''It Rhymes with Lust'' is a " picture novel" published in 1950. It is an early example of a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

. It was written by

Arnold Drake Arnold Drake (March 1, 1924 – March 12, 2007) was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, amo ...

and

Leslie Waller Leslie Elson Waller (April 1, 1923 – March 29, 2007) was an American writer. Biography He is a son of Ukrainian immigrants and was born in Chicago, Illinois. He suffered from amblyopia and poliomyelitis as a child, but graduated from Hyde Par ...

(under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Drake Waller"), with black-and-white art by

Matt Baker Matthew James Baker (born 23 December 1977) is a British television presenter. He co-presented the children's television show ''Blue Peter'' from 1999 until 2006, BBC One's ''Countryfile'' since 2009 and ''The One Show'' from 2011 to 2020, wit ...

and inker Ray Osrin. It was published by the

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

and magazine company St. John Publications. Drake would go to write for comics publishers DC and

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

, for which he created such characters as

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appe ...

, Deadman and the original

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

Plot

Hal Weber, a handsome, downtrodden newspaperman, arrives at Copper City to take a job offered by a former lover, Rust Masson. Rust is the cunning, beautiful widow of the prominent political leader Buck Masson. She now intends to take over the political fortunes of the city for herself, with the assistance of her cold-blooded, violent henchman, Monk Shirl. Her stepdaughter, Audrey Masson, warns Hal of Rust's machinations, but Hal is smitten and easily ensnared by Rust's deceitful attractions. Meanwhile, a rival political power, Marcus Jeffers, also schemes to gain political control, but he is outwitted by Rust and violently beaten by her henchmen, with Hal forced to participate. Plagued by self-loathing, Hal is finally convinced by Audrey's innocence and probity to stand up to Rust. He writes a lengthy expose of Rust and her activities in his newspaper, which causes the city to rise up against her. In a climactic confrontation at the nearby mining facility, Rust's efforts to quell a popular uprising turn fatal when one of her henchmen begins shooting at the miners. Rust and Monk climb into an elevated mining bucket to address the agitated crowd, with Rust proclaiming that "Power belongs to whoever has the guts to take it!". At that moment, Marcus Jeffers, recovered from his injuries, rushes to the control panel, intending to dump the mining car carrying Rust and Monk. Though he is shot to death by Monk, Jeffers is able to set the cars in motion, sending Rust and Monk toppling out of the car to their deaths in the mine pit below. Hal and Audrey, observing from the ground, are cheered by the crowd. Later that evening, Hal realizes he loves Audrey alone, and the couple embrace.

Publication history

According to Drake, he and Waller created the concept of "picture novels" in 1949 while in college in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, conceiving "a more developed comic book—a deliberate bridge between comic books and book books. ... What we planned was a series of picture novels that were, essentially, action, mystery, Western and romance movies on paper". Armed with a two-page sample of an example story, "One Man Too Many!", Drake and Waller convinced Archer St. John of St. John Publications to launch a line of

mass market paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, lea ...

s containing original comics work that would appeal to the general public.

Later rediscovery

Comics writer-artist Michael T. Gilbert wrote in liner notes for 2006 reprinting in ''

The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing r ...

'' that it "reads like a B-movie potboiler, bubbling over with greed, sex, and political corruption". The cover tag line reads: "She was greedy, heartless and calculating. She knew what she wanted and was ready to sacrifice anything to get it". St. John published a second book in the line, the

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

''The Case of the Winking Buddha'', by pulp novelist

Manning Lee Stokes Manning Lee Stokes (June 21, 1911 – January 5, 1976) was an American novelist who worked under a large number of pseudonyms. He specialized in pulp fiction, especially in the genres of mystery, detective fiction, westerns, sleaze, spy ficti ...

and illustrator Charles Raab. Neither book sold well, and the line was cancelled. ''It Rhymes with Lust'' was reprinted in its entirety in the 30th anniversary issue (#277) of ''

''. In March 2007 Dark Horse Books (

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

' book publishing arm) published a softcover reprint with a new afterword by Drake.

External links

''It Rhymes with Lust''
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

* * * "It Rhymes with Lust", ''

'' #277 (July 2006), 78-143. Fantagraphics Books. *Ho, Oliver
"Arnold Drake's Secret Identity"
"Borderland Speakeasy" (column) #8, PopMatters.com, April 26, 2010
WebCitation archive

Download'' It Rhymes with Lust''
at the Digital Comic Museum {{Authority control 1950 graphic novels 1950 comics debuts American graphic novels Adult comics Crime comics Dark Horse Comics titles Works published under a pseudonym