GINGER #2

(On Newsstands in January 1952)

I love George Frese (who would meet his mysterious and untimely death somewhere around this time), but seeing Harry Lucey take this title and... add his magic to it, is.... awesome!

(from Ginger #2 - January 1952, artwork by Harry Lucey)

Artists use movement lines around parts of the body to show... movement. Heads turning, moving forward, shaking... and other parts... jiggling.

(from Ginger #2 - January 1952, artwork by Harry Lucey)

Under hypnosis, Icky gets his moment in the sun, much to Ginger's surprise...

(from Ginger #2 - January 1952, artwork by Harry Lucey)

Good old fashioned cartoon violence!

(from Ginger #2 - January 1952, artwork by Harry Lucey)

Hmmm....

(from Ginger #2 - January 1952, artwork by Harry Lucey)

Who knew Ginger was an athlete?

(from Ginger #2 - January 1952, artwork by Harry Lucey)

ARCHIE COMICS #66

(On Newsstands in Nov. 1953)

The way Bill Vigoda drew Veronica's breasts on this cover, I'm wondering if THAT'S what he meant by 'tomatoes'.

(from Archie Comics #66 - Nov. 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

When Veronica tricks Archie into multiple kisses, only to reveal she's in a kissing booth and they're 5 cents each; Archie comes up with the perfect solution....

(from Archie Comics #66 - Nov. 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

And for once, it's Jughead who gets the kiss...

(from Archie Comics #66 - Nov. 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

And suddenly they ALL have Annuals!

(from Archie Comics #66 - Nov. 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

NOT an ad you'd see in today's Archie....

(from Archie Comics #66 - Nov. 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

Jughead being NOT so slick...!

(from Archie Comics #66 - Nov. 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

BIG MOOSE

(First Appearance, Archie's Pal Jughead #1 On Newsstands in August 1952)

The first appearance of Moose was in Jughead #1. And even though in this story, he's called Moose 'McGee', you can see by his behavior, that's Moose! Maybe Archie got his name wrong like he did for himself in Pep Comics #22, when he told Betty to call him 'Chick'.

Or wait... that was the text box...

Moose's girlfriend, Midge has her first appearance normally credited to Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica #4 (on newsstands Dec. 1951), BUT, there is a charcter called 'Midge' Smith that appears in Archie's Pal Jughead #5 (Feb. 1951).

She pretty much IS Midge Klump in behavior and storyline, so... I think you have to say that's actually her first appearance. Maybe someone got her name wrong...

Moose is a popular charcter in the Archie Universe, even if he IS a pretty secondary character with a very minimal amount of repeating storylines. But the truth is, I never cared for his charcater much.

For one, I don't like bully's and for two, just his 'ownership' attitude toward Midge, who was usually drawn as pretty hot (especially pre-1970's), really annoyed me.

Now one aspect of his charcter I DID like, was his stupidity.
THAT is funny. So as long as he was being dumb, I was ok with it.

Oh yes, he will...

I did like when Midge stood up to Moose, and let him know SHE had the final say. Here she maybe takes it just a step too far!

But you can be sure that in most of the love mix up stories, one of the guys was going to get it!

JANUARY 1941

Part One

BLUE RIBBON COMICS #11 - PEP COMICS #13 - TOP NOTCH COMICS #13 - ZIP COMICS #12 - ZIP COMICS #13

(On Newsstands in January 1941)

January 1941 brought a lot of events in the world, as the war continued, and America's involvement did not, but of little-known importance at the time, a character appeared in an Elmer Fudd cartoon for the first time, who went by the name Bugs Bunny!

MLJ continued their pace from December, putting out six books for the month, including two issues of Zip Comics.

(on newsstands January 1941, artwork by various)

Superheroes were taking center stage and MLJ put their newest, Mr. Justice, front and center on this issues cover!

(from Blue Ribbon Comics #11 - on newsstands January 1941, artwork by Sam Cooper)

The use of scary vampires by the Comics Code was still 13 years away, but what baffles me the most about this story was the plot involving the vampire! To disrupt the trade agreement? 

Meanwhile, Rang-A-Tang, the Fox, Steve Stacey (Sky Detective), Corporal Collins, Ty-Gor, Doc Strong, Loop Logan and the Green Falcon all had their regular features!

(from Blue Ribbon Comics #11 - on newsstands January 1941, artwork by Sam Cooper)

MLJ's superstar, the Shield continues to do battle against the forces of evil!

(from Pep Comics #13 - on newsstands January 1941, artwork by Irv Novick

The Shield uses that old "I'm not looking" line with the ladies of the locker room!

Meanwhile the Comet, Press Guardian, Fu Chang, Sgt. Boyle, the Midshipman, Rocket and the Queen of Diamonds, Kayo Ward and Bentley of Scotland Yard all had their regular features!

(from Blue Ribbon Comics #11 - on newsstands January 1941, artwork by Irv Novick)

And speaking of featuring superheroes, The Black Hood hadn't kicked them out their own book yet, but he WAS doing all the heavy lifting, while the Wizard tried to remain afloat!

(from Top Notch Comics #13 - on newsstands January 1941, artwork by Al Camy)

Bob Wood gives us a little pre-horror comic look to the continuing adventures of the Firefly!

