Short(est) Lived Comic Series #30 - On Stage (Dell Comics)

It is with shock and surprise that I reach this 1,000th post for my blog!  When I started this blog back in 2015, I don't think I ever imagined I would still be writing it 10 years later, nor do I think I ever expected to have read as many books, short stories, and comics as I have read in that time.  It has been a fun journey, and (for the most part) I have been fortunate to have read so many great stories over those years.  So, it is fitting that for this special post, I review a comic that I have had for a number of years but have been waiting to read.  This one-off comic from Dell Comics (issue 1336 of Dell's "Four Color" series) is based upon Leonard Starr's very popular newspaper strip that ran for 22 years, from 1957 to 1979.  I have the full collection of comic strips in collected editions by Classic Comics Press, which I have been reviewing on this blog, and I never even knew this comic existed until I happened across it at a local comic convention one year.

 

Dell's On Stage comic was published in 1962, with an "April-June 1962" date listed in the indicia.  While the cover gives credit to Leonard Starr, the creator of On Stage, Starr did not actually work on the comic.  While no actual credits are given with the comic itself, which was standard in those days, the Grand Comics Database (Dell Comics - On Stage) indicates the cover art was provided by Robert Williams Meyers, while interior art was provided by Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia (inside front cover); Frank Bolle and Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia (main story); Frank Giacoia (inside back cover); and Mike Sekowsky/Frank Giacoia (back cover).  The script for these stories is credited to Ken Fitch, based on information in the "Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999."  Despite Leonard Starr not being involved, I have to give the publisher credit for finding an artist who was able to mimic Starr's style when drawing Mary and her supporting cast.  Sadly, the one thing that is missing from the comic are the extremely detailed backgrounds that Starr provided in nearly each and every panel of his comic strip.  While the panels in this comic do have some backgrounds, there are quite a few panels that simply have basic, one-color backgrounds against which the characters stand.  For me, though, having only seen Mary Perkins in black and white in the reprint collections, it was exciting to see her brought to life in full color in this 32-page comic!

 

This story takes place during the years collected by the fifth volume of Classic Comics Press' reprint volumes, and it brings back not just one, but two recurring characters from Mary's newspaper strip.  When Mary is asked to take a role in a new play about Shakespeare's life, supposedly based upon diaries found that reveal missing years of his life, she must convince fellow actor and friend, Maximus, to come to the States and take a role as well.  The director's difficulty in finding a backer suddenly disappears when an attorney shows up indicating he has a backer who wishes to remain anonymous.  This is when Mary happens to run into Johnny Q, who warns her about the attorney and his reputation.  So, here we have two mysterious men from Mary's strip who swoop in to help her uncover the truth, not only behind the mysterious benefactor for the play, but also the reality behind those alleged diaries of Shakespeare.

 

There's not quite as much drama in this comic as there is in the daily strip, but it does have its moments - particularly when Frank Stewart, the playwright, is brutally attacked when he refuses to allow the financier to take credit for his script.  Maximus steps in and shows the hoodlums that he is more than just a "pretty face" (and if you have read the On Stage newspaper strip, then you'll understand that pun!).  Between Mary, Pete, Maximus, and Johnny, they manage to turn the tables on the crooked producer and save the play from having any unsavory connections.  And, surprisingly, in the end, Maximus reveals to Pete the truth about his appearance, a revelation that I cannot recall has ever been made in the newspaper strip (at least, not up to the point where I have read).

 

The cover art, by Robert Meyers, depicts the very dramatic moment when Maximus shows the producer's hoodlums that he can fight back and take them down - although, in the story, there is no woman in the background watching.  I am not sure if the woman shown on the cover is supposed to be Mary Perkins, but if so, then it is an inaccurate portrayal, as this woman is a blond, and Mary has dark hair.  And since Dell Comics of that period did not have any advertisements, the inside front cover, inside back cover, and back cover all feature short stories that give readers a bit more inside information, to to speak, about theater life.  "Angels Without Wings" on the inside front cover provides some details about investors, while "The Drama" on the inside back cover gives an abbreviated history of how drama has been depicted on the stage over the years. The back cover provides a color presentation of the "Arts and Tricks of Make-Up," and how strong make-up, simple techniques, and the use of rubber masks are used to hide blemishes, accentuate features, and sometimes change the appearance of actors on stage and screen. 

 

Overall, I would say this issue is a very nice tribute to the characters and stories of Leonard Starr, and it definitely does Mary Perkins proud.  Of course, only being one issue, the story is a bit faster paced than the daily strip, which had stories that lasted weeks, seven days each week, so had plenty of time to build up suspense and drop sub-plots that would come to fruition later.  Also, with just 32 pages, the writer did not have a lot of time for character development, so any readers who were not already familiar with the characters would likely have a lot of questions about who they are and how they are connected.  I wonder what we would have seen if Dell had decided to do more On Stage comics?

 

RATING:  9 electronic door locks out of 10 for keeping the drama in Mary Perkins' life and providing an interesting new theater story centered around the bard himself!

Mary Perkins, On Stage - Volume Seven

It's always a joy to jump back into the world of Mary Perkins.  I never really know what to expect with each of these comic strip collections, as Mary's creator, Leonard Starr, has proven that he is an amazing writer, managing to always keep the stories fresh and engaging, and to provide art that is absolutely stunning with each and every panel.  This particular volume has a forward by the creator himself, Leonard Starr, which gives some insight into Starr's own inspiration for getting into the field of art - his love of the Terry and the Pirates strip back in the day, and his fateful meeting with the creator of that strip, Milton Caniff.  There's also an introduction by Sal Amendola, who started his career in comics way back in 1969 at DC Comics.  Amendola discusses how the characters in Starr's strips are always fully human - neither all good, nor all bad, as particularly evidenced by the stories in this collection.  And he's write.  As I was reading this year-and-a-half worth of strips, I realized that is what truly draws the reader into Starr's stories - the characters are very real, even in some very unusual circumstances.

