Stripper's Guide

The Stripper's Guide blog discusses the history of the American newspaper comic strip.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

News of Yore 1968: Perkins Debuts

British artist hopes his silence is golden
By Don Maley (E&P, 12/14/1968)

The Register and Tribune Syndicate is offering a comic strip that is an innovation inasmuch as the cartoon character— “Perkins” — says absolutely nothing but is always getting himself into humorous difficulties within his frame of reference.

The cartoonist, John Miles, makes every line in the strip work—the horizons, the borders, the window frames—wherever there is a line, it is likely to become part of the joke.

Although Miles describes his strip as “functionally graphic,” comic buffs will recognize it as pantomime. Because pantomime is so rare in America the syndicate’s editors had to cross the Atlantic to find “Perkins”. Miles is a bearded Englishman who resembles a Victorian buccaneer. “Perkins,” his brainchild, came into existence in the London Sunday Times as a once-a-week strip (the first and only comic strip to ever appear in that paper), but Miles quickly demonstrated that he was full of too many good ideas to wait a whole week to present another.

“Therefore,” says the syndicate, “he has agreed to do six- a-week and share them with the whole world.” So far the “whole world” consists of 41 newspapers.

The 34-year-old cartoonist, described as “a keen observer of situations from which he derives a great deal of his inspiration,” is rumored to be a quiet person (it is hoped, however, he is more talkative than his brainchild “Perkins”), who “doesn’t conform to routine and works during the night if so inclined.” A voracious artist, he’s done portraits, poster, silk screen, advertising layouts, brochures and other commissions. In 1964 he was rated as one of the top designers for his designs of children’s toys.


Miles, an art school dropout, now lives “in one of the best known stately mansions in England.” He didn’t always. During his tour of duty with the British Army he lived and served in Germany, drawing maps and geographical designs. Later he, his wife of 13 years, Margaret, and their daughter moved to Bermuda where he worked on the island Press. Tiring of palm trees and incessant sunshine they moved to Greece.

“He’s remembered in Bermuda,” says the syndicate, “for his drawings of people who looked like their dogs at a dog show, and he’s remembered in Greece for his drawings of Greek Orthodox priests with their tall hats and umbrellas.”

It is hoped that he’ll be remembered in America for his “Perkins” strip. “I am very enthusiastic about this strip,” says Denny Allen, the syndicate’s managing editor, “because it simply brings fun and laughs to the comic page ... which is just what that page is for. This is something which is not imitative of another comic strip. It’s fresh, creative and offers a brand of humor to readers which they deserve. And, best of all, it was not conjured up to capitalize on some particular fad or mood. It is just one man’s attempt to - provoke laughter by clever drawings.”

Labels: News of Yore

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 8:21 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Children's Tales -- a Few More

In response to a request made yesterday, here's a few more Children's Tales strips. As you can see the book publishers (and McNaught worked with quite a few on this series) get credited on the strips. It didn't occur to me while I was putting together my index on this series that anyone would be particularly interested in the publisher credits so I didn't make note of them. However, since the titles and creators are given I imagine it would be easy for a children's book fan to determine who published what in book form.

My question about the book adaptations is whether the strips are condensations of the books or complete reprintings. I always assumed the former to be the case but maybe I'm wrong.

EDIT:
Alberto Becattini informs me that most, perhaps all of the Children's Tales book adaptations were redrawn by Frank Bolle. Becattini explains that because the original artwork to these children's books was painted, that line-drawn equivalents were needed for the newspaper feature. He believes that Bolle used a lightboard extensively in order to faithfully translate the styles of all these various artists. Bolle did occasionally hide his signature in these pages, and he was pretty darn sneaky about it. Even with Alberto's directions to finding a few of them I could barely make them out. If you'd like to play hide-and-seek for Bolle signatures, here's some from Becattini to give you a head start:

2/5/67 - fourth panel, on canteen
2/26/67 - fifth panel, on wall on the left
4/30/67 - first panel, on door
8/20/67 - last panel, in box on the right
8/27/67 - last panel, in picture frame
11/26/67 - sixth panel, on tree trunk
12/03/67 - second panel

Thanks for that important inside story to this feature, Alberto!

