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A Month in the Life of the Comics
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670 posts in this topic

# 133

 

Love Adventures # 9 -

Going Steady Splash - Possibly by Hartley?

1201464-LoveAdventures9Story1s.jpg

 

Going Steady Page -

1201464-LoveAdventures9Story1Pages.jpg

 

That story is not by Hartley but by Mike Sekowsky.

 

# 134 and # 135

 

# 134

 

Love At First Sight # 14

 

1268144-LoveatFirstSight14s.jpg

 

Content:

Competition for Melissa by ? 7 pgs

Rebound Kisses by ? 8 pgs

Husband by Inheritance by ? 7 pgs

The Dangerous Kind by ? 8 pgs

 

Competition for Melissa Splash -

 

1268144-LoveatFirstSight14Story1s.jpg

 

Rebound Kisses Splash -

 

1268144-LoveatFirstSight14Story2s.jpg

 

Husband by Inheritance Splash -

 

1268144-LoveatFirstSight14Story3s.jpg

 

The Dangerous Kind Splash -

 

1268144-LoveatFirstSight14Story4s.jpg

 

To be honest, this issue of Love at First Sight is typical of most of Ace's output from the period: forgetable (and largely forgotten). I know I have an uphill battle convincing people to give a shot at Western books and even more so for Romance books. This particular book is ideal fodder for my oppisition. The art is pedestrian (while serviceable to the stories) and that gets compounded by insipid and predictable stories. A real sleeping.gif of a book. I don't think I was able to finish it!

 

The series was successful enough to comprise of 43 issues according to the GCD. The book ran from October 1949 to November 1956.

 

Ironically these publication dates almost match those of Quality's Love Confessions whose run span from October 1949 to December 1956 for a total of 54 issues (again thanks to the GCD).

 

# 135

 

Love Confessions # 18

 

1268144-LoveConfessions18s.jpg

 

Content:

Part Time Wife by ? 9 pgs

Two Grooms for my Wedding by ? 6 (?) pgs

My Life of Shame by ? 9 pgs

I Wanted a Man who Dared by ? 6 pgs

 

Ah yes, here's a different kind of wife. We've already seen the Substitute Wife in Romantic Marriage # 11 and the Charge Account Wife in Romantic Marriage # 8 (both posted in the Shadow of the Atomic Age thread) and we're now introduced to the Part Time Wife.

 

That story alone in a sense is worth the price of admission to this book. It represents the best of the life-frozen-in-time element of classic comic-books, shedding light on the US circa 1951-1952. You've guessed it that there is nothing salacious about this Part Time Wife. No, quite the opposite, she is industrious and kinda cute when mad as seen in the Splash when she storms out on her husband -

 

1268144-LoveConfessions18Story1s.jpg

 

Let me retrace the steps to this scene.

 

Dorothy and Paul are newly weds and in their first scene, they are both getting ready for work. Paul is complaining vehemently that he wishes he'd had a decent breakfast to help him through the day at the office but Dorothy is herself working. What's bad for Paul and his ego is that Dorothy makes twice as much as he does. She is a clothing designer for a large store while Paul only has a "routine office job." As the new seasonal line has to be designed, fabrics picked out, color schemes decided, etc, ... Dorothy ends up spending a lot of time at the office and finishing business over dinner with co-workers and the (married) boss. This leaves Paul coming home before Dorothy with no dinner waiting for him after he was already short-changed at breakfast and not a single shirt ready for him.

To reward Dorothy for her hard work, the boss invites her and Paul for a relaxing weekend at his country house. That's just too much for Paul who refuses to go but Dorothy does not back down and storms out for the weekend - That's the splash.

She is full of remorse and having a terrible time that weekend. So much so that the boss's wife talks to her and recounts how she abandonned a concert pianist career to support her husband. That talk determines Dorothy to stop being such a Part Time Wife and to support Paul for success.

 

If you think Paul is just a big whinner, blaming Dorothy for Rogers at the office receiving the promotion he was looking for; you're right, that's how Paul is throughout the entire story!

 

Two Grooms for my Wedding Splash -

 

1268144-LoveConfessions18Story2s.jpg

 

This is a fairly typical Romance story. Girl loves test pilot, Pilot crashes and is never recovered, Girl meets another man, Man proposes, Girl sets wedding on the same date she was going to marry the Pilot, Pilot resurfaces, Girl doesn't know what to do, Girl admits all to both boys, Girl keeps the wedding date, Girl comes down the stairs (as in the splash) and decides for the "sweetest and most generous man in the world." WHO THE HECK HE IS I DON'T KNOW Christo_pull_hair.gif He's not named, the story is over, there is no missing page in the book either. That one's got me confused-smiley-013.gif. Is there a page that wasn't printed? Are we supposed to pick one? Is the ending intentional? Is this a mistake? I don't know. Here's the last page and if you figure it out, let me know. I say she picks the Pilot.

 

1268144-LoveConfessions18Story2Pages.jpg

 

My Life of Shame Splash -

 

1268144-LoveConfessions18Story3s.jpg

 

We follow the life of Peg whose mother struggled to make ends meet (day-dreaming about fancy restaurant meals when food at the table is scarce) at a steam laundry where Peg ends up working after her mom dies, herself barely making ends meet ... until her friend Aggie hooks her up with Biff Wyatt (Yes, Biff!), a cheap hoodlum. Well, not so cheap as he eventually puts her up in a nice apartment and she can quit the laundry and live in luxury, all the while avoiding as much as possible to know Biff's true activities until one day when he needs her to let him and his gang in Mr. Carlson's house. See Carlson is a diamond dealer and Biff has plan for his ice. Peg reluctantly cooperates, things go awry and Carlson is shot. Peg stays and calls the police. Fortunately, Carlson does not die, Peg cooperates with the cops and gives up Biff and his gang. Instead of 10 years, she receives 6 months which will be made more agreeable by the regular visits of Young (I don't make those names up), the young doctor who came to the crime scene and of course got the hots for the poor Peg right away. This entire story is told by Peg to her diary in jail.