 

Volume Seven of Mary Starr, On Stage picks up with the October 12, 1964 strip that introduces readers to the Russian Major Volkov and re-introduces readers to Morgana D'Alexius (incorrectly identified as "D'Alexis" on the back cover blurb for this volume).  And thus begins the opening story for this volume, as Mary is informed one of her films is being shown at the Moscow film festival, and they want her there; while, at the same time, Pete (Mary's photographer husband, for those who may have forgotten) is told the Soviet government is opening new areas to the foreign press, and he has been personally invited to photograph them.  Mary and Pete both believe this is too much of a coincidence, and as they quickly find out, it is!  Morgana has enlisted the aid of Major Volkov in a plan to steal Pete away from Mary - by having the Major basically hold Mary captive at his castle home, while she leads Pete to another small country where she can seduce him away from his wife.  As you can expect, the plan fails, Mary and Pete figure out what is going on, and they find their way back to each other.   The one great thing about this story is the gorgeous backgrounds of Russia and its architectural beauty in Moscow.  The story has a very powerful ending, with the Major sacrificing himself during a horrific storm to hold Morgana out in the treacherous waters so she cannot get back to Pete.  Both are assumed lost at sea, but no bodies are found ... (gee, like with any good soap opera, you know what that means!)

 

As one story ends, so does another begin, and Starr takes us from international danger and intrigue to a May-December romance as Mary happens to meet up with Constance Heath, a former drama coach of Mary's who is aging somewhat gracefully.  A young up-and-coming actor gives up everything to be in her current show just so he can get close to the woman he claims to love.  Constance doesn't know what to think, and Starr plays with the readers emotions, as Constance and young Eric go back and forth - will they marry?  Will they part ways?  Will they be able to bridge the large age gap to find true love?  Mary just wants her former coach to be happy, but at what price comes happiness?  Starr actually touches on some very real issues here regarding the compromises and sacrifices that come with loving someone who is vastly older / younger than one's self.

From here, we slide right into an island adventure, as Mary heads south to film a television version of "The Tempest."  Little does she realize that she's going to be reunited with a face from the past - or rather, a faceless one!  That's right, Mary is startled at first, but then overjoyed to discover that Maximus is going to be playing the role of Caliban in the production.  The master of disguise is in top form, but the producer's assistant falls head over heels for him, not knowing of his deformity.  The young girl's brother, though, has other ideas, as he sees Maximus as a money ticket and his way off the island.  Blackmail gone wrong and a near-fatal fight at the top of a lighthouse lead to the origin of our faceless hero, as well as a marriage proposal that shows just how much heart and soul matter more than physical appearance!

The next story takes us back to New York, where Mary is preparing for her latest stage role, alongside two very different men - Claude Harper, a boy from the country who is thrilled to be working with Mary; and Rod Damian, an arrogant, self-absorbed star from Hollywood who sees only himself ... until he meets Claude's girlfriend, however, and decides he is going to steal her away.  This story gives readers the typical soap opera drama one would come to expect from a daily serial about a theater actress.  A young country girl comes to the big city to meet her actor boyfriend, only to be enticed away by a famous actor.  She loses her boyfriend, only to discover the famous actor has tossed her aside once has has driven a wedge between the two.  The question remains - has the damage Rod done driven the young couple apart for good?

Starr provides a pretty good lead up for the next story, as Mary notices a shifting mood in her husband, and sees numerous phone messages from his boss that have not been returned.  Something is up, but she can't figure out what - until he fails to show up after her opening night of the play, and she rushes home to learn Pete has left for an assignment, one that will keep him away for some time.  And it is at this point readers get a real change of pace, for the story leaves Mary in New York and turns all focus and attention on Pete Fletcher and the danger he faces in Vietnam.  Pete has been called to assist in getting a Chinese actor smuggled out of the country and safely to America - but the story has plenty of twists and turns, as he finds out the actor is one who plays females on the stage and is quite defensive about his art form.  Soon enough, though, Pete is given a shock to discover the person he is helping escape is not the actor, but rather, the actor's daughter - the actor refused to leave unless his daughter was taken safely out first!  Pete spends a number of weeks trekking through the jungles, avoiding armed natives, and having to seek first aid for the young girl after she is poisoned in a trap set in the reeds. I was actually surprised to see how many weeks go by without even one panel of Mary anywhere in the strip - I mean, after all, this is HER strip, and yet Starr keeps the entire focus on Pete and the girl he is rescuing (and her growing love for Pete!).  Of course, Pete eventually makes it home and has to face his wife, who is concerned that all the time spent with the girl may have changed his feelings for her...

This volume ends with a few hints of the next story to come, as Mary runs into an old friend, and while eating dinner together, they spot a famous producer who has just gotten divorced and begin to dish on the gossip about the divorced couple...

Starr's art is superb, as usual, with amazingly detailed backgrounds and the most accurate expressions I've ever seen in any comic art.  There were a couple of strips in this collection that were not quite as crisp and clear as 99% of the strips usually are, making me wonder if Classic Comics Press was unable to find really good scans of those particularly daily strips (ex., page 240, the 3-26 strip or page 237, the 3-19 strip).  Yes, both strips use a lot of shadows and shading, but they still seem a bit fuzzy to me, almost a bit grainy as of they are copies of copies.  Nevertheless, they are clear enough to read and do not truly take away from the enjoyment of the story.

I'm sure I've said it before, and I'll gladly say it again - I am so glad to be reading these strips in these collected editions, because I don't know if I would have had the patience to wait day after day after day to read these full stories when they were original published back in the 1960s!  

RATING:  10 stand-in hat racks out of 10 for keeping the strip fresh and interesting with a variety of stories and characters that leave the reader feeling like you never know what's going to happen next!

Mary Perkins, On Stage - Volume Six

It's always a pleasure to come back to the next volume of Leonard Starr's famous newspaper strip.  I'm still in awe of the fact that Classic Comics Press has been able to gather ALL of the strips from the publications lengthy run and collect them into 15 volumes for fans to re-read after all these years.  The fact that so many of the strips (and original art!) survived all of these years is a feat in and of itself.  And so, after five volumes and just as many years worth of strips, picking up volume six is like starting the next season of a television show - getting ready to sit back and once again follow the lives of Mary Perkins, her husband, her manager, and all of the other supporting cast members who fill this fictional world of life in the theater!

Mary Perkins, On Stage volume six features the newspaper strips from March 10, 1963 through October 11, 1964.  As this volume opens with Mary and her husband, Pete, arriving home to New York, where they are met by Mary's manager, Nat Blessing, and his nephew, Webster Ivie.  Like the saying goes, there is no rest for the weary, and Nat already has Mary signed up for her next big project - a movie being filmed in France!  The subject of the movie is the "big European races," and the star is Joe Kulak, a famous actor that has even Mary weak in the knees.  But, as Nat so aptly informs his nephew, "The more magnificent the actor, the more magnificent the nut!"  And thus begins the latest adventure in the dramatic life of actress Mary Perkins.  She and Ivie fly to France, where they discover trouble is already brewing. Kulak is a self-indulgent, self-absorbed ladies man who has the irrational fear that the automobile made specifically for him for the film hates him!  What's worse, the mysterious Madame Bauer has also arrived in France, and she seems to enjoy taunting the actor.  Mary, on the other hand, becomes quite enamored with the sports car - which ultimately leads to disaster when Madame Bauer sabotages the car, thinking Kulak will be driving it!  This, of course, leads directly into the second story...

