[The Ghost Man]

Greetings to all and welcome to #315 of the CBP Comic Book Reading Group. I am The Ghost Man and I host a blogsite called The Vintage Inkwell Academy (TVIA) https://vintageinkwell.com Some of you are already familiar, but to those who may not be, TVIA was created as a 100% free art resource academy for new or established developing artists. I study illustration myself with and am working to create and publish my own graphic content in the near future. In my artistic journey I struggled greatly to find excellent, traditional art books and useful art instructional material. After some success uncovering, reviewing and compiling first-rate art training books, I was compelled to share what I found and learned to make the next art student's life easier. TVIA has now celebrated its 4th year, and has grown significantly in scope since its inception.

Off the top I'd like to thank the always-supportive Australian Panther for his thoughtful support through these years. I am here hosting this installment at his cordial invitation and express my gratitude. All that said let's get on with the show.

I chose Lou Fine for this posting for several reasons. One is he is my absolute inspirational favourite Golden-Age artists (mind you the superlative Reed Crandall is a very close second). Woefully, there is no formal biographical book published on his life and there should be. Despite his wide influence on comic book artists, his incredible work needs praise sung for this age. I have chosen his work on three titles to best showcase his phenomenal talent at his creative apex.

Crack Comics #12
The Black Condor
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=27911



At the outset action cinematically explodes in stunning composition and sinuous rendering. Then on throughout the compelling story, magnificent expositions of the stylised human form in wondrous action are depicted. Pay mind to the background art as well and note his use of expressive line that enhances mundane objects and environment.

Crack Comics #13
The Black Condor
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=36421



The most resonating feature in Fine's work is his incredible gift at visually striking characterisation of the actors in play. The female at the centre of the first page can only be described as gloriously luxurious. On page 7, the brilliant design technique of placing The Black Condor outside of the panel is masterful. Moving on through the tale the depiction of The Black Condor in action is a marvel of twisting, flowing, acrobatically logical action.

Smash Comics #25
The Ray
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=20046



That first page is an awesome composition of energetic motion with our hero The Ray, poised to hurl and dash a thug upon the ground. What Fine excelled at was style, anatomy and heroic action that is nothing short of captivating. The movements of both hero and villains are well thought out and dimensionally rendered. Weight, balance, light/shadow and textures are all rendered with dexterous and mindful complexity. Page 10 and panel 2 is an epic rendition of explosive heroic action.

Scrutinise those three issues, as you probably haven't before, see how it talks to you through Fine's exceptional expression infused into the lines. He did all of this with a brush!! Post your thoughts below and cheers.

[TheRedReuben]

I am eager to give these a go. Thanks for the suggestion!!

[K1ngcat]

Well done Ghost Man, thanks for dragging me back to the Group with this, I can always find time for Luscious Lou's lovely line work. But I notice the GCD disagrees with you about The Ray and credits it to Reed Crandall. Care to comment?

I won't be drawn...

All the best
K1ngcat

[Morgus]

G.M., you don’t have to sell me on Lou Fine. Anybody who was a favourite of Jack Kirby is a favourite of mine. And it’s a pleasure to read the work he was doing just before handling THE SPIRIT with Jack Cole. The work is first rate and light years ahead of the boxed in two dimensional  drawing that was churned out in the golden age. Someone should put out a book just featuring the covers. Your right, you could stare at it for hours. And I did.

Had to laugh at the go cart/death machine on the inside cover. Anybody else remember the kid from SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS that gives Joel McCrea a ride? At least HE had a helmet...

Thanks for the selections G.M. and your insightful commentary.

[The Ghost Man]

K1ngcat, I took time for a close examination and I believe that's entirely accurate. It appears Crandall altered his own signature style to appear to imitate Fine's and I had inadvertently fallen for it. Apologies to all and if anyone  would like me to select another bona fide Lou Fine comic book to run a review of in its stead I would be happy to.

Well done Ghost Man, thanks for dragging me back to the Group with this, I can always find time for Luscious Lou's lovely line work. But I notice the GCD disagrees with you about The Ray and credits it to Reed Crandall. Care to comment?

I won't be drawn...

All the best
K1ngcat

[The Ghost Man]

Cheers to you Morgus and TheRedRavenCA, thanks for popping in.

