Number 1417: Two by Bill Everett

Venus, the goddess comic book character and not the planet, worked for Beauty magazine. Venus is the epitome of female beauty in the ancient world, and in the modern world as well.

Bill Everett, who could draw beautiful women — and many other things, as well — did the artwork for these energetic and entertaining stories from Venus #16 (1951).

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I have two links to more Everett. Click on the pictures.

Number 1068


The end of the world!


A scientist denied the love of a selfish, gold-digging woman decides to end it all...and take us all with him by plunging the earth into the sun. I remember when losing a girlfriend made me feel like it was the end of the world, but luckily wasn't able to go to such extremes to prove it.

There's a message at the end of this tale from Atlas Comics' Venus #11, from 1950, and that's if a woman suddenly attains great beauty she can be loved. It isn't enough just to be there for a man, willing to do anything for him, she's got to be a babe, too.

All right, it's just a comic book, and true to form, Venus, the Goddess of Love, brings the lovers together and averts the crisis, saving the earth and all of us in twelve pages. This melodrama is well drawn by Werner Roth.

I showed another tale of Venus in Pappy's #997.












Marvel Masterworks has reprints of the first nine issues of this title, if you're still shopping for a Christmas gift for the Golden Age comics fan in your life, or yourself.

Number 997





Myxing mythology





Venus is a Roman goddess of love and beauty. Loki is "a major diety in the Norse pantheon" [Wikipedia]. So how did the two of them meet? Well, easy, when they're both comic book characters. Chances are most comic book readers of the time didn't know the difference, and if they did, probably didn't care.

"Venus, goddess of love that you are..." Buy your wife or girlfriend a Venus costume online!

Venus is a 1940s-'50s character most often associated with Bill Everett, who did some terrific stories featuring the beautiful goddess. This pre-dates the Everett era, though. Venus #6 is from 1949. According to the Atlas Tales website, several artists worked on this 3-part story, including Pete Tumlinson, Pierce Rice, Chu Hing, and other people from the Marvel bullpen who chipped in.