcvlt/FoxyGrandpa/fg020601.jpg" width="400" />
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In this episode, Foxy Grandpa cleverly foils two Katzenjammer-style kids and turns their own prank against them. Maybe this was wish-fulfillment for an older generation. You can find more of these enigmatic old FG comics, plus a ton of other amazing old comics at the <a href="http://www.barnaclepress.com/list.php?directory=FoxyGrandpa" target="_blank">Barnacle Press</a> website. In any case, somehow, Foxy Grandpa has become an indelible part of our folk culture. A few years ago, I was startled to see a reference top Foxy Grandpa in a Spongebob cartoon (<i><b>One Krab's Trash</b></i>) I watched with my son Reid:.</div>
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While others wrote and drew Foxy Grandpa at the Harry Chesler studio, Jack Cole's version of the character is uniquely his, imbued with superhuman energy that at times seems to rival Superman's and The Flash's powers. Check out the 1939 <i>Foxy Grandpa</i> story I posted earlier <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/search/label/Foxy%20Grandpa" target="_blank">here</a>, where he runs up and down the side of a mountain! "The body's old, but the motor's in high gear!" sez Foxy Grandpa. </div>
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In today's addition to our digital archive of lost gems form the Cole-mine, Foxy Grandpa careens and ricochets across a frozen lake like a bullet shot from a gun. Cole clearly was consciously injecting high velocity into his cartoons to distinguish them. I think he was probably hugely influenced in this by the screwball school of comics, particularly <b>Bill Holman's </b>madcap newspaper comic strip <i>Smokey Stover</i>. (By the account of one of Cole's colleagues, <b>Craig Flessel</b>, Cole was a fan of <i>Smokey Stover</i>). See my earlier post <a href="http://colescomics.blogspot.com/2009/06/jack-coles-influences-bill-holman.html" target="_blank">here</a> on Holman's influence.</div>
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I think Cole loved the speed and density of screwball comics, and created his own unique mix in the structure of a longer sequential graphic narrative. His breathless Plastic Man stories went up to 15 pages. Here, early on, he's experimenting with extreme speed in a two page story.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RpoeY3NNw2o/T4doGajCYUI/AAAAAAAAFTo/C4YqkBmekEg/s1600/Jack+Cole+Foxy+Grandpa+Page+1+KomikPages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RpoeY3NNw2o/T4doGajCYUI/AAAAAAAAFTo/C4YqkBmekEg/s400/Jack+Cole+Foxy+Grandpa+Page+1+KomikPages.jpg" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foxy Grandpa 1 by Jack Cole - Komik Pages 10 (April 1945)</td></tr>
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There are many remarkable aspects to this little dose of dizziness. Check out the car in page one, panel two -- I've observed before that Cole's cars rarely had their wheels on the ground. You see this a lot in his first run <i>Midnight</i> stories.</div>
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Page one, panel seven offers a terrific low-angle "camera" view, which is reversed in the first page of the next page. Page two, panel four shows us Foxy Grandpa underwater, and is a wonderfully abstracted, wordless panel on its own-- somehow Cole perfectly conveys the feeling of diving into dark water. He sure packed a lot into this throwaway story! It's terrific that we have the chance to appreciate it some 70 years later!</div>
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<br /></div>Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-6755556125916093952012-03-29T17:53:00.001-07:002012-03-30T07:18:57.991-07:00Plastic Man's Rare 1944 Cameo Plus a New Dan Tootin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's my 50th birthday today, and I wanted to post something cool. Here's a largely unknown Plastic Man cameo from <i>Hit Comics 32</i> (Summer 1944). The story looks to me to be done by <b>Alex Kotzky</b>, who assisted Jack Cole on many Plastic Man stories at Quality.<br />
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The abrupt and brief appearance of Plas in this story on pages 5-7 may have been a tribute of sorts to Cole. Kotzy was the truest imitator of Cole and he does a terrific job of rendering the stretchy sleuth in this story.<br />
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Many thanks to <a href="http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/" target="_blank">Digital Comic Museum</a> (it's their birthday, too!) for sharing this great scan.<br />
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Here's the whole wacky story:<br />
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And, as an extra special treat, here's a terrific NEW Jack Cole <i>Dan Tootin</i> one-pager, also from <i>Hit Comics #32. </i>More great <i>Dan Tootin</i> pages by Cole can be found <a href="http://www.colescomics.blogspot.com/search/label/Dan%20Tootin" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<b>GO HERE NOW!</b><br />
<b>Please check out my NEW blog, <a href="http://www.screwballcomics.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Masters of Screwball Comic</a>s. This week, to celebrate my 50th birthday, I'm posting FIFTY rare screwball comics!</b><br />
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<b><br /></b>Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024420441109756132.post-46707728333140143592012-03-23T12:22:00.000-07:002012-03-23T12:22:21.618-07:00Two Rare Jack Cole Pencils of Playboy Style Cartoons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sadly, very little of Jack Cole's pencil work exists in any form. Here are two extremely rare examples of his masterful drawing from around 1952-54. </div>
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It's a sheer delight to see how loose Cole's pencils are, and how well he captures the necessary round, feminine forms. </div>
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The bold strokes on these pages, which were probably done with a very thick pencil lead or perhaps a conti crayon of some sort give us an indication of the strength of his compositions. For example, in the cartoon below, we can see how Cole intends for the lines of the brickwork and even the lines of copy in the newspaper to direct the eye towards the sultry siren he has so beautifully sketched.</div>
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These drawings are what is known as "roughs" of cartoons that were sent to magazine editors. It's not known if these cartoons were ever completed or published. In the top right corners of the pages, you can see Jack's address stamp from his New Milford, Connecticut home.</div>
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Instead of taking the effort to finish a cartoon, a cartoonist could send in a "rough" preliminary drawing. This also afforded the editor a chance to alter the cartoon or caption, as in the example below, where the caption has shifted towards a more screwball tone.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Cole cartoon rough, probably for a Humorama publication</td></tr>
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As in the first rough, this drawing's bold pencil strokes and composition elements indicate exactly where Cole wants the eye to go. </div>
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For more on Cole's cartoon composition, see our popular guest post by Timothy O'Neil: <a href="http://www.colescomics.blogspot.com/2011/11/jack-coles-playboy-style-cartoon.html" target="_blank">Jack Cole's Playboy Style Cartoon Composition</a>.</div>
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And, speaking of screwball, be sure to check out my new blog, <a href="http://www.screwballcomics.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Masters of Screwball Comics</a>. This blog features some way cool nutty stuff, including many rare comics scans from my collection that fans of Jack Cole will appreciate. This week's post features more incredibly wacky Gene Ahern comics!<br />
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<br /></div>Paul C.Tumeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05398929835829679477noreply@blogger.com0