 

I Wanted a Man who Dared Splash -

 

1268144-LoveConfessions18Story4s.jpg

 

Here's another strong headed woman like in the first story. Cora likes Phillip, a clerk at Nestor's Hardware store where he's been for the last 10 years. Cora expects more from Phillip and would like to see him take another chance at success. When he passes up an opportunity to become a working partner at a new plastics firm (can we say The Graduate 27_laughing.gif), she is fuming: "I want to marry a man, not a jellyfish!" She decides to go visit her dad who has been estranged from her mom for about 10 years. Turns out he dad is very successful but he didn't arrive in one day and had to suffer for years as most of his big plans fell through. Cora starts to understand why her mom liked Phillip and the security he offered her. Weeks go by but Cora can't forget Phillip. She comes back to her hometown to find that Phillip and her mom pooled together their resources to open an appliance store in town. Yes Phillip might not be a jellyfish after all!

1268144-LoveConfessions18Story4s.jpg.0aeecc735b7477e8a464766f6d757d1e.jpg

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# 136 and # 137

 

# 136

 

Love Diary # 26

 

1270049-LoveDiary26s.jpg

 

Content:

My Savage Love! by ? 10 pgs

My Sister's Shadow! by ? 7 pgs

Prescription for Happiness by ? 3 pgs

I was a Sensitive Soul by ? 7 pgs

 

This book is published monthly by Our Publishing, a company with limited output. The GCD credits it with only one series, Love Diary.

 

My Savage Love! Splash -

 

1270049-DiaryLove26Story1s.jpg

 

The first story depicts Anne, who tired of milktoast Martin Hall, falls desperately in love with the more brutal Fred, a do-nothing late-night party guy she meets at a dance hall. Anne gets blinded by the novelty of Fred's demeanor but, of course, she has to realize that he can be a drunk and a mean one; yet, she still "gives in" to him despite his obvious faults as on this page. The bottom left panel is not your typical romance book panel!

 

1270049-DiaryLove26Story1Pages.jpg

 

Eventually, she sees the light of day when she meets Fred during the day and Martin fights back for her.

 

My Sister's Shadow! Splash -

 

1270049-DiaryLove26Story2s.jpg

 

This is the most attractive looking story of the issue with an Everett-like touch to it as you can see on this page.

 

1270049-DiaryLove26Story2Pages.jpg

 

The story shows Elaine and Alice, two sisters, secretly jealous of each other's gifts, abilities and beauty. Alice, the younger one, tries to steal Elaine's fiancé in an effort to prove to herself that she is as good as her older sister; all the while, Elaine has always feared her sister would outshine her and worked hard to be perfect.

 

On these pages, you'll notice that one of the inherent problem about Romance stories and the inner reflexion going on is that they get verbose, very much so one would believe it's a Biro -script!

 

Next up is a 1 pg text: Secrets from a Love Diary. That page serves as a general advice page and also to announce the winners to an on-going contest for cash prizes of up to $10. The next feature: Prescription for Happiness presents in comic book form a made-up (I assume) quandary for a girl and asks for the readership to submit their opinion to a Dr. Ray Mann who, supposedly, is running the column -

 

1270049-DiaryLove26Story3Pages.jpg

 

Now, they could've have come up with a better name than Ray Mann, considering the listed editor in the indicia's name is Ray Hermann!! Plus the 1819 Broadway address matches that of the editorial offices.

 

I happen to own the August issue of Love Diary and can tell you that Gwen Hatcher of Atlanta, Georgia was the $10 winner for this March issue contest.

 

I was a Sensitive Soul Splash -

 

1270049-DiaryLove26Story4s.jpg

 

This story follows Lila who discovered she could play men by crying at will and let them feel guilty and try to please her until she meets Barry who sees through her games and resists her tactics which she quickly abandons.

 

# 137

 

Love Journal # 12

 

1270049-LoveJournal12s.jpg

 

Content:

Dangerous Love by [Mort Leav] 10 pgs

Passion's Fool by ? 7 pgs

SOS for Love! by ? 3 pgs

I Want the Moon! by ? 7 pgs

 

This is also by Our Publishing (even though not listed in the GCD) but this time, it's published bi-monthly.

 

You'll notice that the book's structure is identical 10 - 7 - 3 - 7 pagers to make it easy and automatic on the editor.

 

Dangerous Love Splash - The Mort Leav is an attribution as the story isn't signed but the August lead story in Love Diary is by Leav and the works look very similar.

 

1270049-LoveJournal12Story1s.jpg

 

Notice how the splash is rather "violent." In Love Diary, we had a drunk. In Love Journal, we have a "mental case!", or rather we should say an Korean veteran suffering from "battle fatigue, shell shock and guilt neurosis" after his buddy Mike died next to him in their foxhole in Korea.

 

Ken will eventually snap out of it after he wrecks the car he is in with Gloria, plunging into a river but rescuing her -

 

1270049-LoveJournal12Story1Pages.jpg

 

This act of courage sets him right. Notice the use of expletive (@*#%!) in this story which is rather uncommon in books of that age.

 

Passion's Fool Splash -

 

1270049-LoveJournal12Story2s.jpg

 

Again this Everettish art as again in this page -

 

1270049-LoveJournal12Story2Pages.jpg

 

where passion is truly depicted in the bottom left panel. Rare, this story is told from the main guy's perspective.

 

This leads us the Love Journal Jottings text page which is similar to Secrets of Love Diary and SOS for Love! is similar to Prescription for Happiness except that instead of Dr. Ray Mann, we are dealing with Dr. Mark Ford.

 

1270049-LoveJournal12Story3Pages.jpg

 

Notice that Dr. Mann and Dr. Ford share the same mailing address.

 

I Want the Moon! Splash -

 

1270049-LoveJournal12Story4s.jpg

 

This is the story of Lois who will shame / coax / guilt people into buying her stuff and as soon as she receives it feels numb for it. Eventually it catches up with her and she settles down with Tod.

 

The main attractiveness of these two issues is the two 10-pagers with the drunk and mental case issues "tackled."

1270049-DiaryLove26Story4s.jpg.5deae633ef4e50f2d671b0af242578fd.jpg

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shy.gif Is it safe to come out now? Are the Love titles done and gone? grin.gif

 

27_laughing.gif No sumo.gif There are a few more Love Something or Another titles then we'll start the Ms with a more matcho book.

