Marble Universe Day!

Marie Severin was born on this date in 1929. Severin was the sister of artist John Severin, and she was a key artist at EC Comics and later Marvel in its heyday. She was dandy artist on her own, but she was especially good at caricature and wild and wooly comedic action. It's hard to imagine Not Brand Echh without her. 

It's Earth-9047 according to those mavens who monitor such things. The "Marble Universe" is a mockery, specifically of the Marvel Universe and any other that a joke might demand. 

If "Mirthful" Marie Severin had never drawn anything but Not Brand Echh, she'd still be one of Marvel's most significant and important artists. While other "Bullpenners" contributed to the comic including such luminaries as Jack Kirby, Tom Sutton, Gene Colan, and such, the book's whole demeanor and feel was defined by Marie Severin's lively energetic renditions of the "Marble Comics" characters who populated the upstart pages of this self-deprecating rolling masterpiece.

More than anything else it was Not Brand Echh that made Marvel's talents different, not only a willingness to make fun of themselves, but actually an eagerness to find the absurdity in the comics they themselves produced and so put all of the effort into a more complete context. It was as far from stuffy as one could get. And leading the pack was Marie Severin, a masterful caricaturist who could nail not only the look but the feel of a person and imbue them with antic energy on the comic book page. These are Marie's real masterpieces, as loony as they are.

Here are her covers for the book, all of the run, save for a couple by Tom Sutton and Jack Kirby.

(Tom Sutton with Additions by Marie)

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Tennis, Anyone?

I adore this single page by the incomparable John Buscema and George Klein. These two blended their talents all too briefly on the Assemblers, but they created some exciting pages between them in that tiny period of time.

For one thing I like comic book pages where characters read comics, especially recognizable comics. It's fun, and suits the personality of Hawkeye (not yet revealed to be Clint Barton yet) perfectly.

And for another thing, his page is a clever multiverse-bending ending to a story from Not Brand Echh #12. That's a delightful cover by Marie Severin by the way. 

The whole story can be found here at the Diversions of the Groovy Kind Blog. The story by Roy Thomas and Tom Sutton is pretty funny and involves these "Revengers" at a very particular time in their history when they were arguably at their weakest. The team consisted of Goliath, the Wasp, Hawkeye, the Black Panther and brand-new member the largely untried Vision.

In fact, this story had to happen in between issues #58 and #59 of The Avengers run since that is the only possible time that the assembled team pictured so elegantly by Buscema and Klein ever existed. The Vision became an Avenger in issue #58 and the erratic Hank Pym doffed his Goliath duds to become Yellowjacket in issue #59.

So, it is in the pages of Not Brand Echh of all places, in this weird fusion of the of the Marvel and Marble universes where we find this Avengers team assembled for the one and only time really.

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The Kitchen Sink Spirit Cover Gallery #7

Here are the new covers that Will Eisner did for Kitchen Sink in 1991, the final year of the run. 

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The Kitchen Sink Spirit Cover Gallery #6

Here are the new covers that Will Eisner did for Kitchen Sink in 1990.

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The Spirit Archives Volume Sixteen!

It's 1948 and The Spirit stories just get better and better in this sixteenth volume of The Spirit Archives.  Will Eisner with Jerry Grandenetti on backgrounds is producing some of the finest tales ever created in the comics form. Adapting to many genres, the heart of this series has rarely beat with such vigor. Let's dive in. 

The Name is Powder January 4, 1948

Powder Pouf returns and makes her violent presence felt in this story which has her team up a guy named Bleak. She's looking for someone to replace her partner, who she beat up. Bleak seems like just the kind of guy a powerful woman like Powder might be able to dominate. All the while The Spirit is looking to bring in Powder and reform Bleak. 

The Fallen Sparrow January 11, 1948

Powder's return to prison puts her in contact with a young girl named Sparrow Fallon who has taken the blame for some embezzlement committed by her father. As she and others get swept up in a jailbreak, Bleak gets a job at the same bank, and we learn that he and Sparrow had dated many years before her father broke it off. Bleak proves his mettle and helps The Spirit to bring about some measure of justice. 

Just One Word Made Me a Man January 18, 1948

Ebony is looking to get strong and hangs on the promises made in the ad by Charlie Horse. (The ad of course is a parody of the all-too famous Charles Atlas ads which were all over comics and other magazines.) While Ebony works out, Charlie Horse becomes part of the Muckle-Dropper gang who are operating a protection racket. Fists fly in this outrageous yarn. 

