Woolfolk Records 1953/11

William Woolfolk sold scripts to Orbit and DC in November.

Again, I couldn't find the publication of the Prescription for Happiness installment, but the odds look good for Love Diary 41 or 42. Woolfolk wrote six of these in May/53-Feb/54, the months in which he wrote non-series stories that ended up in the eight issues 38-45, so the chance that the Prescription story in each of those issues was his would be a good 75%.

November 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

7 pg	Behind Closed Doors	confessions of a baby sitter
		"Behind Closed Doors" Love Diary 41, Mar/54
2	Prescription for Happiness	guy loves a selfish gal
		L Diary
6	The Way to the Heart	a gal who likes to domineer
		"The Way to a Man's Heart " L Diary 42, Apr/54
6	Texans Are Terrific	a soldier who thinks only Texans can really fight
		"Texans Are Terrific" Star Spangled War Stories 21, May/54
6	Beautiful and Bad	respectable guy can't resist a wanton beauty
		"Blonde, Beautiful and Bad" L Diary 42, Apr/54
6	The Sergeant-General	sergeant thinks he could run war better than top brass
		"The 60-Minute General" SSWS 21, May/54
6	Pick-Up	girl who accepts pick-ups—to her regret
		"Pickup" Love Diary 42, Apr/54
8	Mysto	club of pilots who also hold unusual other jobs—meet death
		"Wings of Danger" Detective 206, Apr/54
6	Take Her Down	sub commander who has never had a "kill" brings in one triumph
		"The Dry-Run Sub" Our Army at War 23, June/54

The SSWS cover I picked as an illustration doesn't show a scene from a Woolfolk story, but at least it mentions his story titles.

Adam-12 Writers

The two writers on Gold Key's TV tie-in Adam-12 are easy to tell apart by something that's used in almost every story about a police patrol car: sirens. Paul S. Newman's sirens go "Areeeee," John Warner's go "Whee-eeee." (How many times the letter e appears is changeable; I've seen "Areeee" as well from Newman. He wasn't counting as he hit the typewriter key, I'm sure.) There's also a certain amount of wheels skidding in a police-car series; Newman's go "Screech," Warner's "Scree-ee-ee." These siren panels are from each story in #2:

Art is by Jack Sparling except for the first issue, which is by Mike Roy. All issues have photo covers, and after #1 they incorporate pencil-and-ink images by Sparling taken from the stories.

Adam-12 Writers

Oct/73	#1	The Wild Wheelers	Paul S. Newman
		False Alarm	Newman
Feb/74	#2	Assassin's Target	Newman
		The Lady and the Landlord	John David Warner
May/74	#3	Reason to Live	Warner
		The Experiment	Warner
Aug/74	#4	Gang War	Warner
		Heat Wave	Warner
Nov/74	#5	But Not in Real Life	Newman
		Satan's Children	Newman
Mar/75	#6	Finger Man	Newman
		Behind the Mask	Newman
May/75	#7	The Old Guard	Newman
		Trouble in Tow	Newman
Aug/75	#8	The Carnival	Warner
		Help, Murder	Newman
Nov/75	#9	The Torch	Newman
		Smart Alec	Newman
Feb/76	#10	A Double Life	Newman
		One Wild Night	Newman

Woolfolk Records 1953/10

As with last month DC, Orbit, and Lev Gleason bought scripts from Woolfolk.

This month's Prescription for Happiness installment at Orbit eluded me; Love Diary 41 or thereabouts would be the place to look.

I correctly attributed "The Terrible Trio" to Woolfolk by its style years ago, but around the same time mistakenly attributed Mysto to George Kashdan.

