IS THIS COLE #5 : The 1948 Bob and Swab Stories

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IS THIS COLE? - The Spirit 186: Jack Cole's First Spirit Section?

Story presented in this post:
"Druce's Time Bomb" AKA "Death After Death" [Story and pencils by Jack Cole(?), inks by Robin King (?)]
Originally published as Spirit Section 186 (December 19, 1943)
Reprinted (version in this post) in The Spirit #2 (1945, Vital)

Here's another fun SPIRIT story that seems to bear the unmistakable stamp of Jack Cole's flair for mixing the macabre and the madcap. I'll share a few thoughts, but first, the story itself:

Jack Cole ghosted THE SPIRIT for Will Eisner during WWII. Eisner, like so many other American comic book writers and artists served in the military (in Eisner's case, the Army and even some time at the Pentagon).

In 1943-45, Cole was one of the few American comic book artists not working for the war effort. As such, he took on as much of the available extra work as he could, more than likely building up a cash reserve against the day he would be called up (he never was).

If "Druce's Time Bomb" AKA "Death After Death" is Cole's work, then it would be his first SPIRIT Sunday section.

Cole had been ghosting the SPIRIT daily comic strip for a few months (soon to be reprinted in this blog, stay tuned!). We know this because, according to comics publisher, scholar, and SPIRIT expert Cat Yronwode's research, Jack Cole wrote and penciled some of the Spirit Sunday Section stories from December 19, 1943 (section number 186) to Aug 13, 1944 (section number 220). See Yronwode's checklist, here.

The opening splash panel, if it is by Cole, certainly is a departure from his style. The fine line work suggests to me the hand of Lou Fine. However, the bottom tier on page one, and the rest of the story certainly feels like Jack Cole's trademark farrago of comically contorted figures.

The script idea is very much in the vein of the supernatural, eerie ghost story that Will Eisner frequently wrote for this series. However, it goes in a direction very different than where Eisner would have typically taken it. Cole goes for laughs where Eisner went for creeps. Still, it is possible that Cole worked on this first effort from notes, or a partial script written by Eisner.

There are a few "tells" in the artwork that Cole's hand is present in this story. Most notably is the polka-dotted green pants of the clown, very similar to WOOZY WINK's unforgettable costume.

Another tell is the use of the jagged-edge balloon to emphasize an exclamation. Here's a panel from this story, and several others, to compare.

Also, the over-the-top drawings of the terrified MIXIE (see the art at the top of this post) in the final pages feels very similar to Jack Cole's comically over-dramatic reactions regularly found in his PLASTIC MAN stories.

So there's my thoughts. The story originally appeared in The Spirit Section 186 (December 19, 1943). The version we present here, is the 1945 reprint, from The Spirit #2 (Vital).

The Spirit #2 cover (not by Cole)

So, what do you think, dear reader, is this Cole? Your thoughts are welcome!

Is This Cole? (Spirit Section, Feb. 6 1944)

Story presented in this post:
"Radio Burglars"
Spirit Section 193 - February 6, 1944

I'm delighted to share with you this wonderful story, recently sent to me by fellow comics scholar and Jack Cole-miner, Darryl Aylward. Darryl writes that he strongly believes this story was drawn and perhaps written by Jack Cole.

I tend to agree, and will share some thoughts on that. But first, take a look for yourself:

Welcome back.

Jack Cole ghosted for Will Eisner while he served in the military during World War II. It's known that Cole wrote and drew the "Fannie Ogre" sequence in the mid-1943 daily SPIRIT comic strip (which we'll publish in a future posting on this blog!).

According to comics publisher, scholar, and SPIRIT expert Cat Yronwode's research, Jack Cole wrote and pencilled some of the Spirit Sunday Section stories from December 19, 1943 (section number 186) to Aug 13, 1944 (section number 220). See Yronwode's checklist, here.

The date of the SPIRIT story posted above, February 6, 1944, fits within this framework, increasing the probability that Jack Cole wrote and pencilled this story.

I shared this story with my lifelong friend and fellow comics scholar, Frank Young (check out his groundbreaking blog on John Stanley, Stanley Stories), and here's what he had to say:

Just read this... it's definitely Cole's writing... looks like his pencils. The crook characters have that kooky Cole look. The second panel on page one, the frantic physical action in the splash page, Dolan's fatalism at story's end, Ebony's Woozy Winks-ish actions, and the fact that the story is actually clever, readable and amusing all point the way to Mr. Cole's involvement.

I wish he'd done the finishes on the pencils. Robin King and/or Joe Kubert probably provided the inks. The look is just too slick--it takes away from the vitality of Cole's artwork. Still, it's a fine story. Eisner could have done no better.

I totally agree with Frank's points, and sentiment. I've read (and re-read) most of the Eisner SPIRIT stories, and I must say this one ranks as one of the funniest and most enjoyable SPIRIT stories I've ever read, to my surprise. Giving one of the crooks a gourmet obsession with stolen food spices up (pun intended) the standard generic SPIRIT petty thief.

And this panel made me laugh out loud:

It's genuinely funny that the sanguine criminal mastermind who has just pulled off a sucessful crime is kicked back reading a book called "Crime Doesn't Pay." This could also be a rare in-joke by Jack Cole, as this was also the title of a popular comic book, edited by his old pal from the Harry Chesler shop days, Charles Biro.

This story is filled with Cole-isms. For instance, the last panel of page 5 features our heros silouhetted in a profile of left-to-right movement against an enormous full moon, a visual motif Cole often used.

The panel also shows THE SPIRIT and EBONY's shadows on the grass, also a farily common visual device in Cole's pre-1945 work.

The similarity in brushwork between the 1941 Midnight panel and the panel from this 1944 story seems to suggest that perhaps Cole had a hand in inking part of this story, as well. It would be difficult to indicate this effect in pencils, which is mostly achieved through short brushstrokes.

Another tip-off that Jack Cole pencilled this story is the expert use of bold pattern as a design element. Jack Cole loved to visually enrich his comic book pages with colorful, high-contrast patterns. Perhaps his most famous use of this visual trope is the black polka dots on WOOZY WINKS' green shirt. Here is an almost random selection of stories from early 1944, when this story appeared:

This concludes my own thoughts about this story. Thank you, Darryl, for finding and sharing this story. What do YOU think about the SPIRIT story in this post, dear reader, is this Cole?