{"id":2,"date":"2012-11-09T09:35:40","date_gmt":"2012-11-09T08:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/highest-standard.de\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2013-09-11T12:16:41","modified_gmt":"2013-09-11T10:16:41","slug":"beispiel-seite","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/highest-standard.de\/","title":{"rendered":"Artists of Fiction House"},"content":{"rendered":"

This website takes an in-depth-look at the 44 horror comic books from Fiction House and Standard publishing companies.
\nIdentifying artists, analyzing stories, hinting at nifty details, bespeaking points of interest, poking fun at inadaquacies and posting whole stories.<\/em>
\n
\nBy the way: all the books are available to view and\/or download at the Digital Comic Museum<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em>
\nI took care of the last missing issues. So enjoy.<\/em><\/p>\n

FICTION HOUSE HORROR !<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\u201cThe Great Pre-Code Horror Swindle<\/strong>\u201d could have been the overall title to Fiction House\u2019s line of horror books. Yet after five issues of shameless 1940s reprints they made an effort and produced some all-new books as well.<\/p>\n

Their output however remained a meager one. 13 books in total are only a footnote in horror history. But one can make fun discoveries everywhere. What we tried with FICTION HOUSE HORROR is to find where the reprints came from \u2013 and how they have been doctored to fit into the 1950s GHOST COMICS.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Late issue of JUMBO – also featuring one horror reprint.<\/p><\/div>\n

A word about Fiction House: founded in 1938 and closed down with the advent of the Comics Code in 1954, they published legendary books like FIGHT COMICS, JUMBO COMICS, JUNGLE COMICS, PLANET COMICS, RANGERS COMICS und WINGS COMICS.<\/p>\n

They filled their books with Iger studio material and formed their own editorial staff at the same time. In the late 40s however they disbanded the artists\u2019 bullpen again and continued to put out books with freelance contributions.
\nIn the early 50s the company tried to maintain their publication schedule, but switched more and more to a merely quarterly publication rhythm. At the end of 1952 Fiction House started to thin out their line-up significantly.<\/p>\n

But they held on to GHOST COMICS, for full 11 issues, starting at the end of 1951. Irritating though is their short intermezzo with MONSTER, the second horror title, which came out only twice. MONSTER – a title, by the way, which is just great for a horror book \u2013 and was never used before!<\/strong><\/p>\n

But let\u2019s have a look at the artists \u2013 with emphasis on the young guns delivering fresh artwork.<\/p>\n

Maurice Whitman<\/strong><\/h2>\n

He never drew a single story for Fiction House horror, but those covers!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Whitman starts his run on gorgeous covers for Fiction House.<\/p><\/div>\n

You can\u2019t talk about Fiction House and not mention the covers. They CARED for covers. They knew what sold a comic book at the newsstands. Company president Thurman Scott supervised personally the design of every single cover (as an anecdote tells us in the delightful book \u201cComics Between The Panels\u201d).
\nFiction House covers are gorgeous<\/strong>.
\nTheir use of color is only superseded by L. B. Cole\u2019s wizardry at Star Publications. Vibrant title pages, often using a scantily clad \u201cgood girl\u201d in the center. And that goes for the horror books as well! And Maurice Whitman did ALL of them.<\/p>\n

Starting out in 1946 as regular artist for RANGERS, PLANET, JUNGLE and WINGS COMICS, Whitman was first assigned a cover in 1950 (WAMBI JUNGLE BOY #6). In 1951 followed LONG BOW INDIAN BOY and more jungle jobs with KA\u00c4NGA and SHEENA.
\nHaving dropped illustrating stories (mostly), Whitman was responsible for every Fiction House cover. From 1952 on his work graced also the title pages of FIGHT COMICS, JUNGLE COMICS, WINGS COMICS and INDIANS. He stayed the exclusive cover artist right up to the end.<\/p>\n

Bill Benulis<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Interesting young man, who worked only for Atlas\/Marvel and Fiction House, starting out around 1952. Half of the time he used a steady inker for his pencilwork \u2013 Jack Abel. I saw the most extraordinary horror story by Benulis for STRANGE TALES #10 from Atlas. In \u201cThe Frightful Feet\u201d he created a very weird animal kingdom that looked like Disney on LSD<\/strong>. Ever since I have been impressed with Benulis. Good man. Inventive.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a downright shame that Benulis wasn\u2019t around earlier. He would have added a lot to pre-code horror in general.<\/p>\n

