Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Obscurity of the Day: The Story of James J. Braddock
Central Press Association offered up quite a few closed-end news-oriented strips in the 1930s, some of which undoubtedly remain unfound by me. These not particularly popular short run items are quite elusive.
The Story of James J. Braddock, the "Cinderella Man" fighter who won the heavyweight boxing crown long after he was counted out as a has-been, was front burner news in June 1935 in the days after his title bout with Max Baer. Central Press threw together a strip written by Bill Braucher with art by Clifton H. Crittenden that hit the high points of his career. The strip was ready for running on June 17, just three days after the fight, and ended on June 22*, though many papers ran it late, as the Philadelphia Daily News above.
* Source: Palestine (TX) Herald.
Labels: Obscurities
Central Press really had a long term investment in offering these short-run news strips, I believe beginning with those drawn by their workhorse, R.J. Scott. A few are seen in here:
https://www.comicskingdom.com/trending/blog/2015/07/16/ask-the-archivist-r-j-scott
--Allan
Maybe I'm thinking of something else; I think Scott may have done one-shots as well.