Matt Baker (artist)
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Clarence Matthew Baker was an American comic book artist and illustrator, best known for drawing early comics heroines such as the costumed crimefighter Phantom Lady, and romance comics. Active in the
Baker (left) and publisher Archer St. John at Grauman's Chinese Theatre (undated)
Phantom Lady #17 (April 1948). This Baker cover appeared in the book Seduction of the Innocent.
Page from Fight Comics # 40, Oct. 1945, Fiction House.
St. John Publications
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St. John Publications was an American publisher of magazines and comic books. During the 1947-1958 existence of its comic-book division, St. John established several industry firsts. Founded by Archer
Matt Baker (artist)
…and 1950s Golden Age of comic books, he is one of the first known African-American artists to find success in the comic-book industry. He also penciled St. John Publications' digest-sized "picture novel" It Rhymes with Lust (1950), the first graphic novel despite that term not having been coined at the time. Baker was…
Flying Cadet #17 (Oct. 1944), cover artist unknown. The topless woman indicates this was not a comic aimed at children.
It Rhymes with Lust (1950), an early graphic-novel precursor. Cover art by Matt Baker and Ray Osrin.