Tag Archives: Bell Features

Murray Karn

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Murray Karn began his career with Bell Features in early 1942 while the publisher was still under the name Commercial Signs of Canada. Only 18 at the time, much of his original work was done for the Thunderfist and Jeff Waring storylines.

Karn worked on ‘Thunderfist’ in Active comics and was the most consistent artist for the line. His talents were not overlooked at Bell Features; he also did several covers for Active Comics as well as working on the ‘Jeff Waring of the Amazon’ storyline of his own creation. It was released about a month after ‘Thunderfist’ in March of 1942 and was run in Wow Comics, Bell Features’ first comic title.

Karn continued to work regularly for Bell Features for the next two years as artist on these and other lines including Captain Red Thorton, Rex Baxter and Scotty MacDonald. He even contributed artwork to the narrative shorts in Triumph Comics, all under Bell Features. Within a couple years, Karn went into the Medical Corps but continued cartooning for the wounded troops to raise their spirits.

As Bell Features continued to gain prominence in Canada’s comic book industry, Karn was easily accepted back into the ranks just shortly before the end of Canada’s Golden Age and finished the last two issues on Jeff Waring. Shortly after, Karn went to New York to pursue other opportunities.

His classic and realistic style make his comics very easy to spot and a pleasure to view. His characters, nothing short of perfection, are elegantly composed, both on the paper and in character. Karn’s style at this time was almost reminiscent of a twenties chic with his big eyed beauties and his men modeled much like Clark Gable. Specifically, Karn’s style was distinctive in such a way that his comics were of a much higher caliber.

Murray Karn currently resides in New York and is a part of the Southampton Artists Society. Find out more on his work in the upcoming documentary Lost Heroes.

Penny’s Diary

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Holy Cats!! Happy Valentine’s day everyone! In celebration of the occasion I’m posting an excerpt of the talk I’m giving later today on romance comics. Here it is, details of the talk are at the bottom.

Penny’s Diary was introduced around 1945 and is a cornerstone in Canadian comics history. Similar to Archie comics in style and content, the romance and drama In Penny’s Diary is targeted towards mainly teen girls. The story revolves around consistently lovesick Penny and her less than savoury, but levelheaded best friend, Jeanie.

Penny’s diary is a very interesting comic. Cyril Bell must have recognized the need to appeal to little girls when he published the comic but unfortunately not enough so that he created another line of comics targeted only for girls. Penny first appeared in number 19 of Active Comics. Laughably, Active Comics is generally what you’d expect, specializing in action heroes and sports. Also, during this time no stories were much longer than three or four pages of a book, and most books ranged from about 48 to 64 pages. This meant that poor Penny was wedged between Active Jim and Thunderfist and unfortunately the poor little girls who read them probably either paid a dime for one story or were forced to nick the comic from a brother.

Although Penny’s Diary is by no means a forward thinking comic, that it exists in itself is important. Penny’s diary is a comic for girls written by women, some of the first in the industry, Patricia Joudrey who wrote the script and Doris Slater who did the art. The series was short lived concluding with issue 26, and only marginally preceded the end of the Golden Age of comics in Canada.

If you’re interested in hearing more about Canadian romance and erotica comics, I will be giving a talk on this and more at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. The address is 395 Wellington and the talk begins at 7pm. Alternatively, I have given an interview to CBC radio which will be posted online.

Canadian Comics References in Print

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The back story is that Canadian comics came into existence because of the war-time ban on American publications. They flourished during the war because they were the only comics available to Canadian youth, and they were very good, but they suffered no competition. I sometimes think this kind of rule should be applied more often, especially in regards to Canadian pop culture, but let’s not open up that can of worms.

Anyway, after the war ended, the ban was lifted, and this was basically the end of Canadian comics as a flourishing industry until about the early nineties. There’s more to it, and here’s where you can find it.

Basically, nothing really happened until 1971. Canadian comics were being produced in different ways, educational, underground, etc., but the first reference book on the subject that talked about superheroes and proper mainstream comics from Canada was Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert’s The Great Canadian Comic Books. This book is basically a look into perhaps the most successful, and most Canadian, comics produced during the forties and includes histories and excerpts on almost all facets of the Bell Features collection including Nelvana, The Penguin, Johnny Canuck and popular genres. It was published kind of as a companion to an exhibition that was happening at the time.

