[The Australian Panther]

I think we have on the cover, the MLJ character, 'the Wizard'
Who is not in the book.

Link to the book: Roly-Poly Comics 10

[Robb_K]

I think we have on the cover, the MLJ character, 'the Wizard'
Who is not in the book.

Once again, we come across the strange saga of Green Publishing's 3 weird, tiny, very short-lived, half-hearted forays into the comic book publishing business, separated by 6 and 5 years, in 1945-46, 1952, and 1957. 

Green's 1945-46 stint, issuing Liberty Comics, Miss Liberty Comics, and Roly-Poly Comics, mainly reprinted recent MLJ issues of Hangman, Zip, and top-Notch Laugh Comics from 1943 and 1944 occurred While MLJ was still going strong, and the series from which they were taken, were still releasing new issues.  I still haven't been able to find the connection between the two publishers.  The last issue of Roly-Poly (Volume 2 #6), printed what seems to have been prepared to be the last issue of Rural Home's Blue Circle Comics, from 1944.

Green also issued "Atomic Comics" in 1946, which re-printed stories from DC-related, "More Fun Comics", and printed other stories which were probably produced by DC-related or other earlier publishers, who never issued the books for which they were planned.  Some of Atomic Comics' front covers had been produced for MLJ series.

Their 1952 foray was a single issue of "Romeo Tubbs", ostensibly the print-ready unpublished issue #29 of Fox Features' series, which would have been Fox's last issue, in late summer of 1950.   Green also apparently issued a book titled "The Adventures of Patoruzu" in 1952, with the Patoruzu front cover atop the insides of Fox Features' print-ready, but unissued, 1950 second issue of  "Animal Crackers" #32.  The Patoruzu book was produced by Fox in 1946, and with its insides not being issued until 1957, and then, only inside a front cover originally printed for a different series. 

Their 1957 foray included reprints of other Fox Features' material, and other non-printed Fox productions, including "All Top", "Ribtickler", "Wotalife", "Animal Crackers", and "Cosmo Cat" Comics.  They also mixed front covers from some series with newsprint insides of other Fox series, such as "Life With Snarky Parker", "Li'l Pan", and previously unpublished artwork from Fox's 1946-produced "Adventures of Patoruzu", as well as from Robert Farrell's "Kiddie Kapers" series.

It is clear that Green Publishing did not authorise production of any of their content, but rather, like Israel Waldman's I.W. and Super Comics, obtained at bargain-basement prices original art or printing plates from sources that had gotten them years earlier from defunct publishers or warehouse sales, except, possibly their MLJ reprints.  I find it difficult to believe that MLJ would have leased 2-year old previously-issued artwork for reprinting, while the same series which had issued those stories were still going strong.  Green must have come across those MLJ printing plates at a printer's warehouse going-out-of business sale, without MLJ's knowledge.

I'd appreciate anyone else's comments on Green Publishing's operations, and how they obtained MLJ's artwork.