 

Before we look at the second story, though, I must make mention of the sports car, which becomes a very important character in the supporting cast of this story.  I know what you are thinking - a car is an inanimate object, so how could it be a character?  It's not like the car is alive (like a Transformer) or sentient (like Herbie, the Love Bug) - yet, Leonard Starr manages to give the car its own character, and all in a very natural way.  Readers only get glimpses of the car in the first few strips of this story, but in the March 21, 1963 strip, astute readers will notice something unique - while we can only see a small portion of the left front side, it is the headlight, cracked from the accident that occurred while Kulak was driving, that gives the appearance of an angry eye looking back at the ego maniacal driver.  From that moment forward, Starr manages to show how the car "feels" in such nuanced ways ... such as the car's front grill appearing to smile as Mary drives the car in the March 29th strip ... or the car growling when Kulak tries to start her in the March 31st strip (yet starting right up when Mary turns the key in the same Sunday strip).  Using shadows, angles, and other neat little artistic tricks, Starr manages to bring the car to life without actually giving it any unnatural elements - all of which add a humorous element to a strip that is so often steeped in drama.

And speaking of drama, plenty of that unfolds as Mary's story continues following her car accident.  Mary's face is disfigured, and the mysterious Dr. Bauer (does that name look familiar?  it should!) is the surgeon called in to repair the damage.  Only, the doctor has a morose view of beauty and love, based on his own relationship at home, and he fails to restore Mary's beauty in order to determine if her true nature is only skin deep.  "...if one is ugly, people often fail to look for the decent, sometimes beautiful person underneath! ... in the same way a beautiful face can blind us to the ugliness behind it!!"  A very poignant statement about human nature - which proves only too true when Pete arrives and make the startling revelation about Madame Bauer's true identity - for she is none other than Anya Kapek!  (Those with good memories might remember that Anya once tried to convince Mary she was actually Pete's wife....)  Dr. Bauer realizes his mistake and performs another surgery to restore Mary's beauty - and then takes his wife on a final journey to return her to her homeland ...

Meanwhile, Pete becomes involved in an entirely new story when he is trying to follow the Bauers.  When he stops to ask for directions, he stumbles across a mystery involving a gruff old man who seems to be hiding something ... or someone! ... from the world.  Before he leaves, though, an old photograph is thrown from an upstairs window - a photograph that Pete recognizes as the one photograph that set him off on his career as a photographer!  Kristin Kara was a famous actress, but a recluse who never allowed herself to be photograph - but she allowed Pete that one photo.  For that photo to show up so unexpectedly must mean something, and Pete is determined to learn what.  Their questions are soon answered when Kristin Kara shows up with the old man, Torwald Yavel, in tow.  Kara is ready to come out of retirement - but the twist is that it is really her daughter who is going to take to the stage, not Kara herself!  The mystery deepens, as there is something off about Kara's daughter, and Pete is determined to learn the truth.  Mary pretty much takes the backstage (no pun intended!) in this story, as Pete plays detective in order to help Kara and her daughter from what he believes to be the iron grip of Yavel. But, as Starr has proven time and again with his writing, everything is not always what is seems.

From here, Mary once again steps into the limelight, as she is offered the chance the chance of a lifetime to star as Ophelia in a production of Hamlet for live television.  Chapman Dane is involved, and everyone is excited at the prospect - especially Earl Falter, who is set to play Hamlet.  The oddball out is Adam Budd, who is cast as Laertes - until Dane, on his death bed, calls for Adam Budd, intending to give him the secret to becoming the greatest actor that ever lived!  Overnight, Budd becomes a sensation, and the whole world demands to know the secret that Dane passed on - but Budd won't say.  This only drives the public crazier, resulting in Budd taking Falter's place as Hamlet, which enrages Falter.  As it always seems to be, there is more drama going on backstage than on the actual stage!

The resolution of that tale leads right into the return of the infamous Johnny Q, who arrives in town at the same time a gangster by the name of Mr. Grinch is discovering he must do something quick to solve some tax problems he is having - and his lawyer suggests he invest in a God-awful play in order to lose money!  With Nat Blessing out of town, his nephew Ivie is in charge, and he suddenly finds himself in charge of a new play being completely financed by ... yup, you guessed it!  Obviously, things are not going to go well here.  Mary, of course, is cast, and even she can't make sense of this new play, "Below the Beneath."  But this is only a part of the story - for the theater where the play is rehearsing holds some sinister secrets, and when Mary stumbles across them, she finds herself the prisoner of a madman hiding beneath the theater itself!  It's up to Johnny Q to not only stop Mr. Grinch, but he must save Mary from the clutches of a theatrical maniac.

The final two stories in this volume are not quite as life-threatening, although they are life-changing for some of the characters.  The first gives us some insight into Mary's past, as she returns home to Holmesfield at the request of her childhood friend, Christy Chalmers.  It turns out Christy has become somewhat bitter as she has aged, having gained some weight and discovering she is no longer the "right type" to play the starlet in her local hometown plays.  Mary brings her some much needed encouragement, and before you know it, Christy starts exercising, dieting, and turning herself back into the beauty she once was - and Mary is able to get her friend a chance to act in New York!  Christy jumps at the chance, ready to leave her husband behind and begin a new life (one that includes the director!).  With a bit of prodding, however, Christy realizes that her husband has followed her all the way to New York just to be with her, and the two are reunited; while, unbeknownst to Mary, her agent is setting up her next acting gig with Maynard King, a producer with a rotten reputation.  In fact, he has a brutish bodyguard who sometimes uses force to rid King of any unpleasant visitors - including a man whose sister tried to kill herself after King promised to make her a star, then tossed her to the side for another actress.  Mary takes on the job despite King, and she soon becomes friends with a young woman named Holly.  But everything becomes tangled when Mary witnesses Kagle (the bodyguard) beat up someone, and as she prepares to give her statement to the police, Holly shows up and reveals she is Kagle's daughter!  This becomes another story that is less focused on Mary and more on Holly and her budding romance with King (who gives her a false name in order to stay safe from Kagle).  Holly and King ultimately run away to get married, but upon their return, and through a horrible mistake, Kagle knocks out his own daughter, thinking he is attacking her new husband!  King reveals his true feelings for Holly, and father and daughter are reunited, welcoming King into the family as Mary and Pete watch on...

