Tag Archives: Mort

Mort Meskin before Joining Simon and Kirby

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Posted in 2008/10, Artists, Meskin, Mort, Robinson, Jerry, z Archive and tagged , , ,


Golden Lad #1 (July 1945) “The Heart of Gold”, art by Mort Meskin

Last week I provided some examples of early work by Mort Meskin. Now I would like to do the same for the period from after the war until Mort began working for Simon and Kirby. Actually I am being a little inaccurate by describing this period as post war. The war ended in Europe on May 8, 1945 and in Japan on August 15. The first issue of Golden Lad was cover dated July 1945. Because cover dates were usually advanced a couple of months from the actually released date, this issue probably hit the stands in May. Therefore the war was still ongoing when the art was created (which probably started in February). During most of the war Mort Meskin was doing work solely for National Comics. Mort would continue to provide work to DC while doing Golden Lad for Spark Publications.

Maybe it is just a question of luck as to which issues are available to me, but it seems to me that there was a decline over time in the quality of Meskin’s art for DC. However that decline only affected his DC work. While the Golden Lad character may not have been that great of a creation, the art Mort provided was first rate. The splash is particularly nice. Golden Lad rises dramatically from a cauldron of molten gold. The fire provides the only light for the scene giving the surrounded conquistadors with expressive shadows. But with their modern weaponry, they are not truly conquistadors. The heart of gold that provides Golden Lad with his powers was created during the time of the destruction of the Aztecs but Golden Lad fights modern criminals. The splash is a graphic amalgamation of the two concepts.


Golden Lad #2 (November 1945) “The Haven for All” page 5, art by Mort Meskin

I really cannot get very enthusiastic about Golden Lad himself. Like Superman, he is just too powerful to provide interesting stories. However Meskin did a good job on graphically depicting the story. The first panel shows the use of multiple images that Mort devised in Johnny Quick for indicating super fast action. The showing the unrolling of the sail might have seem the most obvious choice for panel 5 but Meskin’s depiction of the crowd’s reaction was probably more effective.


More Fun Comics #107 (January 1946) “Vacation with Double Pay”, art by Mort Meskin

As I said before, Mort’s art for the later DC work is not as impressive as his earlier stuff. This Johnny Quick splash is probably the best of the few I have available from his later DC work. Even here I do not find the approaching alligators truly threatening. What are they going to do, gum the fisherman to death? Some of this decline in quality maybe due to the inkers being used but perhaps Meskin was loosing interest after so many years. That he did such great art for Golden Lad shows that he had not lost his talent.


Real Fact Comics #10 (October 1947) “How a Movie Serial Is Made”, art by Mort Meskin

Meskin could do great work for DC as well, if it supplied enough of a new challenge. This scan of “How a Movie Serial Is Made” was provided by Ger Apeldoorn (Those Fabuleous Fifties). It certainly is an oddball feature. Meskin provides examples of how serial movies were created using his own character, the Vigilante. I particularly like the splash. While I am not old enough for movie serials, I do remember weekend matinees where there was a very similar response from the exclusively young audience.

Mort did other work during this period besides what he did for DC and Spark. This was the time that he did a couple pieces for Prize Comics (but this was not for Simon and Kirby). I will not be discussing the Prize stories here as I covered them recently in other posts (Treasure #10 and Treasure #12).


Atoman #2 (April 1946) “The Vanishing Vandals”, art by Jerry Robinson
Larger Image

Mort Meskin would later team up with Jerry Robinson. It would therefore be informative to provide examples of Jerry’s work. Much of what Robinson did previously was on Batman working for Bob Kane. This makes it difficult to come to a clear understanding as to what Robinson’s personal style really was. The one example I can supply was for Atoman, a title from Spark Publications, the same publisher that did Golden Lad. Here Jerry does an ingenious double page splash. The best location for a double page splash was the centerfold. Place one anywhere else and the two pages would have to be printed on separate sheets of paper. With the primitive printing of comics of those days there was little likelihood that the registration would work out properly in the finished comic book. Robinson’s wide splash is at the front of the comic but he avoids the registration problem by purposely including a gutter in the design that would separate the two image halves. He has not simply bisected the image; if you were to bring the two pages together they would not line up properly.


Atoman #2 (April 1946) “The Vanishing Vandals” page 3, art by Jerry Robinson

Here is an example of a story page from Atoman. But note the man in panel 5. He has to my eyes a distinctively Meskin look to him. There are a few other similar Meskin-like portrayals in the story as well. Was Mort giving Jerry a hand? Or was Robinson being influenced by Meskin and adopting some of his style? I do not have an answer but it is something to keep in mind when we examine joint efforts by Robinson and Meskin.


Western Comics #4 (July 1948) “The Four Notches of Hate”, art by Mort Meskin

In 1948 Meskin work for DC would be ending. Did Mort’s emotional problems have something to do with his end at DC? Or was it conflicts from working at National that provoked his emotional problems? The above splash from Western Comics #4 was among these final efforts. I am not sure how, but the Vigilante has somehow made the transition from a costume hero in the modern age to being a western genre hero.


Black Terror #23 (June 1948) “The Eye of the Lady Serpent”, art by Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin

Robinson and Meskin were only teamed up for a relatively short time, a little over a year. I may not be clear as to exactly what each of the two artists contributed to the joint efforts, but whatever it was it certainly was very successful. I find the art as exciting as Mort’s early work for DC.


Black Terror #23 (June 1948) “The Eye of the Lady Serpent” page 5, art by Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin

It was not just the splashes that Robinson and Meskin did so well, the story art is also first rate. Note the inking on this page as particularly seen in the last panel. The long sweeping parallel lines would later play an important part of Meskin’s inking style. Even more interesting is the presence of picket fence crosshatching (see the Inking Glossary for explanations of the terms I use to describe spotting techniques). Similar inking can be found for a piece that Jerry and Mort did for Simon and Kirby (Young Romance #5, May 1948). The inking looks like it was done by Meskin, but did he pick up the picket fence technique from Simon and Kirby or is there an earlier Robinson and Meskin example that I have not seen yet?


Black Terror #23 (June 1948) “Danger in the Air”, art by Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin

Another great splash by Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin. I might not have anything to say about it but how could I resist including it in this post?

I previously used a story page from this work to show the style Mort had adopted for depicting punches.


Fighting Yank #29 (August 1949) “Fireworks on the Fourth”, art by Mort Meskin

There may have been a relatively brief period between after the breakup of the Robinson and Meskin team where Mort was doing work by himself again but he had not yet started to work for Simon and Kirby. Fighting Yank #29 is signed by Meskin alone and Robinson does not appear anywhere in the comic. Mort’s first solo work for Simon and Kirby were cover dated December 1949 (Real West Romance #5 and Young Romance #16). Joe Simon has reported in The Comic Book Makers that initially Mort had an artist block. That Meskin was doing some solo work before joining Simon and Kirby may indicate that the artist block did not start until he actually began working for Joe and Jack. Perhaps intimidating presence of Jack Kirby had something to do with Mort’s artistic difficulties.

The “Fireworks on the Fourth” is inked in an interesting spotting technique. The blacks are grouped in a blocky fashion that to my eyes seems to flatten the image while providing it with interesting patterns. This is not the result of a bad printing; other stories by Meskin in the same issue are not inked in this manner.


Fighting Yank #29 (August 1949) “Fireworks on the Fourth” page 7, art by Mort Meskin

The effects of this unusual inking can be best be seen in the story itself. While it is possible that this inking was done by another artist, I believe it was Mort’s own work. He would use a similar style of inking for a period later for some Simon and Kirby productions.

In a few months Mort Meskin would begin working for Simon and Kirby. Mort would become an important and prolific artist for Simon and Kirby productions. He did not, however, work exclusively for Joe and Jack. Meskin would also provide work for other Prize comics and occasionally other publishers as well.

Early Mort Meskin

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Posted in 2008/10, Artists, Meskin, Mort, z Archive and tagged ,

While my main interest in Mort Meskin concerns the art that he did for the Simon and Kirby studio, he also did some great work both before and after that. I thought a brief examination of his earlier efforts might prove interesting. Unfortunately I can only provide a very unbalanced outline of Mort’s initial career as I have a very limited access to the comics that he appeared in. But even a flawed outline of Meskin’s early art can be useful especially since Mort Meskin has been overlooked by most of today’s comic book fans and little of his work has been reprinted.