Montabaldo January 25, 1948

The Octopus is back, and The Spirit almost has him in custody when the former jumps out of a plane and by outrageous fortune lands on an island which has only just risen from the ocean. Turns out this is a legendary island full of treasure which rises and descends from time to time. The Spirit still tries to get his man, but he is waylaid by Mr. Carrion and a lovely woman named Castenet. The race is on to get to this island before it sinks again. 

El Spirito February 1, 1948

In the second half of this Octopus classic, The Spirit is helped by the ghost of Captain El Muerto, the guardian of Montabaldo to stop the Octopus and Castenet from pillaging the treasure using modern diving equipment. It's a powerful struggle with deadly consequences. 

Blackmail February 8, 1948

Things look bleak for The Spirit when a Mr. Bubble shows up with evidence that The Spirit is Denny Colt. When Mr. Bubble is murdered, The Spirit seems to be the guilty party and even he cannot know for certain he might be innocent. It's left to Ebony White to get to the bottom of this grim escapade. We get several scenes from multiple perspectives. 

Merry Andrew February 15, 1948

In what seems to be an echo of Casey at the Bat, this story unrolls in rhyme. Merry Andrew shows up at a charity event in Central City and by spiking the punch, is able to drug The Spirit and later when they box, he defeats our hero. Riding this infamy, he becomes an enforcer for a mob, but then things get ugly. 

Life Below February 22, 1948

The Spirit pursues a killer into the sewers beneath Central City. He finds a whole community of criminals who have sought refuge in the dark and grim underworld. They are led by Mr. Worm, the killer The Spirit is chasing. Things get even more stressful when a snowstorm hits the city and the sewers flood. I was reminded of the movie C.H.U.D. 

The Return of Roger February 29, 1948

When Roger the dog escapes his new owner Serene Mayhem in Carter City, the case falls on the desk of Lieut. Grey who has to go to Central City in pursuit. The young Miss Mayhem is the daughter of a local political boss and so the pressure is on. In Central City Dolan has Ebony help Grey with the case, but it turns out that Roger has run away to be with Ebony who hides the dog in his coat. Grey had been introduced a year before and was Eisner's attempt to add a black character to the cast sans any minstrel details. 

The Strange Case of Mrs. Paraffin March 7, 1948

The fetching Mrs. Paraffin comes to Commissioner Dolan's office and confesses to the killing of her husband. He'd concocted a pill that would disintegrate a human body and wanted her to take it, but she slipped it in his drink and poof he disappears. But even with her confession there's no evidence of a crime, so Dolan refuses to follow up. The Spirit does, but he's unable to gather evidence either. Despite her best efforts to come clean it seems Mrs. Paraffin will go free. But then...

War Brides March 14, 1948

The Spirit captures and pretends to be the thug Homacyde to get the goods on his gang. But then a dame named Kretchma arrives, a war bride and she's looking for romance after some years in Siberia. Ellen Dolan gets involved and soon both she and The Spirit are hogtied. Kretchma has a few surprises left though. 

Tunnel March 21, 1948

When The Spirit attempts to get the goods on Ward Healy's illegal efforts to get contracts to build a tunnel it ends in an explosion. Only a strange and experimental device created by Professor Medulla allows Dolan to see the recent memories of a gangster killed in the blast. The strange events underground are even more bizarre than first imagined, especially seen through the eyes of a dead man. 

Ward Healy March 28, 1948

Ward Healy again attempts to corrupt the construction of the tunnel by killing the honest county supervisor Honest John Sliderule, and replacing him with the honest but inept Transit O' Plumb. But O' Plumb's work is so off base that the contracts still seem to be at risk. Dolan's attempts to bring Healy to justice put pressure on the project as well. As The Spirit gathers evidence, Dolan still demands a witness, and The Spirit leaves in disgust. 

Wild Rice April 4, 1948

Rice Wilder is a rich heiress who chafes at the comfortable life that fortune has granted her, and she seeks thrills and excitement which leads her into the arms of Mike Caliban, a thief and all-around villain. She becomes part of Caliban's mob and despite being beaten and abused. When she's finally had enough, things get truly tragic. The Spirit is trying to bring in Caliban and so is on hand for the final play. 

The Inheritance April 11, 1948

Ellen Dolan inherits an ancient house which once served as the base of a detective agency. She sees opportunity there. At that same moment the criminal Rattsy Trapp seeks to hide from The Spirit in Ellen's inheritance. She's captured for a bit, but uses her wits to cause the villain to walk right into fists of The Spirit. 

