Smash Comics #57

(February 1945)

[The Tree Across the Road] (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

Volto; Grape-Nuts Flakes / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

[Dummies of All Kinds] (Table of Contents: 2)

Midnight / comic story / 11 pages (report information)

Script

Paul Gustavson (signed) (sourced)

Pencils

Paul Gustavson (signed) (sourced)

Inks

Paul Gustavson (signed) (sourced)

Colors

?

Letters

Paul Gustavson (signed) (sourced)

Genre

adventure; superhero

Characters

Midnight [Dave Clark]; Doc Mortimer Wackey; Gabby (a monkey); Sam Yentz; Iggy the Pig; Oyk; Sniffer Snoop; Hot Dog; Killer Kride (villain)

Synopsis

See there's this dead body and this dummy, and the other dummies just keep getting the two mixed up.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 3)

Wun Cloo / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Jack Cole (credited as Ralph Johns)

Inks

Jack Cole (credited as Ralph Johns)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Ho-hum!... This has been velly dull week!

Genre

humor; detective-mystery

Characters

Wun Cloo

Poor House (Table of Contents: 4)

Daffy / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Milt Stein (signed)

Pencils

Milt Stein (signed)

Inks

Milt Stein (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

humor; sports

Characters

Daffy; Deke; Hard-Heel Maisie

Synopsis

Deke finds a lost wallet and tells Daffy he returned it to the owner.

Keywords

wrestling

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 5)

Espionage Starring Black X / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Bill Quackenbush (signed)

Inks

Bill Quackenbush (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

"Cowards die many times before their deaths..."

Genre

spy; adventure; war

Characters

Black X; Batu; Osharu

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 6)

Archie O'Toole / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Bernard Dibble

Pencils

Bernard Dibble

Inks

Bernard Dibble

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

What silly conceit!

Genre

humor; children

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 7)

The Jester / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Pete Riss

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

See the sport page, McGinty?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Jester [Chuck Lane]; Detective Hustace McGinty; Bruiser Billson (villain); Dr. Synapse (villain)

Synopsis

Chuck, who also happens to be the police boxing champion, teaches lads at the Boys' Club how to fight on the side. And when McGinty is challenged to a bout by an old opponent, Lane attempts to help the detective get back into shape.

Indexer Notes

Some faces on page 2 have the look of Pete Riss faces, a V-shape with eyes a bit far apart and also very static expressions and movements. The inking is not like his signed story in My Romantic Adventures (American Comics Group, 1956 series) #56.

[Making Movies] (Table of Contents: 8)

Lady Luck / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Klaus Nordling (signed)

Pencils

Klaus Nordling (signed)

Inks

Klaus Nordling (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Lady Luck [Brenda Banks]; Alan Moonglow; Von Smorgas; Peecolo; Carruthers

Synopsis

Lady Luck agrees to appear in a film so she can donate her earnings to the U.S.O..

Reprints

• from The Spirit (Register and Tribune Syndicate, 1940 series) #7/25/1943 (July 25, 1943)

The Nameless Hero (Table of Contents: 9)

Jimmy Christian / text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

adventure

Indexer Notes

Information on this sequence from Jonathan E. Ingersoll, Jr., 6/19/2007.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 10)

The Marksman / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Irving Tirman

Inks

Irving Tirman

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The Jap captain bowed mockingly before the bound, helpless figure of his captive!

Genre

adventure; war; superhero

Characters

The Marksman [Baron Povalski, aka Major Hurtz]; Anna; Major Sinushi (villain)

Indexer Notes

This is the same art as in #54.

Rookie Rankin Gets the Last Laugh (Table of Contents: 11)

Rookie Rankin / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Mort Leav

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

detective-mystery

Characters

Rookie Rankin; Slim; Squeak; Horse; Laughie

Indexer Notes

Originally credited "Witmer Williams ?", but he has quite different faces with very bushy eyebrows and small mouth, narrow undistinct eyes and larger, rounded jaw. Compared with Leav's signed story in Power Comics #4, everything matches, face of the policeman, large hands, way of running with high lifted knees and some panels without backgrounds. Different inking.