Here's a little gem that many of you have seen before, but some of you have not, so...
In 1951, there was a 'chocolate flavored drink' called "INAPAK", and since comic books were all the rage with the kids back then, they decided to create a promotional 'giveaway' comic to sell their product. I'm not sure how but they managed to get comic book great Bob Powell to do it for them, and I can't say for sure whether or not Powell enjoyed drawing it or not, but it sure looks like he did! It's pretty damn cool for a free comic! - oh, yes, a word for the comic collector's out there...if you are looking to purchase a copy of this comic for your collection, don't be fooled into paying high prices! I actually saw this on Ebay going for $50 or more! Don't you do it! A few years back they found a whole warehouse FULL of these comics, so you can pick one up real cheap! But now you don't have to, just read it here and save the images! By the way, these scans are from my own personal comic, as usual. Nowadays it can also be found many places online as well.
As a special treat for you, I found some early panels that were not approved by INAPAK, and so they had to be changed (not the art, but the story). Here, take a look at some of these early panels before they were fixed.
Okay, just kidding! Those aren't real panels, just ones that I messed with...heh heh...
Here is the real comic, from cover to cover. Powell was skilled at drawing action, and, boy-o-boy, is there ever some action! So pour yourself a biiiiig ol' glass o' yummy INAPAK drink flavored goop, and enjoy the work of Mister Stanislav Robert Pawlowski, better known as Bob Powell. Oh, yeah, don't miss the inside cover where they compare INAPAK flavored drink to the atomic bomb...
(You may notice the front and back covers suffer from mild offsetting from sitting in stacks for so long, or perhaps just bad printing)
By the way, if anyone out there has ever drank this stuff, please let us know how you survived the experience...was it as dee-lish as Bob Powell says it is? Mmmm, I'm thirsty now!
These are some really well executed panels. Some of the interior stuff reminds me of Wood, and some of the action stuff reminds me of Reed Crandal. I was truly blown away though to see the second to the last panel, where the window that belongs in the sanctum sanctorium of Dr. Strange. Thanks for sharing this nifty novelty!
ReplyDeleteYes! I was going to point that out! I too found this Dr. Strange-like window, and now I wonder if this was the first time a window like that appeared in comics, or if there is some kind of history regarding 'windows'like that...now I have to spend weeks in my room searching through comics to see if these appeared anywhere else...I have a feeling, if it were anywhere else it would probably be in an Eisner strip somewhere, might fit right into a Spirit story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning that, Michael! Did Ditko borrow the window? I wonder ...
...erg...I think I drank too much INAPAK! Yup! Gotta run now!
Apocolyte: Laughed out loud at your modifications of the INAPAK promo. "Are you the Devil?" Haha.
ReplyDeleteChalk me up as one that hasn't seen this before, and I really haven't studied as much Powell as I should have. He is just so impressive. I was going to mention a Wood similarity, but I see Michael has beaten me to the punch. That splash panel is very Woodian, as is the interior of the rocket hanger. Extremely talky and wordy script - Did Powell do that as well? Sometimes steps a bit on the art, which is awesome. -- -- Mykal
Yes, Eisner did draw windows of this type...in the Spirit's crypt in Wildwood Cemetery. I guess that that was the original sanctum sanctorium.
ReplyDelete