The O' Dolan April 18, 1948

It turns out this house was built by "The O' Dolan", an ancestor of Ellen's who was a pirate. Ellen is surprised to find Tim O' Leary who claims to be the caretaker inside her new property. Later still she encounters "The O' Dolan of County Conmeath" who she imagines must be her cousin. He uncovers a treasure inside the old house. At the same time The Spirit is pursuing some smugglers near the waterfront. This one is a spooky one. 

The Torch April 25, 1948

This is an interesting experiment where Eisner attempts to mimic the rhythms of a radio adventure program, complete with commercials. The Spirit is in trouble from the get-go with each commercial break for Goople's Cream and Hair Restorer Shampoo creating mini-cliffhangers. The Spirit is in pursuit of an arsonist named Arson Pyre. The claim is the strip needed ads to make ends meet, but our hero has had enough of the Goople Cream jingle by the end. 

The Wedding May 2, 1948

The impending wedding of Sparrow Fallon and Bleaker Moore is suddenly cancelled when Bleak puts a stop to it. The Spirit investigates and discovers that Bleak thinks that he's already married to a woman named Rosie, the former moll of mobster Carbine Carson. Their marriage had been a quick ploy to prevent Bleak from testifying against Rosie. The Spirit is able to uncover more details about "Rosie" and young love does indeed win the day. 

The Job May 9, 1948

Now married, Bleak feels the need to make more money, despite Sparrow's pleas that they are fine. He signs himself up for an experiment with a Dr. Ramadan who turns out to be the object of an investigation by The Spirit as well. Bleak's life is on the line when he discovers that he's part of an experiment in extending life that has been going on for centuries. A fun character in this one is Jack Frye who claims to be three hundred and seventy-two years old. 

The Last Hand May 16, 1948

J. Rollo Dyce is a gambler, one who thinks he's on a lucky streak when he gets away with killing his partner. He's looking for a new score when he finds a classified ad asking for someone to help an old woman take care of her house. He immediately schemes to kill off the old lady who welcomes him so kindly, but he is stymied in his plotting when it turns out he's not the only killer on the premises. The Spirit races to save what he believes to be an innocent victim. 

Assignment Paris May 23, 1948

All of Paris is thrilled when thanks to an assignment given to her by Commissioner Dolan, the seductive P' Gell returns to the city to recover some stolen jewels and capture her former husband (one of many of course) Don Carlos. Of course, The Spirit is on the case as well and the two contend for the credit and the reward. This one is great fun, and we are treated to a delightful action-packed fight featuring our hero. 

The Emerald of Rajahpur May 30, 1948

The Spirit is in England attempting to prove that Silk Satin is not a murderess. He helps her escape prison, but she quickly gives him the slip as she wants to pursue the case on her own. She had been accused of killing one Lord Elby and when The Spirit is able to discover his hideout, things really hot up. This one is full of subterfuge and disguise. One has to wait to the final panel to see who wins and who loses out. 

The Guilty Gun June 6, 1948

When the evidence of the scene suggests a gun killed a man from an impossible angle and distance, The Spirit and Commissioner Dolan have to question not only the widow, but their own senses. The victim had been accused decades before of killing his partner by dropping him into a vat of blazing metal. When The Spirit is able to track down the manufacture of the gun, that metal seems all important. 

Cheap is Cheap June 13, 1948

This one is about television and Ebony wants one. But he's unable to afford it but is given the chance to get one of four early experimental models if he can collect payments on the other three. In each instance he is stymied by gun violence which erupts at each residence and requires police involvement. Murder and death seem to stalk his trail and these TV's seem to be integral to the problem. 

A Bloodless Murder June 20, 1948

The slightly younger of the twin brothers Grimm wants half of the inheritance, but his brother refuses to share leading to our villain plotting his own murder so as to get his brother sentenced to death. The Spirit is not convinced by the evidence of the crime and doggedly pursues the truth. This one is a maze of deceit and death. 

The Spirit Takes a Vacation June 27, 1948

When The Spirit leaves town on a two-week vacation and Ebony refuses to tell Commissioner Dolan where he's at, Dolan becomes desperate when a swindler named Yogi Ahkan appears, and is soaking a Mrs. Gildtree for a grand a week. Goaded by Saree, Officer Klink goes undercover as The Spirit only to encounter Ebony doing likewise. Ahkan is ready for them though as well as a third Spirit of sorts.  

These are excellent stories, told with a confidence and craft that is regarded as a highlight in the form to this very day. Eisner is unafraid to extend stories across two sections, though he is careful to make each whole unto itself. The continuity and general sense of memory in the series gives it a richness which is very rewarding when reading them in this chronological manner. 

The adventures continue unabated next time in volume seventeen which takes a look at the strips from the last half of 1948. See you in a fortnight's time. 

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