Jack Abel<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In his early days Jack Abel was surely more able (sorry!<\/em>) on inks than on pencils. At the end of 1956 he found a home at DC, drawing mostly war stories.
\nAs I am no expert on Jack Abel, please have a look at him online \u2013 to see his impressive Wikipedia entry click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

John Belcastro<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Very minor artist who allegedly ran with the Iger Studio from 1952 to 1954. Worked almost exclusively for Fiction House. Grand Comics Database lists 39 spottings in total. Signed some of his jobs with \u201cJohnny Bell\u201d. Belcastro has a scratchy style which is actually quite likeable. Fits more than just decently into these horror comic books.<\/p>\n

\"BenuAbelBelcas\"<\/a>

Fiction House artists: Bill Benulis with Jack Abel (left) and John Belcastro (right)<\/p><\/div>\n

Albert, A.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

No first name has ever surfaced with Mr. Albert. And he\u2019s only credited with 21 jobs for Fiction House. Not a bad artist at all, mysterious Mr. Albert fits in nicely with colleagues Benulis, Bill Discount and this next one:<\/p>\n

Bill Discount<\/strong><\/h2>\n

And the next phantom pencil swinger, the third in a row. 34 spottings. He loved to swipe, mainly from Alex Toth. But again, like Albert and Belcastro, not a bad artist at all. His small oeuvre is limited to the years 1952-54 as well.<\/p>\n

We post stories from all three in our \u201cStories\u201d section \u2013 because they have earned it!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alex Blum (reprinted)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I apologize for not appreciating this artist. Frankly, I hate that style of drawing. This is why I am into 1950s artwork.<\/p>\n

Lily Ren\u00e9e (reprinted)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The same goes for one of the few women employed in the early comic book industry. Of course, 1940s artwork has its moments and some very creative page compositions now and then, but it\u2019s soooooo bland in general. Sorry again.<\/p>\n

Rafael Astarita (reprinted)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Astarita\"<\/a>

Fiction House artist: Rafael Astarita (reprinted splash in GHOST #2)<\/p><\/div>\n

The exception to the rule: Now here\u2019s a man who is obviously no comic book artist. This guy is an ILLUSTRATOR. Astarita puts glamour into a simple comic story.\u00a0 A veteran of the first hour<\/strong> (starting out with NEW COMICS #3 in February 1936!), Astarita landed at Fiction House in 1942 doing \u201cInspector Dayton\u201d for JUMBO, \u201cHooks Devlin\u201d for FIGHT and \u201cKa\u00e4nga\u201d for JUNGLE COMICS. Interesting to us is his stint on \u201cGhost Patrol\/ Ghost Squadron\u201d for WINGS.<\/p>\n

Astarita\u2019s goal was to put some art into comic book pages \u2013 and was a great inspiration to many fellow artists, among them George Evans and John Celardo.
\nThe best comic book encyclopedia ever published (\u201cComics Between The Panels\u201d) corrects me and points out that Astarita was the FIRST comic book artist to sign on with the FIRST comic book shop there ever was<\/strong> (Harry Chesler\u2019s in 1935). That is just\u2026 Wow!<\/p>\n

Jerry Grandenetti and\/or Will Eisner<\/strong><\/h2>\n

(or: \u201cThe Case of the Absent Artist\u201d<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Fiction House ran a beautiful series called \u201cThe Secret Files Of Dr. Drew\u201d in RANGERS COMICS. Three of these were reprinted in GHOST \/ MONSTER COMICS.
\nComics history believes these to be the work of Jerry Grandenetti \u2013 because they were signed by him. This is a mysterious misguidance.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Drew\u201d was drawn by no one else than the great Will Eisner himself.
\nFor further discussion and detailed information please look up our section \u201cArt Spotting Controversy\u201d in the menu bar \u2013 or just click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fiction House artists\u2019 \u201cscoreboard\u201d. Who did what and how much?<\/strong> General count, added together from both series and sorted by number of pages illustrated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
John Belcastro<\/td>\n56<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bill Benulis<\/td>\n53<\/td>\n(47 with Jack Abel on inks)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alex Blum<\/td>\n49<\/td>\n(reprints)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A. Albert<\/td>\n27<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Will Eisner<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n(reprints)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rafael Astarita<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n(reprints)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jack Kamen<\/td>\n22<\/td>\n(reprints)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bill Discount<\/td>\n17<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lily Ren\u00e9e<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n(reprints)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jack Abel<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Single story contributions by Art Peddy\/Bernard Sachs, George Evans (rep.), Larry Woromay, Maurice Whitman (rep.), Charles Nicholas, Gus Schrotter (rep.) and Anthony D\u2019Adamo.<\/p>\n

