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Clarence Matthew Baker (b. 10 December 1921 , d. 11 August 1959 ) is an American Comic Book artist best known for the costumed crimefighter Phantom Lady and as the medium's first known African American artist, active as early as the 1930s-40s Golden Age Of Comic Books . He also Penciled what is arguably the first Graphic Novel , St. John Publications ' digest-sized "picture novel" '' It Rhymes With Lust '' (1950). His speciality was Good Girl Art , a comics and cartooning subgenre for which his work is in high demand with collectors. Baker was educated at Cooper Union in New York City , and was later hired by the Iger Studio , one of the 1940s "packagers" who provided outsourced comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium. Through Iger, Baker did work for publishers including St. John, Fiction House , Fox Comics , and Quality Comics . In later years, he independently teamed with Inker Jon D'Agostino under the Pseudonym Matt Bakerino at Charlton Comics . The character Phantom Lady, created by Arthur Peddy, had originated in 1941 as a Quality Comics feature supplied by the Iger Studio. Cartoonist Frank Borth later took over the art. After Quality dropped her feature, which had appeared in ''Police Comics'' #1-23 (Aug. 1941 - Oct. 1943), Iger supplied her to Fox Comics, which had requested a sexy costumed adventuress. Baker redesigned the character into her best-known incarnation (see image above right). This version (generally but unconfirmably credited to writer Ruth Roche ) debuted in Fox's ''Phantom Lady'' #13 (Aug. 1947), the premiere issue after taking over the numbering of the canceled comic ''Wotalife''; the title ran through issue #23 (April 1949). Baker's Phantom Lady also appeared as a backup feature in ''All Top Comics'' #9-16 (Jan. 1948 - March 1949). His other comic-book work includes the light-humor military title ''Canteen Kate'', as well as stories in the suspense Anthology ''Tales of The Mysterious Traveler''; the comedic-adventure feature "Sky Girl" in Fiction House 's ''Jumbo Comics'', with originals and later reprints running from #69-139 (Nov. 1944 - Dec. 1952); the Jungle adventure "Tiger Girl"; "Flamingo", "South Sea Girl", "Glory Forbes", "Kayo Kirby"; and "Risks Unlimited". In 1948, Matt Baker contributed the cover art to The Saint #4 published by Avon. He is the generally credited but unconfirmed artist for Fox's ''Rulah, Jungle Goddess'' #17-27 (Aug. 1948 - June 1949, title's complete run after having taken over the numbering of the defunct ''Zoot Comics''). He also produced ''Flamingo'' as a syndicated comic strip from 1952 through 1954. He later did several romance and other titles for St. John Publications, and afterward freelanced for Atlas Comics , the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics , beginning with a five-page anthological story generally if unconfirmably credited to writer-editor Stan Lee , in the omnibus title ''Gunsmoke Western'' #32 (Dec. 1955). At some point during this period working through artist Vince Colletta 's studio, Baker went on to draw stories for Atlas' ''Western Outlaws'', ''Quick Trigger Action'', ''Frontier Western'', and ''Wild Western''; more prolifically for the company's Romance comics ''Love Romances'', ''My Own Romance'', and ''Teen-Age Romance''; and one story each for the Supernatural / Science Fiction anthologies '' Strange Tales '', ''Worlds of Fantasy'', and '' Tales To Astonish '' ("I Fell to the Center of the Earth!" in issue #2, March 1959, reprinted in the hardcover book ''Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish'', ISBN 0-7851-1889-6) His last known work (generally credited but unconfirmed) is the first page of the six-page story ''Happily Ever After'' in Atlas/Marvel's ''Love Romances'' #90 (Nov. 1960). His last known confirmed work is the six-page "I Gave Up the Man I Love!" in the company's ''My Own Romance'' #73 (Jan. 1960). Baker was a finalist for induction into the Will Eisner Hall Of Fame in 2005. REFERENCES
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