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COMICS

In 1952 Ziff-Davis (the latter later becoming publisher of EQMM)
which was producing comic books then, chose to issue an Ellery Queen book in conjunction with the Dumont television serie. The four stories where drawn by two artists one of the signed with 'R.Kay'. Some of the stories broke with the usual format by being just action-crime adventures instead of whodunits. Although topped of by great Norman Saunders painted covers, the book lasted just two issues (Spring and Summer of 1952), becoming more obscure than the Superior title that had preceded it. And although Ellery appeared in a several forms on television from 1954 through at least 1959, comics publishers avoided making the mistakes of their predecessors.

Includes "Vengeance From the Grave - The Corpse That Killed - "The Legion of the Damned - The Chain Letter Murders"  and Slippery Slim in The Hopeless Diamond   Click for first page of Ziff Davis' "The Corpse that killed" 

Ellery's next appearance in comics was brought about by the same company that introduced him. Dell Publishing gave us "Ellery Queen (Detective)" for three issues of their Four Color series (1165, 1243, and 1289), dating 3-5/61, 11/61-1/62 and 4/62. This rendition of Ellery was somewhat modernized for the 60's but still carried the same basic plot concepts as earlier comics versions. Artwork was done by the late Mike Sekowsky and his Ellery differs from the rest by wearing glasses. 

Ellery and his dad in "Voodoo Victim"
Dell Four colour series N°1165 - 1961  Dell Four colour series N°1243 - 1961-62  Dell Four colour series N°1289 - 1962

Despite all this Ellery again disappeared from the comics scene. Or did he? He actually did return in a spoof, in a comic called "New Inferior 5" (Nr.7 March-April 1968) the five 'heroes' encounter "Allergy Queen" the sleuth for a criminal mastermind. Right before his great revelation Allergy is reduced to dust...

Detective Comics No. 459 - May 1976 On the cover one can clearly make out Alfred Pennyworth, the police, Batman unmasking, and Elliot Quinn’s corpse. (Art: J.L.Garcia Lopez - Editing Julius Schwartz)Until 1976 when Marty Pasko wrote the script for a 12 page Batmanstory called "A Clue Before Dying" (Detective Comics Nr. 459 - May 1976) It involved the work of artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Batman tries to find the man who killed mystery writer Elliot Quinn, and who may be the same man who killed an architect in Quinn's home years ago. On the cover one can clearly make out Alfred Pennyworth, the police, Batman unmasking, and Elliot Quinn's corpse. Not only an homage to Queen but in the story also "a" Lt. Dannay appeared!

 Panel from "A Clue Before Dying" where we see Lt.Dannay and find another classic imitation of the Challenge to the Reader! Click on the panel for a the titlepage of the story...

It was also Mike W.Barr who provided the story for "...The Player on the Other Side!" a Batman story Batman Special N°1 (DC Comics) from 1984which appeared in the Batman Special Nr.1 (DC Comics) in 1984. Artwork was by Michael Golden and Mike DeCarlo. A little salute to Ellery Queen. A really good story that deals with something that happened on the night that Bruce Wayne's parents were killed. A quote from the original book is included. (See panel) which Batman strangely enough attributes to Aldous Huxley! Writer Mike W. Barr even elaborates in an additional piece on the Panel from Batman Special Nr.1 "The chess board is the world...the rules of the game are what we call the laws of nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us. We know that his play is always fair, just, and patient...but we also know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake -- or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance"origins of the story. According to Barr the quote also is used in the original Queen book "The Player on The Other Side" and comes from an Aldous Huxley essay. Actually the quote is from Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) a British biologist and defender of the theories of Darwin. Barr was right the quote is included in the EQ book, but the only reference to the author is made as "Huxley". As it turns out Thomas Henry Huxley is "the player on the other side" not Aldous Huxley. In "A Liberal Education and Where to Find It" (1868) the actual (slighty larger) quote is even more intriguing:
"Yet it is a very plain and elementary truth, that the life, the fortune, and the happiness of every one of us, and, more or less, of those who are connected with us, do depend upon our knowing something of the rules of a game infinitely more difficult and complicated than chess. It is a game which has been played for untold ages, every man and woman of us being one of the two players in a game of his or her own.  The chessboard is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature.  The player on the other side is hidden from us.  We know that his play is always fair, just, and patient.  But also we know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance.  To the man who plays well, the highest stakes are paid, with that sort of overflowing generosity with which the strong shows delight in strength.  And one who plays ill is checkmated--without haste, but without remorse."

