Harry A. Chesler carved an important niche for himself in comic-book history by opening one of the first - if not the first - studios that provided early employment to the likes of Jack Cole, George Tuska and other Golden Age greats.
He was less successful as a publisher, although Chesler probably taught a young Stan Lee a thing or two by proclaiming his brand the “world’s greatest comics” on many of the covers he printed.
Even if they weren’t commercially successful, however, Chesler’s books did contain a number of colorful characters - including a crimson-clad Mata Hari known as “Lady Satan.”
Lady Satan swore vengeance against the Nazis after her fiance was murdered by saboteurs. In her short career as an Axis-buster, she gained her pound of flesh and then some as scores of German corpses were left in her wake.
The character faded into obscurity, but did return in the late 40s after Chesler decided to make another go at the publishing biz. This time, the good Ms. Satan fought menaces of a more occult nature before fading into the woodwork for good.
Then again, public domain heroes are a hot commodity these days. Perhaps the mysterious crimson-clad avenger will once again track down evildoers. To hopefully speed that day along here’s a story from Bullseye Comics #11 drawn by Tuska, who really should receive far more accolades for his Golden Age work.
According to the Grand Comics Database, the story was originally printed in an earlier issue of Dynamic Comics. In an effort - The Keeper presumes - to save money, Chesler simply recycled and recolored Tuska’s original splash page for the cover image.
At any rate, it’s a striking image.
