Number 2291: Kubert’s Zebra

In my experience, the Zebra, a character that went through the war years and even beyond, was usually drawn by Bob Fujitani. This episode is drawn by the young Joe Kubert. I showed a Hawkman story from Flash Comics just a couple of weeks ago. Joe was so young that in retrospect he seems like a child prodigy. As a callow youth, he was mentored by other artists, Mort Meskin for one. He also got credit for coloring some stories for Will Eisner. The kid got around.

Looking back over his career, Kubert hit a high level of professionalism very early on and never faltered. Joe Kubert is gone now, but he has left thousands of beautifully illustrated pages of comic art as his legacy.

As for the Zebra...I understand the striped shirt, but the pair of skin tight swim trunks and bare legs I guarantee would not make it through a winter. I mention it because I don’t remember any blizzards in superhero comics, leaving the characters able to walk around dressed like it’s a warm, sunny day at the beach, and because a large winter storm is knocking on my door as I write this. When I go out in a few hours with shovel in hand to clear sidewalks and driveway, I will be bundled up like an Antarctic explorer, yet still thinking that in the never-never land of comic books the heroes never seem bothered by weather.

From Green Hornet Comics #20 (1944):

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