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# 138 and # 139

 

# 138

 

Love Letters # 19

 

1271090-LoveLetters19s.jpg

 

Content:

My Bewildered Heart! by ? 9 pgs

Torment of Jealousy by ? 6 pgs

One Reckless Fling by ? 8 pgs

Reaching for the Moon by ? 7 pgs

 

Here's another Quality Romance books. Quality, being what I call a Broadline Publisher, has over the years published quite a few Romance series: Brides Romances, Broadway Romances, Campus Loves, Diary Loves, Exotic Romances, Flaming Love, Forbidden Love, G.I. Sweethearts, Girls in Love, Heart Throbs, Hollywood Diary, Love Confessions, Love Diary, Love Letters, Love Scandals, Love Secrets, Range Romances, Secret Loves, True War Romances, Untamed Love, Wedding Bells.

 

My Bewildered Heart! Splash -

 

1271090-LoveLetters19Story1s.jpg

 

You guessed it: the actual eel is the one with Beth who embezzled from her dad's factory and that lead him to murder her father. The fellow by the safe is looking for proof of the crime. There's a nice blend of crime and romance in this lead story

 

Torment of Jealousy Splash -

 

1271090-LoveLetters19Story2s.jpg

 

When Diane's cousin, Cheryl, comes to town, Diane's beau is lavishing too much attention on Cheryl for Diane's taste. Of course, he's only trying to be pleasant but that doesn't prevent Cheryl to put herself in jeopardy in the hand of Jim Sheldon, the local wolf as seen in this page. All well's that ends well btw.

 

1271090-LoveLetters19Story2Pages.jpg

 

One Reckless Fling Splash -

 

1271090-LoveLetters19Story3s.jpg

 

When Marjories' fiancé Arthur goes on assignment to Chicago, Marjorie meets and falls for suave golf instructor Cleve Cadwell, whose intention is only to enjoy Marjorie's company for kicks. Fortunately, Marjorie's friends intervene and the wedding goes as planned.

 

Reaching for the Moon Splash -

 

1271090-LoveLetters19Story4s.jpg

 

Gloria Sanders lands a job in a big town thanks to an old high-school friend. Of course, she falls for the boss. The boss is tired of sophisticated girls and falls for the "homey" Gloria. Yawn!

 

# 139

 

Love Problems and Advice Illustrated # 14

 

1271090-LoveProblems14s.jpg

 

Content:

Somebody Else's Girl by ? 7 pgs

No Wedding Ring for Me! by ? 4 pgs

What Promise Does this Love Hold? by ? 2 pgs

Trapped in his Arms! by ? 6 pgs

No Love for a Cry Baby by ? 5 pgs

 

Table of Contents -

 

1271090-LoveProblems14ToCs.jpg

 

Despite the cover stating Love Promises, this is indeed an issue of Love Problems and Advice Illustrated from Harvey.

 

Somebody Else's Girl Splash -

 

1271090-LoveProblems14Story1s.jpg

 

Miss Jones asks hunky Dr Truet's help because her boyfriend is sick. Well, at least he acts sick. See, he's a composer who's yet to arrive and he uses Miss Jones as her maid by faking illness to spend more time on his music. Once his music sells, he drops her but she lands softly in Dr. Truet's arms.

 

A few days later, though, I fear she dies in an issue of Chamber of Chills devil.gif

 

1271090-CoC6DoD4s.jpg

 

Trapped in his Arms! Splash -

 

1271090-LoveProblems14Story3s.jpg

 

Katy comes back with her nursing degree to take a job at the coal mine where her dad is foreman. She starts dating her long-time friend Chic Drake. Chic and her father are at odds because Chic always insists for more spending on safety features. You knew it, an accident happens, Chic and Katy get trapped and barely survive and that sets Chic and Katy's dad straight.

 

No Love for a Cry Baby Splash -

 

1271090-LoveProblems14Story4s.jpg

 

Luke Rand sets straight Cry Baby Marie. Yawn!

1271090-LoveProblems14Story4s.jpg.d07cdba8ba517080d73249c7a885242c.jpg

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IThis one looks like Harry Anderson, of Atlas PCH fame.

 

I almost mentioned his name. Anderson's style shows even clearer on the previous page -

 

1271173-LoveJournal12Story3Page2s.jpg

 

As for Everettish art in Love Diary, I'll show you some more from the Nov. 1950 issue later and you'll tell me what you think.

1271173-LoveJournal12Story3Page2s.jpg.df87b6137495c7b6b8730b5181fd0f63.jpg

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# 140

 

Man Comics # 12

 

1274218-Man12s.jpg

 

Content:

9277 - Black Hate! by Robert Sale 6 pgs

9249 - Ninety Day Wonder! by Joe Maneely 7 pgs

9385 - The Pirate of Death 2 pg text

9245 - Suicide by Mac Pakula 5 pg

9457 - On Target by ? 5 pgs

 

There are some Love _______ titles left, but I think we all needed a breather from those. A Man comics is a nice break as it's been a while we've seen a War comic.

 

I wanted to highlight Robert Q Sale and his career but I couldn't find anything relating to Sale except that he was born in 1924 and died in 1962. His Atlas output runs from mid-1951 right up to the implosion with a good amount of work in April / May / June 1957. Biographical information on Mac Pakula aren't any more available than Sale's.

 

Black Hate! Splash -

 

1274218-Man12Story1s.jpg

 

After being attacked by a civilian family, sniper-style, a unit "adopts" the family's little girl. Well, the unit minus Mr. Grump who can't forget what her parents did ... until the toddler alarms camp of an impending attack. Mr. Grump actually dies to save the child and asks his unit members to make sure the child gets adopted by his parents as a "replacement."

 

Ninety Day Wonder! Splash -

 

1274218-Man12Story2s.jpg

 

As a new assignment with the unit, the Lieutenant must defend a random hill and earn the respect of his men. There is of course one recalcitrant sargeant in the bunch until the Lieutenant proves himself and even run into undue danger to save the Sergeant.

