Change of Plans! On with the program, Wanted 32

Ok, kiddie cats, change of plans. My first thought was to have this page be an organized presentation of some underground paper scans, but I'm still a bit hazy on the specifics of how I'm going to go about that. While I still plan to put that project together, I'm going to erstwhile just start keeping this page as a scan diary. I'll post some old scans as they relate to newer scans but am pretty much going to get into new stuff. I scan an eclectic mix of publications, as I love variety and think the wonder of our culture is in its diversity and like to keep the ball bouncing. This blog has been stagnating a bit too long, so I'll cast any attempt at coherency out the door for a bit and get on with posting new scans.



Here's Wanted 32 from December 1950 on Toytown. It looks like Toytown/Orbit/Patches published out of St. Louis and their main titles were Wanted, Love Diary and The Westerner (Wild Bill Pecos). Mort Leav started as the art director and did a lot of the covers and lead stories.

A wiki for Mort Leav:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mort_Leav

This cover is by Mort Lawrence and is one of my favorite in the series, a fiery scene of some sort of crime of passion and the walls closing in. I guess the fiery dude serves as a sort of narrator sort of function. Does anyone know how he got stuck with the job? Was he a victim or perpetrator of crime? This ish leads with Mort Leav's "The Man Who Lost his Face" about a pretty boy mobster ready to kill a lass that scratches him for unbecoming advances. A weasel like that is a natural to fall in with the mob bosses' girlfriend. Murder, double-cross and plastic surgery ensue. Second up, part of Action Unlimited, "Now you can watch Tony Action - In Action!" A survey asks if reader want this one to continue, I can't imagine there was too strong of a response, heh heh. The text story "The Red Neck-Tie" regards a color blind tough guy that just wants to be a goodfella. Somehow he lands a job in a fabric stockroom, sent to help the mob boss pick out his drapes, his color blindness is exposed, but the mob boss likes him anyway. A strange story. Third Up, Syd Shore's art in "Dead Man's Witness." A raid on a small time bookmaker reveals a nationwide effort by the mob to rig horse races. It's time to call in the FBI, cuz only the federal government is smart enough to deal with the wily syndicate. Last up, my favorite of the bunch, John Buscema art in "Gang Doctor." If there's one thing worse than criminals, it's doctors. Watch Gang Doctor play to hypochondriac jet-setters only to be introduced to gangsters willing to pay his steep fees for hush hush bullet wound surgeries. Are there no bounds to Gang Doctor's greed? A fun ish! I guess this title is a bit notorious for grit and violence, but I thought the art was pretty good in here and the stories quirky how I like em.

Enjoy,

Darwin

Get the full hi-res scan here.

Samples. This dangerous pretty boy is hardcore. He makes ungentlemanly advances on a girl and she scratches him. Never scratch a pretty boy's face! I love the last panel on the page, brutal crime comics:



Hmm. I find this one unsettling. Man kills cheating wife, escapes prison, could be anywhere! The end.