Okay,
that’s a joke name because I have no idea in the world who the
artist(s) is on this gorgeous piece of comic book work. It’s been
puzzling me for over a dozen years and maybe some sharp eyed reader
can solve this mystery.
“My
Best Friend’s Guy!” comes from the pages of LOVE JOURNAL #24, a
comic put out by Our Publishing in May of 1954. I came to possess it
back in 1999. My boss’s wife was the executer of her cousin’s
estate, a mentally challenged man who had horded a box of comics that
were bought in his youth. I don’t know how the cache was stored but
the vast majority were in horrible condition. Still I paid 50 bucks
and took the lot. This issue of LOVE JOURNAL was in decent shape
except for some intense discoloration. I really wasn’t into romance
books at this time, but as I leafed through it I was blown away by
the fabulous art in this story.
In
a vague way the body positions and attention to detail remind me of
Reed Crandall, but it lacks some of his trademarks like his ‘floating
head’ panels.
I
searched the GCD and DGM for info, but this comic hasn’t been
indexed or sent in. Then I tried to find other comics from this
publisher, in the same era to see if I might find the same artist(s),
but to no avail.
I’ve
attempted to color correct these images as best I can. If you do ID
the art, please let us know!
*Editors Note: The Art Looks Like Mort Leav To Me.
