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dr_hermes (dr_hermes) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-05-17 18:03:00

Entry tags:

char: captain america/steve rogers, char: captain marvel jr./freddy freeman, char: captain marvel/billy batson, char: plastic man/patrick o'brian, char: venus, era: golden age

Gee, our light-hearted adventures got gruesome all of a sudden

Woof. VENUS started out as a chipper romance comics, playing up the glamor angle with its star literally being Venus, Goddess of Love. Then it got into science-fiction and then outright horror (That second cover is by none other than Bill Everett) at the end. This happened quite a bit to titles after WW II ended and super-heroes fell away.

For the most part, publishers didn't particularly care what was in their comics, they were focussed on what really mattered... how much money came in. Merchandise was also important, sometimes the toys and lunchboxes and Halloween costumes made more than the comics themselves. If there was a huge demand for comics about antique furniture, titles like CAPTAIN AMNESIA and THE HUMAN GALOOT would be dropped in a blink and newsstands would fill up with FURNITURE TALES, ANTIQUES MUST BE SAVED and LACQUER GIRL. With the sharp decline in super-hero popularity, publishers found romance sold for awhile, as did teen comedy, horror and Westerns. Before the costumed avengers vanished, though, they often found themselves suddenly plunged into nightmarish scenes in which they seemed out of place.

Injury to the eye much, Junior?

The Big Red sliced Cheese.

Hey, where's Linda Turner, the gorgeous crimefighting Black Cat?

Cap always said he'd follow the Red Skull into Hell itself.

A laugh a minute with Plastic Man. Well, not really.

(Post a new comment)

	icon_uk 2009-05-17 05:29 pm UTC (link)
	Wow! That Captain Marvel Jr on is just crying out for a 3D cover, no? :) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	dr_hermes 2009-05-17 05:36 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, and I'd put it right over the breakfast table to look at first thing in the morning (ack!). (Reply to this) (Parent)

	galateus 2009-05-17 07:34 pm UTC (link)
	This may be the greatest post comprised entirely of covers ever. I love how it makes learning about the cold, heartless publishing industry fun. Why does Plastic Man's enemy ant look so damn cute? Ants do not have faces! Is it some hideous ant/human-baby hybrid? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	dr_hermes 2009-05-17 08:03 pm UTC (link)
	Instead of horizontal mandibles, it also has a bird's beak. Most artists back then did not have more than a vague idea how to draw insects, spiders, octopuses.. a lot of animals, actually. Before Google, artists used to keep swipe files of pictures clipped from magazines for reference, and it often didn't have what was needed. (Thanks for the kind words.) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	foxhack 2009-05-18 12:03 am UTC (link)
	Is Plastic Man choking that ant or dancing with it? Really, I got a Ginger Rogers vibe outta him! (Reply to this)

	psychop_rex 2009-05-18 01:15 am UTC (link)
	Yeeugh. 'An eye-opener', indeed. (Reply to this)

	jlroberson 2009-05-18 03:30 am UTC (link)
	The horror Venus cover is about seven different shades of awesome. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	tilly_stratford 2009-05-18 01:06 pm UTC (link)
	Seconding the love of the creepy. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-05-19 04:36 am UTC (link)
	It was very much like my last date. Yes, I was the guy. Why do you ask? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	midare 2009-05-18 12:49 pm UTC (link)
	That Plastic Man cover. That ant. Excuse me while I go cry myself to anxious, nightmare-filled sleep in the corner. But it's a fun post, I love old comic covers. <3 Thank you for sharing! (Reply to this)