Number 1974: Gotta have gimmicks: the Ibistick and the Magic Snoot

Magicians in the comics had to have a gimmick. For Prince Ibis, who came back to life with his girlfriend after 4000 years as Egyptian mummies, it is the Ibistick, a magic wand that vibrates when evil is near. In the case of Basil Wolverton’s funny character, Mystic Moot, it is his nose that is the source of his magic powers: “I’ll simply point my snoot at your loot!” he tells the bad guy.

These stories are both from Ibis #3 (1945). According to Comic Vine, Mystic Moot was a parody of Ibis. This story is his introduction, the first of 13 stories Wolverton did of the character. It is full of his usual funny drawings and Basil’s word play: alliteration and internal rhyming.

The Ibis story, credited to Bill Woolfolk for the script and Gus Ricca for the artwork, looks like it was inspired by the 1942 Val Lewton movie, The Cat People. But then, stories of humans shape shifting into animals probably go back as early as the time our distant ancestors first sat around campfires telling stories. This story also has that comic book property of mixing religion into the plot. In this case using Purgatory (Catholic) and Belial (Hebrew).

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