Monday, January 30, 2012

Woolfolk Records 1953/11

Star Spangled War Stories 21 cover


William Woolfolk sold scripts to Orbit and DC in November.

UPDATE: I finally found the Prescription for Happiness when a scan of Love Diary 41 went online.

November 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

7 pg Behind Closed Doorsconfessions of a baby sitter
"Behind Closed Doors" Love Diary 41, Mar/54
Prescription for Happinessguy loves a selfish gal
[untitled PFH] L Diary 41, Mar/54
The Way to the Hearta gal who likes to domineer
"The Way to a Man's Heart " L Diary 42, Apr/54
Texans Are Terrifica soldier who thinks only Texans can really fight
"Texans Are Terrific" Star Spangled War Stories 21, May/54
Beautiful and Badrespectable guy can't resist a wanton beauty
"Blonde, Beautiful and Bad" L Diary 42, Apr/54
The Sergeant-Generalsergeant thinks he could run war better than top brass
"The 60-Minute General" SSWS 21, May/54
Pick-Upgirl who accepts pick-ups—to her regret
"Pickup" Love Diary 42, Apr/54
Mystoclub of pilots who also hold unusual other jobs—meet death
"Wings of Danger" Detective 206, Apr/54
Take Her Downsub commander who has never had a "kill" brings in one triumph
"The Dry-Run Sub" Our Army at War 23, June/54

The SSWS cover I picked as an illustration doesn't show a scene from a Woolfolk story, but at least it mentions his story titles.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Adam-12 Writers

The two writers on Gold Key's TV tie-in Adam-12 are easy to tell apart by something that's used in almost every story about a police patrol car: sirens. Paul S. Newman's sirens go "Areeeee," John Warner's go "Whee-eeee." (How many times the letter e appears is changeable; I've seen "Areeee" as well from Newman. He wasn't counting as he hit the typewriter key, I'm sure.) There's also a certain amount of wheels skidding in a police-car series; Newman's go "Screech," Warner's "Scree-ee-ee." These siren panels are from each story in #2:

Adam-12 #2 panels: first story siren:'Areeeee', second story siren: 'Whee-eeee'

Art is by Jack Sparling except for the first issue, which is by Mike Roy. All issues have photo covers, and after #1 they incorporate pencil-and-ink images by Sparling taken from the stories.

Adam-12 Writers

Oct/73#1 The Wild WheelersPaul S. Newman
False AlarmNewman
Feb/74#2 Assassin's TargetNewman
The Lady and the LandlordJohn David Warner
May/74#3 Reason to LiveWarner
The ExperimentWarner
Aug/74#4 Gang WarWarner
Heat WaveWarner
Nov/74#5 But Not in Real LifeNewman
Satan's ChildrenNewman
Mar/75#6 Finger ManNewman
Behind the MaskNewman
May/75#7 The Old GuardNewman
Trouble in TowNewman
Aug/75#8 The CarnivalWarner
Help, MurderNewman
Nov/75#9 The TorchNewman
Smart AlecNewman
Feb/76#10 A Double LifeNewman
One Wild NightNewman

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Woolfolk Records 1953/10

Buster Crabbe 3 cover

As with last month DC, Orbit, and Lev Gleason bought scripts from Woolfolk.

This month's Prescription for Happiness installment at Orbit eluded me. UPDATE: darkmark found it.

I correctly attributed "The Terrible Trio" to Woolfolk by its style years ago, but around the same time mistakenly attributed Mysto to George Kashdan.

October 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

12 pg BatmanJoker trades crooks a la baseball manager
"The Joker's Winning Team" Batman 86, Sep/54
The Ship on Shorefarmer learns in battle—Don't Give Up the Ship
"Dry-Land Battleship" All-American Men of War 10, Apr-May/54
Tenement Girla girl who wants to marry guy who can save her from tenements, but falls for rowdy
"Tenement Girl" Love Journal 23, Mar/54
Empty Saddlea former groom, who loves horses, proves his worth to southern gentleman in war
"Medal for a Saddle" Star Spangled War Stories 20, Apr/54
10 SupermanLuthor, Prankster & Toyman join against Superman
"The Terrible Trio" Superman 88, Mar/54
Buster Crabbethe strange case of the radioactive tiger
"The Strange Case of the Radioactive Tiger" BC 3, Apr/54
Prescription for Happinessguy wonders if his gal is nagging him
[untitled PFH] Love Diary 43, May/54
Stingy Sama soldier who saves odds & ends that prove useful
"Battle Junk" Our Army at War 25, Aug/54
I'm Dancing, Darlingballerina's love life
"Dance for Me, Darling" L Diary 41, Mar/54
Girl with a Pasta girl in scandal with a married man runs away to escape
"Girl with a Past" L Diary 41, Mar/54
Mystoall magicians are being killed. why?
"The Riddle of the Doomed Magicians" Detective 205, Mar/54