October 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

12 pg	Batman	Joker trades crooks a la baseball manager
		"The Joker's Winning Team" Batman 86, Sep/54
6	The Ship on Shore	farmer learns in battle—Don't Give Up the Ship
		"Dry-Land Battleship" All-American Men of War 10, Apr-May/54
7	Tenement Girl	a girl who wants to marry guy who can save her from tenements, but falls for rowdy
		"Tenement Girl" Love Journal 23, Mar/54
6	Empty Saddle	a former groom, who loves horses, proves his worth to southern gentleman in war
		"Medal for a Saddle" Star Spangled War Stories 20, Apr/54
10	Superman	Luthor, Prankster & Toyman join against Superman
		"The Terrible Trio" Superman 88, Mar/54
8	Buster Crabbe	the strange case of the radioactive tiger
		"The Strange Case of the Radioactive Tiger" BC 3, Apr/54
3	Prescription for Happiness	guy wonders if his gal is nagging him
		Love Diary
6	Stingy Sam	a soldier who saves odds & ends that prove useful
		"Battle Junk" Our Army at War 25, Aug/54
5	I'm Dancing, Darling	ballerina's love life
		"Dance for Me, Darling" L Diary 41, Mar/54
7	Girl with a Past	a girl in scandal with a married man runs away to escape
		"Girl with a Past" L Diary 41, Mar/54
8	Mysto	all magicians are being killed. why?
		"The Riddle of the Doomed Magicians" Detective 205, Mar/54

Twilight Zone 11-15 Writers

"Way Out West—On Mars" in Gold Key's Twilight Zone 13 lifts the plot of Ray Bradbury's short story "Mars Is Heaven!"

The art attributions are on the Grand Comics Database. I don't see myself how Reed Crandall's art looks any different on "Way Out West" than on any other story he inked himself; naming Alden McWilliams as inker strikes me as way out of left field. And "Moment of Decision," as I said last week, is pencilled by Jerry Grandenetti, inked by Bill Draut and Joe Orlando.

"TZ 3" is a writer who will show up in later TZ issues and in Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery on more four-page "strange but true" stories.

The Twilight Zone 11-15 Writers

May/65	#11	The Gremlins	Dick Wood
		The Island Vision	Wood
		The Wanted One *	Wood
		(Wanted...Alive!) Doomsday in Dusterville	Wood
		Ghost Ship of the Skies	Wood
		The Vision *	Wood
Aug/65	#12	The Shadow with Claws	Leo Dorfman
		The Revolt of the Machines	Dorfman
		The Voice in the Mist *	Dorfman
		They Dwell among Us	Dorfman
Nov/65	#13	The Man Who Could Read the Future	Wood
		The Man with My Face	Wood
		Way Out West—On Mars	Wood
Feb/66	#14	The Day That Vanished	Wood
		The Death Car	"TZ 3"
		The Lost Genius	Wood
		The Lost Oasis	Dorfman
		A Nightmare Tale *	?
May/66	#15	Moment of Decision	Wood
		Wipe Out the Future	Paul S. Newman
		The Wheel of Light *	Dorfman
		Perfect Preservation	Wood
		The Vision of Mystir	Dorfman
		The Prophet *	?
		(* single-page stories)

Leo Dorfman names a character Mystir at least one more time: in "The Voodoo Doom of Superman" in Action Comics 413 (June/72)--a story for which he was credited only in the letter column in 417.

Woolfolk Records 1953/09

These scripts sold to DC, Orbit, and Lev Gleason.

Two of the romance stories and the Buster Crabbe I couldn't track down.

In addition to listing his comic book scripts in the records;book, William Woolfolk has been noting progress on writing his first novel, and this month he finishes it. The Naked Hunter will be published as a paperback original by Popular Library in 1954.

September 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

12 pg	Superboy	Clark Kent, juvenile delinquent
		"Clark Kent—Toughie" Adventure 197, Feb/54
7	Buster Crabbe	matches wits with escaped convicts in the jungle
		BC
3	Prescription for Happiness	city gal loves farm boy
		Love Diary
6	Love on Wheels	a hot car racing addict
		"Love on Wheels" Love Journal 23, Mar/54
10	We Kissed by Moonlight	her guy has a beautiful Mexican sweetheart
		L Diary or L Journal or [unpubl]
6	Don't Marry That Man	rodeo rider & a gal who wants a different sort of guy
		"Don't Marry That Man" L Diary 40, Feb/54
12	Superboy	Alex Jones, demon reporter
		"The Demon Reporter" Superboy 31, Mar/54

Joe Orlando's Ghosts on Twilight Zone

Before I get to my next installment of Twilight Zone writers, I want to devote a post to the art: specifically, the art attributed to Joe Orlando.