The final panel of the October 11, 1964 strip teases readers with what is to come with the next story, as Morgana D'Alexius is seen waiting at the airport for the arrival of one Major Volkov - who will obviously be playing an important part in the next chapter of Mary Perkins' life!

As always, Starr's art in this volume is absolutely gorgeous.  His panels vary in detail, shading, and angle, setting the mood for each scene and drawing the reader's eyes to what is truly important in each panel.  His attention to even the most minute details, such as a basket of bread on the dinner table, or the curtains hanging in over a background window, is astounding, and his ability to keep each scene consistent with those that came before is awe-inspiring.  One thing I did notice in this volume is Starr's use of a bit of caricature with some of the villains - such as Yavel's almost Lurch-like appearance in the story about Kristin Kara, and Mr. Grinch's cartoon-gangster appearance (resembling some of the gangsters you might see from a Bugs Bunny cartoon, with the short stature, high forehead, and oversized lips).  I also noticed that with the storytelling, several of the stories moved Mary and Pete to the background, as other characters took center stage, with some strips not even featuring Mary or Pete at all!  While I realize that having only three panels in each daily strip leaves little room for advancing the story, it's odd to see three or more daily strips that do not feature the title character (such as the strips from December 16, 1963 through December 18, 1963, where Mary only appears very briefly in only two of the nine panels!).  But the stories are still quite engaging, and Starr manages to keep them fresh and unique (from car racing to jealous actors to gangster hi-jinks to monsters under the stage to a broken marriage).  Mary Perkins, On Stage is truly a fast-moving soap opera that definitely has me hooked for the long-run!

RATING:  10 booming blasts from a construction site out of 10 for taking the story of Mary Perkins to new heights, even going so far as to mar the beauty of the lead character for the sake of the story!

Mary Perkins, On Stage - Volume Five

It's time to return to the wonderful world of Mary Perkins, that young actress who is slowly making a name for herself in the New York theater world.  As we enter volume five of this collection, Mary Perkins is married to journalist Pete Fletcher, and her acting career has really taken off.  She and Pete have certainly had their fair share of adventures, dangers, and exciting dramas (definitely more off-stage than on!), but they have always managed to not only survive, but come out stronger on the other side.  And along the way, they usually manage to help the unfortunate, revive failed careers, and restore lost loved ones.  It is in this volume that Mary also gets her due, as the title to the newspaper strip changes from simply On Stage to Mary Perkins On Stage (after all, she is the star, so why shouldn't she be the headliner?).

Mary Perkins On Stage Volume Five reprints the newspaper strips that ran from September 18, 1961 to March 9, 1963.  Leonard Starr, writer and artist of the strip, continues to provide the most magnificent tales, both in story and art.  The stories are somewhat standard soap opera fare, but Starr manages to give them creative twist that keeps them fresh and engaging.  And his art - really, all I can say is WOW!  The strip provides some panels of the most intricate detail, whether it be background city scenes or interior theater shots or even the magnificent mansions of the wealthy backers; at the same time, the characters all remain unique, each having his or her own distinctive, individual appearance so that no two look alike, and it's easy to know who is who simply by looking at them on the page.  Starr is a master of expressions - from jealousy to fear to surprise to anger to joy to love - name an emotion, and Starr manages to express it with what appears to be ease on the face of his characters.

 

 

One thing I did notice in this volume, which I hadn't picked up on in prior volumes, is that the final panel of every Sunday strip was re-used nearly every week as the first (or in a few odd instances, the second) panel of the Monday strip each week.  And I don't mean it appears the panel was re-drawn to mirror the Sunday panel; no, it is clear that it is the exact same panel (down to the shadowing, creases, lines, etc.) with the only differences sometimes being that a background is shaded differently or a portion of the edges is cropped out.  The dialogue is not identical, but the panel itself - exactly the same!  I went back and looked at volume four, and it appears this was just beginning to come into play towards the end of that volume, so this may have been a technique that Starr began to use in 1961 - whether to save some time by giving him one less panel to draw each week, or perhaps to provide a visual link between the Sunday strip and the Monday strip, or better yet, maybe for the people who did not get the Sunday paper, this gave a bit of a "catch up" for those readers, so they did not feel like they missed anything important in the story.  Whatever the reason, it is very noticeable in this volume, and I have to wonder if it continued for the remainder of the strip.

As far as the stories in this volume, the opening tale is rather a fun one.  Mike O'Hare gets a new backer, but there is a catch - Walter T. Boniface is a man who enjoys a rather odd game called "Rhymie-Stymie."  "It's a lovely game! I supply a definition and you must answer in two rhyming words that fit it."  A demented flower is a Crazy Daisy.  A pleased father is a Glad Dad.  And so on.  Mary finds it amusing, but Mike simply wants a backer for the next play.  Mike plays along, though, in order to get the money, but the tensions grow as he gets weary of the continued word games, until Mike discovers Boniface's secret and turns the tables on him (with Mary's help, of course).  Interestingly, this story is more about Mike O'Hare than Mary.  As the story concludes, however, readers get re-introduced to Maximuus, who makes an appearance at the theater and gets the ball rolling on the next story...

Ivor Brand, "the Master of Horror," is in town at the same time as Maximus - and he's burning over the fact that Maximus was cast in a new horror film due to his unique ability to create pretty much any face he wants (but, of course, only Mary knows his real secret).  Brand discovers Maximus' secret make-up case and steals it, hoping it will give him the ability to get the part he wants.  With Mary's aid, Maximus tracks down the missing make-up case and Brand, learning that the other actor has some secrets of his own he doesn't want revealed!  But this adventure could lead to trouble in paradise as Pete arrives home for the holidays to discover Mary has taken off with Maximus! (But all gets straightened out, and just in time for the third story...)

