100 Days Of The King - Day 41

I always wondered why a Sherlock Holmes character was included in this ensemble of Simon and Kirby creations.

It turns out that Joe and Jack pitched a Sherlock Holmes strip when they first landed at DC after their success on Captain America at Timely. The idea was nixed but at least now we know why the sleuth from 221 B Baker Street is staring the leering Red Skull in the crimson mug and sits atop this gaggle which includes Stuntman, Cap, Sandman, Guardian, Blue Bolt, The Boy Commandos, the Newsboy Legion, Sandy, Bucky, Betty Ross, Green Sorceress, among others.

You take the image at the tope and add the image above and you have the wonderful cover for The Art of the Simon and Kirby Studio by Mark Evanier.

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100 Days Of The King - Day 36

One of Simon and Kirby's most entertaining creations is Stuntman. While he didn't end up being much of a financial success for Harvey Comics when the duo launched him alongside Boy Explorers after the WWII boom, nonetheless the art and story Joe and Jack produced for this quixotic and amiable character was top notch. Here is a rendition of the character by the 'King" with Jim Steranko supplying the inks. (Of course Steranko was oddly an influence on Kirby when he created Mister Miracle for DC as part of the Fourth World saga.)

Here is that same image minus the Steranko embellishment, just in raw Kirby form.

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Stuntman - Split-Second Action Take Three!

The third issue of Stuntman came out and it didn't. The series was cancelled with the second issue, but a third was published (sort of) in black and white and mailed out to subscribers. That issue featured one sole Stuntman story. The original unused cover art can be seen in the ad above and in a revised form as the cover for Joe Simon's The Comic Book Makers.

"Rest Camp for Criminals" begins with the Stuntman gang of Don Daring, Sandra Sylvan and Fred Drake doing research on the old west for a possible script. They are looking particular for a story about the scar-faced outlaw Windy Hill who supposedly lived in a town called Roaring Gulch. The gang head there for more details not knowing that the near ghost town is actually a rehab for mobsters who have lost their edge and need some re-training to become functioning thugs once again. But soon enough they stumble on the truth and Stuntman (Fred Drake) must don his costume and save the day with wild fisticuffs.

This story was ultimately published in color in the thirty-ninth issue of  Harvey's Green Hornet Fights Crime.

Harvey also published another remaining Stuntman story in the thirteenth  issue of All-New Comics.

"The Diamond's Curse" begins with Fred Drake, Don Daring, and Sandra Sylvan all at a party at the home of Adele Hoppat who famously owns the "Hoppat Diamond" and is having the party to celebrate the completion of her fancy new fish pond. But villains are in the shadows and soon robbery is afoot as Stuntman dons his costume to rescue Sandra who was kidnapped by the thugs as they attempted to speed away by car. He does so, but a ferocious crash kills the hoodlums and despite that the diamond still is missing. Don Daring investigates of course and suspects Banker Burns to whom Hoppat owes a great deal of money. The fish pond becomes an item of interest and when Sandra naively catches a rare fish for dinner the diamond turns up in its stomach. But things are not what they seem still and Stuntman must still make an appearance to save the day.

A fourth issue of Stuntman must have been underway since so much artwork exists of unpublished stories. The art above appears to a cover for issue four (some sources say the second issue), but the story doesn't seem to connect any existing material.

Some of the greatest and most tantalizing Stuntman artwork was discovered in 1980 and existed for many years only in the personal collection of Joe Simon. One example is this utterly fantastic two-page spread for a story featuring "The Panda". Love to have read that one.

Here's an ad with a smidgeon more on the character. 

Likewise this story titled "The Evil Sons of M. LeBlanc" seemed exciting. Looks like some great derring-do by the whole Stuntman gang.

This artwork (in magnificent color) made the cut into the Titan reprint volume which I've been using for these reviews. Likewise is complete but largely un-inked unpublished story "Stuntman Crowns a Jungle Lord" to the African jungle to film a movie. They quickly run up against dangerous cannibals but press ahead nonetheless. The film is not successful because of Don Daring's less than convincing portrayal and the antics of Ozzie Meeker who wants the role for himself. Ultimately Stuntman must put in an appearance to fend off dangerous African animals including a leopard and a gorilla.

