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Baily art; classic early German WWII cover (4/41)
Rockford Copy
The post-Pearl Harbor environment of wartime patriotism and bravado in the face of danger seems ever more stark when compared to the sharply bifurcated attitudes toward war and warriors in the late 1930s through early 1941. Where publishers and artists would churn out endless tales of Axis-punching derring-do once America's involvement in the all-encompassing conflict was assured, much of the storytelling leading up to the war was more ambivalent, or downright hostile to the powers that be. Unsurprising from a generation raised on the aftermath of the Great War and the crushing poverty of the Depression, it's still startling today. Even on cover imagery such as this, the mood is less one of jocular rabble rousing and more the melancholy, disgusted anger of scarred youth fighting the inevitable. Much of Siegel and Shuster's pre-WWII Superman material trods this fine line, and this arresting cover stands in mute contrast to the barrel-chested nature of Fred Ray's later iconic Super-imagery. Collectors treasure these early Superman covers, and with good reason, as the war effort would also later consume many of these popular comics in periodic paper drives, or care packages overseas to distraction-starved troops.


Artists Information

Wayne Boring is a legendary American comic book artist who's best known for his work on the Golden Age era of Superman and to this day is considered among the top fifty artists to make DC Comics great. Wayne began on the Superman comic strip and in the mid-1940s transitioned over to the main comic book title where he introduced such long standing pieces of canon as the Fortress of Solitude and Bizarro World. Boring would go on to create backgrounds on Hal Foster's Price Valiant from 1968 - 1972 and would draw several titles for Marvel Comics.

Moldoff is best known for his early work on DC's Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and was one of Bob Kane's primary "ghost artists" on Batman. He co-created the Batman villains Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, the second Clayface, and Bat-Mite, as well as the original heroes Bat-Girl, Batwoman, and Ace the Bat-Hound.

American comic book artist, Baily co created DC characters the Spectre and Hourman.