Director Crispin Fray is in town, ready to direct a play written by John Parrish - and they are determined to have Mary Perkins as the star of their production!  At the same time, Pete gets a new assignment - Morgana D'Alexius - an enigmatic woman who has never allowed herself to be photographed has agreed to do a photo-essay, but only with Pete Fletcher!  This one builds quickly, as it becomes clear that Crispin has his sights set on Mary and Morgana has her sights set on Pete - and it doesn't matter that Pete and Mary are happily married to each other!  There are plenty of lies, tricks, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings as Crispin and Morgana use every trick under the sun to lure Pete and Mary away from each other - but, of course, their plans backfire, and when Morgana keeps Pete from Mary's award ceremony and Crispin lures Mary up to his apartment under the belief there is a party to be held there, it's John Parrish who steps in the save the day and reunite the couple by foiling the untoward plans of the director and recluse!  What I like about this story is that all during the course of the tale, Parrish disappears without any explanation - and it turns out this is all a set-up for the fourth big story (which, in my opinion, is probably the most interesting of them all in this volume!).

As Crispin's play sets to open in Chicago, he and Mary have a difficult time keeping Parrish focused, because it seems the critic, Gerald Philip Jason, is also in town, and he seems to know all about Parrish's play - even before he has seen it!  Parrish is in a tizzy, and Crispin is worried that these disappearances are going to hurt the play, because every time he re-appears, he has made changes to the script, all based on critiques by Jason!  There's a reason why Jason may be coming down so harsh on the play, and that is because there is a personal connection between Jason and Crispin - a woman, who just happens to make her appearance at the theater and demand that Crispin give her a part in the play!  There's a mystery that builds here, and Starr does it perfectly - who is Cassandra?  What is her connection with the theater critic and the director?  How does she have such sway over Crispin?  Where is Parrish disappearing to when he goes missing?  Is he just blacking out, or is there something else at work?  The clues are there, and astute readers might actually figure it out before the big reveal in the final panel of the June 17, 1962 strip - but it is a good one, and it only escalates the drama that ensures thereafter.

The fifth tale brings Mike O'Hare to Chicago, where he introduces Mary to an agent, Nat Blessing.  Nat is currently representing a rising new star, Tony Abbot, who is shy and reluctant to step into the spotlight.  Tony and Mary are set to star in a new film, and Mary is determined to bring Tony out of his shell, after meeting comedian Charlie Manna, it appears he might be opening up.  The film company heads down to the Caribbean to begin filming, and Pete joins Mary there.  Mrs. Ainsley, a big stockholder in the film company, is also on site, and she is frustrated that Tony will not respond to any of her messages.  The revelation that she is his mother does not come as much of a surprise, and the story centers around their relationship - her self-absorbed nature and his desire to simply have some of her attention.  When Tony discovers his mother has a serious health condition, it serves as the catalyst to unite the two, who begin a new road in their familial relationship. 

The sixth and final story is rather an odd one, involving a jet case hero from the war named "Nine-Lives" MacNab.  It seems he has a connection to both Pete and Mary - he saved Pete's life in the war, and Mary was his last date in school before he entered the armed services years ago.  He makes a sudden appearance in New York, but it's not just to reunite with his old friends - he intends to take what he feels is due him for saving Pete's life all those years ago, and that prize is Mary herself!  He takes her away for an unexpected plane ride, which finds them being forced to land in a blizzard, where they have to be rescued from the freezing temperatures.  While he seems to have realized his wrong-doings after recuperating in the hospital, he makes one last-ditch effort to win Mary before taking off into the wild blue yonder, leaving a jealous Pete behind with Mary reminding him that he is the only man for her...

There is a one-panel hint of what is to come, with a dark haired stranger talking with a mechanic about a car (conveniently hidden under draping) that he is planning to take, which car will "take delicate handling," even with the bugs ironed out.  Guess we will have to wait to volume six to find out what lies ahead for Mary and her growing cast of supporting characters.

 

Overall, these stories were pretty good.  Because of the nature of this being a newspaper strip, the stories have to move at a pretty quick pace and they keep your attention fairly easily.  I do prefer it when Starr provides more than just a one panel set up for the next story - such as the Parrish storyline, where Parrish repeatedly disappears during the third tale, which does not see fruition until the fourth story.  Those kind of subplots in one story leading up to the next make for excellent reading and give readers some great payoff.  But, I suppose Starr had to keep things fresh and moving, so he couldn't be expected to do that kind of build-up with every tale.  Regardless, these strips are definitely worth the read.

 

RATING:  10 pairs of extra glasses out of 10 for engaging stories and absolutely gorgeous art!

Mary Perkins, On Stage - Volume Four

Welcome back to the continuing saga of a young actress trying to make her way in the world of theater, television, and film, all the while adjusting to her new life as the wife of a news photographer.  Yes, that is where we find the beautiful and talented Mary Perkins as we reach Volume Four of the collected editions of the newspaper strip, On Stage.  I have been absolutely loving this series of strips, as they contain everything necessary to make for engaging stories - strong characters, dramatic stories, fast-moving plots, suspense, mystery, surprises, excitement, and above all else, the true-to-life adventures of theater life.  Despite her naivety and innocence, Mary Perkins comes across as a very real, very relatable person with whom the reader can quickly and easily identify with and root for in every situation.  She always sees the best in everyone, she's quick to help when needed, but she's not afraid to call out those who are underhanded or engaged in villainous activities.  In many ways, Mary Perkins is a theater-version of Nancy Drew!

Volume Four of Mary Perkins, On Stage covers the strips that ran from June 13, 1960 to September 17, 1961, so just a little over a year's worth of strips.  That's more than 365 daily/Sunday strips, which certainly provides for a lot of story.  And when you think about the fact that this strip ran for over 20 years, 365 days out of every year (not counting the 366 days every leap year!), that's quite a bit of work for Leonard Starr, the strip's creator, writer, and artist, to churn out on a daily basis.  Yet, not only does he manage to do it, but he does it with such style and keeps the stories fresh and exciting!  I'll definitely admit that I'm glad to be reading the strip in these collected editions, as I don't know if I would have been able to wait day after day for the story to build (like I do when I watch General Hospital on a daily basis...).  At least with General Hospital, we get about 36 minutes of story each day - with On Stage, it was only three panels a day (except for Sundays, which were expanded to nine or so panels).  So, imagine trying to follow three panels a day, waiting impatiently each day to see what would happen next to Mary and her supporting cast!

