The kind men like

NIFTY GALS 'N' GAGS was one of those old-style sexist cartoon digests that sold to servicemen and young guys (and probably some old ones, too), looking for cheesecake. The jokes are about sexual harassment, cheating wives and hookers. It was strictly second-tier when it came to showcasing cartoon talent, but I find one thing interesting about it, and that's having a character (in this case Nick, a horny devil if ever I saw one) who is shown in a sort of loose continuity depending on what he's doing that issue. In this one, from October, 1956, Nick is a--dare we say it--private dick.

I have no idea who did the Nick cartoons. One page has an indecipherable signature, the other cartoons are signed with "G". There are other cartoonists better known to me. Al Kaufman contributes a gag, Bill Ward shows up under his pen-name, McCartney. Vic Martin (signed "Vic") and Don Orehek, who later went on to CRACKED, contribute a couple of panels each, and even Hal Sherman and Bill Wenzel have some work in there. Wenzel's cartoons, which are signed Bill W., seem like roughs rejected by other publishers, then accepted by NIFTY. The artwork isn't up to Wenzel's usual standards.

NIFTY was one of a line of "Wolf Books" (love that logo!)