Number 1183: Caught with her panthers down

"Fangs of the Panther," from Harvey's All-New Comics #11, which is cover-dated Spring 1945, is probably at least partially inspired by the movie, Cat People, which was a big hit in 1942. Jerry Robinson, who had started his career assisting Bob Kane on Batman, is the artist. He was proud of this story, or appeared to be, since he signed it in both the splash and last panels. Signed comic book stories weren't unusual, but signed in two places was unusual.

Robinson died December 8, 2011, at age 89. He was active at that late stage in his life, based on this drawing of Robinson which appeared in The New Yorker magazine in May, 2011. Robinson was one of the pioneers of comic books, having joined Kane's studio as a teenager in those days when comics were finding their form.

Another pioneer, Bob Powell, was also represented in the same issue of All-New Comics, with a predecessor to the character, The Man in Black Called Fate*, the Man in Black Called Death, a name with a morbid air about it. It's the same character, though, with the gimmick of the Fate/Death character's face always in shadow.

*The Man in Black Called Fate is represented here by issues number 1 and 2 from 1957 in Pappy's #822, and Pappy's #1019. In 1947 the character appeared in Green Hornet Comics as The Man in Black, who introduced himself as Mr. Twilight! I showed a story in Pappy's #867.

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Number 1019


What is your fate?


I wonder if Harvey Comics' Man In Black, which I read new as a '50s pre-teen, helped shape my view of fate as an unseen force over which we have little or no control. Or maybe it's just me who thinks our lives are some sort of cosmic joke. What decisions over the decades led to where I am now, and what I do...sitting at a computer scanning old comic books and posting them on a blog. It's fate, I tell ya! At the age of 10, poring over Bob Powell's great artwork and the intriguing premise of Man In Black I could not have foreseen my future, but I remember reading the comic, wondering what fate held in store for me.

I showed you Man in Black #1 in Pappy's #822.

From Man in Black #2, 1957:

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Number 867


Bob Powell has fun


Everybody have a nice Christmas? Hope yours was as nice as mine.

But, Christmas is over, and time to get back to the business of bringing you old comic books. Today a couple of 1947 Bob Powell stories from Harvey's Green Hornet #33. Powell didn't do the title character, but his work on two backup strips stands out. "Spirit Of '76" has an oddball premise for a costumed hero; a West Point cadet. I think those guys would have enough to do without parading in a gaudy red costume and mask. Powell makes it work with the funny hillbilly characters, "the Smith Brothers." Some of the panels in this strip remind me of Powell's former boss, Will Eisner.

He had fun with both the stories. I showed you the first issue of Powell's Man In Black in Pappy's #822, where the MIB was "The Man In Black called Fate." Here's an earlier version, when the Man In Black was also known as Mr. Twilight. He mixes it up with a gremlin and I especially like his Father Time, which seems appropriate for this last week of the year.

Here's a warning that on the last page of the Man In Black strip is a single panel comic with a stereotyped and racist black character. It was my decision to include it because it was not uncommon in its time, over 60 years ago, and I apologize if it offends anyone.

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