Meanwhile the Black Hood, the Wizard and Roy the Wonder Boy, Fran Frazer, Kornell, the St. Louis Kid, Wings Johnson, Bob Phantom, and Kardak all had their regular features!

(from Top Notch Comics #13 - on newsstands January 1941, artwork by Bob Wood)

Continued tomorrow!

ARCHIE COMICS #65

(On Newsstands in Sept. 1953)

America's Largest Selling Teen-Age Magazine!

(from Archie Comics #65 - Sept. 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

Life in the 50's as people remember it. Babysitting with your best girl, while some brat wants to make life miserable for you!

(from Archie Comics #65 - Sept. 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

Archie could use a tan on those legs...

(from Archie Comics #65 - Sept. 1953, artwork by ?)

(Almost looks like Bob Montana's work...)

Speaking of the 50's as people like to remember it... each generation has their slang, and the 50's had plenty of it! And how! Here Archie's talk completely baffles his Dad!

(from Archie Comics #65 - Sept. 1953, artwork by Samm Schwartz?)

Betty takes Archie to the beach, but his wandering eye is going to get him in trouble...

(from Archie Comics #65 - Sept. 1953, artwork by Harry Lucey?)

and it does!

(from Archie Comics #65 - Sept. 1953, artwork by Harry Lucey?)

GINGER #1

(On Newsstands in June 1951)

It's getting harder and harder to find stories in Archie during the Senate Hearings/Comics Code scare that you couldn't find in TODAY'S Archie Comics. That's how careful they were getting.

So I purposely saved one of my favorite, lesser known Archie series from the 50's, GINGER, which started two years earlier from where we were at with Archie Comics, to show the difference.
And besides the general topic... I sure do like Ginger's yellow sweater!

(from Ginger #1 - June 1951, artwork by George Frese)

It may not SEEM like a big deal, a student getting all swoony over her teacher - Ginger's eyes, and... two other parts of her body, zero'd in on her HIGH SCHOOL teacher; but today's headlines would make this story a no go!

(from Ginger #1 - June 1951, artwork by George Frese)

Ah... the French have a way of making anything sound sexier or dirty than it already might be... didn't matter, as Ginger couldn't afford the bottle any way!

(from Ginger #1 - June 1951, artwork by George Frese)

Ginger in the bath with a stategically placed wash cloth... oh, the horror of those 50's comics!

(from Ginger #1 - June 1951, artwork by George Frese)

George Frese even had to do the artwork for the ad in his own comic, competing against the comic he was also drawing for! And boy, Veronica's skirt is sure exposing some thigh! Oh, the horror of those 50's comics!

(from Ginger #1 - June 1951, artwork by George Frese)

Another great story you won't see in today's Archie comics, is when Ginger gets the rifle with blanks messed up with the one with REAL ammo in it, that she uses to (she thinks) pretend to shoot an apple off her dad's head!

Good thing she's a good shot!

(from Ginger #1 - June 1951, artwork by George Frese)

ARCHIE COMICS #64

(On Newsstands in July 1953)

Not the funniest of Archie covers, but with the Family Friendly scare going on during the paranoid days leading up the Comics Code...

(from Archie Comics #64 - July 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

As always though, the subtle touches of female posing still made their way into the stories...

(from Archie Comics #64 - July 1953, artwork by Harry Lucey?)

One things for sure... they just kept selling MORE comics. Has it been year between Annuals already?

(from Archie Comics #64 - July 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

They even had celebrities appearing in the comic, like Arthur Godrey, a radio and television personality. WHOLESOME celebrities...

(from Archie Comics #64 - July 1953, artwork by ?)

Still... some things in Archie remained the same!

NOTE: Is this Dan DeCarlo, two years before he'd go to work for Archie Comics full time? Looks a bit like the style he'd use early on for Sabrina...

(from Archie Comics #64 - July 1953, artwork by Dan DeCarlo?)

And panels like this without a description, are always fun!

(from Archie Comics #64 - July 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

ARCHIE COMICS #62 and #63

(On Newsstands in March 1953 and May 1953)

Bill Vigoda would be the go to guy for covers for a bit, and even though he wasn't necessarily the best, he was consistent with the look the compnay wanted and he delivered on family friendly content the company wanted. The 1954 Comic Book hearings before Congress were a month away....

(from Archie Comics #62 - March 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

What could be better than an Archie Comic where Veronica 'rewards' Archie to the shock of Reggie....

(from Archie Comics #62 - March 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

...to where Veronica gives Reggie the business....

(from Archie Comics #62 - March 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

...but also clobbers him over the head?

(from Archie Comics #62 - March 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

The Comic Book Hearings in Congress had not gone well for the industry, and there was some paranoia about what would occur, but Archie Comics was business as usual...

(from Archie Comics #63 - May 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)

It is believed this is an early Harry Lucey drawn Archie story for Archie Comics.

(from Archie Comics #63 - May 1953, artwork by Harry Lucey)

The look on Pop's face is priceless...

(from Archie Comics #63 - May 1953, artwork by Harry Lucey)

Jughead usually got hte worst of it in these PSA stories!

(from Archie Comics #63 - May 1953, artwork by Bill Vigoda)