[The Ghost Man]

Okay, I'm going to swap out The Ray from Smash Comics #25 with The Flame from Wonderworld Comics #11. The reason is due to the revelation of that edition of The Ray not being penciled and inked by Lou Fine. This new edition absolutely features Fine's superb work in it and K1ngcat's revelation made me go back and examine all the work attributed to him on The Ray in Smash Comics and I uncovered something fascinating and curious I'll add to this post within two days time.

Wonderworld Comics #11
The Flame
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=26912



Please give me a couple of days and I'll post my review as I'm in the middle of some scheduled imperative work and studies that I must complete. I should have free time either tomorrow or Thursday at the latest.

[Morgus]

Another great pick G.M.I like the idea that he’s not afraid to use panels that have no dialogue or explanation captions, The action remains kinetic, and the perspective is dead on. What staggers me is the fact he was probably doing...what?...five, six OTHER strips at the same time? Wow. 
Hey, ‘King, nice to have you back in town. And I loved ‘Luscious Lou’ for a nick name. (I bet his pals called him Lou the Legend, though...)

[paw broon]

Thoroughly enjoyed both Condor tales.  I belted through them.  Great Action, graceful figures.  There's a panel in one of the stories which looks to me Eisnerish.  As I've  been plodding through the Kirby western, 'cos I felt I should, these 2 stories are a welcome relief.  Years ago, before I knew about Lou Fine, I loved The Ray and The Condor, but now I know some of what I loved was by Reed Crandell.

[SuperScrounge]

Crack Comics #12

The Black Condor
Did the writer know how the senate worked?
Art's nice, although the characters seem a little lanky to me.

Molly the Model
Nothing special jokewise, although the art's okay.

Space Legion
Did the writer know how space worked? A spaceship won't stop just because a rocket tube is jammed.

Out of Thin Air
Did the writer know how science worked?

Off the Record
Okay jokes.

The Red Torpedo
Lazy writing. The hero just lucks into the bad guys and lucks out when he's saved.

Jane Arden
Okay for a short snippet of a longer story.

Alias the Spider
A nice action-filled story.

Ned Brant
Eh. Not my cup of tea.

Snappy
Okay.

Tor
I wonder if those names, Phrogg Zaarn and Zenzo Shimizu, were created by randomly pulling letters out of a Scrabble game or if they are anagrams for real people's names?

While Rome Burns
Okay.

Rube Goldberg's Side Show
Amusing.

Madam Fatal
So does Staunton shave his legs to disguise himself as Madam Fatal or does he just not have leg hair?

That Soaring Norwegian
Could the cartoonists make pole vaulting any duller?

Slap Happy Pappy
Easy to see why Jack Cole didn't want his name on this.

The Clock
Ehh, okay...ish?

I guess it's called Crack Comics because the reader has to be on crack to enjoy it. 

[Morgus]

HA! Good line Super...and the reader would be able to read the whole thing in 2 minutes.

[The Ghost Man]

Okay, as promised, I'm back and the revelation that I had discovered the other day was profound but in accord to things I had cumulatively read on Lou Fine. In particular, his working methods were described as meticulous, methodical but yet slow. He didn't possess the unreal rendering speed of a Jack Kirby or Joe Simon. However what he delivered was so amazing, that he was graciously granted an exception in an otherwise demanding industry. Mindful of what K1ngcat had pointed out, I went back and visually assessed and reviewed a number of works attributed to Fine. I ran into three categories, one was that I could detect what was authentically his work. Two, was some of the errantly attributed works appeared to be collaborations. In appearance it looks as if Fine he had drawn framework outlines of backgrounds and/or characters and they were then completed by other pencillers and inkers. Lastly, works that Fine had nothing at all to do with but that looked very purposely similar in style (some better than others). It was said that this occurred when Fine couldn't meet issue his deadlines due to his deliberate, unrushed working style. So when I have time I'm going to comb through my collected works of Fine and delineate which is authentically his magnificent works and which is not. At a glance and summary review the other day, I noticed that his actual attributable body of work had shrunk dramatically.