Good to see that Fiction House horror can be linked to the names of three 1950s artists: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Bill Benulis, Jack Abel and John Belcastro.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spotlight: The Covers<\/h2>\n

Fiction House sees no contradiction in blending horror with good girl art<\/strong>. Hey, that\u2019s what they\u2019ve been doing for years \u2013 why change a winning team and so forth, yadda yadda\u2026 Clearly an indicator, though, where they put their priorities.<\/p>\n

We talked a bit about the outstanding covers above (see: Artists \u2013 Maurice Whitman), just let me elaborate some more in respect to the \u201ceye candy\u201d factor. A pubescent male teenager will automatically reach for a display of a damsel in distress. Is it fair that he may have been tricked into buying a bluff package?! The stories inside are reprints, often mutilated, the content is carelessly mashed together?! Of course it\u2019s not fair!<\/p>\n

But who could blame him? He could have gone for that horror book from Ace Magazines. Those with the excruciating balloons on the covers! Let\u2019s make a test: You got 10 cent in your hands, buy a comic book please. Here\u2019s your choice:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Quick! Choose! What will it be? Hmm?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ace book would have been the \u201csustainable\u201d choice. Well-written, original art, but no babes. But all these are thoughts you develop decades after the buy.<\/p>\n

A note on the margin: I find it highly irritating that so FEW companies employed continuously working cover artists. They missed the point of creating attention and recognizability of the product completely by randomly assigning whoever was free at the moment to do a cover.
\nThey would not have gotten very far in modern marketing. Well, they didn\u2019t get very far in the old marketing\u2026<\/p>\n

Fiction House Oddity: The Stamp Page<\/h2>\n

All the horror books I\u2019ve encountered so far feature a text story without pictures (usually two pages long) \u2013 adding a non-comics shiver tale to their contents. Fiction House is different.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Gosh and golly: a stamp „page“<\/p><\/div>\n

They give you as a text article the \u201cStamp Page\u201d. Which is no page, but only the third of a page. It\u2019s a text column squeezed between two advertising columns. That\u2019s why I overlooked it first. But it\u2019s there, issue for issue. A man called Sidney M. Elias enlightening you about the wondrous world of stamp collecting.<\/p>\n

Fiction House used to sport two-page text stories (as a quick research into old 40s JUMBO COMICS reveals). The so-called \u201cStamp Page\u201d replaced the text story sometime in 1951.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t care for stamps, so I did not read it, but it seems they published the same article over and over again (not only one, mind you, but an assortment of stamp gems).<\/p>\n

Just another sign that the company produced as effectively as possible; cost-effectively and reader-dontgiveadamnedly. I made that word up, so what?<\/p>\n

Appendix: Fiction House Chronology 1951-1954<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To give you an overview of the company\u2019s output, here\u2019s a listing of all their comic books from beginning of 1951 to the end of 1954.
\nLeft column: horror books\u00a0 –\u00a0 Right column: every other comic book published in these years.<\/p>\n

