The intriguing story of St. John’s Blue Ribbon Comics and its connection to Matt Baker, featuring a guest appearance by Nike’s Phil Knight.
Published on Sun, 13 Aug 2023 16:57:06 -0500 by Mark Seifert | Last updated on Sun, 13 Aug 2023 18:33:14 -0500 | St. John Publications’ use of the title Blue Ribbon Comics in 1949 is an anomaly from a publisher known for its peculiarities. While the name is mostly associated with MLJ Magazines, the future Archie Comics, it was also the first failed comic book series for MLJ, which may explain why St. John was able to use the title in 1949. In an interview with historian John Benson, St. John editor Irwin Stein referred to Blue Ribbon Comics as a “try-out title,” akin to DC Comics’ Showcase. Two of these trial issues featured covers by Matt Baker, and Blue Ribbon Comics #2 Diary Secrets Condition: FN and Blue Ribbon Comics #4 (MLJ, 1940) Condition: Apparent FN and Blue Ribbon Comics #4 Condition: Apparent FN are currently up for auction in the 2023 August 17 The Matt Baker Comics & Comic Art Showcase Auction #40233.
Interestingly, there is no record of either MLJ or St. John registering a trademark for Blue Ribbon Comics during that time. While there are scenarios in which St. John could have acquired the trademark from MLJ or revived an abandoned one, it is more likely that neither publisher prioritized it at the time. Blue Ribbon Comics appears to have been a temporary title for St. John, and for MLJ, it was a major misstep in their comics publishing history. Despite finding its footing editorially with the introduction of characters like Mr. Justice and Captain Flag, MLJ realized that Blue Ribbon Comics #19 posed branding issues. The original concept of featuring “Blue Ribbon” in the title logo was eventually scaled back, with the focus shifting solely to “COMICS.” However, this change didn’t pan out, and the series came to an end after issue #20. Blue Ribbon Comics had originally been used by MLJ as a brand name for pulp magazines, which continued until 1950.
When St. John started using Blue Ribbon Comics in 1949, only the first three issues featured the branding on the covers. The series, lasting six issues but counting three Blue Ribbon Comics entries, served as a soft launch for the Terrytoons titles Heckle and Jeckle and Dinky Duck, as well as an experimental platform for the development of Diary Secrets / Teen-Age Diary Secrets, one of St. John’s significant titles. Throughout three appearances in Blue Ribbon Comics, St. John made several adjustments to the title, logo, cover design, and even the format of Diary Secrets. Matt Baker provided two of the covers for Diary Secrets/Teen-Age Diary Secrets, while the third “try-out” issue featured a photo cover. Ultimately, St. John decided on Teen-Age Diary Secrets as the title, featuring photo covers, and it became a hit, with issue #6 famously showcasing a young Marilyn Monroe before her rise to stardom. St. John’s business manager, Richard E. Decker, predicted that comic magazines would shift to a pocket size format, leading to two digest-sized issues of Diary Secrets. However, this industry-wide shift did not occur, and after its run, Diary Secrets underwent a rebranding with a fresh logo, cover design, and Matt Baker artwork, leaving the Blue Ribbon branding behind.
Oddly enough, the “Blue Ribbon Sports” name, previously used for a pulp title by Louis Silberkleit and Maurice Coyne’s Columbia Publications, resurfaced as a corporate name and trademark for Nike, founded by Phil Knight in 1963 to sell athletic shoes. While Blue Ribbon Sports changed its name to Nike in 1978, the brand name has endured. It is highly unlikely that any other company will acquire this unique brand permutation any time soon. On the other hand, Archie Comics briefly resurrected the Blue Ribbon Comics title from 1983 to 1985, but it has largely been forgotten, except by vintage comic book collectors, specifically MLJ collectors. However, for Matt Baker collectors, there are two notable Blue Ribbon Comics issues up for auction: Blue Ribbon Comics #2 Diary Secrets Condition: FN and Blue Ribbon Comics #4 (MLJ, 1940) Condition: Apparent FN, both available in the 2023 August 17 The Matt Baker Comics & Comic Art Showcase Auction #40233.
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