Humorama Pin-up Gags.

Happy New Year everybody! Hope you are all doing okay and will continue to be so for the next 365 days! So, let's kick off this new year where we left it a couple of days ago, with some snazzy cartoons created for Martin Goodman's Humorama line of girlie magazines from the fifties and sixties!

Here's a little cutie from Dan De Carlo which was last published in 'Fun House' in 1972. De Carlo was very good at drawing attractive ladies and, as you may know, became very famous for drawing the long-running 'Archie comics', created first by Bob Montana and Vic Bloom for Pep Comics in December 1941. The tagline for this one reads 'He's a real gentleman momma -- he gave me a blank check and told me to sign it myself.'

Another piece by De Carlo, from 1955. The tagline originally read 'Why don't you give those guys a ticket, they aren't wearing top pieces either', which is crossed out and was later changed to 'That sign on the pavilion distinctly says that bathers must wear one-piece suits only.' This one was last used for Breezy magazine in April 1972.

Here's a piece by Dave Berg from 1961. Like De Carlo, he too worked with Stan Lee, when he was editor-in-chief at Timely Comics (before they changed the company to Marvel Comics in the 1960's) and did comics for 'Combat Kelly' and 'Ringo Kid'. He is best known for his work for Mad Magazine, which he did for 46 years, starting in 1956. This one reads 'Did you get a good look at that hussy, Charlie?'

Here's a piece by Bill Wenzel, who became very well known as a GGA artist as they started calling it in the seventies, ('Good Girl Art', meaning drawing attractive ladies), a term coined by David Alexander of The American Comic Book Company and advisor for the Overstreet Comic Book Price guide. It says 'Hey stupid - How are you gonna learn anything about painting sitting there?'

Below art by Frank Beaven, who worked under the alias 'rekoJ' , which is 'Joker' spelled backwards. The punchline read 'How did you ever get into this department?"

Several gags by Bill Ward, a notoriously famous good girl artist, who started out as an assistant for Jack Binder, who created 'Daredevil' for an issue of Lev Gleason Publication's 'Silverstreak' in September 1940. He worked for Fawcett Comics (publisher of Captain Marvel) and started the comic book series with sexy damsel Torchy for Quality Comics in 1946. This first one below from 1966, had a byline that said 'Of course men make passes at girls who wear glasses - why, are you wearing glasses?"

Below: 'Oh Lord Molesby... I Was Beginning to Think You'd Never Notice Me!'

Below: 'Before you walk out on me Harold, just remember, I'm not named Sue just by chance.'

Below, the caption read '...Well in some unusual cases, touch typing isn't a firm requisite!' 

Below, the caption read 'You're Quite Unusual, Harley, Aren't You Afraid That All of This Coffee Will Keep You Awake?'

And another one by Dave Berg. The original line went 'Charlie! This is a surprise!' and was later changed to 'Hi Susie, thought I'd surprise you tonight!'

Okay, to finish up this post, here's another one by De Carlo from 1956 which reads 'I Don't know why you're so anxious to keep playing - You have nothing to show for it!.

Some pics from Ebay of several Humorama magazines, it's all pretty innocent. Well, according to today's standards.