Todd Klein's Blog, page 66

GASPAR SALADINO in SHAZAM!

All images © DC Comics. From SHAZAM! #4, July 1973

Captain Marvel was an early Superman competitor in the comics market of the 1940s, and sold well. DC sued the publisher, Fawcett, claiming the character was too close to Superman. They won that suit eventually and Fawcett not only stopped publishing Captain Marvel comics and spinoffs, but soon got out of comics completely. DC later bought the rights to the Fawcett characters, but in the interim, Marvel Comics began their own CAPTAIN MARVEL title, and as the name had not been copyright protected, DC was unable to stop them. When DC decided to publish new and reprinted Captain Marvel comics and stories starting in 1973, they had to find a new name for the book, and chose the word that the character used to change from the boy Billy Batson to the superhuman man Captain Marvel, SHAZAM! DC’s uses of the properties have been published under that title ever since. DC enlisted original Captain Marvel artist C.C. Beck to work on new stories for them at first, and he handled some of the cover lettering, but before long Gaspar Saladino was doing a lot of it, especially once Beck left. Gaspar also did a small amount of story lettering for this title. I think the SHAZAM! logo is by Beck, but I believe the tagline, “The Original Captain Marvel” is by Saladino, and on the cover above, he also did the caption below that, his first cover lettering for the book.

From SHAZAM! #5, Sept 1973

Gaspar did the balloons on this cover and probably the sound effects too. His lettering has so much character and energy!

From SHAZAM! #10, Feb 1974

This cover is by the versatile Bob Oksner, and his Mary Marvel is so cute. I like Saladino’s banner for her at the bottom.

From SHAZAM! #12, May-June 1974

By issue #12 the book had become a longer anthology with some new and some old stories, with lots of Saladino lettering to describe it all. I’m usually not a fan of such fragmented covers, but this one works because of the large figures cleverly showing their magic changes.

From SHAZAM! #14, Sept-Oct 1974

DC obviously put a lot of effort into their Captain Marvel relaunch, and fans seemed to like it for a while, even though the stories were old-fashioned. This busy cover doesn’t work as well for me, but Saladino’s lettering is fine.

From SHAZAM! #19, July-Aug 1975

By this time the book was back to normal length. Gaspar thought the villain’s balloon should have a roughness to it, and it works well.

From SHAZAM #30, July-Aug 1977

A live action TV version of the character ran from 1974 to 1977, and some DC issues played that up more than others. This one includes Superman, often a sign that sales were falling, as he usually provided at least a temporary boost. I don’t think Gaspar lettered the top line, but the rest is his.

From SHAZAM! #35, May-June 1978

By the final issue, DC was trying a more modern superhero look, which I never thought worked for this character. It didn’t help sales, obviously. Saladino’s bottom caption is great, though.

From SHAZAM, THE NEW BEGINNING #2, May 1987

Several new versions have been tried since. This miniseries had two covers lettered by Saladino, this being the one I could find a good image of. His caption has style and energy. He was not involved in later efforts, including a fine series from Jerry Ordway that lasted a while.

From SHAZAM! #13, July-Aug 1974

For the 100-page issues, Gaspar was commissioned to letter the contents pages, which he did with his usual variety and panache.

From SHAZAM! #15, Nov-Dec 1974

This one has a disconnect where the top section follows the perspective of the fence while the rest does not. I’m guessing Gaspar couldn’t get in all the words otherwise. He also lettered the summary under Marvel’s arm.

From SHAZAM! #27, Jan-Feb 1977

This is the only story lettered by Gaspar. The top logo area is also by him except for the SHAZAM logo, and it was used on later stories lettered by others.

To sum up, I found Saladino lettering on these covers:

SHAZAM! 4-5, 10-20, 30, 34-35

SHAZAM THE NEW BEGINNING 2-3

That’s 18 in all. Below are the details of his inside page lettering.

#13 July-Aug 1974: Contents 1pp

#14 Sept-Oct 1974: Contents 1pp

#15 Nov-Dec 1974: Contents 1pp

#16 Jan-Feb 1975: Contents 1pp

#17 March-April 1975: Contents 1pp

#27 Jan-Feb 1977: Captain Marvel 17pp

That’s a total of 22 pages. Other articles in this series and more you might like are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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GASPAR SALADINO in SGT. ROCK

All images © DC Comics. From SGT. ROCK #309, Oct 1977

Sgt. Rock and his Easy Company crew had long been the stars of the DC Comics title OUR ARMY AT WAR, and he was so popular that in 1977 that title was renamed for him and ran another 121 issues to 1988. Then there were a series of Specials that became a new Sgt. Rock series running to 1992, as well as Annuals and later miniseries and one-shots. He is by far the longest-lasting DC war hero, and perhaps the longest in comics, certainly the one with the most appearances. This was largely due to the writing of Robert Kanigher and the art of Joe Kubert, but the dynamic, exciting lettering of Gaspar Saladino also played a part. Though he had lettered many stories earlier in the character’s career, by this time he was doing only cover lettering. Joe Kubert was a letterer himself, and he also lettered some of the covers, and at times they both had lettering on the same covers. The first example of Saladino’s cover work, above, is small and not impressive, but he would have a strong presence on many later ones.

From SGT. ROCK #315, April 1978

The jagged open letters on this cover representing radio talk work well.

From SGT. ROCK #318, July 1978

This fine split Kubert cover is enhanced by Gaspar’s large blurb at the bottom.

From SGT. ROCK #320, Sept 1978

Often the balloons on this book were large, with large display lettering to add to the drama.

From SGT. ROCK #342, July 1980

Gaspar’s top blurb includes an interesting variation on the character’s name.

From SGT. ROCK #356, Sept 1981

Another creative variation on this cover.

From SGT. ROCK #359, Dec 1981

Here’s a good example of Kubert and Saladino working together. The top blurb is by Saladino, the balloon lettering is by Kubert, or possibly one of his sons (Andy and Adam), who carried on his lettering style.

From SGT. ROCK #361, Feb 1982

Again, a dynamic top blurb by Saladino and balloon lettering by Kubert.

From SGT. ROCK #363, April 1982

The carved letters on this cover seem like part of Kubert’s art, but the letter shapes suggest they’re by Saladino to me. The top blurb is type.

From SGT. ROCK #367, Aug 1982

The very fat open letters of Saladino’s top blurb here read well and add much to the story.

From SGT. ROCK #368, Sept 1982

This fine Saladino caption uses a variety of styles that work well together, and the texture is ideal on a war cover. The balloon and probably the sound effect are by Kubert.

