Happy Birthday Matt Baker! I first heard of Matt Baker in a Dave Stevens interview where he noted his influences. He was a successful African-American comic book artist and pictures of Baker has him as very dapper. His artwork is very distinctive, I can identify a Baker cover. Baker was an incredible good girl artist starting with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle in Jumbo Comics #69 (1944). One of the super heroines he is closely identified with is Phantom Lady. She is Sandra Knight who fought crime in Washington D.C. with her “black light projector.” Phantom Lady first appeared in Police Comics #1 (1941). Matt Baker was the artist on her own title with Phantom Lady #13 (1947). The cover of Phantom Lady #17 where the heroine was tied up was used by Frederick Wertham in Seduction of the Innocent (1954). She appeared in the DCU with Justice League of America #107 (1973).
There is a new version of Phantom Lady in a 2012-2013 limited series by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Cat Staggs. He was the artist for the Classic Comics #32 adaptation of Lorna Doone. Baker created the jungle hero Voodah protector of an African tribe in Crown Comics #3 (1945). Twenty-one years before Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created Black Panther. Voodah later had his ethnicity changed. Baker was the artist of the “picture novel”, It Rhymes with Lust (1950) with a story by Arnold Drake and Leslie Waller. Matt Baker died on August 11, 1959, but his artwork will always be remembered by fans. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009. An excellent magazine Alter Ego #47 (2005) focused on Matt Baker. There is a highly recommended book, Matt Baker: The Art of Glamour (2012) by Jim Amash and Eric Nolen-Weathington. A great overview of his artwork and life. Happy Birthday Matt Baker!
#MattBaker, #Phantom Lady, #Voodah, #MattBakerTheArtofGlamour.
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