Currently Reading - "A Haunt of Fears"

Have recently been reading a book called A Haunt of Fears by Martin Barker , published in 1984, which documents the role of a small number of individuals within the British Communist Party in creating the "campaign" to ban "American" (ie British reprinted Horror comics) back in the first half of the 1950s. I touched on this subject in a post back 2022, which discussed the impact of British-reprinted horror comics in the UK in the 1950s. 

A Haunt of Fears first relates the story of the campaign as reported in the popular press at the time, and then gets under the covers of the motives of the people behind the campaign.

The focus of the book is firmly on the cultural aspects of the ban, the prevailing attitudes of the public and the Establishment and the role of the BCP in creating/responding to a manufactured uproar. There is limited focus on the role of L. Miller, Arnold, Streamline and T&P, in producing and distributing these comics,  but it is certainly worth a read. It does contain a list of the comics targeted by the ban campaign.  

Although it is a pretty dry, academic read, the book is also a nice companion piece to "The 10-Cent Plague", which documents the campaign to ban horror comics in the US.

I find it interesting that the campaign in the UK was driven by the political left, whereas it was the right in the US.

List of books identified as unsuitable

Comics I missed - The Human Fly (1977-1979)

© Marvel.

 Back in the period 1977-1979 my interest in American comic collecting was waning, being replaced by enthusiasm for collecting paperback reprints of pulps.  It wasn't until 1980 that I stopped collecting comics completely, and sold my collection in 1983. And it was during this waning period of interest (77-79) that I completely missed Marvel's The Human Fly, a 19-issue run of comics written by Bill Mantlo, drawn by the likes of Lee Elias and Frank Robbins, edited initially by Archie Goodwin.

I recently became aware of the character through listening to a very entertaining podcast by Chris Dingsdale, which is well worth a listen at https://www.darreninform.com/thinkworkspodcast/episode/5126fce7/82-thinkworks-82-adventures-in-comics-2-the-astonishing-true-story-of-the-human-fly

So I’ve tracked down a few issues to see what I missed.

The unique selling proposition of the comic was that The Human Fly was based on a real-life Canadian daredevil Rick Rojatt who had overcome extreme injuries and surgery replacing bones with screws and rods to ride on top of a commercial airliner wearing a full-face mask. Think back to that magical time when Evel Knievel, a fellow enthusiast for having metal hardware inserted into various limbs.

© original photographer. The real Human Fly!

Bill Mantlo came up with the comics concept, and spent an entire editorial page spelling out the lead character’s true story. Each of the nineteen issues revolved around another wild stunt, combined with thrilling do-gooder action and social commentary.

© Marvel. Bill Mantlo explains the origin of Human Fly

© Marvel. Lee Elias splash page to Human Fly #1

I think it is fair to say that the concept would have suited a TV series, and perhaps that was in the back of Marvel’s mind at the time. The Spider-Man live-action TV series was on the air at this point, as was the Hulk TV series.

Looking at the splash page of issue #1 (above) I can't help but think how Lee Elias' work looks like it was inked by Frank Robbins. Incidentally, the book is notable for containing Frank Robbins’ ante-penultimate comics story before retirement (Human Fly #14). 

The comic only lasted less than two years. Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter confirmed the character was based on the real-life Canadian stuntman Rick Rojatt. Shooter stated in 2007 that photographs in the comic were indeed of Rojatt. 

I may try to pick up all nineteen issues. I’ve seen them in the dollar bin from time to time, and I do love a bit of Robbins’ artwork.

Do take a listen to the podcast.

© Ian Baker

Mail-Order Mysteries

 

Back in 2011, when this blog was a mere whippersnapper, fellow SuperStuff co-scrivener and lifetime chum Nigel Brown did a deep dive on how advertising in Batman comics had evolved from the 1940s.  You can read his article here.  Nigel does a run-down on the types of ads to be found within the pages of that great comic. Some products appeared consistently over the decades and generations  (e.g. Daisy Air Rifles, Charles Atlas bodybuilding), while others were fads of a single year (Easy Bake Toy Oven).

Imagine my delight when I was made aware of a book called Mail-Order Mysteries, which arrived in the post over the weekend, which evaluates the reality behind the ads of comics from the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Remember that full-size army tank? Or the Polaris submarine that only cost $6.98? Stuck in the UK, I could only imagine the great toys that American kids were able to buy through the pages of my favourite comics.

Mail-Order Mysteries is the work of Kirk Demarais. It was published around 15 years ago, and copies on eBay are fetching a premium. But it was worth it to learn the secrets behind the ads, and sympathise with the disappointment felt by each kid as buyer's remorse set in.

Go on - you owe it to yourself to snag a copy!