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 10:10 AM 0 comments

Monday, January 05, 2009

Obscurity of the Day: Children's Tales

This obscure Sunday series is aptly described by its title. The McNaught Syndicate feature was designed to appeal to the younger set, featuring multi-part stories that were meant to interest elementary school readers. In addition to original material, some stories were adapted from contemporary children's books, others from classics, and yet others featured well-known animated cartoon characters.

The information on this series has been terribly hard to track down because it ran in very few papers. This wasn't really a reflection on the quality of the material, though. The strip had two problems that made it unappealing to editors. First, it was offered only in half-page and tab formats in an era when most strips were being run as thirds. Second, because the stories were always multi-parters, the strip could never be bumped from the comics section to accommodate an ad (a problem that also hastened the downfall of Sunday continuity strips).

It took me the better part of a decade to get the story list as complete as you see below, but its been worthwhile as a number of famous illustrators made their only Sunday funnies appearances in this feature. Later in the run the big name talent disappeared and most stories were written and drawn by the ever able Frank Bolle.

I would be VERY interested in hearing from anyone who knows of any earlier or later stories in this series. As far as I know the list below represents the complete run of the feature, but only because this is all I've been able to track down.

Start	End	Title	Writer	Artist
10/17/65	10/24/65	The Little Red Caboose	Marian Potter	Tibor Gergely
10/31/65	11/14/65	Sylvester The Mouse With The Musical Ear	Adelaide Holl	N.M. Bodecker
11/21/65	12/5/65	Tinker And Tanker In Africa	Richard Scarry	Richard Scarry
12/12/65	12/19/65	The Night Before Christmas	Clement Moore	Frank Bolle
12/26/65	1/9/66	Paul & Arthur Search For The Egg	Anne Rockwell	Anne Rockwell
1/16/66	1/23/66	Where's Willie?	Seymour Reit	Erik Blegvad
1/30/66	2/13/66	Jeremiah Octopus	Margaret Stone Zilboorg	Hilary Knight
2/20/66	3/6/66	The Dragon In The Clock Box	M. Jean Craig	Kelly Oechsli
3/13/66	3/20/66	The Happy Man And His Dump Truck	Miryam	Tibor Gergely
3/27/66	4/10/66	Borka - The Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers	John Burningham	John Burningham
4/17/66	5/1/66	Tobias And His Big Red Satchel	Sunny B. Warner	Sunny B. Warner
5/8/66	5/22/66	Henry The Uncatchable Mouse	Sidney Simon	Nola Langner
5/29/66	6/5/66	Pear-Shaped Hill	Irving A. Leitner	Bernice Myers
6/12/66	6/26/66	The King Who Learned To Smile	Seymour Reit	Gordon Laite
7/3/66	7/10/66	The Little Red Hen	Uncredited	J.P. Miller
7/17/66	7/31/66	The Log and Admiral Frog	B. Wiseman	B. Wiseman
8/7/66	8/21/66	Thumbelina	Uncredited	Gustaf Tenggren
8/28/66	9/11/66	Lolly's Pony Ride	Charlotte Steiner	Charlotte Steiner
9/18/66	10/2/66	The Upside-Down Man	Shan Ellentuck	Shan Ellentuck
10/9/66	10/23/66	Old Gray And The Little White Hen	Paul Francois	Lucile Butel
10/30/66	11/13/66	The Whale Hunt	Kenneth S. Norris	Claude Humbert
11/20/66	12/4/66	The Good Friends	Paul Francois	Gerda
12/11/66	12/25/66	The Little Stowaway Reindeer	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
1/1/67	1/15/67	Trubloff	John Burningham	John Burningham
1/22/67	1/29/67	The Animals Search for Summer	Natha Caputo	Gerda Muller
2/5/67	2/19/67	Kangaroo & Kangaroo	Kathy Braun	Jim McMullan
2/26/67	3/12/67	A Pickle For A Nickel	Lilian Moore	Susan Perl
3/19/67	4/9/67	Noisy Nancy Norris	Louanna Gaeddert	Gioia Fiammenghi
4/16/67	4/30/67	A Dog's Life	Mido	Gerda
5/7/67	5/21/67	Runaway John	Leonore Klein	Sunny B. Warner
5/28/67	6/11/67	Around The Corner	Jean B. Showalter	Roger Duvoisin
