Three of a Kind - The Hardy Boys

Here are three covers from The Secret of Pirates Hill which was number 36 in the long-running Hardy Boys series.

The Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe, have been having adventures since 1927. Created by Edward Stratemeyer of book-packaging firm The Stratemeyer Syndicate, various ghost-writers have all worked under the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon.

The Secret of Pirates Hill was written in 1956 by John Almquist with a revised version by Priscilla Baker-Carr appearing in 1972 as the early books were updated.
 

The Archie of Diving - Mad House

Archie's Mad House was first published in 1959 and initially featured the regular Archie characters in stories that were a bit wackier than normal. From issue 19 the regulars were dropped and monsters, space stories and parodies of popular culture came to the fore.

Issue 22 from 1962 is significant because it introduced the character of  Sabrina, the Teen-age Witch. Created by writer George Gladir and Art of Diving favourite Dan DeCarlo, Sabrina's debut features one panel that caught my eye...

In the same issue, Gladir and DeCarlo also presented The Romances of Marcia the Mermaid. (Click on the images for larger scans).

After rejecting the advances of a shark called Mark and having her heart broken by Max the Life Guard, Marcia has sworn off boys forever when...

Don't you love a happy ending?!

As a bonus, here's the cover to Mad House Annual number two from 1964. Despite the hair colour, I don't think that's supposed to be Archie on the cover. I'm not sure who the artist is but I'm going to guess at Bob White. Updated 18/9/23: The Grand Comics Database suggests Samm Schwartz as a possible penciller.

Two of a Kind - Tom and Jerry

Here's two Tom and Jerry covers from 1963 and 1973 respectively. Artists unknown

 

 

 

 

 

The Rugged Art of Diving

.(Sorry girls, but diving's for men. Rugged men. Grrrr! (August 1956

I don't know the artist I'm afraid but the cover was used again a few years later so I hope he got paid
.twice



The Romantic Art of Diving

Here's a selection of images specially chosen for Valentine's Day.

"Gladys couldn't help wondering if brandishing his spear-gun was George's way of compensating for his tiny...

...cylinders."  This Sylvia Sark novel was published by the Valentime Romance Club in 1957.


No information on these rather sickly Valentine's cards I'm afraid.

No romantically-themed entry would be complete without the eternal triangle of Archie, Betty and Veronica. Art by Dan DeCarlo, whose grasp of scuba equipment seems to have improved by 1988. (Click for larger image).

 

The Adventurous Art of Diving

Today I'm going to feature some covers from the men's magazine Adventure.

The first three are by Mort Künstler who also used the name Emmett Kaye. Now well known for his American history pieces, Künstler previously worked on film posters, Mad magazine and Aurora model kits as well as magazines such as Adventure aimed at the discerning male reader.

1956.
 

As a bonus, here's a look at the original artwork for that last cover.

1957.

This next example is by Harry Schaare.

1959.

Sadly it seems that none of their "amazing undersea adventure photos" were good enough to go on the cover. Never mind, we get this smashing cover by an unidentified artist instead!

 

Two of a Kind - Punchlines

A slightly tenuous link between these two pieces but I'm sure you'll indulge me! Both feature a final panel of scuba-diving that comes out of nowhere.

The first example comes from a 1974 issue of the IPC comic Whoopee! I believe the art is by Alf Saporito.

The second piece is from the first issue of Tower's Tippy Teen from 1965. Tippy has tried to show an interest in her boyfriend's car, leading to a series of disasters that culminate with the car at the bottom of the local lake. Artwork by Archie Comics' Dan DeCarlo, here doing a little bit of extra-curricular work helping out Samm Schwartz who had recently left Archie to help start Tower Comics. (Click for a larger image).