A doubleheader today from a 1955 BLUE BEETLE comic. First we see our hero running across a telephone line carrying intrepid girl reporter Joan behind him (star reporter of the Daily Planet, we're told) to the point where she is literally wafting in his wake! Later on in the same story we see a similar scene in which Beetle (who here seems to have most of Superman's powers!) leaps across town carrying not only Joan but an apparently long-winded policeman in tow! Proportions and sizes of people and things in this bizarre and very, very late Golden Age superhero story seem to change from panel to panel with anatomy, expressions and facial continuity being something the artist can't seem to grasp. In fact, it becomes obvious from all of the sleek, lovely pictures he tosses in as often as possible that what this guy really wanted to draw was...CARS!! Hope he lived a long and happy life doing Chevrolet clip art.
That is truly the stuff of legend. I love some of that art from the late Golden era, and I especially like how so many writers are trying to incorporate that weird stuff into their comics now.
ReplyDeleteIf you check out the Blue Beetle Companion from Twomorrows, it seems that the tail end of the GA BB (before Charlton altered him into having a mystic blue scarab to power him), he does seems to take on superman like powers (flight, etc). Originally, he just took a vitamin who gave him increased strenght, so the upping of his powers is a bit strange.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget, as told by Feiffer and others, that many of the comics of this era were produced as all-nighters, with many hands pitching in to meet the deadlines. As one guy would fall asleep, the next one would work on the next couple of panels, and then someone else. It's amazing there was any consistency at all.
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