From SGT. ROCK #370, Nov 1982

This lettering tour-de-force by Saladino must have taken a long time to do. I can see Kubert saying to him, “this makes up for all the easy ones.” And Gaspar would have laughed and agreed.

From SGT. ROCK #373, Feb 1983

No one did burning open letters better than Saladino, and see how well the solid line above contrasts and connects with them.

From SGT. ROCK #378, July 1983

Gaspar might have used an Old English style on this top blurb, but perhaps thought it wasn’t appropriate. What he did works fine.

From SGT. ROCK #390, July 1984

When large display lettering was called for, Gaspar always came through. He would have added a thin black outline around the solid letters for a second color, white in this case, hard to see here, or possibly removed by the color separator.

From SGT. ROCK #403, Aug 1985

Here’s a creative one-use logo by Kubert, something he did occasionally, and a fine caption by Saladino.

From SGT. ROCK #406, Nov 1985

Taking on hard topics was nothing new for Kubert and Kanigher. Saladino’s handsome lettering adds to the classy cover.

From SGT. ROCK #408, Feb 1986

Kanigher and Joe Kubert’s tribute to one of the seminal creators of comics, and someone they both worked with for years. The balloon shape is by Kubert but the letters are by Saladino, who also did the top credits.

From SGT. ROCK #416, June 1987

This Saladino scroll cleverly employs a large B and S that works for both words.

From SGT. ROCK #422, July 1988

Gaspar’s top blurb celebrates the Kuberts of two generations working together, a rarity in comics. For many years The Joe Kubert School trained budding comics artists, with his sons among his first students, and later teachers there too. SGT. ROCK often had backup stories by students, some of whom went on to have long and successful comics careers. Sadly, this was the last regular issue.

From SGT. ROCK SPECIAL #1, Oct 1988

The character then moved to a series of Specials, often reprints, that morphed into a new series that lasted to 1992. Gaspar did lettering for many of these covers too, but images are hard to find, so I’ll only show this first one. He lettered the scroll under the logo and the blurb in the box at lower left, and of course the logo is also his, one of his first and longest-lasting.

To sum up, I found Saladino lettering on the following covers: 309, 315-316, 318-320, 342, 356, 359-374, 377-381, 383-385, 387-394, 401, 403-412, 414-418, 420-422, Special 1, 3-6, 8-13, new series #14.

That’s a total of 71 covers. Other articles in this series and more you might like are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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GASPAR SALADINO in SENSATION COMICS

All images © DC Comics. From SENSATION COMICS #96, March-April 1950

SENSATION began in 1942 at All-American Comics with Wonder Woman as the lead feature, and had a long run there, and at National (DC) Comics when the two companies merged. But by 1950, interest in superheroes was waning, and sales were falling. DC editor Robert Kanigher was using other genres like romance and detectives to fill out the issues behind Wonder Woman hoping to attract new readers. Gaspar Saladino had been hired in late 1949 by DC editor Julius Schwartz to letter his comics, and Gaspar began lettering stories for Kanigher, Julie’s office-mate, around the same time. We can’t know what order the stories were done in, but this one was published at the same time as the story Gaspar said was his very first for ROMANCE TRAIL #5. The feature logo is probably by Ira Schnapp, who did all the covers for the issues I’m listing here. Gaspar’s balloon and caption lettering was good from the start, but his title lettering at the beginning was not so good. This example is okay, better than some, but rather bland. The elaborate scroll around the caption is interesting, but not well done, and seems to have extra unattached pieces at the sides. Gaspar’s lettering was off to a good start all the same, and both Schwartz and Kanigher used him as much as they could. He even worked at a drawing board in their office for a while.

From SENSATION COMICS #96, March-April 1950

Most story pages at the time had lots of lettering and were overwritten by today’s standards, which is why Saladino told me he felt he’d done a good day’s work if he finished nine of them during his eight hours in the office. He did what he could to make all that lettering more interesting. Note the subtle additions of jagged bottom edges to the captions in panels 4 and 5.

From SENSATION COMICS #97, May-June 1950

Another feature Gaspar lettered was Romance Inc. starring Ann Martin. At the beginning of the first caption, he’s done an open letter over a black brush shape, another of his style points, and there’s a jagged caption border too. These decorative additions weren’t required, but added interest to his work.

From SENSATION COMICS #99, Sept-Oct 1950

The title on this story is better and more interesting, and I also like the extra horizontal lines in the caption above it.

From SENSATION COMICS #99, Sept-Oct 1950

A science fiction feature began in this issue. Again, the feature logo is by Schnapp, the rest of the lettering is by Saladino. Though Kanigher was the book’s editor, Julius Schwartz was the science fiction fan, and he edited this feature. Sales were falling, and DC was willing to try anything to interest new readers.

From SENSATION COMICS #100, Nov-Dec 1950

Gaspar’s story title here is pretty good, using a script LOVE that he would turn to often in Kanigher’s romance comics, but the open W at the beginning of the caption does not read well. I don’t know who did the feature logo, it doesn’t really look like Schnapp, so perhaps it’s by Saladino.

From SENSATION COMICS #101, Jan-Feb 1951

Meanwhile, the Astra feature had lots of lettering, but also lots of Saladino extras like the sound effect, the organic border on the first caption, and the scroll border on the second. Gaspar had not yet begun doing jagged borders on broadcast balloons, in the last panel only the tails are jagged.

From SENSATION COMICS #102, March-April 1951

This story title shows Gaspar experimenting with different styles like circus lettering. I like the drop shadow on the second line, but why is it different on the Q and the exclamation mark?

From SENSATION COMICS #104, July-Aug 1951

By the time of this Astra story, Saladino was doing all jagged broadcast balloons, a style he might have seen in the comic strips “Terry and the Pirates” and “Steve Canyon” drawn by Milton Caniff and lettered by Frank Engli, who I think created that look. Indeed, Saladino’s style in general is similar to Engli’s even if he didn’t know it, as Engli was never credited.

From SENSATION COMICS #106, Nov-Dec 1951

The W at the beginning of this first caption is better, and the black brush shape behind it (really just an abstract shape made with sharp corners) is clearer than some earlier ones. The story title is again bland.

From SENSATION COMICS #107, Jan-Feb 1952

With this issue, Wonder Woman was gone and the book became what DC called a mystery anthology, relatively mild horror with science fiction or fantasy elements at times. Saladino’s story title is larger and more interesting than many of his previous efforts.

