1939.07.29 “The Stargazers See an Omen in the Comet”
by Max P. Milians (1907-2005)
11 x 15 in., ink on board
Coppola Collection
Milians signed his cartoons with nine zeros (“millions”) as an underline. His work was syndicated across America from the 1930s up until the 1970s.
The 35P/Herschel–Rigollet is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 155 years. The quasi-mystic and mythic stories of a comet that was easily visible with field glasses, in late July of 1939, is combined here with the emerging trouble in Europe.
A sense of destiny is a clear part of the dictatorial spirit. They are not only sure they are on the right side of history; they are fated to be history, fulfilling a master plan and its duty.
In January 1936, Mussolini told a German envoy of how Nazi Germany and fascist Italy shared “a common destiny.” Mussolini described them as the ‘axis’ around which Europe would revolve.
The Pact of Steel (May 1939, also recorded as the “Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy”) was the formalization of the military and political alliance between Italy and Germany.
There is another full drawing on the back of this (see elsewhere), that comes from the same time period.