[The Australian Panther]

[As an experiment in 1950, Gold Medal books published Mansion of Evil by Joseph Millard,–their only title that was printed in color comic-book form instead of text. The format was not repeated, and this paperback, #129, is among the most difficult to find.]

[Author of westerns including 'The Cheyenne Wars: The Dramatic Saga of the Greatest of all the Indian Tribes' (1964), 'Cut-Hand, the Mountain Man' (1964), and 'For a Few Dollars More' (1965). He also wrote mystery (Mansion of Evil, 1950) and science fiction (The Gods Hate Kansas, 1964), and biographies such as 'The Wickedest Man: The Extraordinary Story of the "Gentleman from Hell"' (1954) and 'Edgar Cayce: Mystery Man of Miracles' (1956).]
Bit of a renaissance man!
No clue as to the artist, tho. But its excellent work.
A very rare book, thank you to the uploader.

Link to the book: Mansion of Evil by Joseph Millard

[crashryan]

I can't believe I never heard of this fascinating one-shot. It's too bad Gold Medal didn't try a couple more times so they could have worked out the kinks. I presume that either the book sold poorly or it was too expensive to produce.

The story kept my interest. It reminds me of 50s B-movies. On the plus side, the story is complex enough to fill the pages comfortably but simple enough not to seemed crammed in. Some genuine suspense builds up during the first two-thirds. On the minus side, once the clock starts ticking the delaying obstructions pile up to the point of ridiculousness. It's good to see an intelligent heroine who stands up for herself, though toward the end her purple dialogue becomes a bit much.

The artwork is a solid job by a skilled craftsman, but I'm hanged if I recognize the artist. I thought I caught whiffs of Fawcett regulars like Evans, Swayze, and McWilliams, but I'm pretty sure these were just coincidence. The artist's storytelling and drawing style suggest he was an experienced comic book artist, not a pulp artist or cover painter doing some moonlighting.

The main "kink" to me is the way the story is split up. I don't object to chapters with titles (like British pocket libraries), but the breathless "Will they arrive in time to save her?" captions at the end of each chapter sound like something from an old silent serial.

I see copies of this book sell for around $150. Thanks for making it possible to see this rarity.

[Andrew999]

Oh this is wonderful.

It's a shame that picture novels never caught on in the fifties - an idea before its time perhaps. The big one is It Rhymes with Lust - an all-time favourite:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Rhymes_with_Lust

[crashryan]

For those who might not know, CB+ has "It Rhymes with Lust" here:

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=62011