Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: golden age, quality comics

The Beauty and Horror of Quality's Doll Man Title, Up for Auction

There's something undefinably unique about Quality Comics from the post-WWII era, and early 1950s Doll Man is a good example.

There's something undefinably unique about Quality Comics from the post-WWII era. The material was created by a range of stand-outs including artwork by the likes of Reed Crandall, Bill Ward, Gill Fox, and others, plus scripts by William Woolfolk and more, but it was all tied together by editor Al Grenet, who was an artist himself and also took a hand in coloring, lettering, and even logo design for the line. The post-war Doll Man era is an excellent example of the quality comics that were produced by Quality Comics in the 1950s, and there's a nice batch of several issues from Doll Man #27-47 many of which include Bill Ward's legendary character Torchy (often drawn by Gill Fox here) up for auction in the 2024 May 30 Adventures in the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40261 at Heritage Auctions.

Doll Man was the creation of Will Eisner and his earliest adventures were drawn by Eisner and fellow legendary artist Lou Fine. The shrinking comic book character made his debut in Feature Comics #27. Considered Quality Comics' first super-powered character, Doll Man would remain a popular cover feature in Feature Comics as well as remaining the lead feature of the title through issue #139. He would also get his own Doll Man title 1941-1953 and be acquired by DC Comics along with other Quality Comics characters when Quality went out of business in 1956.

Bill Ward's Torchy made her debut in the Fort Hamilton Army Base newspaper in 1944 and was syndicated to other U.S. Army newspapers around the world shortly thereafter. The character made her comic book debut in Doll Man #8 (cover-dated Spring 1946), appearing at Quality Comics in Doll Man, Modern Comics, and her own short-lived Torchy title.

Al Grenet (1915-2006) was born in Budapest. A 1939 graduate of the National Academy of Design, he was the primary editor of Quality Comics from 1950 until the company's end in 1956. Working at Eisner and Iger Studio and later Iger Studio, he had designed most of Quality Comics' title logos since the beginning of the company. He had also worked as an artist, letterer, and colorist for Quality. In a 1953 blurb in Writer's Digest, he noted that Quality "puts a premium on good writing."

Post-WWII Quality Comics are deserving of more attention from collectors, and there's a nice batch of several issues from Doll Man #27-47 many of which include Bill Ward's legendary character Torchy (often drawn by Gill Fox here) up for auction in the 2024 May 30 Adventures in the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40261 at Heritage Auctions.

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