Now onto my assessment and thoughts on Wonderworld Comics #11. The initial visually compelling feature I notice is how Fine imbues personality and character that fully imparts substantial dimension into individuals at interplay or just standing motionless. That's something usually not found in comic books especially to the extent that Fine portrays. Nothing ever feels synthetic or two-dimensional and the line-work exudes an authenticity and organic immersion of the reader into that environment. Will Eisner and Reed Crandall both have this outstandingly amazing gift of dimensional, energised rendering. Examine page 5 to illustrate and grasp what I'm relating. Fine uniquely infuses thoughtful, resonant crafting of atmosphere an exhibits it via his uncanny mastery in visual composition. Another striking feature of Fine's work is his cinematic capture of light and shadow that breathes realism and life into the storytelling work. It urgently drives the work forward, making it compelling rather than ordinary with lines crackling with life.

Now in relation to action depicted, this is where Fine shines like the purest gold. I invite you to check out page 8, panels 5 and 6 to showcase what I mean. In depictions of action weight and balance are essential in the realistically conveyance of the human body in dramatic motion. It's not as simple as acrobatically flinging figures engaged in combat all about the landscape. It's about centring and honing in on manifesting and presenting incredible feats of action within the confines of logic and reality. It is NOT an easy thing to do well and the comics are littered with both grand and failed examples of this.

In summation, art this grand excels because of how well the entire elements come together in an orchestration pulled into a cohesive harmonic whole. It works best is when you don't notice it at all, and you just align and relate to the story. Yet, it's not just a story, it connects and imparts something profound afterwards that is lasting and memorable.

[The Ghost Man]

Greetings and welcome Paw Broon and SuperScrounge, cheers for your replies and for popping by.

[K1ngcat]

Okay, I'm going to swap out The Ray from Smash Comics #25 with The Flame from Wonderworld Comics #11. The reason is due to the revelation of that edition of The Ray not being penciled and inked by Lou Fine. This new edition absolutely features Fine's superb work in it and K1ngcat's revelation made me go back and examine all the work attributed to him on The Ray in Smash Comics and I uncovered something fascinating and curious I'll add to this post within two days time.

Wonderworld Comics #11
The Flame
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=26912

Nice choice Ghost Man. I have a soft spot for The Flame, I first came across the story from this issue as a B/W reprint in a UK compendium and was immediately struck by the ghoulish Kikoos and the savagery of The Flame's torture. It was a far cry from the sanitised DC titles I was used to as a ten-year old British kid. Of course I had no idea I was reading pre-code stories from twenty years ago!
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=60250
The only thing I'd say about the original version is, it seemed to have more impact in black and white, the colours in the US print are too often bright pastel shades which seem at odds with the rather dark subject matter. The other thing I wonder about is how much input Eisner might have had on the whole thing. Script? Perhaps some layouts? The Yarko tale that follows it seems to have more than a little influence. I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Many thanks
K1ngcat

[SuperScrounge]

Crack Comics # 13

The Black Condor
Soooo... a general invents a remote control bomb, has a civilian pretend to be the inventor, who fails to sell it to the government, so the general kills the fake inventor and tries to blow up the senate. What?!? Does that make logical sense to anyone? Seems to me that a reliable remote control for bombs would have a practical use in businesses that need to set off bombs (construction, mining, etc.) so the general could still make money. Also members of the military tend to be more patriotic than others and blowing up the senate doesn't seem to be that patriotic.
Art is very dynamic even where it seems the poses don't feel right, but it adds to the dynamism (funny dat). Also some panels reminded me of work by later artists, such as Gil Kane and Howard Chaykin.

Molly the Model
The first one was okay, but the second one felt like a Monty Python sketch. Also, how can anyone starve with all that cheesecake? 

Tor
Overly simplistic plot.

The Red Torpedo
Well, at least there's a good-looking girl in a bikini to look at. (What was it JVJ said about comic book stories? “You actually read the things?”)

Slap Happy Pappy
Eh.

Salt of Doom
Ah, Golden Age science... Those tasty, tasty dangerous chemicals, drool, what? Waste it on guinea pigs? Are you crazy! Rolls eyes.

Jane Arden
Despite regenerating, Jane recognizes the Doctor. Oh, wait, wrong Doctor.

Alias the Spider
Good thing John Stuart wasn't given an autopsy.
Sorry, Ghost Man, but I think Paul Gustavson draws more realistic looking people than Lou Fine.

