Since July I have been posting Comic Book Cats entries daily on the Comic Book Historians group on Facebook. The object is to see how many different pencilers I can find artwork by featuring cats. These posts are being archived on First Comics News. Here are 10 more highlights, taken from entries 51 to 100.
Frank Robbins
House of Mystery #241, drawn by Frank Robbins, written by Jack Oleck and lettered by Ben Oda, published by DC Comics in May 1976.
“Paid in Full” is described by House of Mystery host Cain as an “eerie black cat tale.” Hold-up man Cass, wounded in a shoot-out with the police, hops a freight train out of town. Coming to in Kentucky, he is nursed back to health by elderly Martha Wright, who lives in a cabin with her cat Lucifer. Unfortunately for Martha, Cass realizes she is a witch and threatens to shoot Lucifer if she does not use her magic to conjure up money for him.
Cass then orders Martha to give him “a new face, a new body” so that he can evade the police. She creates a formula that will do this, and the criminal thanks the old lady by murdering her. Burying her in the woods, Cass downs the formula. It does indeed give him a “new” body, one that is only six inches tall. And waiting for the now mouse-sized Cass is a very angry Lucifer, ready to enact revenge.
I know that my experience with Frank Robbins’ work parallels a number of other readers, in that initially I disliked it, over time I gradually learned to appreciate it, and now I now really enjoy his art. I feel Robbins’ work was more suited to war, adventure, mystery and horror stories than superheroes. DC’s horror anthologies were the perfect venue for Robbins’ talents. He definitely drew the heck out of “Paid in Full,” rendering an atmospheric little tale that is capped off with a strikingly ferocious black cat on the prowl.
Tania Del Rio & Jim Amash
Sabrina the Teenage Witch volume 2 #58, written & penciled by Tania Del Rio, inked by Jim Amash, and colored by Jason Jensen, published by Archie Comics in August 2004.
Archie Comics decided in 2004 to take Sabrina the Teenage Witch in a manga-inspired direction, with stories & artwork by newcomer Talia Del Rio. This direction lasted for 42 issues, with Del Rio working on the entire run. She was paired up with frequent Archie inker Jim Amash.
In this scene from Del Rio’s first full issue, Sabrina is bummed at having been chewed out by her aunts for coming home late from a date with her boyfriend Harvey. Unfortunately for Sabrina, matters soon become even worse, as her cat Salem reminds her that she has a report due at school tomorrow. As a despondent Sabrina conjures up a can of Zap cola and sets to work on her report, a less than sympathetic Salem observes “It’s going to be a LONG night…”
Joe Eisma
Faith #10, drawn by Joe Eisma, written by Jody Hauser and lettered by Dave Sharpe, published by Valiant Entertainment in April 2017.
The various enemies of Faith Herbert, aka Zephyr, join forces to gain revenge on the telekinetic superhero. Among the members of the nefarious Faithless is Dark Star, “a parasitic psiot entity currently trapped in a cat.” Dark Star may look cute and cuddly, but trust me, he’s a major @$$hole. Just don’t give him any champagne. He gets drunk REALLY easily.
Faith was a really good comic book series. Jody Hauser’s stories were both poignant and humorous. She did a great job developing Faith Herbert’s character. The artists who worked with Hauser on the miniseries and ongoing all did high quality work.
Joe Eisma has also drawn Morning Glories for Image Comics and several titles for Archie Comics. He is definitely very adept at drawing teenage characters.
Auraleon
Vampirella #32, drawn by Auraleon and written by Steve Skeates, published by Warren in April 1974.
This back-up story features an early appearance by Pantha, the lovely feline shape-shifter who would go on to become Vampirella’s close friend. This beautifully illustrated page sees Pantha transforming from her panther form back into her human self. Pacing along beside her in the final panel is a black cat, who perhaps recognizes her as a kindred spirit. After all, black cats have often been described as “mini panthers.”
Auraleon, full name Rafael Aura León, was another of the incredibly talented Spanish artists who worked for Warren throughout the 1970s. He was one of the most prolific artists at Warren, rendering stunning, atmospheric work.
Auraleon also illustrated stories in various genres for Spanish and British publishers. Tragically, Auraleon suffered from depression, and he committed suicide in 1993.
George Papp
Superboy #131, drawn by George Papp, published by DC Comics in July 1966.
“The Dog from S.C.P.A.” sees Krypto the Superdog joining several other super-powered canines as a member of the Space Canine Patrol Agents. Krypto must rescue the other members of the S.P.C.A. from the clutches of the Canine Caper Gang. The two sides fight to a draw, at which point the Gang agree to leave if Krypto promises to take them “to a new world, where there aren’t any canine agents.” Krypto agrees, and the desperado dogs are elated at the thought of being able to carry on their larcenous activities unhindered… until they discover that Krypto has taken them to a planet with a different sort of S.P.C.A., specifically the Space Cat Patrol Agents!
What a great twist ending! I’m just a bit disappointed that we never got to see Atomic Tom, Crab-Tabby and Power Puss team up with Streaky!
George Papp was one of the regular artists on Superboy from 1958 to 1968. Among his other credits, Papp drew some of the early Legion of Super-Heroes stories and co-created Green Arrow with Mort Weisinger. Unfortunately he was one of several older creators who were fired by DC Comics in the late 1960s when they requested health & retirement benefits. Papp then went into advertising. He passed away in 1989 at the age of 73.