From SENSATION COMICS #107, Jan-Feb 1952

The new lead feature was Johnny Peril, a globe-trotting adventurer and explorer of weird mysteries. The feature logo is by Ira Schnapp, the rest is by Saladino. I like the title and the joined open sound effect.

From SENSATION COMICS #109, May-June 1952

This story of a man with other small men on his fingers uses an idea editor Julie Schwartz recycled for an issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA a decade later. The story title by Saladino is creative, and I like the drop shadow on FEAR, though the exclamation point looks like an afterthought.

[image error]From SENSATION MYSTERY #110, July-Aug 1952

With this issue the title changed to better reflect the contents, and this story has fine art by Murphy Anderson, recently hired by DC to work on science fiction stories for Schwartz’s STRANGE ADVENTURES. Saladino’s story title is large and impressive.

From SENSATION MYSTERY #112, Nov-Dec 1952

Johnny Peril continued as the lead feature, but the book never got much traction from this new direction and would soon end. I like this story title too.

From SENSATION MYSTERY #115, May-June 1953

Johnny Peril was perhaps too ordinary looking to attract buyers, even when he was on the cover, and couldn’t compete with superheroes.

From SENSATION MYSTERY #116, July-Aug 1953

His story in the final issue has fine Saladino lettering, including on the newspaper in the second panel. The character would appear in other comics, but never had much success.

To sum up, the details of Saladino’s story lettering are below.

#96 March-April 1950: Dr. Pat 10pp, Headline Heroines 4pp

#97 May-June 1950: Headline Heroines 4pp, Dr. Pat 10pp, Romance Inc. 10pp

#98 July-Aug 1950: Romance Inc. 10pp

#99 Sept-Oct 1950: Dr. Pat 10pp, Astra 6pp

#100 Nov-Dec 1950: Dr. Pat 10pp, Astra 8pp, Romance Inc. 8pp

#101 Jan-Feb 1951: Dr. Pat 10pp, Astra 8pp, Romance Inc. 8pp

#102 March-April 1951: Dr. Pat 8pp, Astra 8pp, Romance Inc. 8pp

#103 May-June 1951: Dr. Pat 8pp, Astra 8pp, Romance Inc. 8pp

#104 July-Aug 1951: Romance Inc. 8pp, Astra 8pp

#105 Sept-Oct 1951: Dr. Pat 8pp, Astra 8pp

#106 Nov-Dec 1951: Dr. Pat 6pp, Astra 8pp

#107 Jan-Feb 1952: Sinister Jack-In-The-Box 8pp, The Last Dream 8pp, Johnny Peril 8pp (hereafter JP)

#108 March-April 1952: The Wheel of Fate 8pp, JP 8pp, Sands of Doom 8pp

#109 May-June 1952: Fingers of Fear 8pp, The Beast that Walked Like a Man 8pp, The Ferry Was Waiting 2pp, JP 8pp

#110 July-Aug 1952: Nightmare Island 8pp, Vengeance of the Invisible Men 8pp, JP 8pp

#111 Sept-Oct 1952: The Spectre in the Flame 8pp, War of the Toy Soldiers 2pp, The Doorway to Evil 8pp, JP 8pp

#112 Nov-Dec 1952: JP 10pp, The Man Who Cried Werewolf 6pp, The Tattooed Terror 8pp

#113 Jan-Feb 1953: The Sea Girl 6pp, Lantern in the Rain 2pp, Legacy of Horror 8pp

#114 March-April 1953: JP 8pp, Beware After Dark 6pp

#115 May-June 1953: JP 8pp, Vengeance of the Sea King 6pp, The Half-Lucky Charm 4pp, The Giant in the Swamp 6pp

#116 July-Aug 1953: JP 8pp, The Phantom Enemy 6pp, The Census Taker 2pp, Dead Man’s Diary 6pp

That’s a total of 434 pages. Other articles in this series and more you might enjoy are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

The post GASPAR SALADINO in SENSATION COMICS appeared first on Todd's Blog.

GASPAR SALADINO in SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE

All images © DC Comics. From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #4, Oct-Nov 1975

This was a horror anthology similar to its predecessor SECRETS OF SINISTER HOUSE, but connected only through appearances by DC’s horror hosts like Eve, Destiny, and Abel. It ran to 1982 with 46 issues, many with cover lettering by Gaspar Saladino, though some covers had no lettering. Gaspar also did the logo. DC’s horror books, which they preferred to call “mystery” titles, were fairly tame compared to horror comics of the past, and had no trouble getting approval from the Comics Code Authority. They were often filled out with art from Phillippine artists, but were also a place for upcoming talent to try their storytelling skills. The series was cancelled for a while as part of the “DC Implosion” of late 1978, but returned the following year.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #15, Aug 1979

Gaspar’s top scroll caption touts the return of the series, though how much reader demand there was is unknown. My guess is that’s just hype. The bottom caption border is interesting, with a burst in one corner around the 3 and the rest in the style of ragged paper.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #18, Nov 1979

I think the top blurb here is by DC production man and letterer Joe Letterese carried over from a previous issue, the balloon and bottom caption are by Saladino. The two styles of display lettering in the caption work well together to convey atmosphere.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #20, Jan 1980

The editing had passed to Jack C. Harris, but Joe Orlando was still involved as the cover artist on this issue. Saladino’s balloon hits the right note.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #23, April 1980

Saladino’s caption just fills the available space here and adds to the drama.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #24, May 1980

The special balloon styles by Gaspar on this cover suggest that no one else can hear these ghostly/demonic characters. I’m not sure the magenta color hold on the letters is a good choice, but it does match the demon’s color scheme.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #27, Aug 1980

I love this Saladino caption, both the drippy shape of the border and the style of ISIS. Does the pun in the text help it or hurt it? Not sure.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #28, Sept 1980

The top banner by Gaspar was also used on other titles as DC increased the price and page count. The fine, expressive caption is also by him.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #37, June 1981

Both captions here have Saladino lettering, but I’m not sure who did the Mister E logo. I would have made the top caption larger, but the production person assembling the cover wanted to avoid covering the shrunken head in the background.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #41, Oct 1981

This Joe Kubert cover returns the book to its main theme perfectly. Gaspar’s large display lettering in the balloons adds drama that regular lettering would have missed.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #46, March 1982

The final issue features an unusual story title at the top by Saladino enhanced with texture but a bit hard to read. No matter, it still works once you get it.

From SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #41, Oct 1981

Saladino lettered only one three-page story for this book, first page above. Someone else lettered the Abel balloon at the top, probably added by the editor after the story was finished. Gaspar has done his credit his favorite way, just his first name in script.

