Above are tiers from two of the stories I saw in reprint in the Seventies ("Dinosaur Island" and "The Case of the Crooked Gambler"). For years I'd IDed this artist for myself as just the "Dinosaur Island artist." Then finally—last month—I saw a signed story by him at Atlas: "The House That Wasn't There" in Journey into Unknown Worlds 7 (Oct/51). The signature is Paul Cooper. He has other early-Fifties signed stories at Atlas as well as at companies like Youthful. He's not trying to ape Bob Kane at this point.
Paul Cooper at DC:
Batman
| Jun-Jul/46 | 35 | Dinosaur Island |
| Dick Grayson, Author | ||
| Aug-Sep/ | 36 | The Penguin's Nest |
| Stand-In for Danger | ||
| Sir Batman at King Arthur's Court |
Batman in Detective
| Nov/46 | 117 | Steeplejack's Showdown (plus cover) |
| May/47 | 123 | The Dawn Patrol Crimes |
| Oct/ | 128 | Crimes in Reverse |
Batman in World's Finest
| May-Jun/47 | 28 | Crime under Glass |
| Nov-Dec/ | 31 | The Man with the X-Ray Eyes |
| Jan-Feb/48 | 32 | The Man Who Could Not Die |
| Jul-Aug/ | 35 | Crime by the Book |
Perfect Crime Mystery etc. in Mr. District Attorney
| Jan-Feb/48 | 1 | Studio Cop |
| Jul-Aug/ | 4 | Border Cop |
| Sep-Oct/ | 5 | The Murder with a Million Witnesses |
Perfect Crime Mystery etc. in Gang Busters
| Aug-Sep/48 | 5 | The Case of the Crooked Gambler |
| Oct-Nov/49 | 12 | The Case of the Perfect Alibi |
Perfect Crime Mystery in Star Spangled Comics
| Mar/49 | 90 | Remote Control Murder |
Well that solves that problem. I remember discussing these years ago with you and Rich Morrissey. They really were by Kane I was told despite the fact that they don't really look it. I sort of always harbored a suspicion that a heretofore unknown ghost was involved- something more than Kane's attempt to mimic Dick Sprang, not that far-fetched a notion.
ReplyDeleteDo you know anything about Cooper beyond this? His comics career seems to have lasted only a few years.
ReplyDeleteI have been wondering about this artist since the reprinting of Dinosaur Island in the 70s. No other name/style fit. Good catch!
ReplyDeleteBails has him working for Iger, 45-48. That's all I've got at the moment.
ReplyDeleteIncredible. I have wondered about this artist since the '70s, myself, when I bought a whole run of Golden Age Batman comics. His style was was just so different it jumped out at me. Thanks for the ID.
ReplyDeleteWhen I entered "Paul Cooper" in the GCD search engine, half the entries turned out to be Sam Cooper--so, yes, Paul is hard to get info on.
ReplyDelete"Nine Lives Has the Catwoman" was also drawn by Paul Cooper. It has the exact same style as the art in "Dinosaur Island." Kane's style was considerably stiffer and sloppier, even when tidied up by Charles Paris.
ReplyDelete