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[MarkWarner]

So last week's Curly Kayoe was not a great success, but it must be noted that according to Crashryan (so take this as a fact) the Curly Kayoe in the book bears virtually no resemblance to the original newspaper strip version.

This week's choice comes with a bit of a confession from me. It has been on "the list" for a long time, BUT I thought this was due to an "administrative cockup" and that we have actually read it. Today after extensive research (IE: checking the forum for books the group has read) I find this not to be the case. So belatedly here she is.

I notice the book begins with 2 Black Cat features .. so we'll concentrate on one or both of them. So here she is Black Cat #12 https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=25524.

I offer apologies for the severe delay to the unknown person (their identity has now been lost in the mists of time) who originally suggested this.

[Captain Audio]

Very cool.
I always liked the good girl type heroines.
I'll read the stories more closely late, just browsed the first to see if it would be worth reading, and it looks promising.
The artist has a good eye for detail, the gunbelts and saddles are nicely drawn, and the young ladies sleep wear is as detailed as drawings from a ladies undee section of sears roebuck.
Looks like its well worth reading this one.

[crashryan]

A lot of fun reading in this comic! It sets the scene for the magazine's first transformation into Black Cat Western. Which lasted only a couple of issues, but then it happened again, then it turned into Black Cat Mystery and then Black Cat Mystic...poor kitty.

I've always liked Lee Elias, even his 60s DC junk like "Ultra the Multi-Alien." (Though I had no idea what a powerful artist he was until in his later years he ditched his Caniff style to do strips like Kronos.) For the Black Cat Elias is in full Caniff mode. His Black Cat is always solidly-drawn and action-packed. Elias could draw anything. People, action, cars, horses, backgrounds, unusual camera angles, you name it. However I was surprised to see how broadly caricatured the bad guys are in this issue. Speaking of caricatures I enjoy his versions of Hollywood celebrities.

It's a shame the Black Cat stories don't match the art. They are okay, certainly better than last week's Curly Kayoe comic, but they're pretty basic. Too bad, given 52 pages, that the stories weren't longer. They suffer in comparison to the Kerry Drake reprint, which  offers a much more interesting story.

I never paid much attention to Kerry Drake, but this story moves well and the art by Somebody-Other-Than-Alfred-Andriola (was it Surui Gumen by then?) is capable.

Loads of comic strip ads in this book. Am I wrong thinking that the Captain Tootsie story is utter hogwash? I bet if real planes tried this stunt they'd wind up twisted junk. I don't recall seeing a Fisk Tires comic ad before. Bikes rule! Four different brands of bicycles plus a co-starring role in the Fisk ad. Isn't tossing "coaching" onto the field on a baseball against the rules? Two pages of boy fashions...not as grotesque as the "genuine Western" duds seen in other mags. Has anybody ever seen that Daisy Handbook? Looks like fun. And how about those "Fun-sational" Joke books? Did anyone invest a dollar in 500 pages of laughs?

Two incredibly lame fillers. Skipped the text stories. Didn't know what the hell to make of Danny Dixon. At least the stupider parts of the story can be written off as a dream. Are these guys supposed to be adults or teenagers? So why is Fatso smoking?

One personal observation. Given the amount of skin she displays, I've never found Black Cat to be, ahem, erotically stimulating. To tell the truth, that's the case with most Caniff-style women. Even when falling out of their clothes, even in their rare appearances in the nude, to me Caniff-style women seem too diagrammatic to be exciting. And this is coming from a guy who's crazy about Caniff in the 30s, when he was creating his sexiest women. Contributing to the Black Cat's "safeness" is the fact that no matter what the situation Elias steadfastly avoids classic GGA effects like carefully-detailed anatomy or spread-eagled poses. Through it all Black Cat remains prim and chaste.

Having said that, anytime Black Cat wishes to practice Lesson 12 on me I will set my prejudices aside and give her my all. Bend a little lower while applying pressure, please...

[narfstar]

I do not like powerless superheroes in general and women in particular. I have never been a fan of Black Cat. Gee wherever they film Black Cat just happens to show up. Secret identities are a stretch many times but this is too much. OH the chandelier is going to fall! I won't grab the rope, I will swing on it. I also do not like Lee Elias faces. The rest of his art is really good but not his faces. This story is particularly unspectacular. GGA for the teens but the stories are for the younger reader I suspect.

[SuperScrounge]

I don't normally comment on the ads but that second panel of the Roadmaster bike ad, could they have drawn a fatter kid? Also seems like he's pedaling faster than one would expect. [Insert food-related joke here]

Captain Tootsie Tames a Tornado - As I'm reading this I figure the energy of the Tootsie Rolls & fudge was going to give him some kind of speed-realted trick like racing around the tornado counter-clockwise or something, but no, they hop in planes, which they could have done without Tootsie Rolls, and fly through the tornado (which would probably do more damage to the planes than the tornado.) Yes, kids, eat Tootsie Rolls to come up with hair-brained schemes that will endanger your life! 

The Ghost Town Terror - Not bad.

Personal Appearance - Ditto. Neither story was ground-breaking, but both were entertaining.