6/18/67	7/9/67	Anna Amelia's Apteryx	Mary O'Neill	Burt Groedel
7/16/67	7/30/67	The Saggy Baggy Elephant	K. & B. Jackson	Gustav Tenngren
8/6/67	8/27/67	Little Boy With a Big Horn	Jack Bechdolt	Aurelius Battaglia
9/3/67	9/17/67	Honey-Duck	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
9/24/67	10/8/67	Mister Dog	Margaret Wise Brown	Garth Williams
10/15/67	10/29/67	The Seven Sneezes	Olga Cabral	Tibor Gergely
11/5/67	11/19/67	The Bear Who Became Sheriff	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
11/26/67	12/10/67	Did You See What I Said?	Shan Ellentuck	Shan Ellentuck
12/17/67	12/24/67	A Snowflake For Christmas	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
12/31/67	1/14/68	Gwendolyn and the Weathercock	Nancy Sherman	Edward Sorel
1/21/68	2/4/68	Little Yip-Yip And His Bark	Kathryn & Byron Jackson	Tibor Gergely
2/11/68	2/25/68	Scuffy The Tugboat	Gertrude Crampton	Tibor Gergely
3/3/68	3/17/68	Mrs. Ticklefeather	Dorothy Kunhardt	J.P. Miller
3/24/68	3/31/68	Home For A Bunny	Margaret Wise Brown	Garth Williams
4/7/68	4/21/68	The Big Brown Bear	Georges Duplaix	Gustaf Tenggren
4/28/68	5/12/68	The Merry Shipwreck	Georges Duplaix	Tibor Gergely
5/19/68	6/2/68	The Sailor Dog	Margaret Wise Brown	Garth Williams
6/9/68	6/23/68	Little Peewee	Dorothy Kunhardt	J.P. Miller
6/30/68	7/14/68	Benjamin Budge and Barnaby Ball	Florence Parry Heide	Sally Mathews
7/21/68	8/4/68	Not This Bear!	Bernice Myers	Bernice Myers
8/11/68	8/25/68	The Elves and the Shoemaker	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
9/1/68	9/15/68	Sam and the Impossible Thing	Tamara Kitt	Brinton Turkle
9/22/68	10/6/68	The Note That Wouldn't Play	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
10/13/68	10/27/68	The Princess And The Pea	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
11/3/68	11/17/68	The Cow Went Over The Mountain	Jeanette Krinsley	Feodor Rojankovsky
11/24/68	12/8/68	Mister Puffer-Bill	Leone Arlandson	Tibor Gergely
12/15/68	12/22/68	The Twelve Days of Christmas	traditional	Frank Bolle
12/29/68	1/12/69	Fun For Hunkydory	May Justus	Sue D'Avignon
1/19/69	2/2/69	Scotty and the Story-Teller	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
2/9/69	2/23/69	Hazel Was an Only Pet	John Hamberger	John Hamberger
3/2/69	3/16/69	Peter Potamus	Carl Memling	Hawley Pratt, Bill Lorencz
3/23/69	4/6/69	The Golden Egg	Margaret Wise Brown	Lilian Obligado
4/13/69	4/27/69	Thistle	Era Zistel	uncredited (Frank Bolle)
5/4/69	5/18/69	Ruff and Reddy Go To a Party	Uncredited	Harvey Eisenberg, Neil Boyle
5/25/69	5/25/69	The Fox and the Crow	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
6/1/69	6/15/69	3910 16th Avenue	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
6/22/69	7/6/69	Mushmouse and Punkin Puss, the Country Cousins	Jay Freeman	Peter Alvarado, R. Jacobs
7/13/69	7/13/69	My Shadow	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
7/20/69	7/27/69	Wally Gator - Guess What's Hiding at the Zoo?	Eileen Daly	Mel Crawford
8/3/69	8/17/69	The Day of the Trucks	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
8/24/69	9/7/69	Rumpelstiltskin	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
9/14/69	9/21/69	We Like Kindergarten	Clara Cassidy	Eloise Wilkin
9/28/69	9/28/69	The Horse and the Lion	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
10/5/69	10/12/69	Sam the Firehouse Cat	Virginia Parsons	Virginia Parsons
10/19/69	10/19/69	The Kid and the Wolf	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
10/26/69	11/9/69	Doctor Dolittle Stops the Bullfights	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
11/16/69	11/30/69	Percy the Plain Old Spruce Tree	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
12/7/69	12/21/69	A Christmas Carol	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
12/28/69	12/28/69	The Hare And The Tortoise	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
