The incredibly obscure Star Studded Comics from Cambridge House Publishers features Ghost Woman plus work by Carmine Infantino.
There seems to be no definitive source on the subject, but a number of online references say that the character Ghost Woman from Star Studded Comics inspired the Dark Horse character Ghost, perhaps the most successful character to come out of the Comics’ Greatest World launch in 1993. While there’s certainly a very basic, general similarity between the two characters, it’s hard not to be skeptical of the connection absent more definitive info. Star Studded Comics is an obscure and elusive 1945 one-shot that’s been seen in its entirety by only a handful of people in recent decades, and while such things have been known to happen (Mr. Monster‘s resurrection from the likewise obscure 1947 Super Duper Comics #3 comes to mind), Cambridge House Publishing’s brief foray into comic book publishing was forgotten shortly after it began in 1945. But that obscurity plus a surprisingly strong original-material line-up that includes Captain Combat, Ghost Woman, and Commandette; and work by Bernard Bailey and early Carmine Infantino makes this rare 128-page giant all the more desirable among collectors, and there’s a Star Studded #nn (Cambridge House/Superior Publishers, 1945) Condition: Apparent GD/VG up for auction in the 2023 April 2-4 Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction #122314 at Heritage Auctions.
Like the comics they published, little is known about Cambridge House Publishers. The company put out three one-shot titles, Star Studded Comics, Gold Medal Comics (like Star Studded Comics, also a 128-page giant), and the standard-format Hurricane Comics. The material for these comic books seems to have been assembled by Bernard Bailey Studios. Like a number of publishers from outside of the comics industry in 1944 and early 1945, it’s likely that Cambridge House used their wartime paper quota to take advantage of the hot comic book market of the time. The War Production Board began to clamp down on such practices throughout 1945.
Interestingly, Cambridge House had some other loose connections to the comic book industry. This seems to be the same publisher that put out a dizzying array of how-to books, many of which were by industry veteran and DC Comics writer/editor Robert Kanigher. These included How to Make Money Writing for Comics Magazines, How to Make Money Writing for the Stage, How to Make Money Writing Popular Books, How to Make Money Writing for Radio, How to Make Money Writing for Newspapers and Magazines, Where and how to Sell Your Manuscripts, and probably others. They also published A Guide To Intimate Letter Writing and Private Letters of the World’s Great Lovers by Jeanne Georgette, the latter of which was advertised in comic books.
The Ghost Woman story from Star Studded Comics hit the internet sometime around 2009, and seemed to capture some attention at the time. Moonstone Publishing used the character in 2011, and she is even occasionally the subject of fan art. Star Studded Comics is an obscure comic book full of obscure characters that deserve to be better known, and you can get your own glimpse with this Star Studded #nn (Cambridge House/Superior Publishers, 1945) Condition: Apparent GD/VG up for auction in the 2023 April 2-4 Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction #122314 at Heritage Auctions.
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