 

Maze Agency 60th Anniversary - February 1990 #9In February of 1990 Maze Agency (#9) surprised us with a mature full color comic celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Ellery Queen. It's a innovative publication with good girl art! It ran in small quantities and is getting scarce. Cover & interior art by Adam Hughes. Much more than a continuation of a serie it's a tribute. The series itself centered around two characters, Jennifer Mays, the owner and top investigator of the Maze Agency, and her friend Gabriel Webb. Like Ellery Queen, Gabe is a mystery writer who is close to a detective and ends up getting involved in the investigations. Unlike Queen, Gabe writes for the "True Crime"-style tabloid magazines, and the detective he works with is his lady friend Jennifer, who is quite unlike Ellery's father. Over time we've gotten to see the relationship grow between the two characters and learn more about them and their pasts. Issue #9 ran the story of "The English Channeler Mystery - A problem of deduction" (Gabriel Webb, Jennifer Mays & Ellery Queen app). Barr clearly used the same murder method as found in Ellery Queen's "House of Darkness".  As you can see on the cover there even was 'Lesbian' referance on cover & story = "Killer spree of the Lesbian Biker Nuns" by Gabriel Webb! Which is "somewhat" shocking for the regular Queen-fan.

The Green Arrow a Mort Weisinger and George Papp DC Comic, with Oliver Queen as the fictional superhero, started it's run in 1941. It's been said the choice name was induced by the name of Ellery Queen. However no proof exists of this fact. We did however find proof that 'The Green Arrow" writers are aware of Ellery's existence. In a July 1990 unnamed story (by Grell, Jurgens, Giordano) Ollie and Dinah walk through the city discussing a name for their baby. When passing a book shop they see two copies of an Ellery Queen novel which spawns the following comment:

The Green Arrow is a Mort Weisinger and George Papp DC Comic, with Oliver Queen as the fictional superhero, it started it's run in 1941. It's been said the choice name was induced by the name of Ellery Queen. However no proof exists of this fact. We did however find proof that 'The Green Arrow" writers are aware of Ellery's existence. In a July 1990 unnamed story (by Grell, Jurgens, Giordano) Ollie and Dinah walk through the city discussing a name for their baby. When passing a book shop they see two copies of an Ellery Queen novel.

In an Italian Mickey Mouse story called 'Topolino e il segreto di William Topespeare' (1991, text en story: Bruno Sarda, drawings: Corrado Mastantuono, I TL 1872-B) supposedly uses the plot of 'Drury Lane's Last Case". The story wasn't translated in English (there are e.g. Dutch and German versions). According to some it's roughly based on Shakespeare's 'The Taming of The Shrew".

"Ellery Queen no bouken" (2 volumes) manga by JET, Asuka Comics ,1995In 1978 a Japanese publisher bought the comic book rights to one of the Queen short story collections. In 1995 Kadokawa Shoten published 2 volumes of  "The Adventures of Ellery Queen" or "Ellery Queen no bouken", a Japanese manga by JET. It included several shortstories: The Adventure of the Two-Headed Dog, The Adventure of the Bearded Lady, The Adventure of the African Traveler and The Adventure of the Seven Black Cats.

Case Closed (Original title: Meitantei Conan), aka Detective Conan in Japan and most other countries, is a detective manga and anime series by Gosho Aoyama and serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday since 1994. It follows the adventures of Jimmy Kudo (Kudo Shinichi), a young detective inadvertently turned into a prepubescent boy by a secret criminal organization when they Eva Kadan, known as Eri Kisaki in the original, is famous lawyer who never loses. Eri is beautiful and talented, she's a very smart woman but aweful at housework or cooking. Kisaki is the Japanese for Queen.knock him out and give him a drug that was supposed to kill him. Several characters are named after famous detectives or detective writers. Eva Kadan, known as Eri Kisaki in the original, is a famous lawyer who never loses. Eri is beautiful and talented, she's a very smart woman but aweful at housework or cooking. Kisaki is the Japanese for Queen.
Panel from  Case Closed volume 12, Chapter 7 (Mycroft de no tsudoi - Meeting At Mycroft) Sep 18,1996 In July 18, 1996 the 11th issue of Case Closed had a full page dedicated to Ellery Queen which recommends The Egyptian Cross Mystery. In the following issue (
September 18, 1996) we find this panel cleary stating the point of view of the hero/his authors.
(Sources Wikipedia  -  Ho-Ling)

 In "What Would Spidey Do?!" the September 1997 issue of "The Untold Tales of Spider-Man" by Kurt Busiek, Tom Defalco and Bob MacLeod, a kid who lost his bike derisively refers to an adult, helping to retrieve his bike as "Ellery Queen".

For some reason Ellery seems to have a following among comic authors. In "What Would Spidey Do?!" the September 1997 issue of "The Untold Tales of Spider-Man" by Kurt Busiek, Tom Defalco and Bob MacLeod, a kid who lost his bike derisively refers to an adult, helping to retrieve his bike as "Ellery Queen".
 

Calamity Town by the ShiWen Team, 2001. An example of the graphics...Calamity Town by the ShiWen Team, 2001.Again the surprise came from far and away. In 2001 the Chinese ShiWen Team published a comic named after and based on 'Calamity Town' .No artists are mentioned it only stated "EQ Comic Team" as artists. This  illustrates the great affinity people in Eastern countries still have for the Queen legacy.

 ( partially based on Mike W.Barr's 'Challenge to the Artist'
and Ron Goulart's 'The Comic Book Adventures of Ellery Queen'-
"The Comic Book Adventures")

 

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