Number 1821: Asque Miss Masque

Miss Masque came in as regular Nedor superheroes Fighting Yank and Black Terror were on their way out...the heroes of World War II were being replaced by other comic book features. Miss Masque was, as was typical, a bored socialite who put on a sexy red costume with cape, mini-skirt, hat, and mask (or “masque”) and took on the bad guys.

As is also typical of many other masked heroes or heroines, once she donned the mask it seemed beyond the people who knew her best (her aunt, among them) to recognize her.

The Grand Comics Database has some guesses on the artwork, giving us Bob Oksner with a question mark and Paul Gattuso with a question mark for the penciling. I think I can tell based on how Gattuso drew faces and figures in action that it is more likely to be the former, Bob Oksner. Oksner had a way with pretty girls, and went on for the rest of his career, spent at DC Comics, proving it. The GCD also equivocates when choosing an inker, giving us three guesses, including Lin Streeter and Paul Gattuso, along with Oksner.

The cover is by Alex Schomburg, signing himself Xela, who gave Miss Masque a leggy pin-up pose. It is from America’s Best Comics #25 (1948):

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