Jerry Grandenetti pencilled "Moment of Decision" in Twilight Zone 15 (May/66).

Joe Orlando didn't. Grandenetti even lettered the sound effects, as was his habit. The page above was inked by Bill Draut, as you can see from the face in the lower right corner. Joe Orlando inked at least some of the story, as here:

Joe Orlando no more pencilled "Moment of Decision" than Bob Kane did. Grandenetti and Draut ghosted for Orlando for a period, just as, say, Lew Sayre Schwartz and then Sheldon Moldoff did for Kane on Batman. Orlando wasn't even signing or taking a credit line here as at DC or Warren; he was trying to fool only the editors (if he accomplished that much). The readers are under no obligation to deny the evidence of Grandenetti's distinctive style.

Jerry Grandenetti, on the other hand, had nothing to do with "The Lost Genius" in TZ 14 (Feb/66); the GCD correctly attributes the pencils to Orlando, although I'd say someone else inked it.

Woolfolk Records 1953/08

Another month of William Woolfolk's selling scripts to DC and Orbit.

"Cold, Cold Heart" eluded me if it was published.

The GCD's original credit to Bill Finger for "The Thing from 40,000 AD" was my misidentification, made some time ago.

August 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

10 pg	Superboy	Tommy Tuttle gives his version of a Superboy adventure
		"Tommy Tuttle—Superboy's Pal" Superboy 30, Jan/54
7	No Wedding Dress for Me	a girl loves a guy still in love with gal who jilted him
		"No Wedding Dress for Me" Love Diary 40, Feb/54
10	Superman	kryptonite bomb will blow up Metropolis and kill Superman
		"One Hour to Doom" Superman 89, May/54
10	Superman	the thing from 40,000 AD
		"The Thing from 40,000 AD" Superman 87, Feb/54
10	Cold, Cold Heart	a girl afraid of men because once she was nearly raped
		L Diary or L Journal or [unpubl]
12	Superman	Earth faces same fate as Krypton
		"The Menace from the Stars" World's Finest 68, Jan-Feb/54

Orlando Dynamo Story

In the Dan Adkins interview in the Tower Comics issue of Comic Book Artist (#14, July/01), he says that "even Orlando did a story we [Adkins and Wally Wood] inked." The checklist in that issue doesn't reflect that statement; Joe Orlando's name appears only as the co-inker of an early Dick Ayers NoMan story.

I think the Orlando-pencilled story Adkins meant is "The Secret Word Is..." in Dynamo 4 (June/67). Under Wood's and Adkins' inks, I see some Orlando pencils fighting to show through at points in this story.

In the panels above, note the face of the man next to Dynamo in the first and that of the SPIDER agent in the second. These are the most obvious instances of Orlando pencils. Below are panels that to a lesser degree remind me of his work, although in the second it's not a face but the pose of the man in the suit.

Wally Wood's inks can overwhelm another artist's pencils; that consistency, of course, was the point for a while at Tower.

Woolfolk Records 1953/07

At this point in his records, William Woolfolk was identifying the publishers to whom he sold each story, so I know that "The Untamed," like the romance stories, went to Orbit. What that two-part story was or where it ended up—who knows? The rest of this month's scripts sold to DC.

UPDATE: SangorShop found "My Hero" after I posted.