The introduction by Alan Walker should be taken with a grain of salt as not all of his facts are accurate. The other chapters include The National Gallery of Canadian Heroes, Sports, The Surreal World of Secret Agents, Comic Book Covers, Humour, Western Action, Miscellaneous, The War Spirit, Youngsters Only, Jungle, Adventure, A Stable of Costumed Heroes, Detectives and an Afterword by Harold Town.

Unfortunately, this book is rare. Published in 1971 by Peter Martin and Associates Limited, it had a smaller print run. Being about comics, Canadian comics even, especially in the seventies, didn’t automatically mean great sales. It was published with two editions, but the only difference is that the second edition has a different cover. You can find it online, but it’s not cheap. The good news is that it was republished in Alter Ego #71. The other good news is that, if you’re on a budget, you can buy a digital copy for cheap, but they do have back issues as well. The bad news is that the republication does not include all of the Bell Features excerpts that the original does. You’ll find a link near the end to purchase these online.

And then nothing again. Well, almost nothing. At this time, the makings of the next great book on the subject were being collected by John Bell. An archivist with Archives Canada since 1975, John Bell had his own archives of comics with everything from fanzines, to underground comics, to one shots and comic anthologies. In 1989 he published the first Canadian comic price guide called Canuck Comics, which is not a complete listing of all the comics up to that time, but some of the more common or popular ones. The book also includes:

  • A Publisher’s Preface by Mark Shainblum entitled “Of Canadians and Comic Book People”
  • A foreword by Harlan Ellison entitled “Dreams of Joy Recaptured”
  • A humourously titled introduction by John Bell called “Yes, There Are Canadian Comics”
  • Also by John Bell, “A History of English Canadian Comic Books”
  • “The War Years: Anglo-American Publishing Limited” by Robert Macmillan
  • Luc Pomerleau’s “Québec Comics: A Short History” in both English and French (La BD Québécois: Bref Historique)

Shortly after the release of this comic, Bell, who had been a curator of the Canadian Museum of Caricature in Ottawa, wrote and published Guardians of the North: The National Superhero in Canadian Comic-Book Art. This small book was released as a program or companion to the 1992 exhibition of the same name, and focuses more on Canadian superheroes. Good luck finding this one. Your best bet is probably a library again, but there are a few available for purchase at a sharp price.

In May 2004, TwoMorrows Publishing released its first issue with a feature on Canadian comics, (I’ve done this a bit backwards) Alter Ego #36 and includes some fantastic pieces. In this issue is:

  • “The Golden Age of Canadian Comic Books and Its Aftermath” by John Bell
  • “Living in a World of Fantasy” in which Dave Sim talks with Adrian Dingle, Pat Dingle and Bill Thomas
  • “My Teacher Was Just Alex Raymond Strips” which is an interview with Jerry Lazare
  • “Comic Crypt: Fred Kelly – An Appreciation” by Michael T. Gilbert
  • “Les Barker, a.k.a. Leo Bachle” by Robert Pincombe

Like Alter Ego #71, Alter Ego #36 can be purchased in both print and, somewhat cheaper, digitally. Another benefit to having both copies is that issue #36 includes extra pictures (in black and white) and samples of Golden Age comics that #71 does not. 

Finally, the real treasure trove of information can be found in John Bell’s Invaders From the North: How Canada Conquered the Comic Book Universe. This was released in 2006 by Dundurn Press in Toronto. It features a concise history of comics in Canada from the man who essentially put it together. Since its publication the book has been remaindered, and is quickly becoming another rare book on a  long list of rare books about and of Canadian comics. This is, generally, the height of publications on Canadian comic books. But more information is obviously always available online. A great resource is always Sequential if you check out the blog roll and links section to the right, and I try and keep updated with reliable online references.

Maple Leaf Comics

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Cover art by Ley Fortune.