 

A nice touch from the writer is to periodically shift the focus to the enemy and de-humanize it. Here's a collage of the Korean forces as describe first attacking, then being mowed down and finally retreating. The writer picks up his theme at each of the panels -

 

1274218-Man12Story2Panels.jpg

 

Suicide Splash -

 

1274218-Man12Story3s.jpg

 

As a proof of their loyalty to their country and to ferret out a traitor, the commanding officer orders for the 4 leaders to commit suicide. Unbeknownst to them, the commanding officer puts blanks in the gun. The traitor switches out the blanks for actual rounds (which he believes are blanks). When they all shoot, the traitor is the only one lying there dead.

 

On Target Splash -

 

1274218-Man12Story4s.jpg

 

On Target Page -

 

1274218-Man12Story4Pages.jpg

 

The story recounts fictionally the actual events of the Bombing of Peenemunde:

 

"In World War I, the Germans had developed long-range artillery and bombarded Paris from the German lines; because of this, the Treaty of Versailles forbade future German development of heavy artillery. The treaty, however, said nothing about rockets. During World War II, German rocketeers under the technical developed "V" weapons. The "V" was short for "Vergeltungswaffen", roughly translated "vengenace weapons".

 

In 1931, the German military established a rocket research facility at Kummersdorf Weapons Range, near Berlin. The first civilian employee at this facility was Wernher von Braun. In 1937 the German rocket facility was moved to Peenemunde on the Baltic Coast. Starting with about 80 researchers in 1936, the facility comprised nearly 5000 personnel by late 1942.

 

As early as 1939, British intelligence was aware of secret weapon trials on the north German coast near Peenemunde. The tests focused on long-range weapons but their precise locations were not known.

 

The V-1 was a cruise missile that employed a gasoline-powered pulse-jet engine that could produce a thrust of about 1,100 pounds. V-1 test flights began in 1941 over the Peenemunde range. The V-1 was originally called the Fieseler Fi-103. The V-1 bore no resemblance to the V-2, which was under development at Peenemunde at the same time.

 

In May 1942, a lone Spitfire on a routine reconnaissance mission over northern Germany changed this. Flight Lieutenant D. W. Steventon brought back photographs of the Peenemunde airfield along the Baltic coast that revealed evidence of construction activity with circular emplacements on the ground. Photographic interpreters, however, were unable to locate anything out of the ordinary from the photographs. Intelligence reports months later disclosed that rockets at Peenemunde had been test-fired.

 

1274218-Man12PAerial.jpg

 

The first test flight of a V-2 rocket was made in October 1942.

 

The connection between the site and rockets would be disclosed from other means. In March 1943, British intelligence analysts secretly taped conversations between two German generals that confirmed the Germans were building rockets. Accordingly, a photo-reconnaissance program kicked off to cover essentially every square mile of the French coast from Cherbourg to the Belgian border. Aircraft from RAF squadrons at Leuchars and Benson and 8th Air Force's 13th, 14th, and 22nd photo-reconnaissance squadrons were slated to fly the first missions.

 

The first confirmation of rocket building at Peenemunde came in 1943. The film packet returned by Squadron Leader Gordon Hughes revealed vehicles carrying long cylindrical objects that could not be readily identified. Subsequent sorties provided additional detail and finally a mission on June 12 produced imagery of a rocket lying on a trailer located near what was thought to be an emplacement. A thick vertical column judged to be about 40 feet high was also observed. Subsequent reconnaissance missions would prove these to be the rockets themselves, once operationally configured.

 

1274218-Man12V2.jpg

 

But some Allied experts had hitherto thought such a large rocket impracticable, they argued that it was a hoax to distract attention from more important developments. Now if it were a hoax, and it succeeded, the Allies would probably be led to bomb Peenemunde. The Germans would presumably only tempt the Allies to do this if Peenemunde were not a genuine, serious experimental station.

 

An apparently insignificant piece of evidence gathered in quite another field clinched the case. This was a circular to various German Air Force experimental stations, signed by a petty clerk in the German Air Ministry, giving revised instructions for applying for petrol coupons. Now all the experimental stations were on the list of addresses, apparently in order of importance, and Peenemunde was shown on the list above some other stations of whose importance we were certain. The clerk, who could hardly have known that his little circular would come into our hands, was in fact an unconscious witness to the importance of Peenemunde. The petrol instructions, finished the case. They showed that Peenemunde was genuine.

 

The photo-reconnaissance coverage of the French coast began to bear fruit. Interpreters uncovered a huge concrete structure at Watten near Calais and two other locations nearby and all three were connected to railway lines. At this juncture the investigation into the German secret weapon threat was codenamed "Bodyline." Duncan Sandys, the Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply charged with coordinating information about the secret weapons, made the decision that Peenemunde needed to be bombed.

 

Operation Crossbow attempted to destroy German V-1 and V-2 missile sites, which were terrorizing the British through disruptive and deadly attacks on cities. Between August 1943 and March 1945, the US Army Air Forces and Royal Air Force flew 68,913 sorties and expended 122,133 tons of ordnance in the campaign to destroy German missiles. Indeed, Crossbow was a large-scale counterair and strategic-attack operation that expended substantial effort to delay V-weapon attacks and then limit their effectiveness once Germany began to employ the missiles.

 

The first Crossbow target hit was Peenemunde. The primary objective of the raid was to kill as many personnel involved in the V-weapons programs as possible, so the housing area was the main aim point. Two lesser objectives were to destroy as much of the V-weapons related work and documentation as possible, and to render Peenemunde useless as a research facility. On the evening of 17/18 August 1943, with the backdrop of a full moon, Bomber Command launched 596 aircraft - 324 Lancasters, 218 Halifaxes, 54 Stirlings -- which dropped nearly 1,800 tons of bombs on Peenemunde; 85 per cent of this tonnage was high-explosive.

 

1274218-Man12PMap.jpg

 

Unfortunately, the initial bombing fell on a labour camp for forced workers which was situated 1.5 miles south of the first aiming point, but the Master Bomber and the Pathfinders quickly brought the bombing back to the main targets, which were all bombed successfully.

