Master Comics #22 p60 (Fawcett 1942) - Zoro the Mystery Man - Mac Raboy

From Roger Hill, a master on Raboy --

Here's some more input on the Zoro, Mystery Man page that recently sold at auction. I pulled out my copy of MASTER #22, which by the way, appears to be the last issue with "Zoro" inside. Issue #23 has no Zoro. Raboy pretty much handled most of the art chores on Zoro from MASTER COMICS #11 thru #19, probably while working in the Chesler Shop. The Grand Comics Database shows Raboy up through issue #19, but then puts a big question mark on issue #20 (Nov. 1941).

Then GCD shows Raboy back on issue #21, with a question mark next to his name, followed by just a question mark on issue #22. I think what it amounts to is that Raboy was already having problems keeping up with deadlines on "Zoro," and needed help from others in the shop. Don't forget, Mac also had to draw a 15 page Bulletman story for MASTER #21 and #22. So he was getting pretty overworked from all directions. And it was just before this point that Mac left the Chesler Shop, no doubt lured away with better money, and shifted over to the Paramount Building where the Fawcett offices were located.

Looking over the entire "Zoro" story from MASTER #22, I clearly see a lot of sloppy work, both in penciling and inking, which is very unusual for Mac Raboy. The guy was a perfectionist, and he got worse and worse at being that way, and that's why he eventually needed help from several others, who were hired at Fawcett specifically to help him stay on schedule. Especially after Captain Marvel Jr. was introduced in MASTER, and even more so, after Jr. got his own title. Remember what Mac's assistant (Bob Rogers) told me in an interview many years ago, that he remembered Mac worked on a Jr. panel all day, penciling it, and then decided it wasn't good enough, and went in and just erased it. A whole day wasted.

To me, a lot of inking on the MASTER #22 Zoro story looks not up to par, and I'm posting the entire story here, from the comic book, so you can all take a look and see what you think. Check out the splash page. The figure of Zoro....absolutely Raboy, but the rest of the faces not so great. Page two has Raboy Zoro figures, but the Arabian guys look pretty bad.

Look at page 4 for some really bad art here too. Mac probably did Zoro in the first panel, but after that, it's pretty bad work. Even pages 5 and 6 look pretty bad, although note the more dynamic figure in the last panel of page 5. To me, that looks Raboy. Page 7, panel 1, the back of the guy wearing the turban, and all figures of Zoro look Raboyish, but note how bad the other guys look. Most of the Zoro figures seem to stand out as being better drawn on all pages.

So I could believe that Raboy penciled all the figures of Zoro, and maybe a few of the other characters in this story. But I question whether or not he inked any of it. Maybe, a little bit. I'm not sure, and I guess we'll never know for sure.

Lastly, I began to wonder, why indeed did this one page from this story exist? I had never heard of any Zoro pages turning up over the many years I've collected original art. Could it be because THIS particular page had more of Raboy's hand in it than most of the others? I think that could very well be the case. It is a nice page and it may well have been saved by one of Mac's assistants or co-workers there. I'll post the original art from page 3 again, followed by all 7 pages from the comic. Take a look.....and enjoy