 

This volume picks up right where Volume Three left off.  Mary Perkins is now married to photographer, Pete Fletcher, and it seems the "View" magazine is trying to reach Pete for a new assignment.  Meanwhile, as Starr so often does, a subplot is developing with an elderly woman - one Daisy Collins - who is trying to get a job at the very theater where Mary is currently working.  Starr builds the story, not just around Daisy, who manages to insinuate herself into Mary's life, but also around Mike O'Hare's latest play, which is not doing so great, as well as Harley Langton, Jr., a wealthy man who has his sights set on Mary!  As it turns out, Daisy is not everything she appears to be, and she manages to help both Daisy and Pete, and in so doing, ensures herself a place in their home!  By the time this first story is coming to an end, Starr is already setting up the next tale, in which Mary finds herself guest-starring on the Julep Tandy Show!

Starr provides a look behind the scenes of Hollywood and young actresses whose parents can be a bit tyrannical. Mary is excited to be a guest on the Julep Tandy Show, but what she doesn't know is that Julep's mother does not want her there - she wants all focus on her daughter, and with Mary in the picture, she may overshadow Julep.  Mary ends up in the middle of things, and before you know it, Julep ends up at Mary and Pete's apartment, asking to stay in order to get away from her overbearing mother!  Mary and Pete are forced to play mediators between Julep and her mother, but even they are completely unaware of just how far Julep will go to get out from underneath her mother's control!

Starr's creativity knows now bounds, as he slides ever-so-smoothly from one story to the next, using the end of each story as a jumping-board to go into the next tale.  Julep sets up Mary to have her own television series created by none other than the programming genius, J.J. Jonah - which evolves into a tale of mystery surrounding the mysterious Mr. Jonah.  Who is he, why does he keep everyone in the dark around him (literally!), and just why is it that Mary has never seen Mr. Jonah and his rather stern secretary in the same room at the same time?  Just when Mary thinks she has it all figured out, Starr throws in a rather unexpected twist that makes the story all the better!  This eventually leads into the start of Mary's new show, which finds her heading down to the Florida Keys, where she will be filming an episode with the famous actor, Gregg Talbot!  Pete joins Mary for an early vacation in the Keys before he heads off on his next assignment and she begins filming; but, it seems Talbot has other ideas.  And who should also appear in the Keys, but the infamous Johnny Q, who makes his return to the panels of Mary's strip.  A deadly hurricane, an abandoned baby, and Talbot's true nature all make for a gripping story.

Starr doesn't give the readers a break though, as he heads right into the next tale involving a writer who handpicks Mary Perkins to star in a television show for which he is writing a script - a script he is keeping secret, as he depends solely on astrology and other signs to warn him of what's to come!  His beliefs ultimately put him at conflict with Mary and lead to some rather strange dreams (which, incidentally, provides Starr with the opportunity to draw some very off-beat and out-of-the-ordinary panels for the strip!).  But the resolution of that drama does not mean any rest for Mary, as she and Pete are quickly thrust into relationship drama when Johnny Q shows up on their doorstep with a new love interest.  Johnny has fallen for a siren - but the siren's voice leaves a lot to be desired!  Admittedly, this storyline is probably the most lackluster of all of Mary's adventures thus far, it does provide readers some great insight into the character of Johnny Q, and allows Starr to explore the world of the music industry a little bit.

The final story in this volume is actually my favorite of them all.  Starr gives readers a sad tale of a fading western movies star, Cody Kincaid.  Mary and Pete happen to meet the movie star in an unexpected brawl as they are leaving a restaurant.  Pete talks Cody into making a real western film, and, of course, Mary ultimately becomes his guest star.  But Cody's agent, T.C. Hart, has some secrets of his own that will ultimately cause drama on the set and for both Cody and Mary when they are filming on location.  Cody has never been concerned about the money he has made off of his successful films, but when his plans to establish a ranch for children to come out and experience the wild west as it once was are dashed because of his agent's mishandling of his money, Cody only sees one way out - one that sees the western star ride off into the sunset one last time.  It's truly a heart-breaking story, with less focus on the drama (although there is drama involving a wild horse, a bobcat, a party held in a posh mansion, and the tension between Cody and his agent) and more focus on the human side of the characters, particularly Cody Kincaid.

One thing I noticed in this volume is that Mary often took a side-seat in her own stories, as other characters - Johnny Q, Pete, Cody Kincaid, and others - took the spotlight.  There were instances where Mary did not appear in her own strip for two or even three strips in a row, as the story focused on the actions of other characters.  This, of course, provides the strip with more of a "soap opera" feel, since soaps never focus just on one character, but look into the lives of numerous characters, switching from one story to the next and then back to the first.  That's certainly not a complaint, as for me, it provides more of a sense of realism to the strip, as the stories could not be fleshed out if Starr only stayed focus on Mary, and she was in every single panel of the strip.  I also noticed in this volume that there were more panels that lacked any background whatsoever - they just featured the characters in that scene and the word balloons for whatever they were saying.  Most panels continue to feature Starr's very detailed backgrounds, and perhaps he was beginning to realize he could save a bit of time by leaving out the backgrounds once in a while and just allow the characters to be the focal point of particular panels.  For me, this was a bit of a disappointment, as I'll admit - it is the details of Starr's art (such as the designs in wallpaper, shower curtains, the city backgrounds at night or in the rain, the stairs and bricks of buildings in the background) that truly makes this strip stand out from other daily comic strips.

The final strip, which wraps up the Cody Kincaid story, introduces a new character (unnamed as of yet) and a situation involving Mike O'Hare and his latest flop, giving readers a hint at what is to come for Mary Perkins next!

 

One final note on this volume - with this fourth volume, Class Comics Press increased the page count, which allowed for the reprinting of the full interview that comic creator Richard Howell had with Leonard and Betty Starr, which was originally printed in Comics Feature magazine number 9 (February 1981).   It is a rather lengthy interview that takes up a lot of pages - I'm hoping future volumes feature more strip reprints per volume - while I do enjoy the interviews and other background information each volume presents at the beginning, I much prefer getting right into the stories of Mary Perkins and her life On Stage.

RATING:  9 books on astrology and chiromancy out of 10 for keeping the suspense, drama, and adventure going, with stories that vary in subject matter and intensity and characters that the reader can identify, or the very least sympathize, with.

Mary Perkins, On Stage - Volume Three

After more than a year since reading volume two, I figured it was time to delve back into the world of everyone's favorite actress of yesteryear - Mary Perkins, On Stage!  As I was reading this third volume, it hit me - I am so glad that I'm reading these for the first time in these collected editions, because I don't know if I would have had the patience to wait day after day for each three to four panel episode (not counting the larger Sunday episodes) to reach a conclusion of one story and move on to the next.  I realize I do that very thing with General Hospital (as I also did with Passions, Santa Barbara, and All My Children back in the day...); but at least with the television shows, you get a full hour (well, 40 minutes or so) of story - with only three panels a day, you can't move the story at too fast of a pace without making it not worth the effort.  However, in this collected format, I have the opportunity to get the entire story in one reading without having to wait for just a small snippet of the story each day!