Pep Comics #11 (January 1941) “Press Guardian”, art by Mort Meskin

The earliest work by Meskin that I can provide comes from Pep Comics #11 (January 1941). Meskin had already been working at comic books for a couple of years so this is by no means among his earliest efforts. It is a very different Meskin found here as there are no signs of the typical traits that can be found throughout most of Mort’s career; traits such as the very distinctive grin he often provided to male characters. The vertical splash layout for the Press Guardian is one that Meskin would later use particularly when working with Jerry Robinson. However Mort’s handling of the story panels makes this layout distinctive from his later uses of the vertical splash. Here Meskin uses three story panels instead of the more typical two. In fact they could more properly be called three rows as there are two panels in the second row and the undivided rows now have wider panels. This arrangement gives most of the room on the page to the story panels but Mort puts what space is available for the splash to good use.


Pep Comics #11 (January 1941) “Press Guardian” page 4, art by Mort Meskin

It is in the story art that the difference between the very early Mort Meskin and his later efforts is most apparent. Almost the entire story is shown from distant view points where either the entire figures are shown or at least the upper half of the figures. Examples such as panel 6 from page 4 where the view gets close enough to provide facial details are the rare exceptions. True close-ups are nonexistent. The “cinematic” approach that would be so important to Meskin’s later art it not to be found in these earlier stories. Within his more limited control of view point, Meskin could still graphically tell a good story. While his figures may, at times, be a little stiff, Meskin included some nice action sequences.


Pep Comics #11 (January 1941) “Midshipman”, art by Mort Meskin

The Press Guardian story was signed simply as Mort. There can be no question that this was indeed Meskin because that name was signed to the “Midshipman” feature from the same issue. While the layout for the splash page is different, otherwise the art style is the same. I wish I had more of this very early Mort Meskin to show; it would be interesting to see how and when his more typical style developed.


Action Comics #42 (November 1941) “The Vigilante”, art by Mort Meskin

It was just ten months later from Pep Comics #11 when Mort Meskin’s first work for DC appeared. While his work in Pep #11 showed promise, Meskin’s Vigilante for Action Comics #42 was promised fulfilled. The splash was signed, but a signature really is not required to identify this work. Meskin’s unique hand can be seen all over the story. But those readers only familiar with his work for Simon and Kirby or his later efforts for DC horror comics might find this early Meskin surprising. It is full of action and exciting artwork. While the DC Archive volumes have included all the Superman stories from these early issues of Action Comics, few of the Vigilante stories have ever been reprinted. This is certainly not a reflection of artistic value as Meskin’s Vigilante work is greatly superior to anything else being published by DC at the time. Well that is excepting the work that Simon and Kirby were doing for DC and that has not received the archive treatment either.

While the Vigilante’s dress might suggest that it was a western, they were contemporary stories (at least initially) and the western garb is the Vigilante’s costume. The Vigilante has no special powers; just an uncanny skill with his pistol and his rope. Initially the Vigilante worked alone, but he soon picked up a sidekick, Stuff the Chinatown Kid.

What happened to Mort between Pep #11 and Action #42 to cause such a dramatic change in his art? I really do not have enough of his early art to say, but I would like to submit a hypothesis. It is nothing more then a guess that would need more investigation before it could even be called a theory. I wonder if the change that Meskin underwent was a response to the release of Simon and Kirby’s Captain America? The timing is right since Captain America Comics #1 came out in March 1941. Mort’s Vigilante art uses figures extending past the panel borders, circular panels, exaggerated perspective, and dynamic slugfests all of which were favorite devices of Simon and Kirby found in Captain America. If there is any truth to this hypothesis, Meskin was not copying Kirby’s art but would instead put his own interpretations of all those techniques.


Action Comics #43 (December 1941) “The Vigilante”, art by Mort Meskin

Meskin’s Vigilante splashes could be quite intricate. Here we find the Vigilante lassoing two criminals while simultaneously shooting at the image of his current nemesis, the Shade. A vanquished foe lies at his feet while shadows on the wall behind him reveal two other gun carrying opponents. There is a lot going on but Mort’s presentation is perfectly clear.


Action Comics #50 (July 1942) “The Man Who Came Back”, art by Mort Meskin

The motorcycle is a clear reminder that the Vigilante is not a western, but instead belongs in the hero genre. Here part of a man’s face is clipped off by the panel’s border. This is a very effective technique Meskin would use often but it is not typically used by Simon and Kirby so Mort probably picked it up elsewhere.


Action Comics #50 (July 1942) “The Man Who Came Back” page 6, art by Mort Meskin

This is a good example of a story page in that it shows many of traits of Mort Meskin during this period. The most obvious feature is Mort’s great handling of the action. While he may, or may not have, drawn inspiration from Kirby’s slugfest, Mort’s handling of the fight scene is very different from Jack’s. Another technique that stands out is his use of circular panels. Again this could have been derived from Simon and Kirby but Meskin’s circular panels are very different. While Simon and Kirby’s circular panels would typically expand as far as the space allowed leaving isolated corner pieces, Meskin’s circular panels are usually smaller and fully embedded in the rectangular panel. There are also several examples of faces cropped by the edge of the panels (panel 4 and most noticeably the last panel). Mort makes effective use of this device. In fact the use of shifting view points and viewing distance, the cinematic effects, play an important part of Mort’s comic book art from this period on.


Action Comics #56 (January 1943) “Melody of Menace”, art by Mort Meskin and George Roussos

I really do not know enough about Mort’s early DC work to say whether he was doing his own inking or not. It certainly was not inked in the manner typically used in Mort’s Simon and Kirby work. Some of his later DC work has dual signatures which indicate that in at least these cases another artist did the inking. Perhaps the most commonly used and most talented of these inkers was George Roussos. It is obvious from work that Roussos later did for Simon and Kirby that his own art was very much influenced by Meskin.


More Fun Comics #85 (November 1942) “The Jest of Jason Biltwell”, art by Mort Meskin and Cliff Young

The Vigilante was not the only regular feature that Mort Meskin did for DC comics. He also drew Johnny Quick which appeared in Adventure and More Fun Comics. Much has been made of the fact that Meskin was the first to provide multiple images to indicate fast action. Previously only speed lines were provided to suggest rapid movements. While I would not want to diminish this technical innovation by Mort, his manipulation of view points and viewing distance were much more significant. For “The Jest of Jason Biltwell” Meskin was inked by Cliff Young.


Adventure Comics #81 (December 1942) “Starman’s Lucky Star”, art by Mort Meskin and George “Inky” Roussos

Mort Meskin would also occasionally pencil other stories. For example Mort drew a couple of Starman stories for Adventure Comics. I had previously provided an image from the Starman splash from Adventures #82 and now I provide an image from Adventure #81 above.

My original plan was to write about Mort Meskin’s pre-Simon and Kirby work in a single post. Since I do not have enough examples to provide a more thorough examination of Meskin’s early art, one post should have been sufficient. However I must admit I was seduced by Meskin’s DC splashes and could not resist including a number of examples. I do prefer his graphic story telling for Simon and Kirby productions but Mort did not use full page splashes during that period. The closest that Mort came to these early splashes where some covers he did for Young Brides and Young Love in 1954 and 1955. Those covers are really nice and some are pure masterpieces of comic book art, but the earlier splashes provide a side of Meskin that I have seen no place else. So I extend my coverage and conclude it next week with a brief survey of Mort Meskin’s work that he did after the war. I will also be providing a few examples by Jerry Robinson as well.

Mort Meskin Group at Yahoo

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Posted in 2008/09, Artists, Meskin, Mort, Odds & Ends, Topic, z Archive and tagged , , ,

A new group has started on Mort Meskin. I have added on my sidebar but you can also follow this link. I have discussed Mort often in this blog, and I am sure I will so often in the future as well. Mort was perhaps the greatest talent of the Simon and Kirby studio, that is second to Jack. You could not tell it today as he is largely overlooked by comic fans. Perhaps this new group and an up in coming book on Meskin may start to change that. So if you are interested in discussing or learning more about Meskin why not join?