To sum up, I found Saladino lettering on these covers: 4, 15, 18, 20, 23-25, 27-31, 34, 36-41, 43, 45-46. And, as I said, his story was three pages. More articles in this series and others you might like are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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GASPAR SALADINO in SECRET SIX and SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS

All images © DC Comics. From SECRET SIX #1, April-May 1968

These two titles begin with the same word but are otherwise unconnected, I’ve grouped them to get an article of the right size. The cover of SECRET SIX #1, above, is an odd one. At the top is a small logo by Ira Schnapp, one of his last. Then the story begins on the cover with lettering by Gaspar Saladino and what’s essentially a new logo by him as the story title. While he certainly did that, the rest of the issue wasn’t lettered by Saladino. Gaspar lettered the other six covers for this short series.

From SECRET SIX #2, June-July 1968

Here the Schnapp logo is larger but the rest of the cover lettering is by Gaspar. He used a dry brush for the word PLUNDER.

From SECRET SIX #3, Aug-Sept 1968

How to fit a story title onto this busy cover? Gaspar could have put it in the lower right corner, but his solution was more creative.

From SECRET SIX #4, Oct-Nov 1968

For lettering to appear carved into something, it generally needs to have shadows on the left and upper sides of the open letters, and that’s what Saladino did here except on the two small words where there wasn’t really room.

From SECRET SIX #7, April-May 1969

This burst word balloon has two levels of emphasis, one bolder than the other, and it adds to the drama. The final issue, but the Secret Six concept was revived in the 2000’s.

From THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #3, Sept-Oct 1976

Among comics with too-long titles is this one from 1976. At the time it was thought a villain could not sustain a regular series, but perhaps a team of them could. It worked for 15 issues. Saladino’s lettering is in the top banner, left of the logo, and of course in the word balloon and burst caption. He lettered several covers and one inside story.

From THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #4, Nov-Dec 1976

So, who else could these villains be up against? Jack Kirby’s Fourth World creations, of course. A turf war of galactic proportions. I particularly like Saladino’s banner caption at the bottom.

From THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #5, Jan-Feb 1977

DC’s regular heroes were also targets. Look at the burst outline on the blurb at lower right. Gaspar inked it and then added a second broken line to make it thicker and add texture.

From THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #9, Sept 1977

Gaspar’s display lettering is almost as important as the character art here, explaining the situation and making readers want to know more. CREEPER is his original logo, the rest is new.

From THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #11, Dec 1977

The layout of this cover is confusing, Saladino’s balloon helps make at least some sense of it.

From THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #7, May-June 1977

Here’s the one issue-length story lettered by Gaspar. This was just before letterers were allowed to add their own credit to stories, and the Grand Comics Database has this story credited to Clem Robins, but it’s definitely by Saladino.

To sum up, I found Saladino cover lettering on these issues:

SECRET SIX (1968): 1-7

THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS: 3-5, 9, 11

That’s twelve in all. The story shown above ran 17 pages. Other articles in this series and more you might like are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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Rereading: The GREEN KNOWE Novels by L. M. Boston

I’ve already posted reviews of the first two in this fine series published from 1954 to 1976, one of my favorites in the historical fantasy genre, and as a way of catching up on what I’ve read recently, I’m repeating those two along with reviews of the other four novels so I can cover the entire run. There are also a few short books for younger readers, which are great as well, but they don’t add anything much to the story as a whole, so won’t be covered here. The setting is an actual ancient manor house in Hemingford Grey, near Cambridge, England, where Boston and her son lived for many years.

As the first book opens we follow a young boy, Tolly, as he makes his way alone through England to visit a great-grandmother he doesn’t know in a very old house he’s never seen. He begins on a train splashing through sodden countryside in torrential rain that has everything flooded. Dropped off at a small station, the worried boy is met by a taxi hired to take him to the house, but the taxi can only go so far because of the flooding. All looks bleak until a boat appears rowed by Boggis, the groundskeeper, who brings the boy safely to the front door of the ancient stone house, where his great-grandmother is waiting with a comforting dinner and warm greeting. Mrs. Oldknow is not much larger than Tolly, and they get on famously. She shows him around the manor, which is full of wonders for a young boy, with a music room that looks like a knight’s dining hall and a bedroom for him under the roof eaves full of ancient family toys. It certainly seems like a place where interesting things can happen, and when Tolly asks his grandmother if they ever do, she replies, “Oh, yes.”

As Tolly will soon find out, the house, which has been in his family for hundreds of years, has other inhabitants. Children that lived there long ago and died of the plague, but whose spirits remain to fill the house and garden with their mischievous presence, their animal pets, and their teasing laughter. These are not ghosts to be afraid of for Tolly, they are playmates he wants desperately to meet and know better. And as Mrs. Oldknow can see them as well, she tells Tolly stories about the children in their own time, while Tolly gradually sees more and more of them in the present.

It’s just before Christmas, and throughout the book preparations are being made. Then there’s Boggis, the groundskeeper, who has more stories for Tolly, and the many secret features and treasures of the house and garden to explore. But there’s a shadow lying over the place, a spell cast by a gypsy ages ago that centers on a huge yew tree once trimmed into the shape of a Green Noah, now shunned and shaggy, but somehow very dangerous, as Tolly will find out. L.M. Boston’s writing is superb, magical itself, as she conjures up one evocative moment after another in this fine book, illustrated by her son Peter Boston, who did the same for the entire series.

In the second book, Tolly has again come to stay at the manor house with his Grandmother Oldknow, this time for the Easter holidays, an exciting prospect after the adventures of the previous Christmas holidays, where he met some of the ghost children that remain tied to the house. In these holidays, a different group of ghosts gradually make themselves known to Tolly, from a different time in the house’s history. They are from the time of Captain OldKnow, who owned the house in the late 1700s, though he was often away at sea. His daughter, Susan, was born blind, and she’s one of the spirits that Tolly meets, learning about her life and times through stories told by his great grandmother over the patchwork quilt she’s making in the evenings. The Captain’s wife and older son Sefton are in charge of the household when he is away on long sea voyages, and Susan’s life is often miserable, as she isn’t allowed to do or even touch anything, and is considered a helpless cripple by her family, except for her father. When the Captain is home, he encourages Susan to learn as much as she can, and to help her, he brings back from the West Indies a young black boy to be her personal helper. Jacob is unlettered, but also eager to learn, and the two of them are given lessons by a family friend. Everyone but the Captain think this is a waste of time, especially the head servant Caxton. He is a man with great ambition, and he’s drawn Sefton into shady activities and debt which he hopes will someday make him the owner of the house. 