July 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

7 pg	The Untamed	1st chapter: a world aflame
12	Superboy	battles Kingorilla
		"Kingorilla" Adventure 196, Jan/54
6	Mail Call Hero	guy gets all the mail in outfit—but it's really only ads
		"TNT Mail" Our Army at War 20, Mar/54
10	Batman	phantom crook of Gotham City
		"The Phantom Bandit of Gotham City" Batman 81, Feb/54
7	The Untamed	2nd chapter: voices in wilderness
6	Peril's Doorway	soldier who's afraid to open doors
		"The Door" OAAW 22, May/54
6	Hero of My Heart	shy librarian falls for school hero
		"My Hero" Love Diary 39, Jan/54
6	Suicide Squad	suicide squad of Nazis left to destroy town, can they be stopped
		"Suicide Squad" Star Spangled War Stories 20, Apr/54
10	Superman	dragon from King Arthur's court
		"The Dragon from King Arthur's Court" Superman 86, Jan/54
3	Prescription for Happiness	girl with lousy family loves guy
		L Diary

Twilight Zone (Dell) Writer

Since darkmark got me a look at these issues, I'll backtrack and fill in the pre-Gold Key Twilight Zone. They're published by Dell but produced, like the Gold Key run, by Western Publishing.

They're numbered 1173, 1288 (those two in the Four-Color numbering), then 01-860-207, and 12-860-210. The fourth issue is misnumbered 01-860-210 in the indicia. 01 stands for fifteen cents and 12 for twelve cents; the price on Dells had just dropped back to the industry standard at this point.

George Evans has said that he and Reed Crandall sometimes swapped some pencilling and inking on a story, but here I'm listing the artist I see doing the most on pencils or inks. Hearing that Frank Frazetta inked Evans on the fourth issue, I give him the credit on the stories that look least like Evans' own inks. On "Hard-Luck Harvey," Joe Giella, not known to have worked at Western, is a wild guess on my part; but does this give anyone a feeling of Fifties Strange Adventures/Mystery in Space déjà vu?

The second issue cover painting is by George Wilson. Someone else did the first; and another artist did, I believe, both the third and fourth issue paintings.

The Twilight Zone at Dell—Written by Leo Dorfman

Mar-May/61	(#1)	Specter of Youth	p: Reed Crandall  i: George Evans
		The Phantom Lighthouse	a: Crandall
		Doom by Prediction	a: Crandall
Feb-Apr/62	(#2)	The Bridegroom	a: Evans
		Secret Weapon	a: Evans
		The Joiner	p: Crandall  i: Evans
May-July/62	(#3)	The Man from Nowhere	p: Mike Sekowsky  i: Frank Giacoia
		Beyond the Window	p:  Sekowsky  i: Giacoia
		Hard-Luck Harvey	p: Joe Giella  i: Giacoia
Aug-Oct/62	(#4)	The Ring	p: Evans  i: Frank Frazetta
		The Collector	p: Evans  i: Frazetta
		The Time Machine	a: Evans

Just possibly the fillers (1-pagers except for "Voices" in the second issue, a 2-pager), are by Dorfman, but they're more illustrated text than comics (no dialogue), which makes the style harder to pin down. I believe some issues here, on variants I haven't seen, have additional filler pages in place of back-cover ads.

The Twilight Zone Fillers at Dell—By an Unknown Writer

Mar-May/61	(#1)	Journey into the Twilight Zone	a: Evans
Feb-Apr/62	(#2)	Voices from the Twilight Zone	a: Evans
		Voyage into the Twilight Zone	a: Evans
		Calling the Twilight Zone	a: Evans
May-July/62	(#3)	Luck in the Twilight Zone	p Sekowsky  i: Giacoia?
		Lost in the Twilight Zone	p Sekowsky  i: Giacoia?
Aug-Oct/62	(#4)	Creatures from the Twilight Zone	a: Evans

Woolfolk Records 1953/06

This month, William Woolfolk sold scripts to Orbit and DC.

As I said last time, SOS for Love is a series whose installments are untitled, so one would have to see the comics themselves to find it. UPDATE: I couldn't find the Batman crime hotel story, as there's not enough information in the Fleisher Encyclopedia, but Bob Hughes tracked it down--looking at the comics themselves.