Reed Waller
The Complete Omaha the Cat Dancer Volume 4, cover artwork by Reed Waller, published by Amerotica / NBM in 2006, reprinting Omaha the Cat Dancer #10-13, written by Kate Worley and drawn by Reed Waller, published by Kitchen Sink Press in 1988 and 1989.
My girlfriend Michele Witchipoo is a huge fan of Omaha the Cat Dancer. She recommended that I spotlight Omaha in Comic Book Cats.
Omaha the Cat Dancer was created by Reed Waller in 1978. Omaha initially appeared in several anthologies throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. An ongoing series began in 1984, and with the second issue Kate Worley became the writer. Waller and Worley collaborated on Omaha for the next two decades. Worley unfortunately passed away in 2004. Subsequently her husband James Vance worked with Waller to complete the series. Omaha was ultimately collected in eight volumes by Amerotica / NBM Publishing.
Omaha the Cat Dancer is set in a universe populated by anthropomorphic “funny animal” characters and is set in Mipple City, Minnesota, a fictionalized version of Minneapolis. It stars Susan “Susie” Jensen, a feline who under the name Omaha works as a stripper and pin-up model, and her boyfriend Charles “Chuck” Tabey, Jr. aka Chuck Katt. Initially conceived by Waller to protest against censorship and St. Paul’s blue laws, the series evolved into a soap opera.
As you can no doubt tell from the premise, as well as from Waller’s artwork, there is a great deal of sex and nudity in Omaha the Cat Dancer. Although explicit, these elements are often utilized in the service of telling the story and developing the relationships between the characters.
B. Kliban
Cats by B. Kliban, written & drawn by Bernard Kliban, published by Workman Publishing Company in September 1975.
Bernard Kliban’s 1975 collection of cat cartoons has been referred to as “the mother of all cat books.” The book was a massive bestseller, and today Kliban’s iconic depictions of felines are recognized the world over. This cartoon from that book all-too-accurately captures the experience of becoming a “cat person.” You start off with just one, and the next thing you know…
Kliban’s cartoons also appeared regularly in the pages of Playboy for throughout the 1970s and 80s. He passed away in August 1990 at the age of 55.
Don Heck
Journey Into Mystery #62, drawn by Don Heck, published by Atlas / Marvel Comics in November 1960.
“There Is a Brain Behind the Fangs” is such an odd little tale. I’m just going to use the Grand Comics Database’s description:
“A man is convinced that dogs are secretly planning to take over the world. His friend hypnotizes a dog and proves that it cannot understand complex questions. Neither suspects that the dog has been hypnotized by the cat.”
Yes, that’s correct, dogs are planning to take over the world, but the actual masterminds behind the scheme are cats! That sounds about right.
Say, the cat in this story sort of resembles my own cat Nettie. You don’t think…? Naah, it couldn’t be!
Seriously, this story features some nice art by the often-underrated Don Heck. As has often been observed, Heck’s strengths lay outside of superheroes, and as that genre came to dominate comic books he was unfortunately asked to work within it more and more often. Heck’s work in mystery, horror, war, romance and Westerns was always very effective. As seen on this page, he was certainly adept at illustrating animals such as dogs and cats.
Kelley Jones & Malcolm Jones III
Sandman #18, penciled by Kelley Jones, inked by Malcolm Jones III, written by Neil Gaiman, lettered by Todd Klein and colored by Robbie Busch, published by DC Comics in November 1991.
It’s been quite a few years since I’ve read Sandman. I had the first few trade paperbacks, but I lent them to someone over a decade ago, never got them back, and haven’t seen them since. So I had to be reminded of “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” from issue #18, which several people suggested I showcase. Here is a page of that story, taken from the digital edition. One of these days I should replace my copies of the physical books. Fortunately the trade paperbacks are easy to find.
Kelley Jones is yet another of those artists who when I first saw his work I was not especially fond of it, finding his figures to be grotesque and distorted. However, I very quickly came to appreciate Jones’ art. He excels at creating moody, atmospheric scenes. As seen here, he also draws some wonderfully detailed, expressive cats. Inking is by Malcolm Jones III, who was also paired with Jones on the Batman & Dracula: Red Rain graphic novel.
Gus Arriola
Gordo by Gus Arriola, published on November 6, 1977.
Comic book creator and fellow cat-lover Richard Howell introduced me to Gordo, the newspaper comic strip created by Gustavo “Gus” Arriola that ran from 1941 to 1985. The series chronicled the life of Mexican bean farmer, and later tour guide, Perfecto Salazar “Gordo” Lopez. There were a number of animals that appeared regularly in Gordo, including three cats: an orange tabby named Poosy Gato, a black cat named PM, and PM’s kitten Bête Noire.
In this Sunday strip, we see Poosy trying to figure out a new place to take a nap, since he’s bored with all of the usual locations. Arriola definitely draws a cut cat and invests him with personality.
Arriola passed away on February 2008 at the age of 90.
Thanks for stopping by. Once again, please remember to check out First Comics News for the rest of the Comic Book Cats entries, as well as for the Daily Comic Book Coffee archives.
In My Not So Humble Opinion 