The Captain’s trading voyages make him prosperous, and his wife is showered with rich gifts, including jewelry. Despite that, she and Sefton laugh at him behind his back as they keep busy attending society events and spending the Captain’s money frivolously. In time, though he is treated badly by everyone in the house but Susan and her tutor, Jacob learns much about the devious plans of Caxton, and does what he can to thwart them. Tolly is able to see and speak with Susan a few times, and even becomes a part of her own story. That story reaches a climax when the manor house catches fire and burns, while Susan is forgotten inside by everyone but Jacob. The treasure of the title is a real one hidden by Caxton before the fire, and lost for hundreds of years. Will Tolly find it? A fine story and an exciting plot make this a great read. Boston’s characters spring to life, and her writing is excellent.

This book has the same setting but different characters. Mrs. Oldknow has gone off on a trip with Tolly for the summer and rented her manor house to two older women, Dr. Maud Biggin, doing research on ancient inhabitants of Britain and her friend and cook Miss Sybilla Bun. When the two discover what a strange and wonderful place their rental is, they decide they need to share it with some children. They invite Dr. Maud’s granddaughter Ida to join them and also take in two refugee children, a boy, Ping, from Asia, and another boy, Oskar, from eastern Europe. These three children are given complete freedom to enjoy the house and surrounding area on their own as long as they show up for meals and don’t bother Dr. Maud’s research.

Soon the children have become friends, and they discover a canoe they can use to explore the river that runs past Green Knowe, and also around it in a moat. Their adventures often take place early in the morning before tourists and others are on the water, and those adventures are sometimes magical and always interesting. They decide to explore some of the many small islands in the river, and discover an ancient helmet, a long abandoned house hidden by trees, and a hermit who was once a bus driver, and who has been living secretly on his island, unknown to all. Then there are the magical encounters with flying horses, a real giant, and more. The children are sure Dr. Maud would be thrilled to know about the giant, as it’s right in her line of research, but when they leave her a clue, things don’t work out so well. As always, the writing is wonderful.

This may be the most meaningful book in the series, a story about how man treats wild animals with cruelty to make a profit, and it won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in 1961, but it’s also my least favorite because it’s so sad.

The book begins in Africa, where we follow a family of gorillas in their native habitat, getting to know a young gorilla and his parents as they navigate the dangers and rewards of their lives. Then they become the targets of hunters trying to capture wild animals for zoos. The gorillas try to escape, but eventually young Hanno’s parents are killed, and he is shipped off to a zoo in London, where he is terribly unhappy. Ping, the Asian refugee from the previous book, meets Hanno at the zoo and they make some kind of connection that Ping doesn’t quite understand.

Ping is in a refugee school, and would love to return to Green Knowe for his holidays. He writes to Mrs. Oldknow about his adventures there, and she is touched and invites him to stay with her. Ping is thrilled, and they soon become friends. Meanwhile, Hanno escapes from the zoo, and after eluding a massive pursuit, makes his way by coincidence to a bamboo jungle on the grounds of Green Knowe. There he and Ping become reacquainted, and though it’s scary for Ping, he wants to help the gorilla, whose story is in all the newspapers. Hanno accepts Ping’s help in his own way, but how long he can survive in the bamboo patch is what worries Ping the most. Eventually he must get help from Mrs. Oldknow to protect Hanno, but will it be enough?

The series returns to Tolly and his grandmother at Green Knowe with this book, but Ping is also there too, and he and Tolly are now friends and have adventures together. Mrs. Oldknow tells them stories about a time in the past when Green Knowe was the home of Dr. Vogel, a man doing research into witchcraft and ancient books of magic until he came to a bad end. Soon the boys and Mrs. Oldknow meet Melanie Powers, a present day researcher into the same subject, who is obsessed with finding an ancient book about magic once owned by Dr. Vogel which she thinks must still be somewhere in the manor house. Though Mrs. Oldknow denies it, Melanie continues to harass them, renting the house next door, and constantly appearing when they don’t want her. Tolly and Ping discover that she is a witch herself, and there’s no doubt about her evil intentions, as she begins to send a series of plagues to Green Knowe. How can the boys and an old woman protect themselves from such insidious evil? Maybe the house itself has some answers.

The final book of the series was written after a long pause of years, but it’s one of the best, as it takes us back to the building of the manor house in 1120 A.D. We meet Roger, son of the landowner, who is overseeing the building of their fine new home next to a much smaller and simpler one. Roger enjoys meeting all the workmen, each with their special tasks, and also enjoys their many stories. One is about some ancient standing stones across the river that are said to have strange power, which the workmen are happy to stay away from, but Roger is intrigued, and goes out on his horse to find them. When he does, he discovers the stones do have an amazing power to bring him into the future, where he meets children from the other books, in their own times, and some of those children also come to his time. In this way, many of the characters and storylines are woven together in a satisfying way, and there are new mysteries that can only be solved by Roger using the magic stones.

I love this entire series and recommend it highly. The writing is a joy, the characters are memorable and appealing, and the setting is perhaps the best of any fantasy series because it’s real. My wife Ellen and I were able to visit the Manor around 2001, and I’ll never forget the tour of the house and grounds. You can still do so today.

Green Knowe series

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GASPAR SALADINO in SECRET ORIGINS

All images © DC Comics. From SECRET ORIGINS #1, Feb-March 1973

The first DC Comics title with this name was a 1961 annual-sized one-shot. It was a hit, and the idea continued in other titles. In 1973, the company tried it as a regular title, and Gaspar Saladino lettered a few of the covers. The logo is by Schnapp from the 1961 version. The blurb above it is hand-lettered by Saladino, though the thin letters suggest the reverse white-on-black photostat wasn’t done well. Gaspar also lettered the blurb at bottom left. This series lasted seven issues.

From SECRET ORIGINS #2, April-May 1973

On this cover Gaspar lettered the large names above the wide panels, the rest is typeset.

From SECRET ORIGINS #5, Nov-Dec 1973

These were all reprinted stories, and here Gaspar had more to do explaining the three images. As always, his scary lettering is effective and adds to the drama.

From SECRET ORIGINS #6, Jan-Feb 1974

On this cover Saladino lettered the flag in the top image and I think also did his own version of the Blackhawk logo in the lower one. It’s not curved as much as the regular logo, which probably wouldn’t have worked here.