It’s A Crime, Chapter 5, Making a Commitment

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Posted in 2008/08, 5 Studio, Artists, Draut, Bill, Kirby, Jack, Meskin, Mort, Periods, Prize, Robinson, Jerry, z Archive and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

(Headline #26 – #28, Justice Traps the Guilty #1 – #1)

September 1947 (cover date) was the release of Simon and Kirby’s Young Romance. This marked a milestone for the creative duo. Previously Joe and Jack had not signed any of the work that they provided for publishers Prize or Hillman with the exception of Hillman’s My Date. Starting in September Simon and Kirby signatures would appear not only in Young Romance but in Headline Comics as well. Jack Kirby drew four stories of Headline #26 and three of those were signed. From this point on Simon and Kirby signatures would frequently be found on Kirby’s drawings for Prize Comics. Despite all the work that S&K provided to Hillman, in the end it was Prize that got Joe and Jack’s commitment. Right from the start the crime version of Headline was produced by Simon and Kirby while they never seem to have the same influence with Hillman. Surely whatever deal that Joe and Jack made with Prize must have reflected their greater control over Headline while at Hillman they had remained only marginally better then just work for hire. In the end Simon and Kirby were businessmen and it was all about the money. By early next year Simon and Kirby’s work for Hillman would end.

The crime version of Headline Comics must have been a very successful seller. After just the first four bimonthly issues Prize introduced a new crime title Justice Traps the Guilty. Simon and Kirby produced JTTG as well and there really was no difference in the contents between Headline and JTTG. Since both were bimonthly titles, effectively there would be a crime comic released by Prize each month. There must have been some difficulty because JTTG #2 should have been scheduled for December but was released in January instead; while Headline #28’s normal January release was pushed back to February.

Jack Kirby would still be the main contributor to Headline Comics and the new Justice Traps The Guilty. Jack drew 4 out of 6 stories for Headline #26 (September), but would only draw two stories each for issues #27 (November) and #28 (February). The first issue of Justice Traps the Guilty followed the Simon & Kirby’s modus operandi of starting a title with lots of Kirby; Jack penciled 6 out of the 8 stories. However with the second issue Jack returns to supplying a more modest 2 stories. Still no other artist appeared more often then Jack in these issues.


Headline #26 (September 1947) “The Life and Death of Public Enemy Number One”, art by Jack Kirby

The splash for “The Life and Death of Public Enemy Number One” uses a silhouette. There seemed to have been a flurry of the use of this device because we have seen it previously. However it would be pretty much dropped by Simon and Kirby and this may be its last use. While making the overall design of the splash more interesting, the use of silhouette diminished the impact as well.


Headline #26 (September 1947) “Bullets for The Bogus G-Man”, art by Jack Kirby

Another device used by Simon and Kirby in the early Prize crime comics was having “Red” (or “Red-Hot”) Blaze introduce the stories. While I suspect that Simon and Kirby found it a useful idea when they were promoting the idea of crime comics to Prize and for the initial in-house advertisements, in the end it just took up story panels that would had been better served for telling the actual story. “Bullets for the Bogus G-Man” may have been the last use of “Red” Blaze and even there he is only mentioned in the caption at the bottom of the splash page and never makes an actual appearance in the story.


Headline #28 (February 1948) “I Worked For the Fence”, art by Jack Kirby

One motif Simon and Kirby sometimes used for the first story was adopted from previous use in Young Romance. That is having a character introducing the story and using the word balloon as the title caption. Simon and Kirby did not use this design technique as frequently in the crime titles as they would in Young Romance but it still was an effective part of their repertoire.


Headline #27 (November 1947) “Spirit Swindlers” page 7, art by Jack Kirby

I have remarked before that circular panels was largely limited to an occasional splash page for the work that Simon and Kirby did for Hillman. For the Prize issues discussed in this chapter, Joe and Jack continued to use circular panels. What was new is that while previously almost all the Prize comic stories used circular panels in Headline #26 to #28 and JTTG #1 and #2 about half of the stories did not use round panels at all. For the stories that still featured circular panels they are used in lower proportions. For Headline #23 to #25 ratios of rounded panels to all the panels was over 16% and in one story reached 20%. Remember for a story done in the standard 6 panels per page, this would work out to an average of a semi-circular panel for each page (although they rarely were distributed so evenly). For Headline #26 to #28 and JTTG #1 and #2, when rounded panels were used they were generally used in the range of 14% to 10%. This is only a small decrease, but it seems to be consistent. In one story (“The True Life Story of Alvin Karpis” it drops to 4%. The last issue covered in this chapter (Headline #28, February 1948) did not have any rounded panels.

I have also been trying to track the evolution of the inking techniques used. Previously in Headline drop strings and abstract arch shadows, typical Studio style mannerisms, had become commonly used. Picket fence crosshatching and shoulder blots were still rare and when found are not typical in execution. (See my Inking Glossary for explanations of the terms I use to describe these techniques). In the last chapter we saw those final typical Studio style techniques show up suddenly in the Hillman crime title. The same thing happened at Prize. The earliest typical picket fence brush work for Prize that I have noticed was in “Spirit Swindlers” (see above image, particularly panels 4 and 6. There seems to be no gradual conversion of previous simple crosshatching to picket fence crosshatching; picket fence just suddenly appears. The picket fence inking shows up elsewhere in the story as well. Not every story in the same issue, however, shows the use of this most distinctive inking. Also note the shoulder blot in panels 1 and 2.


Headline #26 (September 1947) “Beyond the Law”, by unidentified artist

As mentioned above, Kirby drew 4 of the 6 stories for Headline #26. The other two stories (“Test of Death” and “Beyond the Law”) were done by the same artist. I have not been able to identify him but he also did “Murder’s Reward” and “Blind Man’s Death” from Headline #25. Ger Apeldoorn has suggested that it might be Bob McCarty. I am most familiar with McCarty’s work for S&K’s Mainline titles. The Mainline material does not resemble these four stories but that could be explained by the seven years separating the two groups of work. In any case the work in Headline #25 and #26 was done by a talented artist who played an important part in the early Headline issues. After issue #26 the artist stopped providing work to Simon and Kirby.


Justice Traps the Guilty #1 (October 1947) “G-Man Trap”, art by Bill Draut

After the mystery artist last appearance in Headline #26, his place as the most important supporting artist (after Kirby) was taken by Bill Draut. Draut’s first returned to the Simon and Kirby productions in Young Romance #1 (September 1947). From that point on Bill would be a mainstay of the S&K studio until its breakup. Draut would provide two stories each issue for Headline #27 and #28 as well as JTTG #1. In those issues Draut’s contributions of stories equal that of Jack Kirby. It is interesting to see Draut’s take on crime since so much of his output for the Simon and Kirby studio was for romance titles. Bill could be surprisingly effective with action and he also did some interesting splashes. The one for “G-Man Trap” is a good example. The use of diagonal elements makes the splash visually stimulating. However, the placement of the gun smoke and the odd pose of the shooter in the background really did not work well and diminishes what should have been an interesting confrontation. Still you have to admire Draut for the attempt made even if it was not completely successful.


Justice Traps the Guilty #1 (October 1947) “Try an FBI Test” page 2, art by Bill Draut

As I have mentioned a number of times in the past, I am convinced that Kirby did not supply layouts for Draut as some experts have suggested. Bill’s means of telling a story and his splash designs (such as the one from “G-Man Trap” shown earlier) are often different from Jack’s. There is one story, “Try an FBI Test”, that might suggest otherwise. Note the use of circular panels. These appear throughout the story and are the same form that Kirby uses. While this might suggest that Kirby did the layouts, I am not convinced. In “Try an FBI Test” the captions and word balloons frequently extend beyond the border of the circular panels which is unlike Kirby’s use where both captions and work balloons invariable are confined within the circular boundary. Nor was there any real change in the way the story is graphically told compared to other work by Draut. I believe Draut has just trying a layout technique that he previously observed Kirby using. Whatever the reason for the use of circular panels, it was a one time occurrence as I do not believe Bill would ever used it again.


Headline #28 (February 1948) “Postage Stamp Swindle”, art by Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin

Young Romance #3 (January 1948) saw the first appearance of the Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin team working for the Simon and Kirby studio. “Postage Stamp Swindle” (Headline #28, February 1948) was the first crime work that they did for S&K. As a team, Robinson and Meskin would only work for Joe and Jack for about seven months and provide a total of ten pieces of work. Only two of the stories are signed but the unsigned work is very consistent with those bearing signatures. Jerry and Mort had a preference for splash pages with a vertically dominated splash panel with two story panels also vertically arranged. The first page of “Postage Stamp Swindle” exaggerates that motif by placing the title over the story panels in a caption shaped like a stamp. Otherwise the splash panel usually had the shape of an inverted ‘L’.

