Golden Age Greats Spotlight # 9

$29.95

This issue of Golden Age Greats Spotlight is dedicated to complete coverage on the Golden Age version of the late, great duo of CAT-MAN and KITTEN!! Originating in Frank W. Temerson’s Crash Comics #4 in 1940, and continuing (after a partial revamp) through a six-year, 33-issue run of his own title published by Holyoke Comics; the Feline Fury and his distaff sidekick KITTEN formed one of the most interesting and unique crimefighting pairs of the 1940’s. Never before have this many complete classic CAT-MAN stories ever been reprinted in any one volume; starting with his first TWO appearances (from Crash Comics #’s 4 AND 5 ), drawn by the great Irwin Hasen; through a quartet of tales written and drawn by Charles Quinlan, including “Larceny In Liquid

Description

This issue of Golden Age Greats Spotlight is dedicated to complete coverage on the Golden Age version of the late, great duo of CAT-MAN and KITTEN!! Originating in Frank W. Temerson’s Crash Comics #4 in 1940, and continuing (after a partial revamp) through a six-year, 33-issue run of his own title published by Holyoke Comics; the Feline Fury and his distaff sidekick KITTEN formed one of the most interesting and unique crimefighting pairs of the 1940’s. Never before have this many complete classic CAT-MAN stories ever been reprinted in any one volume; starting with his first TWO appearances (from Crash Comics #’s 4 AND 5 ), drawn by the great Irwin Hasen; through a quartet of tales written and drawn by Charles Quinlan, including “Larceny In Liquid” and “The Eyes of Justice”- plus TWO NEVER PREVIOUSLY REPRINTED Quinlan stories, one each from Cat-Man #2 and #10. Don Rico’s lone CAT-MAN tale(originally seen in Cat-Man #23) is here, too- as well as THREE Bob Fujitani-illustrated gems; one each from Cat-Man comics #’s 27, 29 and 31, two of which feature CM’s arch-nemesis, the evil genius, Dr. MACABRE!! The FINAL CAT-MAN story from the original Holyoke run is here, as well; the untitled showdown with Dr. MACABRE rendered by Maxwell Elkans. The progression of the KITTEN character is fascinating, starting out in the series as a pre-teen “little” girl, evolving into a mature woman by the end of the feature’s run. KITTEN’s second origin (she had one in her first appearance, in Cat-Man #5, and a second, very different one after Fujitani took over the series) from issue #27 is contained in this collection, as well as TWO NEVER PREVIOUSLY REPRINTED installments in the LITTLE LEADERS strip which ran as a back-up in CM. LITTLE LEADERS teamed up a youthful KITTEN with MICKEY, a teenage sidekick from another CM strip, The DEACON. The two LL strips include an untitled, Rudy Palais-drawn story from Cat-Man Comics #26A (due to a numbering error, there were actually TWO Cat-Man issue number 26s!) guest-starring CAT-MAN and The DEACON, and “The Swordsman of Death”, drawn by Lou Ferstadt, from Cat-Man #25. Compared to other 1940’s era super-types, CAT-MAN stories tended to have very complicated plots and a LOT of dialogue, and even though the early, Charles Quinlan stories often ended up with very little CAT-MAN in costumed action, all of the tales were interesting, mature and involving.. Oddly enough, a package of the original Holyoke CAT-MAN stories was licensed to an Australian publishing company known as Frews in the early 1950’s. These American retreads proved unpopular Down Under and were soon dropped. A somewhat more successful “revival” of CM was tried in Australia in 1958; this time in an updated, revamped format, done by the great Australian artist John Dixon. This was really a completely different CAT-MAN character, complete with a male sidekick named KIT. A full-length adventure from that Australian series, “The Phantom Mummy” is included in this collection to round out the package. All of that within a cover rendered by L. B. Cole, originally seen on Cat-Man #32. The CAT-MAN series is an exellent example that shows that not ALL the great costumed characters of the Golden Age came from the biggest companies; even lesser publishers like Holyoke could- and sometimes did- create characters whose stories were consistantly compelling and literate. Golden Age Greats Spotlight Volume 9 is 140 pages in length, featuring 13 full vintage stories, cover repros, and a breif history of CAT-MAN and KITTEN. It is standatd comic book size; black & white interiors with color covers, and is saddle-stitched. Released by AC Comics in 2012.