Baker Romance 43 43

[JvR11]

This is a good read for you...

 

http://www.comicartville.com/archerstjohn.htm

 

According to this, St. John bought the majority of Ziff Davis inventory for $50,000.

[GGA_Fan]

Thanks for that link. It was an astonishingly riveting read and was chock-full of vital information pertaining to St. John Publishing and Matt Baker.

 

Here's some key quotes from ComicArtVillie's article that pertain to this issue

 

(In regards to Publishers establishing imprints) The prior reasoning which was a dodge around war mandated paper shortages, no longer applied. Michael Feldman explained a likely scenario:

"...shifting titles from publishing name to another was a strategy to keep each company below a tax level plateau. A company earning $100,000 might have to pay at a 30% rate, but two earning $50,000 only paid 20%, and so on."

 

The comic industry was in a constant state of flux and fortunately for St. John, they were the beneficiary of the Ziff-Davis company’s withdrawal (for the most part) from comic book publishing. In what was apparently an effort to increase their newsstand presence, St. John purchased the majority of the Ziff-Davis inventory for the bargain price of $50,000. Late in 1952, former Ziff-Davis titles such as Kid Cowboy, The Hawk and Nightmare began appearing under the St. John imprint. Indeed, the only way a reader could tell that it was a St. John and not a Ziff-Davis comic is by the appearance of the eagle and banner emblem on the cover. To add to the confusion, St. John also published a (basically) reprint line under the blanket title of Approved Comics. Ziff-Davis had also used this name in 1951-52 as a surrogate company name on some of their own comics. 1958- In an ironic twist, Charlton’s acquisition of certain titles like Fightin’ Marines and Fago’s purchase of Atom-Age Combat for his own imprint, were reminiscent of St. John’s own raid of the Ziff-Davis inventory just a few years before.

 

The New York Times article of August 14, 1955 reads...PUBLISHER FOUND DEAD, Archer St. John Succumbs in Friend's Penthouse. His son Michael replaced him as publisher. The death of the comic line, for all intentions, came soon after.

 

Matt Baker was still doing freelance work for St. John (and Flying Eagle) well into 1955. Indeed, the premiere issue of Nugget contains what are probably the first published Baker illustrations of female nudes. Nevertheless, by ‘54, for all intentions, he had already moved on to other publishers. Quality Comics was one of his clients, as was Dell where he and his longtime inker Osrin drew 3 issues of Lassie.

 

The last few years of his life, Baker worked on various Timely/ Atlas comics with Vince Colletta, whose inks often rendered Baker’s pencils unrecognizable. As detailed in Alter Ego #47, Baker tragically died far too young from heart disease in 1959.

 

Here's a complex breakdown of St. John acquisitions and imprints:

Chesler--->St. John Link

St. John ---> Jubilee Publications (- imprint)

St. John ---> Blue Ribbon (a one-title published - imprint)

St. John ---> Flying Eagle (Pulps - imprint)

Ziff Davis--->St. John (purchased the majority of the Ziff-Davis inventory?)

Fago Publications ---> St. John

 

It will take some time for me to reflect on all that I've just consumed, in order for me to formulate final conclusions. Did anyone else find this info enlightening?

 

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[GGA_Fan]

The comic industry was in a constant state of flux and fortunately for St. John, they were the beneficiary of the Ziff-Davis company’s withdrawal (for the most part) from comic book publishing. In what was apparently an effort to increase their newsstand presence, St. John purchased the majority of the Ziff-Davis inventory for the bargain price of $50,000.

 

If I can interpret this, I would say that Ziff-Davis and St. John still remained two separate entities, with St. John taking control of the following titles:

Romantic Marriage, Kid Cowboy, The Hawk, Wild Boy of the Congo and Cinderella Love

 

Now the real value to St. John for their $50,000 probably was not those 6 titles per say, but rather the EXTRA six positions that they would expend on the newsstands themselves, that were normally reserved for ZD Comics. That gave St. John much more visibility in a highly competitive market.

 

I'd love to know much more of the actual details surrounding such 'Inventory' acquisitions. Does anyone know what ever happened to Michael St. John son of Archer? I imagine he could reveal many interesting facts and details surrounding his Father's acquisitions of Z-D inventory, as well as many more stories from Comicdom's glory days.

 

 

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[mstrange]

Good read (thumbs u

[Scrooge]

Why don't you contact Ken? He is super-nice and can answer your further questions. His email is at the end of the article and you should check out his blog: The Comic Detective at http://thecomicsdetective.blogspot.com/

 

Also, check out Alter Ego 77 (May 2008) where Ken expanded (I believe) on the version posted at ComicArtVille. When I first read the info dug by Ken several years ago, I was as floored by the wealth of info he found as you are today. Welcome ... even if you're a little late

[JvR11]

The comic industry was in a constant state of flux and fortunately for St. John, they were the beneficiary of the Ziff-Davis company’s withdrawal (for the most part) from comic book publishing. In what was apparently an effort to increase their newsstand presence, St. John purchased the majority of the Ziff-Davis inventory for the bargain price of $50,000.

