Plunkett, Robert :: Good Girl Art XIV

1950 Black Cat #21, Page 1

Artist: Lee Elias (All)

8 Comments - 2,658 Views - 2 Likes

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Cover of 1991 Black Cat #4

Actual 1950 comic page

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Artwork Details

Title:	1950 Black Cat #21, Page 1
Artist:	Lee Elias (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	For Sale, please make offer or inquire
Views:	2,658
Likes on CAF:	2 3
Comments:	8
Added to Site:	2/13/2010
Comic Art Archive:

Description

As Toonpedia points out, Black Cat is virtually tied with Wildfire and Phantom Lady as being the first GGA superheroine or as they put it, a woman fighting crime wearing the equivalent of a one-piece bathing suit. Black Cat was Linda Turner, a stunt woman turned movie star who fought crime using her natural abilities. Her stories were among the best of the genre, if not the best, at the time. They made use of the Hollywood backdrop, sometimes featuring walk-ons by stars of the era. The bottom two panels were undoubtedly scenes from a movie, not a real old west adventure.

Black Cat ran with original stories from 1941 until probably 1953, and from 1946 was under some variation of the "Black Cat". In 1953 the title became horror and/or mystery. She had the most unlikely publisher, Harvey, best known for Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Witch and such. She had numerous artists, but the overwhelming favorite was Lee Elias, who did this one. It is also the title Elias is best remembered for.

You might notice that the page itself says #63 and the title says "Treachery" not "Terror". The reason is that, in 1962 when superheroes were having a revival, Harvey, after a four year hiatus, revived Black Cat with reprints, including this one. The original markings are visible under the white out when backlit. You'll notice that "Treachery" is not quite in the same handwriting as the rest of the title. In 1962, the Comics Code needed to be satisfied and the use of "terror" in a title was verboten. Most of the white out doesn't appear to be covering anything. Linda is a bit bustier her than the CC usually allowed and bustier than she usually appeared.

Below is a scan of the original page from Black Cat #21, page 1, the opening splash of that issue. You can see I was right about the change in title.

Update: In 1991, Lorne-Harvey Publications revived Black Cat yet again. Issue #4 used this illustration, flipped horizontally, for its cover. The story was reprinted as well as the lead with the original title restored. I can only guess how they did this since the original art was changed as I explained above before this third version and still bears that change.

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About the Owner

	Robert Plunkett
Joined:	October 2003
Last Login:	December 2024
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Comments on this Artwork

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Mark Yanko
Member Since 2009

Posted on 2/17/2010

Thank God the Code allowed them to preserve the bust. :-) On the other hand, Black Cat was never one of the bustier heroines. This is a great splash, with a nice full-figure Cat.

kelly b
Member Since 2004

Posted on 8/19/2010

wow.

David Grisez
Member Since 2009

Posted on 4/25/2012

a very nice page indeed. thanks for sharing.

Alex Johnson
Member Since 2006
Forum Moderator

Posted on 12/16/2013

Very nice example and a wonderful amount of backstory. Thanks for sharing.

Robert Plunkett
Member Since 2003

Posted on 12/16/2013

Alex Johnson wrote:

Very nice example and a wonderful amount of backstory. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you, I always like it when people read my commentary.

michael dunne
Member Since 2004

Posted on 12/16/2013

Great page that I have long admired.

Nice recap of Linda's history also.

One of the "other" artists to depict the Black Cat was Joe Kubert and just to add to the Black cat's history, the commonly known Black swimsuit uniform which varied from halter top to evening gown cut was th Black Cat's second uniform.

Robert Plunkett
Member Since 2003

Posted on 12/16/2013

michael dunne wrote:

Great page that I have long admired.

Nice recap of Linda's history also.

Thanks, I didn't know either of those facts. I lucked out despite myself in getting this particular piece.

Danny Morales
Member Since 2005

Posted on 7/21/2019

Cool page!

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