Monday, January 23, 2012

Twilight Zone 11-15 Writers

"Way Out West—On Mars" in Gold Key's Twilight Zone 13 lifts the plot of Ray Bradbury's short story "Mars Is Heaven!"

TZ 13 'Way Out West--On Mars' tiers: 'The four from Earth move forward...into a realm that should be 35 million miles away...'

The art attributions are on the Grand Comics Database. I don't see myself how Reed Crandall's art looks any different on "Way Out West" than on any other story he inked himself; naming Alden McWilliams as inker strikes me as way out of left field. And "Moment of Decision," as I said last week, is pencilled by Jerry Grandenetti, inked by Bill Draut and Joe Orlando.

"TZ 3" is a writer who will show up in later TZ issues and in Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery on more four-page "strange but true" stories.

The Twilight Zone 11-15 Writers

May/65#11 The GremlinsDick Wood
The Island VisionWood
The Wanted One *Wood
(Wanted...Alive!) Doomsday in DustervilleWood
Ghost Ship of the SkiesWood
The Vision *Wood
Aug/65#12 The Shadow with ClawsLeo Dorfman
The Revolt of the MachinesDorfman
The Voice in the Mist *Dorfman
They Dwell among UsDorfman
Nov/65#13 The Man Who Could Read the FutureWood
The Man with My FaceWood
Way Out West—On MarsWood
Feb/66#14 The Day That VanishedWood
The Death Car"TZ 3"
The Lost GeniusWood
The Lost OasisDorfman
A Nightmare Tale *     ?
May/66#15 Moment of DecisionWood
Wipe Out the FuturePaul S. Newman
The Wheel of Light *Dorfman
Perfect PreservationWood
The Vision of MystirDorfman
The Prophet *     ?
(* single-page stories)

Leo Dorfman names a character Mystir at least one more time: in "The Voodoo Doom of Superman" in Action Comics 413 (June/72)--a story for which he was credited only in the letter column in 417.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Woolfolk Records 1953/09

Adventure 197 cover

These scripts sold to DC, Orbit, and Lev Gleason.

One of the romance stories and the Buster Crabbe I couldn't track down. UPDATE: I found the Prescription for Happiness long after posting. The Buster Crabbe I found after darkmark suggested "Case of the Radioactive Tiger," but Woolfolk notes writing that one next month.

In addition to listing his comic book scripts in the records;book, William Woolfolk has been noting progress on writing his first novel, and this month he finishes it. The Naked Hunter will be published as a paperback original by Popular Library in 1954.

September 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

12 pg SuperboyClark Kent, juvenile delinquent
"Clark Kent—Toughie" Adventure 197, Feb/54
Buster Crabbematches wits with escaped convicts in the jungle
"The Jungle of Death" BC 2, Apr/54
Prescription for Happinesscity gal loves farm boy
[untitled PFH] Love Diary 40, Feb/54
Love on Wheelsa hot car racing addict
"Love on Wheels" Love Journal 23, Mar/54
10 We Kissed by Moonlighther guy has a beautiful Mexican sweetheart
L Diary or L Journal or [unpubl]
Don't Marry That Manrodeo rider & a gal who wants a different sort of guy
"Don't Marry That Man" L Diary 40, Feb/54
12 SuperboyAlex Jones, demon reporter
"The Demon Reporter" Superboy 31, Mar/54

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Joe Orlando's Ghosts on Twilight Zone

Before I get to my next installment of Twilight Zone writers, I want to devote a post to the art: specifically, the art attributed to Joe Orlando.

TZ 15 'Moment of Decision' page pencilled by Jerry Grandenetti, inked by Bil Draut

Jerry Grandenetti pencilled "Moment of Decision" in Twilight Zone 15 (May/66).