From SECRET ORIGINS #1, April 1986

In 1986, editor/writer Roy Thomas brought back the idea in a new series, but this time with newly written stories and art, and it was popular enough to last until 1990 with 50 issues. Generally it was a mix of long-running DC characters and new ones, sometimes one of each in an issue. Gaspar Saladino lettered some of the covers and also several stories for the book. The top logo is by Alex Jay, and this Superman logo is by the Milton Glaser studio, but Saladino did THE GOLDEN AGE and the blurb below the logo. It’s interesting to realize that Gaspar started at DC in 1949 when it was still technically in its Golden Age, and even lettered stories featuring the original Justice Society of America back then.

From SECRET ORIGINS #2, May 1986

This cover shows how the series often tied a Golden Age character with a newer version. Gaspar’s blurb at the bottom plays up the number 2.

From SECRET ORIGINS #4, July 1986

On the other hand, this character began in 1978, and I lettered his first appearance. Gaspar’s scroll caption is curved, though the lettering is not, but it works fine.

From SECRET ORIGINS #6, Sept 1986

The theme of two origins per issue is made the regular plan here, usually one from the past and one from the near present. In addition to the center blurb, Gaspar lettered the creator credits.

From SECRET ORIGINS #9, Dec 1986

Roy Thomas used this book to not only retell old stories but create new ones, as here. Gaspar does a new logo for Skyman as part of his cover lettering.

From SECRET ORIGINS #14, MAY 1987

Gaspar’s burst at upper left is about all the lettering there was room for on this cover.

From SECRET ORIGINS #16, July 1987

‘Mazing Man’s entry inside was just a single page, but Gaspar’s burst blurb sells it well.

From SECRET ORIGINS #22, Jan 1988

Some DC characters had several versions to explain, as here. Gaspar’s caption should have been a bit larger to read well.

From SECRET ORIGINS #29, Aug 1988

The banner at the bottom is mostly Saladino lettering, including new logo versions for both characters.

From SECRET ORIGINS #10, Jan 1987

Gaspar lettered five stories for the book beginning with this one teaming him with artist Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. The title is intriguing and the balloons work well.

From SECRET ORIGINS #27, June 1988

For this issue, Saladino lettered two stories featuring Zatanna. The title of this one is stylish and fresh, while the rectangular balloons make readers curious to know more.

From SECRET ORIGINS #32, Nov 1988

This story page about the Martian Manhunter has great sound effects and display lettering. In the third panel a lettering correction on the second balloon was begun but not finished, moving the tail to the right side but unconnected and leaving a gap where it had been before.

From SECRET ORIGINS #50, Aug 1990

In the final issue Gaspar was reunited with his friend artist Carmine Infantino for a story they probably both enjoyed. Gaspar’s SPACE MUSEUM in the story title is better than what was used on the original stories.

To sum up, I found Saladino lettering on these covers:

SECRET ORIGINS (1973): 1-2, 5-6

SECRET ORIGINS (1986): 1-2, 4-6, 9, 14, 16, 22, 29, Annual 1

That’s 15 in all. Below are the details on his story lettering.

#10 Jan 1987: And Men Shall Call Him Stranger 10pp

#27 June 1988: Zatara and Zatanna 15pp, Zatanna 13pp

#32 Nov 1988: Justice League of America 38pp

#50 Aug 1990: Space Museum 9pp

That’s 85 pages in all. More articles in this series and others you might like are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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GASPAR SALADINO in SECRET HEARTS

All images © DC Comics. From SECRET HEARTS #25, Dec 1954-Jan 1955

With the success of GIRLS’ LOVE STORIES, DC Comics editor Robert Kanigher soon launched this second romance title. It remained bimonthly for several years, suggesting it didn’t sell as well, but it lasted from 1949 to 1971, running 153 issues, successful enough. When Gaspar Saladino was hired by editor Julius Schwartz to letter his comics in late 1949, Saladino was soon also the regular letterer for the titles edited by Kanigher, Julie’s office mate. Gaspar did not dominate this title as much as some others edited by Kanigher, he lettered about half the stories from issues 4 to 20, but Ira Schnapp also lettered some, and Schnapp gradually took over as the main letterer on this title. Later Saladino did both lettering and art for a series of one and two-page fashion fillers, more on that below. Schnapp was the main cover letterer for many years, but Gaspar filled in for him at times, more in the later years of Schnapp’s employment at DC, and when Ira was retired in 1968, Saladino took over all the cover lettering on this book. Above is his first fill-in, with balloon lettering that seems a bit stiff, and a caption where Gaspar is trying to imitate Schnapp. It took him a while to get comfortable with cover lettering. I’ll look at his covers first, then stories.

From SECRET HEARTS #38, Feb-March 1957

On this second fill-in, Gaspar is still trying to imitate Ira in the caption, but the balloon is looser and more in his own style, wider and more angular than Schnapp.

From SECRET HEARTS #97, July 1964

Jumping ahead a few years, Saladino is no longer trying to imitate Schnapp, just going with his own styles. Still a bit stiff, but improving. The narrative caption at lower right is interesting, something that comics would turn to on a regular basis in the 1980s.

From SECRET HEARTS #109, Jan 1966

Lots of Saladino lettering on this cover, and he’s definitely going his own way now, with lettering that feels more confident. The treatment of LOVE in the bottom caption is one he would often use.

From SECRET HEARTS #113, July 1966

Again, this lettering is looser and more confident, with Saladino using several different styles that work well together in the captions.

From SECRET HEARTS #121, July 1967

By this time, Gaspar was working under a new mandate from Editorial Director Carmine Infantino to revamp and revitalize DC’s design presence on logos, covers and house ads, though Ira Schnapp was still doing some of them. The somewhat rectangular word balloon was something he was trying at the time.

From SECRET HEARTS #128, June 1968

With this issue, Saladino became the regular cover letterer for the rest of the series. His square display lettering dominates, though he also did some appealing script styles.

From SECRET HEARTS #131, Oct 1968

The script made with a wedge-tipped pen at the top of this cover is excellent, showing that Gaspar had mastered that style. The reversed balloons are odd, but do grab attention. The word balloon is nearly a rectangle, and why are the tail bubbles from the thought balloon not black with white outlines? A strange choice made by the DC production person who assembled the cover and reversed the balloons.

From SECRET HEARTS #134, March 1969

A rare round caption from Gaspar filled with appealing display lettering, as are the balloons. He’s hit his stride.

From SECRET HEARTS #137, July 1969

A new Saladino logo adds interest to this cover, as does more large display lettering in the balloons.

From SECRET HEARTS #143, April 1970

The heart shape of the logo made top blurbs more difficult, but Saladino sometimes curved them to fit perfectly.