1/4/70	1/11/70	When I Grow Up	Ilse-Margret Vogel	Ilse Margret-Vogel
1/18/70	2/1/70	Doctor Dolittle - The Dog Ambulance	Uncredited	Uncredited
2/8/70	2/22/70	Ricochet Rabbit - Showdown at Gopher Gulch Bakery	Patrick Hagen	Al Anderson, Peter Alvarado
3/1/70	3/15/70	Snagglepuss - The Way To Be a King	William Johnston	Art Seiden
3/22/70	4/5/70	Touche Turtle and the Fire Dog	Jean Lewis	Mel Crawford
4/12/70	4/19/70	The Tiny Tawny Kitten	Barbara Hazen	Jan Pfloog
4/26/70	5/3/70	The Boy With A Drum	David L. Harrison	Eloise Wilkin
5/10/70	5/10/70	The Lion and the Mouse	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
5/17/70	5/31/70	The Siren Hound	Patricia Boyd	Frank Bolle
6/7/70	6/14/70	The Wonderful School	May Justus	Hilde Hoffmann
6/21/70	6/21/70	The Cat and the Mice	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
6/28/70	7/12/70	Huckleberry Hound The Rainmaker	Uncredited	Uncredited
7/19/70	7/19/70	The Fox And The Grapes	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
7/26/70	8/9/70	Peter Potamus and the Pirates	Jean Lewis	Howard Forsberg
8/16/70	8/30/70	Cinderella	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
9/6/70	9/13/70	The Trophy	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
9/20/70	10/4/70	Touche Turtle	Carl Memling	Bill Lorencz, Norm McGary, Al White
10/11/70	10/25/70	A Gift For Ted	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
11/1/70	11/15/70	The Duck and the Leaves	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
11/22/70	12/6/70	The Sleeping Beauty	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
12/13/70	12/20/70	The Night Before Christmas (1965 reprint?)	Clement Moore	Frank Bolle
12/27/70	1/10/71	The Lazy Fox and the Little Red Hen	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
1/17/71	1/31/71	Prairie Pup	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
2/7/71	2/21/71	Matilda the Cow	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
2/28/71	3/14/71	Hansel and Gretel	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
3/21/71	4/3/71	The Special Mister Reggie Frog	Linda Moggio, Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
4/10/71	4/25/71	Clever Trevor and his Bag of Tricks	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
5/2/71	5/16/71	The Funny Little Squirrel	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
5/23/71	5/30/71	The Boy Who Couldn't Rhyme	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
6/6/71	6/20/71	The Crabby Crab	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
6/27/71	7/11/71	Jack and the Beanstock	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
7/18/71	8/1/71	Clever Trevor and the Forbidden Island	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
8/8/71	8/15/71	A Short Dog Story	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
8/22/71	8/29/71	My Own Room	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
9/5/71	9/12/71	The Snappy Turtle	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
9/19/71	9/26/71	Errol Digs Adventure	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
10/3/71	10/10/71	Goldilocks and the Three Bears	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
10/17/71	10/24/71	The School of Fish	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
10/31/71	11/7/71	A Ride In Space	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
11/14/71	11/14/71	The Paper	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
11/21/71	11/21/71	That's Why	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
11/28/71	11/28/71	One Track Mind	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
12/5/71	12/5/71	The Easel	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
12/12/71	12/19/71	A Snowflake For Christmas (reprint of 1967 story)	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle

