One of my favorite recent writing assignments was to create commentary for a series of wall calendars featuring vintage and nostalgic pop culture themes. This commentary appears at the bottom of each month’s grid page and features information about artists, authors, actors, movies, publications, and more. Below are some examples along with the image each short essay is about.
Project: 2025 Calendar Commentary
Client: Asgard Press
Writer: Pamela McKamey
Commentary for the 2025 Vintage Film Noir Calendar by Asgard Press, for the 1947 film Dead Reckoning
Dead Reckoning; 1947; Studio: Columbia Pictures; Director: John Cromwell; Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky, William Prince. Columbia Pictures pulled out all the film noir stops with Dead Reckoning, considered a solid example of the genre. Told partially through flashback with voiceover narration, Dead Reckoning is the story of a paratrooper who is thrust into a murder mystery as he attempts to unravel the identity of his missing friend Drake. He is assisted by Coral, a femme fatale ex-lover of Drake’s with secrets of her own. Murdock is unsure if Coral is helping or hurting him, but he falls for her all the same. Based on a story written by literary agent turned writer Gerald Adams, Dead Reckoning was clearly influenced by The Maltese Falcon (1941) with Humphrey Bogart reprising his role as the avenger. John Cromwell, the film’s director, was known for his focus on social commentary within his films. While Dead Reckoning follows the conventions of film noir, it also touches on themes of returning veterans’ difficulties and the destructive nature of manipulation. The film was originally intended as a vehicle for Rita Hayworth as a follow-up to her successful turn in Gilda (1946), but due to a contract dispute with Columbia and Hayworth’s commitment to The Lady from Shanghai (1947), the part of Coral went instead to Lizabeth Scott, an actress known for film noir roles, who was loaned out by Paramount Pictures for the film. Though contemporary critics felt Scott’s turn as Coral was overpowered by Humphrey Bogart’s presence, her performance and on-screen chemistry with Bogart propelled her to stardom and cemented her image as a seductive and complex femme fatale in film noir. Bogart was loaned to Columbia by Warner Brothers, causing him considerable irritation, since Warner Brothers kept any of his Columbia paycheck that went above and beyond his regular salary. Bogart’s tough guy persona was solidly reinforced in Dead Reckoning, so much so that some critics accused him of subtle parody, while others saw in his performance an undercurrent of the struggles many soldiers face when returning home from war and reunifying with society.
Commentary for the 2025 Vintage Sci-Fi Calendar by Asgard Press, for the March 1952 issue of Planet Stories
Planet Stories; Cover Art: Allen Anderson; Fiction House, March 1952. Over the years, Planet Stories has developed a cult following among science fiction enthusiasts. Its blend of space opera escapist adventure and innovative storytelling resonated with readers and continues to be celebrated by modern fans of the genre. Though the writers’ pay rate was only attractive to unknown or emerging authors, a retrospective look at the magazine reveals more sophistication and depth than is seen at first glance. The magazine encouraged writers to push the boundaries of conventional storytelling. This often led to inventive narrative structures, unexpected plot twists, and a blending of genres that kept the content fresh and exciting. Planet Stories was ahead of its time, consistently identifying new authors who later became sci-fi titans, encouraging rich and imaginative storylines and artwork, and boosting the representation of women in the genre to often feature them as protagonists and heroines rather than simply women in peril. Author Leigh Brackett featured heavily in the pages of Planet Stories, a rare female author in a male-dominated arena, and preferred her female characters to be “hot-tempered, but gutty and intelligent.” In the 1940s, Planet Stories bucked the pulp formula to present women who could rescue themselves, who were problem solvers, who did not need a defender. These characters were frequently reflected in the cover art each month, most of which were created by artist Allen Anderson. His heroines are commonly depicted wielding weapons, engaging in combat, or standing defiantly, embodying strength and resilience. Though often depicted in revealing outfits—a common feature of pulp art—these women were nevertheless presented with an aura of authority and self-assuredness. This nuanced portrayal helped to elevate the status of women in the science fiction genre, presenting them as complex and multi-dimensional characters. Anderson’s artwork defined the visual identity of Planet Stories, making it instantly recognizable on newsstands through his use of vivid colors, dynamic compositions, and memorable characters.