 

Bomber Command's losses were 40 aircraft - 23 Lancasters, 15 Halifaxes and 2 Stirlings. This represents 6.7 per cent of the force dispatched but was judged an acceptable cost for the successful attack on this important target on a moonlit night.

 

Luftwaffe General Jeschonnek, the Chief of Staff, committed suicide on 19 August after criticism for the Peenemunde and Schweinfurt raids.

 

On 25 August 1943 the Allies again bombed the German rocket laboratory on Peenemunde,

 

There was some controversy about the effect of these raids. Unfortunately for the Allies, Peenemunde was attacked too late to inflict a mortal blow to the V-weapons, and the experimental work was unaffected. The V-1 was all but complete and ready to be engineered for production. The V-2 program was essentially complete as well The US Strategic Bombing Survey concluded "The attacks on the V-weapon experimental station at Peenemunde ... were not effective; V-l was already in production near Kassel and V-2 had also been moved to an underground plant. "

 

The estimate has appeared in many sources that this raid set back the V-2 experimental programme by at least 2 months and reduced the scale of the eventual rocket attack. Approximately 180 Germans were killed at Peenemunde, nearly all in the workers housing estate, and 500-600 foreigners, mostly Polish, were killed in the workers camp, where there were only flimsy wooden barracks and no proper air-raid shelters. The raid killed Dr. Walter Thiel, who at the time was in charge of V-2 engine development, and burned up all the production drawings for the large rocket just as they had been completed for issue to industry. The Germans had duplicated records and stored many at several locations, although the Peenemunde facility retained copies.

 

The Germans, worried by the damage done to their experimental factory at Peenemunde (and at Friedrichshafen, which had already been bombed) decided to put their rocket production underground and to move their experimental work to Poland. The culminating effect of all this must have meant several valuable months delay: but for this the rocket might well have preceded the flying bomb.

 

Labor for V-2 production had become a pressing problem in 1943. In April Arthur Rudolph, chief engineer of the Peenemünde factory, learned of the availability of concentration camp prisoners, enthusiastically endorsed their use, and helped win approval for their transfer. The first prisoners began working in June. Hitler's concern for V-2 development after July 1943 peaked the interest of Heinrich Himmler, the commander of the SS, who conspired to take control of the rocket program and research activities at Peenemünde as a means to expand his power base.

 

The most important V-2 production sites were the central plants, called Mittelwerk, in the southern Harz Mountains near Nordhausen, where an abandoned gypsum mine provided an underground cavern large enough to house extensive facilities in secrecy. Slave labor from Dora carved out an underground factory in the abandoned mine, which extended a mile into the hillside.

 

At the end of August 1943, the first skilled prisoners arrived from Buchenwald to form a new subcamp with the undercover name of "Dora". Foreign workers under the supervision of skilled German technicians assumed an increasing burden; at Mittelwerk, ninety percent of the 10,000 laborers were non-Germans. Officials estimate that from 1943 until 1945, 60,000 prisoners worked in these factories. Of these, 20,000 had died from various causes including starvation, fatigue and execution.

 

Attacks on the production plants in Germany from December 1943 through August 1944 had marginal impacts on weapon production.

 

Months of combat couldn’t steel World War II American GI’s for the sights they witnessed when they liberated the Nazi death camp at Nordhausen, Germany, on April 11, 1945. Atrocities perpetrated at V-2 production facilities at Nordhausen and the nearby concentration camp at Dora stimulated controversy that plagued the rocket pioneers who left Germany after the war. Arthur Rudolph, who had been a V-2 project engineer, left the United States in 1984 following the Department of Justice's discovery of his role in the persecution of prisoners at the Nordhausen factory.

 

Wernher von Braun was brought to the United States after the war; he went to work on rocket development for the US at a plant in Fort Bliss, Texas. In a 1948 interview there, a German journalist managed to extract von Braun’s understanding of why V-2 production was delayed until it was too late to make a difference in the war.

 

According to von Braun, while in Switzerland in December 1943, a German industrialist boasted of Germany’s forthcoming secret weapons, giving enough details so that the Allies were able to bomb the facilities at Peenemunde, delaying development and production of the V-2. Even in 1948 Braun did not understand what had really happened. [THis account is garbled, since Peenemunde was bombed in August 1943].

 

The German industrialist, whose name was Eduard Schulte, was actually a dedicated anti-Nazi who gave information to the Allies to help shorten the war. Eduard Schulte, the man who first warned the world about the systematic killing of the Jews, fled to Switzerland on 02 December 1943 after being warned by Eduard Waetjen, an associate of Gisevius, that the Gestapo has ordered his arrest. Schulte’s wartime activities and his intelligence about V-2 production were brought to light in the 1986 book Breaking the Silence, by Walter Laqueur and Richard Breitman."

1274218-Man12V2.jpg.39f4d8a9ac834f66939525426ca49b22.jpg

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A follow-up on Love Diary. I had mentioned there being another Everettish story in Love Diary # 10 from November 1950. Here's the cover and the story.

 

Everett or not? This looks certainly more like Bill than the other pages from Love Diary I showed before. There are some panels that scream Everett. Opinions?

 

1274829-LoveDiary10s.jpg

 

1274829-LoveDiary10Page1s.jpg

1274829-LoveDiary10Page2s.jpg

1274829-LoveDiary10Page3s.jpg

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1274829-LoveDiary10Page6s.jpg

1274829-LoveDiary10Page7s.jpg

1274829-LoveDiary10Page7s.jpg.fedc66301bf8c29c800c40e2a07d2e4d.jpg

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I just knew that guy with the mustache was going to be trouble for Millie. Thank God she had a tough he-man artist around to protect her! headbang.gif27_laughing.gif

 

These are definite clinchers for this being an Everett story. Everett's slimy guys always have a pencil mustache and I thought I saw a little bit of Everett himself in the good guy of the story 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

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# 141

 

Marmaduke Mouse # 29

 

1275466-MarmadukeMouse29.jpg

 

Content:

Marmaduke Mouse by ? 7 pgs

Prince Pinky and Pudd by ? 8 pgs

Marmaduke and King Louie by ? [signed EC] 7 pgs

Marmaduke and King Louie by ? 6 pgs

 

Here's another stalwart title for the Quality line. The book ran 10 years from Spring of 1946 to December 1956. In fact, DC is responsible for its demise because it was one of the titles DC decided to discontinue once they purchased Quality Comics. Among other cancelled titles was Plastic Man!

