Sir Spot the Lion-Hearted Leopard

 

cover artist unknown

I love discovering obscure characters that have since vanished into Comic Book Limbo. And, by golly, I've found another who is worthy of standing side-by-side with Tommy the Time Traveling Cat or Travelin' Toughy. 

Today, we examine the origin of Sir Spot, the Lion-Hearted Leopard, who first appeared in Animal Fair #1 (March 1946). The artist is Bill Bailey and the writer is unidentified.

A leopard named Freckles, who loves poetry, is picked on by bullies. In response, he's found a hidden location in the woods where he dons a cape and mask, then practices swashbuckling moves with a sword.

But, alas, Freckles knows he's too scared to ever really become a brave knight.

Until the opportunity is thrust upon him. A messenger from the queen stumbles up to Freckles, needing help. With no other choice, Freckles fights the soldiers pursuing the messenger. To his surprise, he wins! All that practice pays off.

Information in the scroll being carried by the messenger leads newly-confident Freckles (though we can now call him Sir Spot) to a castle, where the queen is being held by an evil duke. Sir Spot jumps the wall, takes out some guards, rescues a maid, encounters the duke, defeats him and then discovers the maid is really the queen in disguise.

The graceful queen knights Sir Spot, but Freckles decides that he should keep his knightly identity a secret. He'll be around for more adventueres.

His origin story is pretty cool, with Bailey's artwork endowing the story with energy and a sense of adventure. Sir Spot would go on to have stories in all 11 issues of Animal Fair, which you can read online HERE. He also later appeared in two issues of Fawcett's Funny Animals (#63 & #67). I haven't found these issues online, so I can't confirm whether they are new stories or reprints from Animal Fair, though both have different titles than any of the Animal Fair tales. 

Next week, we'll return to the early days of Timely (later Marvel) Comics and visit with the original Human Torch.

Bullets and Blinding Mists

 

cover by Ray Harford

"The Case of the Purple Blackout" (writer and artist unknown) appeared in America's Greatest Comics #4 (Aug-Nov. 1942). Though dealing with home-grown gangsters and not mentioning the war, I have a vague theory that the idea for the tale might have arisen from war-imposed blackouts.

Whether I'm right about that, it's a fun story. A scientist invents a purple mist that blinds anyone caught up in it unless you are wearing special goggles. Immediately, a gangster named Honest John Black (he conveniently introduces himself during the robbery) steals both the mist and the goggles.

Soon, Honest John and his gang use the mist to pull off large-scale robberies. They are wearing the goggles. The cops--and eventually Bulletman and Bulletgirl--try to stop them but are stymied by the mist-induced blindness. 

It seems like the thing to do would be to go to the scientist who invented the mist and ask him to make a few more goggles. But they don't and, during a second robbery, Bulletgirl is captured.

Bulletman then draws on his own scientific abilities and whips up an anti-mist mist. The next time the gang strikes, the purple mist is counter-acted. With the good guys able to see, Bulletgirl gets free and the bad guys are quickly rounded up.

It's a fun yarn, with effective art that moves the story along quickly. There's a nice parallel between the brutality of the crooks and the determination of both the Bullets and the cops to protect the innocent. 

You can read this one online HERE.

Next week, we'll visit with Dullwit, a fox who definitely ISN'T as clever as a fox.

Cover Cavalcade

 

A fun C.C. Beck cover from 1950.

Cover Cavalcade

Dennis appears to be more helpful than menacing in this uncredited cover from 1969.