Number 1308: Jungle horrors!

Voodoo was an Ajax/Farrell title, which in the past I've confused with comics from Superior, a Canadian company. And why not? They both used stories provided by the Jerry Iger Studio, which meant their horror stories had much the same feel (and appeal) to them. In Voodoo #3 (1952), none of the stories feature voodoo, but three of the four stories in the issue have jungle settings.

I'm only showing two today because if I read too many jungle stories my brain gets jungle rot. The second of our duo, “Plantation of Fear,” I am proclaiming a crazy comic classic. I love murdering-plant stories, and these plants are definitely murderous. Anthropomorphic, too, with cartoonish human facial expressions. You'll see what I mean.

Number 722


Enter the nightmare


Entering a painting, or a mirror, or a television set, is practically a sub-genre of fantasy fiction. It's given a pretty horrifying turn in this tale from 1954's Journey Into Fear #19. "Doorway to Death" was done by the Jerry Iger studio for the Canadian publisher, Superior. Most of the stories they turned out are somewhat bent, but in interesting directions. Sier DeFerrac, the artist in the story, has skeletons in his closet. Literally.

Number 514


Matt Baker's Leg Show


Man, Matt Baker could draw girls. Voluptuous girls: girls with headlights on high beam and girls with legs. Long, long legs and he made sure you got to see them. If Baker hadn't died in his thirties he could have gone on to pin-up art, a la Gil Elvgren or Peter Driben, or even another ex-comic book man, Jay Scott Pike.

Sky Girl, who finds a way to show off her perfect pins in nearly every panel, is from Jumbo Comics #93. Flamingo, who also gives us a peek beneath her skirt, is scanned from Pacific Comics' Jerry Iger's Famous Features #1, July 1984. It's a previously unpublished story. Baker worked for Jerry Iger's comic book shop. Flamingo was a property developed by Iger, Baker and writer Ruth Roche for a daily newspaper strip.

Here's to Baker, here's to Baker's babes, here's to Baker's babes' legs!

Number 368


American Pig!


As a young G.I. in the U.S. Army I was drilled in the Code of Conduct. The Code is a set of rules we, as soldiers, were expected to obey in the event we were held as prisoners of war. After hearing about what some prisoners went through I was sure if captured and got even a whiff of torture I'd sell out my mother, not to mention my country. It never happened so it's moot, but to my understanding the Code of Conduct was initiated because of what happened to some P.O.W.'s during the Korean conflict of the early 1950s. Some men were supposedly brainwashed into making statements for the enemy. Some American soldiers who went over the hill during that war are still living in North Korea.

This particular story came out of a coverless war comic, published by Superior, a Canadian publisher who used the services of Jerry Iger's comic book production shop. It also looks like it was produced under another code, the Comics Code, because Iger pre-Comics Code stories were usually pretty violent. About the worst thing that happens here is the P.O.W. gives one soldier a karate chop that looks like it wouldn't kill a mosquito, and another a headlock.

The best thing about the story is the frontispiece to this post. I love that squirrelly-looking panel!

Number 305

Zoo Zoo Zsa Zsa

David Miller provided these scans from his copy of Ajax's Madhouse #1, June 1957. Thanks, Dave!

The story is a satire about Zsa Zsa Gabor, her two sisters and their mom, who were a band of Hungarian immigrants to the U.S., eager for publicity, fame and fortune. Just in case you haven't ever heard of Zsa Zsa, you can read about her here. Long before Paris Hilton was a celebrity with no discernible talent beyond standing in front of cameras, Zsa Zsa created the template by which no-talent people can be in magazines, newspapers and television. It's the trick of celebrity: she was famous for being famous. It's fitting for Paris Hilton to emulate her; they're related. One of Zsa Zsa's many marriages was to a Hilton.

The artwork in this story is by the Jerry Iger studio, and it's probably a reprint from the 1954 Madhouse series, also by Ajax. Whew. It gets tough keeping track of all of this. The references to Tooloose Latruck are to the 1952 John Huston movie bio of Toulouse-Lautrec, Moulin Rouge, starring José Ferrer, and featuring Zsa Zsa as Jane Avril.