Wow. That's all I could say when I Googled this book and discovered a story that is just crazy enough to be true. In brief, it states that Albert and Frances Magarian were Siamese twins, joined at the hip, who avoided the prejudices of their day by living isolated in an apartment, where through an agent they freelanced comic book art! The story also says that Tops Comics was originally printed on laminated menu paper and a complete issue weighed 14 pounds! Here is the original blog post, which tells the story at length (and, may I say, rather bombastically):
http://panelologicalpantheon.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-black-orchid-and-stunning-story-of.htmlThis remarkable story leaves me with some questions. Plenty of strange things have happened in the comics industry, an industry that has attracted more than its share of unusual personalities. On the other hand, given that this article was posted in 2013 I'm surprised the story hasn't spread over the Internet. It's just the sort of freak-show tale that goes viral. Then there's the assertion that the Magarians worked through 1967, producing some "11,000 pages" of comic art. Bails'
Who's Who offers credits only through 1947, many of them in pulps. Of course working in isolation without credit the Magarians could have produced a hundred thousand pages without ever showing up on the radar. Still you'd think that sort of output would have left a footprint, whether in the memories of editors who used their work or in the work of researchers like the
Alter Ego gang who surely should have stumbled upon some reference to these prolific creators.
I also don't quite understand the statement that
Tops was printed on heavy, slippery laminated stock, making "national headlines" when an issue broke apart and its scattered pages caused slips and falls. The author describes "separating [printed pages]...from their time-worn plastic prisons," that is, un-laminating the pages. Quite a task, though certainly possible depending on the quality of the original stock and the state of 1940s lamination technology. The issue of
Tops on the Heritage auction site describes a more traditional comic: a brittle-paged book with a split spine. There's no mention of lamination.
There's a lot I'm not saying because experience has shown me how easy it is, once one has stated something categorically, to have one's ass handed to him on a platter when someone shows up with the evidence. For the record let's just say that I'm hungry to see more details--not so much about the Magarians as about
Tops being printed on laminated menu paper, To my jaded mind that's the stranger of the two stories.
Given that background it's difficult to judge the Black Orchid objectively. Basically it's a decent Golden Age comic. The grotesque elements aren't any different from those in other GA costumed character yarns. The blog article, by the way, described the Magarians only as artists; they didn't necessarily have anything to do with the script. Their artwork is competent with occasional bursts of good. The suits of the flamethrower gang are kind of nice. The usual GA inconsistencies pop up, such as the Orchid choosing to bop a guy with a vase rather than using her paralyzing vapor.
Of course the Orchid's most notable trait, one which she shares with Sally the Sleuth, is that she ends each adventure in her underwear. One wonders why she even bothers with the coat and skirt. I like the way Dick is checking out her equipment as he says, "I know I've seen you somewhere before." The test of this sort of character is whether the heroine's figure is drawn well enough for us to care that she's in her scanties. I'd say the Orchid passes that one. She's certainly better drawn than the clothed figures.
The other features in this comic are worth checking out here at CB+. They include an aviation strip by long-time
Buck Rogers artist Rick Yager and another action hero by the Magarians.
Author
Topic: Week 43 - Tops Comics #2000 (Read 3181 times)