 

If I can interpret this, I would say that Ziff-Davis and St. John still remained two separate entities, with St. John taking control of the following titles:

Romantic Marriage, Kid Cowboy, The Hawk, Wild Boy of the Congo and Cinderella Love

 

Now the real value to St. John for their $50,000 probably was not those 6 titles per say, but rather the EXTRA six positions that they would expend on the newsstands themselves, that were normally reserved for ZD Comics. That gave St. John much more visibility in a highly competitive market.

 

I'd love to know much more of the actual details surrounding such 'Inventory' acquisitions. Does anyone know what ever happened to Michael St. John son of Archer? I imagine he could reveal many interesting facts and details surrounding his Father's acquisitions of Z-D inventory, as well as many more stories from Comicdom's glory days.

 

 

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Michael St. John would indeed be a great interview to read but he doesn't want anything to really do with comics or discussing his time in the industry. The closest you'll get to an interview is in the John Benson book Confessions, Romances, Secrets and Temptations. This is a must have book for anyone wanting to know more on St. John. There are lots of great interviews inside. I would have loved to see more on Ruth Roche and Marion McDermott but there is little known about these two ladies.

Michael does say in his interview that a lot of the materials from St. John perished in a water break in his basement.

 

[GGA_Fan]

Michael St. John would indeed be a great interview to read but he doesn't want anything to really do with comics or discussing his time in the industry. The closest you'll get to an interview is in the John Benson book Confessions, Romances, Secrets and Temptations. This is a must have book for anyone wanting to know more on St. John. There are lots of great interviews inside. I would have loved to see more on Ruth Roche and Marion McDermott but there is little known about these two ladies.

Michael does say in his interview that a lot of the materials from St. John perished in a water break in his basement.

 

Fascinating. I was actually trying to find Michael St. John via Google, in Chicago Il. yesterday. I don't know why he wouldn't embrace the treasured history behind his father's company. That indeed would be a great interview that would interest many collectors. McDermott, the art director would be another wicked interview. Does anyone have any contact information for these two? Maybe, this would be a good job for THE Comic Detective (that Scrooge was eluding to).

 

I'd like to see Michael's basement to see anything related to St. John, it's artists (especially Baker), it's history (receipts, stats, paste-ups, logo designs, correspondences, and most of all, any original artwork). If he has a cache of St. John Comics' odds & ends, along with knowledge of his Dad and Matt Baker, I'd love to correspond with him. I don't care if his stash of St. Johns artifacts is water-damaged. Including his recollections, it's all part of GA Comicdom, and nothing like that should ever be lost forever.

[Scrooge]

Here's a book I picked up at B-Con.

 

Baker or not Baker?? - Btw, Wild Boy is one of those titles that jumped from Ziff-Davis to St John.

 

[comicnoir]

Baker!

[GGA_Fan]

Baker or not Baker?? - Btw, Wild Boy is one of those titles that jumped from Ziff-Davis to St John.

 

Overstreet credits issue Wild Boy of The Congo #11 (as pictured above) as a Baker cover. It certainly is an incredible drawing. At first glance, I could not say if it was or wasn't Baker's, since I cannot see significant divulging characteristics or Baker-hallmarks within it for me to make an immediate or absolute connection to his work.

 

But, if anyone had time, they can, by process of elimination of capable artists within the St. John pool of in-house artists, be able to rule out everyone else, which could ultimately lead right back to Matt Baker.

 

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[Cimm]

That's a Baker tiger, IMO.

[GGA_Fan]

Hi Cimm! If Cimm thinks it's a Baker tiger, then that's enough to influence my vote too. Baker!

[seank]

Baker pencils, but probably not inks is my thought. The way Wambi is standing is either Baker or someone influenced by him.

[Doohickamabob]

Okay, so who was the lucky person who won this lot?

 

AWESOME ROMANCE LOT

 

There are at least 4 Baker romance comics in this lot, plus a really hard-to-get EC romance comic. I figure the winning bidder has to be one of you diligent Baker collectors.

[29dukedog]

I'm one of those diligent Baker collectors, but I didn't go after that lot. Those particular St. John/Baker issues are not especially hard to find... (well, ok... the Teen-Age Temptations 7 doesn't come around as often as the other three in the lot.)

[JvR11]

I thought this TT8 went really cheap considering an F just sold for $537 on Heritage. I would have bid on it if I would have thought it was going that cheap even though I already have one. I think the guy might have done better with a BIN.

 

Here's another one that is currently up for sale:

 

Current TT8

 

 

 

Edited October 15, 2010 by JvR11

[JvR11]

New Addition

 

Also, if anyone is interested in Lorna Doone OA, I have a couple of pieces up for sale in the OA section.

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4331867#Post4331867

 

 

 

[Doohickamabob]

New Addition

 

That's one of Baker's best in my opinion, even if there isn't any text about how the woman will "do anything to hold [Richard]."

[turtleboy23]

Is that the one from the HA auction? looks great.

[JvR11]

Yes, I've been looking for a decent copy for awhile. This one rarely comes around. The TLP11 was also pretty nice too.