Joe Orlando didn't. Grandenetti even lettered the sound effects, as was his habit. The page above was inked by Bill Draut, as you can see from the face in the lower right corner. Joe Orlando inked at least some of the story, as here:

'Moment of Decision' tier inked by Joe Orlando

Joe Orlando no more pencilled "Moment of Decision" than Bob Kane did. Grandenetti and Draut ghosted for Orlando for a period, just as, say, Lew Sayre Schwartz and then Sheldon Moldoff did for Kane on Batman. Orlando wasn't even signing or taking a credit line here as at DC or Warren; he was trying to fool only the editors (if he accomplished that much). The readers are under no obligation to deny the evidence of Grandenetti's distinctive style.

Jerry Grandenetti, on the other hand, had nothing to do with "The Lost Genius" in TZ 14 (Feb/66); the GCD correctly attributes the pencils to Orlando, although I'd say someone else inked it.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Woolfolk Records 1953/08


Superman 87 cover

Another month of William Woolfolk's selling scripts to DC and Orbit.

The GCD's original credit to Bill Finger for "The Thing from 40,000 AD" was my misidentification, made some time ago.


UPDATE: I found "Cold, Cold Heart" when a scan went online via the Digital Comic Museum and Comic Book Plus.

August 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

10 pg SuperboyTommy Tuttle gives his version of a Superboy adventure
"Tommy Tuttle—Superboy's Pal" Superboy 30, Jan/54
No Wedding Dress for Mea girl loves a guy still in love with gal who jilted him
"No Wedding Dress for Me" Love Diary 40, Feb/54
10 Supermankryptonite bomb will blow up Metropolis and kill Superman
"One Hour to Doom" Superman 89, May/54
10 Supermanthe thing from 40,000 AD
"The Thing from 40,000 AD" Superman 87, Feb/54
10 Cold, Cold Hearta girl afraid of men because once she was nearly raped
"Cold, Cold Heart" L Diary 40, Feb/54
12 SupermanEarth faces same fate as Krypton
"The Menace from the Stars" World's Finest 68, Jan-Feb/54

Friday, January 13, 2012

Orlando Dynamo Story

In the Dan Adkins interview in the Tower Comics issue of Comic Book Artist (#14, July/01), he says that "even Orlando did a story we [Adkins and Wally Wood] inked." The checklist in that issue doesn't reflect that statement; Joe Orlando's name appears only as the co-inker of an early Dick Ayers NoMan story.

I think the Orlando-pencilled story Adkins meant is "The Secret Word Is..." in Dynamo 4 (June/67). Under Wood's and Adkins' inks, I see some Orlando pencils fighting to show through at points in this story.

Dynamo 4 panels: Orlando pencils

In the panels above, note the face of the man next to Dynamo in the first and that of the SPIDER agent in the second. These are the most obvious instances of Orlando pencils. Below are panels that to a lesser degree remind me of his work, although in the second it's not a face but the pose of the man in the suit.

Dynamo 4 panels: more Orlando pencils

Wally Wood's inks can overwhelm another artist's pencils; that consistency, of course, was the point for a while at Tower.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Woolfolk Records 1953/07


Superman 86 cover

At this point in his records, William Woolfolk was identifying the publishers to whom he sold each story, so I know that "The Untamed," like the romance stories, went to Orbit. What that two-part story was or where it ended up—who knows? The rest of this month's scripts sold to DC.

UPDATE: SangorShop found "My Hero" after I posted; I found the Prescription for Happiness when I looked at the scanned comic itself.

July 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

7 pg The Untamed1st chapter: a world aflame
12 Superboybattles Kingorilla
"Kingorilla" Adventure 196, Jan/54
Mail Call Heroguy gets all the mail in outfit—but it's really only ads
"TNT Mail" Our Army at War 20, Mar/54
10 Batmanphantom crook of Gotham City
"The Phantom Bandit of Gotham City" Batman 81, Feb/54
The Untamed2nd chapter: voices in wilderness
Peril's Doorwaysoldier who's afraid to open doors
"The Door" OAAW 22, May/54
Hero of My Heartshy librarian falls for school hero
"My Hero" Love Diary 39, Jan/54
Suicide Squadsuicide squad of Nazis left to destroy town, can they be stopped
"Suicide Squad" Star Spangled War Stories 20, Apr/54
10 Supermandragon from King Arthur's court
"The Dragon from King Arthur's Court" Superman 86, Jan/54
Prescription for Happinessgirl with lousy family loves guy
[untitled PFH] L Diary 39, Jan/54

Monday, January 9, 2012

Twilight Zone (Dell) Writer

Since darkmark got me a look at these issues, I'll backtrack and fill in the pre-Gold Key Twilight Zone. They're published by Dell but produced, like the Gold Key run, by Western Publishing.

