Friday, August 19, 2016

PHANTOM LADY'S TWICE-TOLD TALES "Soda Mint Killer" & "What Price Protection?"

For the final Twice-Told Tale...
...from the issue Dr Wertham vilified in Seduction of the Innocent, The Phantom Lady deals out just desserts in this never-reprinted tale of luncheonette larceny!
Yeah, she killed them, but they deserved it!
The splendidly-sordid, but deliciously-cheesecakey art for this story from Fox's Phantom Lady #17 (1948) is, of course, by legendary good-girl illustrator Matt Baker!
The quirky story is probably by Ruth Roche.

Here's the cover to this issue...
...but, oddly enough, it has nothing to do with either Phantom Lady story in the book.
It's probably the single most famous example of comic book "good girl" art in history!
And, yes, it's by Matt Baker!
Dr Fredric Wertham described the cover in Seduction of the Innocent as "sexual stimulation by combining 'headlights' with the sadist's dream of tying up a woman."
And...?
BTW, while the story has never been reprinted (until now, see below), it was re-used... 

...and when the story was redrawn for use in 1954, both violence and sexuality were toned down, almost into nonexistencem thanks to the Comics Code!
Script in both versions probably by Ruth Roche.
However, the art in Ajax/Farrell's Phantom Lady #4 (1955) is not by Matt Baker, and though adequate, is no match for the original!
We hope you've enjoyed our Mini-Marathon of Twice-Told Tales.

Support Heroines!
Order
from Amazon! 

featuring goodies emblazoned with cover art that Fredric Wertham railed against in Seduction of the Innocent.

No comments:

Post a Comment