I have been assigning the pencils to Jerry and the inks to Mort. This was due to the order that their names appear in their signature. Further the inking does predominately look like Meskin’s. Recently I have been spending some time looking over some of Meskin’s work from 1946 and 1947. I find that the work Robinson and Meskin’s supplied for Simon and Kirby look very much like the early work that Mort did on his own. So much so that I wonder what Robinson’s contribution was? I am tempted to attribute all the early unsigned art for S&K as Meskin alone and only credit the last three stories, two of which are signed, to the Robinson and Meskin team. I have two reasons for not taking that course. One is the still great similarity of the signed and unsigned work. The second is Joe Simon’s story of when Mort came to work for the Simon and Kirby studio as described in his book “The Comic Book Makers”. Joe really makes it sound like that was the first time Mort had worked for them which would not be true if Meskin was solely responsible for the work from 1948.


Headline #27 (November 1947) “The Guns of Jesse James” page 5, art by Jack Kirby and an unidentified artist

“The Guns of Jesse James” is one of those stories that at a glance were obviously done by some artist other than Jack Kirby; the drawing is just too crude. There are some places where the art, although still crude, looks like Jack’s style. The second panel in the page above is a good example. This story even uses rounded panels like those that Jack would use for some of his own stories. While it is possible that the artist was trying to mimic Kirby’s techniques, I think it more likely that he is working from rough layouts provided by Jack.


Justice Traps the Guilty #2 (January 1948) “The Killer Thought He Was Satan” page 4, art by an unidentified artist (Jack Kirby layouts?)

The possibility of rough Kirby layouts may also apply to “The Killer Thought He Was Satan”. Note in particular the second panel from page 4 shown above. In many ways the graphic story telling is even more like typical Kirby mannerisms then “The Guns of Jesse James”. Both of these stories come from a period where Kirby’s contributions had diminished and the use of layouts may have been an effort to filling the titles without using too much of Jack’s time.


Justice Traps the Guilty #2 (January 1948) “The Murdering Bender Family”, art by an unidentified artist

As I precede in future chapters of this serial post I will certainly not try to cover every unidentified artist in these titles. While I would consider most, if not all, talented some were more deserving of recognition than others. Besides there will be too many artists that I have not identified yet. In these early issues of the crime titles, however, the number of artists appearing is much more limited. So I will close with the splash page of one of mystery artists. I sure wished more of them took advantage of Simon and Kirby’s willingness to allow artists to include their signatures.

Chapter 1, Promoting Crime
Chapter 2, A Revitalized Title
Chapter 3, Competing Against Themselves
Chapter 4, Crime Gets Real

Chapter 6, Forgotten Artists
Chapter 7, A Studio With Many Artists
Chapter 8, The Chinese Detective
Chapter 9, Not The Same
Chapter 10, The Master and His Protege
Chapter 11, The New Team

Mort Meskin Checklist

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Posted in Artists, Meskin, Mort and tagged , , 

Last update: 1/2/2012

Codes:
    s:  = signed
    a:  = signed with alias
    &:  = signed Simon and Kirby
    ?:  = questionable attribution
    r:  = reprint

Action (National/DC)
     42   Nov  1941    8p "The Vigilante"
   s 43   Dec  1941   13p "The Vigilante"
     44   Jan  1942   13p "Galloping Gold"
     45   Feb  1942   13p "The Head"
   s 46   Mar  1942   12p "Crimes in Color"
     47   Apr  1942   12p "The Green Cowled Menace"
     48   May  1942   12p "Crime's Caravan "
     49   June 1942   12p "The Rainbow Man"
   s 50   July 1942   12p "The Man Who Came Back"
     51   Aug  1942   12p "Guns, Gold, and Glory"
     52   Sept 1942   12p "Sing a Song of Six Guns"
     53   Oct  1942   12p "The Blackout Blues"
     54   Nov  1942   12p "The Rookie who Fought a Ghost"
     55   Dec  1942   12p "Bullets for Breakfast"
   s 56   Jan  1943   12p "The Man Who Came Back"
     57   Feb  1943   12p "The Feud of the Rimfire Ridge"
   s 58   Mar  1943   12p "The Dummy and the Dumbbell"
     59   Apr  1943   12p "Fiddler's Fee"
     60   May  1943   12p "Rainbow over Crimeville"
     61   June 1943   12p "The Cat and the Fiddler"
     62   July 1943   12p "The Crime Carnival"
     63   Aug  1943   12p "Dummy, Dummy & Dummy, Inc."
     64   Sept 1943   12p "The Treasure of Dead Man's Key"
     65   Oct  1943   12p "The Bard of Banditry"
     66   Nov  1943   10p "The Sword of Destiny"
   s 67   Dec  1943   10p "The Academy of Musical Crime"
     68   Jan  1944   10p "The Duke Goes to the Dogs"
     69   Feb  1944   10p "The Little Men Who Were There"
   a 70   Mar  1944   10p "A Challenge from the Pyramids"
     71   Apr  1944   10p "Alias Mr. Sunshine"
     72   May  1944   10p "The Guns of Killer Haines"
     73   June 1944   10p "Dirge on a Bull Fiddle"
     74   July 1944   10p "Wheels of Jeopardy"
     75   Aug  1944   10p "Blunderbuss Booty"
     76   Sept 1944   10p "The Mountain Without a Top"
     77   Oct  1944   10p "The Rainbow Man sees Red"
     78   Nov  1944   10p "Portraits for Plunder"
     79   Dec  1944   10p "Birds of Ill Omen"
     80   Jan  1945   10p "The Pillage of the Parthenon"
     81   Feb  1945   10p "The Chinatown Kid, Magician"
     82   Mar  1945   10p "Magnet for Mobsters"
     83   Apr  1945   10p "A Fortune for a Fossil"
     84   May  1945   10p "Three's a Crowd"
     85   June 1945    5p "Old Wyoming"
   a 86   July 1945   10p "Orient of the Occident"
     87   Aug  1945   10p "The Dummy Art Expert"
     88   Sept 1945   10p "Of Cops and Robbers"
     89   Oct  1945   10p "The Curse of the Khabod Q"
   a 90   Nov  1945   10p "Picayune Pilferers"
     91   Dec  1945   10p "The Fiddler's Jam Session"
   s 92   Jan  1946   10p "The Amazing Mr. Minute"
     93   Feb  1946   10p "Way Down East"
     94   Mar  1946   10p "The Escape of Elephant Al"
     95   Apr  1946   10p "The Burgling Bookman"
     96   May  1946   10p "Danger's Midgets"
     97   June 1946   10p "Animal Master"
     98   July 1946   10p "Treasure of the Ancients"
   ? 99   Aug  1946   10p "The Tiger's Skin"
     100  Sept 1946   10p ""
   ? 101  Oct  1946   10p "When East Goes West"

Adventure (National/DC)
   s 81   Dec  1942   10p "Starman's Lucky Star"
   s 82   Jan  1943   10p "Hitch A Wagon To The Stars"

All American Men of War (National/DC)
     13   Sept 1954    7p "The Three Tanks"

All For Love (Prize)
   ? 1    (v.1, n1)  Apr  1957    6p "Hollow Triumph"
   ? 1    (v.1, n1)  Apr  1957    1p "Take It Easy"- (text)
     2    (v.1, n2)  June 1957    6p "Leading Man"
     2    (v.1, n2)  June 1957    6p "Stay Feminine"

Battle Action (Timely/Atlas/Marvel)
     24   Aug  1956    5p "No Surrender"

Black Cat Mystery (Harvey)
     51   Aug  1954    5p "Punch & Rudy"
     57   Jan  1956    5p "The World Of Mr. Chatt"