Commentary for the 2025 Vintage Superheroes Calendar by Asgard Press, for the comic book Blue Beetle #1, December 1939
Blue Beetle #1; Cover Art: Lou Fine; Fox Publications, Inc., December 1939. The comic superhero Blue Beetle has a rich history and has undergone significant evolution since his debut in 1939. Created by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski for Fox Comics, the original Blue Beetle was Dan Garret, a police officer who gained superpowers from a special vitamin. In the 1960s, Charlton Comics revamped the character, transforming him into archaeologist Dan Garrett, who derived his powers from a mystical scarab. The most significant evolution occurred in the 1980s when DC Comics acquired the character and introduced Ted Kord, a tech-savvy industrialist who took up the mantle after Garrett’s death. Kord’s version of the Blue Beetle, created by Steve Ditko, relied on gadgets and intellect rather than superpowers. In 2006, the mantle passed to Jaime Reyes, a teenager from El Paso who discovers the scarab and merges with it, gaining advanced alien technology powers. In Blue Beetle #1, readers are introduced to the character of Dan Garret, but the origin of his life as the Blue Beetle is told in fragments throughout several issues, and in the Blue Beetle radio show that debuted in 1940. Blue Beetle creator Wojtkoski worked under the shared house name Charles Nicholas, which was also used at times by artist Chuck Cuidera, co-creator of the aviation comic Blackhawk, and the legendary Captain America artist and creator Jack Kirby. In addition to Blue Beetle, Wojtkoski also penciled and inked on a variety of comic titles for Timely/Marvel Comics, including Captain America Comics and Marvel Mystery Comics. The cover for Blue Beetle #1 was created by artist Lou Fine, known for his exceptional draftsmanship and elegant, dynamic style. His comic work includes contributions to The Flame for Fox Feature Syndicate, and the character “Uncle Sam” for Quality Comics. Fine’s ability to blend realism with dynamic composition and fluid movement left a lasting impact on the comic industry, influencing many future artists and helping to elevate the artistic standards of comic book illustration. In the 1940s, Fine opened his own studio specializing in Sunday advertising comic strips.
Commentary for the 2025 Vintage Pulp Westerns Calendar by Asgard Press, for the May 1950 issue of Exciting Western magazine
Exciting Western; Cover Art: Unknown; Thrilling Publications, May 1950. The May 1950 issue of Exciting Western, released to newsstands by Thrilling Publications, is the epitome of a pulp western magazine of its era. Filled with characters with names like Tombstone Jones and Speedy Smith, Exciting Western checked all the boxes for a readership that couldn’t get enough of the fictionalized Old West. The cover art is uncredited with the artist forgotten by time, but the author with the cover story byline for “Two Loafers from Lynchville” is well-remembered for his contributions to pulp western magazines. In a genre of cookie-cutter writers, W.C. Tuttle (1883-1969) was the real deal – a western author who lived the true Western experience, born in Montana Territory before it was even officially a state. Tuttle wrote over 1,000 stories for western magazines as well as dozens of novels, including Vanishing Brands, which has been reviewed by well-known western writer and editor Jeff Sadler, who called it “an excellent example of the Western form, and a credit to its author.” His western tales were far from formulaic and drew on his own experiences of life in the West and the people he met there. Tuttle was perhaps best known for his series of stories featuring the character “Hashknife Hartley,” a cowboy detective who solved ranch crimes along with his sidekick, “Sleepy Stevens.” Hashknife Hartley starred in his own radio program in 1950-1951, which was narrated by W.C. Tuttle himself. Tuttle also contributed several cover paintings to Adventure Magazine, as well as working as a newspaper cartoonist, following stints as a cowboy, saddle salesman, accountant, cook, forest ranger, semi-professional baseball player, and numerous other random professions. He brought some of his literary characters to life on the big screen as a screenwriter as well, working with Universal Pictures on over 20 short films. Near the end of his life, Tuttle wrote his autobiography, entitled Montana Man, a simple title for a complex and infinitely interesting life story that was woven into the fabric of his fictional work.
Commentary for the 2025 Vintage Horror Comics Calendar by Asgard Press, for Witches Tales #22, December 1953
Witches Tales #22; Cover Art: Warren Kremer, Lee Elias; Harvey Comics, December 1953. Plot twists abound in this issue of Witches Tales, one of Harvey Comics’ supernatural offerings designed to directly compete with the highly successful horror publications produced by rival EC Comics in the early 1950s. Harvey’s contributing artists were at the height of their artistic powers while working on Witches Tales, often taking their inspiration directly from EC Comics artists and always pushing the envelope of shock and suspense. Creative dynamo Howard Nostrand was not only a penciler and inker for Witches Tales #22, he was also a script writer, single-handedly producing the brilliant plot twister “A Day of Panic” which utilizes the “unreliable narrator” literary device to full effect. Nostrand’s artwork was often inspired so closely by EC artist Wally Wood, best known for his tenure at MAD Magazine, that their work was sometimes confused, but Nostrand always distinguished his efforts by injecting his own personality into his comic art. Other plot twisting stories in this issue include “The Hunter,” in which a sportsman’s mountain lion prey turns out to be literally more than he bargained for, and two typeset stories in which the protagonists’ last nerves finally snap, and so do the lives of their victims. In “Double Crossed” and “Chain Reaction,” readers explore the violent tendencies of both the betrayed and the betrayer. The issue is rounded out by a handful of satirical “Nursery Crimes,” a series of brief but horrifyingly humorous rhyming stories with surprise endings, also created by Howard Nostrand.
