Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Chesler, Gus Ricca

Gus Ricca's Propeller Monster and Other Dynamic Comics at Auction

The Propeller-Head Monster by Gus Ricca for Chesler's Dynamic Comics #18 is one of the artist's strangest covers of the Golden Age.

Underappreciated artist Gus Ricca was an accomplished magazine and book cover artist and newspaper illustrator long before he came to work in comics for Harry A. Chesler, and also Chesler's art director for a period in the mid-1940s.  He often took a symbolic, interpretive approach to the subjects of his cover work, as can be seen on his covers for the likes of Liberty Magazine, The Century Co., What's on the Air, and Colliers among others — and made his mark on Chesler's comics in general and on Dynamic Comics in specific as both artist and art director. There are several issues of the classic Chesler series Dynamic Comics, including the legendary Dynamic Comics #18 (Chesler, 1946) CGC VG- 3.5 Brittle pages up for auction in the  2023 July 13 – 14 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40227 at Heritage Auctions.

Ricca often used symbolism in his work, such as on the cover of Dynamic Comics #12. While many think that Harry Chesler resembles the figure on that cover, Chesler's granddaughter Kelly tells me that although it's possible that Gus Ricca meant this as a caricature, Chesler did not resemble this figure.  It's more likely to be what it appears: the police in a chess game with the mob, making their moves on the board to try to win.

The bizarre cover of Dynamic Comics #18 is a more challenging piece of work to explain.  There are no airplanes used in this comic whatsoever that might explain that weird propeller-headed monster.  However, it's possible that this is due to some shifting and reworked content in the series in the post-WWII era.  The cover of the previous issue, Dynamic Comics #17, reflects the end of the war and soldiers returning home.  And the subsequent issue #19, contains a feature called Sgt Bell, a military comic without being a war comic — providing relief to countries ravaged by WWII is central to the story's plot.  It seems possible that Sgt Bell was initially meant for Dynamic Comics #18, and the propeller-head cover symbolizes what was becoming a general trend in comics — wartime heroes reimagined for the post-war era.

There are other stand-out covers here by Paul Gattuso.  Several issues of this classic Chesler series are well worth your attention here, including the legendary Dynamic Comics #18 (Chesler, 1946) CGC VG- 3.5 Brittle pages up for auction in the  2023 July 13 – 14 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40227 at Heritage Auctions.

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