June 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

10 pg	Batman	machines of menace
		"The Machines of Menace" Batman 80, Dec-Jan/54
10	Superboy	Superboy—puppet
		"The Puppet Superboy" Superboy 29, Dec/53
6	All Quiet	3 men face danger on a day labelled "All Quiet"
		"All Quiet" Star Spangled War Stories 17, Jan/54
8	He Was My Man	gal loves a rotter
		"He Was My Man" Love Journal 22, Jan/54
12	Batman	crime hotel
		"Millionaire Island" Detective 202, Dec/53
6	Love in the Desert	a girl torn between Arab lover, & white man
		"Love in the Desert" L Journal 22, Jan/54
10	Superman	Jimmy Olsen, mng editor
		"Jimmy Olsen, Editor" Superman 86, Jan/54
6	Take-Charge Guy	guy doesn't want to be an officer
		"No Rank" Our Army at War 19, Feb/54
3	SOS for Love	girl loves guy with a too-dangerous job
		L Journal

Explorers in the Unknown

This Gold Key series about the spaceship Hunter I, the back-up in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, serves as a dress rehearsal for the company's Star Trek for writer Dick Wood, artists Alberto Giolitti and company, Nevio Zecarra, and José Delbo. Star Trek 1 was cover-dated the month after Voyage 9.

Delbo's work here went unrecognized for a few decades. Here's a panel from his story.

Only the Explorers back-up story is new in issue 15; the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea story is a reprint.

Explorers in the Unknown—written by Dick Wood—in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

Nov/66	#6	Manhunt in Space	Giolitti Studio
Feb/67	#7	The Demons of the Deep Space	Nevio Zeccara
May/67	#8	The Hostile Asteroid	Zeccara
Aug/67	#9	The Graveyard of Space	Zeccara
Nov/67	#10	Mystery of the Magnetized Planet Chapter II	Zeccara
Feb/68	#11	Mystery of the Magnetized Planet Chapter III: Uncertain Lift-Off	Zeccara
May/68	#12	Prisoners of the "Jelly" Planet	Zeccara
Aug/68	#13	Chapter II: Prisoners of the "Jelly" Planet	Zeccara
Nov/68	#14	Prisoners of the Jelly Planet—Chapter 3	Zeccara
June/69	#15	Runaway Asteroid	José Delbo

Woolfolk Records 1953/05

A lot has changed since 1947! This month William Woolfolk sold scripts to Orbit and DC.

I have no idea where or if Stinky Slinky (a skunk?) was published, but it was done for a third publisher. Woolfolk coded the scripts with the buyer's initials for awhile (D for DC and R for romance for Orbit, for instance); Stinky Slinky he coded F, so just perhaps it was meant for Fawcett's Funny Animals. Fawcett, of course, dropped their comic book line at this point.

Woolfolk's war stories for DC have already been attributed (on the Grand Comics Database, for instance) since Mike Tiefenbacher found them from the other direction: on editor Julius Schwartz's production records of scripts bought for the titles he and Robert Kanigher edited.

"Prescription for Happiness" and "SOS for Love" were series whose installments went untitled.

May 1953 Comic Book Scripts by William Woolfolk

9 pg	Stinky Slinky	poses as hare in a hare hunt
10	Love Me, Love Me, Love Me	girl likes all men—hates to settle for one
		"Love Me! Love Me! Love Me!" Love Diary 38, Dec/53
10	Superman	Luthor—hero
		"Luthor—Hero" Superman 85, Nov-Dec/53
9	Stinky Slinky	tries to collect on Mr. Pooch's insurance
3	Prescription for Happiness	guy supports his family and so can't marry
		L Diary
3	SOS for Love	guy she loves has a prison record
		Love Journal
6	Wake Up—and Fight!	a soldier who just wants to sleep
		"Wake Up—and Fight!" Our Army at War 18, Jan/54
7	Swamp Girl	girl of swamps—no eligible men—falls for geologist
		"Swamp Girl" L Journal 21, Nov/53
6	Topkick	hates his sergeant, but as officer, realizes he's type he needs
		"Turnabout" Star Spangled War Stories 17, Jan/54
12	Superman	Metropolis becomes a crime capital
		"Metropolis—Crime Center" World's Finest 67, Nov-Dec/53
6	My Heart Couldn't Wait	girl makes soldier AWOL to marry him
		"My Heart Couldn't Wait" L Journal 21, Nov/53
5	editing No Life of My Own	"No Life of My Own" L Diary 38, Dec/53