Labels: Obscurities

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 12:15 AM 6 comments

Comments:

Just wanted to post a note to say thank you for these invaluable insights; I've been doing some research for a small curatorial project and your notes have been completely invaluable. I'm both really impressed and quite grateful. Thank you!

# posted by  Robyn : 1/05/2009 4:13 AM

 

Hi Alan,
Judging from the titles and artists on this strip, it appears to be repurposed artwork from Golden Books/Whitman publications. Do you have any examples of the earlier strips in the series such as THE LITTLE RED CABOOSE by Tibor Gergeley or THE LITTLE RED HEN by J.P. Miller? Thanks for all your great research, Mark Kausler

# posted by  Anonymous : 1/05/2009 2:26 PM

 

Hi Allan,
Please excuse the mispelling of your name.
All best, Mark K.

# posted by  Mark Kausler : 1/06/2009 1:40 AM

 

I agree with Mark that alot of the titles seems to be repurposed from the Golden Books series, especially in stories that appears to feature Hanna-Barbera characters (Peter Potamus, Huckleberry Hound). The artists listed, such as Hawley Pratt, is also a tipoff.

Pratt is best known for directing a bulk of the "Pink Panther" cartoons. He was a layout artist for Friz Freleng during the "Looney Tunes" days, doing most of the character layouts for him.

# posted by  Brubaker : 1/06/2009 4:25 AM

 

My grandfather used to cut these comics out of the newspaper every week and glued them into a "scrapbook" made from an old magazine. I have all of them through Runaway John Part 3. I wish I had more, but he got sick and passed away in 1972 when I was 9. My comic book scrapbook is a very precious memory of lazy days spent with a grandfather I adored.

# posted by  Caryn Jones - Jacksonville : 1/11/2009 2:56 PM

 

Hi Caryn -
Do you know what newspaper he clipped them from? Does your scrapbook include any that pre-date "The Little Red Caboose"?

Thanks, Allan

# posted by  Allan Holtz : 1/11/2009 11:29 PM

 

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Sunday, January 04, 2009

Jim Ivey's Sunday Comics

Jim Ivey's new book, Graphic Shorthand, is available from Lulu.com for $19.95 plus shipping, or you can order direct from Ivey for $25 postpaid. Jim Ivey teaches the fundamentals of cartooning in his own inimitable style. The book is 128 pages, coil-bound. Send your order to:

Jim Ivey
5840 Dahlia Dr. #7
Orlando FL 32807

Also still available, Jim Ivey's career retrospective Cartoons I Liked, available on Lulu.com or direct from Jim Ivey for $20 postpaid. When ordered from Ivey direct, either book will include an original Ivey sketch.

Labels: Jim Ivey's Sunday Comics

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 10:35 AM 1 comments

Comments:

Gotta love Jim's toons!

# posted by  Craig Zablo : 1/04/2009 12:03 PM

 

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Saturday, January 03, 2009

Herriman Saturday

Herriman proves he's game to do cartoons about just about any sport under the sun when he comments on a cricket match (May 31 1907) and a handball tourney (June 2 1907).