Black Magic (Prize)
   s 1    (v.1, n1)  Oct  1950    6p "The Woman In The Mirror"
     1    (v.1, n1)  Oct  1950    5p "His Father's Footsteps"
     2    (v.1, n2)  Dec  1950    7p "The Cheerful Old Lady In Black"
   s 3    (v.1, n3)  Feb  1951    8p "A Curse On You"
     4    (v.1, n4)  Apr  1951    8p "A Man's Last Dream"
   s 4    (v.1, n4)  Apr  1951    6p "The Dead Don't Really Die"
     5    (v.1, n5)  June 1951    8p "Who Walks In My Dream"
     5    (v.1, n5)  June 1951    9p "Sleep, Perchance To Die"
     6    (v.1, n6)  Aug  1951    6p "The Masterpiece"
     7    (v.2, n1)  Oct  1951    8p "The Man Who Captured A Ghost"
     8    (v.2, n2)  Dec  1951    9p "Invisible Link"
     8    (v.2, n2)  Dec  1951    6p "The House That Tried To Kill Me"
     9    (v.2, n3)  Feb  1952    4p "Faith Healer"
     9    (v.2, n3)  Feb  1952    5p "The Ghost Of Chateau Bois"
     10   (v.2, n4)  Mar  1952    3p "Memory House"
     10   (v.2, n4)  Mar  1952    4p "The World Beyond Reality"
     10   (v.2, n4)  Mar  1952    7p "The Assassin"
     11   (v.2, n5)  Apr  1952    5p "Drop Me Of At The Cemetery"
     12   (v.2, n6)  May  1952    8p "It's Your Funeral"
     12   (v.2, n6)  May  1952    7p "A Giant Walks The Earth"- (Kirby pencils first page, inks part)
     13   (v.2, n7)  June 1952    7p "A Rag, A Bone And A Hank Of Hair"- (Kirby splash)
     14   (v.2, n8)  July 1952    8p "Choose A Face"
     15   (v.2, n9)  Aug  1952    7p "The Promised Land"
     17   (v.2, n11) Oct  1952    6p "Guardian Angel"
     19   (v.3, n1)  Dec  1952    4p "Return From The Grave"
     23   (v.3, n5)  Apr  1953    6p "Land Of The Dead"
     31   (v.5, n1)  July 1954    6p "Gargoyle"
     31   (v.5, n1)  July 1954    6p "The Half-Men"
     32   (v.5, n2)  Sept 1954    5p "The Devil Doll"

Black Magic (National/DC)
   r 4    (v.1, n4)  July 1974    5p "His Father's Footsteps"- (r BM #1 Oct 1950)
   r 5    (v.1, n5)  Sept 1974    8p "It's Your Funeral"- (r BM #12 May 1952)
   r 7    (v.1, n7)  Jan  1975    8p "Freak"- (r BM #17 Oct 1952)
   r 9    (v.1, n9)  May  1975    8p "Who Walks In My Dreams"- (r BM #5 Jun 1951)

Black Terror (Standard)
   s 27   June 1949   10p "The Haunt of Kowanchoo"

Boys' Ranch (Harvey)
     1    Oct  1950    2p "Introducing the Kid Cowboys"
   ? 1    Oct  1950    1p "Western Lore"
     2    Dec  1950    1p "The Original Cowboys"
     3    Feb  1951    1p "The Texas Rangers"
     3    Feb  1951    6p "I'll Fight You For Lucy"
   ? 5    June 1951    1p "How To Ride A Horse, Lesson 5, Using the Aids"

Chamber of Chills (Harvey)
     24   July 1954    5p "Credit and Loss"

Fighting Yank (Standard)
   s 28   July 1949   10p "The Crucible of Crime"
   s 28   July 1949    8p "Ho, For the Artist's Life"
   s 29   Aug  1949   10p "Fireworks on the Fourth"
   s 29   Aug  1949    4p "The Half-Horsepower Judge"
     29   Aug  1949    2p "The Fighting Yank's Submarine Patrol"- (illustrated text)
   s 29   Aug  1949    8p "Accidents for Sale"

Frankenstein (Prize)
     20   Aug  1952    6p "The Man Who Died Twice"
     21   Oct  1952    6p "Ghost of Jean Lafitte"- (text)
     27   Oct  1953    6p "So Red My Roses"
     29   Feb  1954    6p "Modern Achilles"
     29   Feb  1954    4p "Clinging Corpse"

Golden Lad (Spark)
     1    July 1945       [cover]
   s 1    July 1945    9p "The Heart of Gold"
   s 2    Nov  1945       [cover]
   s 2    Nov  1945    9p "The Haven for All"
   s 3    Feb  1946       [cover]
   s 3    Feb  1946    8p "The League of 1965"
     4    Apr  1946       [cover]
     4    Apr  1946       [contents]
   s 4    Apr  1946   11p "The Menace of the Minstrel"
   s 5    June 1946       [cover]

Headline (Prize)
   s 40   (v.5, n4)  Mar  1950    8p "The Man Of Many Faces"
     43   (v.6, n1)  Sept 1950    7p "Our Swords Will Find You"
     44   (v.6, n2)  Nov  1950    7p "Dynamite"
     45   (v.6, n3)  Jan  1951    8p "City In Terror"
     45   (v.6, n3)  Jan  1951    7p "Name Your Assassin"
     48   (v.6, n6)  July 1951    7p "Leech Of The Underworld"
     48   (v.6, n6)  July 1951    7p "Loophole"
     49   (v.7, n1)  Sept 1951    8p "Come Share My Tomb"
     49   (v.7, n1)  Sept 1951    7p "Female Of The Species"
     50   (v.7, n2)  Nov  1951    7p "Cross and Double Cross"
     52   (v.7, n4)  Mar  1952    7p "Coffin for a Killer"
     53   (v.7, n5)  May  1952    7p "The Accusing Corpse"
     54   (v.7, n6)  July 1952    7p "Shadow of the Gallows"
     55   (v.8, n1)  Sept 1952    7p "Mr. Underground"
     58   (v.8, n4)  Mar  1953    1p "Crime Oddities"
     61   (v.9, n1)  Sept 1953    6p "Brain of the Underworld"
     62   (v.9, n2)  Nov  1953    6p "Efficiency System"
     63   (v.9, n3)  Jan  1954    4p "Time To Kill"
     63   (v.9, n3)  Jan  1954    6p "Counterfeit G-Man"
     64   (v.9, n4)  Mar  1954    6p "Savage Circle"
     65   (v.9, n5)  May  1954    6p "Appointment with Death"
     66   (v.9, n6)  July 1954    3p "Murder Will Out"
     66   (v.9, n6)  July 1954    2p "Soft Touch"
     66   (v.9, n6)  July 1954    6p "G-Men Are Poison"
     67   (v.10, n1) Sept 1954    6p "Chain Reaction"
     68   (v.10, n2) Nov  1954    6p "Road To Alcatraz"
     69   (v.10, n3) Jan  1955    6p "Freezeout"
     70   (v.10, n4) Mar  1955    6p "Face of Death"
     70   (v.10, n4) Mar  1955    6p "Flames of Destruction"
     71   (v.10, n5) May  1955    6p "The Crusader"
     72   (v.10, n6) July 1955    6p "Ordeal By Fire"
     72   (v.10, n6) July 1955    6p "My Beat"
   s 73   (v.11, n1) Sept 1955    6p "Big Man"
     74   (v.11, n2) Jan  1956    7p "Money From Nowhere"
     75   (v.11, n3) Mar  1956    6p "Duke Kennedy"
     75   (v.11, n3) Mar  1956    6p "The Fight Fan"
     76   (v.11, n4) May  1956    6p "The Grafters"

House of Mystery (National/DC)
     60   Mar  1957    6p "The Thing in the Telescope"
     64   July 1957    6p "The Human Time Capsule"
     66   Sept 1957       [cover]
     66   Sept 1957    6p "The Girl in the Iron Mask"
     70   Jan  1958    6p "The Menace of the Maze"
     78   Sept 1958    6p "The 100 Lives of Napoleon Burke"
   s 137  Sept 1963    8p "The Girl from Two Worlds"

House of Secrets (National/DC)
     3    Mar  1957    6p "The Mystery of the Martian Menu"
     4    May  1957    6p "The Amazing Visions of Abel Innes"
     6    June 1957    6p "The Bewitched Costumes"
     19   Apr  1959    8p "The Man Who Turned to Gold"
     42   Mar  1961    8p "The Thief of Time"
     52   Feb  1962    9p "The Guardian Lion-Man"
     60   June 1962       [cover]
   s 60   June 1962   10p "Captive of the Cat Curse"
   ? 62   Oct  1962       [cover]
   s 62   Oct  1962   10p "The Three Faces of Fear"
   s 67   Aug  1964   12p "Doctor-7's Supernatural Ally"

In Love (Mainline)
     1    Sept 1954    2p "After The Honey-Moon"

Jumbo (Fiction House Magazines)
   s 1    Sept 1938    5p "Sheena"
   s 2    Oct  1938    4p "Sheena"

