house ad from DC comics dated October 1953
First off, Dean actually had his own comic book series! He shared it with his movie and comedy partner Jerry Lewis for 40 issues. After the pair broke up as a team in 1956, the comic became Jerry's alone.
The tone of the comic book was, just like their movies, adventure/comedy with light romance. The formula was simple: Dean got the girls, Jerry got the laughs.
from The Adventures of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis #20 (DC, April 1955), script by Cal Howard, pencils and inks by Owen Fitzgerald
But you could still spot Dino in a DC comic book if you had a sharp eye: here with Bob Hope and...who's that on the right? Anyone know?
from "Fallen Star, Fallen Heart!" in Girls' Love Stories #137 (DC, August 1968), script by Robert Kanigher, pencils and inks by John Rosenberger
The British long-runner (2222 issues!) weekly comic Film Fun featured a Martin & Lewis strip for many issues, although the pair were definitely portrayed with British sensibilities and even using British jargon.
from Film Fun (1920 series) #1811 and 1930 (Amalgamated UK)
A half-page text story about the partnership provides us with much-needed information: that you should never, never, typeset an entire big block o' text in all upper-case.
from "Stories of the Stars" in Boy Comics #91 (Lev Gleason, July 1953), creators uncredited and unknown
Dean and Frank Sinatra team up to fight the unbeatable foe: Herbie Popnecker. Well...I think we know who wins this one, don't we?
from "Herbie, Boy 'Beetle!'" in Herbie #5 (ACG, October 1964), script by Richard Hughes, pencils and inks by Ogden Whitney, letters by Ed Hamilton
And now, the nexus of two cultural greats: Jack Kirby draws Dean Martin. (And Jackie Gleason! How sweet it is!!)
from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #9 (Marvel, December 1962), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek
Here's some caricatures of Dean Martin (always with Jerry Lewis) from the covers of Dell's newsstand humor digest 1000 Jokes.
covers of 1000 Jokes #60, 63 and 69 (Dell, Fall 1951, Summer 1952, and Winter 1954), art by Edwin Kunz
Dino also, of course, starred in movies throughout his career. Here, Dell adapts the Western Rio Bravo, also starring Ricky Nelson (born May 8) and John Wayne (we don't celebrate his birthday on this here blog).
cover of Four Color #1018 [Rio Bravo] (Dell, May 1959)
Martin played "Dude," a guy who would have been totally at home in a Bill and Ted movie, I betcha.
from Four Color #1018; script by Eric Freiwald and Robert Schaefer, pencils and inks by Alex Toth
Has Peter Parker seen Rio Bravo? Not yet, but his new heterosexual lifemate Jacl "Nomad" Monroe is gonna take him to it. And Jack's buying the popcorn!
from Marvel Team-Up #146 (Marvel, October 1984), script by Cary Burkett, pencils by Greg LaRocque, inks by Mike Esposito, colors by George Roussos, letters by Diana Albers
Here's Dean and Jerry in a rare actual Marvel appearance, belaboring the Amazing Spider-Man (that's live-action Roy Thomas in that Spidey suit, BTW!)
from "Fame Is a Cross-Eyed Blind Date with B-a-a-a-d Breath" in Not Brand Echh #11 (Marvel, December 1968), script by Arnold Drake, pencils (and colors?) by Marie Severin, inks by John Tartaglione, letters by Joe Rosen
Reggie knows classic comedy duos! Hey, where's French and Saunders?
from "Foiled Again" in Archie's Pals 'n' Gals Double Digest Magazine #109 (Archie, March 2007), script by George Gladir, pencils by Tim Kennedy, inks by Rudy Lapick, colors by Barry Grossman, letters by Bill Yoshida
And then Dean shows up in hell. Aw, I know we all got sick of "Volare," but that's an awful end. Good thing it's only comic books!
from Badger (1997 series) #4/81 (Image, August 1997), script by Mike Baron, pencils by Mike Norton, inks (and letters?)by Barbara Kaalberg
Now that we have defined what Dean Martin is in comic books...what is not Dean Martin in comic books? Dino Manelli of Sgt. Fury 's Howling Commandos is not technically Dean Martin. But he was based on, and might as well be played by, Dean Martin!
from Sgt. Fury #19 (Marvel, June 1965), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Dick Ayers, inks by Frank Giacoia, letters by Sam Rosen
And this guy, despite his name, is just a college dean with the last name of Martin. Unless this really IS supposed to be Dean Martin, in which case, weirdest EC Comic Ever.
from "Stiff Punishment!" in Crime SuspenStories (1950 series) #11 (EC, June 1952); script, pencils, and inks by Johnny Craig; colors by Marie Severin; letters by Jim Wroten
Happy birthday, Dean Martin! May the moon never actually literally hit you in the eye.
from The Adventures of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis #12 (DC, April 1954), script by Cal Howard, pencils and inks by Owen Fitzgerald
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2 comments:
Why does Ogden Whitney's Frank Sinatra look eerily like Ross Andru's Harry Osborn?
Follow-up questions: How much of a stone-cold genius was Alex Toth and where do you get a lime-green repertory cinema?
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