There is one more Stuntman tale that got published, a two-page text piece which showed up without notice or fanfare in, of all places, the ninth issue of the highly successful Joe Palooka comic. Not at all sure who the author might've been. I suspect it was not Joe Simon nor was it Jack Kirby.

And that was that.

Stuntman, for all his brief glory has long taken his place among the great creations of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby -- the only costumed hero they created for an entire decade, from 1942 (Golden Guardian) to 1953 (Captain 3-D). The lighthearted tone of the stories offers a nice reprieve from the density of many of comics great characters who are often dealing with mighty weighty things. Simon and Kirby characters smile an awful lot, showing that while they are most often dealing with danger they nonetheless enjoy the thrills and life itself. A good lesson for us all, fight the good fight, but don't forget to grin from time to time.

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Stuntman - Split-Second Action Take Two!

The second and alas final newsstand edition of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Stuntman features one of their most exciting covers. Again the faux book design is used to great effect.

"Curtain Call for Death" opens with Sandra Sylvan and another actor named Wendell Spencer as they entertain on the stage. Spencer though falls down dead on the stage and while the audience is momentarily confused, thinking it a part of the act, both Don Daring and Fred Drake are not so sure. They rush back stage to find Sandra distraught that her co-star has actually passed away. Soon we meet his understudy, a guy named Gil Golden and his tutor, an unsavory fellow called Anton Thorax. While Fred fills in for him on the movie set doing wild stunts, Don Daring investigates and quickly seems to suspicious behavior with Thorax. Fred on the other hand as Stuntman seems to have other ideas. A trap is laid to discover the murderer who reveals himself but as usual Stuntman saves the day.

"The Rescue of Robin Hood" is a story which perhaps gives us a clear picture of where the series might have gone if it had lasted longer. We find Don Daring cast as Robin Hood in the movie "The Outlaw of Sherwood Forest" and Sandra Sylvan as Maid Marian. Fred Drake of course is around to handle the difficult stuff for Daring. But in this one Fred is spotted by the director and is given a role which complicates Daring's usual scheme. Daring is momentarily fooled that he himself is just as physically capable as Drake but is soon disabused of this notion after several embarrassing incidents. Meanwhile in the background mysterious men seems to want to interfere with the production, but Stuntman arrives on the scene and things are quickly clarified. This story felt like a comedy more than an adventure story.

These are the only two Stuntman stories in this issue which also features another Simon and Kirby creation, "The Duke of Broadway" as well as other tales by other talents. Here's a glimpse as Stuntman himself introduces the new feature.

To read the complete issue go here.

Sadly the great cover art produced for this issue was simplified to its lasting detriment on this reprint from Harvey a few years later.

Much better was the use in 1987 by Pure Imagination when they reprinted several of Stuntman's adventures in glorious black and white.

Here's the handsome back cover art of that volume by the King which was inked by Greg Theakston for publication. 

Stuntman was cancelled after the second issue. The post-war years were a time of boom and bust. Stuntman alas proved to be a bust, but as we can see it was not for lack of artistic merit,  but for the most basic of reasons-- it didn't sell. The reasons for that had little to do with the quality of the series, but with the glut of material which was launched onto the newsstands at this time. Joe Simon reported unopened bundles of Stuntman were returned simply because newsstands had no space to feature new comics and dedicated that space to tried and true efforts.

Here's an ad for the never-to-be published third issue of Stuntman. For more on that effort and other Stuntman odds and ends be here next Saturday.

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Stuntman - Split-Second Action Take One!

One of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's most vibrant creations was the effusively colored Stuntman created during their time at Harvey Comics. The team was just reunited after Simon's and Kirby's return from the military and they wanted to launch a post-war hero who might capture the excitement of their smash Captain America and their successful features at DC like Sandman and Manhunter. That they failed is more of a sign of the times than the wonder of their creation, but nonetheless we have a few delightful Stuntman comics to look at in the next several weekends.