 

Overall, here's how Scott Shaw! views this title:

 

"MARMADUKE MOUSE is the type of generic - and generally forgettable -- funny animal comic that flourished in the 1940s and 1950s. Since this character was never featured in animation, and therefore, had no recognition among his young readers, his publisher, "Busy" Arnold, wisely packed the series with eye-catching covers such as this one. This hypnotic "a-cover-within-a-cover-within-a-cover, ad nauseum" is yet another example of what comic book experts refer to as an "Infinity Cover." This one's particularly effective, due to its uncluttered design; there's really nothing else to look at than Marmaduke's multiplied image! (But what's the story with those diapers? The character isn't supposed to be a baby…and he's not an old geezer, either! So why the Depends?)"

 

The particular issue Scott mentions is Marmaduke Mouse # 47 shown below -

 

1275466-MarmadukeMouse47.jpg

 

I have to agree with Shaw! appraisal that the Marmaduke Mouse run has some nice and attractive covers. More on that later.

 

As far as artist line-up, I could find very little, except that Ernie Hart was involved with the series early on. Hart is another unheralded work-horse for Timely / Atlas / Marvel. According to several online sources:

 

"Ernest "Ernie" Hart (Ernest Huntley Hart) (b. 1910, USA) was an editor, writer and artist of funny animal comics for Timely/Marvel. He studied at the Art Students League in New York, and worked through the Chesler shop in the early 1940s. During the 1940s, he worked on comic books featuring movie characters, like Terrytoons Comics, Animated Funny Comic-Tunes ad Mighty Mouse. He is best known as the creator of 'Super Rabbit', which premiered in Comedy Comics issue 14 of March, 1943. Hart also worked on 'Pookey the Poetical Pup' and 'Ding-a-Ling the Little Bellboy' in Krazy Komics, 'Wacky Willie' and 'Andy Wolf and Bertie Mouse' in Terrytoons Comics, 'Skip O'Hare' in Comedy Comics, and the feature 'Victory Boys' for Timely. In addition to his Timely work, he contributed to Quality Comics' Hit Comics ('Egbert and the Count', 'Marmaduke Mouse', 'Atomic Tot', 'Goody Goose', 'Her Highness', 'Plastic Man').

 

Hart stayed with Timely during the Atlas period, and freelanced for Marvel during the 1960s, mainly as a writer. During this period, he worked for Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. He also drew for the 'The Adventures of Pussycat' comic. He was also present at Charlton Comics, with 'Rocky Lane's Black Jack' in 1959, as well as 'Billy the Kid , 'Cheyenne Kid', and 'Davy Crockett'. He signed some of his works with "EH Huntley".

 

You can find some Hart scripted stories in the recent Ant-Man / Giant-Man Masterwork.

 

Fred Hembeck muses about that period that “in any event, it's not too difficult to guess what Stan was thinking back in the early sixties. He obviously gave old hands like Ernie Hart and Don Rico--both Timely editors working under Lee during the same period as Jaffee--a shot at scripting the latest trend coming out of their mutual alma mater, and Leon Lazarus was just another valued past employee getting a turn. However, Lazarus's sole tale--coincidentally, one of the few Marvel Age tales pencilled by Golden Age stalwart, Carl Burgos, and inked by another early comics sensation, Paul Reinman--wound up representing a last gasp of sorts for Stan's Timely associates, as he must have eventually determined that these new sorts of comics needed new sorts of writers, and folks, this was one Lazarus who WASN'T about to rise again any time soon, at least not in the pages of a Marvel comic book. Not with the Roys, the Dennys, and the Garys of the world all waiting patiently for their call to learn, implement, and finally, refine this newly instituted Marvel approach...”

 

Marmaduke Story 1 Splash -

 

1275466-MarmadukeMouse29Story1s.jpg

 

Prince Pinky Splash -

 

1275466-MarmadukeMouse29Story2s.jpg

 

Prince Pinky Next Page -

 

1275466-MarmadukeMouse29Story2Pages.jpg

 

As appears obvious, the story is a spin on The Prince and the Pauper premises, whereby the Prince can fight boredom and drive his father nuts. I like the Bluster & Fluster characters. Plain odd in an interesting way.

 

A much better brand of odd than this one-pager for example screwy.gif

 

1275466-MarmadukeMouse29OddOnePagers.jpg

 

Marmaduke Story 2 Splash -

 

1275466-MarmadukeMouse29Story3s.jpg

 

King Louie buys a TV set and gets side-tracked from his royal duties, spending his time watching Kitty Catten sing, Leapalong Larry (a kangoroo) fight crooks, and the comedy show of Hilton Squirrel (Any idea if this is spoofing someone in particular?).

 

Marmaduke Story 3 Splash -

 

1275466-MarmadukeMouse29Story4s.jpg

 

In order to replenish the kingdom's coffers, Marmaduke has this idea of putting King Louie on TV for a sponsor and using the sponsor's fees to build back up the kingdom's finances. The splash shows Casper the sponsor. Casper is pretty much like Victor Fox: he is selling bottles of Bokes, a new cola drink noone has heard of. In reality, it's simply water and his money is counterfeit.

 

Another very nice cover from the run is Marmaduke 61 -

 

1275466-MarmadukeMouse61.jpg

 

I like this cover because it is company self-referencial. Marmaduke is seen dreaming after falling asleep reading an issue of Robin Hood Tales that Quality was publishing. Remember that there was a Robin Hood craze in the late 50's as evidenced by this collage of covers from separate series featuring Robin Hood!

 

1275466-RobinHoodComposite.jpg

 

It's too bad the stories in the book don't live up to the artists' skills. The cartooning is attractive, simple, slick and tells the story effectively. The stories however are not on that level.

1275466-RobinHoodComposite.jpg.81ab50c7ae891c6f71d3559a5dc409ba.jpg

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Everett or not? This looks certainly more like Bill than the other pages from Love Diary I showed before. There are some panels that scream Everett. Opinions?

