Thursday, May 03, 2007
Sponsored Comics: Layton Prince
Layton Prince was a father-and-son detective strip by Gaeton Williams. I know nothing about Williams, but I doubt it's a pen-name since you rarely see pseudonyms signed with such flourish. One thing we can say for Williams is that he, like so many cartoonists of the era, was under the spell of Alex Raymond. Well, except for that one panel with a George Wunder swipe.
This strip has a pretty good, sophisticated plot, leaving me wondering if Williams might have swiped a little more from Rip Kirby than artwork. If not it's a shame we never heard any more from Gaeton Williams -- he was definitely ready for the big show.
Comments:
The signature bears an uncanny resemblance to that of William Overgard. Although his work on Steve Roper was a lot looser than this, he was an amazingly versatile artist who could have pulled this off.
"Layton Prince" -- "Latent Prints". That's a good one. Thanks for sharing all these great comic strips.
Regards,
Joe Thompson ;0)
Regards,
Joe Thompson ;0)
Hey Joe -
Dang, I never made the connection. That IS a pretty good one.
I received a private email from Alberto Becattini in which he says with great confidence that this strip is by Bill Lignante. I can definitely see his point, but I'm still just a bit skeptical. That flowery signature keeps me from wholeheartedly going along with Alberto.
--Allan
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Dang, I never made the connection. That IS a pretty good one.
I received a private email from Alberto Becattini in which he says with great confidence that this strip is by Bill Lignante. I can definitely see his point, but I'm still just a bit skeptical. That flowery signature keeps me from wholeheartedly going along with Alberto.
--Allan