Commentary for the 2025 Vintage Monsters Calendar by Asgard Press, for the 1932 film The Mummy
The Mummy; 1932; Studio: Universal Pictures; Director: Karl Freund; Cast: Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward van Sloan, Arthur Byron. Although Universal Pictures did not create the horror genre of filmmaking, their early interpretations of classic monster tales such as Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) established the blueprint for numerous horror and monster films that followed. Universal’s horror movies established tropes and devices that are still seen in films today, such as gothic settings, the use of light and shadow, and special effects including makeup. The studio also excelled at creating iconic characters whose aesthetics and mannerisms still define those characters as we see them in current pop culture. After the box office success of Dracula and Frankenstein, producer Carl Laemmle, Jr. began searching for the studio’s next monster hit. Inspired by the opening of the tomb of King Tutankhamun in Egypt in 1922 and the accompanying rumors of an ancient curse, Laemmle commissioned story editors to find an existing novel to adapt to the screen. Unable to find appropriate material, writers instead submitted an original work which was then adapted into the screenplay for The Mummy, thus creating Universal’s first original monster. Screenwriter John L. Balderston wrote the script, and very aptly so as he had been on location for the opening of King Tut’s tomb as a reporter for the New York World. Though not the first film to feature a reanimated mummy, The Mummy was the first to bring the concept to a “talkie,” featuring dialogue, music, and sound effects. Boris Karloff, fresh from his turn in Frankenstein as the monster, was tapped to take the role of the reawakened mummy Imhotep. Many theater goers in these early days of sound pictures rushed to the cinema just to hear him speak in The Mummy, since he had been completely silent as Frankenstein’s monster. Universal’s story of a mummy who is accidentally resurrected by archaeologists, then searches for the reincarnation of his lost love, has had a lasting impact on popular culture, spawning remakes, reinterpretations, sequels, and alternative media treatments, cementing its place in horror film history.
Commentary for the 2025 Vintage Romance Comics Calendar by Asgard Press, for Teen-Age Romances #25, September 1952
Teen-Age Romances #25; Cover Art: Matt Baker; St. John Publications, September 1952. Teen-Age Romances explored a variety of themes that resonated with young women in the early 1950s. Focusing on first love, social anxieties, balancing love with other aspects of life, and ultimately, finding happiness, these comics provided relatable narratives and a sense of escapism for their audience. Teen-Age Romances offered readers a slightly more realistic and nuanced portrayal of young love than other comics of the time, acknowledging the complexities teenagers grappled with. The creative team behind Teen-Age Romances was editor Marion McDermott, writer Dana Dutch, and artist Matt Baker. McDermott (1923-1999), another rare female comics editor, was hired by publisher Archer St. John to run his new romance line in 1949. She encouraged the artists and writers of her comics to tailor their work to suit a female audience. Dutch (1912-1957) created storylines designed to showcase stronger, more independent women than were portrayed in other romance comics, likely due to the influence of his female editor. The stand-out contributor at St. John, however, was Matt Baker (1921-1959). Renowned for the “good girl” aesthetic he brought to his renderings of comic heroine Phantom Lady, Baker had a natural talent for drawing beautiful women. A pioneering African American artist in the comics industry, Baker was renowned for artwork featuring elegant and expressive characters, with a particular focus on glamorous women. His use of clean lines, detailed backgrounds, and emotive facial expressions brought a unique sophistication to his panels, and his ability to convey deep emotion and romantic tension through his illustrations set him apart, making his work highly influential in the genre and beloved by readers. Baker’s commitment to the romance genre saw him push himself to add more realism and depth to his work, producing some of the most sublime illustrations in any comic genre. Sadly, Baker passed away suddenly at the age of 37, but his legacy lives on in the many comic artists he inspired.
To see all of the calendars I have designed for Asgard Press, including those for which I have written commentary, visit their website, asgardpress.com.