Ned Brant
Was this a popular newspaper strip or just space filler?

Rube Goldberg's Side Show
Okay.

Madam Fatal
Hot babe on babe action... oh, wait, old woman on man dressed as an old woman action. 

The Fire Moose
Sounds like an animal superhero.  The main character doesn't really do much to figure out or stop the villain. The villain seems to have been hoist on his own petard by his mount falling and one of the bottles of chemicals breaking. Uh, good job, Eric???

Off the Record
Okay.

Space Legion
Space Legion HQ and the interplanetary treasury really need to up their security measures.

That Breath Taking Olympic Finish
Eh.

Snappy
Cute.

The Clock
Interesting to have the sidekick dress up as the hero and fight alongside the hero. Maybe they should have titled this, “The Clock Strikes Twice”? 

[The Ghost Man]

Okay I'll try and shed some light on the following:
K1ngcat - "The other thing I wonder about is how much input Eisner might have had on the whole thing. Script? Perhaps some layouts? The Yarko tale that follows it seems to have more than a little influence. I'd be interested in your thoughts."

So, back in the Golden-Age day, more than a few comics were largely composed by what they labeled "Package Houses or Package Shops". These were essentially art production studios usually run by an enterprising artist and a financial or managing partner. The studio had galleys of drafting tables dedicated to pencillers and inkers, an onsite editor/assignment coordinator, a letterer, and perhaps a script writer or two. They put together work that they collectively developed to sell to publishing houses or they performed the works contracted out to them by said publishers. Will Eisner ran such an enterprise as did Joe Simon, and they directed and carried out the required comic pre-publishing work. Under Eisner's shop worked Lou Fine, Paul Gustavson, Jack Kirby (for a time) and others. Lou Fine was the office superstar and was the artist the others wanted most to imitate or take influence from. Eisner, Kirby and others took pages from the Lou Fine style book and used it to augment or elevate their own skills and styles. He was an exceptional artistic influential in the Eisner studio as well as other packaging houses within the industry. So when you ask why some of the other tales in comic issues that feature Lou Fine similar looking work, it's primarily due to Fine's inspiration. Eisner had a very unique style as well and influenced many which is why you see both Fine, Eisner and I'd say a bit of George Brenner in the Yarko tale in that Wonderworld Comics #11. I know and love Eisner's remarkable style and the Yarko entry seems like an artistic collaboration or an artist assigned but taking cues from the other artists. I tend to defer to the former rather than the latter on that assessment and Eisner contributed some but definitely did not perform all the work on it.

In addition, packaging houses recognised the draw and appeal that Fine's work had and sometimes would nudge the other artists to kind of adopt Fine's style. I recall reading how Fine would run into challenges with production speed that in turn affected his assigned deadlines. So he was sometimes pulled off heroes he created or co-created to get the issue out on time. Other artists were assigned to achieve the scheduled workload and they either tried to emulate his signature style or were told to do so for continuity sake.

SuperScrounge, thank you for your play by play entries through each issue so far, I will wait upon your final entry and then offer any remarks.

[The Ghost Man]

I have prior engagements with classes I'm taking this weekend and Monday, so I'm going to add my closing statement now. I will be happy to continue discourse and answer any questions as I can pull some time to devote to it.