Timetable looks a bit chaotic, because publication is sometimes noted only per year, sometimes per quarter, sometimes per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSometime 1951<\/td>\nPLANET COMICS #65 (only issue in 1951)
\nAPACHE (one-shot)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nJanuary 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #133
\nJUMBO COMICS #143
\nFIGHT COMICS #72<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nFebruary 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #134
\nJUMBO COMICS #144
\nRANGERS COMICS #57<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nMarch 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #135
\nJUMBO COMICS #145
\nFIGHT COMICS #73<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nApril 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #136
\nJUMBO COMICS #146
\nRANGERS COMICS #58
\nINDIANS #5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSpring 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nWINGS COMICS #113
\nFIREHAIR #7
\nCOWGIRL ROMANCES #5
\nLONG BOW, INDIAN BOY #2
\nWAMBI, JUNGLE BOY #11
\nSHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE #11
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nMay 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #137
\nJUMBO COMICS #147
\nFIGHT COMICS #74<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSummer 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nWINGS COMICS #114
\nFIREHAIR #8
\nCOWGIRL ROMANCES #6
\nLONG BOW, INDIAN BOY #3
\nWAMBI, JUNGLE BOY #12
\nSHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE #12
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nJune 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #138
\nJUMBO COMICS #148
\nRANGERS COMICS #59
\nINDIANS #6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nJuly 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #139
\nJUMBO COMICS #149
\nFIGHT COMICS #75<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nAugust 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #140
\nJUMBO COMICS #150
\nRANGERS COMICS #60
\nINDIANS #7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSeptember 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #141
\nJUMBO COMICS #151
\nFIGHT COMICS #76<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nFall 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nFIREHAIR #9
\nCOWGIRL ROMANCES #7
\nLONG BOW, INDIAN BOY #4
\nWAMBI, JUNGLE BOY #13
\nSHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE #13
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nOctober 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #142
\nJUMBO COMICS #152
\nRANGERS COMICS #61
\nINDIANS #8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nNovember 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #143
\nJUMBO COMICS #153
\nFIGHT COMICS #77<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nDecember 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #144
\nJUMBO COMICS #154
\nRANGERS COMICS #62
\nINDIANS #9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nWinter 1951<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #1<\/td>\n<\/td>\nWINGS COMICS #115
\nFIREHAIR #10
\nCOWGIRL ROMANCES #8
\nLONG BOW, INDIAN BOY #5
\nWAMBI, JUNGLE BOY #14
\nSHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE #14
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nJanuary 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #145
\nJUMBO COMICS #155
\nFIGHT COMICS #78<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nFebruary 1952<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #146
\nJUMBO COMICS #156
\nRANGERS COMICS #63
\nINDIANS #10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nMarch 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #147
\nJUMBO COMICS #157
\nFIGHT COMICS #79<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nApril 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #148
\nJUMBO COMICS #158
\nRANGERS COMICS #64
\nINDIANS #11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSpring 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #2<\/td>\n<\/td>\nFIREHAIR #11 (last)
\nCOWGIRL ROMANCES #9
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #11
\nWAMBI, JUNGLE BOY #15
\nSHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE #15
\nPLANET COMICS #66
\nWAR BIRDS #1
\nTHE SPIRIT #1
\nLONG BOW, INDIAN BOY #6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nMay 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #149
\nJUMBO COMICS #159
\nFIGHT COMICS #80<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nJune 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #150
\nJUMBO COMICS #160
\nRANGERS COMICS #65 (last) \u2013 will be resurrected as RANGERS (see below)
\nINDIANS #12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #3<\/td>\nSummer 1952<\/td>\nWINGS COMICS #116
\nCOWGIRL ROMANCES #10
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #12
\nWAMBI, JUNGLE BOY #16
\nSHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE #16
\nPLANET COMICS #67
\nWAR BIRDS #2
\nTHE SPIRIT #2
\nLONG BOW, INDIAN BOY #7
\nJET ACES #1 (first)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nJuly 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #151
\nJUMBO COMICS #161
\nFIGHT COMICS #81<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nAugust 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #152
\nJUMBO COMICS #162
\nINDIANS #13
\nRANGERS #66 (first) \u2013 the second installment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSeptember 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #153
\nJUMBO COMICS #163
\nFIGHT COMICS #82<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nFall 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #4<\/td>\n<\/td>\nCOWGIRL ROMANCES #11
\nWINGS COMICS #117
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #13
\nWAMBI, JUNGLE BOY #17
\nSHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE #17
\nPLANET COMICS #68
\nJET ACES #2
\nINDIANS #15
\nRANGERS #68
\nLONG BOW, INDIAN BOY #8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nOctober 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #154
\nJUMBO COMICS #164
\nINDIANS #14
\nRANGERS #67<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nNovember 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #155
\nFIGHT COMICS #83<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nDecember 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #156
\nJUMBO COMICS #165<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nWinter 1952<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #5<\/td>\n<\/td>\nFIGHT COMICS #84
\nWINGS COMICS #118
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #14
\nWAMBI, JUNGLE BOY #18 (last)
\nSHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE #18 (last)
\nPLANET COMICS #69
\nJET ACES #3
\nTHE SPIRIT #3
\nCOWGIRL ROMANCES #12 (last)
\nINDIANS #16
\nLONG BOW, INDIAN BOY #9 (last)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1953<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n\u00a0Sometime 1953<\/td>\n3-D-FIRST CHRISTMAS (one-shot)
\n3-D-CIRCUS (one-shot)
\n3-D-SHEENA, JUNGLE QUEEN (one-shot)
\nMAN O\u2019 MARS #1 (one-shot)
\nTHE SPIRIT #4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nFebruary 1953<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUMBO COMICS #166<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nMarch 1953<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUMBO COMICS #167 (last)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nApril 1953<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #157<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSpring 1953<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #6<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #158
\nWINGS COMICS #119
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #15
\nPLANET COMICS #70
\nFIGHT COMICS #85
\nJET ACES #4 (last)
\nINDIANS #17 (last)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSummer 1953<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #7
\nMONSTER #1<\/td>\n		<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #159
\nWINGS COMICS #120
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #16PLANET COMICS #71<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nFall 1953<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #8
\nMONSTER #2 (last)<\/td>\n		<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #160
\nWINGS COMICS #121
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #17
\nPLANET COMICS #72<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nWinter 1953<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #9<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #161
\nWINGS COMICS #122
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #18
\nRANGERS #69 (last)
\nWAR BIRDS #3 (last)
\nPLANET COMICS #73 (last)
\nKNOCKOUT ADVENTURES #1
\n(one-shot)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1954Sometime in 1954<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nTHE SPIRIT #5 (last)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nJanuary 1954<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\nFIGHT COMICS #86 (last)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSpring 1954<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #10<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #162
\nWINGS COMICS #123
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #19<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSummer 1954<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GHOST COMICS #11 (last)<\/td>\n<\/td>\nJUNGLE COMICS #163 (last)
\nWINGS COMICS #124 (last)
\nKA\u00c4NGA COMICS #20 (last)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Both issues of MONSTER have been published sometime in 1953, our placing them in summer and autumn is speculative.<\/p>\n