"Killer in the Big Top!" is the first Stuntman story and gives us a rousing origin features echoes of Robin the Boy Wonder and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. We meet Fred Drake, a member of a trapeze act called "The Flying Apollos". Bandmaster Circus, where they work and own some ownership in is under siege from a series of seeming accidents which are coincident with offers from a party unknown to buy the circus. Fred is shocked at the loss of his mates when they fall to their deaths and then chances upon movie star Don Daring who likes to spend his leisure time as a detective. It turns out that Daring and Drake look almost exactly alike and Daring hits on the scheme to hire Drake to be his secret "stuntman" for his more strenuous roles and thus leaving him more time to sleuth. Not in on the secret is the lovely actress Sandra Sylvan who arrives in time to add to the mix. Daring turns out to be not a very effective detective but does stir up enough trouble that Drake has to don his old trapeze togs along with a helmet to come to his rescue, thus beginning his career as "Stuntman", a figure who Sandra finds mysteriously attractive.

Thus it begins.

"The Crime on Cauliflower Row" follows up with Daring becoming even more an incompetent and somewhat comedy-relief detective, even sporting a deerstalker hat. He assigns Fred to fill in for him during a boxing scene where former slugger Herman Glassjaw takes the chance to try and knock out the man he believes is the irritating Don Daring. But finds that Drake delivers a very strong punch indeed. Then Sandra discovers to her horror that her jewels have gone missing and Daring leaps to the chance to investigate. He finds a matchbook from the "Olde Fistcuff Fraternity" (a retired fighters lodge of sorts) and using his detective kit takes a fingerprint. Rushing to the Fraternity's location he sets out to fingerprint the members and finds quickly that the print belongs to Glassjaw who is a member. A rousing fight breaks out and Fred Drake as Stuntman has to enter the scene before Sandra makes a startling discovery.

"House of Madness" is the third and final Stuntman story in the debut issue and wild one it is. Sandra Sylvan is kidnapped and taken to Chalker Rest Home where she is admitted as if she were insane while her kidnappers make off with her belongings. She quickly meets a range of "inmates" who appear to personify various fairy tale characters such as Mother Goose, Snow White, the Seven Dwarves, Jack the Giant Killer, and more. Don Daring in his full Sherlock Holmes mode tracks her but quickly finds himself captured and admitted as well. Fred Drake discovers where the pair are being held and goes there as Stuntman to find out what is the problem. After a typically vigorous battle the day is saved.

If you would like to read the debut issue of Stuntman go here.

Stuntman began with a typically action-filled Simon and Kirby send off. The circus setting, which is abandoned after the first story gives way to the thrills of the movies. Fred Drake is a fairly typical S&K hero, bold and physically impressive in his wide-stanced fashion. He delivers his powerful punches with the usual S&K intensity and seems as nimble as many of their heroes of the past (Captain America, Sandman, Manhunter, and Golden Guardian).

So it is a surprise that Stuntman only last two full-color issues with a third disseminated only in black and white to subscribers. Stuntman was a spectacular failure on the newsstands and perhaps speaks of a time in comics when there were lots of competing books to buy and superheroes were losing their dominance on the market. More on that next time.

It's too bad as this debut issue offered up a neat blend of classic comic book action and a small flavor of satire. Fred Drake is a tough as nails hero, full of energy and verve and the desire to see right done, but his doppleganger Don Daring is a fop, a fake hero who is interested in appearance more than reality. That both seek justice in their own way, with only Drake finding a real measure of true success speaks volumes about the virtues that Simon and Kirby sought to advocate.Throw in Sandra Sylvan who seems to be a straight up ditzy dame, a relative rarity in my Simon and Kirby reading, and you have a cast which is two-thirds comedy relief.

Oh and I simply love the faux-book design they used for the original cover. That look was obscured when some of the comic (two of the three stories) was reprinted some years later by Harvey in Thrills of Tomorrow.

Harvey also reprinted the debut story for Stuntman in the ninth issue of Black Cat, without fanfare.

I personally probably first ran across Stuntman in Fun Comics from AC back in 1980. The cover above is Bill Black's revision of the debut splash.

More Stuntman to come next week when the second and sadly final full-color issue is examined.

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