Here's a real obscure one. I don't know much about it, but I'll tell you what I can, and maybe someone who knows more will enlighten us. Joe And Judy was bylined to someone named Walsh, and was signed B. Derfla (that last name's Alfred backwards). The strips were numbered, and the highest one I've seen is #80. All my samples come from the Catholic Herald Citizen of Milwaukee. The strips I have all came from 1951 issues of the weekly newspaper and were not printed in numerical order.
Since the strips aren't at all religious in nature, I'm betting that they weren't done particularly for this paper. Perhaps a rejected syndicate submission? I also notice, and it may not mean anything, that in all my samples the two title characters never appear together in one strip. Just sorta odd.
The art, competent but nothing to write home about, doesn't ring any bells for me, but the style of the signature seems naggingly familiar. Try as I might, though, I just can't place it. Can anyone think of a cartoonist who might use the name Alfred B.?
Hi,
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a find! I hope you will be able to post all of this. maybe I can help identifying the unknown artists. How about finding more of these and doing an article for Hogan's Alley?
Hi Ger -
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't usually post more than a sample or two of each strip. The only exceptions are the occasional long runs that I post when I am on business trips and can't do the daily research necessary for 'normal' posts.
My articles on rare and obscure strips appear in most issues of Hogan's Alley. You won't find one of my articles in the upcoming issue (my latest article got squeezed out) but the next issue will have an article covering a whole bunch of really obscure strips from one newspaper. Which one? You'll have to wait and see!
Best, Allan
Can't help, but maybe Arnold Wagner will drop by; he might know.
ReplyDeleteSome strips are coming through on the front page full size, Allan, so it's loading more slowly than usual. May have something to do with the blogger-blip you mentioned.
Your blog is, as usual, brilliant.
Hi Rod -
ReplyDeleteBrilliant? Why, sir, you make me blush.
Yeah, those full size images are because of the blogger snafus last week. We'll just have to live with them until they scroll off into the archive. Since you noticed the slow load, I guess you're another poor troglodyte like me still using dial-up, eh?
Allan
No idea of the author or else about the strip. But for what concerns the signatura, it shows a "nagging familiarity" also for me. I deduced that it may (much) vaguely remind DeBeck's signature in the war period, when Barney Google was drawn by Musial or Lasswell.
ReplyDeleteO. Delfra
According to Comiclopedia, the artist is Alfred J. Buescher, art director at Central Press. http://lambiek.net/artists/b/buescher_alfred-j.htm
ReplyDeleteHi Fram --
ReplyDeleteHmm. It certainly does seem to fit, but Buescher's style was usually so noodly and illustrative I never would have made the connection. Thanks for the link!
--Allan