Volume Three of Mary Perkins, On Stage features strips from April 20, 1959 to June 12, 1960 (just a little over a year's worth of stories). This volume features an introduction by Joe Jusko, who is a rather famous artist in his own right, his art having graced covers of Conan and Vampirella, among others.  I enjoy these introductions, because it's great to see how Leonard Starr's daily comic strip inspired other creators.  Like Jusko, I much prefer comic art that is more realistic, rather than a lot of the stylized art that we see in today's comics and cartoons where people barely even look like people.  Jusko correctly points out that Starr's art in On Stage showcased "facial expressions and body language [that] was flawless, projecting every emotion accurately and precisely, and the hair styles and clothing were always current and age-appropriate." (Introduction, p. 4)  And like Jusko, I assumed Starr must have been extremely familiar with the theater world based on the detail and descriptions in his stories, but was very surprised to discover that Starr was not at all comfortable with the material he was writing!  That definitely speaks volumes about this man's writing and artistic talents!

 

As to the storylines in volume three, we pick up right where volume two left off - the ghost on the set of "The Dryden Ghost" has been exposed, and now Mary, along the cast and crew, are headed to France where the film has been entered into the Riviera Film Festival.  Only, so has a film starring Oola LaBelle, who is so beautiful and sultry that her lack of acting skills are always overlooked.  Oola, however, is afraid Mary may steal her spotlight, so her agent does everything in his power to keep Mary out of the way - including leading Mary to believe he can reunite her with her true love, Pete Fletcher, who has been a political prisoner in a foreign country for too long now.  Of course, things always have a way of working out for Mary, so not only does her film win in the festival, but she also learns that Pete will be released in just six months!

Starr always manages to end one story with a lead-in to the next big adventure, and as fate would have it, Mary has been offered a part in a play by the famous playwright, George Geeper.  The only thing is, Cara Wayde has also been offered a part - to play Mary's sister in the new production!  And Cara Wayde is an unscrupulous egomaniac who will do just about anything to ensure the play is all about her.  An accident gives Cara the ammunition she needs to put Mary under her thumb and endear herself to the playwright, and before you know it, rewrites are happening on a regular basis that increase Cara's stage time and reduces Mary's lines to nearly none at all!

By the end of that production, Mary has lost her voice, so she is sent off to a private cabin in the countryside to recuperate - which, coincidentally enough, her next story begins!  This is a fun little caper that has nothing to do with acting and everything to do with horrible dog trainer who has been abusing the animals - and one in particular is a famous dog that Mary easily recognizes and does everything she can to protect him from his vicious owner.  And as Mary successfully sees Coppy placed in a loving home, Pete Fletcher receives his passport and is released, ready to be returned to the States.

The next story finally sees Pete and Mary reunited in Switzerland, where they finally get married (in a beautifully rendered Sunday edition), despite some concerns the doctors have regarding Pete's memory lapse and his unusual fear of nurses.  Of course, as with any soap opera, happiness is never to last long, and soon enough it is revealed that Pete is already married - to a woman who was his nurse while he was held captive!  Until the truth is fully uncovered, Mary is forced to live separate from Mary - which is when she happens to be swept off her feet (literally!) by good ol' Johnny Q!  He, of course, helps her discover the truth about Anya Kapek, and it all culminates in an explosive battle.

Mary and Pete return to the States, where Mary finds herself a guest on Bud Birdie show - but the host is anything but confident, and he seems to be always nervous, fearful that he will not be loved and well received.  Even his co-star, Tex McPrairie, and his announcer, Carl, can't seem to ever soothe Bud's nerves when it comes to making sure his show is a success.  Circumstances lead to Mary becoming a permanent guest star on the show, but backstage, something else is going on - someone is leaking stories to the press that are not true, and it seems to Mary that someone is trying to ruin Bud Birdie!

The final tale finds Mary starting a new play, where she will be a substitute teacher in a school filled with tough students.  What she doesn't expect is to find a couple of real tough kids who sneak into the auditions to avoid being caught by the police.  Mary's heart feels for the two boys, so she convinces the director to bring them into the cast in the hopes they can offer authenticity.  Chino and Tom readily agree, since it means a paycheck.  Chino seems to be a natural, quickly learning lines; but Tom has a bit more hesitancy and freezes when it comes his turn to speak or act.  But you can't always take the trouble out of the boys, as Mary and Pete soon learn, and the two boys ultimately have to make choices that will determine their futures - but will they choose right?

And as this volume comes to a close, it ends with a Sunday spread that hints of things to come - Mary receives a call from Pete's editor at "View" magazine with an urgent message for her husband; and at the same time, an elderly woman has shown up on the set, responding to the advertisement for a wardrobe mistress.  How will these events play out?  Guess we'll have to wait for volume four!

I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating - Starr's art is absolutely magnificent.  His backgrounds are so detailed, so exact, that the reader feels like he or she is actually right there with Mary and her friends - whether it's the streets of New York City, or the newly furnished apartment for the Fletchers, or the countryside outside the cabin where Mary convalesces, or the backstage of her latest play - Starr provides the most minute details to make each panel as real as possible, and this, I believe, is in large part what led to the success of this strip for so many years!

RATING:  10 leftover steaks out of 10 for providing a thoroughly enjoyable ongoing drama that is engaging, beautifully drawn, and exciting as it is fun!

Mary Perkins, On Stage - Volume Two

It was with great pleasure that I finally was able to read the second volume of Leonard Starr's Mary Perkins, On Stage collected newspaper strips.  I relished the first volume, with its young, shining star who lives a soap opera life in New York in the 1950s.  I am amazed, with each daily strip, how Starr was able to maintain fast-paced storytelling, all the while providing readers with unbelievable build-up, ongoing subplots, and drama, romance, and action that rival some of daily soap operas on television today!