 

Definitely one of two things: an Everett swiper or a quickly drawn Everett. I'd lean toward swiper unless I could look at the book in person as there are some images that seem wrong for Everett.

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# 141

 

Marmaduke Mouse # 29

 

King Louie buys a TV set and gets side-tracked from his royal duties, spending his time watching Kitty Catten sing, Leapalong Larry (a kangoroo) fight crooks, and the comedy show of Hilton Squirrel (Any idea if this is spoofing someone in particular?).

 

I'm not sure whether you're pulling our legs. This must be "Hilton Squirrel" = "Milton Berle"

 

I'm behind on your last few Month in the Life posts but am enjoying the heck out of catching up -- even the Love titles!

 

Jack

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# 141

 

Marmaduke Mouse # 29

 

King Louie buys a TV set and gets side-tracked from his royal duties, spending his time watching Kitty Catten sing, Leapalong Larry (a kangoroo) fight crooks, and the comedy show of Hilton Squirrel (Any idea if this is spoofing someone in particular?).

 

I'm not sure whether you're pulling our legs. This must be "Hilton Squirrel" = "Milton Berle"

 

Jack

 

I wasn't pulling any legs. I had a feeling it was directed to someone but foreheadslap.gif Uncle Milty. It simply didn't click. Thanks Jack, as always.

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# 142

 

Marvel Tales # 105

 

1276589-MarvelTales105s.jpg

 

Content:

Cover by Russ Heath

9438 - The Spider Waits by Fred Kida 6 pgs

9393 - In Little Pieces by ? 5 pgs

9371 - The Curse Of Makhe-Sof 2 pgs text

9477 - The Red Face by ? 4 pgs

9444 - The Drop Of Water by Gene Colan 3 pgs

9133 - The Man Who Vanished! by Joe Sinnott 5 pgs

 

The cornerstone in Timely / Atlas's stable, here's the series that started it all back in 1939 with Marvel Comics, switching to Marvel Mystery Comics with issue 2 until # 92 where Marvel Tales takes over until # 159 in July / August 1957.

 

Behind the Heath cover, we find some artists who will become stalwarts for the company over the next 3 decades and beyond!

 

Let me concentrate on Fred Kida, probably the least recognizable as a Marvel artist.

 

Fred Kida was born on December 12th, 1920 and raised in Manhattan. Kida attended New York City's American School of Design, where Bill Fraccio and Bob Fujitani were classmates. Like many young artists in the Golden Age of comic books, he then broke into the field at the Jerry Iger Studio, formerly Eisner & Iger, one of the earliest "packagers" that produced outsourced comic-book content for publishers entering the new medium. Starting as an inker and background artist in 1941, Kida moved on to a staff position at Iger client Quality Comics. There he both penciled and inked his first known credited work, the feature "Phantom Clipper" in Military Comics #9 (April 1942).

 

In 1942, he joined Hillman Publications, where he drew such features as "Iron Ace" (from its premiere in Air Fighters Comics Vol. 1, #2, Nov. 1942), "Boy King" and "Gunmaster", and the following year began work on his most prominent Golden Age character, Airboy. That aviation hero, created by writer Charles Biro with scripter Wood and artist Al Camy, appeared initially in Air Fighters Comics before spinning off into his own namesake series. Aside from Airboy himself, the feature was known for the sexy antagonist the Valkyrie, a cleavage-baring Axis aviatrix.

 

1276589-MarvelTales105KidaAirboyValkyrieCover.jpg

 

Kida remained on the feature through 1948, afterward working with writer Biro on such Hillman crime comics as the seminal Crime Does Not Pay. In 1953, he left to freelance for Atlas Comics, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics. There he worked on characters including the Western gunslingers the Ringo Kid (following Joe Maneely and John Severin) and the Two-Gun Kid and the medieval hero the Black Knight, and anthological horror, war and Bible stories.

 

After leaving comics to concentrate on comic strips (see below), Kida returned to Marvel in the 1970s as primarily an inker, working on such characters as Iron Man, Godzilla, Ka-Zar, Luke Cage, Man-Wolf, and (for Marvel UK) Captain Britain. His final known comic-book credit is the superhero-team title The Defenders #72 (June 1979) — featuring Marvel's own character called Valkyrie.

 

In addition to his comic-book work, Kida in 1941 was one of writer-artist Will Eisner's assistants on the newspaper Sunday-supplement comic-book The Spirit; and from 1946-47 assisted artist Bob Fujitani (a.k.a. "Bob Wells") on the comic strip Judge Wright. He also briefly assisted Milt Caniff on the strip Steve Canyon.

Most notably, however, Kida assisted artist Dan Barry on the long-running strip Flash Gordon from 1958-61 and then again from 1968-71; and, under his own byline, drew the comic strip The Amazing Spider-Man from 1981-86.

 

1276589-MarvelTalesKidaSpidermandaily022683.jpg

 

As you can see Kida's association with Marvel comics ranges from his early to late 50's work as seen here to his inking in the 70's and his work on the Spiderman strip in the 80's.

 

In his Alter Ego # 23 interview, here's what Bob Fujitani had to say about Fred Kida:

 

"[Fred Kida] was a great artist and a good friend. He wasn't so great in art school, but he really developed into a top talent."

 

It's also Kida who brought Fujitani over to Hillman, after Ed Cronin left Busy Arnold to work for Hillman. Fujitani, for example, drew the first Flying Dutchman story.

 

"Fred Kida hooked up with Cronin somehow, and they were secretive about what was going on (Cronin leaving). Ed Cronin loved Kida's stuff, and was paying him more than he was other artists. Tony DiPreta knew Cronin from Arnold's, and they were quite friendly. Tony was still lettering but had started inking."

 

Kida Splash -

 

1276589-MarvelTales105Story1s.jpg

 

Kida Page - Very nice coloring on that page to accentuate the mood of the flashback and match the underground atmosphere of the store room.

 

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Kida Final Page -

 

1276589-MarvelTales105Story1Page2s.jpg

 

In Little Pieces Splash -

 

1276589-MarvelTales105Story2s.jpg

 

This man, bossed around by his wife due to his lack of success, discovers that people whose pictures he rips die within 24 hours. Eventually justice is served as he rips his own image after his wife to please him replaced her picture with his in their home parlor.

