PS Artbooks has been collecting a lot of great Golden Age stuff for a while. I have the Phantom Lady books they put out, and I've also recently bought the Senorita Rio books they have published. Happened across this book in an issue of Previews some months back, and even though it is a "softee" (paperback) collection (I have only gotten all hardcover to this point), I ordered it, because I had never heard of the comic, nor of its lead character, "South Sea Girl." Being a fan of female-led comics, I obviously could not pass up this one. But I quickly discovered, once I started reading it, that Seven Seas Comics had a lot more than just "South Sea Girl" to offer!
Unfortunately, this softee collection did not have any introduction or other preface that provides any information about the comics, so I was forced to go online and find out what I could about
Seven Seas Comics. This six-issue series was published by Universal Phoenix Features (owned by Samuel "Jerry" Iger) and ran from 1946 to 1947. The comic featured stories by some rather big named Golden Age greats, such as Matt Baker, Thorne Stevenson, and others, and the first two issues featured eight stories, including a prose story, and a "Salty Stuff" page that gave readers info on nautical knowledge, from the use of flags for communication among ships to how to tie various knots to the meaning of different colored lights, etc. By issue three, however, the number of stories were reduced, and by the end of the series, there were just five stories in each issue. However, several of the regular features continued throughout the series, including my two favorites: "South Sea Girl" and "Tugboat Tessie."
"South Sea Girl" was originally drawn (and written?) by Matt Baker, a Golden Age artist who is probably best known for his work on
Phantom Lady, when that character was taken over to Fox Comics back in the '40s, as well as all of the
Canteen Kate comics. It has been alleged that South Sea Girl, whose name is Alani, was inspired by actress Dorothy Lamour, who starred in a number of South Sea Island films back in the late '30s and early '40s (see,
South Sea Girl in Seven Seas Comics). As stated in the introduction text box of that first issue, Alani is the ruler and protector of the Vanishing Isles, a small group of islands in the South Seas that is "shrouded by whispering mists" and, for the most part, hidden from the prying eyes of mankind. Each story, Alani faces off against invaders - whether it be poachers, Hollywood executives, pirates, or even murderous criminals - and each time Alani proves to be more than any of these man (or women!) can handle. The stories are relegated to the end of the first several issues, but clearly it must have been a hit with comic readers, because starting with the fourth issue, "South Sea Girl" became the lead story for those last three issues. Although Matt Baker signs off on the first several stories, the final tales are credited to "Thorne Stevenson," and it seems there are conflicting thoughts from online sources, as some thing Stevenson is simply a pseudonym for Baker, while others indicate Stevenson is actually Manning Lee Stokes, who wrote the stories, while Baker continued to provide art, albeit uncredited. I supposed at this late date, we will likely never know for sure...
"Tugboat Tessie" was something of a unique character (at least to me). Tessie is a tough-as-nails, working woman who runs her own tugboat business with her daughter, Melody (who is the real beauty of the strip). Tessie is always vying for business against Bill Jetty, a veteran tug boat sailor who is always stealing her business. The stories are humorous, as Jetty ultimately falls into trouble, and Tessie and Melody have to bail him out, ultimately scoring the job (and the pay that goes with it!). What I find interesting is that Tessie has plenty of meat on her bones, is an older woman, is not pretty by any means - and yet, she is not only the lead character in the stories, but the hero of every story! Melody, the beautiful blond daughter, is the bombshell all the boys are after, but she has no interest in any of them - her only interest is in helping her mother run a successful business and often times jumping into the water to save a man who has fallen overboard. The stories definitely turn the tables on the standard "damsel in distress" trope, as these stories all feature MEN in distress! They are all a joy to read, and they definitely made me chuckle more than once or twice. The stories are credited to Lee Stoken, who I found online to actually be Manning Lee Stokes, who authored the stories, while Matt Baker provided the art. Funny how the two features I liked most in this comics are authored and drawn by the same creators!
Other characters who appeared within the run are Captain Cutlass by "Jonathan Lee" (who, big surprise, turns out to actually be yet another pseudonym for Manning Lee Stokes), The Ol' Skipper by Ruth Roche under the name "Rod" Roche, Harbor Patrol by (you guessed it!) Manning Lee Stokes, and Sagas of the Seas: Authentic Adventures (which stories remain uncredited, although there is speculation that Robert Webb may have provided the art). Of these, the Captain Cutlass and Harbor Patrol stories are very readable - the Cutlass tales about pirates on the high seas, while the Patrol tales are about the police working to keep the docks safe from criminals. The Ol' Skipper is about a retired sailor who tells some pretty tall tales that usually result in some benefit to him or the person to whom he's sharing the story. I wouldn't say they are spectacular, but they are cute for what they are. The Sagas of the Seas are - well, in one word - boring! I did not find any of them interesting in the least. Then there are the comedy strips, "Tall Stories" (which later changed to "Tall Tales") and "Marty and the Mermaid," neither of which I really enjoyed. I've never been much of a fan of "funny comics," so these stories I pretty much skipped.
What bothered me most about the collection, though, is the fact that issue 3 is not included. There is no explanation or apparent reason why this collection only includes issues 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. They went to the trouble of reproducing not only the glossy paper for the covers, including the ads on the inside front cover and the inside and outside back covers, yet they left out an entire issue. I do realize the stories are not serialized, so the missing issue does not mean I actually missed out on a part to an on-going serial; yet, it does mean I do not have the entire series, with is rather disappointing. Perhaps PS Artbooks was unable to locate a complete copy of the issue for purposes of reproducing it, or perhaps there was something in the issue that was not yet in public domain, I honestly have no idea. When I did a search for information on
Seven Seas Comics online, I found a number of sites that listed individual issues, but found very few sites that provided more detailed information about the series as a whole. One website (
Seven Seas Comics) did give a bit of background for the creation and intention of the series, so that was something, at least.
Overall, the five issues I read in this collection were worth the purchase. It still amazes me how easily these creators of the Golden Age were able to tell complete stories in just 5 to 8 pages, while today's creators can't seem to complete a story in less than 4 to 6 issues! It's a shame we didn't get more stories of South Seas Girl and Tugboat Tessie, but I suppose they were characters of their time, and there they shall forever remain.
RATING: 8 self-center Hollywood starlets out of 10 for good, clean comic stories that prove (to me, at least!) just how much better the stories and art of yester-year are compared to today's comics.
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