Sunday, June 9 1907 --Herriman got a well-deserved one week vacation before this cartoon bringing the news that boxing champ Jim Jeffries was to open a saloon in Los Angeles. I think this is one of Herriman's best 'light' cartoons so far at the Examiner. Nicely balanced with good side vignettes framing a wonderful detailed caricature of Jeffries in the middle. Fine stuff!

Labels: Herriman's LA Examiner Cartoons

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 10:00 AM 0 comments

Friday, January 02, 2009

Obscurity of the Day: Always Take Papa's Advice

Ed Wheelan became a featured player on the New York American's comics page in late 1915, penning a wide variety of comic strips through mid-1916 when he was temporarily pulled off that duty to supply sports cartoons. Here's one of his features (or actually two counting the 'daily topper' that was currently in vogue with Hearst). Always Take Papa's Advice had a rather frail little running gag, with papa giving the doting son some good advice and then proceeding to break it himself. Ho hum.

The 'topper' started out with the long-winded moniker Johnny Hope and Old Man Experience, then as When Hope and Experience Meet, and was later slimmed down to Hope and Experience. Later still it became the 'featured' Wheelan daily as Old Man Experience.

Microfilm for the New York American is in one heck of a mess throughout the second half of the 1910s so the best running dates I can offer for Always Take Papa's Advice are from the Pittsburgh Post which ran the American's line-up pretty faithfully, but in fits and starts and generally a little bit late. The running dates there are March 21 to June 18 1916.

Hope and Experience first appeared on December 10 1915 and ran sporadically as a 'topper' through 1916. In 1917 the strip graduated to featured status and ran until April 6 1918. Running dates for this feature from the New York American itself.

Labels: Obscurities

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 9:00 AM 2 comments

Comments:

Wow! What a treat! I can't thank you enough for putting things like this up! If print cartooning makes a comeback, which I passionately hope it will, then you'll have been one of the people responsible for it. Keep up the good work! 1

# posted by  Eddie Fitzgerald : 1/02/2009 4:44 PM

 

Hi Eddie -
Thanks for the kind words. How I'm helping to revive print cartooning by showing cartoons on the web I dunno, but I'm all for it if I am!

I wonder how many of our blog readers understand that the low-res versions of the cartoons I post here are mere shadows of their quality on the printed page. Granted plenty of the obscurities I show here are not the greatest examples of graphic artistry, but others I'm downright ashamed to show here because it does not serve the creators fairly. A recent example would be the Fred Richardson drawings from early December. Those really ought to be seen on paper to appreciate the masterful linework.

--Allan

# posted by  Allan Holtz : 1/03/2009 10:00 AM

 

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Thursday, January 01, 2009

But I Digress...

Your head is probably pounding this morning from too much New Year's Eve merriment, so we'll keep it very light today.

"Pretentious, Moi?"
Jim Ivey is a big fan of New Yorker magazine and tries to get me to read it. I've always thought it was more than a tad pretentious and avoided it, but he convinced me to give it another try. Okay, so there were some good articles in the issue he loaned me. But I've been chuckling for two days now over this tidbit in a restaurant review

".. but the accompanying Swiss chard was tiresomely vegetal."

Figure the steak was ludicrously meaty? And the wine, I bet that was tediously liquid. No, no, not pretentious at all.

The First Katzies Strip
A correspondent writes asking if the first strip of The Katzenjammer Kids (December 12 1897) has been reprinted. I could have sworn I'd seen it somewhere but I came up empty when I checked the most likely suspects in my library. Anyone recall where it was reprinted?

Stripper's Guide Book Looking for Publisher
As I promised way back at the beginning of 2008, I have in fact created a book proposal for the Stripper's Guide indexing project. It is now making the rounds of likely publishers. I've gotten one definite "no" so far and I'm waiting to hear from the next in line. If you are a book publisher who would like to review the proposal, or know of a publisher likely to be interested in publishing the definitive guide to U.S. newspaper comic strip and cartoon panels, please let me know.