From SECRET HEARTS #153, July 1971

By the final issue type was being used in cover captions, but Saladino still lettered the balloons, part of the top blurb, and the sign. Times had changed, and readers for this kind of material were dwindling.

From SECRET HEARTS #4, March-April 1950

The publication date of this first Saladino story matches the one Gaspar remembered as his very first for DC, in ROMANCE TRAIL #5, making this a very early effort. His balloon and caption lettering were great from the start. If this story title is meant to be carved into the tree, it doesn’t work, but the letter shapes are fine. I also like the small scroll behind the open letter N in the caption.

From SECRET HEARTS #4, March-April 1950

Many of the pages were overwritten with too much lettering, like this one, which is why Gaspar told me he felt he’d done a good day’s work to finish nine of them. He worked at the DC offices his first few years, first sitting in the production room next to Ira Schnapp, then at a drawing board in the office shared by editors Kanigher and Schwartz.

From SECRET HEARTS #5, May-June 1950

The decorative first letter in the top caption here is clip art, also used on other early Saladino stories. The variety of display lettering in the title and first panel shows Gaspar beginning to explore different styles.

From SECRET HEARTS #6, July-Aug 1950

The first caption on this page is unusual, with a scroll at one end and a decorative shape at the other. Gaspar’s sound effects were already large and effective.

From SECRET HEARTS #6, July-Aug 1950

Early DC romance titles had few paid ads, and inside covers were sometimes filled by illustrated poems like this one with Saladino lettering.

From SECRET HEARTS #8, Feb-March 1952

Gaspar’s lettering is larger and more confident on this page, with a nice banner caption at the top.

From SECRET HEARTS #9, April-May 1952

Here the title is larger and OTHER uses dry brush, a technique Gaspar excelled at. The caption begins with a characteristic open letter over a black brush shape.

From SECRET HEARTS #17, Aug-Sept 1953

More fine title work on this page, and the thought balloon lettering is now slanted.

From SECRET HEARTS #28, June-July 1955

It took him a while, but Gaspar finally found an open script style for titles that worked well for him.

From SECRET HEARTS #34, June-July 1956

By 1956, Saladino’s story lettering on this title had nearly stopped except for short fashion features. This is the first of those, an outlier.

From SECRET HEARTS #61, Feb 1960

Starting with this issue, Romance In Fashion became a regular feature with lettering and art by Saladino. I’ve written more about that HERE. To summarize, Gaspar had tried to become a fashion design artist before joining DC, and his skill at that led to these pages, where he used a dry brush style on the art that gave it a unique look.

From SECRET HEARTS #65, Aug 1960

Occasionally they ran to double page spreads like this one. The figure work was very stylized, but the Saladino lettering is familiar.

From SECRET HEARTS #81, Aug 1962

Gaspar returned to lettering stories occasionally in the 1960s as well. For some reason this one’s opening caption is by Ira Schnapp, the title and remaining story lettering is by Saladino. Perhaps Ira was given the story but couldn’t get to it, so Gaspar took it on.

From SECRET HEARTS #106, Sept 1965

Later examples of Romance In Fashion used ideas from readers, as the bottom caption asks for here. This made things easier for everyone, and involved readers, always a good thing.

From SECRET HEARTS #125, Jan 1968

In later years, this title featured a long-running soap opera series with most chapters lettered by Ira Schnapp and others, but Gaspar did this one, though the title is by Schnapp. Parts of this busy recap page were reused in many later chapters.

From SECRET HEARTS #133, Jan 1969

Another fashion feature replaced Romance in Fashion. Most were drawn and lettered by others, Gaspar lettered this one except for the Schnapp title.

To sum up, I found Saladino lettering on these covers: 25, 38, 97, 109, 113, 121, 125-126, 128-153. That’s a total of 34. Below are the details of Gaspar’s story lettering.

#4 March-April 1950: You Only Love Once 10pp

#5 May-June 1950: Wake Up And Love 8pp, Just 24 Hours Ago 8pp, Masquerading Heart 8pp

#6 July-Aug 1950: Dreamer’s Return 8pp, Ring of Silence 10pp, Sweethearts’ Serenade 1pp

#8 Feb-March 1952: Heartbreak Hour 7pp, Romantic Quotes, The Kiss 1pp

#9 April-May 1952: The Other Woman 8pp, I Lied for Love 8pp

#10 June-July 1952: Love Against Time 8pp, Stolen Romance 8pp, Romantic Quotes, Courtship 1pp

#11 Aug-Sept 1952: Be My Own 7pp, Five Faces of Love 9pp, Romantic Quotes, Lovely Lips 1pp

#14 Feb-March 1953: Heart of Glass 8pp, Threatened Love 7pp

#16 June-July 1953: Wedding Wish 8pp, Love By Mistake 6pp, Unhappy Choice 8pp

#17 Aug-Sept 1953: Too Much In Love 8pp, Here Is My Heart 6pp, Love Was the Prize 8pp

#18 Oct-Nov 1953: I Chose Heartbreak 7pp, Love Must Find a Way 8pp

#19 Dec 1953-Jan 1954: Ornamental Sweetheart 8pp, Love is Dangerous 7pp, Wait for Tomorrow 6pp

#20 Feb-March 1954: Tragic Visit 6pp, Winter Romance 8pp

#21 April-May 1954: Love Is Not Forever 8pp

#22 June-July 1954: Love Turned Away 8pp

#24 Oct-Nov 1954: The Last Dance 8pp

#25 Dec 1954-Jan 1955: Stormy Love 8pp

#26 Feb-March 1955: Hopeless Journey 8pp

#28 June-July 1955: Distant Love 8pp

#34 June-July 1956: Fashion’s Designs on You 2pp, Runaway Heart 8pp

#61 Feb 1960: Romance in Fashion 1pp

#63 May 1960: Romance in Fashion 1pp

#65 Aug 1960: Romance in Fashion 2pp

#70 April 1961: Romance in Fashion 1pp

#76 Jan 1962: Romance in Fashion 1pp

#78 April 1962: Romance in Fashion 1pp

#80 July 1962: Romance in Fashion 1pp

#81 Aug 1962: Prescription for Love 8pp

#85 Jan 1963: Romance in Fashion 1pp

#96 June 1964: Romance in Fashion 1pp, 1pp

#106 Sept 1965: Romance in Fashion 2pp

#107 Oct 1965: Romance in Fashion 1pp

#108 Dec 1965: Romance in Fashion 1pp

#109 Jan 1966: Romance in Fashion 1pp

#125 Jan 1968: Reach for Happiness Episode 16 16pp

#133 Jan 1969: Mad Mad Modes for Moderns 2pp

#139 Oct 1969: Not That Kind of Girl 7pp, Hide from Love 13pp

That’s 340 pages in all. Other articles in this series and more you might like are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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GASPAR SALADINO in SEA DEVILS