 

The Red Face Splash -

 

1276589-MarvelTales105Story3s.jpg

 

The Red Face Page -

 

1276589-MarvelTales105Story3Pages.jpg

 

After introducing his girl to his cousin Claude, Maurice learns they decided to marry. He calls in a contract on his cousin for $500 cash paid in advance. The deed is supposed to happen at the Mardi Gras carnival and the gunman will be in devil's disguise. You can imagine the rest from the story page posted above.

 

Colan Story - a short 3-pager I already posted elsewhere with a Loki appearance -

 

1276589-MT105Drop-1-3.jpg

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1276589-MT105Drop-3-3.jpg

 

Sinnott Splash -

 

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Sinnott Final Page -

 

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# 143

 

Men's Adventures # 12 - Bought from Metro

 

1320240-MensAdventures12s.jpg

 

Content:

Brodsky (?) Cover

9211 - Firing Squad by Robert Sale 5 pgs

9281 - Mutiny Means Death 2 pg text

9244 - Combat Veteran by Al Hartley 6 pgs

9250 - Kill or Be Killed by George Tuska (?) 5 pgs

9278 - The Enemy Strikes by Paul Reinman 7 pgs

 

I already mentioned this in another thread a while ago so let me copy my comments on this series:

 

What a series Men's Adventures was! The title is not adopted until issue # 4 with Issues 1 and 2 being True Western then Issue 3 is True Adventure - A Thrill-Packed Magazine of Stories for Men, by Men, about Men! That's a lot of testosterone here along with a cover with a flaming mine.

 

Issue 4 maintains the same masthead as True Adventures then by Issue 6 the masthead matches the one on your # 8 (in reference to AStrange's copy seen below) and I am confident the page count has dropped to 36 from 52. Men's adventure is about Mystery Suspense and Danger.

 

979159-MensAdv8.jpg

 

until Issue # 11 where it is now about Warfare Suspense and Danger even though War covers start with Issue # 9 with a lovely title of Bullets, Blades and Blood! A triple B alliterative blurb copy one can imagine Stan wrote.

 

AStrange's # 20 copy -

 

979883-MensAdv20.jpg

 

Then with Issue # 21 it is Weird Men's Adventure for a few issues, only 3 whereafter the word Weird disappears from the cover on November 1953, the book still shows a lunatic dubbed The Torture Master no less with a raised axe and an off-camera intended victim but I guess there wasn't anything weird about that.

 

And finally, for its legacy, Men's Adventures features the Human Torch revival for 2 issues before disappearing from the newsstands.

 

Such is the life of a Goodman comic from Western to Real Life Drama to War to Weird to Super-Hero.

 

Robert Sale's Splash -

 

1320240-Men%5C%27sAdventures12Story1s.jpg

 

Al Hartley's Splash -

 

1320240-Men%5C%27sAdventures12Story2s.jpg

 

George Tuska's Splash -

 

1320240-Men%5C%27sAdventures12Story3s.jpg

 

George Tuska's Page -

 

1320240-Men%5C%27sAdventures12Story3Pages.jpg

 

Paul Reinman's Splash -

 

1320240-Men%5C%27sAdventures12Story4s.jpg

 

Paul Reinman's Page -

 

1320240-Men%5C%27sAdventures12Story4Pages.jpg

 

I also wanted to bring to general attention the following:

 

When investigating the Comic Code, very often we see passing references to the film industry's creation of the Production Code Administration or the Breen Code in June 1934. This is no surprise because more studies have focused on the film industry than on the comic industry. Yet, we largely ignore another cultural force from the 1930's and 1940's: radio. Unlike films, radio had direct access into people's home and therefore radio production had to very early on self-censor in order to satisfy the ad agencies through which companies were sponsoring shows.

 

Radio programming was not immune from the same kind of criticism leveled at comic books, as seen in this 1939 example emanating from Des Moines:

 

“Our six-year-old has become gangster-minded this past year since he has been allowed to run the radio at his will. He plays G-man constantly and talks at great length about Jack Armstrong and the rest. Most children at this age have adequate imagination without this added stimulus which radio brings them. I am very greatly opposed to the various programs for children which employ terrorizing situations.”

 

In response to such attacks, the networks early on self-adopted some stringent rules. For example, NBC’s re-revised code of 1939 (original version is dated 1934 and revised 1936) pledged to listeners that no obscene, profane, sacrilegious, vulgar, or salacious material would ever be aired. As it affected children’s programs, the new code spoke in more specific terms:

 

“All stories must reflect respect for law and order, adult authority, good morals and clean living. The hero and heroine, and other sympathetic characters must be portrayed as intelligent and morally courageous. The theme must stress the importance of mutual respect for one man for another, and should emphasize the desirability of fair play and honorable behavior. Cowardice, malice, deceit, selfishness and disrespect for the law must be avoided in the delineation of any character presented in the light of a hero to the child listener.”

 

In a similar vein, the CBS statement of policies – adopted originally in 1935 – spoke of social values and the vulnerability of youngsters.

 

“The exalting, as modern heroes, of gangsters, criminals, and racketeers will not be allowed.

 

Disrespect for either parental or other proper authority must not be glorified or encouraged.

 

Cruelty, greed, and selfishness must not be presented as worthy motivations.

 

Programs that arouse harmful nervous reactions in the child must not be presented.

 

Conceit, smugness or unwarranted sense of superiority over others less fortunate may not be presented as laudable.

 

Recklessness and abandon must not be closely identified with a healthy spirit of adventure.

 

Unfair exploitation of others for personal gain must not be made praiseworthy.

 

Dishonesty and deceit are not to be made appealing or attractive to the child.”

 

The above code excerpts and comments are taken from J. Fred MacDonald's 1979 book: Don't Touch that Dial! Radio Programming in American Life from 1920 to 1960.

 

The language of those codes is not vastly different from the 1954 version of the code.

589a8df5b5472_1320240-MensAdventures12Story4Pages.jpg.2d33ebd8fa3429b830a85a591fa43779.jpg

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