There’s often a lot of focus on Bell Features for their contribution to the Canadian comic book industry, and rightly so. The company published hundreds of comics under several titles during the crucial years of comic book development in Canada. Not necessarily overlooked, but perhaps not looked upon as often as they should be, are the publishings of another founding father of Canadian comics, Maple Leaf Publishers.

Along with Anglo-American, Maple Leaf was one of the first to publish and release comics in Canada. While I try not to express too much favouritism, I do agree with John Bell in that it was the first true Canadian comic, as Anglo American evaded the wartime ban on American periodical publications by purchasing scripts. Maple Leaf’s first issue was Better comics, released March of 1941 in the Canadian tradition of black and white interior with colour covers.

Second issue of Better Comics

Maple Leaf’s line of comics included Better, Bing Bang, Lucky and Rocket comics. Most were released regulary on a bi-monthly basis from 1941 to 1946. They also wasted no time in producing a Canadian hero, and again, the first in Canada, which was Vernon Miller’s Iron Man in Better Comics. Later Maple Leaf produced the more famous Brok Windsor who came out in the April May 1944 issue of Better Comics.

Some of the other more regular comics published in the anthologies’ titles were The Exciting Adventures of Peter and Peggy, Coast Patrol, The Adventures of Lucky, Derry Dreamer, Black Wing, Juke Box Joe, Piltdown Pete, Deuce Granville, Cariboo Trail, Rags the Dog Marvel, Callahan, Cosmo and his White Magic, The Honourable Freddy, Bill Speed, Stuffy Boggs, Circus Girl and Senorita Marquita. One benefit to having several lines as Bell did was that he could cater to different audiences depending on the book. Maple Leaf’s stories spanned several genres but were contained within four books.

That said, one argument certainly true of Maple Leaf Comics is that they had some quality artists on staff. Some of my own favourite Golden Age artists worked for Maple Leaf such as Bert Bushell, Jon Stables (St. Ables) and Vernon Miller. Other artists included Ernie Walker, Shirley “Ley” Fortune, Ray Hazall, Bill Meikle, Bill Benz, Vim Pearson, Spike Brown, Ted Watson, FP Thursby and Herb Brew with writers such as Hall, FP Thursby, Hal Kerr, Bus Griffiths and Ted Ross. A smaller staff than Bell Features, Maple Leaf had the benefit of having a more consistent product. And, although Bell Features owner Cyril Bell created something great with Bell features, many of his own artists were either in, or fresh out of high school and were therefore very young, amateur artists.

But, like many of the publishers that sprang up at the beginning of the forties, Maple Leaf ceased publishing in 1946 when the War Exchange Conservation Act was lifted.

Commando Comics

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Bell Features, the truest of Canadian Golden Age comics published several titles during the 40’s including the aforementioned Active Comics.

Where I left off speculating as to why the final issues of Active Comics went bizarrely out of routine, recalling their regular titles and importing new ones, I pick up now with Commando Comics. The series ran for 22 issues and were published irregularly from 1942 to 1946. For the most part, the plots in Commando comics were not serialized with a couple of two part exceptions. Unlike both Dime and Active, the Commando line all ran under Bell Features, and never the former title of the publishing company “Commercial Signs of Canada”.

Like Active Comics, Commando Comics was themed, and in this case, based heavily on combat, war, secret missions, the Axis, and really, all other things commando. This theme was common during the war as it fueled nationalism and support and provided a more realistic hero. Active comics’ had Dixon of the Mounted, The Brain, Thunderfist, Active Jim and Captain Red Thorton which all featured daring action adventure stories. Likewise, Commando Comics had The Young Commandos, The Sign of Freedom, Wings Over the Atlantic, The Invisible Commando, Ace Bradley and Clift Steele. These stories shared a similar theme and formula which is evident in the cover pages pictured, and produced a very tight comic. This consistency lasted until about issue #15 when some of the more regular titles began to slowly drop off.

It wasn’t really a surprise when Bell Features again began changing their lineup. Slowly, almost all of the above titles were phased out and replaced with gag comics or funnies by Robert Young, Thomas, Frank Keith, Harry Brunt and Hy Moyer. For stories they started using titles like the Polka Dot Pirate (A female avenger of sorts), Ruff and Reddy, Mr. Distracted Attorney, Salty Lane (Secret Investigator), Dick Stone, Chick Tucker and Flame Berns. There was even a Doc Stearne thrown in there. Beyond the obvious ridiculousness of the characters, the comic became unrecognizable to its former self.

