Jack Benny, Fred Allen and Edgar Bergen in "The Borrowed Oscar" Art by Lee Elias

 

Above: The Black Cat #2, June 1991, which reprints the original 1940s comics. Copyright 1991 Lorne-Harvey Publications, Inc.

In honor of the Oscars last night, here's a short tale from The Black Cat comic book, "The Borrowed Oscar," which guest stars Jack Benny, with cameos by:

Jimmy Durante,

Jerry Colonna and Bob Hope,

Fred Allen,

Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy,

and, of course, the Maxwell.

The art is by Lee Elias, of course.

Now, just in case you don't know, or maybe used to know and now forgot:

Linda Turner, Hollywood star and America's sweetheart, becomes bored with her ultra-sophisticated life of movie make-believe and takes to crime-fighting in her most dramatic role of all as the ... Black Cat!

I bought this comic book at Remy's Department Store today, in Wells, Maine.

It was a double whammy of nostalgia, what with the original comic book being from 1949 and the reprint dated 1991. I bought ten copies of various Alfred Harvey titles, all reprints, all nicely produced. The came packed in multiples of five comics each. They all were brand new and unread. They sure didn't look over 20 years old.

So ... here it is. 2013, and I am reading a newly bought new-to-me comic book with Fred Allen in it -- and the assumption that we all know who he is and who all of these other major stars of the day were.

And in one of the letters pages, someone muses about a possible Black Cat movie. The editor responds that Belinda Carlisle would be a great choice.

Like I said, a double-whammy of nostalgia! Wow!

Here is Jack Benny and Linda Turner ...

The story originally appeared in Black Cat Western #18, July 1949.

http://www.polarblairsden.com/comicbookslorneharvey.html