They're numbered 1173, 1288 (those two in the Four-Color numbering), then 01-860-207, and 12-860-210. The fourth issue is misnumbered 01-860-210 in the indicia. 01 stands for fifteen cents and 12 for twelve cents; the price on Dells had just dropped back to the industry standard at this point.

George Evans has said that he and Reed Crandall sometimes swapped some pencilling and inking on a story, but here I'm listing the artist I see doing the most on pencils or inks. Hearing that Frank Frazetta inked Evans on the fourth issue, I give him the credit on the stories that look least like Evans' own inks. On "Hard-Luck Harvey," Joe Giella, not known to have worked at Western, is a wild guess on my part; but does this give anyone a feeling of Fifties Strange Adventures/Mystery in Space déjà vu?

TZ 01-860-270 art: Joe Giella pencils?, Frank Giacoia inks

The second issue cover painting is by George Wilson. Someone else did the first; and another artist did, I believe, both the third and fourth issue paintings.

The Twilight Zone at Dell—Written by Leo Dorfman

Mar-May/61(#1) Specter of Youthp: Reed Crandall  i: George Evans
The Phantom Lighthousea: Crandall
Doom by Predictiona: Crandall
Feb-Apr/62(#2) The Bridegrooma: Evans
Secret Weapona: Evans
The Joinerp: Crandall  i: Evans
May-July/62(#3) The Man from Nowherep: Mike Sekowsky  i: Frank Giacoia
Beyond the Windowp:  Sekowsky  i: Giacoia
Hard-Luck Harveyp: Joe Giella  i: Giacoia
Aug-Oct/62(#4) The Ringp: Evans  i: Frank Frazetta
The Collectorp: Evans  i: Frazetta
The Time Machinea: Evans

Just possibly the fillers (1-pagers except for "Voices" in the second issue, a 2-pager), are by Dorfman, but they're more illustrated text than comics (no dialogue), which makes the style harder to pin down. I believe some issues here, on variants I haven't seen, have additional filler pages in place of back-cover ads.

The Twilight Zone Fillers at Dell—By an Unknown Writer

Mar-May/61(#1) Journey into the Twilight Zonea: Evans
Feb-Apr/62(#2) Voices from the Twilight Zonea: Evans
Voyage into the Twilight Zonea: Evans
Calling the Twilight Zonea: Evans
May-July/62(#3) Luck in the Twilight Zonep Sekowsky  i: Giacoia?
Lost in the Twilight Zonep Sekowsky  i: Giacoia?
Aug-Oct/62(#4) Creatures from the Twilight Zonea: Evans

Friday, January 6, 2012

Woolfolk Records 1953/06


Star Spangled War Stories 17 cover

This month, William Woolfolk sold scripts to Orbit and DC.

As I said last time, SOS for Love is a series whose installments are untitled, so one would have to see the comics themselves to find it. UPDATE: I couldn't find the Batman crime hotel story, as there's not enough information in the Fleisher Encyclopedia, but Bob Hughes tracked it down--looking at the comics themselves. FURTHER UPDATE: The SOS for Love in Love Journal 22 is titled on the cover, although I didn't connect it with this entry until I saw the story itself.