Justice Traps the Guilty (Prize)
     17   (v.3, n5)  Aug  1950    7p "The Statue Screams"
     19   (v.4, n1)  Oct  1950    7p "Deadlier Than The Male"
     20   (v.4, n2)  Nov  1950    8p "Curse Of Me-Meb"
     20   (v.4, n2)  Nov  1950    7p "Human Cargo"
   s 21   (v.4, n3)  Dec  1950    7p "O'Hara Had A Heart"
     21   (v.4, n3)  Dec  1950    7p "The Dead Can't Sleep"
     22   (v.4, n4)  Jan  1951    8p "Bad Medicine"
     22   (v.4, n4)  Jan  1951    7p "Hideout"
     23   (v.4, n5)  Feb  1951    8p "Prevue Of Death"
     23   (v.4, n5)  Feb  1951    7p "Bullets For Christmas"
     24   (v.4, n6)  Mar  1951    7p "A Handful of Death"
     27   (v.4, n9)  June 1951    7p "Houdini of the Underworld"
     28   (v.4, n10) July 1951    7p "Foto Frame-Up"
     29   (v.4, n11) Aug  1951    7p "Rat Hole"
     30   (v.4, n12) Sept 1951    7p "Trail Of Doom"
     30   (v.4, n12) Sept 1951    7p "Dead Man's Debt"
     31   (v.5, n1)  Oct  1951    7p "Angel Of Death"
     32   (v.5, n2)  Nov  1951    7p "A Very Careful Guy"
     33   (v.5, n3)  Dec  1951    7p "Monster On The Midway"
     34   (v.5, n4)  Jan  1952    7p "Dead Man's Double"
     35   (v.5, n5)  Feb  1952    6p "Fall Guy"
     36   (v.5, n6)  Mar  1952    7p "Find the Woman"
     37   (v.5, n7)  Apr  1952    6p "Breakout"
     38   (v.5, n8)  May  1952    5p "14 Carat Payoff"
     39   (v.5, n9)  June 1952    7p "Terror"
     40   (v.5, n10) July 1952    7p "One Way to the Chair"
     41   (v.5, n11) Aug  1952    8p "No Place To Hide"
   s 43   (v.6, n1)  Oct  1952    6p "Restless Dead"
     44   (v.6, n2)  Nov  1952    6p "The Hard Way"
     45   (v.6, n3)  Dec  1952    6p "Embezzlement"
     45   (v.6, n3)  Dec  1952    5p "Easy Money"
     47   (v.6, n5)  Feb  1953    5p "Payoff"
     48   (v.6, n6)  Mar  1953    6p "Web of Pain"
     49   (v.6, n7)  Apr  1953    5p ".38 Caliber Casanova"
     53   (v.6, n11) Aug  1953    6p "Boomerang"
     54   (v.6, n12) Sept 1953    5p "Fatal Mistake"
     55   (v.7, n1)  Oct  1953    4p "Rebound"
     56   (v.7, n2)  Nov  1953    5p "G-Man Payoff"
     56   (v.7, n2)  Nov  1953    6p "Side-Liner"
     57   (v.7, n3)  Dec  1953    6p "The Tri-State Terror"
     58   (v.7, n4)  Jan  1954    7p "Desert Justice"
     58   (v.7, n4)  Jan  1954    1p "Two-Gun Crowley"
     60   (v.7, n5)  Feb  1954    6p "Deadly Circle"
     60   (v.7, n5)  Feb  1954    5p "Homicide By Proxy"
     61   (v.7, n7)  Apr  1954    6p "Pretty Boy Floyd"
     62   (v.7, n8)  May  1954    6p "The Last Leap"
     62   (v.7, n8)  May  1954    1p "The Fall Guy"
     63   (v.7, n9)  June 1954    6p "Deadly Detour"
     63   (v.7, n9)  June 1954    5p "Big Wheel"
     64   (v.7, n10) July 1954    6p "The Gentleman Farmer"
     64   (v.7, n10) July 1954    6p "Double-Crosser"
     65   (v.7, n11) Aug  1954    6p "One Slug Short"
     65   (v.7, n11) Aug  1954    6p "Deadly Reunion"
     66   (v.7, n12) Sept 1954    6p "V.I.P."
     69   (v.8, n3)  Dec  1954    5p "Flames Of Sabotage"
     69   (v.8, n3)  Dec  1954    5p "Find The Corpse"
     70   (v.8, n4)  Mar  1955    6p "The Fix"
     72   (v.8, n6)  Mar  1955    6p "The Saucer Man"
     74   (v.8, n8)  May  1955    6p "Frameup"
     75   (v.8, n9)  June 1955    2p "Jackpot"
     76   (v.8, n10) July 1955    6p "Tour of Duty"
   s 78   (v.8, n12) Sept 1955    6p "The Motorcycle"
   s 80   (v.9, n1)  Feb  1956    5p "Silent Witness"

More Fun (National/DC)
   s 85   Nov  1942    8p "The Magic Formula"
   s 107  Jan  1946   10p "Vacation with Double Pay"

My Greatest Adventure (National/DC)
   s 57   July 1961    9p "A Beast Was My Judge"
   s 70   Aug  1962    8p "I Won the Doom Castle"

Out of the Shadows (Standard)
   s 14   Aug  1954    7p "Werewolf"

Pep (Archie)
   s 3    Apr  1940    6p "The Press Guardian"
   s 7    Aug  1940    6p "Perry Case the Press Guardian"
     9    Nov  1940    6p "Press Guardian"
   s 10   Dec  1940    6p "Press Guardian"
   s 11   Jan  1941    6p "Press Guardian"
   s 11   Jan  1941    6p "Midshipman"
   s 12   Feb  1941    6p "Midshipman"

Police Trap (Mainline)
     1    Sept 1954    4p "The Capture"

Police Trap (Super Comics)
   r 16   **** 1964    4p "The Capture"

Prize Comics Western (Prize)
     114  Nov  1955    6p "The Drifter"
   s 115  Jan  1956    6p "Bad Medicine"
     116  Mar  1956    6p "Lighting Draw"
   s 117  May  1956    6p "Weak Boy"
     117  May  1956    6p "Posse of the Border"
     118  July 1956    7p "Mystery of the Calico Pony"
   s 118  July 1956    6p "Thirsty Mule"

Real Fact (National/DC)
     10   Sept 1947       [cover]
     10   Sept 1947    6p "How a Movie Serial is Made"

Real West Romances (Prize)
   s 5    Dec  1949    8p "Tenderfoot In Love"
   s 6    Feb  1950    9p "Lies, Love and Hoss Liniment"
     6    Feb  1950    2p "Kiss In The Moonlight"- (illustrated text)

Strange Adventures (National/DC)
     168  Sept 1964    9p "I Hunted Toki the Terrible"

Strange World of Your Dreams (Prize)
     1    Aug  1952    2p "You Sent Us This Dream"
     1    Aug  1952    7p "The Dreaming Tower"
     2    Sept 1952    7p "I Lived 200 Years Ago"
     3    Nov  1952    8p "Edge Of Madness"
     4    Jan  1953    7p "Show Your Face"

Tales Of The Unexpected (National/DC)
     12   Apr  1957    6p "The Witch's Statues"
     13   May  1957    6p "The Thing from the Skies"
     13   May  1957    6p "The Thing from the Skies"
     15   July 1957    6p "The City of Three Dooms"
     15   July 1957    6p "The City of Three Dooms"
     16   Aug  1957    6p "I Was a Spy for Them"
     18   Oct  1957    6p "The Riddle of the Glass Bubble"
     18   Oct  1957    6p "The Riddle of the Glass Bubble"

Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (Prize)
     1    May  1955    7p "The Spaceship of Doom"
     1    May  1955    8p "Octopus Tree"
     1    May  1955    7p "The Spaceways of Peril"
   s 2    July 1955       [cover]
     2    July 1955    9p "The Outlaws of Uranus"
     2    July 1955    7p "The Invaders"
     2    July 1955    6p "Wolf Planet"
   s 3    Sept 1955       [cover]
   s 3    Sept 1955    8p "Dangerous Cargo"
   s 3    Sept 1955    7p "The Drifter"
     3    Sept 1955    7p "The Craters of Mercury"

Treasure (Prize)
   s 10   Dec  1946    6p "Know Your America"
     12   Fall 1947    6p "Know Your America"

Western Comics (National/DC)
     1    Jan  1948   12p "Jesse James Rides Again"
     3    May  1948   10p "Vigilante"
     4    July 1948   10p "The Four Notches of Hate"

Western Love (Prize)
   s 4    Jan  1950    8p "The Rancher's Daughter"
     5    Mar  1950    1p "Cowboy Romeo Or City Slicker"
   s 5    Mar  1950    9p "Lilly's Last Stand"