Judo Lessons - I wonder how many kids got hurt trying these? 

Blondie Dottie Dripple - Not a great joke, but not horrible either.

Kerrie Drake - Not bad

Flossie - Meh.

Centuries to Spare - Ugh. The sad thing is it had potential for a good story, just not the way it was told.

Murder in the Rain - Not bad, a little rushed.

Fury on the Set - Ditto.

[Captain Audio]

"Am I wrong thinking that the Captain Tootsie story is utter hogwash? I bet if real planes tried this stunt they'd wind up twisted junk. "
The aircraft appear to be F84 Thunderjets. These were slower than the F86 sabre jets because they didn't have swept wings but they were tough as nails. These jets were so solid they were chosen for experiments in launching fighters from rails mounted on trucks using rocket boosters.
The winds of a tornado probably wouldn't harm the airframe, they were built to fly at faster wind speeds, but flying debris would probably shred the skin of the plane.

I don't know if interupting the air flow at the stem would break up a tornado, but its within the suspension of disbelief and made for a good story. 

[Morgus]

Always liked Elias' art...and the stories were okay...and got through both of them.
But man oh man, I'm AMAZED that Black Cat sailed through with that outift. Really reminds me of those retro pins up from the same time period, complete with black mask. And while not Betty Page, I imagine I would have given her comic book more then a single look if I was a adolescent stuck in a pre-Playboy world.
Anybody else thinking about Pee Wee's Big Adventure when they looked at those bikes?
But...those boys outfits they were selling...those would have cost any kid his life on the playground when I was growing up...

[betaraybdw]

I have to say that I generally like looking at Black Cat stories rather than reading them, the stories are shot full of holes. But in general I do like the female heroes of this era if only for good girl art.

how bout we get some Matt Baker Phantom Lady in here?

[Italo.Perazzoli]

I really appreciate the second episode of "Black Cat" and in particular the association between woman and cat. My reasons are clear and simple the women are mentally superior to man, does not mean that the man are stupid but they think more carefully being immune to the masculine pride and their humor of our weakness.

It was a surprise to find Groucho Marx and his humor.

[paw broon]

Almost doesn't matter that the stories are full of holes, Black Cat adventures are a pleasure to look at.  I've  enjoyed them since I discovered them around 20 years ago. She's one of a number of masked mystery women and one of the best.  I also enjoyed the Kerry Drake story.  You have to love the deadly suitcase.

[bowers]

This one gets a double thumbs up from me! Two Black Cat stories with a Kerry Drake tale thrown in equals a pretty nice read. My first introduction to Linda Turner was number 63, a "giant" issue packed with reprints. I was hooked and, try as I might, I was never able to find another issue until I was well into my twenties.

Lee Elias' work is always adequate, full of great action shots and interesting backgrounds. I agree that the Caniff influence is pretty pronounced, but if you have to be inspired by someone, make it the best. Most of the Black Cat stories weren't very long- set up the caper, kick the bad guys butt, on to the next one. But she did it with charm and humor. I especially liked her warm and relaxed relationship with Rick. Flirty with some snappy repartee yet never overdone. Many of the stories are a bit obvious and silly but I enjoy these little breaks from reality.

The lead story can be figured out by the first page or so, but the art carries it through. Some beautiful panels.

"Personal Appearance" was another simple story, but the celebrity cameos made it worthwhile. Nice caricatures by Elias.

A very good Kerry Drake story. Good writing and a particularly nasty baddie held my interest and kept the tale moving right along. Is this really Andriola's work?

Nice judo fillers and interesting and different ads. I particularly enjoyed the Fisk bike tire ad- nice art in an entertaining format.

Absolutely a big hit with me. Cheers, Bowers

[MarkWarner]

This has a neutral cover that doesn't really grab my attention, so lets one up and see what's inside. A bike with a stop light! Amazing! Followed by a massive one page Captain Tootsie story that will NOT help kids with their knowledge of physics (but I guess most comic books don't claim to be educators). And another advertisement for a bike that appears to be an even more feature rich version.

Starting advertisements read, I now tackle the first Black Cat story and it was ok. Nothing to write home about, very predictable and I am guessing if I had read a few others very "samey". I will soon find out, as I am now dipping into the second Black Cat feature! Amazing Black Cat has a mobile phone on her motorcycle! I think having Groucho Marx "appearing" in this kept the aforementioned "sameyness" slightly at bay. Both stories had very little real substance and relied on the Black Cat "gig".

Third bike advertisement! Followed by a wonderful double page boy's clothes advertisement. The ads in this comic are really good!

Next up, I really enjoyed Kerry Drake (even though the hairs on the hammer was hardly a Sherlock Holmes moment!) Very good and certainly the best bit in the comic! The same cannot be said for the following two half page Flossie's.

But following that is Danny Dixon and it had a bit of a (silly) story and was rather jolly. We round up with two rubbish one page Black Cat text stories and some more cool advertisements including one for a Schwinn.

Verdict: A low to medium hit. I give this for the book as a whole and personally I thought Black Cat the weakest part of it. Some top notch advertisements here with lots of words and story lines!