June 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

10 pg Batmanmachines of menace
"The Machines of Menace" Batman 80, Dec-Jan/54
10 SuperboySuperboy—puppet
"The Puppet Superboy" Superboy 29, Dec/53
All Quiet3 men face danger on a day labelled "All Quiet"
"All Quiet" Star Spangled War Stories 17, Jan/54
He Was My Mangal loves a rotter
"He Was My Man" Love Journal 22, Jan/54
12 Batmancrime hotel
"Millionaire Island" Detective 202, Dec/53
Love in the Deserta girl torn between Arab lover, & white man
"Love in the Desert" L Journal 22, Jan/54
10 SupermanJimmy Olsen, mng editor
"Jimmy Olsen, Editor" Superman 86, Jan/54
Take-Charge Guyguy doesn't want to be an officer
"No Rank" Our Army at War 19, Feb/54
SOS for Lovegirl loves guy with a too-dangerous job
"Afraid to Marry" L Journal 22, Jan/54

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Explorers in the Unknown

This Gold Key series about the spaceship Hunter I, the back-up in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, serves as a dress rehearsal for the company's Star Trek for writer Dick Wood, artists Alberto Giolitti and company, Nevio Zecarra, and José Delbo. Star Trek 1 was cover-dated the month after Voyage 9.

Delbo's work here went unrecognized for a few decades. Here's a panel from his story.

Voyage 15 Explorers panel

Only the Explorers back-up story is new in issue 15; the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea story is a reprint.

Explorers in the Unknown—written by Dick Woodin Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

Nov/66#6 Manhunt in SpaceGiolitti Studio
Feb/67#7 The Demons of the Deep SpaceNevio Zeccara
May/67#8 The Hostile AsteroidZeccara
Aug/67#9 The Graveyard of SpaceZeccara
Nov/67#10 Mystery of the Magnetized Planet Chapter IIZeccara
Feb/68#11 Mystery of the Magnetized Planet Chapter III: Uncertain Lift-OffZeccara
May/68#12 Prisoners of the "Jelly" PlanetZeccara
Aug/68#13 Chapter II: Prisoners of the "Jelly" PlanetZeccara
Nov/68#14 Prisoners of the Jelly Planet—Chapter 3Zeccara
June/69#15 Runaway AsteroidJosé Delbo

Monday, January 2, 2012

Woolfolk Records 1953/05

World's Finest 67 cover
A lot has changed since 1947! This month William Woolfolk sold scripts to Orbit and DC.

I have no idea where or if Slinky Stinky (a skunk?) was published, but it was done for a third publisher. Woolfolk coded the scripts with the buyer's initials for awhile (D for DC and R for romance for Orbit, for instance); Slinky Stinky he coded F, so just perhaps it was meant for Fawcett's Funny Animals. Fawcett, of course, dropped their comic book line at this point. UPDATE: Yes, Slinky Stinky (who looks like, I suppose, a wolf) was in Funny Animals—the final Fawcett issue.

Woolfolk's war stories for DC have already been attributed (on the Grand Comics Database, for instance) since Mike Tiefenbacher found them from the other direction: on editor Julius Schwartz's production records of scripts bought for the titles he and Robert Kanigher edited.

"Prescription for Happiness" and "SOS for Love" were series whose installments went untitled. UPDATE: I since found the PFH.

May 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

9 pg Slinky Stinkyposes as hare in a hare hunt
"Safe—by a Hare!" Funny Animals 83, Jan/54
10 Love Me, Love Me, Love Megirl likes all men—hates to settle for one
"Love Me! Love Me! Love Me!" Love Diary 38, Dec/53
10 SupermanLuthor—hero
"Luthor—Hero" Superman 85, Nov-Dec/53
Slinky Stinkytries to collect on Mr. Pooch's insurance
"Mr. Pooch's Policy" Funny Animals 83, Jan/54
Prescription for Happinessguy supports his family and so can't marry
[untitled PFH] L Diary 37, Oct/53
SOS for Loveguy she loves has a prison record
Love Journal
Wake Up—and Fight!a soldier who just wants to sleep
"Wake Up—and Fight!" Our Army at War 18, Jan/54
Swamp Girlgirl of swamps—no eligible men—falls for geologist
"Swamp Girl" L Journal 21, Nov/53
Topkickhates his sergeant, but as officer, realizes he's type he needs
"Turnabout" Star Spangled War Stories 17, Jan/54
12 SupermanMetropolis becomes a crime capital
"Metropolis—Crime Center" World's Finest 67, Nov-Dec/53
My Heart Couldn't Waitgirl makes soldier AWOL to marry him
"My Heart Couldn't Wait" L Journal 21, Nov/53
editing No Life of My Own"No Life of My Own" L Diary 38, Dec/53