As before, I think the changes were a result of the inevitable return of American comics. John Bell says in his book, “Some companies revamped their titles in the face of this formidable threat,” (52). I believe this was meant to be about production values, but I think it can also be applied to content. Perhaps Cy Bell was testing new titles for his expansion, or trying to give readers something new. In either case, it made the final issues of Commando Comics disappointing and unappealing. After all, gag comics are fine as far as filler goes, but you can’t make a commando comic out of them.

As for the lineup of writers and artists, (or in a lot of the cases both) they were the usual Bell Features crew, with Jerry Lazare, Ted Steele, André Kulbach, Adrian Dingle, Harry Thomson, René Kulbach, Edmund Legault, Jon Darian, Al Cooper, Leo Bachle, Jack Tremblay, Edmond Good, with extras by Manny Easson, Fred Kelly, Jesse French, Ed and Carl Alton, Ross Mendes, Aram Alexanian, Avrom Yanovsky (pseudonym Armand), Edward Letkeman, Clayton Dexter, Murray Karn, and Alfred Zusi (pseudonym Caz) with Vic Griffin faithfully writing the short narratives. Gag comics were typically by Mickey Owens, Frank Keith, Harry Brunt, Hy Moyer, Lou Skuce, Robert Young, Thomas and Cal.

Other titles include Kerry Dane, Tommy Tweed, Rory O’More, Lum and Tim Burr, Ivar of Mars and Rickey Regan Test Pilot, among others, although these appeared only once or twice in the series.

Active Comics

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I loved the art for the mummy!

Active Comics was a comic anthology released irregularly from February of 1942 to 1946 and had a total of 28 issues. It was originally released while Bell Features was still called Commercial Signs of Canada, but after the third issue it changed over to Bell Features. Its more regular continuing comic included Dixon of the Mounted, The Noodle, The Brain, Thunderfist, Active Jim and Captain Red Thorton. Later on in the series Dr. Blue and Blackie and Penny’s Diary were introduced. It had short narratives written by Vic Griffin and several smaller “funny” and “gag” comics by Harry “Hy” Moyer, Mickey Lesik, Mickey Owens, Lou Skuce, Frank Keith and Harry Brunt as well as Peterson, Cal, and Thomas.

Some of the quirks. Active Comics was pretty consistent with artists/writers and story lines having a single artist cover a story for at least a couple of issues before passing it on. In the middle of the series the comic began to cover “The Panthers’” in the Toronto Hockey League although I’m pretty sure there were no actual artists on the team. This was also one of the only ways of distinguishing approximately when a comic was released since they ceased to put a date on the comics after the first three or four issues.

Another “funny” thing they did, was for issue 28, their comic line up was as follows: Torr: Interplanetary Space Detective, The Wing, Steve Storms, The Dreamer and the Polite Pirate, Guy Powers: Secret Agent and Tophat ’N’ Tales. I’m not sure if this was part of Cy Bell’s goal to change his lineup to compete with the American comics that were filtering back into the country or what. I guess only further research can tell. That said, only Fred Kelly remained of his original story comic artists.

Here are some of the regular artists that worked on the above storylines: Ed Legault, Murray Karn, Al Cooper, Ted Steele, Ross Saakel, Leo Bachle, Adrian Dingle, Kurly Lipas, Edmond Good, J. Henly, Mel Crawford, René Kulbach, Fred Kelly, Ed and Carl Alton, Patricia Joudrey and Doris Slater and who I believe are Jon Darian and André Kulbach although they did not sign their full name on the comics. Jerry Lazare, Paul Dak and Allan Ross Mendes worked on the final issue.

My favourite art was by Murray Karn, who by issue 13 had kind of disappeared. I’m curious to see if he turns up again in any of the other Bell Features early comics. All in all, the comic itself was pretty consistent, if not consistently issued, with regular cover art by Dingle and Good.