Before I even get started about the stories in this volume, I have to talk about the art.  Leonard Starr has some of the most expressive faces I have ever seen in a comic panel.  Without his characters saying one word, it is easy to tell what they are thinking or feeling - whether it be sad, angry, surprised, scheming, or any other emotion - - Starr has the ability to draw his characters in such a way that the reader is drawn into those emotions.  I think it helps make the stories all the more real and captures the readers' attention even more.  There are no "stiff" or "cardboard cut-out" characters in his strip.  Each character, both major and minor, are all brought fully to life through the art.  And the backgrounds!  It is amazing just how detailed some of those backgrounds can be - from scenes of the city in the last panel of the very first strip to shrubbery and plants to the castle in the last story.  Amazing, utterly amazing!

Now, on the stories in this volume...

The first story is a little bit light-hearted, as Mary finds a new acting job - and she'll be the star! But only if the producers can get an old Vaudevillian who, unbeknownst to any of them, is down on his luck and determined to make this play his comeback - even if it costs Mary her reputation!  Of course, things start turning serious when a television host makes the moves on Mary in order to help advance her career - and when she spurns his advances, well ... you can pretty much guess what happens from there.  Moving right along, the next story gets off to a start with the sudden appearance of shy little Magnolia Peachtree Dade (what a name!), who is not necessarily everything she first appears to be - and before you know it, Mary is being followed, Magnolia is taking advantage of Mary's generosity, and a mysterious suitcase turns out to be an important clue as to a bank robber's ill-gotten gains!

As with any good continuing drama, one story leads into another, and the resolution of Magnolia's tale leads right into Mary's next adventure, where she tries her hand at some summer stock - and where she meets the self-absorbed Jed Potter.  But as anyone knows, an outside persona can hide something completely different inside, as Mary soon learns. But, tragically, this story does not have a happy ending by any means.  Which leads readers to the next story, in which Mary is tricked into becoming a Hollywood starlet - but is the cost too high?  Enter: the enigmatic Johnny Q - an alleged gangster who saves the day and worms his way right into Mary's heart!  (You didn't really think there would be a continuing drama like this without any romance, did you?)  Of course, this sets the stage for the final story and the unexpected return of ... Pete Fletcher! 

It's the final story that I truly liked the best - a mystery, a creepy old castle, a ghost, and a "phantom" type leading man that turns Mary into a sleuthing actress as she tries to figure out who is sabotaging the production in which she is currently starring.  Johnny Q, Pete Fletcher, and a whole slew of backstabbing, conniving, jealous, bitter, and downright vicious supporting characters keep the action going, the stories engaging, and the characters thriving.  I don't know if anyone can truly compare to Leonard Starr when it comes to daily-strip storytelling!

RATING:  10 special German watches out of 10 for so easily drawing me into the life of Mary Perkins and making me truly care about what happens next!

Mary Perkins, On Stage - Volume One

Volume One of Leonard Starr's
Mary Perkins, On Stage
Feb. 10, 1957 to Jan. 11, 1958
Publisher: Classic Comics Press
Pub. Date (March 2013 - 2nd Printing)
ISBN 10 - 0985928425
ISBN 13 - 978-0985928421
168 Pages

I don't quite recall how I stumbled across this collection of newspaper comic strips, but I know that growing up, I remember reading Apartment 3-G and occasionally reading Mary Worth. Both of those were soap opera-type comic strips with a regular cast and stories about their lives. Of course, having a love of theater myself, I was interested in this strip about the life of a young actress looking to make it big in theater in New York City. So, I picked up the first volume. And the second. And the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and more volumes. Unfortunately, with so many books stacking up to read and so much to do in my life, I never got around to reading any of them. Until now...

Although creator Leonard Starr may not have really wanted to do a daily strip about a female protagonist that centered around theater life, it definitely became a popular strip, lasting for more than twenty (20) years (1957 - 1979). The art is impressively detailed, with very intricate backgrounds - from cityscapes to theater sets to office decor and home furnishings. The characters are distinctive and easily identifiable, no two looking alike (so there is never any confusion as to who each character is when reading the strip from day to day). And Starr has a magnificent talent for drawing expressions on his characters - if you were to take away the dialogue, in most instances, you can easily discern what the character is feeling or thinking just by the expression on his or her face!

The storylines are very fast paced, so even though there are only three panels per day, the story keeps moving and you never get bored. The strip started on a Sunday (February 10, 1957), providing Starr with nine panels to begin his story. And if you think about, introducing a new strip, an initial story, and your main characters in just nine panels - well, by today's standards, that is quite a feat! In that first strip, Starr introduces readers to Mary Perkins as she is leaving her small hometown for a chance to make it big in New York City; at the same time, he introduces readers to Gordon D'Avilla, the theatrical agent that Mary is scheduled to meet (and who clearly does not have the best of intentions based on the few panels readers see of him in this first strip!); and leaves readers hanging with Mary's arrival in Penn Station, where she is bewildered at the hustle and bustle of the big city!

It's easy to become attached to Mary as she starts this long journey to become an actress. As with any soap opera, there are plenty of villains, plenty of love interests, plenty of supporting cast, and plenty of coincidences that either aid or hinder Mary in her plans. The first storyline deals with her theatrical agent, Mr. D'Avilla, who turns out to be a con-man, taking advantage of small town girls like Mary, leeching them for all they have, then sending them packing. Conveniently enough, though, Mary sparks the interest of one of D'Avilla's co-conspirators, who aids her in not only getting her money back, but also in starting her career as an actress. The second story features an aged director, who is known to hate young actresses - but he takes a sudden interest in Mary, insisting that he will turn her into a star! Of course, it turns out that she resembles his old flame, who betrayed him, and he plans to turn Mary into her. She manages to then get a job at a nighclub where one of her roommates worked, and in the third story, she makes an enemy out of a co-worker and becomes the inspiration for a has-been pianist. The drama continues right into the fourth storyline, where a photographer and the magazine editor for whom he works make a bet as to whether the magazine can make a star out of anyone - and, of course, Mary happens along at that most opportune moment! Mary becomes quite enamored with the photographer, Pete Fletcher, and a whirlwind romance leads to a proposal - but can the life of a jetsetting photographer and a fledgling actress really come together?

I suppose only future collections of the strip can answer that question...

Just like any daytime soap opera, it is quite easy to get drawn into the lives of these characters. Starr writes them with such flourish, and the dialogue is natural, sometimes witty, sometimes heartbreaking, but always dramatic. The reader quickly learns who to love, who to hate, and who to love to hate!  I, for one, am hooked, and look forward to delving into more of Mary Perkins' life "On Stage" in Volume Two of this series.

RATING:  10 clipping hat-check girls out of 10 for re-introducing this comic strip world to a whole new generation of theater-loving, soap opera-watching, comic strip-reading fans!