Oddity in publication schedule for INDIANS which shows a bi-monthly rhythm in 1952. There\u2019s INDIANS #13 in August, INDIANS #14 in October \u2013 and INDIANS #15 in \u201cFall 1952\u201d. Then INDIANS #16 is labeled \u201cWinter 1952\u201d. So where exactly does #15 come out? In November (which would go against the bi-monthly schedule)? In December? Might be, but is that \u201cFall\u201d anymore? And winter is pressing with its # 16\u2026<\/p>\n

So you\u2019ll find a strange occurrence in my listing: INDIANS #15 comes out before INDIANS #14. Just to let you know I do not approve of Fiction House\u2019s way of indicating their dates of publication. A similar case is RANGERS #67 \/ #68\u2026<\/p>\n

About Fiction House\u2019s horror books \u2013 it\u2019s a clear picture:<\/strong><\/p>\n

First they want to cash in on the horror boom and put out old material wrapped in fresh pell-mell covers. Then they start giving a damn in mid-1953 and produce original art, but with the advent of the year 1954 the show is closing down.<\/p>\n

Fiction House has already canceled their flagship title JUMBO COMICS and tries to hold on to JUNGLE, WINGS, KA\u00c4NGA and PLANET. And GHOST COMICS as well!<\/p>\n

They seem to set high hopes in horror, but all is lost in summer 1954 \u2013 and all titles get axed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This website takes an in-depth-look at the 44 horror comic books from Fiction House and Standard publishing companies. Identifying artists, analyzing stories, hinting at nifty details, bespeaking points of interest, poking fun at inadaquacies and posting whole stories. By the way: all the books are available to view and\/or download at the Digital Comic Museum. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-artists.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/highest-standard.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/highest-standard.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/highest-standard.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highest-standard.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highest-standard.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/highest-standard.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":866,"href":"https:\/\/highest-standard.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/highest-standard.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}