Western Tales (Harvey)
   r 32   Mar  1956    6p "I'll Fight You For Lucy"

Westerner (Toytown)
   s 10   Mar  1949   14p "Custer's Massacre"

Young Brides (Prize)
   s 1    (v.1, n1)  Sept 1952    8p "My Hero"
     2    (v.1, n2)  Nov  1952    7p "Wait For The Doctor"
     3    (v.1, n3)  Jan  1953    3p "What Advice Would You Have Given"
     3    (v.1, n3)  Jan  1953    8p "Bride And Broom"
     3    (v.1, n3)  Jan  1953    7p "Strange Honeymoon"
   s 4    (v.1, n4)  Mar  1953    8p "Under 21"
     5    (v.1, n5)  May  1953    7p "Don't Cry On My Shoulder"
     7    (v.2, n1)  Sept 1953    8p "Mind Your Own Marriage"
     10   (v.2, n4)  Dec  1953    1p "How He Proposed"
     11   (v.2, n5)  Jan  1954    6p "Too Beautiful To Be True"
     12   (v.2, n6)  Feb  1954    6p "Don't Take My Child From Me"
     14   (v.2, n8)  Apr  1954    6p "Faithless"
     15   (v.2, n9)  May  1954    7p "Husband At Large"
     16   (v.2, n10) June 1954       [cover]
     17   (v.2, n11) July 1954    7p "Act Of Faith"
     17   (v.2, n11) July 1954    6p "Mother To All"
     18   (v.2, n12) Sept 1954    6p "My Cheating Heart"
   s 22   (v.3, n4)  May  1955       [cover]
   s 23   (v.3, n5)  July 1955       [cover]

Young Love (Prize)
   s 8    (v.2, n2)  Apr  1950    8p "Danger, Soft Shoulder"
     8    (v.2, n2)  Apr  1950    1p "Which Is Your Dream Man?"
   s 9    (v.2, n3)  May  1950    8p "A Man In Her Room"
     9    (v.2, n3)  May  1950    2p "Problem Clinic"
   s 10   (v.2, n4)  June 1950    8p "My Backwoods Love"
   s 11   (v.2, n5)  July 1950    7p "Let's Try Again"
   s 11   (v.2, n5)  July 1950    7p "A Match For Any Man"
     11   (v.2, n5)  July 1950    2p "Problem Clinic"
     12   (v.2, n6)  Aug  1950    8p "Smooth Operator"
     12   (v.2, n6)  Aug  1950    2p "Problem Clinic"
   s 13   (v.2, n7)  Sept 1950    8p "In Trouble"
     13   (v.2, n7)  Sept 1950    2p "Problem Clinic"
     14   (v.2, n8)  Oct  1950    8p "Stay Out Of My Life"
   s 14   (v.2, n8)  Oct  1950    8p "Girls Like Her"
     16   (v.2, n10) Dec  1950    7p "The Upstairs Maid"
     16   (v.2, n10) Dec  1950    1p "When He Begins to Tire"- (text)
     17   (v.2, n11) Jan  1951    8p "I Saw Him First"
     17   (v.2, n11) Jan  1951    7p "I Promised Never To Marry"
     18   (v.2, n12) Feb  1951    8p "Unwilling Bride"
     18   (v.2, n12) Feb  1951    1p "Let's Talk Clothes"
     19   (v.3, n1)  Mar  1951    3p "Only Human"
     19   (v.3, n1)  Mar  1951    9p "Love Song In Blue"
     20   (v.3, n2)  Apr  1951    8p "The Cinderella Girl"
     20   (v.3, n2)  Apr  1951    8p "Love Parasite"
     20   (v.3, n2)  Apr  1951    3p "Will You Help Me"
   s 21   (v.3, n3)  May  1951    9p "Get Rid Of That Woman"
     21   (v.3, n3)  May  1951    8p "Second Try"
     22   (v.3, n4)  June 1951   10p "Meet The Folks"
     22   (v.3, n4)  June 1951    1p "There's Romance In The Stars"
     22   (v.3, n4)  June 1951    9p "The Breakup"
     23   (v.3, n5)  July 1951    9p "Maid To Order"
     24   (v.3, n6)  Aug  1951    3p "If Your Thinking Of Eloping"
     24   (v.3, n6)  Aug  1951    8p "Native Wedding"
     25   (v.3, n7)  Sept 1951    3p "Problem Clinic"
     25   (v.3, n7)  Sept 1951    9p "Marriage Bargain"
   s 26   (v.3, n8)  Oct  1951    8p "Let's Keep It Gay"
     26   (v.3, n8)  Oct  1951    2p "Problem Clinic"
     27   (v.3, n9)  Nov  1951    8p "The Brush Off"
     27   (v.3, n9)  Nov  1951    3p "Problem Clinic"
   s 27   (v.3, n9)  Nov  1951    9p "Fresh As Daisy"
   s 28   (v.3, n10) Dec  1951    8p "The Pest"
     28   (v.3, n10) Dec  1951    3p "Problem Clinic"
   s 28   (v.3, n10) Dec  1951    8p "The Other Woman"
     29   (v.3, n11) Jan  1952    8p "Love 'Em And Leave 'Em Guy"
     29   (v.3, n11) Jan  1952    5p "The Sensible Thing To Do"
     29   (v.3, n11) Jan  1952    2p "Problem Clinic"
     30   (v.3, n12) Feb  1952    1p "The Way They Met"
     30   (v.3, n12) Feb  1952    6p "Mel-Vin"
     30   (v.3, n12) Feb  1952    8p "Tired Of Her"
     31   (v.4, n1)  Mar  1952    6p "Razzle Dazzle Romance"
     31   (v.4, n1)  Mar  1952    8p "Baby Doll"
     32   (v.4, n2)  Apr  1952    9p "Love or Goulash"
     32   (v.4, n2)  Apr  1952    2p "Problem Clinic"
     32   (v.4, n2)  Apr  1952    9p "His Lucky Number"
     33   (v.4, n3)  May  1952    7p "Under My Skin"
     34   (v.4, n4)  June 1952    6p "Live It Up"
   s 35   (v.4, n5)  July 1952    5p "Mind Your Manners"
     35   (v.4, n5)  July 1952    3p "Problem Clinic"
     36   (v.4, n6)  Aug  1952    8p "Mister Fix-It"
     36   (v.4, n6)  Aug  1952    2p "What Advice Would You Have Given"
     36   (v.4, n6)  Aug  1952    7p "Man Of Mystery"
   s 38   (v.4, n8)  Oct  1952    8p "Take Care Of My Sweetheart"
     38   (v.4, n8)  Oct  1952    2p "Problem Clinic"
     39   (v.4, n9)  Nov  1952    7p "Marriage On The Rocks"
     39   (v.4, n9)  Nov  1952    6p "Lovers Quarrel"
     40   (v.4, n10) Dec  1952    2p "Problem Clinic"
   s 41   (v.4, n11) Jan  1953    8p "Forget Me, Fraulein"- (with Kirby touchups)
   s 42   (v.4, n12) Feb  1953    8p "Scarlet Sister"
     51   (v.5, n9)  Nov  1953    2p "What Advice Would You Have Given"
     52   (v.5, n10) Dec  1953    6p "Loving Sister"
     56   (v.6, n2)  Apr  1954       [cover]
     56   (v.6, n2)  Apr  1954    6p "I'll Buy Your Love"
   s 56   (v.6, n2)  Apr  1954    6p "Lola's Other Life"
     57   (v.6, n3)  May  1954    7p "Another Woman's Baby"
     57   (v.6, n3)  May  1954    8p "Beaten Woman"
     58   (v.6, n4)  June 1954    6p "Live, Love And Be Married"
     59   (v.6, n5)  July 1954    6p "Little Miss Know-It-All"
     60   (v.6, n6)  Aug  1954    6p "Outcast"
     61   (v.6, n7)  Sept 1954    6p "Tragedy For Three"
   s 65   (v.6, n11) June 1955       [cover]
   s 66   (v.6, n12) Aug  1955       [cover]
   s 67   (v.7, n1)  Oct  1955       [cover]
   s 67   (v.7, n1)  Oct  1955    6p "Change Of Heart"
   s 68   (v.7, n2)  Dec  1955       [cover]
   s 68   (v.7, n2)  Dec  1955    6p "No One To Marry"