All images © DC Comics. From SEA DEVILS #24, July-Aug 1965

After writing war stories about World War Two frogmen soldiers, writer/editor Robert Kanigher created this underwater adventure team with artist Russ Heath and enlisted his favorite letterer, Gaspar Saladino to join them. Gaspar lettered all the inside stories featuring the team through issue #15 when the editorial reins were handed to George Kashdan, who brought in his own creators including letterer Stan Starkman. The series lasted to issue 35 in 1967 and Saladino lettered two covers in that later part of the run, filling in for Ira Schnapp, who also designed the logo. The first is above. The display lettering in the top caption is surprisingly thin for him perhaps to get the words in without crowding.

[image error]From SEA DEVILS #30, July-Aug 1966

You can see from this cover that sales must have been dropping and the editor was trying any trick to gain readers. Gorilla covers were thought to sell well, no matter how unlikely one was underwater. Saladino’s top caption is more substantial this time.

From SEA DEVILS #1, Sept-Oct 1961

The first page of the first issue features Heath’s exciting and realistic art, and Gaspar’s equally exciting story title. As usual, he did his own version of the character logo in it rather than having Ira’s pasted in.

From SEA DEVILS #2, Nov-Dec 1961

This short feature appeared in a few early issues with Saladino lettering. Since the Sea Devils name is on it, I count it as a story for them. The lettering over color lines is surprisingly readable.

From SEA DEVILS #3, Jan-Feb 1962

As was typical for Kanigher, his stories played fast and loose with characters from mythology, anything to make a good story. I like the display lettering in the last panel. and look at that incredibly long tail of bubbles on the thought balloon that has to run outside the panel.

From SEA DEVILS #5, May-June 1962

Many stories used the Schnapp cover logo at the top, but I find Gaspar’s story title more interesting. He left a letter out of the sound effect at the bottom, which many readers probably didn’t notice. Certainly the editor and proofreader didn’t.

From SEA DEVILS #11, May-June 1963

Book-length stories began with issue #6, something few DC titles were doing at the time. I love the headquarters sign by Gaspar in the first panel, though of course the flipper shapes are by Heath.

From SEA DEVILS #13, Sept-Oct 1963

Heath must have left the book with issue #12, and for the next three issues other artists were given tryouts, sometimes more than one per issue, all under the guise of a “Readers’ Poll,” also a way to get readers involved. Gaspar had a lot to do on this page. Each of the three chapters is by a different artist.

[image error]From SEA DEVILS #15, Jan-Feb 1964

One odd feature of these issues is that the artists themselves appeared in them, as with Irv Novick here. I don’t know who was declared the winner of the Readers’ Poll, but new editor Kashdan didn’t seem to use any of the contestants.

To sum up, I found Saladino lettering on two covers: 24 and 30. Below are the details of his story lettering. All stories feature the Sea Devils.

#1 Sept-Oct 1961: 13pp, 12pp

#2 Nov-Dec 1961: 12pp, 2pp, 13pp

#3 Jan-Feb 1962: 13pp, 1pp, 12pp

#4 March-April 1962: 13pp, 12pp

#5 May-June 1962: 19pp, 7pp

#6 July-Aug 1962: 25pp

#7 Sept-Oct 1962: 25pp

#8 Nov-Dec 1962: 25pp

#9 Jan-Feb 1963: 25pp

#10 March-April 1963: 25pp

#11 May-June 1963: 25pp

#12 July-Aug 1963: 25pp

#13 Sept-Oct 1963: 8pp, 8pp, 8pp

#14 Nov-Dec 1963: 12pp, 13pp

#15 Jan-Feb 1964: 25pp

That’s a total of 377 pages. Other articles in this series and more you might like are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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GASPAR SALADINO in SANDMAN & SHADOW

All images © DC Comics. From THE SANDMAN #1, Dec 1974

In this article I’ve combined several titles that have no common element except cover lettering by Gaspar Saladino. THE SANDMAN, above, was a short-lived title from Joe Simon and Jack Kirby based loosely on a character they’d worked on together in the 1940s at DC. Gaspar did the logo, the top blurb, and the balloon. I like his style on HORRIBLE DREAMS. It was used again on issue #2.

From THE SANDMAN #4, Aug-Sept 1975

For issues 2 and 3 the interior art was not by Jack Kirby, but he returned for this and the remaining two issues, as noted in Saladino’s blurb, which I think is meant to be an artist’s palette, but the shape is wrong for that.

From THE SANDMAN #6, Dec 1975-Jan 1976

In the final issue, Gaspar’s word balloon declares him dead, and this version of the character was, except for a brief return in the later Neil Gaiman series of the same name.

From THE SHADOW #2, Dec 1973-Jan 1974

Around the same time, DC gained the rights to publish comics about the popular radio and pulp magazine character The Shadow with some issues having great art by Michael W. Kaluta, as above. Gaspar did the caption in fine pulp style.

From THE SHADOW #3, Feb-March 1974

Only the first line of the bottom caption is by Saladino on this cover, the second line is headline type, as is the blurb over the logo.

From THE SHADOW #10, April-May 1975

The scary blurb on this cover is also by Gaspar, I like the creative nesting of the two L’s in KILLER. That’s the extent of his work on this twelve-issue book.

From THE SHADOW STRIKES #20, June 1991

A later series featuring the character had just one cover lettered by Saladino, and he did a fine job on it, with impressive choices on the title and the creator credits.

From SHADOW OF THE BATMAN #1, Dec 1985

I’m sneaking in one more “shadow” title, this was a five issue series reprinting fan favorite Batman stories from the 1970s. Each had a wraparound cover with lettering on the front and back by Saladino. This is the only one for which I found a good image of the full cover, which unfortunately makes the lettering too small to see well.

From SHADOW OF THE BATMAN #5, April 1986

Here’s just the front cover of issue #5, giving a better look at the fine scroll caption.

To sum up, I found Saladino lettering on these covers:

THE SANDMAN (1974): 1, 4, 6

THE SHADOW: 2-3, 10

THE SHADOW STRIKES: 20

SHADOW OF THE BAT: 1-5

That’s 12 in all. More articles in this series and others you might enjoy are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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