SUMMARY STATEMENT
What is it about Lou Fine that makes his work so signature, urgent and visually thrilling? I think it can be traced to his enormous fighting spirit in dealing with the challenges incurred with his unfortunate physical disability. Described in his youth as sensitive and quiet, he became even more so when he was tragically stricken with Polio in his early teens. The disease debilitated his left leg and left him with a disabling limp for life. With his active participatory interest in athletics thwarted, Fine now concentrated his energy and efforts into elevating his natural talent and eye as an artist. Studying the works of his illustrative influences Heinrich Kley, J.C. Leyendecker and Dean Cornwell, Fine gradually elevated and honed his craft. In one heart-breaking scene described, the young Fine would look out his window at the action of his peers playing sports. He'd watch outside his window as the young athletes in a neighbouring field ran, jumped and competed vigorously in football, baseball and athletics. Unable to join them, what he did instead was envision himself participating, internalising and reproducing those thrilling movements. This internally energised him with a gift to experience vicariously through the wild kinetic actions of others, the human form in dynamic motion at a deep level. Though he was restricted physically, Fine's powerful mind harnessed his will to surmount obstacles  and use it as fuel to drive him. To visually capture, render and communicate epic movement on a wondrously grand scale. Through the spectacular depictions, Fine was all of the heroic figures that he rendered graphically. His heroes twisted, flipped, flew, leaped, kicked, punched and acrobatically exploded their way off the page. They moved in the ways he longed to move, stretching, contorting and expanding and transcending physical limits. All brilliantly expressed within the confines of an anatomical logic that he pressed against all boundaries of. Utilising illustrated media, Fine invited the readers to join him in a phenomenal exploration of incredible action. He mentally and spiritually transcended the frustrating confines of his own restricted life and gifted to us the passion of his glorious vision of freedom without limits. It was Lou Fine's almost mystical spirit founded via creative expression, infusing his drive, feeling and energy saturating every line. If I had to distill Louis K. Fine into a single word, I would choose 'Limitless'.

In my own personal opinion the MOST tragic thing that occurred in his career was when Lou Fine departed from his phenomenal signature style. It was reported that during the decline of the comic industry, Fine needed work to support his family. So, he shifted into advertising and adopted and technically proficient but soul eviscerated generic style that looked like generic 1950's era clip art. After that style renovation he never shifted back to his bombastically creative and exceptionally unique style. He continued on even in his independent projects in this same lacklustre, uninspiring and flat toned work. Again, spot on in technical competency of anatomy, figure drawing and composition, however, what was wild and ground-breaking was now tamed and toothless. No shade on him, just a lamenting for the way it transpired and I have nothing but respect and reverence for the man and his lasting impact upon illustration and the comic world.

[SuperScrounge]

HA! Good line Super...and the reader would be able to read the whole thing in 2 minutes.

LOL! Glad you liked it! 

And then there's Speed Comics... 

SuperScrounge, thank you for your play by play entries through each issue so far, I will wait upon your final entry and then offer any remarks.

That's fine. It sometimes takes ideas marinating in my brain for a few days before I can do some good analysis, and I have been thinking thoughts that hopefully will be worth reading. 

[FraBig]

Awesome choices! I really love Lou Fine, and last summer I managed to read all of the Ray's appearances. I do agree that specific issue might be Reed Crandall's work, though. Fine has a specific way he draws hair and faces, and in that issue they're a bit different.

Speaking of Wonderworld Comics #11, the Flame's origin story was really enjoyable. I am fascinated by the fact he gets supernatural powers but still manages to feel more of a grounded superhero. The art is amazing, and I was especially struck by the first panel of page 6. I always had a soft spot for origin stories so this one ticks every box: good art, straightforward story, bizarre origins...

The story also remined me a lot of Amazing Man's origin and every other hero that followed that same scheme: Red Raven, Thunderbolt, Iron Fist... a child, after losing his parents prematurely, is abandoned to a foreign community that teaches him some sort of mystic art and their peculiar ways.

Concerning Crack Comics #13, the Black Condor story was interesting. I really loved all the panels where he's flying, they really showcase Fine's abillity to draw bodies in weird poses that convey a lot of dynamism. This is present (even to a greater extent) in all of his Ray stories.

Great choices overall, Ghost Man!

[Quirky Quokka]

The Black Condor

Thanks for the selection, Ghost Man. I hadn’t come across the Black Condor before, and I can certainly see why you and the others like the art so much. Certainly, a step up from a lot of the comic book art of the time. Early Superman looks primitive by comparison.

Crack Comics #12

Right from the cover art, we can tell this is going to be different. I like the perspective, as we look up to the top of the steeple, with the villain almost in a prayer-like pose as he comes adrift from the rope. Though the bats did make me wonder if Batman was around the corner. The splash page is also a great action shot with an interesting perspective.

As I hadn’t read a Black Condor story before, I took the narration box on p. 1 at face value. When it said, ‘the Black Condor becomes Senator Tom Wright’, I was thinking he was impersonating him or just that Tom Wright was his alias. However, a narration box at the bottom of the next page says, ‘In the role of Senator Tom Wright, the Black Condor strolls with the ex-senator’s unsuspecting fiancée’. I didn’t know why it said ‘ex-senator’, but that became clear in Issue #13. More about that later.

