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<HEAD><TITLE>Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Swing Sisson </TITLE> <script language="JavaScript"></script> <META name = "author" content = "Donald D. Markstein"> <META name = "description" content = "Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation"> <META name = "subject" content = "Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation"> <META name = "keywords" content = "comic books animated cartoons animation comics comix syndicated comic strips"> <META name = "publisher" content = "Donald D. Markstein"> <META name = "format" content = "text/html"> <META name = "language" content = "EN"> </HEAD><BODY> <body onload="if (self!= top) top.location = self.location"></body> <BODY BGCOLOR="FFFFFF" TEXT="000000" LINK="0000EE" VLINK="551A8B"> <TABLE><TR><TD WIDTH=310 VALIGN="CENTER"><IMG GALLERYIMG="NO" ALIGN="LEFT" HEIGHT=341 WIDTH=300 ALT="Swing, flanked by Bonnie and Toby. Artist: Phil Martin." SRC="swing.jpg"> <TD VALIGN="CENTER"><H1>SWING SISSON</H1><FONT SIZE=4> <B>Medium:</B> Comic books <BR><B>Published by:</B> Quality Comics <BR><B>First Appeared:</B> 1941 <BR><B>Creator:</B> Robert Turner (writer) and Phil Martin (artist) <FONT SIZE=3> <! BEGIN DONATION CODE> <HR><FONT SIZE=2 COLOR="993366"><CENTER> If this site is enjoyable or useful to you, <BR>Please contribute to its necessary financial support. <BR><A HREF="http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/pay/T1237L0BCY25QA" TARGET="_blank">Amazon.com</A> or <A HREF="https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=don%40toonopedia.com&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_cod e=USD" TARGET="_blank">PayPal</A> </FONT></CENTER><HR> <! END DONATION CODE> <P><A NAME="cont"> As every reader of comics knows, comics are unlimited in their ability to convey fictional genres. <A HREF="glossary.htm#superhero">Superheroes</A> are most typical of their contents, followed by <A HREF="glossary.htm#funnyanimal">funny animals.</A> But science fiction (e.g., <A HREF="atomic_k.htm">Atomic Knights</A>), horror (<I><A HREF="crypt.htm">Tales from the Crypt</A></I>) and teenage humor (<A HREF="cookie.htm">Cookie</A>) are also prominent there. Less prominent genres include sports (<A HREF="mcnamara.htm">Tank McNamara</A>), private eyes (<A HREF="kenshan.htm">Ken Shannon</A>)  <P ALIGN="RIGHT"><A HREF="#cont"><FONT SIZE=2><I>continued below</A></FONT> </TABLE> <CENTER><! BEGIN ADSENSE "LEADERBOARD" CODE> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <! END ADSENSE CODE></CENTER> <P><TABLE><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP"> and soap opera (<A HREF="apt_3g.htm">Apartment 3-G</A>). But at least one genre, while not entirely unknown in comics, is more typically found in media based on the performing arts — stage, movies and TV. That's the genre of stories taking place backstage in the show business environment itself, such as <I>I Love Lucy, The Muppet Show</I> and practically every movie Fred Astaire starred in. <P> There were exceptions, of course. <I><A HREF="dixiedug.htm">Dixie Dugan</A></I> was based on the novel <I>Show Girl.</I> <I><A HREF="phanmagi.htm">The Adventures of Patsy,</A></I> after an initial period in which it introduced comics' first costumed superhero, was about a Hollywood starlet. And <I><A HREF="onstage.htm">Mary Perkins</A></I> was a soap opera about show biz people. They're even less frequently seen in the comic book end of the medium, unless you count short-lived series like <I><A HREF="dellavis.htm">Della Vision</A></I> and <I>Miss Beverly Hills of Hollywood,</I> but there are some — such as Swing Sisson, whose act ran for years in the back pages of <I>Feature Comics.</I> <P> Swing was the band leader at The Clover Club. Other performers included singer Bonnie Baxter and sax player Toby Tucker, both of whom usually helped out in the two-fisted scrapes Swing inevitably got involved with in the glitzy but racket-beset night club business of the 1940s. They made occasional forays into other areas of entertainment, but mostly hung around the club where they were the stars. <P> The gang was introduced in <I>Feature Comics</I> #49 (October, 1941), replacing <A href="usa.htm">USA.</A> The cover feature was <A HREF="palooza.htm">Lala Palooza</A> (tho <A HREF="dollman.htm">Doll Man</A> alternated with Lala and later replaced her on the covers completely). They never got onto the covers themselves. The publisher was <A href="quality.htm">Quality Comics</A> (<A HREF="candy.htm">Candy,</A> <A HREF="marmadkm.htm">Marmaduke Mouse,</A> and a host of superheroes). It was created by writer Robert Turner (<A HREF="wildfire.htm">Wildfire,</A> <A HREF="blackowl.htm">The Black Owl</A>) and artist Phil Martin (earlier an assistant on <I><A HREF="ellacind.htm">Ella Cinders</A></I> and later an assistant on <I><A HREF="janarden.htm">Jane Arden</A></I>). Martin later made a name for himself designing typefaces. <P> Swing led his band and traded punches with crooks throughout the 1940s. In fact, he stayed on the job as long as <I>Feature</I> was published, outlasting all the title's superheroes — <A HREF="spidrwid.htm">Spider Widow & The Raven,</A> Rusty Ryan (<A HREF="bigguy.htm">no relation</A>), Inferior Man if he counts, even Doll Man himself. The last issue was #144 (May, 1950), and after that Swing Sisson was finished. <A HREF="dc.htm">DC Comics</A> probably owns the character now, but there's not much call for an adventure-prone big band leader these days, so they haven't found a use for him. <P ALIGN = "RIGHT">— DDM <P><A HREF="index.htm">BACK</A> to <I>Don Markstein's Toonopedia</I> Home Page <BR><A HREF="today.htm">Today in Toons:</A> Every day's an anniversary! <P><! 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