Gotta Support the Blog, Dude
You may have noticed that along the sidebar on the left I've added a link to Amazon.com with a list of the books I've reviewed here on the Stripper's Guide blog. If you click through from here to purchase these books I get a token referral payment from Amazon and you pay nothing extra for the books. Do the blog a favor and use the click-through!

Defenders of the Masters
I doubt many of you bother to go back and re-read old Stripper's Guide blog posts to see what sort of comments have accrued, but there have been some interesting discussions that didn't get rolling sometimes until weeks, months or years had passed. One of the oddest has been on my post about a certain 1980s toy adapted to comic strips. Check out the comments at the end of this post.

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 8:25 AM 5 comments

Comments:

Happy New Year, Allan!---Wasn't the first KATZENJAMMER KIDS reproduced in "Stripscene" back in the 70's?----------As far as the "HE-MAN" business goes, there can never be anything so awful that there isn't someone out there that really digs it. There comes to mind a guy that was obsessed with those we-need-100-by Thursday 1960 TV Popeye cartoons.----Cole.

# posted by  Anonymous : 1/01/2009 4:06 PM

 

I very much appreciate what you're doing; it's SO necessary. I also collct comic books, but I would gladly give up my collection of 30,000 to complete my run of Gordo.
I received for XMas a copy of The Comics The Complete Story by Brian Walker, originally published as two volumes in 2002 and 2004. Your opinion?

Brett

# posted by  (none) : 1/01/2009 8:53 PM

 

Cole -- good memory! I found it in issue #22. Hope that fella who was looking for it is still tuned in.

Brett -- I generally liked Walker's books, though there were regrettable errors (this is becoming quite a tradition in strip histories). I felt that the Before 1945 book was the superior book of the two. The After '45 book relies much too heavily on material cribbed from E&P as opposed to what I was hoping for -- since Walker is an industry insider I wished he had taken greater advantage of his position to talk directly to the living creators and get their real stories, not the marketing flack baloney that gets written for E&P.

--Allan

# posted by  Allan Holtz : 1/02/2009 8:59 AM

 

I would like to ID a strip I read as a kid Late 40's to early 50's that was old then - probably the Des Moines Register (Iowa) -20's thru 40's or older - About the antics of a preschooler that often wore a playsuit with a hood and button up fly on rear - in color - not much else Thanks

# posted by  rbtsheottiwa@msn.com : 1/16/2009 4:24 PM

 

Hi rbtsheottiwa -
I checked my inventory of Des Moines Register and they didn't seem to run many Sunday comics featuring kids -- here's a list of strips that included featured kid characters:

The Nebbs
Katzenjammer Kids
Toonerville Folks
S'Matter Pop
Skippy
Elmo

Maybe something will pop out at you there. The description you give doesn't ring any bells for me.

--Allan

# posted by  Allan Holtz : 1/18/2009 9:26 AM

 

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• [+/-] Tearsheet Storage Guide

  • The Enemies of Newsprint
  • Another Enemy
  • Bagging Daily Strips
  • More About Bagging Dailies
  • Storing Sunday Strips - A Preamble
  • Sunday Comic Strip Storage
  • How I Store and Track my Collection

Links

• Stripper's Guide Sales
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Archives

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• 12/27/09 - 1/3/10
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• 1/15/12 - 1/22/12
• 1/22/12 - 1/29/12

Legalities

• All editorial matter on this blog is copyright 2005-10 Allan Holtz and may not be reproduced without permission. All Rights Reserved. All images of comic strip art are copyright by their respective copyright holders except those in public domain. If you are the copyright holder of an image displayed on this blog and would like a specific copyright displayed, or believe the display transcends fair use, please contact me.