The story is quite interesting. I don’t know much about the history of the trade union movement, but I imagine it would have been topical at the time. Justice is done and we can all breathe easier.

There are a lot of interesting angles in the art, with great action shots and unusual compositions (such as the yes/no votes on p. 3 and the shot where we see the scene behind the silhouetted rifles on p. 4). The baddies have interesting faces, with the masks reminiscent of KKK. Though Tom Wright looks a lot like Clark Kent in the last panel on p. 4.  An entertaining story, with great art and justice for all.

Crack Comics #13

Ah, this makes sense now (sort of). We get more of the back story, and now know that the Black Condor isn’t just impersonating Tom Wright, but that he fits ‘into’ the person of Tom Wright. So, did the Black Condor somehow take over the dead senator's body? And didn’t his fiancée notice the change in personality, even if he still looked the same? I’m happy to go along with it, though, as it’s a similar scenario to one of my all-time favourite sci-fi shows ‘Travelers’. (And the wife did notice the change in her husband in that one!) I’ll also overlook the fact that a condor probably can’t teach a human to fly with human anatomy. The Black Condor doesn’t seem to have strap-on wings like Hawkman. But I digress.

When it mentions the inventor Carl Stark, I couldn’t help wonder if he was an ancestor of inventor Tony Stark/Ironman. Was the Black Condor a favourite of Stan Lee? Again, there are a lot of interesting angles, original compositions and great character faces. I also don’t mind gazing on the Black Condor’s musculature (all in the name of art, of course). Though I wasn’t sure how the baddie assumed the ‘hobo’ was the Black Condor because he saw his shirt. In the illustration on p. 3, it looks like a regular white shirt with a black tie. Or is it just that the ‘tramp’ is well-dressed underneath? In any case, it’s another good example of ‘Fine’ art (e.g., the way the Black Condor overlaps three panels on the bottom-left of the second-last page). Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Ghost Man.

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Crack Comics #12

The Black Condor
Did the writer know how the senate worked?

Space Legion
Did the writer know how space worked?

Out of Thin Air
Did the writer know how science worked?

LOL SuperScrounge. The answers would be 'No', 'No' and "No', but that shouldn't stop us having fun as we romp through the inconsistencies of the Golden Age 

Cheers

QQ

[crashryan]

Crack Comics #12

I first saw Lou Fine's artwork in the mid-1970s when Alan Light published a fanzine reprinting Golden Age Black Condor and Ray stories. it was a somewhat slapdash production but even with the awful black-and-white printing you could see that Lou Fine was one heck of an artist. This Condor story and the Crandall Ray story were both in that book.

When Fine is at his best his figure work and action drawing is breathtaking. Our pages 9 and 10--the big fight scene--is magnificent. The art is so good at these moments that it's easy to miss how often Fine cops out. It's especially noticeable in crowd scenes (see page 6 panel 7 and pg 10 pn 3), but sometimes he just seems not to give a damn and draws a random scene that barely fits the action (see pg 11 pn 2).

We see Fine's debt to Eisner in the caricatured faces and floppy drapery. Over a couple of years their styles diverged dramatically, but even though Fine's drawings became increasingly more conservative he kept some of that cartooniness as long as he worked in comics. It was only when he moved into advertising that Fine purged himself of the Eisner influence.

QQ, The Black Condor discovered Senator Tom Wright dying by the roadside where he'd been dumped by gangsters working for Jaspar Crow. With Wright out of the way, Crow's corrupt Senate friends could pass a bill that would benefit Crow. The Condor, who just happens to look exactly like Wright, takes over the dead man's identity and fights the good fight for him. He also inherits the senator's fiancee Wendy. At first Wendy thinks there's something wrong about the new Wright. And she's right, because this is the wrong Wright. The writer quickly forgets all that as BC settles into his new identity. Another level of confusion arises from the fact that only Wendy's father (and a family doctor who's never seen again) knows the truth. Wendy's dad figures that the new Tom Wright is overall a more admirable person than the original. The Black Condor is the right Wright for the job. Why mess things up by cluing his daughter in?