Young Romance (Prize)
   s 16   (v.3, n4)  Dec  1949    7p "His Engagement Ring"
   s 18   (v.3, n6)  Feb  1950    8p "I Own This Man"
     19   (v.3, n7)  Mar  1950    1p "The Beauty Clinic"- (illustrated text)
   s 19   (v.3, n7)  Mar  1950    8p "The Fisherman's Daughter"
     20   (v.3, n8)  Apr  1950    1p "Do You Know Your Wolves"
     20   (v.3, n8)  Apr  1950    1p "That Well-Dressed Look"- (illustrated text)
   s 20   (v.3, n8)  Apr  1950    6p "The Prophecy"
   s 21   (v.3, n9)  May  1950    8p "The Woman Who Lost Him"
   s 22   (v.3, n10) June 1950    8p "Child Bride"
     24   (v.3, n12) Aug  1950    2p "Problem Clinic"
     24   (v.3, n12) Aug  1950    1p "The Little Things Remind Him Of You"
     24   (v.3, n12) Aug  1950    1p "Danger, Man Trap"
   s 24   (v.3, n12) Aug  1950    8p "Take A Chance"
     25   (v.4, n1)  Sept 1950    1p "Are You A Gold Digger"
     25   (v.4, n1)  Sept 1950    2p "Problem Clinic"
     26   (v.4, n2)  Oct  1950    2p "Problem Clinic"
     26   (v.4, n2)  Oct  1950    1p "Do Something Nice For Your Sweetheart"
     27   (v.4, n3)  Nov  1950    8p "Chase Me Till I Catch You"
   s 28   (v.4, n4)  Dec  1950    7p "His Father's Son"
     29   (v.4, n5)  Jan  1951    7p "Diagnosis: Love"
   s 29   (v.4, n5)  Jan  1951    8p "Three's A Crowd"
     30   (v.4, n6)  Feb  1951    9p "My Lord And Master"
     31   (v.4, n7)  Mar  1951    3p "Will You Help Me"
     31   (v.4, n7)  Mar  1951    6p "My Last Blind Date"
     32   (v.4, n8)  Apr  1951    8p "Painted Woman"
   s 33   (v.4, n9)  May  1951    8p "Take A Letter, Darling"
     34   (v.4, n10) June 1951    3p "Will You Help Me"
     34   (v.4, n10) June 1951    7p "Girl Friday"
     35   (v.4, n11) July 1951    7p "The Man Who Loves Shabby Sally"
     35   (v.4, n11) July 1951    9p "The Catskill Man-Chasers"
     36   (v.4, n12) Aug  1951    2p "Problem Clinic"
     36   (v.4, n12) Aug  1951    7p "Big Brother Blues"
     37   (v.5, n1)  Sept 1951    9p "Just To Be Near Him"
     37   (v.5, n1)  Sept 1951    3p "Problem Clinic"
     38   (v.5, n2)  Oct  1951    7p "His Dancing Teacher"
     38   (v.5, n2)  Oct  1951    3p "Problem Clinic"
     39   (v.5, n3)  Nov  1951    3p "Problem Clinic"
     39   (v.5, n3)  Nov  1951    5p "Marvin's Pearl"
     39   (v.5, n3)  Nov  1951    1p "The Way They Met"
   s 40   (v.5, n4)  Dec  1951    7p "The Red Dress"
     41   (v.5, n5)  Jan  1952    3p "Problem Clinic"
     41   (v.5, n5)  Jan  1952    2p "What Advice Would You Have Given"
     41   (v.5, n5)  Jan  1952    7p "Kill Her With Kindness"
     42   (v.5, n6)  Feb  1952    1p "The Way They Met"
     42   (v.5, n6)  Feb  1952    7p "The Green-Eyed Monster"
     42   (v.5, n6)  Feb  1952    8p "Marion's Husband"
     42   (v.5, n6)  Feb  1952    2p "What Advice Would You Have Given"
     43   (v.5, n7)  Mar  1952    3p "Problem Clinic"
     43   (v.5, n7)  Mar  1952    7p "Say It With Kisses"
     43   (v.5, n7)  Mar  1952    9p "Gentlemen Prefer Ladies"
     44   (v.5, n8)  Apr  1952   10p "A Bride for Father"
     44   (v.5, n8)  Apr  1952    9p "The Lady Says She's Innocent"
     45   (v.5, n9)  May  1952    8p "By Appointment Only"
   s 45   (v.5, n9)  May  1952    8p "Treat 'Em Rough"
     46   (v.5, n10) June 1952    6p "The Gal On The Flying Trapeze"
     46   (v.5, n10) June 1952    7p "Little Busybody"
   s 47   (v.5, n11) July 1952    7p "Love Me, Love My Dog"
     47   (v.5, n11) July 1952    2p "What Advice Would You Have Given"
     48   (v.5, n12) Aug  1952    7p "No Greater Love"
     49   (v.6, n1)  Sept 1952    1p "The Way They Met"
   s 50   (v.6, n2)  Oct  1952    8p "A Way With The Ladies"
     51   (v.6, n3)  Nov  1952    6p "Good Girl, Bad Girl"
     51   (v.6, n3)  Nov  1952    6p "Partners"
     52   (v.6, n4)  Dec  1952    8p "Ne'er Do Well"
     52   (v.6, n4)  Dec  1952    8p "Give Up Your Baby"
     53   (v.6, n5)  Jan  1953    1p "Problem Clinic"
   s 54   (v.6, n6)  Feb  1953    7p "Poison Pen"
     55   (v.6, n7)  Mar  1953    8p "Afraid To Go Home"
     58   (v.6, n10) June 1953    6p "Too Good For Me"
     59   (v.6, n11) July 1953    5p "You Stole My Girl"
     60   (v.6, n12) Aug  1953    2p "How Did You Meet Him"
     62   (v.7, n2)  Oct  1953    6p "Teen-Age Wildcat"
     63   (v.7, n3)  Nov  1953    1p "How He Proposed"
     63   (v.7, n3)  Nov  1953    2p "What Advice Would You Have Given"
     68   (v.7, n8)  Apr  1954    6p "Brotherly Love"
     68   (v.7, n8)  Apr  1954    6p "The Man I Couldn't Have"
     71   (v.7, n11) July 1954    6p "Only Love Endures"
     71   (v.7, n11) July 1954    6p "Forsaking All Others"

Jerry Robinson & Mort Meskin Checklist

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Posted in Artists, Checklist, Meskin, Mort, Robinson & Meskin, Robinson, Jerry and tagged , , , , 

Last update: 1/2/2012

Codes:
    s:  = signed
    a:  = signed with alias
    &:  = signed Simon and Kirby
    ?:  = questionable attribution
    r:  = reprint

Black Terror (Standard)
   s 23   June 1948   10p "The Eye of the Lady Serpent"
   s 23   June 1948   10p "Danger In The Air"
   s 24   Sept 1948    8p "The Revenge of Red Ann"
   s 24   Sept 1948    8p "The Lady Serpent Returns"
   s 25   Dec  1948    8p "The Girl Who Cleared Her Name"

Exciting (Standard)
   s 66   Mar  1949    9p "Grandpa Shows His Medals"

Fighting Yank (Standard)
     24   Mar  1949   10p "Larceny in the Lighthouse"
     25   Apr  1949   10p "The Crossroads of Crime"
     27   June 1949   10p "The Return of Fingers"
   s 27   June 1949    6p "Patriots on Parade"
   s 27   June 1949   10p "Taxi Terror"
   s 28   July 1949    7p "Swing Your Partner"
   s 29   Aug  1949   10p "Fight for Freedom"

Headline (Prize)
     28   (v.3, n4)  Feb  1948    7p "Postage Stamp Swindle"
     29   (v.3, n5)  Apr  1948    8p "The Night Of The Freak Murder"

Justice Traps the Guilty (Prize)
     4    (v.1, n4)  May  1948    9p "Guilty Boys"
   s 5    (v.1, n5)  July 1948    8p "Murder Special Delivery"

My Date (Hillman)
     4    Jan  1948       [cover]

Young Romance (Prize)
     3    (v.1, n3)  Jan  1948    8p "Love Or A Career"
     4    (v.1, n4)  Mar  1948    8p "I Love You Frank Gerard"
     5    (v.1, n5)  May  1948    7p "Jealousy"
     6    (v.1, n6)  July 1948    7p "The Love That Might Have Been"
   s 6    (v.1, n6)  July 1948    8p "The Inferior Male"