All this happened in Crack Comics #11, the previous issue. Until then The Condor didn't have a civilian identity. He just appeared out of nowhere when trouble started. In the first few couple of issues he wasn't even based in the USA. He lived somewhere in the mountains of central Asia.

[SuperScrounge]

I’ll also overlook the fact that a condor probably can’t teach a human to fly with human anatomy.

If you read his origin in Crack Comics #1 (he's the last story in that issue) it says "he put his keen mind to the task of studying the movements of wings, the body motions, air currents, balance and levitation..." and somehow this helps him fly. To borrow a line from another writer "This is what we call the hook, line and sinker and we have to get the reader to swallow it." 

Looking at the original story I notice the writer swiped some Tarzan elements (dead parents, raised by an animal group, able to communicate with said animals).

[Quirky Quokka]

Crashryan said:

QQ, The Black Condor discovered Senator Tom Wright dying by the roadside where he'd been dumped by gangsters working for Jaspar Crow. With Wright out of the way, Crow's corrupt Senate friends could pass a bill that would benefit Crow. The Condor, who just happens to look exactly like Wright, takes over the dead man's identity and fights the good fight for him. He also inherits the senator's fiancee Wendy. At first Wendy thinks there's something wrong about the new Wright. And she's right, because this is the wrong Wright. The writer quickly forgets all that as BC settles into his new identity. Another level of confusion arises from the fact that only Wendy's father (and a family doctor who's never seen again) knows the truth. Wendy's dad figures that the new Tom Wright is overall a more admirable person than the original. The Black Condor is the right Wright for the job. Why mess things up by cluing his daughter in?

All this happened in Crack Comics #11, the previous issue. Until then The Condor didn't have a civilian identity. He just appeared out of nowhere when trouble started. In the first few couple of issues he wasn't even based in the USA. He lived somewhere in the mountains of central Asia.

Thanks for the extra info, Crashryan. It looks like I still misinterpreted it. I'll have to check out #11.

SuperScrounge said:

If you read his origin in Crack Comics #1 (he's the last story in that issue) it says "he put his keen mind to the task of studying the movements of wings, the body motions, air currents, balance and levitation..." and somehow this helps him fly. To borrow a line from another writer "This is what we call the hook, line and sinker and we have to get the reader to swallow it." 

Looking at the original story I notice the writer swiped some Tarzan elements (dead parents, raised by an animal group, able to communicate with said animals).

Ah ... with that explanation, of course he could fly. Fortunately, I live in a town that's on top of a mountain range, so I'm heading to the escarpment to try that myself  And I did wonder how he managed to communicate with condors. He's very articulate for someone who must have done a lot of squawking in his youth 

Cheers

QQ

[The Australian Panther]

Frabig wrote,

The story also remined me a lot of Amazing Man's origin and every other hero that followed that same scheme: Red Raven, Thunderbolt, Iron Fist... a child, after losing his parents prematurely, is abandoned to a foreign community that teaches him some sort of mystic art and their peculiar ways.

and to make it clearer, SuperScrounge wrote,

Looking at the original story I notice the writer swiped some Tarzan elements (dead parents, raised by an animal group, able to communicate with said animals). 

And thank you both, until now I hadn't realized how much the origin of Clark Kent/Superman fits into that scenario. Never would have though ERB's work influenced Superman.
Who says I can't learn anything new?   
QQ wrote,

I hadn’t come across the Black Condor before

DC inherited the QUALITY characters and brought most of them back in a group called the Freedom Fighters.
They also tried a new Black Condor as a stand-alone character, badly as far as I'm concerned. That version didn't last long. It's clear that the character needed Lou Fine.
Crash said,

We see Fine's debt to Eisner in the caricatured faces and floppy drapery. Over a couple of years their styles diverged dramatically, but even though Fine's drawings became increasingly more conservative he kept some of that cartooniness as long as he worked in comics. It was only when he moved into advertising that Fine purged himself of the Eisner influence.

You are the expert Crash, but I had always assumed that Fine learned to duplicate Eisner's style to 'ghost' on THE SPIRIT, but always had his own style.
As he got more work, he may have cut back on the 'Fine' detail because of time constraints. [See what I did there?!